Summer Sunshine

First and foremost, Happy Father’s Day to the first guy in my life, my dad!

After our great morning yesterday, we were all excited to enjoy the rest of the day in the gorgeous sunshine. Our errands and workouts had left us ravenous so we took Kat’s suggestion and headed to Bao Noodles for lunch. Kat had read about this little restaurant online and was excited to introduce Bo and I to pho.

The restaurant is quite small and we actually walked by it on the street without realizing it. Since the weather was so nice they had all the doors open which let in a wonderful breeze.

We started out with an appetizer to subside our hunger. I chose the chicken summer rolls as they sounded delicious and are often a great, light summer appetizer since they are steamed instead of fried. The rice paper rolls were stuffed with lettuce, rice vermicelli, chicken, and fresh herbs. These were some of the freshest, most delicious summer rolls I’ve ever had! In fact, we tried to order more but instead received pork spring rolls which to our disappointment were fried and not half as good.

Blog Pictures 2010 529       For our main dishes, Bo and I couldn’t decide between a couple of options so we decided to share. We ordered chicken pho and grilled pork bahn mi. I had never heard of either of these so I was excited for the experience. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what we were hoping.

The pho came out in two dishes. one dish had the “ingredients” such as bean sprouts, siricha, basil leaves, and plum sauce. Blog Pictures 2010 530  The other bowl was a soup with chicken and rice noodles. Kat instructed us to add ingredients to our liking insuring we used enough siricha for flavor. Even after adding all the ingredients it still was a flavorless soup with chicken shreds. Between the two of us we barely ate 1/3 of it. Blog Pictures 2010 533Blog Pictures 2010 532

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Luckily, Bahn Mi was delicious! The toasted baguette mixed cucumber, daikon, and cilantro with the perfectly seasoned pork for a perfect sandwich.  I would definitely order one of these again as it was filling and the flavor was complex and delicious. I loved the crunch that the cucumber and daikon added.

After lunch, we headed up to Central Park to meet our friends Geoff and Elizabeth for an afternoon of reading in the sunshine on Sheep’s Meadow.

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As you can see from these pictures, it was a beautiful day in NYC yesterday! The best part was that it didn’t even break 85 degrees so that along with the breeze made laying in the park a treat. We spent two hours laughing and reading on the Meadow enjoying a few beers along the way. While this isn’t the beach, I think this is a close second and can’t wait to go back next weekend.

After the park we all split ways as Kat had tickets with a friend to see Kelsey Grammar in La Cage and Geoff & Elizabeth had a birthday dinner. Bo suggested a date night and I couldn’t have been more pleased. We’ve both been moving so quickly lately that it’s nice to enjoy each other’s company over dinner and catch up.

After showering, we walked towards Union Square to enjoy the sites and grab beer and an appetizer. Union Square had taken on a whole new identity post Farmer’s Market. Blog Pictures 2010 546  Blog Pictures 2010 544Blog Pictures 2010 543Blog Pictures 2010 542  Heartland Brewery had a perfect outdoor spot that was calling our name! We quickly ordered the beer flight for Bo and a Summer Apricot Ale for me. The Apricot Ale was delicious! I wish I could get it on tap at other bars. It was crisp and fruity without being too light.

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After our drink and enjoying more of the sights and sounds we headed to our dinner destination, Apiary. Blog Pictures 2010 561Apiary is Scott Bryan’s new American restaurant on the northern part of the East Village. We discovered the restaurant using our favorite iPhone app, Zagat.  Blog Pictures 2010 553

Apiary’s decor is contemporary, clean, and in partnership with Ligne Roset. When we arrived at 8:15 the restaurant was only half full which had us a bit worried. But, by the time 9pm came the wait was 45 minutes and the crowds kept coming. Blog Pictures 2010 555We were both elated when we saw they had our favorite sparking chriaz, Chook. Evertying about this meal was surprisingly delicious and perfectly executed. Our evening was filled with fresh, delicious food and excellent service! I apologize for the less than stellar pictures but the restaurant’s lighting was not conducive for pictures. I started with the Diver Sea Scallops eggplant caviar, chorizo oil, upland pepper cress which were filled with flavor and a large enough portion to share. Blog Pictures 2010 556  Bo started with the special of the night, crab cakes. They were plated on top of black beans and drizzled with chipotle which gave a traditional dish a new twist. The cakes were 100% crabs with a few chives. Blog Pictures 2010 557       Making a decision about the main course was easy for me as their first entree featured all my favorite summer ingredients- fish, corn, and mushrooms! The Roasted Monkfish featured summer corn, poblano chiles, chantarelles, basil, and smoked bacon. I was worried it would have a large amount of bacon but was pleasantly surprised when it was served with only a few small pieces for flavor. The monk fish was succulent, perfectly prepared, and the flavors reminded me of summertime succotash back home. Blog Pictures 2010 559   Blog Pictures 2010 558  Bo chose the rabbit papardelle which included papardelle pasta adorned with tender, shredded rabbit, porcini mushrooms, summer vegetables and parmesan cheese. The dish was not heavy or overwhelming as papardelle dishes can be at times. Instead it allowed each ingredient to stand out on it’s own as there wasn’t a heavy sauce. Bo raved about this and has already requested a return appearance.

 

What a great New York Saturday! I hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed the summer sunshine!

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Starting Saturday on the perfect foot

This is my type of Saturday! After eight hours of blissful sleep, Bo and I headed to Equinox for a great sweat session. Bo took a great spin class while I did 45 minutes on the elliptical followed by some quality time with this cutie

Don’t let that soft picture fool you. His class is very similar to body pump except it’s split into 3 thirty minute sessions:

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Core Booty Blast (hips to toes)

Core Upper Cuts (hips to head)

Core Ab Blast

I was only able to stay for the first two classes but they were fabulous! He walks around ensuring proper form the entire time and has energetic music. He even brings his own equipment for everyone’s benefit! I hope to make this a regular start to my Saturdays!

After Equinox I bought our produce for the week at the Union Square Farmer’s Market. The vendors were out in force this weekend and I was overwhelmed with the beautiful vegetables and fruits!

Blog Pictures 2010 528     I bought all of this for only $21! It is all organic, pesticide free, and locally grown!

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Now we’re heading to Bao Noodles to grab takeout before an afternoon of reading in Central Park with Bo and Kat!

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TGIF

By 7pm, I was so happy that it was Friday! We have summer Fridays in my office which means that “in theory” we leave the office by 1pm on Friday. That doesn’t always happen but, it does allow for VERY productive afternoons since there are no meetings and the quiet allows me to plug in and listen to Glee on Pandora while I work. 🙂

During my Weight Watchers meeting this morning I realized that I ran out of desk drawer oats. Therefore, I picked up a box of Weight Watcher Blueberry oats.

Weight Watchers BLUEBERRY HARVEST Instant Oatmeal 2 pts

They were 2 points and included 9 grams of fiber and only 2 grams of sugar. I’m not crazy about anything beyond pure, Quaker Oats but these made the cut today AND they were on sale!

Around 1pm, I met Bo for lunch and gave into my craving.

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Say what you want about the sodium in Subway but sometimes it just tastes delicious. When I was losing weight senior year of college via Weight Watchers, I swore by this as my fast food choice. They have 8 different sandwiches ranging from veggie delight to chicken breast which are under 300 calories and filled with protein and fiber! I enjoyed a six inch turkey on toasted wheat bread with apple slices. Yum!

We had dinner plans tonight with Kat, Bo’s friend from Georgia Tech who is in town visiting. We had a great time getting to know her high school friends who happen to be interning in NYC as well. After much debate, we decided on a 9:30 dinner at Barbounia. I reviewed the restaurant’s brunch but this was our first dinner experience.

We had another great meal tonight but it was a very different experience. Barbounia is definitely the “pre-club” location in Gramercy. There were 2 bachelorettes and at least one birthday party celebrating there. Their co-ed bathrooms are a social area and the place is definitely not conducive for intimate conversation. But, the food was amazing!

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We started with the mezze sampler which included hummus, tiziki, and other Greek goodness! The pita was absolute doughy goodness.

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The boys enjoyed the lamb terra cotta which was absolutely delicious and covered in a mix of crispy and chewy dough. Does it get any better?

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Kat chose the scallops and pumpkin risotto which were the table favorite. Luckily she was full and generous enough to share with us! They were tender and the risotto was filled with flavor.

I wasn’t that hungry after our delicious appetizer and therefore stuck with the Greek salad. It was over 1/2 cucumbers which was not a win in my book since I’m still acquiring a taste for them.

I highly recommend Barbounia for a Friday night dinner spot as it transitions very well from happy hour to dinner and the area is ready for everything from group parties to close friends hoping to laugh and catch up. The service is phenomenal if not too attentive and the food is always delicious!

Unfortunately, the rest of the pictures are on Kat’s camera so I’ll have to upload them tomorrow. Right now my uploading is getting in the way of downloading more Arrested Development and Modern Family. Can you tell what we’re about to do? 🙂

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