Dinner with Friends...

At Georgia's house, it was another awesome Park City afternoon—more food and drink celebrations of family, life and friendships! Start off with pimp cocktails and peach margaritas on the deck (while the kids engage in Wii, ping-pong and Legos). Then more chill, fabulous wines, ambient electronica and delicious home-cooking...

Cheese and Crackers.

Beef Pastry and Garlic Yogurt. 

Whole Grain Baguette and Cilantro Oil. 

Humus Apples Grapes Crackers. 

Dates.

Sugary Melon and Prosciutto.  

Roasted Ripe Tomatoes.  

Grilled Spicy Firey Peppers.  

Spinach Beet Avocado Feta and Pomegranate Vinaigrette.  

Mixed Rice, Avocado, Scallion, Shallot, Herbs. 

Baby Greens and Herb Dressing.

Grilled Marinated Chicken Kabobs. 

Grilled Marinated Sword Fish Kabobs. 

Bon Appetit! Cheers! 

Life is so delicious... xo

Liberty Heights Fresh

Egg Salad Sandwich.  Not sure what possessed me to get this versus all the other exotic meaty selections. This was lacking flavor, easily fixed with some salt. Knowing that everything was farm fresh encouraged me to appreciate it. I should have gotten the meat sandwiches.

Slaw.  Standard ingredients sliced and diced beautifully, flavored deliciously. Cabbage, apple cider vinegar, honey coriander...

"Three Little Pigs" Salami Sandwich.  One the best concoctions out there. THE BEST! Crusty baguette, crazy sauce, amazing rich cheese, crunchy romaine, grilled artichoke, sun dried tomato.... Textures are unreal.

Razor thin slices of salami are packed with salty madness. Unbelievable.

I just love this title, especially all typed out with quotation marks :)

Turkey Soup.  I've had their chicken noodle soup in the past, but turkey is completely a different piece of poultry. I am not a fan of turkey :(

Surprisingly, there was very little flavor and desperately screamed for salt and pepper. Maybe it was an effort to go low-sodium. Regardless of our complaints, we still felt the good vibes of local organic nourishment and guzzled it down as if it were medicine.

The Barrel NYC

We were so bummed when Ippudo told us they had a 1 hour 45 minute wait which actually translates to 2+ hours. Parched, starved and weak, we were tricked into the outside patio seating at The Barrel, just a block over from Ippudo.

We were thirsty, very thirsty, and stoked to find such a charming outdoor table. It started off okay with an attentive waitress, clean dripless pours and a gorgeous outdoor seating...before it went straight downhill :'(

Tuna Slider with Wasabi Mayo.  Yes, these dark brown tuna patties were suspect from the very beginning. Awful taste and nasty aftertaste. How can something this photo-ready and adorable be so wrong?  The meaty beefy looking sliders threw us off as we were expecting Ahi.

Hanger Steak with Arugula.  Flavorless and oddly sour. So sad. How can something so colorful and fresh taste absolutely blah?

Shrimp Scampi, $8.  We thought these jumbo prawns would surely redeem the meal. Yet, another bummer, ugh. How can you possibly mess up shrimp scampi?!

Blue Shell Mussels, $12.  They were supposed to be in a white wine tomato fennel but I don't think we ever found the broth?!

Assorted Mushrooms, $7.  The mushrooms were actually decent. Croutons were not edible.

Eggplant Lasagna, $8.  I was pretty amazed that hubby continued to order more! He was determined to find something salvageable. Verdict: gooey and slimey...

;'(

Ippudo NYC ramen

After two days in Time Square, I was dying to get out. Craving ramen! When we showed up at Ippudo in East Village, it was slammed as usual, filled to capacity with mostly Asians. Always a good sign to see large groups of Asians at any Asian restaurant. 

There is always a crazy line at Ippudo. The hipster crowd was squished into the darkish, loud, tiny, lobby-ish bar area swaying, chatting and texting to ambient electronica. The hostess told us one hour and 45 minutes! I guess when you craving ramen, it's worth the wait. Starving and near fainting, we had to seek immediate nourishment. Nearby was The Barrel, a tapas bar offering outdoor seating, where we nibbled on TERRIBLE hors d'oeurves, killed time and prayed for Ippudo to call our table.

Finally, after two hours, Ippudo summoned and I ran! No matter how slammed they are, the service is consistently super awesome. When our waitress took our order, it was like nothing else mattered. She shut out the world and was attentive and in not a bit of a rush.

Ippudo is loud, fun, sophisticated yet understated, and filled with super happy vibes. I appreciate the dramatic theater lighting, stylish clothes, good hair, cute guys, hot girls and bright tattoo sleeves everywhere.

Yamitsuki Goma Kyuri, $8.  Japanese cucumber, sesame oil and seasoning. Super cute faux sushi plating. Nothing better than a cold spiced crunch to start off.

Shishito, $8.  Flash fried peppers served with lemon and yuzu salt. Mild fire with an awesome silky crunch. A splash of lemon and yuzu salt make them totally addicting. Get one for the table.

Hirata Buns with Shrimp, $10.  Fried saucy shrimp, mayo (?! it works, trust me), crunchy lettuce and fluffy steamed bun. Exquisite bites of flavors and textures. Two of the best bites I've ever had, EVER!

Akamaru Modern, $15, with Nitamago, $2.  The most popular ramen here is the Akamaru Modern, Ippudo's richest tonkotsu ramen with the nitamago (seasoned soft-boiled egg). Tonkotsu broth is a creamy, cloudy, milky, white soup derived from excessive boiling of pork bones and parts. This bowl was filled with super tender and sweet pork belly, woodear, scallion, cabbage, a secret miso paste and tons of charred crushed garlic. Crazy good, favored to the max.

Complimentary tea in perfect portions.

Annin Sorbet, $7.  Blood orange sorbet with tofu custard. The sweet ice cold with the smooth rich custard...perfect end.

Ippudo Ramen
(212) 388-0088
65 4th Avenue
New York, NY 1003

Official site for Ippudo.