CLINK

The most romantic place to wine and dine. minus the wine.

Andrew decided to bring me to Clink which is at the Liberty Hotel in Beacon Hill, Mass.

It was fashion week so on top of an award winning meal we got to partake in the viewing of a Fashion Show.

The Liberty Hotel used to be a Jail back in the day so the inside is gorgeous (Did I just call a Jail gorgeous...well when it is made into a Hotel...pure talent that architect).

We started off with a seclection of cheeses. Andrew picked the cheese most were soft, mild, milk cheeses from Oregon, Chile, and a small number of other places I could not remember.

I ordered the Scallop dish with Dates.

It was amazing. I think this blog is done.

Would I go back again? YES, If I could afford to Dine here every other day.

I honestly did not even care what Andrew got. His reduction sauce to the meat course he ordered which looked like some type of poultry was very complementary(sp) with the plate.

The service was at highs and lows. The waitress screwed up on my cocktail. Too much lemonade. Than too little lemonade. I asked for another one right away.

The meals took a while to get out and it was a Wednesday Night with about seven parties in the restaurant.

At the end, the waitress regain some respect when Andrew forgot his credit card on the table.

I love Clink but not the prices.

Laurel Grill in the BACK BAY

Another restaurant.com experience, so we initially thought… dun dun dun (read on to see why I said such a comment)

I have been to this place before it is very fruity but the food is spicy and interesting.

I went with my friend, Liz and former roomie, Penny.

I ran about ten minutes late (which is so out of character for me) and once I arrived neither of us hesitated to run to the host to seat us due to our bellies rumbling.

By then Liz could have been on her second cocktail.

Once we sat down, we ordered the cheapest Pinto Grigio on the menu, which was a $21 bottle of Vos. We probably cheers to ourselves, quite selfish.

Anyways, Penny wanted to order the Pre-Fixe meal that was $19.99 so she initially did and then I handed over the restaurant.com gift certificate on top of that. The naïve server who had to spell out the specials at the rate of five words per minute due to her being in the country for barely two months was “told” she could not accept both restaurant.com and pre-fix promotions that night.

I questioned her and due to her lack of grammar / English skills, her second grade literature could not comprehend what I was saying….so she instantly ran away. Seriously.

A second later the manager, or manager of the night, this fat intense fellow came over flustered hollering they could not take two promotions of the night. I looked at him and told him to Relax. Honestly, clam down. I told asked him “why are you getting so worked up?” He was making all of us nervous. I assume the Brazilian waitress told him we were yelling at her because she did know the difference between asking and telling from her coming over to the States about two weeks ago ( I know I said two months but two weeks/two months same difference).

Penny made a deal with us and said she needed to get the hot brownie sundae no matter what and instead of the pre-fix $19.99 meal; we used the restaurant.com gift certificate.

I was impressed with how intimidating I was to this pathetic server. At least the bread was warm.

Liz ordered the Pasta Special and I ordered the spicy tomato and bean soup as well as… I am embarrassed to say again a Caesar Salad with both tomatoes and onions. I love onions. Penny was a bit more adventurous. She ordered the salad with bacon and blue cheese, honey glazed chicken with some veggies, and of course the chocolate warm sundae.

To make Penny happy, Liz and I shared Carrot Cake. The food was great but due to the lack of service, I probably will not go back.

Liz loves Carrot Cake. She even has a depressing story about it when it was served at her Birthday Party when she was a toddler.

We ordered one more glass of wine but figured the server with the IQ of 00 should have offered us another bottle because three glasses of the Vos was just as much as the bottle.

I gave a bad tip and Penny Judged.

We went to Liberty Hotel that night and I met up with Andrew and John Ramer…Do you know him?

Lesson: When a server opens their mouth and speaks…if you cannot understand the words chicken from steak. Ask for a new server.

L'andana.. A GO TO (but not if your on budget)

One word. Modern.

Landana gave an elegant mature ambiance and instantly made Andrew and I feel comfortable.

The scene was hip and the waiters acted professionally (for once).
The wine selection was out of this world so I pretty much closed my eyes and pointed and whatever it landed on was going to be the choice of the evening. (Andrew was paying).

I ordered my fave dish, Calamari. It came with this unique aioli buttery sauce. I liked it but once Andrew complained, it was too buttery I was not as aggressive on putting every piece on my dish. Judge me.

Andrew went with the pre-fixe menu and had ravioli to start. (It only came with about five pieces …you should have seen the expression on his face, disappointment) Andrew asked if I wanted a bite but I knew from the speed he went through the first three that he felt like he “needed” to ask to be a gentleman, I said “No” and you can see the relief in his face. I went for a nibble of my calamari and never saw his plate again.

For dinner, Andrew had the Lamb entrée, which came with a gorgeous salad with goat cheese and balsamic dressing, and I got the Broccoli Rabe for a side and a Caesar Salad, I am pathetically getting less adventurous with age.

We took them all back home due to the generous portion size.
The Dessert was easily the best. I paired it with a stiff house Merlot which cut the sweetness of my apple warm caramel gelato tart (was that even the name?). Andrew got the Vanilla pudding (there is a french? Itlaian word for this) with a ginger candy treat on top.

Although we had to travel to Burlington, MA to have dinner, it was worth it. From the atmosphere, to the service into the meal. Everything was up to par.

5 stars for Andrew.

(I would love to give Andrew all this credit but I gave him four restaurants to pick to take me out to dinner and he chose Landana)

A Birshdawy Pawty

(under construction, more photos to come)

Usually at the end of a toast at a family reunion or your last week of senior year you typically here the over used saying "let's make memories."

Well I recently came back from my grandmothers 80th in Florida reminicining(sp) the unforgettable Saturday night.

On top of both the classy and divine dining experience, there was tons of family looking elegant and throwing back stiff beverages.

If you were a newborn a couple of months old or holding a cane to support you when walking, long story short, Everyone had a good time and yes, Made Memories.

             Let me babble about the dining at the Hyatt Country Club in Weston, Florida.  With the entree choices of chicken, steak or grouper and both chocolate and vanilla cakes I sat at the “kids table” (something’s never change) and the ages ranged from a single 1 year old (who by the way was hands down the best dressed male) to 28 year olds. 

I sat next to my twin, Ashley and cousin, Edmund. We all got the grouper, which if you have been watching Top Chef Masters is one of the most difficult fish to cook because it can be “over done” if it sits for longer than 30seconds with no heat! I got my fish warm and perfect (but this could have been due to the wine and vodka ginger ales I sipped on prior to sitting down for dinner ?maybe not?). The salad was very modern with candied walnuts and mesculn greens with a white Italian dressing that was delicious but had no genuine name, so we called it the  “white dressing.” There were two cakes (as mentioned) one for my grandmother(chocolate) who turned 80 and one for my cousin, Julian (vanilla) who was turning...the number after 29.

It had the Miami Dolphin logo stamped on the cake, which he insisted was not part of the ‘fish species.’ At Buffalo Bills games they holler to the Dolphins “Squish the Fish” (and I assume all buffalo bills fans are right? but how accurate can a team be that is up 11 points with 5 minutes left and still lose?)

Anyways, I had a nibble of the chocolate cake that was sitting @ my dads plate. My dad thinks he is on a strict Diet, so when he saw my fork stab his cake... I glanced once and He was defeienitaly judging.

After (or before?) the cake my godmother, Aunt Maria and Mother, Virginia wanted to take down a beverage with Edmund and myself . The beverage was a shot of tequila, which happened to be my cousin Christina’s first shot. (keep in mind Christina has been to college and never threw her head back and took a shot)

             Yes. First. And I was starring @ her the entire time once everyone held their glasses and cheered. Christina Took it… hands down like a champ. Like mother like daughter huh? I was watching Edmund’s face as well and I was embarrassed/judging/ unimpressed/ disappointed with his aftermath face. Snaps for Christiana.

Wait?! I forgot to talk about the expression on my grandmothers face. Her smile was huge and the first words that came out of her mouth were “you f word(er) ..you f word(er)…you F word(er)” Grandma, one word. Legend.

The first choice of music was the celebration theme song for Jewish weddings. The family went along with it and danced around my grandmother and Aunt Flo(which is my great-grandmothers sister..Snaps for Aunt Flo!). By the Way, We are Italian… very Italian. During the initial song, My dad proceeded to take Aunt Flo's cane and poke everyone with it. Let me repeat, The room was full with nothing but Italian blood. It was epic.

Before(after?) the dinner started although everyone moved to their designated tables, there was a rumor that cousin Nicky ordered a Stripper. True. Police outfit and everything! My father and some other real men went outside and insisted he retire to the 15yr old party next door (maybe they did?)..

Anyways my dad told everyone he pushed the stripper and he left. So intimidating? A stripper is typically over 6 ft ripped and toned. My dad is barely 6 ft with a recovering ACL tear. Yeah, that was definitely a true story.

The most memorable (I thought) of the night had to deal with shoes. Yes, shoes.  My mom, was Missing a Shoe, just one. …Why did you take your shoes off Virginia?  My father took Julian’s Birthday present, a set of golf clubs, grabbed the driver in the reception room and found a random shoe on the dance floor and proceeded to swing the club, with ideal form and hit it into the window. Dad, just because you are the baby of your family does not justify such behavior.

Talking about Julian’s birthday presents, one of his friends rolled in, seriously, rolled in with a motorized cooler. That is Awesome. How convenient?  I am currently putting a bid on Ebay for a similar model.

 

In the end when your family reunites after years and you are finally legally able to drink inappropriate beverages, things get wild.  

monumental memories. 

 

Lesson: People Don’t Forget. 

Sunset Grill

Props to new amigos Jamie, Sandra and the newest, Phil. This place is great. (maybe/ maybe not) and I* dont even like beer.

I apologize the menu could not show up or I am just not oo computer savy? but, I am more amazed with how many there are!

Thoughts?

Lesson: try things new and explore (quoted/ texted by Sandra)

Fire Fly (oh my oh my) - oh yes, I did rhyme

Fire Fly is on Dartmouth Street in the Back Bay. Andrew and I parked on Newbury Street and had to walk about five blocks to get to Fire Fly. Clearly, I do not care about walking barely a quarter of a mile but Andrew was struggling and recommended we go somewhere closer! I refused. (Andrew thinks our Apartment to Whole Foods is 3miles...Its about one mile and five feet)

Although, I was having a skirmish with the boyfriend, I ended up inviting him to my pick of the evening...

Fire Fly has alot of healthy choices and seeing from the last Blog I wrote it would not hurt my dear muffin, Andrew to partake in such meals.

Thanks to Virginia (my mother) I used a restaurant.com gift certificate for $25 off if we spend $45 in food.

Andrew gotthe steak tips and melted brie with almonds and I got a Ceaser (sp) Salad and calamari (it was not called calamari though but, lets be honest a fried fish stick with a dipping sauce, to me, is calamari).

Fir Fly was a laid back, "rock on" type of atmosphere. "Rock on" as in from the wait staff to the decor around the restaurant it gave you a hip/ chill ambiance feel.

One glass of the house Pinot Grigio and a stiff maritini with lemon vodka and lemon juice made the 2day long fight with Andrew end once we got to the Dessert. (which was a simple cookie because our food at the end of the entree course was 43$, so a cookie would make us max 45$ and get the discount.. woo wee!).

Although My only Motive that Thursday Night, was to go to Liberty Hotel to see a Fashion Show that evening,, I missed it and am currently having nightmares every night until next Thursday when I can FINALLY go!

The worse part of the meal was..... and I hate to say it.... how HOT the Calamari (or whatever it was) was. The top of my gums were crispy and bleeding the entire labor day weekend. Woof.

I will go back to Fire Fly and probably order the dish I just previously complained about. But this time will not be as ambitiious to devour the plate and wait 30 seconds for it to cool off.

Lesson: restaurant.com never fails, snapsss for Virginia.

MET BAR VIA the BURGER BAR

I am a vegetarian but the Met Bar in the Natick Mall was divine.

The Burgers from the Burger Bar are so unique and tasty. Just reading about the Burger brings you into an overwhelming experience.

There were so many options, such as make your own but I decided to go with the Mexican Burger because I love hot and spicy things on my Veggie Burger and Andrew, the boyfriend, decided to go with the Athens burger. I wish I got to see the burger and what it entailed but I turned around for a minute and the burger was gone. (In addition, Andrew's mouth was full) So I* had to develop my double O7 moves in order to take a menu home with me...Success!

Although we ate from the Burger Bar Menu, we decided to actually sit at the Burger Bar. (Which was a bad idea because Andrew was eyeing the meat the entire time). We also had the option of sitting in a booth but hopped into a Bar Seat and the server ran to us.

There is a Met Bar on Rte. 9 in Chestnut Hill but the menus seem a bit different. I guess since I had such a wonderful time at the MET Bar in Natick, I should try the MET Bar that is barely two miles from my apartment.

Another option on the menu that we neglected to try were the Shakes. To add an alcoholic beverage was only 3$ more. However, how would that taste? I was too nervous to order any of the shakes. I wish Lauren; my friend who tries everything and everything was dining with me that Sunday evening so I could "maybe" have a sip/spoon full of hers.

The MET Burger Bar is "a go to" and seeing how fast Andrew (my new roomie) ate his Burger, we might make the trip every Sunday.

The worst part of the meal: I ordered white house wine (and when I say house, I mean house labeled white house wine) and Andrew ordered a Beer of choice to match with the grease of his Burger.

That was the slowest thing that went into Andrew's mouth during our dining
experience.

Lesson: Wine is not always the way to go.