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Showing posts with label Macy's Flower Show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Macy's Flower Show. Show all posts

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Weekend Cooking- Diane and Brigette's Excellent Birthday Culinary Adventure



This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food.

Two of my sisters-in-law and I share a birthday, so whenever we can, we try to get together to share our special day. This year, my husband's sister Brigette came to NYC and we had a whirlwind ten hour adventure, mostly revolving around food.

We started out at the Macy's Flower Show, which is always so much fun. Brigette is an avid gardner (and I nearly flunked leaf identification in college), so I try to pay close attention and learn something. (I'll post about the show this coming week.)

We take the guided tour, and this year we had the same interesting tour guide we had last year. The theme was Carnival, which I had my doubts about, but as usual they did a marvelous job.
A rooster filled with flowers from the Macy's Flower Show

Next we headed for a leisurely lunch at Butter, chef Alex Guarnischelli's restaurant in midtown. Brigette ordered the Marshma llo'Bomber drink, made with chocolate liquer and homemade marshmallows. It was a warm drink, which kind of surprised us both. She enjoyed it.


Then we split a Butter Burger and fries and the Fried Chicken Waldorf Salad. The burger was very tasty, and it came with a side of a cheese sauce that added a nice flavor to the burger. The fries were crisp and hot too.
Butter Burger and Fries

The Fried Chicken Waldorf Salad was interesting- it came with fried chicken strips and on the side were lettuce leaves, each with an apple slice, half of grape and a walnut. The plating was fun, and the dish was wonderful.
Butter Fried Chicken Waldorf Salad

It was off to Eataly, where a cup of gelato was on the menu. I got my traditional pistachio, Brigette had a few scoops of some kind of chocolate. We wandered the store and couldn't resist taking a few photos of their lovely fruits and vegetables displays.



We headed down Fifth Avenue to check out a sandwich shop recommended by my co-workers, Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop, a real old-fashioned shop. The walls are lined with photos of celebrities (Leo DiCaprio, Paul Giamatti, Katie Couric), and there is a long counter with stools that runs along the opposite side. I will definitely make a stop there for lunch someday soon.

Turning down Broadway, we stopped into a few kitchen shops- Whisk and Fishs Eddy, which are always fun to visit and see the cute things I don't have room for in my apartment. We also passed by Maille, which is a shop that only sells Maille mustard. The pretty spring colors caught our attention.




We made it just in time to visit Union Square Greenmarket, and just looking at all of the pretty plants and flowers made us wish for spring to have sprung already.

Our last stop was dinner at Quality Italian, where we met my husband and shared their famous Chicken Parmesan, which is pounded so thin, it is served like a pizza. The nice thing about that is that there is always leftovers for dinner the next night.

Brigette and I walked off some of our dinner as we headed over to the Port Authority Bus Terminal so she could catch her bus. We just missed the three manhole explosions and fire that happened a few hours earlier and still had traffic snarled with all the police and fire trucks there. It was a miracle that no one was injured.


Saturday, April 5, 2014

Weekend Cooking- Lunch at Nougatine by Jean Georges

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food. 

Two of my sisters-in-law and I share a birthday and sometimes the stars align and we can celebrate together. One of my sisters-in-law came to visit yesterday to take The New York Culinary Experience at The International Culinary Center, where the students spend the weekend cooking with 30 of the best chefs in the country. She loves to cook and it is a very thoughtful gift from her family.

Yesterday we visited the Macy's Flower Show, which is a wonderful event that is so welcome after the horrendous winter we have all had. For two weeks, the main floor of the flagship Herald Square Macy's is turned in a Secret Garden with some of the most beautiful floral displays you will see anywhere.

The showstopper is located at the Broadway entrance, and it is a mannequin wearing a stunning red dress made of flowers. If you find yourself in NYC in late March- early April, make sure to plan a trip to this annual show.
Macy's Flower Show
Next, we headed uptown to go to lunch at  Nougatine at Jean Georges, located off Columbus Circle. They do a lovely prefixe $32 lunch and my sister-in-law treated me to a birthday lunch. We toasted our special day with Raspberry Lychee Bellinis, and I started with the Shrimp Salad with Avocado, Tomatoes and Champagne Vinegar Dressing. The flavor of the dressing over the shrimp was fantastic.
Shrimp Salad
For my entree, I chose the Cheeseburger with Crispy Fried Onions and Russian Dressing. It came with a side of crispy, tasty fries and one of the highlights was the homemade pickles that came on top of the burger. The burger was juicy and tasty.
Cheeseburger and Fries
Brigette chose the Organic Chicken with Lemon Meyer and Chili Sauce over a bed of kale. She pronounced it delicious.
Lemon Meyer Chicken
For dessert, we both had the Rhubarb Sorbet, with a nutty crumb topping and they put a cute Happy Birthday White Chocolate decoration with a candle.

We ended our day with dinner at Lusardis, my favorite neighborhood restaurant (actually my favorite NYC restuarant) with my husband, our sons and their girlfriends and it was the perfect ending to a wonderful day.

Macy's Flower Show is here.
Nougatine at Jean Georges is here.
Lusardi's is here.