ba'sik

Over the summer after a delicious dinner at Gwynnett St. in Williamsburg, my friends and I stumbled on a bar just up the block called ba'sik.  It's a cozy place with a great neighborhood feel to it.  Apparently there is also a sizable outdoor patio in the back, but unfortunately I didn't know to scope it out at the time.  More reason to return (...next spring *sob*)!

[courtesy of basikbrooklyn.com]

We grabbed some seats at the bar, and I'm glad we did because the bartenders were really nice and friendly.  They have a small cocktail menu but they are all creative.  Of the ones we tried (Picket Fence, and how, Poppa's Pride, o.v.c.), they were all delicious!  Oh darn, I just realized that was 4/5 of the menu, now I'm just bugged that we missed one.

Most importantly at $10 a cocktail, it's a steal compared to NYC prices!

Not only do they have cocktails, but they have a food menu too.  We were pleasantly full after dinner, but in order to do some due diligence for you (or at least that's what I tell myself), we ordered a little snack to help the cocktails go down.

The Toucan and the Lion

The Toucan & the Lion.  Who thinks of these names?!  Either way, it caught my attention and I am glad it did!

As you enter through the (nearly unmarked) front door, you may experience momentary panic at how small the restaurant is.  Take a breath and look to your right - there are more than just the few tables in that first room as the restaurant expands to a second room.

Front room - its a bit tight but lots of big windows

Second room with more seating

If you are faced with a wait (arrived around 7:30pm on a Wed night and we had to wait approx 45 min), try to snag a seat at the bar.  The bartender is really friendly and great at helping you select a drink.  Speaking of drinks, The Toucan & the Lion has some AWSOME cocktails.  Definitely try as many as you can!

Bar area - snag a seat and feel free to ask the bartender for a recommendation.  He was awsome!

Chalkboard by the bar with the specials

Hurricane Club

I had heard that The Hurricane Club serves fun cocktails.  So, of course, this became an immediate must on my "to try" list.  I actually didn't know much about the Hurricane Club before my dinner there, so I just assumed the cocktails would be original cocktails similar to those you find at PDT and Death & Co.  What I didn't expect was what I ended up experiencing at Hurricane Club and you know what?  I loved it!

When you walk in, you'll see just how big the space is!  It's beautifully decorated and you can't help but feel like you've just stepped into a restaurant in Miami.

The drink menu is fun and foldy.  Most of the drinks are Carribean/vacation inspired and they even come served in fun tiki cups and bowls with umbrellas!  And the size of these drinks...these are some serious(ly fun) drinks.  The cocktails did not disappoint!

Drink menu - I didn't know what to choose!

Who doesn't love a big drink that comes with an umbrella and fresh orchid?

This bad boy pretty much screamed "where's my hammock?"

Cask Bar + Kitchen

Lately, I've been drawn to Cask Bar + Kitchen for Happy Hour, for dinner, for snacktime, for everything.

Located on 33rd Street and 3rd Ave, it's great for after work Happy Hours (well, for those who work
in Midtown East).  There's a bar area in the front with lots of seating, but during happy hour (4-8pm Mon-Fri) space may get a little tight.  For dinner (or drinks that roll into dinner) there's a decently sized dining area in the back.  There's lots of wood everywhere and the whole place is softly lit - great to take a load off after work or relax with a nice dinner!

Great wooden bar area in the front

Dining room in the back (pic from yelp)

There's a great selection of beers, wines, and cocktails.  My personal favorites would be the white sangria and the St Murray cocktail (both of which happen to be on the happy hour menu!).  The St Murray is especially excellent - at my last dinner here I converted the whole table and we all ended up with St Murray's by the end of the night!

Blood Orange Jalapeno Margarita and the White Sangria

St Murray cocktails for the table!

Minetta Tavern

Oh Minetta Tavern...why do you make it so hard for us to meet?  It's a good thing I enjoy eating dinner early, especially since a friend of mine managed to snag a 5:30pm dinner reservation.  And so, at 5:30pm with the sun still bright and shining, I entered into the hush hush world of Minetta Tavern.

Surprisingly, its not what you would expect inside Minetta Tavern.  From the outside, all the windows are covered with heavy curtains so you can't look in.  When you step in, it's a retro yet classy old-school feel with its checkered floors, red leather booths, and wood bar (which, interestingly, is the original bar from when the restaurant first opened in 1937 and refinished by Keith McNally when he took over). 

Bar area when you enter (pic from http://minettatavernny.com/)

Since it was so early, I'm pretty sure it was still officially cocktail hour so who could resist order a cocktail?!  There were a couple unique cocktails on the menu so I was excited to try.  And I was pleasantly surprised at how great they were!

Pulqueria and Apotheke

On a small street deep in Chinatown, there exists a hidden Mexican restaurant called Pulqueria and its sister cocktail bar Apotheke. 

Doyers St in Chinatown - can you find Pulqueria?

Not sure what you are looking at or where you should be looking?  Well that's because there are no signs outside that tell you which door leads to where (for you Chinatown savvy readers, Pulqueria is on Doyers St).  A bit Alice in Wonderland if you ask me as you try each door until you find the right one...

Apotheke is on the left and Pulqueria is on the right!

Where Doyers St starts to curve, you'll notice the two entrances above.  The wooden one on the left leads to the cocktail bar Apotheke and the blue and white entrance to the right leads down to Pulqueria.  The stairway down is also touch sketchy and when you get to the end, you again face a choice of a couple ominous looking doors.  Pick the one on your right lol.

Old Fashioned Cocktail

These days it's starting to feel bitterly cold, which means I start going into hibernation mode instead of venturing out. 

Unfortunately my usual cocktail places are 25+ blocks away from my apartment.  On this particularly cold day, I just couldn't muster up the energy to venture out.  So instead, we made our own cocktails at home!

In fact, I'm going to take it a step further and add DIY cocktailing to my list of 2012 goals. I don't dare call it a resolution, because that means I'll never do it (a resolution that has been an annual contender since age 10 has been to stop biting my nails... nope). 2011's goals were to learn more about wine, cooking authentic Chinese, and to start a food blog, and well, I did!  :)

We made our own Old Fashioned, which is a classic American cocktail and has minimal ingredients.  You'll notice the ice cubes I use are unusually large - these are made using extra large silicon ice cube trays, which work great for cocktails because they melt slower and don't dilute your drink as quickly.  Check out how I made it!

Fatty 'Cue (West Village)

Question:  Asian cuisine + American BBQ = ?
Answer:  Fatty 'Cue!

Combining these two cuisines results in truly amazing Asian flavors with great quality meats.  I just visited Fatty 'Cue in the West Village, and they also have a location in Williamsburg which I visited over the summer.  Surprisingly the menus differ at the two locales, which makes it all the more interesting to try both!

The food was delicious and every dish had different flavors.  Nothing one-note here! The food line up consisted of:

Ham, Jam, Butter & Bread (edward's ham, pretzel bread, cincalok, aged butter)

Trippa 'Malaysiana' (Tripe in a red anchovy curry)

Special: Braised Beef Cheeks with Noodles and Chinese Sausage

Lazy (Wo)Man's Bellini

Cheers to a Happy and Healthy 2012! 

Cheers from my couch!

This year, I opted to stay in and enjoy the festivities on my couch.  I got myself a nice bottle of champagne, set up some cheese & crackers and snacks, and relaxed in my jammies!

Just to spice it up a bit, I decided to make bellini's with my champagne.  However, when I looked up some bellini recipes online, they looked kind of of crazy with all these ingredients and directives to puree peaches with food processors.  Let's be honest - I originally envisioned myself sipping the champagne directly out of the bottle with a curly straw (curly straws were as fancy as I was getting) so anything involving food processors was way beyond my commitment level.   

Le Comptoir

I've just had another wonderful meal in Williamsburg and I can't wait to share this little gem with you!

My fellow eater recently returned from a trip to Europe where she enjoyed a meal at a restaurant called Le Comptoir.  When perusing savored.com (for those of you unfamiliar with Savored.com, its a site where you can make reservations at certain restaurants for a nominal fee and receive 30% off your bill), she found a restaurant in Williamsburg with the same name.  Although it's unrelated to the one in Europe, she thought it was a good omen and quickly snatched up a reservation for our dinner date.  Plus, who doesn't love a discount on dinner?

So off we went to Le Comptoir in Williamsburg.  Dont' be discouraged by its location - Le Comptoir is only a short walk from the L-train Bedford station. When you get to the restaurant, you are greeted with this sign out front:

$1 oysters?  Great food?  Sexy chef?  I love it all!  Without setting a foot inside, I already have a good feeling about this place! 

Drinks @ Dos Caminos

Happy Friday everyone!  Don’t Fridays just make you want a margarita?  Ok, yes, it seems that I could use a margarita everyday but when I get that hankering for something special after work Dos Caminos is the place! 

While they offer a variety of different margaritas, cocktails, and tequilas, Dos Caminos to me means the Frozen Prickly Pear Margarita.  It’s the perfect consistency (not too watery or slushy yet not too ice-cubey) and comes suuuper cold (watch out for that brain freeze!).  The taste, while maybe a touch sweet, goes down super easy and is perfect in masking that tequila.  But let me assure you…the tequila is definitely in there!   Dos Caminos does not offer any Happy Hour specials so this little gem will set you back $11.  But you probably only need 1-2 of these bad boys and should be good to go. 

My Prickly Pear margarita - its so cold the glass is starting to frost!