Southern Living, City Style

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Ga-Ga for Greek

Move over Pinkberry, there is a new type of yogurt in town! Growing up, I used to eat yogurt sporadically; it was okay, but not my favorite. Then I was introduced to Greek yogurt, and haven't turned back since. Almost every morning you can be guaranteed to find me at my desk with Fage or Chobani in hand.

I went to Greece last summer and had the most amazing Greek yogurt I could imagine, and have been trying to find something comparable ever since. FINALLY, I found it in The Yogurt Culture Company that opened in Midtown earlier this week. The store offers fresh traditional and Greek yogurt, both in skim or whole, as well as frozen yogurt. The pure fruit purees are made from 100% fruit and contain no preservatives. So, those of you who like to add a little sweetness to your breakfast can do it in healthy way. Once you have the yogurt and purees, you head over to the toppings section where they offer a variety of fresh fruit, organic granola, roasted nuts, and other novelty toppings. At $6 for a cup, it's a little on the expensive side, but worth an indulgence every now and then. The Yogurt Culture Company has truly brought a unique idea to the city, with Chobani right on their heels. They are opening up a similar type of store in SoHo soon and I can't wait to check it out. Since I found the Greek flavor from Mykonos, all I need now is the crystal clear blue waters, a moped, and white buildings then I'll officially be back in heaven!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Tuesday Tunes

Quite an eclectic mix of songs for today's line up. Inspiration came from running it out on the bike at Soul Cycle, head bopping at my desk at work, just bopping around in general, and a sneak peek at music from Step Up: Revolution. Enjoy!

1) Don't Wake Me Up by Chris Brown ft Benny Benassi and David Guetta

2) My Body by Young the Giant (in preparation for next week's concert at SummerStage {yay})

3) Good Time by Owl City, Carly Rae Jepsen

4) Live My Life by Far East Movement ft. Justin Bieber

5) I Don't Like You by Eva Simons

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Semi-Charmed Kind of Life

I didn't get a chance to post about last weekend and I've been dying to get it all out. It was a doozy, so if you can't handle reading through my novel {I won't take offense}, check out the pics and links for highlights!

All my faves from around the country came to the Big Apple for a fun-filled time. Lyss and Shmey made an appearance representing my ATL besties, and Brodsky for the IU-ers. I couldn't have been more happy. The weekend jump started with a romantic dinner at Balaboosta with Kurbs and Lyss in the L.E.S. I had been for brunch with Hill a few years ago, and its still one of my favorites of all time. I was anxious to try dinner and, boy, it did not disappoint. From the hummus, to the burratta, to the eggplant crostini, one thing was better than the next. Even though we were stuffed, we made a trip around the corner to Rice to Riches. The one stop shop has tons of different flavors of rice pudding + toppings. Baby Gitter loved it, as did the three adults. After divulging in the delicious sweetness, we headed over to Canal Room to check out "Saved By the 90s: A Party with the Bayside Tigers" to celebrate Meryl's birthday. They didn't have the vocal dazzlings of Zack Attack or Jesse Spano {"I'm so excited...I'm so excited...I'm so....scared"}, but who wouldn't love a show where you can dance to the tunes of No Doubt, Third Eye Blind {hence the blog title}, and Backstreet Boys. I had flashbacks of our days at Holcomb Bridge, in this version though I was not taller than all the boys or sporting braces. If you are ever looking for something to do, I suggest you check out the Tigers or their 80s counter parts, Rubix Cubes.

Saturday we did what any crazy New Yorker would do in the middle of a heatwave...walked around the steamy sidewalks and blistering sun. Luckily, we found solace in a few stops along the way. First, we headed to Fatty Cue in the West Village for some soulful southern/asian cooking and watermelon mimosas. LW, Jenny and I all got egg dishes and the muesli, while Lyss and Brodsky got the brisket hash. The restaurant is better know for its dinner, but I thought the brunch was also noteworthy. We followed brunch up with a street fair, a visit to the Chelsea Markets pop up designer shops, and a picnic on the West Side highway for some much needed relaxation. After we cooled down, I took Lyss on the usual Saturday 5th Avenue shopping run, with a final stop at Angels for some amazing foot massages.

Not skipping a beat, Lyss and I then headed to the West Village to meet Meryl and her sister for her birthday dinner at The Place in the West Village. I hadn't heard anything about it before going, but had walked by it on my several recent trips to Lovely Bridal Boutique. The restaurant offered an intimate setting, with a cave-like design, dim lighting and romantic tunes {some of the time, at others they played bar mitzvah music}. We all split the gruyere and green onion risotto, chicory and frisee salads, and me and Lyss got the vegetable filo pie for our main. It was all fantastic, topped off with some of the most delicious pistachio ice cream I've ever had. After dinner we headed over to The Park for some cocktails and beautiful scenery.

Sunday was a big day of birthday celebrations for Meryl. We started the day off with brunch at Locanda Verde in TriBeCa. Next to Balaboosta, this is another favorite brunch spot that I've ventured to in the past. This time we tried things I hadn't had before and it has officially moved to the top spot as favorite brunch. The meal started out with fresh made foccacia bread and sheep's milk ricotta with honey. For our main Shoney and I split the fritatta, Lyss got "Manhattan's best" pancakes {said the waiter; but he might be right, they were incredible}, and Meryl got the egg crostinis with the most delicious side salad. If you haven't gone there yet, you should make your reservation immediately. Act fast since the reservation line opens one month-to-the-day before and book up immediately. I'm still hoping to get my foot in the door for dinner.

I'm always looking for unique ways to experience New York, and I especially wanted to do something special for my visitors. So for Meryl's birthday, Lyss and I got her tickets to The Accomplice. We had absolutely no idea of what to expect. Even now it's hard to explain the experience without ruining the fun of it. In short, it's an interactive scavenger hunt around lower Manhattan {they also have a Village tour}, where you encounter various actors who help you with your assigned mission. We were taken from the South Street Seaport, to the Brooklyn Bridge, through Chinatown and Little Italy, and finally the L.E.S. Our group was never quite sure what to expect, who was an actor or who was real {this is New York after all, where several men with squirt guns could just be a normal people}, the detective in all of us were as happy as could be. The entire thing took about two and a half hours, with wine, beer, and snacks provided throughout the journey. The show/game/tour would be a great team building activity for any corporate event or a fun way to celebrate a birthday. A definite must see/do!

After we said our good-byes to Meryl, Lyss and I headed uptown to Rosie Pope. For those of you who aren't avid Bravo watchers, she has a show called Pregnant in Heels, and, after Lyss, is one of the most adorable mommys. Naturally, we had to make sure my favorite mama-to-be got to see Rosie's store and all the adorable clothes, most of which I wanted to buy myself. After we got our fix of fashion and Jelly Bellys, we met LW, Bri and Jared at Cafe Mogador in the East Village for some of my favorite cous-cous and greek salad in the city. If you are in the need for some European ambiance and amazing, no-fuss Mediterranean food, make your way here. Of course no Sunday night, or trip to New York, could be complete without a trip to 16 Handles, the Kardashians, and some late night Artichoke Pizza noshing.

It was an amazing weekend filled with all my favorites: my best friends, yummy food, and good ole NYC. Life is bueno!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

FFF's "Super Granola"

My friend Tara, a.k.a. "Fun Fearless Foodie", was raving Saturday about a granola recipe she made. Never one to sit on a yummy recipe for too long, especially one coming from the only chef I know, Sunday morning I was revving up the oven and baking away bright and early. I used a slight variation of her recipe {different nuts and dried fruit}, but as she says, you can use whatever combination you are craving and it's sure to be delicious. The recipe is especially great because it's all natural and contains no refined sugars. I brought it into the office to share, and it was a hit amongst all the picky eaters. Click here to follow Tara's NYC foodie excursions.

"Super Granola" the Fun Fearless Foodie Way

Ingredients:
4 cups organic rolled oats (not instant)
1/2 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
1/2 cup raw walnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup raw cashews, roughly chopped
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1/2 cup organic coconut oil
1/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup organic pure honey
1 1/2 cups dried fruit (I used craisins, apricots, and goji berries)

Directions

(Yield: 8 cups)

1) Line a sheet tray with aluminum foil and brush with a light coat of coconut oil. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2) Add the dry ingredients into a large bowl and toss.

3) In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, almond butter, and honey.

4) Pour the oil mixture into bowl of dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until coated evenly. Keep stirring until all the oats are coated.

5) Spread the granola mixture onto the prepared sheet tray, making sure it is in an even layer.

6) Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and stir the granola, this will ensure it browns evenly. Return to oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until it is golden brown and toasted. The grains will be slightly soft. Keep an eye on it to make sure nuts don't burn.

7) Break up with your spatula and allow to cool. Once cool, stir in dried fruit.

8) Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated to preserve freshness.

TA-DA..

The Final Product

Additional note: We started a chia seed experiment in our office by planting some of the seeds from the granola to see if we can grow our own little chia pet. I'm excited to see what happens, but will be a tad concerned if something I've been ingesting over the last year will also grow in grimy soil and a lil NYC sunshine. I'll report back later on the outcome.