City Night #3

Having already tried Brazilian and Americana BBQ, it was time to come up with something brand new.   The whole concept of the city trips to go out was becoming very popular.   And in an effort to maintain the uniqueness of my attempts to educate and create new experiences for everyone, I chose to pursue a trip to a Russian restaurant.   A colleague on the project is Russian so I solicited his assistance in picking a place.   Due to the need of authenticity, he chose a spot in Brooklyn.   So not only would everyone experience Russian cuisine for the first time, they would also get a chance to go to Brooklyn which was also a new experience! 

We went with a fixed price menu which is the typical way to enjoy a Russian dining experience.   This particular restaurant – Café Izba – was completely empty as our group of twelve was seated.   The cold appetizers were our first course and these completely covered all available space on the table.  These ranged from seafood to sliced cow’s tongue.    It was during these first courses that the true meaning of the experience was introduced – drinking a shot of Vodka.   The Vodka started coming out at different intervals but the idea was to have a shot and eat food and then eat more food, have another shot and eat more food.    The second course of hot appetizers also hid the table beneath with the bountiful delicacies – one of which was a small piece of bread with a half pineapple slice on top and covered with a small portion of cooked calf liver and marinated with strawberry sauce.   Let me say this was fantastic.   After more Vodka and more food, the main courses appeared which included Chicken Kiev, ground Lamb kebabs and rabbit.    By the time the main courses arrived, a lot of Vodka had been drunk and most people were already filled up from prior courses.   However, the eating continued.

By the time we walked out the door 3 hours later, I think everyone had eaten and drank more than they ever thought humanly possible.   The proprietors of the restaurant noted that we were the wildest group they had ever had in their restaurant.   Good thing we were the only ones in that night!

City Night #2

The second trip of the year into NYC for a new ‘cultural’ experience for us was at a BBQ place called Virgil’s.   The recommendation for this came from a Texan who moved to NYC so I figured it was a safe bet if someone who knows good BBQ recommended the place.   The group for this outing grew to 14 people.   It was a diverse group again and we even had one courageous person who was a vegetarian tag along just for the entertainment factor.   Of course, no one was shy when it came to ordering food so we had many plates of the trifecta – Memphis ribs, Carolina pulled pork and Texas brisket.   Let me tell you this was a feast that most mortals could not finish which was my situation for the evening.   However, after much carnage being consumed and a few beverages, this evening ended with another successful social outing to the city.

Slovenia in New York City

Tonight I made a trip to the city with a colleague and friend of mine for dinner at a restaurant in the Meatpacking District called 5ninth.   We arrived prior to our reservation so we went to the bar to order a glass of wine before dinner.   Upon perusing the wine list, one particular wine caught my eye – a Merlot from Slovenia.   Needless to say I was very excited as this was the first time that I had ever seen Slovenian wine on the wine list anywhere I had been in my homeland.  

For those of you that know me, Slovenia is very near and dear to my heart.  I have very good friends there and even wrote a monthly article for a magazine in Ljubljana for 2 years.   My very first trip to Slovenia involved an evening of sampling the indigenous wines that Slovenia produces.  One particular variety is called Teran.   In subsequent trips to Slovenia I was able to explore some of these vineyards as well as sample the local wine in some of the countries finest restaurants.   I am definitely not a Wine Spectator wine scorer but definitely felt that some of the wines I had there were fantastic.   So the next time you are dining if you come across a wine list that has wines from Slovenia, give it a shot.

City Night #1

Working on the road entails quite a few nights (every night) eating at a restaurant or some other food providing establishment.  Well, since I am working a mere 1.5 hour drive in good traffic from New York City, I took it upon myself to organize dinner trips to the city.  The rules are simple – carpool in, try different types of restaurants and enjoy yourselves.   The first type of food selected for this group outing was a Brazilian Churascerria.   This is the place where you indulge in more meat that should be acceptable.    You basically sit at your table with a small coaster size device that is red on one side and green on the other.  When you are ready for the waiters carrying kebabs of meet to stop, you show the green side.   They will bring many varieties of beef, pork, chicken and lamb for you to try.  When you have your fill, you simply display the red side.   The key to this is to pace yourself.   Otherwise you can become easily overwhelmed and end up eating way too much.   However, this is a very fun experience.  The first dinner group totaled 10 people and a good time was had by all.   Part of our experience was enhanced by having 3 Brazilian Portuguese speakers with us who are very good critics of their homelands food.   This language benefit also aided us in getting better service from the predominantly Portuguese speaking waitstaff.