Boutique Eat Shop (B.E.S)

I found a great Travelzoo brunch deal for 2 for Boutique Eat Shop located at 559 W. 22nd St in Chelsea so decided to bring my fiance and make it a romantic Saturday brunch date. I was in love as soon as I walked in. The place was vibrant, some of the art that graces the walls are not for the faint of heart (let me tell you, if I was white, I would've blushed) and the music had me wanting to dance. Actually, after a couple of mimosas, I WAS dancing and singing along in my seat. Felt a lot like a lounge that happened to be serving brunch. The older couple that had the privilege of sitting next to us and hearing me sing (smile) may have felt a little out of place, but they didn't show it. Nor did they request that I stop singing (which would've been well within their right once Cameo came on) so they were cool with me. Our waiter, Alex, is from Brazil and told us we should come back later when the party REALLY gets going. Let me tell you all, I seriously considered returning. On a cold, raining spring day. I seriously was going to go home and return later that night. But I'm not as young (or crazy) as I used to be. Sadly, I did not return that night. But he also recommended we check out sunday evenings which is jazz night.

Oh, the food. Almost forgot. Yes the food..Brunch is ala carte but reasonably priced. We both ordered the Eggs Benedict served on rosemary foccacia toast with sauteed spinach (we chose to add smoked salmon) with a roasted bell pepper salad. Was delicious.

I regret not having any pics to post..Oh well, just gives me an excuse to go back. My only wish for this place would be for them to offer an option for unlimited cocktails with or without a pre fixe menu. Nevertheless, I LOVED B.E.S!!!

Scarpina Bar and Grill-Union Square

Sunday afternoon brunch with Janny and she is late as usual. About an hour late actually, grrrr..But the wait was made more tolerable by my lovely bartender at Scarpina Bar and Grill. Located at 88 University Pl in Union Square, this place had been open only for a few months, but I still felt right at home. The first thing I noticed was the decor, which was beautifully designed and stylish

My mixologist had some fun with me while I waited and started experimenting with new blends and flavors. I didn't mind, she comped them all!! And they didn't taste bad either.

When Janny finally arrived our brunch date turned into a dinner date. The food was good, I ordered a medium well cheeseburger which was seasoned nicely and juicy served with yucca fries and Janny ordered the cornish
hen.

Overall, beautiful decor, good food and nice service.

Five and Diamond Restaurant-Brunch in Harlem!

Brunch plans on Sunday morning with my big brother and I picked The Five and Diamond in Harlem, located at 2072 Frederick Douglass Blvd btwn 112th and 113th. Blink and you will miss it

but this small place has HUGE flavor!!!

For $20 you can choose from their pre-fixe menu which includes a brunch cocktail (choice of Bourbon Champagne, Bloody Mary,Mimosa or Sangria) OR for an additional $10 make it "ENDLESS" drinks..DING DING DING...needless to say we chose option 2 and chose the Bourbon champagne cocktail. I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED!! Drinks were great (there was actually a scare for a few minutes when the bar thought they ran out of bourbon) and the food wasn't so bad either.

My brother chose the Southern Bourbon brunch which included buttermilk fried chicken, mac and cheese and biscuit (I'm his lil sis, he just had to share with me) and I went with the restaurant's namesake burger served with steak fries, fried egg, bacon and MORE bourbon champagne

Brunch is offered Sat and Sun from 11-3:30 pm. I suggest reservations as this place is tiny and there is NO table time limit. Great drinks, delicious food, you WON'T be disappointed. And I will definitely be back!

XYZ Lounge at Aloft Harlem

The XYZ lounge of the Aloft Hotel located at 2296 Frederick Douglass Blvd (btwn 123rd and 124th st) is a must if you're ever Uptown. Well, even if you're not Uptown make the trek and you will not be disappointed. Part of the W Hotel family, XYZ brings a little SoHo chic to Harlem and opened Dec 27,2010. The decor is hot, the crowd is mature and the bartenders are amazing. Ladies night every Tues after 5 pm includes $8 drink specials with a Drag review performance usually starting around 9pm. After work Thursdays, the same great crowd with a D.J thrown into the mix. The biggest downside is the food menu is lacking. They only have a few choices, cheese or pepperoni pizza, spring rolls, cheese and cracker platter and overpriced so I would recommend eating before or after. But overall had a great time and will be back. Spread the word!

New Year's Day dinner at STK

Sat afternoon, as I awakened from my nap I received a text msg from a friend asking what I was doing and if I wanted to go out to eat. Talk about perfect timing. I decided to take a quick shower, butter my body and hair as fast as I could with Beijaflor Naturals and get dressed. I wore a pair of American Girl black leggings and an Aeropostale blue sweater with a pair of tan/mustardy Rampage high boots. I met Yoyo in Jackson Hts where she was waiting for me and we proceeded to head into the city in her 2010 BMW 3series. We decided to hit the Meat Packing District for the scene. As we drove around trying to decide what we were in the mood for we came across STK located on Little 12th Street. Outside was a tall dark handsome gentleman, and through the glass windows we could see the fireplace blazing. Once we found parking in all that snow and slush, we tried our best to watch our steps for ice.

We were greeted at the front door by the tall dark gentlemen, as he proceeded to open the door and direct us towards the matradee and also the elevator to the coat check booth. We went upstairs to check our coats and got a quick view of the private party rooms. On to downstairs, it is time to eattttt!!!!

The matradee was a polite young lady, that informed she had a ton of reservations for two, but would check if we could give her 5mins to see availability.

We were seated and our waiter came over introduced himself and started us off with a drink. I had a glass of Merlot and Yoyo had a bottle of Stella. The music was playing in the background. The guests were busy enjoying their meals and chatting away. As we sipped our drinks, we has Tuna tar tar for an appetizer and a small loaf of fresh baked bread. OMgee, talk about mouth watering...(I can taste the bread as I type now..lol). For dinner we both ordered a medium skirt steak, I ordered the grilled carrots, Yoyo asked for their parmasean fries. Of course i had a second glass of wine for my steak which was very juicy and tender. Everything was just sooo good. I definitely need to return. STK gets cuddos from me making the first day of our new year an great start.

Muchachas in MXCO

So Tuesday evening after work I get a phone call from J just as I was about to go underground, looking forward to the confines of my warm bed. She feels like hanging out, and what kind of friend would I be to deny her a drinking partner for the night? OLE! We decide to meet on the east side and soon we find ourselves at MXCO located on 2nd Ave btwn 77th and 78th, a place we've both frequented several times before, but never together. There's a decent dining crowd when we arrive, but we've got the bar virtually to ourselves..AND there's 60 min utnil happy hour ends. Now I've learned in the past that A LOT can happen in an hour, especially if there's tequila involved, but a girl had to work in the morning, I needed to be tranquilo..

The margaritas were really good, not too strong and not too weak. I had a few, plus our bartender (who we affectionately called "Dimples") heard us talking about Patron Cafe, so she showed us some love with a couple of shots. I could've done without the Bailey's on the rocks as my parting gift. Now remember I said I had to work in the morning. That's all I'm going to say. Now MXCO's appeal isn't just the drinks, the food is pretty good as well and this time we both ordered Chicken Nachos. With EXTRA sour cream..we were bad, very bad..But sharing the evening with my great friend, good drinks and good food made it all worthwhile.

Mexico meets upper east side

After a long day at work, nothing feels better than being able to reward yourself with good food, fun environment w/happy hour prices on tasty drinks Mexican style. After work last night Carolyn and I met up and were headed to MXCO located on 2nd ave between 77th and 78th, in the upper east side of Manhattan. They have excellent happy hour specials on drinks served with chips and salsa..while you review the menu from 4-7. We decided to sit at the bar, C ordered a Margarita w/no salt ($5), I had a glass of Merlot ($5).

As you can see we order chicken Nachos w/extra extra spur cream, and of course another round of drinks. Can we say yummy? Delish...mmhh mmhh good is all we kept saying for the first 5mins of pure silence due to us focusing on the food. Our Bartender who C nicknamed dimples lol, made sure we enjoyed ourselves while by conversing w/us as she pleasantly catered to the other patrons at the bar. Dimples also assisted us in deciding which shots to take, we had a blast. What a wonderful end of a work day. This is the place to go if you're looking for good drinks, food and a happening atmosphere.