The Vanderbilt

January 30, 2012
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Brussels Sprouts

I’ve been super busy these days rehearsing for two different shows, but I’ve still had some time to eat out. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time to write about all of them.  I’m going to try to remedy that and work my way backwards, starting with the amazing meal I ate last night at The Vanderbilt. Now I’ve eaten brunch at The Vanderbilt many times and have sung it’s praises — $20 prefix that includes beignets and a bloody mary, yes please!!!  But I haven’t truly eaten a dinner there until yesterday – not sure what I was waiting for and pretty sure I’ll be back really soon. We, of course, ordered the brussels sprouts and they were my favorite thing.  I could eat these everyday. We also ate at the kitchen bar, so I got to see how they made these – though I won’t be doing this at home.  They were cooked in the deep fryer, yes my friends, the deep fryer!  This might explain the lovely crunchy, but not charred leaves.  I’m sure you can accomplish a slightly healthier version in your cast iron skillet at home, but these little beauties are such a treat!  Did...

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Beautiful and Tasty Falafel

December 2, 2011
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Spicy Falafel in Homemade Pita

Recently, I was hungry…not much of a surprise there I was near this new tiny falafel shop with a name I can’t quite pronounce, Kulushkät.  Apparently that means, “shut up and eat!”  Love it – very good advice. Anyway, I’ve been wanting to try it — I love falafel and this pretty but unassuming storefront caught my eye. We went in and looked at the menu board – not one, but 4 types of falafel: classic, spicy, mushroom and chicken.  I love spicy, so there was no question what I was trying first.  Of course, now I’m totally going back to try the three other flavors. Mushroom will be next! It was super delicious and beautiful! Oh and did I mention the homemade pita???? I’ve been to so many places where only one component was great — either they had great homemade pita, but the falafel was so so or the falafel was great with bagged pita.  Here it’s the best of both worlds! So if you are anywhere near 5th Ave in brooklyn today, stop in for lunch, dinner or a mid afternoon snack.  You won’t be disappointed. Added bonus – it’s a family run business and everyone...

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Diner

November 19, 2011
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The Omelet

Amazingly it’s still as good as it was 10 years ago! I had an early morning (and by early I mean 10:30 – but that’s early on a weekend!) audition in Williamsburg today. We went to the smorgasburg after, but weren’t feeling the savory there — we got some coffee and sugar (donut and a ridiculously good s’mores). But we still wanted some eggs and Bloody Marys — we wandered around a bit, then decided on Diner.  Neither me nor the husband had been in years.  We realized we had never been there together, so clearly it had been over 9 years for both of us.  It’s no longer silver, but wood paneled on the outside. Most importantly though — the food is still good! And the bloody mary is awesome!  You can get a small or a large — the large comes in a pint glass and I highly recommend it.  It comes with a lovely, crunchy salted rim and there are fresh herbs in it.  I’m talking sprigs of thyme and pieces of rosemary – Deliciousness! Now let’s talk about the eggs, shall we?  I hate overcooked eggs, well done omelets suck in my universe.  I know some...

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Gjelina

November 8, 2011
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Gjelina

So I was looking through my photos and I realized I hadn’t posted on my favorite restaurant in LA. I actually had two favs, but this one wins because of location and their awesome outdoor patio. Gjelina is located on Abbot Kinney Blvd in beautiful Venice Beach.  I feel in love with Venice Beach while I was there and decided I’d like to live there every year from January through March!  So if anyone knows of a sublet or would like to experience the winter in Brooklyn, I’d gladly apartment swap… Everything we ordered was delicious — so delicious that I had to go back to their takeout side for breakfast the next day (Egg sandwich – highly recommended)! The menu is suited well for sharing, which is exactly what we did.  Obviously some of these items will be different now that we are in a new season.  I have no doubt that anything they put on their menu is going to be a treat. So order whatever floats your boat — just don’t miss it when you’re in LA. Here are some of the delectable items we ate and drank.   This is simply an iced green tea,...

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Apple Butter

October 21, 2011
By
Golden Delicious

As I mentioned, my husband and I (and our dog who loves apples) picked an entire bushel of apples this weekend. We started out with our usual 1/2 bushel bag.  It filled up quickly and we were having so much fun, he suggested we do it a second time.  We brought our bag back, put it the apple holding area and purchased another 1/2 bushel bag. I used all the apples up last year pretty quickly, so we were confident, I could do it again this year, with twice as much! We go to Wilklow Orchards by the way. We love it there – they are so nice and friendly, the apples are great and you can bring your dog into the orchards!  I mean dogs can’t climb trees and they do enjoy the outdoors, so why not let them in?  (And my dog was way less harmful to the trees than many children I saw that day…) Oh and it’s open during the week for pick your own as well! First on my agenda was my apple butter.  I loved apple butter as a kid and over the past few years I’ve combined many recipes to end up...

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