Scott and Ree's Guide to New York City: Part 1, Restaurants

We are not experts (whatever that means) on New York, but plenty of people ask us all the time about what to do/see/eat while visiting the Big Apple. It's one of my favorite places in the world (right behind Paris, duh) & we go at least once a year,  so without further ado, here's Part One, Restaurants.

Our Short List:

Brasserie Les Halles

This French restaurant is owned by Anthony Bourdain and has traditional French cafe-type dishes. Surprisingly, its affordable too! We first went there for my 30th birthday last year and also visited last summer. It has a bustling, dark interior, wood paneling and white tablecloths. No reservations are needed, but might be useful if you are visiting on a weekend evening. There's two locations in New York, but we have only been to the Park Avenue South location.
I've ordered the steak frites and the steak au poivre and both were excellent. (Randomly, they have the best butter that I have ever tasted! Its cold, smooth and creamy, not too salty but has an amazing fresh taste. And I cannot figure out who their supplier for that butter is either, or I would buy some and ship it to Birmingham!)

Grimaldi's Brick Oven Pizza 

This Brooklyn classic is tucked under the Brooklyn Bridge and is a short subway ride away from Manhattan. In nice weather, and if you feel like some exercise, it is fun to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. You can get some great photos of Manhattan from the bridge!

Be prepared for a wait--we've never caught it when there isn't a wait. But the pizza and atmosphere are well worth it! While you sit and wait on your order at the checkered-tableclothed tables, you can watch the pizza chefs toss the dough, throw the toppings around and slide the pizzas in and out of the ovens. It's a noisy, crowded, fast-paced New York pizza joint, and so much fun!

Yummy!!

Great views from across the Brooklyn Bridge!

Worth the wait!

 Magnolia Bakery

This bakery's popularity exploded after being in a popular TV show, but it remains a nice little spot to grab a snack and explore a unique NY neighborhood. We usually go to the one in Greenwich Village, but have stopped at the Rockefeller shop too, out of cupcake desperation.

There's no seating at the Greenwich Village location, but in nice weather, we like to sit in the little park thats across the street and enjoy the neighborhood while enjoying our cupcakes. And cupcakes particularly are the draw here, my favorites are the ones with sprinkles!

In rainy or snowy weather, take your little cupcake box and head to Grand Central Terminal or to Rockefeller Center to people watch while cupcaking!

Serendipity 3

This restaurant is always crowded as well, as it's a popular tourist spot. The main thing here is their signature Frozzzzzen Hot Chocolate. It's like a chocolate milkshake/sundae thing, and its reeeeeally good. Its topped with plenty of whipped cream and served with a spoon and a straw. It's more than enough to share with a friend. However, they have a minimum charge per person that is required here. So if you only come for dessert, everyone has to order a dessert and a drink to spend enough. So, that's kind of a bummer, unless you go and also order regular meal. So we reccommend Serendipity with these reservations. 

Chocolaty goodness!

The restaurant is very cute, decorated in fanciful Art Deco style. Its a fun girls place for sure!

Fun Lunch Options in NYC:

Shenanigans in Central Park after lunch

Enjoying our lunch, just watch out for the squirrels!

• Find a deli or sandwich shop that's not a huge chain--grab a sandwich and head to Central Park. Find a shady bench and enjoy! Hands down the best way to eat lunch!

• Bryant Park- There's lots of options around the park to grab lunch and there's also a cafe. We haven't eaten at the park cafe, but I'm sure its worth trying out! This is personally my favorite spot in the city! Its a small park, but it seems to be where locals eat and enjoy good weather on their lunch breaks. In the warm months, they have an abundance of cafe tables and chairs set up on the lawn. In winter they convert the lawn to an ice rink and have little booths set up for shopping. Southwest Air sponsors a patio that sells drinks and appetizers and even provides Snuggies and patio heaters in cooler weather!

Even though it was rainy, Bryant Park was still a great lunch spot!

Fun Dinner Options in NYC:

• Little Italy: Yes, its a tourist trap, but decent Italian food can be found here. We don't have a particular favorite, so take a little time and look at menu boards and decide what fits your craving and budget. In the summertime, most restaurants have patio seating. After dinner, find a gelato stand and you can't go wrong!
• The Upper East Side: This posh residential area of Manhattan is sprinkled with restaurants of all price points. Do a little research and find something that sounds good! We've eaten at a couple of good places, so be adventurous and try something new!

Our General Advice:

• Try to eat local! Why would you spend all that money to go to the best city in the world and eat at a place you have at home?? 
• Your meals don't have to be expensive either--we are usually dragging a group of college students around, so we definately can eat on the cheaper side! And work deals like hotel breakfasts too. 
• I haven't done food carts or trucks, but that's a huge trend right now in bigger cities. Great for lunch and late night. Next trip I'm wanting to research that and see what I find!
• Avoid Times Square area like the plague...I try not to go there in general anyway, but its worth seeing the spectacle, especially at night, if you've never been. But don't eat there. Please. The restaurants will be sub-par and over-priced. 
• Remember that you are in arguably the food capital of the world--try a new type of cuisine! Do a little research ahead of time if you know you want a type of cuisine. Rachel was in the city at the same time I was last August, and she had researched Greek restaurants, so we met at one of them for lunch!

Bon appetit and happy travels!

Tales From The Field: Getting There Is Half The Fun! Right?

Well I finally got my pics uploaded to my computer, and had a little extra time at work, so here's a little installment of the stories from our trip!

Thursday July 27

We leave! The start of a long journey...one that takes us on 4 airplanes, one mini-bus, 5 cities, in *only* 40 hours.

Along the way, we napped on the river bank in Frankfurt, had coffee in the airport cafe in Zagreb, and saw the sparkling lights on the Adriatic coast.

Hanging out in Frankfurt for 8-10 hours...

Coffee in Frankfurt!

The Main ("mine") River

Frankfurt

Then came the harrowing mini-bus ride from Dubrovnik to Niksic. The drive was only supposed to take about 2 hours. It took almost 4. In the middle of the night. With drivers who *claim* they don't speak English. In a former Communist country with no cell phone signal.

By this time it is late Friday night, almost Saturday morning, local time. Although our bodies have NO idea what time they think it is!

We load up at the Dubrovnik airport, after finally figuring out we lost one suitcase along the way. We rumble through Dubrovnik and other picturesque sea-side towns, full of condos, houses and boats. Finally, we leave the coast-side and begin climbing up into the mountains. Have no idea what country we are in at this point. Of course, it's pitch-black out, since it's the middle of the night AND the middle of nowhere.

The driver speeds up and is whipping us around hair-pin curves on the side of mountains where there's a 1,000 foot cliff. Great. I close my eyes, trying to doze off while tuning out the Euro-pop dance beat. Not an easy task, in case you were wondering.

Then, the road ends. Yes, ENDS. As in, some ruts in the grass is what we drive along now. I think at this point, we all start getting a little nervous. We go along the grassy-rutted-"road" for a while, then it turns to gravelly rock. All the better for those van tires to slide around on! Meanwhile, the driver occupies himself by texting and looking at his Facebook account on his phone. Safety first, you know!

This went on for a while, although probably not as long as it felt. And I have to admit: I really thought for a while that we were getting kidnapped and/or trafficked. Seriously, don't laugh. It was the middle of NOWHERE and we have no idea who these guys are or where we are going. We knew the name of the town in Montenegro we were headed to, but it took us all week to learn to say it! (Niksic=neek seek) Plus I was majorly sleep deprived. My brain does not exactly think rationally in that condition.

FINALLY, we pop out onto a real road, come around the bend on the side of the mountain, and see city lights below us. The driver points and says "Niksic", and decides to step on it again. After a few more near-misses with other cars and guardrails, we start coming into Niksic.

Looking back, we only went through 2 border checkpoints...but travelled through 3 countries! (Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro) Hmmmm.... We are not sure what the deal was, because the "shortcut" took waaaayyy longer than the route we took back to Dubrovnik.

Something fishy was afoot, and I don't think we really want to know what! Thankfully, we all made it, the lost suitcase caught up to us, and Montenegro was better than we expected!

Missions Trip Coming Up...

We leave this Thursday for our first-ever foreign missions trip with "our" college /young adult group! We are so excited, maybe a little nervous, and definately dreading the long flights!

We leave Birmingham at 1200 PM on Thursday, and 4 airports, one bus ride, and about 36 hours later, we will arrive in Niksic, Montenegro...some time in the wee hours of Saturday morning. (Local time. It'll feel like about 6PM Saturday for us. Yikes.)

I have made endless lists of the stuff to pack, supplies, and made more trips to Wal-Mart than I usually make in a month this week! And, unfortunately, I think I have to go back tonight!

Please pray for us over the next 11 days or so! I am really worried that all our bags won't make it all the way through!

If we get internet access at all, we will try to post updates on Facebook and Twitter!

Happy Bastille Day!

Or La Fete Nationale!

Today is the remembrance and celebration of the storming of the Bastille in Paris during the French Revolution. You can read the Wiki article here.

To celebrate Bastille Day here on Le Blog De Ree, I've included a few of my photos from our trip to Paris in 2006. Enjoy!

Where the Bastille used to be. Now there's residential, shopping, restaurants, markets...

La Tour de Eiffel!

Looking up into the Arc de Triomphe with the French flag

Beach Time

We spent the July 4th weekend with 20 of our college students in Panama City Beach! It was plenty hot, but the breeze was nice off the ocean and the water was cool! Here's a few pics from our time there!

My view from my beach chair, under my umbrella. That is where you would've found me all weekend, napping and reading! I "color-sucked" the blue out and left everything else in black and white!

Even though they are not in college, the Long girls were home from Costa Rica so we took them along too! Love them!

The traditional girls' picture on the docks at Capt. Andersons!

Cub and Abby came too!

Silly...

Me and my sister!

Wordless Wednesday: Road Trip Pics!

The DC Metro=very cool in the stations, and very clean!

Me and Stucky in NYC

Me and Scottie at Grimaldi's

DC Metro map

Me and Rach in Bullet

Our sweet friend from last summer and last year's road trip, Lauren! She and a friend came down from CT for the day to NYC!

Me at Julia Child's kitchen in the Smithsonian. Highlight for me!!

Best Brooklyn pizza=Grimaldi's, under the bridge

Washington Monument at sunset

Famous quote at the Kennedy grave

Birmingham in the NY Times!

Yeah, I'm a little on the late side getting this linked and written about, but here ya go.

Birmingham was featured last month in the NY Times travel section for "36 Hours in Birmingham". They highlighted the best things to do, best places to eat, and a couple good places to stay.

My only disagreement in the food section would be the BBQ choice of Miss Myra's. Nothing against Miss Myra, I'm just a loyal Jim n' Nick's fan!

Me and Scott at Jim n' Nicks.

I also would have reccommended eating a full meal, not just breakfast, at Chez Lulu's.

Me and Scott in our favourite booth at Chez Lulu's!

Check out there article and slideshow of our great city! What changes would YOU make to their recommendations?

Travel Thursdays: Downtown Asheville Dining

Asheville is in Western North Carolina, right in the heart of the Carolina mountains. Scott and I visit at least twice a year, mainly because his grandparents live near Asheville, but also because we just love the area! We have been during all seasons, at Christmas time, Apple Festival, Thanksgiving and the ensuing shopping madness, gorgeous fall leaf season, summer....well, you get the idea.

There's no shortage of restaurants, cafes, coffee houses, and food shops in downtown! Here's our short-list of favorites!

*Bouchon, French bistro.

We discovered Bouchon on our last visit to Asheville, and I was so excited to find this wonderful, authentic French restaurant! French cuisine might scare some away, but give it a try! I had the Beef Burgundy and Scott had the Steak Frites. The Steak Frites was the best I have ever had! Their crepes are also very good and we tried the dessert crepes with strawberries! Located on Lexington Avenue, parking on the street. And, this restaurant is owned by a "real Frenchman"...a plus in my book! The atmosphere is great...sting lights, exposed brick walls, close tables...all give an authentic French cafe flair. The owner also can be seen walking around his restaurant, greeting visitors and his regulars. Tres bien!

Mmmm....dessert crepes!

*The Chocolate Fetish, gourmet chocolate shop

This is a must-do whenever we are in the area...even if we don't spend time downtown, we will drive in and go the the Fetish. They hand-craft European truffles and chocolates right there in their shop. If you look past the sparkling display cases you can catch a glimpse of marble-topped work tables in the back room. My favorite truffle they make is Velvet Sin. It is the absolute best thing you will ever put into your mouth. It tastes sinful and heavenly all at the same time! Others to try are Ancient Pleasures, dark chocolate infused with Cayenne pepper; Wine and Roses, red wine, chocolate with a candied rose petal on top; Dragon's Kiss, infused with a touch of wasabi with sesame seeds sprinkled on top; and Grand Mariner, with a hint of that famous liqueur.

*Salsas Mexican Caribbean, Latin restaurant

We stumbled upon this tiny restaurant for lunch one day while wandering around Asheville. This is not your typical Tex-Mex fare that you might be used to! The ingredients are fresh and colorful and the savory smell is wonderful! They are open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week and are located in Patton Avenue. They make unique salsas in-house; try the Mango and Roasted Pepper! I had the Fire Roasted Chicken Quesadella, the ancho on the side, and it was great! The portions are large too!

*Bistro 1896, American cuisine

We stopped here once for a Sunday brunch with the "kids" (our college group) and everyone loved the food! There was something on the menu for all tastes, from French toast to omelets to shrimp and grits. We had been on a retreat at the near-by Lake Lure area and stopped in downtown on the way back home. I don't remember what I had to eat, but I do remember everyone being happy with their meal! That's pretty good when there's 15 people dining together! The ambiance of the restaurant is laid-back, but not too casual and has an eclectic feel. The walls feature local artists who use the city as their inspiration.

They have a cool lounge area that we waited in before we were seated!

So what about you? Any places that you have discovered? Where do you like to eat when you travel to Asheville?

Chicken Noodle?

I have the best husband! Really, I do not deserve him!

Last Friday I was off work and and really had nothing planned for the weekend. Scott told me Thursday night to be home around 3 on Friday and have a small bag packed; we were going away for a short trip! Hooray! I love surprises like that! He would not tell me where we were going or where we were staying.

My clues were: 1) It takes about 2 hours to get there 2) We were driving 3) Pack a swim suit

Hmmmm....my first thought was Atlanta, but Scott really does not like Atlanta. And it takes more than 2 hours to drive to the beach.

We headed out on 459, but didn't get off on I-20, so I knew we were not headed to ATL. My next thought was Chattanooga! Of course!

We stayed at Stone Fort Inn in downtown Chattanooga. Jane Seymour stayed there once, and wrote a nice review. So that's mainly why he chose that inn. He knows me too well! (I met her once when I worked at Saks Corporate. She's very nice. And short.) The inn is a B&B type, but bigger, having about 12 rooms. Our room was very cute and included a fireplace (yay) and a hot tub on the balcony (double yay), thus the need for a swim suit.

Friday evening we finally decided on a place to eat dinner downtown. Easy Bistro is located downtown very close to the Tennessee Aquarium. The city has done an excellent job of revitalizing downtown Chattanooga, making it accessible and family-friendly. Scott and I were pleasantly surprised! Easy Bistro was really good, kind of a modern French fusion restaurant, locally owned and chef-operated. It had a great decor; very Art-Deco, all in black and white. Definitely my kind of place! Scott had his typical steak frites and I had a fabulous veal stew. The sauce was like velvet and the veal absolutely melted in my mouth! For dessert we shared a chocolate terrine. Yum.

Back at the inn we took advantage of the hot tub on the balcony! It was perfect! About 25 degrees outside and we could look up and see the stars twinkling above us!

Saturday morning we ate breakfast at the inn and checked out, then explore more of Chattanooga's downtown area. We found the art district, Bluff View, and walked around the area. Next we decided to see the obligatory Chattanooga Choo Choo. I had not been to the Choo Choo since I was about 4 years old. That's where the post title comes from: "Chicken Noodle" is what my 4-year-old mind processed "Chattanooga" to be. So my family has always called it "Chicken Noodle Choo Choo". If you know me and my family, you are not surprised. Even my sister asked me when we got back to Birmingham on Saturday evening, "How was Chicken Noodle?"

The Choo Choo, well, has seen better days. Let's just say we were by far the youngest people there. We walked by, look a picture, and left to explore Lookout Mountain. Lookout Mountain and the river valley below was the site of the Chickamauga battle in the Civil War. There's various war sites all around the area, Confederate cemeteries, etc. Today, Lookout Mountain has Rock City and Ruby Falls. All over the Tennessee Valley you will find barns and building painted the iconic red and black with "See Rock City" painted on the roofs. Let's just say Rock City seemed a lot cooler when we were 11 years old. We thought about going again, but really didn't want to spend the money to look at garden gnomes.

After exploring the top of Lookout Mountain, and finally deciding on a place to eat lunch, we headed back to B'ham. It was such a nice little get-away!