List-a-holic
. I love to do lists. I REALLY love to do lists.. It’s a sickness. iphone notes, mac sticky notes, notebooks, emails to myself they’re everywhere.
. So now I’m going to (attempt) to work on getting through these lists…
1 or 8
So when I first walked in to 1 or 8 all I saw was this —
…and I was very confused. However, we were led to our seats in a beautiful and spacious room behind the tiny front bar that looked like this —
And from here everything was fabulous.
We started with a bottle of the unfiltered Kamoizumi sake and some edamame - always the perfect start for a sushi meal. For my main course I chose the yellowtail mango roll (yellowtail, mango, jalapeño with cilantro sauce ) and the vege-ten roll (tempura of asparagus, sweet potato, zucchini, red pepper and eggplant, with a tempura sauce which came with a tempura JALAPENO!!!). My favorite part of the restaurant was that nearly all of the special 1 or 8 rolls came with their own special dipping sauces. Bring on the condiments and I’m a happy camper.
So although this definitely isn’t a cheap sushi spot, it’s definitely worth the money for the unique rolls and beautiful dining space. Take a look at their beautiful sushi plate below and make sure to check this place out!
1 or 8
66 S 2nd St
(between Wythe Ave & Kent Ave)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
I’ve always wanted to try Osteria Il Paiolo but being constantly broke I always thought it looked a bit pricey. However, on a bright and sunny Sunday morning I knew it was time to “treat myself.”
The restaurant was very empty which turned me off a bit at first but I don’t know why because the place ended up being pretty fantastic. I got a bloody mary which was perfectly mixed and had flavored (garlic?) salt around the rim. It was dee-lightful.
(photo source and a Bloody Mary review: HERE)
They also brought out bread and olive oil instantaneously after we ordered so a definite A+ for service there.
I ordered the baked eggs - one of them was slightly overcooked (pet peeve - it needs the runny yokes!) but overall it was delicious - the mushrooms they used in there were incredible. And the POTATOES! They were perfect. Anyone that knows me knows breakfast potatoes are in my top foods and these were up there in the favorites. These were little square breakfast potatoes and they were crispy but not too fried. They were perfection - I mean they weren’t hashbrowns but as a substitute they were perfect.
Overall I’d say this was a phenomenal brunch with great service and I can’t wait to return for dinner (pizza with burrata and veggies caught my eye!). Go there now, it’s worth the money and the brunch is surprisingly not too $$!
Osteria Il Paiolo
106 N. 6th
Brooklyn, NY
I am in pure shock that I have not yet written a post on Brooklyn Star.
It’s directly across the street from me. As in, I can see it from my living room window.
I’ve gone through a few phases of Brooklyn Star.
1) Pimm’s cups - their Pimm’s Cups are DEE-LIGHTFUL. This was phase one - I would go in and request this same drink each and every time.
2) Wine and chocolate bread pudding.
I’m gonna be real, my reaction to wine is typically “the cheapest red one you got” so my review is based on that. But to have a relaxing environment with a nice $7 glass of (I believe the Rioja) red wine is a great experience anywhere. There was also a period of time where my roommate was addicted to the chocolate bread pudding and I was happy to tagalong and help her eat it. Let me tell you it will change your life. SO GOOD. Make that happen.
3) “Brunch” and John Daly’s. I put brunch in quotations as I have not actually had a full brunch there. As you can tell by my review my review is mainly based on the drinks of this establishment and that is because I’m a vegetarian and can’t enjoy what I’m told is some great food. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a few things and they were delicious. But I don’t think I can give a full review. However, i can tell you their biscuits and donuts are HEAVENLY and a basket of each is $4 at brunch so this is a MUST. Another must is the John Daly’s -alcoholic Arnold Palmer’s. You can’t taste the alcohol so they’re quite dangerous but PERFECT for Sunday Fun day.
Overall I <3 the BK Star. However I do have a few issues.
1) I miss the Irish bartender. He had a fun accent.
2) WHY DON’T THEY LET YOU ORDER SIDES SEPARATELY? Because I don’t eat meat I often stare at the menu and drool over the words “hush puppies” so WHY CAN’T I ORDER THEM?
But aside from my small problems this place is great and I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area. Friendly service, great drinks and gluttonous food, what more could you want?
Brooklyn Star
593 Lorimer St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
www.thebrooklynstar.com
I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve walked past Pinkerton and thought ‘I should go there soon.’ How can you not check out a bar named after a Weezer album?
After coming back from Spain all I’ve wanted lately was wine and Pinkerton was the perfect place to give me my fix. I went on a Saturday night around 9pm and the bar was about half full - every seat was filled by the time we left a few hours later - but it never got obnoxiously crowded.
The bar itself was super cute inside except for this painting which freaked me out…
There was a nice selection of wines and beers, and they also had cheese and olives which I still need to try. I was also very impressed with the waitstaff who knew exactly when to come over and check in on us - not pushy to get us out and not unattentive - something that I find to be rare in New York.
Overall, I would highly recommend Pinkerton as a great place to go have a glass of wine with a friend. It’s a bar you can actually speak and hear each other at too (rarity in Williamsburg!) So do yourself a favor and make it over there for a nice relaxing night.
Pinkerton
263 N 6th St
(between Roebling St & Havemeyer St)
So last night after hitting up the Central Park Summerstage for the ADORABLE Ben L’oncle my friend and I ventured downtown to find pizza. I knew what I wanted.
Originally, the plan was to hit up one of my personal faves, Lil Frankies, however we passed Pulino’s and I realized it was one of those places I’ve been meaning to try - and as this blog is hopefully showing you - I LIKE TO TRY NEW THINGS.
So Pulino’s it was.
We walked in and were first told it would be a 15 minute wait - hey it’s NYC so NBD - however it was 9p and I was ready to gnaw off my arm. THANKFULLY they found a table outside and sat us there - it was rather odd though as I felt like I was literally sitting at a randomly placed table in the middle of the sidewalk on Bowery. However, the people watching was fabulous.
A few things about the restaurant itself - the bathrooms were funny in that there was a men’s and a women’s door which both led you to the same place; this made me chuckle because I’m a nerd. The interior of the restaurant reminded me of a vintage French bistro* - trendy without being obnoxious - I’m a fan.
(*I’m an expert on France as I’ve been to Paris for a whole four days.)
The restaurant is from Keith McNally - the man behind Tribeca’s ODeon, Cafe Luxembourg, Lucky Strike and Nell’s (not gonna lie thank you to the NY Times for this info. - need to try these places…).
And now we get to THE FOOD.
SO to begin the ‘this is why I’m a fat kid’ my friend and I ordered two pizzas and demanded bread. Also - please note - the restaurant gives bread and olive oil ‘by request only’ - SO REQUEST IT! We also ordered the burrata pizza and the pesto pizza. Both were amazing! I had never had burrata cheese before - it’s a mozzarella with creamy awesomeness inside. Mozarella will never taste the same. They also put red pepper and chili oil on the table to add to the pizzas and as I LOVE spicy food these things are the key to my heart. 
Overall, I really enjoyed Pulino’s and would love to return there again. It may not have stolen the special place in my heart for the homey feel of Lil Frankies but I will certainly be returning to gorge myself on burrata with a caraf of wine soon.
282 Bowery , New York, NY 10012
So a friend of mine told me about this magical place called Barcelona Bar - the “shot bar” as she called it.
That alone solidified the fact I needed to go to this magical place.
I googled the bar and discovered they had a ”Harry Potter” shot. How is this made?
Well LET ME TELL YOU. The bartender making said shot has to put on a scarf and glasses - a la Harry Potter - and use a wand to light the shot on fire while reciting a spell. I needed this in my life - I’m not even a Harry Potter fan and I knew I needed this.
So we get to the bar and open the shot menu. The menu consisted of liquors (vodka/rum/whiskey/tequila) and under each liquor were shot names - no ingredients - just names. Names such as “Golden Girls” or “Fraggle Rock.”
If the shot had music notes next to it this meant music was played as your shot was presented and flames next to the names meant flaming shots. So of course one of my friends got “Fraggle Rock” and we re-visited our youth with the theme music for a moment as her shot was presented to her.
OK so I know - this is all gimmicky. BUT I LOVE GIMMICKS. I LOVE CHEESE.
So Barcelona Bar has a special place in my heart.
923 Eighth Ave., New York, NY 10019
So the first time I went to The Drink I was quite the happy girl to learn they had hot apple cider with your choice of whiskey or rum for FIVE DOLLARS. I felt that this was a steal and I immediately fell in love.
The bar had a nautical theme and a very cozy feel. I didn’t feel I was surrounded by people trying too hard but rather it felt pretty relaxed. However, by night’s end the place was PACKED.
I’ve gone back a few times since and the prices of the drinks still astounded me (I swear I could get 4 drinks of anything for $20). Each night they have a few featured punches for $5 a glass as well as the option of a large variety of punch bowls for $43 which (it says) give you nearly 10 cups per bowl. Now while a punch bowl may bring back college memories of jungle juice and roofies, the punch bowls here are far from that. These are carefully crafted punched straight from the brilliant mixologist behind Dram so you know they won’t disappoint.
So who wants to go back with me and try a punch bowl?
PLUS! I just went on their Yelp page and it says they began doing brunch on April 16th:
“Brunch starts Saturday 4/16. $9 bagels w/ house smoked salmon & ricotta from Salvatore Bklyn. 5 kinds of $9 Bloody Mary’s. $16 Bloody and Bagel.”
This place rules. Get on it kids.
So I know I blew many minds when I posted about Reunion, the Midtown bar that doesn’t completely suck. Now let me amaze you again and tell you about a cute little escape from the madness of midtown - Aspen Social Club (157 w. 47th).
How cute is this?
I went there a few months back and despite the fact they were out of the ingredients for the alcoholic hot chocolate drink I wanted I really enjoyed the overall ambiance of the place. Very relaxed and calm - it was truly hard to believe you were in midtown.
I got fondue and a portobello gruyere sandwich. It wasn’t any culinary masterpiece but it was certainly delicious - particularly the fondue which comes with pretzels and vegetables to dip.
Overall assessment? Great oasis from the craziness of NYC - and I hope to go back there on a cold day when they have their hot alcoholic drinks.
So I’m about to blow a lot of minds here as I tell you about A MIDTOWN BAR THAT DOESN’T SUCK - Reunion Bar (357 W 44th St)
reunionbar.com
The bar has a tikki theme and features decor of surfboards and bathing suits hanging from clotheslines throughout the space. When you first enter from the street you go down a staircase and feel like you’re being led into a dingy basement but then you walk into this magnificent place shown above.
The best part for me was the apple cider/spiced rum drinks for $6 (sadly I see this as cheap - it IS midtown). They also have happy hour specials on beer and $2 off food among other things. PLUS they apparently have their own variation on s’mores (toasted marshmallows with a mini chocolate baguette) which I have yet to try but I’m sure it’s magical. How could it not be?!
Moral of the story is this place is great and it wasn’t even too crowded when I went so I advise you to go, but also keep this secret. Don’t ruin this magical place for me yet.
So for my very belated birthday dinner a few of my friends chose to take me to Rye (247 S. 1st Street, Brooklyn). I’m guessing this was mostly because they had a coupon but I’ll take what I can get.
I had been dying to go there but was nervous about their limited vegetarian menu…thankfully this did not at all prove a problem.
We started out with a carafe of old fashioned’s - the best way to start any night.
Next, we went with the cheese plate (DELICIOUS) and I followed this with the amazing wild mushroom lasagna and we split some white bean brussel sprout gratin, cauliflower gratin and swiss chard. Let fat kids be fat kids. It was awesome. It may be pricey but I liked the general laid back atmosphere of the place and the food was delicious.
Definitely a spot I would recommend.
Here’s the menu for your viewing pleasure.
