The *New* Standard - East Side

There's a very small amount of automated mail I actually enjoy seeing show up in my inbox, and new restaurant openings is one of them. This week, I found out there's a new Standard Hotel in the East Village and with that, a new restaurant.

The Standard Grille in the Meatpacking district somehow became a go-to restaurant for CT and I for celebrating. We've celebrated his birthday and our 4 year anniversary there.

I live on the east side, so I'm very excited to hear that a new restaurant from the same group as one of my favorites is opening up in my neighborhood. Narcissa, will be another farm-to-table restaurant sourcing responsibly to hit New York and pulling produce and dairy products from hotelier Andre Balazs's farm Locusts-on-Hudson. Funny enough, the name of the restaurants comes from the very cow supplying their dairy products, Narcissa. 

source

California raised chef, John Fraser’s will bring a stylistic approach to roasting, rotisserie and slow-cooking that is getting quite a lot of buzz for the restaurant. I've been on a huge fennel kick recently, so I'm excited to see fennel interspersed throughout the menu. Toasted fennel cheesecake should be interesting! 

Here's what I've got on our must-have list:

Appetizers

Otisserie-Crisped Beets Bulgur Salad, Apples, Creamed Horseradish 

Raw Tuna Cucumber-Basil Water, Salsify, Jalapeño Relish

Rotisserie-Grilled Sweet Potato Jerk Spices, Peppers, Tofu Aioli

Main

Whole Rotisserie Branzino Fennel, Arugula, Soft Herb Vinaigrette

Lacquered Duck Breast Gingered Butternut Squash, Cranberries\

Desert

Toasted Fennel Cheesecake

Inspiration Junky

CT and his sister came into town this weekend, and with the weather "feeling like 5 degrees," we went to a lot of delicious restaurants, and watched pretty much a full season of Breaking Bad. We went to The Smile in NoHo that I recently discovered and became obsessed with the quinoa banana muffin. Even though it's not in the cookbook, the chef's recipes made it into this week's 'What's What,' since the food at the restaurant is so good. We also spent a day walking around The Brooklyn Flea (see vintage boho rugs above) and Smorgasborg. As you might have guessed I love the Brooklyn Flea and will be sharing the vendors you shouldn't miss this week, but in the meantime, you should read about this probiotic hot sauce we found at Smorgasborg. How was your weekend?

1. Boho Rug - Brooklyn Flea / 2. Succlents - Adore Floral / 3. Chesterfield Sofa - Macy's / 4. Suzani Lamp - Furbish Studio / 5. Driftwood Candle Holder - Pure Home / 6. Hoop Shelf - Dot & Bo / 7. Handpainted Coffee Mugs / 8. Melia Marden's Cookbook / 9. Overnight Oats Recipe / 10. Sunny Bang Hot Sauce 

Hello From The US Open

I lucked into some last minute US Open tickets and ended up court-side just a few hundred feet up to watch Djokovic v. Wawrinka and Nadal v. Gasquet battle it out for the Men's Finals. This was my first open and hopefully won't be my last. I just think tennis is such a fun sport to watch at this level. It's fast moving, strategic and the players have heart. Twenty-one minutes into a set point, an exhausted Wawrinka paused for some crowd applause to boost his spirits. 

Looking to go to the open next year?

The seats in the 300 section aren't as bad as you expect nosebleeds to be. The height actually gives you a good perspective on the play. 

Farmer's Market / Union Square

I truly love the premise behind Farmer's Markets. I feel good supporting local farmers by buying their produce and admire the organic, no spray practice. On Saturday, I grabbed a coffee and wandered around the Union Square Greenmarket. The market is always full of energy happening every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 8AM-6PM on the north and west sides of the park. The sea of fresh produce, seafood, meat, jams, honeys, wines, and flowers is overwhelming but in a good way. It's the perfect atmosphere to inspire new seasonal recipes and concoctions for Decor-Eat. I picked up some fresh corn, tomatoes, golden beets and sunflower greens, and am excited to cook up new seasonal dishes.

Every time I go to the market something new seems to always catch my eye. This trip, it was the array of green chickpea pods and sunflower greens. Evidently, sunflower greens have nearly as much protein as chicken! 

Are you a Farmer's Market regular or fan? 

a new brunch favorite / boulton & watt

With there being a new and different restaurant pretty much every 10 steps you take in the city, I have to give Boulton & Watt credit for grabbing my attention when I walked by. The LES Gastropub's industrial design is cozy yet hip and exudes energy with the open air seating.

source



source

At the top of my list of brunch favorites is the sautéed spinach, house-made chorizo and pork sausage, with siracha hollandaise. This is seriously the best benedict I've ever had (beating our Jane's and Friend of a Farmer's crab cake benedicts).

The cauliflower souffle and mixed greens are another favorite.

The mimosas are made with fresh orange juice and only $5 which is a nice treat from the usual $14 price at other places.

I also loved the cheddar grits and CT was obsessed with his braised short rib benedict.

I went the other night for drinks and discovered a new affordable great wine - Alta Vista Classic Malbec. Malbecs are a great choice of red wine when you're out if you want an affordable red with big taste. I loved this wine because it was jammy and juicy at first with a tannic finish.

new hair of the dog / sample sale sundays

Nowadays my sunday fundays have a bit of a different meaning than they did in college...mimosas + crab cakes benedict, and in this case...shopping.

So far, I have been able to avoid sample sales since I've been in New York convincing myself that the hassle was not worth the charge. But this weekend after a stronger than usual mimosa, my friend and I got suckered into a Yumi Kim and Pinky Otto sample sale on our trek from LES to Nolita to Soho in search of a sunny outdoor patio.

Disclosure: I am a sucker for Pinky Otto & a deal. The East Village store's window display boasted a buy 2 get 1 free promotion a few months ago catching my eye while waiting for a table at Mud (awesome brunch and coffee). Hook, line and sinker. Two new dresses, a sweater and a necklace later and I vouched to avoid the store (at least until another pay check).

Enter sample sale:

I blame the heavy pour of mimosa at brunch for this indiscretion...

From everyone's reaction to the group dressing room, it occurred to me that a lot of people were also trying a sample sale for the first time. So, I wanted to share some tips I picked up for other newbie sample sale goers. 

I picked up a three quarter length sleeved, Yumi Kim dress, and a Pinky Otto maxi dress that were originally $300 more than what I got them for. Success!

yumi kim

pinky otto

Re: Tip #6 - My friend and I have decided we are not allowed to shop together anymore. We didn't take this advice and both ended up with a new dress from Pinky Otto. (But how cute are they?!) I am really loving three quarter length sleeves on dresses for this time for the year.

And animal prints, how cute are these foxes and red key hole belt!

Have you checked out a sample sale? Any tricks of the trade to add?

LES Brunch Spot - New York

Macondo - This latino eatery is quickly becoming my favorite spot for Sunday brunch on the lower east side. I've now tried out a variety of things on the brunch menu now and have quickly found my favorites. I highly recommend the polenta con chorizo, huevos rancheros and the patatas bravos side if you like spicy, and the blueberry pancakes for something savory and sweet.

This is also a great place for a group. They have a deal where the table can get all-you-can-drink-mimosas for 2 hrs for $11, and you get to choose from three flavors - elberberry, orange-vanilla and blueberry mint. Keep in mind that your two hours start for the whole table when the first person sits down at the table, so they normally suggest you wait until your whole party is there.

Enjoy