WELCOME TO NARROWSBURG

Because Meena has such a kind boss in Larissa, we piled in a green Ford Escort with James and Diana to see what Narrowsburg, NY is all about. I'd long heard great things via Meena, but to be honest, this place could have been on the moon. I had no clue what to expect.

After battling tons of rain and a momentary wrong turn, we finally made it to downtown Narrowsburg around 8:30 Friday night. It looked like the town closed at 9:00, so we stopped off ASAP at the Main Street Cafe (recommended by Laris).

The place was quaint. Downright beautiful when we got to the back porch and saw the moonlight reflecting off the Delaware River. And the food wasn't so bad either.

Meena started with:
- seared scallops with fresh melon

James had:
- garden salad (dressing on the side!)

And for dinner, Diana had:
- halibut roasted in corn husks served with assorted vegetables

Meena had:
- spaghetti and meatballs

James had:
- a nice fat rib eye

Alec had:
- lamb stew

Obviously, I forgot to take photos. Sorry. I had a camera, it was just in the car. And it just felt so good to sit that I didn't want to get up. I did put a photo of Main Street Narrowsburg up there though.

The food was nice. I think everyone enjoyed theirs. I feel like I need to justify the lamb stew in August - it was colder than normal and it just felt right. And it was delicious, so I commend myself on such a nice choice.

Now on with beautiful houses, rivers, food and wine!

LOS JANKEES!

Last night I went to the Yankee's game with James, Matt and Mark for some baseball, bros, brews and lots of Bronx goodness. Although I've been in the city for a fairly substantial amount of time at this point, I'd just never been up there. To the Bronx or the Yankees, actually. So I was really looking forward to it for a variety of reasons.

The game got started with a Tiger's grand slam in the first inning, so I have to be honest, the competition wasn't ever very strong last night.

On the food front, I kept it pretty simple. I'd heard concessions were out of control and the rumors were definitely true. One of the most expensive food scenes I'd ever witnessed in professional sports. Anyway, like I said, I kept it pretty low impact:
- bud light
- peanuts

Oddly, they were some of the worst peanuts I'd ever had. They were unsalted and burnt. How strange? The beer was delicious, though. Mostly because it was beer and I was at the Yankee's game.

It was a blast, though. I was with good people and the game was a lot of fun. Our seats weren't the best, but you could see everything. I'm sure they could have been much worse.

When I got home, I discovered Meena and D sipping wine and hanging out in the garden! Meena bought tiki torches and they seemed to have provided the necessary nudge it was going to take for her to experience our outdoor space. It was very nice. And after D took off, I snacked on a little of the bread cheese they'd left in the fridge.

Excellent night, no doubt.

CAMPING IN BROOKLYN

Last night we took off for Park slope to meet Steveo, Dan and his sister Stacy who was in town with her husband Mark. They'd just arrived from LA, so Dan thought it best for us all to head down to Brooklyn Fish Camp for some lobster rolls and other assorted seafoods.

Our party of six (which is apparently offensive to their host, FYI ... beware), settled down next to the bar and got rolling with the following:

Dan, Stacy and Meena had:
- LOBSTER ROLL!

Steve had:
- bbq salmon fillet with creamy polenta

Mark had:
- pan fried halibut with a panko crust

Alec had:
- grilled mahi mahi with grapefruit and mint

The crew with the lobster rolls loved every bite. I'm not sure a single solitary shoestring potato was left when the dust had settled.

I believe Mark and Steve liked theirs. I know Steve was a huge fan of his creamy polenta.

Mine was just OK. The fish was delicious. No problems there. It was the overbearing grapefruit/mint/red onion salad that came with. Just a little too much. Good but not great.

After dinner we wandered down to the Black Sheep Pub where we had trouble spending $10 on drinks. Partially because I had a couple PBRs. Partially because Meena's glass of wine was something in the range of two bucks!

NOW IT'S A HOME

Although we've been here for a couple weeks now and all the paint and furnishings have made the place an increasingly delightful place to hang, I knew it wasn't truly going to be our home until some pizzettas were gently sizzling on the stove.

If that's true, last night was our first official night in the apartment. And it was quite lovely.

We both got home a little late, but with some leftovers and a quick stop at the ugly grocery on Smith, I was ready to assemble by the time Meena walked in the door.

Option 1: Fresco
- tomato
- marinara
- basil
- red onion
- fresh mozzarella
- anchovy
- black pepper
- flour tortilla

Option 2: The Garden
- artichoke hearts
- broccoli (from last night's side dish!)
- goat cheese
- red onion
- marinara
- red pepper flakes
- flour tortilla
- salt
- black pepper

Option 3: Stinky Brooklyn
- 1 year aged cheddar
- domestic prosciutto
- marinara
- basil
- red onion
- black pepper

Option 4: Napoletana
- anchovy
- fresh mozzarella
- basil
- red pepper flakes

Why is it that restaurants are always calling things "fresco" when they add a little tomato? Throw some raw tomato on pasta and it's always pasta fresco. It's very cliche. And that's why I had to go there, too.

So the big loser of the night was the "garden" version. I thought it was OK (goat cheese makes everything better I'm learning). Meena wasn't a huge fan.

My favorite was the "stinky brooklyn" and Meena put it and the "fresco" at a tie.

We've also decided that Smith and Vine is far and away the best wine shop out here. Others try to compete ... but it's the people's champ.

CHIX 2NIGHT

I'm beginning to like the culinary setup out here in Cobble Hill. While we don't have the convenience of the Whole Foods across the street, we do have a delicious grocery on Court Street and as Meena discovered last night ... a butcher.

I wasn't able to make it home in time, so Meena ran by Staubitz to pick up some chicken. I realize there are more stops, but man ... it's just fun this way.

Meena also ran by Stinky Brooklyn to lock down a couple nice pieces of cheese and some olives as well. She doesn't even like olives. So yeah, it's true. She loves me. And our little starter went like this:
- 1 year aged cheddar
- 4 month aged mahon
- mixed olives
- baguette

And for dinner, we had a little stuffed chicken breast:
- chicken breast (butterflied)
- prosciutto
- basil
- red onion
- goat cheese
- olive oil

I also threw a little broccoli on the side:
- broccoli
- black sesame seeds
- red pepper flakes
- olive oil
- soy sauce

It was a lot of simple food, but everything came out really, really delicious. The broccoli was a little spicy and salty. The chicken was juicy and just creamy enough. The small amount of goat cheese really went a long way.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it feels to be cooking again. I love eating out. And this seems to be an especially good neighborhood to do so, but I need to cook, man. I need to be chopping, slicing and heating. It just makes me feel like a normal person. I didn't realize how much I needed to cook until we started this little two week dining out stint. I just felt gross and off. So when we got the kitchen properly prepared for creation last night, I was a very happy man.

It was mostly stuffy yesterday so I didn't want to get the kitchen all hot and bothered. And because it was the first cooking attempt in the new place, I figured I'd just ease into it. No heat or elaborate methods (like I even know how to do anything elaborate, sheesh). Just a little slicing and some quick assembly.

I want to say this also - we found a grocery that's acceptable. It's pretty much a small version of Gracefully. Only a little nicer and slightly more dedicated to quality. Or so it seems. Anyway, the place is called Pacific Green and they have all the wonderful organic stuff we need to keep this kitchen running the way it should.

So last night we opened the new kitchen with the very cliche caprese:
- tomato
- fresh mozzarella
- basil
- salt
- black pepper
- olive oil

After the salad, we did a duo of open faced sandwiches. One featured:
- baguette
- goat cheese
- anchovy
- basil
- red onion
- tomato

And the second was:
- baguette
- stone ground mustard
- red onion
- prosciutto
- black pepper

Our first meal in the new kitchen wasn't adventurous or elaborate, but it was quite delicious. I actually didn't expect it to be as good as it was. I'm not sure if it was due to it being the first meal or just that it was actually good, but these little open faced wonders really hit the spot.

The caprese was OK. Nothing special. The tomato wasn't that great. Everything else was solid. But everyone knows a tomato makes a caprese.

All in all, not a bad start. Much more to come, friends. I feel this kitchen is going to be very good to us.

FISHING FOR BEERZ

Saturday was done in two parts this weekend. Part 1 = Meena and Alec sitting around being lazy until 1:00. Part 2 = Meena, Dan and Alec painting the apartment and then going to Trout for beers and burgers with Steve.

Both parts were nice, but let me tell you a little more about the second one (far more interesting).

We painted. And then the apartment looked better. I can't really elaborate more because it was really just painting. But I will say, Dan has helped paint every apartment we've had. And for that we are forever grateful.

Now on to the food! I didn't take any photos (sorry for all this stolen stuff). But to keep it extra interesting, I even found a drawing of the venue (by someone named minicloud or something). So I'm trying to keep it interesting.

Meena and I split:
- hand cut fries
- hamburger

Dan had:
- cheeseburger

Steve had:
- veggie burger

Now, the photos I have up there are of the pulled pork sandwich. I'm definitely going to get that next time because my burger was pretty sub-par. Steve's veggie burger actually looked way better.

The best part of Trout was the Sierra Nevada though. In big frothy pitchers. After painting and moving furniture, there's nothing better than sitting outside and having a few beers and grilled meats. So yeah … I have significant amounts of love for Trout.

COLD PIZZA

For some reason, Friday night got really, really cold. After days and days of oppressive heat, New York decides a Fall-like evening is in order.

Very strange. But we saw it as the perfect opportunity to grab some wine and head to Lucali with Dan and Steve.

After a brief wait, we got right to it and ordered two pizzas:
- pizza one: garlic and basil
- pizza two: green pepper and onion

I think we all had different favorites, but mine was probably the green pepper and onion. The crust was amazing on both, of course.

Once we'd put back a sufficient amount of pizza, I talked Dan and Steve into having a Molson XXX with us. It's like a novelty beer. And not that good. But it's funny and Dan is a beer snob so it made it even funnier.

TRENDY

A definite trend is starting to develop. In my mind, anyway. I really, really enjoy a bottle of wine and a shawarma platter from Zaytoons. It's not fine dining or any sort of mind boggling culinary creation - it's just simple and well done. And rich. And spicy. And plentiful. And delicious.

Meena had the regular shawarma the last time we went, but opted for a slightly different take this time around:
- chicken shawarma (slices of marinated chicken from the rotisserie, salad and hummus)

Like I said, I'm a fan of the standard shawarma. I've only been here twice, but I'm pretty sure this is going to be the regular:

- shawarma platter (slices of marinated beef and lamb from the rotisserie with salad and babaghanouj

Other than the annoying couple next to us, everything was perfect (they didn't get their menus fast enough or something ... jerks). I'm seriously dreaming about the next time we get to go already.

LIL' FRANKIES: THE BROOKLYN EDITION?

I'm not sure if this is our local Lil' Frankies replacement ... actually, I am. It is. It's our replacement. Lucali is this little pizza spot on Henry and Carroll or something. I'm sure every Brooklyn-ite is way up on this spot already, but I'm still new so let me have my fun!

Anyway, it's a tiny little place with nothing more than some tables and that oven in the back of the room. That's it. You watch the dudes throw it all together and fire that crust to perfection. There is no menu. There is no wine list (it's BYOB!). It's just pizza and you pick the toppings. Does it get any better?

Our first Lucali pie featured (you start with a margherita ... sorta. You start with cheese, really):
- pepperoni
- garlic
- basil

It was delicious. We had a nice bottle of wine. TONS of pizza (it's about 8 slices in total). And walked home in the extreme humidity feeling amazing.

SO GOOD. SO CLOSE.

Bocca Lupo is literally around the corner from our new place. We'd seen it a few times when we were first exploring the hood. Even saw Sanjay from "Weeds" there once. Or Jack's assistant from "30 Rock." Take your pick. But it looked great and we finally got a chance to stop in Tuesday night for a bit of the food we'd also seen written up in New York Mag's "Cheap Eats" issue.

We would have started with the storied veal and porcini meatballs (our waitress screwed it up and brought us an extra panini instead. I didn't get to sample them because we didn't want to throw a fit our first time there.), but here's what we actually did have:
- 1 sausage bruschetta
- 1 chicken liver bruschetta
- 1 gorgonzola bruschetta

The bruschetta is served by the slice. It's great. You can get all sorts of different ones and they're only $2.50/per. Totally amazing. I think I liked the gorgonzola with roma tomato the best.

We were just going to have the prosciutto panini and split it (they cut into quarters and you can share it easily), but like I said, we got a sausage and broccoli rabe one in place of our meatballs. Oddly, the sausage panini was actually better than the one we ordered. So I couldn't be too terribly disappointed.

At any rate, I'll be back to this place a million times. Mark my words ... it's cheap and it's completely delicious. I'd suggest it to anyone. Anytime.

SOME OF US

It was time again for the Us Weekly national sales meeting again and unlike last year, I was actually invited to the dinner portion of the festivities.

Our location for the evening was The Fig & Olive outpost that opened up downtown in the meatpacking district. I'm told the upper east location is consistently delicious. And if I'm being honest, this one was, too. I typically hate all things meatpacking, but this one was solid from start to finish.

I got started a little late with:
- sardine, tomato, charmoula crostini

Then sampled an OK appetizer that nobody else seemed to like:
- beef carpaccio (marinated raw beef, balsamic vinegar, baby arugula, parmesan-truffle oil)

I kept going with the following main:
- fig & olive mediterranean tasting (grilled chicken with thyme, artichoke, tapenade, mushrooms, arugula parmesan and lemon infused olive oil) (grilled lamb with rosemary, bell peppers, greek yogurt & honey, couscous with figs and karoneiki olive oil) (grilled shrimp with organo, tomato – saffron picual olive oil)

And I finished up with:
- a mix of fresh berries with vanilla ice cream and aged balsamic vinegar

Very nice. And I ended up a little drunk. They made sure the wine was constantly flowing.

All in all, a very nice (very free) dinner.

THE NEW CUBE

We finally hit the Brooklyn Cube 63 the other night and the results were delicious. I know this one isn't BYOB, but that's fine. I'll look the other way because the food is fantastic and beer is still pretty cheap there. And the garden (while we haven't been out there yet) looks fantastic.

This one also has some nice combos. They're not listed on the online menu, but Meena and I both went for them and they were perfect after working on apartment stuff all night.

Meena had:
- shrimp tempura roll
- spicy tuna roll
- california roll

Alec had:
- alaska roll
- california roll
- tuna and avocado roll

And we both had one of their delicious bowls of miso.

Thank goodness this little part of the LES came with us to BK.

DOUBLE DIP

Saturday night was a big party at Nico's house in the East Village. We keep laughing because for some reason, we just keep finding ourselves in Manhattan. Next week ... only Brooklyn. We're not leaving for anything.

But this particular Saturday was a party for Nico's mom and brother because they were kind enough to come up from Cincinnati to check out the city.

We didn't eat before hand because we knew he'd have treats. He always does. And treats he had. Odd, perplexing, strange, delicious treats.

Our spread included:
- skyline chili dip (flown in by mama sizemore for this very occasion)
- buffalo wing dip
- cucumber dillys

I mean, it was about as bad for you as anything I've ever seen. But it was so strange and beautiful that both Meena and I consumed a fair amount of all three concoctions. The wing dip was just a big pan of stuff ... but every bite was like eating a classic buffalo wing. SO strange. So oddly delicious.

They skyline was a party favorite. Meena hadn't ever really sampled it. But I had ... and it was just as good in NYC as it is in Cincy.

I'm trying to track down pictures of the food ... until then we just have this shot of the whole crew at the bar later.

GIMME DA LIGHT

Friday night I didn't really eat. Not real food. I had a photoshoot for the job and just ate what Sean Paul didn't. And the catering wasn't all that hot, so I really didn't eat anything. Just a piece of chicken as I was walking to meet everyone at DBA.

I would post a pic from the set, but I don't think I'm allowed. So you get the RS logo. Sorry!

DBA was great though ... a handful of Fullers ESB's and FINALLY some time to hang out with Bon Bon! Laura was right - it was best friends from the very start.

BETTER THAN JOYA?

I have no idea if Cafe Chili is better than Joya, actually. I just read a review that said it is, so I thought I'd make that the title of the post. Apparently, Joya is the current Thai heavyweight champion of Cobble Hill and Cafe Chili is looking to muscle in on some of their biz.

Well, we haven't been to Joya, but Cafe Chili is pretty great. Cute little place with a bunch of modern touches. Food was solid. Wine was cheap.

We started with a couple steamed dumplings and then Meena got going with:
- chicken pad thai (spicy)

And Alec had:
- black noodles with chinese broccoli (spicy)

Mine was spicy, but I had to dip into their little hot sauce spread to up the ante. They had those little pickled peppers, red pepper flakes and the sambal oelek. All were used.

I think we'll be back for sure. It's right next to the house and way less crowded and scene-ey than Joya.

MORE NEW APARTMENTS

Well, it's not actually OUR new apartment, but Apartment 138 on Smith was our dinner spot of choice last night.

After having a couple brews at the Gowanus Yacht Club, Dan and Meena and I were looking for a spot on Smith Street that accepted credit cards. To our surprise, there are VERY few establishments on this major street who do! We looked at a million places before we found Apt.

Not to discredit Apartment 138, though. It was good. Good, solid, standard American fare.

Dan had:
- crab burger with slaw and french fries and salad

Meena had:
- the cuban sandwich with french fries and salad

And I had:
- turkey burger with french fries and salad

All around solid place. We'll be back for more beers and burgers. And the back porch looks fantastic. No Zaytoons ... but very nice.

SORRY

Sorry friends. Long time no post. I have a couple lined up, I just don't have internet in BK. And I'm too busy at work to really go through them. But let me break down the last few nights for you.

Friday in NYC:

- Wonderful Tartine in the West Village. You know I had a pissalidiere with anchovies and goat cheese and Meena went with the sautéed chicken with fries if you even know us.

Saturday in NYC:
- We did brunch at Essex and dinner at Ivo & Lulu. Had to go out with a favorite duo.

Sunday in Cobble Hill:
- Moving day. And boy was it a terror. We didn't eat much all day so we devoured some nachos at Lobo and washed them down with a couple margaritas once the boxes were in the door.

Monday in Cobble Hill:
- This one is going to become a new fav ... Zaytoons on Smith. It's BYOB and they have giant platters. I had the shawarma platter and so did Meena.

Tuesday night in Cobble Hill:
- Mexicali. Not so great, but the margaritas were great before I had to go home and put together a dresser!

I'm not sure when I'll get internets in BK. But I'll try to update with more regularity from the office!

GETTIN' FAT ON CLINTON

I had to make one last beer and burger special mine at Clinton Street Baking Company before I left the hood, man. It's 10 bucks and it's JUST. SO. GOOD.

Sorry about the photo. All you really see is the homemade chips. But in all honesty, they're pretty darn good too. Nearly everything is good here!

So you already know that I had the delicious burger special with cole slaw and chips. Miss Meena came way out of left field and had:
- southern fried chicken with cole slaw, jalapeno corn bread and a Tabasco honey

Meena's fried chicken was yummy and juicy. No doubt. But the breading was a touch dry. That could have been better. For sure no KFC (I'm looking at you, Brian).

I thought the real standout in her dish was the cornbread. With the Tobasco honey? Doesn't get much better than that, folks.

What's even better than a delicious dinner at one of our favorite neighborhood spots? Free scones on the way out, that's what. That's right, they gave us a free bag of scones to take with and I brought them into the office to share today. They were awesome. TOE tally.

ODE TO THE COLONEL

So this is a first. I've never had a guest post on Memoirs, but this is it. The very first one. Prepare yourselves for brilliance.

My lovely fiancé has a gaggle of some of the most adorable nieces and nephews I've ever seen. And my future brother-in-law, Brian (and his wonderful wife Nikki), has two of them named Emma and Alaina who apparently love fried chicken.

And this is their story:

Our night of gourmet delight began humbly in the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) drive through at 7:02 PM on the evening of June 15, 2007. Although the menu was quite extensive, we made the final decision to order the 10 piece meal, half regular, half extra crispy (Is there any other way!), with our two side dishes being mashed potatoes and cole slaw. We also needed to feed our two children, so we ordered an extra side of macaroni and cheese.

Our total bill came to an exact $21.00 which we promptly paid via debit card. The service at the KFC was extremely friendly albeit slow. Nikki and I, based on past experience with this particular restaurant, felt that the wait would prove to be worth it. Upon receiving our order we were also given two granola bars for the twins. Such a delight! And for free no less!

Before leaving and in anticipation of the four biscuits included in our order, we made sure we left with adequate condiments. A very large offering of honey and butter packets answered our request and we departed the drive through posthaste to our home to begin this copious culinary concoction.

Upon arriving home, we unloaded the contents to find something truly awful…there were no biscuits! An oversight of unimaginable proportions. Short of returning to said KFC and killing all workings involved in this blatant act of biscuit deprivation, we jointly made the decision to move forward … without the biscuits. KFC had a very deep hole to climb out of with us.

With the biscuit fiasco of ’07 behind us, we began the dispersion and subsequent ingestion of chicken, cole slaw, and mashed potatoes (w/gravy if there was any doubt). As for beverages, I chose a Heileman’s Old Style whereas Nikki chose a Diet Coke Zero.

My impression of the chicken was classic KFC - moist, bursting with flavor and delightfully breaded. 10 out of 10. The mashed potatoes were equally delicious - very consistent. Lastly, the cole slaw unfortunately failed to live up to its billing. Too dry upon initial tasting. Although to its credit, it improved as we moved to the bottom of the Styrofoam container.

The drink that I choose for this meal, Old Style, I would not recommend. Obviously a terrific stand-alone beer, but not one I would mix with this type of meal. I found it to be more of companion for beer or possibly a bratwurst. Next time I would most likely move to a Leine’s summer wheat, or potentially as far as a Diet Dr. Pepper. Very tricky meal to find an appropriate accompanying beverage.

Overall a good dining experience. Would do again. AAAA.

I haven't contacted Brian to discuss the subtleties of his rating system, but I'm going to assume four A's is a solid score. I think we have KFC in the city, right? With a review like this, I'm pretty sure I'll need to find out sooner than later.

NOTE: Meena reminded me ... our KFC was rat infested. Saw it on the news. Can't do it.