Brio in Ridge Hill

So, my brother works at Brio... he is a great waiter! One of the perks of having your brother work at Brio is that they give a SICK family discount! I did not know this but once he mentioned that I would get this discount, I went all out and ordered a full meal!

We of course were served the loaf of hot crusty bread and the "everything" thin crispy cracker things:


I could've eaten the whole loaf of bread... it's so freaken good and they serve it right out of the oven.

Then, for main courses, Luke got the Shrimp and Lobster Fettucini


I got the Pork Chops


I loved the pork chops. The interesting thing is that I was able to get them medium rare. Yep. Rare pork.... sounds risky but apparently it's ok because it's brined or something. It was so good. So juicy. And I'm not dead yet so I guess it was safe to get the pork a little pink!


We also tried all the non-alcoholic fancy drinks such as the White Peach Lemonade, Stawberry Basil Tea, Etc. I might be making up the flavors but they were somewhere in that vicinity!



And of course dessert!


The trio!


Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding


Vanilla Bean Creme Brulée


Mascarpone Cheesecake

I ate so much that I got strep throat later that night! And then went on to infect my boss and two clients.



just kidding...


Brio Tuscan Grille
Ridge Hill
160 Market Street
Yonkers, NY 10710

Phone: (914)-709-1000

Burgers

I had 2 awesome burgers this weekend! But they were not ordinary ground beef burgers... one was a Kalbi Burger and the other one was a Shrimp Burger. They were found at the Burger House as Luke and I searched quickly for a place to eat around the Quad Cinema in Greenwich Village before our movie.

We parked on the corner of 12th and Broadway, and because we took longer than expected to park, we were looking for a quick place to eat. Luke looked to the right and there was Burger House. I was totally OK with that because I like burgers.

As I approached the counter, I was a little bit shocked to see "Bulgogi Cheeseburger", "Kalbi Burger" and "Shrimp Burger"... only because I just wanted a straight up beef burger. They did have straight up cheeseburgers, turkey burgers, and veggie burgers, but as I read on with the menu, I was getting more and more interested in the unique offerings! They also have sandwiches and rice bowls.

You can also find their menu here on their website but only for the burgers and sandwiches!

Ultimately, it was Burger House so I went with a burger (not a sandwich or rice bowl). My choice was the Kalbi Burger because I freakin' love Kalbi (Korean Marinated Short Ribs)so I figured it would probably be good in a burger form. I got Cheddar Cheese and L-T-O-P as my toppings and Spicy Mayo on the side.

It was so amazing. As i took my first bite, the juices from the burger (the meat was chopped up, not totally ground, into a patty) just totally filled my mouth. It was a combo of meat fat and Kalbi Marinade and it was awesome. The cheddar was absolutely the best choice of cheese for this (f*** American Cheese!) and the spicy mayo was perfect to dip into.

Luke got the Shrimp Burger. Toppings were Spicy Mayo, Mozzarella, L-T-O, and Bacon. This one was pretty awesome as well... The patty was made of chopped up shrimp, big chunks of it, with a few crispy edges. The bacon made it 10X more amazing.


The price wasn't bad either.


Oh and we got Sweet Potato Fries which were the best I've had recently. Totally almost crispy!


Burger House
820 Broadway (btw 11th & 12th St)
NY, NY 10003
Phone: (212)-677-8282

Another Taurus... My Mom!

I am now backtracking to my mom's birthday dinner which was a few weeks ago. Her birthday was April 30th! Happy Birthday mom! I love my mom... she's the best!

She requested that we go to a restaurant in City Island. I don't know why, but it was a good idea! It was a gorgeous day and I love being around the water on nice, warm, sunny days!

After driving down the one of the 3 streets on City Island back and forth 3 times, we decided on Lobster Box. *City Island restaurants have the funniest names!* I couldn't get myself to suggest Sammy's Fish Box... just because of the name and the ridiculous commercial!

The Lobster Box was actually really good! I thought it was gonna be like a typical tacky City Island seafood place (which is one of the reasons I love City Island) but it was pretty nice!

They started us off with AWESOME, hot, crusty bread.


Then came the Clams Casino which were filled with Bacony goodness!


And some Fresh Clams which were delicious as well.


I got the Broiled Swordfish. It was very flavorful and the fish was very moist! I love swordfish because it's such a meaty fish!


Dharma got the Seafood Risotto which was slammin! It was really diesel and heavy but the plate was full of nice scallops and shrimp and other seafood goodness!


My brother got the Ribs and Crab Legs because he is a beast. He's skinny but a carnivorous beast nonetheless.


Mom got the 2 Lobsters, 1 Steamed and 1 Broiled. Steamed is DEFINITELY the way to go!


And Luke got the Crab Legs! I love crabs... they are so yummy! And working to crack the meat outta the shell is the fun part! I love working for my foood!

For dessert, even though everyone was apparently full, I made everyone order one haha! Except for my brother because he was finishing my mom's leftover lobster....


Apple Pie... decent.


Flan.... delish!


Peach Melba. Nothin' special... it was like canned peaches with very artificial raspberry sauce. The ice cream was good tho!

So all in all, it was a great meal! Maybe next time I will try Sammy's Fish Box hehehe

Lobster Box
34 City Island Ave,
City Island, NY 10464
Phone: 718-885-1952

Happy Birthday (to me) and Happy Mother's Day!

Today, we celebrated my birthday (which is actually May 15th) and mother's day! My mom cooked fabulous Japanese food and we were joined by Luke and his mom (who is also a fabulous cook!).

What a gorgeous day it was huh? It was like 80 degrees, not humid, and sunny! I started off my day with a 2 mile run (9 minute miles!) and a massage.... mmmmmmm.... I finally pampered myself!

Then, the best part. The food. I cannot explain to people how much I love food! I work at Equinox as a Personal Trainer, and people are almost surprised to hear that I "love" food. Can't I love food and be fit?!

So here it goes. I did indulge. Lots of food, a lot of the dishes were quite healthy. Lots of dessert, both of which were not healthy but I must say they were BANGIN!

My mom always puts out little snacky things before the meal. Today's was this:

Cooked Chestnuts, Cheese, and a Peanut-Japanese Cracker Mix- Random mix of foods but cute!

Onto the real thing:

Nimono (Stewed Vegetables and Hard Boiled Eggs)


Sushi Rolls from Fuji Mart (Futo Maki, Spicy Tuna, Spicy Yellowtail, Cucumber, California, Eel Avocado, Salmon Avocado)


Chinese Greens Sauteed with Bacon with Chicken Sauce (A very vague description because my mom had no idea what the greens are called, and the sauce is this thick sauce with Edamame and Chicken... I think my mom came up with the dish!)


Tonkatsu with Shredded Cabbage (Pork Cutlets... so damn good right outta the fryer!)


Chawanmushi with Crab Sauce (Steamed egg custard... there was a little shrimp hiding at the bottom! This is one of my all time favorite traditional Japanese dishes!)

After we ate until we were about the vomit, the desserts were ready to be eaten!


Strawberry-Rhubarb-Raspberry Crisp (Homemade by Mary Kate!) So delicious... and the Rhubarbs are from her garden!

and... of course a birthday is never complete without a cake from Lulu's...

How gorgeous is the cake?! It was just as delicious too! I went in there yesterday, totally last minute, and I asked them to make me a cake for today. Jay graciously accepted and I didn't have to "order" anything. He asked "6 inch cake?" I said "Yep". He asked "Chocolate or vanilla?" I said, "Eh, let's go vanilla" and Boom! I left the rest to him...Here it is! A Yellow Cake with Lemon Curd and Strawberry Buttercream! Heavenly.... Lulu's still keeps it real with the best shiz arounddddddd!

That was my fabulous Sunday. So grateful to be alive! My 26th year of life will be awesome :-)

Cooked and Co.

Cooked and co. has FINALLY opened! It took over the old Carvel location on Garth Road! It's just another fabulous addition to the street along with Lulu's!

The place is adorable! It's got a few tables to sit down and eat. It's mostly ready-made food but like seriously gourmet! I don't know what most of the stuff I took pictures of are because I was rushing! But I definitely gotta go back to try everything! NOTE: There is not one set menu because they use whatever fresh ingredients they have!

I went with Luke and we shared the Frittata of the day and a Banana Nutella Muffin (suggested by one of the partners Christian Petroni... he used to be the head chef at Barcelona in Greenwich and won Chopped!)


It's Huge.... and overwhelmingly delicious... in a totally good way


Yep.. the nutella goes down into the muffin... probably like 5/8 of the way down... it was exciting!



MUFFIN MASSACRE!

And the Frittata of the Day:

Asparagus, Shallots, Parmesan, and Tomatoes (Egg Whites!)


Mmmmmm... so light and refreshing! I could've eaten the whole Frit!

Here's the menu:

It's this stuff (note the protein shakes, salads, and egg white options for you health nuts!), plus the already prepared stuff such as these items from today:





They also have a salad bar where you can design your own salad! And Coffee, and Ice Cream and Specialty Butter and Ice Pops!!!!



Ohhhh this place is so heavenly! Go and buy some Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner!
I had one of those, "I have to tell everyone about this place!" experiences when I left!

Cooked and Co.
128 Garth Road
Scarsdale, NY.
1 (914) 205-3939