Manamanamanamana

Dear Mana,
I enjoy your friendly Turkish girls who welcome me early in the morning with an iced coffee just the way they like it. At first I didn't want to trust her taste but she assured me HER way was the best. I agree. You've also improved your falafels. I like when I get all the veggies. However, it's wayyyy tooooo Hhhhhooottt in there. I think it's becoming a problem. Good thing winter's on its way.
Sincerely,
Kiki Colore

No slurping necessary

This is not a typical restaurant that I would go to on a random Wednesday night for dinner. However, when Abi Kaplan's in town we have exceptions. My second visit to Stanton Social was just as fantastic if even better than the first time. This trendy, pricey, lower eastside restaurant stands up to all the hub-bub despite the bridge and tunnel crowd it attracts.

The drinks are delicious and the best part is that the French Onion soup is presented in dumpling form!!! The other food was delicious but I was totally sold and blinded by the light of the beauty of the soup dumpling. I would go if you have a parent or a friends parent who wants to take friends who like to share to a memorable dinner.

Monday monday...

I was having a case of the Mondays and decided that the only sufficient pick me up was to eat at Lil Frankies for dinner. I'm more than satisfied except once for brunch because my friend drank coffee and almost had a heart attack in his seat but otherwise it's always SPLENDID. Sometimes the staff are questionable. For instance, last night the hostess acted as tho she had a large pitchfork stuck up her bum when I politely asked her how long the wait was. She didn't even find us when our table was ready! On the other hand, the bartender was wonderful and my kind of friendly. We even had matching name plate necklaces except mine was cooler because it says my horses name from when I was a wee cowgirl and hers was just an astrological sign.

Back to the meal...it was absolutely delicious. The rigatoni had delectable baby meatballs in ragu. We entered food coma within 15 minutes but never slowed. The Prosciutto di Parma Pizza was also delicious but there was a mountain of arugula and my mouth can't even open up wide enough for it to possibly fit. Go Mondays to avoid a long wait but don't wander too far because the hostess may skip you.

The hood

Woah...Happy September!

Watching...Waiting...commiserating.

It's the friendliest customer service making me want to go back but I'm going to skip the arepas next time. I feel bad saying this because the ambiance and staff were so hospitable (they turned on Blink 182 suspecting it was our favorite band) I couldn't release my wrath but the arepas were absolutely flavorless and too doughy.  I have an inkling that the brunch is much more worthwhile.

Best bagel of the millenium!

This was a tough one for me only because I have been an H & H lover since I moved here but I had to give the best bagel of the millenium award to Tal bagels. It really came down to the customer service. The guys there are so damn friendly and always say "you come back now, ya here?" Or something along those lines. Go go go- even if you're on a low carb diet. They've got something for everyone.