NYC Babymoon

A peek into our New York City babymoon getaway the weekend before Christmas, where we stayed in a cozy Airbnb on West 10th Street with the prettiest aqua door. The West Village is infinitely charming by way of cobblestone streets, historic Federal style townhouses, underground jazz clubs, trendy bars and fantastic restaurants. Below, two of my favorite neighborhood meals. 

Barbuto (775 Washington Street) embodies the West Village's casual sophistication and cool neighborhood vibe. The elevated Italian comfort food is very good. We ate: insalata burrata ($16) red and green pears, walnut, oregano / pappardelle con bolognese ($26) veal and pork ragu, tomato, parmesan / gnocchi stagionale ($24) delicata squash, spinach, sage & hazelnut / crostata ($14) Bartlett pear & vanilla gelato / tiramisu ($11) ladyfingers, mascarpone & cocoa. 

Barbuto does not take reservations - which actually helped our cause as I hit so many dead ends with popular West Village spots. [Emphasis on popular, I simply researched who had the best reviews. I was booking a week in advance, in actuality you need about a month or two.] If you head to this chic Italian eatery I'd prepare to wait at the bar for 30 minutes until a cozy table for two opens up - preferably alongside the industrial garage doors to soak in the atmosphere both inside and out. 

Jeffrey's Grocery (172 Waverly Place) is a West Village restaurant and oyster bar with a stellar weekend brunch. As large windows bathe the understated nautical kisch in a serene Sunday morning light, I am once again enraptured by this neighborhood, reflecting on her endless eateries, bars and coffee shops tucked perfectly into every other street corner. We ate: Spinach-Artichoke Benedict ($20) poached eggs, hollandaise and home fries / Fried Egg Sandwich ($18) wilted spinach, gruyere, pickled peppers, english muffin, fries and lettuces. It was quite possibly one of the best egg sandwiches I have had in recent memory.  P.S. They've got a really good looking bloody mary menu; not to mention dinner, cocktail and late night menus; I wouldn't hesitate to check out Jeffery's at any point in your West Village stay.

We walked around a lot, seeing the traditional holiday touristy things; the tree at Rockefeller Center, the Macys windowfronts, Paddy Maguire's Ale House, the Flatiron building as we passed by. We met friends in Columbus Circle for drinks at Ascent Lounge on the 4th floor of the Time Warner Center. The elegant space was matched with gorgeous views of the circle and park, plus friendly bartenders who served Bob a perfect Manhattan. 

Of course there is quite a bit more to share before our departure from Grand Central. Stay tuned. 

Westside Market | Cleveland

I've been gushing about Cleveland for a solid month now and still there is more! 

The group was given a lot of time early one morning to spend at the historic Westside Market. I could not have been happier to explore all the food stalls, perusing and snapping photographs at my leisure. If you can believe it, what you see here is just a small depiction of the 100 or so family run vendor stalls selling everything from meat, breads, dairy and seafood to nuts, spices, olive oils, perogies and pastries. There's even a Parisian street style creperie Crêpes de Luxe where I purchased a savory ham, egg and gruyere crêpe. Located conveniently next to it is a gourmet coffee roaster stall City Roast Coffee where a frothy cappuccino was in order. With my breakfast treats I ventured upstairs to hang out on the balcony overlooking the grand yellow brick and white subway tiled space, the morning sunlight streaming through the high windows. I also managed to take home some phenomenal homemade pastas from the Ohio City Pasta stall - pappardelle and two fettuccine: rye and lemon pepper. (Our luxury bus had a built in cooler and our hotel rooms were equipped with a full fridge! The pasta was still fantastic by the time I got it home to Boston.) If I lived in Cleveland, I'd be grocery shopping here regularly.

Westside Market is the cities oldest continually operating public market, opened in 1912 to serve the growing immigrant population. 100+ years later they continue to offer a friendly, culturally diverse shopping experience.

Hours: Mon & Wed: 7am-4pm / Fri & Sat: 7am-6pm

Westside Market

Ohio City

1979 W 25th St,

Cleveland, Ohio 44113

Forum | Back Bay

Forum Bar & Restaurant was one of the business on Boylston Street most affected by the tragic Boston Marathon bombings back in April. After months of hard work and painstaking renovations they reopened in August with a polished and classy interior, a new chef, and a terrific new food and drink menu. Recently they hosted a media dinner where the new menu offerings were showcased in their intimate upstairs dining room.

I started the evening with a classic Sazerac which warmed me right up on what was the first chilly evening in late October. Friends order some of their signature fall cocktails - sips of the Cranberry Cobbler and the Pumpkin Sangria are comforting and not overly sweet. 

The bar bites menu offers a variety of flavorful dishes; my favorites are the cauliflower and white bean hummus with grilled sourdough bread and the bacon wrapped shrimp with soy ginger dipping sauce. Next comes the indulgent streak+cheese spring rolls and crispy crab fritters served with an Old Bay tartar sauce. From the appetizers menu a huge bowl of sauteed mussels grace us, they are outshined in this instance by the more exciting predecessors.

Mini portions of the braised wild boar pappardelle are enjoyed around the table; concluded as a very worthy contender for an entrée choice. The 8oz bone marrow encrusted filet ($36) with a red wine demi glace would be worth the splurge, the tender meat is enhanced by the rich, buttery, slightly sweet marrow with a delicately crisped breadcrumb crust.

There are desserts, too! A flourless milk chocolate torte with preserved cherries, spiced chocolate crumble and toasted marshmallow, a rather forgettable oreo semmifredo, a triple chocolate mousse martini, some southern style fried peach pies with salted caramel sauce and finally, a lovely banana crepe cake with peanut butter mousse, mango butterscotch and pb&j ice cream.

It is wonderful to see these guys up and running. Welcome back, Forum