Eggs-cellent Eats (Morrell Wine Bar)

I had a bit of a dental emergency recently. If you know me, you know how uptight I am about my teeth. It turns out that I grit my teeth so hard that I actually CRACKED one. Yep. I'm THAT strong. Well, it made eating a bit of a challenge, especially on the right side of my mouth. I wasn't sure what was going to happen at the dentist's office (this was a first for me), so I decided to have lunch BEFORE the appointment. 

Pre-dental work wine

I popped into Morrell's Wine Bar, which at 2pm was pretty empty, and took a seat at the bar. Morrell's is in the heart of Rockefeller Center, a certified tourist destination and a convenient location for many of us working New Yorkers. 

The deviled eggs sounded delicious AND easy to eat, so I ordered them and had a glass of Chardonnay.

They also brought me some delicious bread (I stuck to the softer, oniony kind) and very cold, very hard butter. The bread was chewy and flavorful, and I made sure to keep chewing only on the left side.

The deviled eggs were truffle-scented with fried, crispy chicken skins. Soft, salty, fatty, and a teeny bit of crunch at the end (just enough for a sensitive tooth). 

How are these eggs so gorgeous?? Smooth, perfectly filled, and every bite was a delight. 

The wine was a One Rock Chardonnay from Long Island's North Fork (#drink local), and while I'm not overall a "Chardonnay person," this was great. Light and crisp and lovely.

I loved the wine with the eggs! Why don't I make deviled eggs at home? They are so delicious! Granted, they are not cheap-- Morrell is not a Cheap Eats place, but it is always well-done and satisfying. 

PS: For those of you wondering, it turned out I didn't need a crown after all, just a deep filling. And it hardly even hurt! My teeth and I are doing much better now.

Morrell Cafe & Wine Bar

1 Rockefeller Plaza  

NY NY 10020 

(212) 262-7700  

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Roscioli Wine Tasting (Rome, Italy)

Trevi Fountain selfie!

Guys-- seriously. This trip was so incredible that every time I'd sit down and try to put it into words, I'd feel it was too impossible a task. (For more photos of the deliciousness we sampled in this post, visit my blog's Facebook page here!)

I'd been to Rome once before on a pass-through, spending less than 8 hours in the city (back in the day when you could leave your bags at a random hostel while you went sightseeing-- I can't even believe that happened)-- I saw the Coliseum, the Spanish steps, ate some so-so pizza, and felt generally underwhelmed with the city. I knew I'd go back someday, but then 15 years had passed and I'd still not returned.

A group of girlfriends & I recently celebrated a milestone birthday, so one of them (I'm looking at you, LaShauna) decided it was time to go wild and take a crazy, once-in-a-lifetime trip together. We hit a ton of cities, one right after the other, and had amazing adventures in each one. Sleep later, enjoy now! (And this is why we have credit cards, right? Um...right?)

So my first, super-long-overdue entry, was about a lovely, personalized, worth-the-trip-just-to-visit-here wine tasting at Roscioli in Rome, Italy. 

Jet-lagged, rain-soaked, over-tired, but ready to learn..and sip!

 LaShauna had heard of this class after seeing Anthony Bourdain give it high ratings, and that was enough for us. (Spoiler alert: Bourdain was right, right, RIGHT!)

Alessandro Pepe is the purchasing manager for Roscioli, a restaurant and wine-tasting venue in the heart of Rome. He normally does open classes, but we opted for a private class, as our group was at least 10 ladies. It was a little extra money, but worth every penny (euro)!

Alessandro had picked out a gorgeous selection of whites and reds for us to try (8 wines in all). He first asked our wine preferences, and realized that they mostly swerved to the sweet and maybe not-so-sophisticated, so he  vowed to educate our palates by the class's end. Quite the challenge!
I, personally, adore an Italian red, but wouldn't necessarily be able to say why. I also don't know a lot about Italian whites, and I couldn't wait to learn. Bring on the knowledge!

With each glass (every one of them a generous pour, might I add) we got a tasting of a savory Italian treat-- a rich, creamy house-made cheese, a single, succulent meatball, and in one case, a much-needed bowl of pasta Alla Amatriciana.. all of which we devoured.

house-made burrata

Cheese topped with caramelized onions (front) and fig jam (back)

A meatball with the perfect piece of polenta 

Carbs, glorious carbs...

We also had a generous serving of tiramisu, one of my favorite desserts of all time. I took one bite and had a 'moment.' This is one of the most heavenly, sublime, sumptuous tiramisu I've had the pleasure of tasting. This bite alone would have been worth the flight to bella Roma!

There wasn't a bad wine in the bunch, as you can imagine. AlesSandro, bless his heart, also encouraged us to "finish the bottles" we had left. If you know me, you know I'M VERY LITERAL. Apparently, I took these words to heart, and had a few more glasses.

Holding the 5th wine we sampled, a  Negroamaro & a crowd favorite...

Oh, Alessandro. This Irish girl got a bit animated, and WAY TOO TALKATIVE. When Alessandro mentioned that he was planning to come to New York to sample our wines, I became FAR too enthusiastic, and perhaps interrupted a bit too much due to said enthusiasm. Perdonami, Alessandro, per favore!

By the time the class finished, we truly had developed a greater appreciation for even more wines, and we'd not only LEARNED, but we'd so enjoyed it. I must thank Alessandro again, not only for his enthusiastic sharing of wisdom, but for his unfailing patience, and his generous hospitaliano. I can't recommend this class enough. If you're in Rome, you MUST take a class here. Just be sure to have a sandwich before-- I can't stress this enough! If you go on an empty stomach, you might find yourself enthusiastically interrupting your gracious host, Alessandro, and trust me, he's had quite enough of that!

For more information on these classes, visit their website here! Follow @Lkpnyc

Peanut Butter & Co.

A college friend of mine was visiting NYC with her family, and ABF & I decided to meet them in the West Village for a kitschy and tasty lunch at Peanut Butter & Co., a family/tourist/tastebud friendly spot that's been around for quite some time.

Tourist & Family-friendly fare! 

It's a small space, but we managed to snag some seats in the back for our group of 6.

Peanut Butter & Company makes their own peanut butter, as well as peanut butter spreads, and they will make just about any sandwich concoction you want. I ended up going with my standby: creamy peanut butter with raspberry preserves on whole wheat bread. My only mistake? I forgot to ask them to cut off the crusts (yes, they will do this)!

I also ordered a coffee milkshake because, well, I wanted one! It was creamy, with a strong coffee flavor and lots of sugar in there. This would later come to haunt me...but we'll continue. You can also get a glass of milk if that's your thing (I will MAKE that my thing next time).

ABF got the Elvis: peanut butter, bananas, and bacon, all fried in a pan. I wasn't feeling too adventurous, so I declined his offer of a bite. However, this is one of their most popular sandwiches-- I'm just an odd duck.

As we finished our sandwiches, we decided to all get some sweet treats to end the meal. Here's where caused myself some trouble- quickly forgetting the liquid sugar bomb of a shake I just had, I thought it would be a GREAT idea to have the brownie sundae and share it with ABF. What was I thinking!? Clearly I was all hopped up on sugar. Well, that sundae was SO good that I kept taking 'just one more bite,' unaware that I was bringing myself ever closer to the stomachache of a lifetime.

Everything we ate was quite tasty-- like comfort food without having to do your own dishes. However, if I had a do-over (and how I wish I did), I would have skipped the shake and saved room for the sundae instead. Sometimes you really CAN have too much of a good thing.

Peanut Butter & Co.
240 Sullivan Street
New York, NY 10012
(212)677-3995

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Red's Eats (Maine)

Red's in Wiscasset, Maine, has earned cult-like status with Lobstah roll lovahs. There is almost always a wait, so we saved it for our trip back to NYC.

Shrimp samples!

Kwame, ABF and I waited in line for about 40 minutes. Staff came by twice, first offering samples of their fried shrimp (so tasty!) and then bringing much-appreciated cups of icy-cold water.

We snagged a table in the corner and spread out our fabulous feast. It felt good to sit after just standing around all that time. (Did I mention there was a line?)
All that waiting in line had given us plenty of time to come up with our order plan. We ordered 3 lobster rolls, which come with butter or mayo. Kwame & I got butter, ABF got mayo. We also ordered a small batch of the fried shrimp (so easily swayed by samples are we!)

The rolls come with a well-publicized "more than one whole lobster"'s worth of meat, and I believe it! Every roll was overflowing with lobstah.

It was tasty, but not as tender as I'd like, sometimes a little too chewy. The drawn butter was unsalted, so not much flavor added there.

ABF also talked us (trust me: not difficult) into getting some fried zucchini. These were delicious,too--whatever they put in their breading is all right with me! Tender, soft-but-not-mushy zucchini, delicious dipped in anything, but especially their tartar sauce!

The shrimp? Also just as delicious as they were while we waited in line!

We also snagged dessert on our way out- ice cream for all! I had my favorite summer treat, black raspberry ice cream! So full and fruity and just one of my favorite things about summer.

Flat Stanleys pose with some black raspberry ice cream!

ABF got the eagle tracks, which was a chocolate ice cream with peanut butter cups in it. Wow, was this fabulous! (no pic--sorry!)

Kwame ordered two different flavors-- I can't remember which, but one was studded with chocolate chips, and they were both delicious!

While it wasn't the best lobster roll I ever had, our trip to Red's was still a fun and tasty experience. Waiting just once in that line, though, is enough for me! However, I can't say enough about how nice and welcoming the staff was. They were friendly, helpful, and just so nice. They are working under the gun for hours at a time, but it's clear that even all the fame and press Red's has earned hasn't made it snooty and stiff.

Red's Eats
41 Water St
Wiscasset, ME 04578
(207) 882-6128

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Lexington Brass

Lexington Brass is attached to the Midtown East Hyatt 48 Lex hotel, where my dear friend BH was staying. The lobby of the hotel leads right into the bar/bistro, so there's no need to step out into the cold (and oh, was it cold that morning)! You can enter from the street, too, but we were feelin' fancy.

We sat at the gorgeous marble slab bar. Gorgeous. And roomy! Our server was welcoming and friendly, and quickly brought us drinks: a mimosa for BH (on the left in that first photo) and a bellini for me. Smooth, tart, just a touch of sweet--these were nice.

I start my day with a cup of coffee, though-- and they carry Stumptown Roasters at LB. What a wonderful cup of coffee! Rich, lush, not bitter at all. This was glorious.

We decided to get sweet & savory, starting with some scrambled eggs and lightly drizzled tossed greens (2 of my favorite things!) Eggs: perfectly cooked, sprinkled with herbs. Side salad--so, so good.

For the sweet, we ordered their challah french toast, which comes with a ginger orange syrup! That was fantastic. The syrup was bright, not-too-sweet, and really made the whole dish.

We also ordered some of their home fries, which were perfectly crisped and nicely seasoned, and a side of (chicken) sausage. The sausage was not my thing. It was cooked just fine, and BH liked it, but I didn't care for the flavor.

This was a delicious, delightful meal in an area that I don't normally visit. But it's close to lots of places-- a 10 minute walk to Rockefeller Center (where we later saw the Christmas tree), Times Square, minutes from Grand Central. It's a primo spot that I'd never have tried without my friend's invite. If you're staying at the Hyatt 48 Lex, it's a must-try for breakfast. Tourist-AND-local friendly, kind to the wallet, and a convenient corner spot, perfect for people-watching (one of the best things to do here in NYC)!

Lexington Brass

517 Lexington Ave

New York, NY 10017

(212) 392-5976

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