I miss Manhattan. I seem to get there at least once every two weeks, and sometimes 3 times in one week, and I do NOT miss the commute, but I never ever lived there and I so wish I did! Don't get me wrong - I love my neighborhood, and my job, and my less than half hour commute, and my gym but the city? I just never tire of it, and whenever my phone rings and I hear the Sex and the City theme song, I get my Carrie Bradshaw urge to grab the girls for cocktails and gossip and a night on the town! A couple of weeks ago, I maximized my girl time in NYC and had drinks with one friend, and dinner with two others. All at The East Pole.
The East Pole is on Manhattan's East Side, at 65th and Park. You go down a small staircase, and enter a deceitfully large space, with two floors, with a cozy bar as you walk in. While Carrie would have missed her cosmos, my friend, Arielle, and I each had a Mexican Standoff. No guns or cowboys - just tequila, June liquer, grilled jalapeno and orange bitters. Those jalapenos? Holy moly! I thought I could breathe fire after the first sip but we stuck with it and it was delish...
When my other friends arrived, we went upstairs - a bit crowded but bright - and looked things over to decide what to get. As usual, I was the only vegan, but so many choices I had... We started with something we would all enjoy - a beet walnut hummus. It had this fabulous color, with a side of these stunning vegetables. The photos do NOT do it justice. The radish plate, which was an amuse for the table, was a variety of those colorful veggies in a light olive oil drizzled with fresh herbs. Crispy, yummy, gorgeous. I think it's true that we eat with our eyes first...For dinner, I started with heirloom carrots in a hijiki salad with bits of avocado. I had never had hijiki this way - only as a stand alone dish - and it was wonderful. It was savory without being too salty, and presented a whole new flavor profile with the cooked carrots. My entree was the macro plate - steamed greens, squash, beans, vegetables with a tahini dressing...it was a healthy, gorgeous plate brimming with goodness (and not an ounce of guilt!) Wanna meet me? We can pick up some designer shoes on the way...
