On Friday night, we stopped in India, aka the East Village’s Indian Row. Like Curry Hill a couple miles uptown, Indian Row is an awesome strip of Indian restaurants, grocery stores, and culture. We were at Raj Mahal for our friend Alex’s birthday, who picked the spot for its 10.95 dinner special and elaborate birthday spectacular. Imagine police lights, Bollywood music, and men of a certain age getting down and jiggy. In other words, it was awesome.
And boy, did we feast!
We also feasted in Greece at Psari, a Greek seafood restaurant. Our friend Jonathan came over and we tried perfectly tender, charred octopus, grilled salmon, filet of sole, lemon potatoes, Greek chips, Greek salad. Oh! And retsina, a Greek table wine. (We spent much of our meal trying to pin down what, specifically, this wine tasted like, and our final verdict was “untreated wood rubbed with a sani-wipe.”)
I stayed in Greece for a meal with Danielle at Thymari, one of my new favorite brunch places. I’ve been a couple times, and not only is the setting cozy (think brick walls, exposed beams, photographs of people in the Old Country), but for $12 you get a generously portioned entrée with fries, salad, and a brunch drink of your choice. It was wonderful to catch up with Danielle before she heads back to Paris for grad school… is she living the dream or what?!
Another brunch with my friend Caitlin at Arepas, which is probably one of my new favorite restaurants. (You can read more about a traditional arepa here.) Their brunch special comes with salsa-fied scrambled eggs, black beans, two different types of cheese, avocado, and plantains.
Each meal comes with a plain arepa, or pita-like corn cake. I slit mine in half, and stuffed it with the above fillings. So delicious!
B and I went to France at Cafe Triskell. I love how cute and cozy this place is (there are only a handful of tables)… it really feels like you’re sitting in a corner of Brittany.
It wasn’t B’s favorite because aside from a few entrée specials, the menu is mostly limited to crêpes. I love it, though! Crêpes from Brittany (or Bretagne) are made from buckwheat flour, and have a hearty, nutty flavor. I ordered mine stuffed with gruyère cheese and mushrooms sautéed in butter and herbs. Très bon!
Have a delicious day!
