The World is Your Oyster

Saturday. It got a little warmer Saturday.

With no real plans, I put on my stompin' boots and set out with Mer in search of a good Oyster Happy Hour. We love a deal, especially when it comes to good food and drinks. I was craving Oysters (it is Oyster season by the way) and the wonderful thing about NYC is there are a TON of amazing places to get fresh Oysters. 

I have a few favorite places to go for Oyster deals. The first is in Williamsburg at Miller's Tavern. They have $1 Oysters EVERYDAY from 4pm-midnight. 

The issue I run into with happy hours is they are usually only on weeknights - that can be tough to get to for a working girl. Maison Premiere, for example, has $1 Oysters, but only on Mon-Fri from 4-7pm. If you can make it, GO! It is one of the best places for Oysters in NYC. Maison Premiere is a New Orleans inspired Oyster House with over 30 different types of Oysters to try. 

My other favorite Oyster spot is Fish in the West Village. This place is always packed and has a very casual feel, but you can get a half-dozen oyster and a glass of wine or PBR for $8!

(Boots: Vince Camuto / Jeans: Loft / Necklace: JCrew / Jacket: Oasis / Bag: Michael Kors)

Brooklyn was a bit too far for us to venture this Saturday, and we didn't want to deal with the crowds at Fish, so our Oyster search took us to Soho. 

We took a gamble and stopped in at a place called Plan B (sort of a funny name). 

Plan B is a Spanish tapas style restaurant. A few friends ate there a couple weeks back and said the food was very good. They have a happy hour with $1 Oysters and variety of Spanish wines, so I was sold. 

I had a little trouble finding a white wine I liked, and they were out of Rose (which I prefer to drink with Oysters). After tasting every wine on the menu (don't drink it if you don't like it), I ended up going with a Picapoll from Catalonia, Spain. The bartender explained it as a Spanish wine with a French feel because the grape is French. It paired well with the Oysters and I ended up really enjoying it. 

The oysters were incredible. They were meaty and salty, Blue Points from Long Island. 

Once we finished we were ready to move on. We had every intention to visit another Oyster place (The Ten Bells), but my belly was craving a bit more food. After much contemplation and a pit stop at Inborn Tattoo to say hi to some friends, we settled on the Grey Lady. This LES spot has a Nantucket-inspired menu with a sophisticated feel. The menu is not very large, but the variety is. I hear the Lobster Roll is massive and absolutely delicious.

Mer opted for the Chicken Caesar Salad which had whole anchovies on top.   

I decided on the Tuna Burger. They cooked it perfectly, medium rare, and the burger was flavorful but not fishy. It was complimented by a yummy Hoisin based dipping sauce. 

If you love Oyster as much as me, the Oyster Happy Hour website is a great resource for places to go. 

Also, if you are looking to get a tattoo Jon Boy at Inborn Tattoo is the best in the business. He did my last tattoo and most of my friends'. 

The World is Your Oyster.

d.eileen

King Cake, Beef Stew, Dinner with Friends

Thursday, I had an incredible dinner wtih friends. The Thomas's invited myself and the Family over to their apartment for dinner. We all jumped at the chance to hangout with such an amazing couple. Their beautiful apartment, on the luxurious West 87th Street, was a cozy escape from the winter cold. 

The center piece of the living room was this beautiful custom wall piece. "Mighty Oaks" comes from the saying "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow". The saying has personal meaning to the couple, so they decided to have the letters custom made and covered with a map of NYC. I love decor accent pieces that are both meaningful and ascetically intriguing. 

We each brought a cheese to start. The Family, of course, coordinated to ensure we had no cheese repeats. I picked up a sharp Beermeister, Mer grabbed a Brie with peppercorn, and Bryan stopped by Eataly for a creamy Kunik. We paired the cheese with crackers and buttered toasts. We also supplied wine for the dinner, not a difficult task for this crew. 

I'm in love with Mer's aztec pants. 

The table was set and ready to host.

laughs upon laughs upon laughs....

Anthony and Jess cooked up a hearty beef stew that was served over rice with string beans and salad on the side.  It was melt in your mouth delicious.

I'm pretty sure we all had seconds. 

For dessert, we had a King Cake. After doing some research, I learned that King Cakes will look and taste different depending on their place of origin. Ours was from the French Boulanger, Maison Kayser. You may associate King Cake with Mardi Gras, but those are usually more colorful and cake like. Ours was an almond flavored pastry dough, light and fluffy, with just a slight crunch. In each cake the baker hides a little plastic trinket, traditionally it is a baby Jesus. 

The superstition is, whoever gets the piece of cake with the trinket, will be the next to get married. Funny enough, no one ended up getting the trinket on the first go. It was comfortably nestled in the last uneaten piece. Not big on superstitions, I decided to claim the trinket (a plastic baguette) and the crown for myself. 

The meal was delicious and the company was even better. We laughed until we couldn't laugh anymore and went home full in many different ways.

(Shirt - Loft / Necklace - J.Crew)

Dinner with friends is always a good option. Make sure you set aside time for the people you care about and want to invest in. I hope you'll make plans this week to get together with someone you've been meaning to catch up with. 

ps...sorry for all the pictures. Too many good ones to leave any out!

d.eileen