After dinner at Bond St. Sushi and another snack at Soho Park, all of us headed to Double Happiness, a lounge on the lower east side. One of Felicia’s friends was DJ-ing at the club and we stopped by to have a couple drinks. The place is very dark (it’s underground) and it’s almost like a maze trying to get to the bathroom. I like Double Happiness because it doesn’t get too crowded, the bartender’s aren’t pretentious, and they have interesting martini creations. I read a review saying you should try their green tea martini, but Joe ordered one and it was probably the grossest drink on the menu. I ordered the grapefruit martini and it was delicious (I’m usually not a fan of martini’s since it’s mostly alcohol). The music was great and we all had a great time dancing, drinking, and hanging out with friends. Pictures from the night:
Chris, me, and Joe in the little nook next to the DJ booth:
UIUC-ers in NYC! (Felicia, me, Joe, and Jason):
Definitely check out Double Happiness when you’re looking for a cool hangout where you show off your made up dance moves without feeling embarassed (or at least I didn’t feel embarrassed :))
By
grace.g.yang
路 June 20, 2007
Under:
Dinner,
Soho,
Sushi 
On Saturday after dropping my mom off at the airport, I headed to Bond St. Sushi with Joe, Felicia, Chris, and Jason. Joe heard good things about the place through coworkers, so I figured it would be pretty good for dinner. We started off with some edamame:
Chris and I decided to order one main dish and then some rolls since there wasn’t too much on the menu that interested us, plus I read reviews saying you should stay away from the “special rolls” since they are super expensive and not worth the money. We ordered the spicy yellowtail roll as well as the spicy tuna roll:
I thought it was odd that they didn’t put the spicy mayo directly onto the sushi, but I guess you can control the portions, which is always good. The spicy yellowtail was not good (maybe I just don’t like yellowtail? I don’t know, but it definitely was not worth ordering) and the spicy tuna, in Chris’ opinion, tasted like it was just the leftover pieces of tuna that they didn’t want to waste. We ordered the chilean sea bass with a miso sauce as well:
We got a huge chunk and it was a really tasty piece of fish. I usually don’t eat fish skin, but for some reason, I thought the sauce and skin combination was really delicious. Felicia, my friend from high school/college, ordered the cod and found it to be tasteless. 馃檨 I guess if I were to go again (which I probably won’t), I’d probably order the chilean sea bass since the sushi was pretty disappointing. Jason ordered two rolls and was still hungry afterwards, so we decided to head to Soho Park for beers and french fries. In a previous post about Soho Park, I mentioned that I felt like we got the bottom of the barrel fries since they were so small, but apparently, that’s how their fries are. BOO! Me and Chris (after half a glass of wine):
By
grace.g.yang
路 June 19, 2007
Under:
Brunch,
My Life 
On Saturday morning, Chris and my mom had the pleasure of meeting each other. 馃檪 I picked Eleven Madison Park because I heard good things about their brunch menu and the great view of the park you get from sitting on the second floor. I requested the second floor since I thought it would be nice to have a good view and when we arrived at the restaurant, we walked up TWO steps to the “second floor” and we could barely see Madison Square Park. Oh well. The brunch menu is pretty limited but I ordered the pecan praline pancakes with brown butter bananas and rum raisins (wow that’s a mouthful!):
The bananas were really delicious (I guess anything with butter tastes good, right?) and the pancakes were very moist, although not as moist at the Clinton St. Baking Company. The rum raisins were too chewy, although, I’m not a big fan of raisins to begin with.
Chris ordered the steel cut oats with Devon Cream Cinnamon Toast and Cider Roasted Apples:
My mom asked the hostess what steel cut oats were and since she didn’t know, she went onto a computer and wikipedia-ed it. Isn’t that nice of her? His oats were very thick and stick-to-your-stomach good, which he enjoyed.
My mom ordered the Organic Egg Frittata with Mushrooms, Zucchini and Gruy脙篓re, which I ate most of:
The egg frittata was a little runny, but not too runny, which I think is great. The mushrooms and all of the other vegetables were from the nearby farmers market as well, which is a nice way to support small businesses. Overall, I think the brunch at Eleven Madison Park is good, but there was practically no one there when we arrived and the setting was more business-like than brunch-like. On a happy note, my mom and Chris got along very well 馃檪
On Friday night, my friend from college, Joe Xu, came from Chicago to visit New York. He stayed with Jason and we ended up going out around 1AM (his flight arrived around 11PM) but it was SO incredibly nice to see him since we haven’t seen each other since I visited Chicago (but I only saw him for 20 minutes because he was so busy working!). Pictures from PS 450:
Me, Joe, and Jason:
PS 450 is a nice lounge with a diverse group of people and there’s never a cover charge or a long line. Joe said there isn’t ANYTHING like it in Chicago, which I find hard to believe, but I like going to PS 450 for a late happy hour and then staying for more drinks (since it’s relatively close to my office). It can get a little stuffy in the front of the lounge, but I think it’s a pretty laid back place then you’re not looking for something too hectic. Check back later for another weekend update!
On Thursday, my mom came to visit! We went shopping, ate out, and spent the weekend doing girly-things. 馃檪 I took her to the Pearl Oyster Bar for some lobster rolls, oysters (yum), and clam chowder. Luckily for us, we only had to wait 15 minutes for a seat because we sat at the counter instead of getting a table. My mom and I decided to share a lobster roll so we could fill up with other goodies, including these delicious oysters:
They were really fresh and so tasty! The only downside was that we didn’t order more 馃檪 The clam chowder I ordered was also really delicious, with tiny bits of bacon and lots of fresh clams. It was just the right amount of butter and cream and I didn’t feel too stuffed afterwards. I’ve never had a bad experience at the Pearl Oyster Bar and the staff is so friendly, even though it’s always so incredibly busy. It’s one of my favorite places in all of New York City – if anyone ever visits me, I’ll take them!! 馃檪
