Prune

When Angie came to visit me and Ken a few weeks ago, we took her around New York eating at a lot of our favorite restaurants. One of them, Prune, has always been a favorite of mine but I haven’t been there enough since the wait is always so horrendous. This time, we didn’t mind waiting two hours (literally TWO hours!) because we ran errands, including a very fun trip to Economy Candy.

We were seated in the basement, which only has one table that seats five. It’s close to the bathroom and the baking area (not sure if either of those are favorable) but there was a lot of privacy so we could make funny jokes and not worry about people giving us funny looks the entire time.

We shared all three dishes – starting with the steak and eggs:

Then the spaghetti carbonara:

And then their thick and dense pancake with pears and a side of ham:

Delicious brunch, awesome company, and great seats at the restaurant! Next time, we’ll have to go there for dinner!

Hot Doug’s

On Saturday of our Chicago trip, Angie picked me up to go shopping at the mall and to hang out. We were supposed to meet up with our other friend, John, but we were exhausted from walking around the mall and the weather was also kind of cold, so we decided to hang out at Angie’s apartment and just watch television. I wanted to eat at Hot Doug’s because I read so much about their hot dogs and their foie gras fries, but I was also starting to feel a little under the weather. We decided to go to Hot Doug’s and the line was ridiculously long, but decided to wait since we didn’t have anything else planned for the day (just dinner with Ken’s family on Saturday night).

Hot Doug’s is known as “The Sausage Superstore”:

The line was out the door and we heard it was going to take a good two hours before we were inside. Since we didn’t have anything else going on and we were keeping each other company, we decided to wait it out. We waited for about an hour and 45 minutes before we got inside and actually saw the menu:

They don’t allow you to sit down until you’ve ordered (it’s a system that works, otherwise the tables won’t be available when people have their food ready). I was really hungry by the time we got to the door so I was strategizing what we should order. I suggested we all order two hot dogs, plus cheese fries and an order of the foie gras fries. Angie kept insisting that she wasn’t that hungry (but seriously, all we ate that day was a bunch of gummy bears and chocolate covered almonds – there was NO way she wasn’t hungry!) John was our voice of reason so we decided to get the order down to four hot dogs, cheese fries and foie gras fries:

The foie gras hot dog was a Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage hot dog with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Fleur de Sel:

I’m glad we ended up sharing the hot dog because it was super rich with the foie gras mousse but it was also incredibly good; creamy foie gras with a pinch of Fleur de Sel. The duck fat fries were a little disappointing – not enough flavor and they were a little too greasy:

We also ordered the Anna Kendrick dog (A polish sausage), the Cordon Bleu dog (way too heavy and definitely too much stuff going on) and a hot dog with crawfish and shrimp (worth ordering). After our late lunch, I was really stuffed and I didn’t feel great (and at one point, I thought I misplaced my camera but decided to write it off because I felt so sick). We were on our way to the Shedd Aquarium to see the beluga whales (or so I thought). When we arrived, I saw Ken (and the rest of the story is here).

The DL

Last week, Ken and I were invited to a new restaurant* that’s opening on the LES, The DL. Ken and I always love trying new restaurants so we headed down there to try it out. The restaurant has an interesting vibe (I’m not sure if it’s officially opened yet because there weren’t many people there) but the food was really great. It’s more like a bar/lounge with a lot of small plates (we ate the entire menu!) We started off with a small order but the chef kept sending dishes out (not that we were complaining – he uses lobster very liberally in his dishes!)

We started off with the “Lobster Crack” – cracked lobster claws & knuckles steamed in tarragon and vermouth:

Very tender meat with a tasty broth. With lots of meat!

The chef sent over some grilled cheese with tomato soup –

The cheeses were too strong for us and we didn’t like the taste of the bleu cheese with the creamy other choices.

Next, “Truffle Pops” – risotto croquettes served with a white wine and tomato broth:

This was our favorite dish of the evening; fried risotto balls with truffle oil and a slight tanginess from the tomato and wine broth.

Also really good – “Hot Tamale” – filled with mole negro and chicken:

The tamale was cooked a little unevenly (some bits of the tamale were very soft and some were very hard, as if it had been heated up in a microwave).

Another really good dish was the Ludlow mac “Ludlow Mac” elbow macaroni, with béchamel and cheese trio – lobster and chive, bacon and green apple, and truffle and mushroom:

The lobster and chive was my favorite; lots of lobster chunks, good flavor, and perfectly cooked noodles. I would have preferred a bigger noodle (maybe double spirals). Ken liked the bacon and green apple but I didn’t like the texture of the cooked apples with the noodles and bacon.

The monkfish:

With more lobster – this time in the shape of lobster broth – with sauteed vegetables. A little lobster overdose but not bad.

The “Steak Frites” – beef carpaccio, celery root puree, micro greens and potato crisps:

Ken enjoyed this dish but I thought the meat wasn’t very fresh and also sliced a little too thick for carpaccio. It was also served at a temperature that I thought was too warm for raw meat.

“PB & J” pork belly and guava jam slider:

The pork belly was fatty and very juicy and had a good contrast with the pickled cabbage. Their fries were a little too thin for me.

“Spicy Big Eye” – tuna poke with sticky rice and thai pesto:

Similar to the carpaccio, the tuna was a strange temperature and didn’t taste or smell fresh. I’d avoid getting the tuna if you visit.

One of the chef’s specialties from his time in Europe was the “Crock O’ Lamb” lamb moussaka – thinly sliced layers of eggplant, potato and ground lamb:

Very delicious comfort food; the thin slices of eggplant and potato are layered with ground lamb, baked, and served with rosemary and other spices. So good, especially with a nice glass of wine.

For dessert, we received a bunch of the chef’s specialties – the first was the chocolate cake with pistachio crumble:

My favorite was the pate a choux with a passionfruit glaze:

The best presentation was the grilled pineapple and ice cream served with 151:

The small plates were all very good, especially the comfort foods (the more inventive ones are the ones I’d pass on). During the summer time, it will be super fun with the upstairs lounge and the rooftop – I can’t wait!

*Ken and I received a free meal but were not required to write a post!

The Ultimate Wedding Checklist

I love wedding planning – Ken and I have been setting appointments every night after work to try and accomplish one goal on our very long list of to dos for the wedding (one night, we came up with our guest list, another night we went through our favorite venues in New York and Chicago and delegated who should make appointments). I think it’s important to make decisions together for the wedding, especially since it’s as much his dream wedding as it is mine! Ken has been researching just as much as me and I’m really glad that we’re tackling this project together – it’s so daunting to plan a large event by yourself!

Here’s what Real Simple is telling me to do nine months before the wedding – I found the Ultimate Wedding Checklist at here.

Sixteen to Nine Months Before
– Start a wedding folder or binder. Begin leafing through bridal, lifestyle, fashion, gardening, design, and food magazines for inspiration.

When Ken and I got engaged, I wanted to keep track of everything. It’s easier to do with sites like Pinterest, but I still prefer ripping pages out of magazines and putting them in a binder. I created a binder with important information that vendors give us and we’ve also created a large google spreadsheet that breaks down costs for the wedding, has cool ideas that we want to pursue and also lists a LOT of bridal stores in both New York and Chicago.

– Work out your budget. Determine how much you have to spend, based on your families’ contributions and your own.

We sat down one night and worked out our budget, which is really important for wedding planning. Weddings really don’t have any limit to what you can spend (and from some of the photos and videos we’ve seen, it looks like people have spent well over hundreds of thousands for their dream day). We’ve set a realistic budget but know that there are some things we might splurge on when it comes to the big day.

– Pick your wedding party. As soon as you’re engaged, people will start wondering who’s in.

This is one of the first things we did – Ken has great friends from high school (Drew, Jordy, Ken and John at Drew’s wedding last year) as well as family (Paul and David):

And I have Angie, Ken’s sisters, and Laura! We are also going to ask our other friends to be in the wedding but wanted to nail down a date before asking anyone to stand up in our wedding.

– Start the guest list. Make a head count database to use throughout your planning process, with columns for contact info, RSVPs, gifts, and any other relevant information.

We started a google spreadsheet of our guests. That way, we could both easily see the list and make sure all of our friends and family are on the list. Another important column to have on the guest list is whether or not they’ll be traveling (so when you figure out hotels for your guests, you’ll know how many rooms to reserve!)

– Hire a planner, if desired. A planner will have relationships with—and insights about—vendors.

We’ve decided against hiring a planner; they can be very expensive and I don’t feel the need to hire a planner since Ken and I have talked about our wedding vision. While it is important to have insights about vendors, from our walk-throughs with wedding venues, we’ve learned a lot about who’s popular in the wedding business and who we should avoid working with. We might hire a day-of planner, which I’ve heard is very popular, to make sure everything goes smoothly and to make sure there’s a point of contact in case anything goes wrong on your wedding day (I mean, I do not want to deal with anything but being happy on my wedding day!)

– Reserve your date and venues. Decide whether to have separate locations for the ceremony and the reception, factoring in travel time between the two places.

I think this is actually the most important thing to do – we made our guest list first to get an idea of what kind of space we should look at and made the decision early on that we weren’t going to have our wedding at a church. We wanted a space that was large and spacious (but not to the point that it would make our wedding seem empty) and in a central location that would be convenient for all of our guests. We have found our venue, but haven’t signed any contracts so I won’t reveal it until we’ve dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s!

– Book your officiant.

We haven’t done this and don’t know who to ask! Neither of us are very religious so we were thinking about asking a friend (or family member) to help officiate our wedding. It will bring a personal touch to the ceremony, but we have to find the right person to do it!

– Research photographers, bands, florists, and caterers. Keep their contact information in your binder.

We’ve researched a lot of caterers, but haven’t even started looking at photographers, bands or florists. A lot of venues use specific caterers, so be sure to ask the venue when you’re booking an appointment!

– Throw an engagement party, if you wish. But remember that your invitees should be on your wedding guest list as well.

We had an engagement party the night we got engaged! We celebrated with our families and our friends in Chicago, remember?

Next week, hopefully more about venues and a list of the venues we visited, in case there are other brides looking to get married in Chicago or New York!

Lamarca

One of our favorite neighborhood restaurants is Lamarca, a pasta and cheese shop next to our favorite frozen yogurt place, Flurt. So many good places to eat in our neighborhood! On Thursdays, they have a wonderful lunch special: meat lasagna. The meal is kind of expensive (around $15, which is pricey for an everyday lunch!) but it comes with a salad, lots of delicious bread, and is a nice once-in-a-while treat.

The salad dressing is also really delicious and the bowl of salad is quite large:

The bread is served warm with super creamy butter (much creamier than other restaurant butters!) and it’s enough for a light meal (which is what Kristen did when we went!) My meat lasagna:

The lasagna is a huge dish and I couldn’t finish it all so I took it home to eat later. If you split it into two meals, it’s pretty affordable! I like their other pastas and their tangy tomato sauces – Ken and I always order from there when we’re too lazy to cook (which is actually quite often). They’re not open on Sundays and I think it’s a family-owned restaurant, so definitely check it out!