Savanna's - Southampton

Savanna's Restaurant in Southampton is absolutely delicious. B and her friends dined there before they went out on a Saturday night.

We sat outside which was beautiful since they have this patio/garden feel but in the middle of the summer it was too hot and buggy...note to self: always ask for a table in doors at night in the summer :-). They accommodated a group of 20 which can sometimes be overwhelming but they did a good job. I definitely was not expecting Savanna's to be as great as it was. I was thinking more Southern food, but it wasn't; here's what we ordered:

Starters:

T-Bar Chopped Salad w/hearts of palm, beans, tomatos & cucumbers

Vegetable Spring Rolls

Entrees:

Breaded Chicken Milanese

Spice Crusted Tuna

Spaghetti "Chitarra" w/veal meatballs, basil, & marzano sauce

Dessert:

opted for nothing :-(

It was hard to choose from the menu since they have some very tempting items to order. They served the whole table a bread basket that had a mix of rosemary & olive bread, my two favorites. The Spice Crusted Tuna was mouth watering and a definite must if you go there. The meatballs in the spaghetti were to die for and definitely made the dish. We could have lived without the spring rolls since they weren't up to par with the rest of the food. I wish we could have ordered dessert, maybe next time!

Savanna's - delicious, foodies will enjoy, great place for groups

-S&B

La Esquina

La Esquina is one of our favorite places to eat. Conveniently located in SoHo La Esquina offers 3 different locations the Taqueria, Cafe, and their secret downstairs location, the Brasserie.

They have so many delicious things at each location but the Brasserie offers the complete menu. Our favorite things are the sopa de tortilla, ceviche acapulco, tostadas contramar, taquitos de pollo rostizado & La Esquina mole negro. They recently acquired a new chef, Akhtar Nawab, and he's added more delicious fish options to the menu, like last night's special Sea Bass wrapped in banana leaf, yum! Sadly our favorite salad was taken off the menu, ensalada de nopales, which is a cactus salad w/jalapeños, onions & cotija cheese. He also fixed the dessert menu, THANK GOD!! He added a mouth watering pastel de chocolate - cafe de olla, it's a must have.

Overall it's a fun experience walking into the Taqueria & being greeted by a bouncer & doorman then walking downstairs in what feels like a storage unit. After walking down the stairs you give your name again to the hosts, walk through the kitchen and wala...the bar!

Spotted @ in the downstairs dungeon: Alicia Keys & John Mayer


Alicia Keys - Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart
John Mayer - Clarity

La Esquina - Must Try, NYC Hot Spot, Fun Experience walking into a the Taqueria.

106 Kenmare Street

New York, NY 10012

-S & B

Philippe

"She's thinking Philippe, I'm thinking Wing Stop" Rick Ross (Ft. Gucci Mane) - MC Hammer

Okay no! We obviously prefer Philippe's chicken satay to Wing Stop's wings, sorry Rick Ross.  Philippe is one of our favorite places to dine in the city and Hamptons.  Mr. Chow's chicken satay is to die for, the creamy sauce loaded with calories, makes you want to down 5 of these delicious skewers.  Another must have are the chicken lettuce wraps, yummy.

What we enjoy:

B - Crispy Beef & Philippe's House Salad

Justinien - Chilean Sea Bass

Hamptons House - Crunchy Duck Salad, Vegetable Dumplings, Beijing Chicken, & House Me Mignon

Spotted @ Madison location: Shawn & Marlon Wayan and Jerome Bettis with crew

Spotted @ East Hampton: Chris Bosh

Philippe - Hot Spot, Must for the Hamptons, Group for Groups

33 East 60th Street

New York, NY  10022

East Hampton 

44 Three Mile Harbor Road

East Hampton, NY  11935

you'll be dreaming about Philippe's chicken satays; you're welcome

-S&B

*Hit - if you're in the East Hampton location pop into Lily Pond after for some dancing & house music

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Blue Hill is spectacular!! There are currently two locations Greenwich Village & Tarrytown, NY. All the produce is brought in from surrounding farms & their farm.

The Greenwich Village location allows you to choose from a menu of wonderful things like Wild Striped Bass w/string beans, currants, curry & pine nuts and This Morning's Farm Egg w/fava beans, dandelion greens, pancetta, & almonds.

Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown is completely different. You are given the option between 8 course tasting menu or 5 course tasting menu. The waiter describes the menu as be up to the chef and really your dislikes and likes, aka if you do not eat pork none of the dishes will have pork. Each dish will wake up your palate and hit you with flavors you've never eaten before. We were served fresh veggies on a stick, mini-pea burgers, zucchini fried w/sesame seeds, summer vegetable salad, wild striped bass w/artichoke dressing, potato & ricotta gnocchi, homemade bread w/butter and vegetable salt, grass fed beef, strawberry chilled soup w/sorbet, and....honeycombs w/chocolate covered almonds. It was truly a culinary experience and an experience that can not be written about. You have to enjoy it for yourself.

We almost forgot to mention how romantic this place is. Imagine pulling up to this gorgeous brick farm at night surrounded by candle light and bright stars in the sky! The bar has this old school feel yet modern at the same time. Also, the staff knows their stuff! They know the produce, what's in season, the right wines, and they listen to your dietary constraints, they also order your car once your meal is over! How amazing!?!?

Blue Hill at Stone Barns - Must go, Foodies will enjoy, long long dinner, $$$$, go early and walk the farm

630 Bedford Road

Pocantico Hills, NY 10591

tel: 914.366.9600

Blue Hill Greenwich Village

75 Washington Place

New York, NY 10011

tel: 212.539.1776

Book reservations at www.opentable.com

-S & B

Bino Brooklyn

One word: Amazing. B's 2nd birthday celebration was enjoyed with her girlfriend LZ . B chose Bino Brooklyn after she purchased a Groupon from them a month ago. A short train ride on the F led to B Carrol Gardens, which is so cute. All the streets are lined with brownstones & trees and Smith Street holds some of the cutest restaurants she has ever seen. Both of B & LZ started off with a glass of Biano “San Vincenzo" Chardonnay, it was sweet and exactly what they needed to cool off. LZ and B together = multiple glasses of wine or maybe bottles :-).

On Tuesdays they offer a prefix menu for $36 which includes an app, entree, and dessert, naturally we chose this option. I have to say it was hard decision.

LZ's dining option:

Roasted Beet Salad - watercress, orange, walnuts & crumbled feta cheese

Bucatini - walnut pesto, cherry tomatoes, ricotta salate

B's:

Fennel & Baby Arugula – pickled red onions, balsamic vinaigrette, shaved Asiago cheese

Roasted Cod - wild mushrooms & crushed cauliflower, truffle brown butter

LZ's roasted beet salad was savory except for the fact that too many beets can get overwhelming. LZ ended up enjoying B's salad; it was so fresh and light. Our entres were rich with flavor. LZ's pasta was al dente and you could tell it was homemade. The walnuts with the pesto added the perfect crunch. B's fish was sensational with the mushrooms, YUM! Dessert - whoa! Tiramisu and cheesecake...let's just say we finished every bite.

Bino Brooklyn - foodies will love, Brooklyn must, chill, romantic, perfect place to catch-up

276 Smith St

(Between Degraw St & Sackett St) Brooklyn, NY 11231

-S&B

B's Birthday @ The Lion

Happy Birthday B!

After a 2 hour massage at Bliss B was surprised to find her BFFs waiting at her house with Magnolia cupcakes, Baskin Robbins ice cream cake, and Miss Field's cookies...there goes the diet. B was also surprised by Justinien with reservations at The Lion, she was impressed and quickly asked how he did managed to make ressies at the hottest spot in the city, "Who did you bribe?," his response "I'm fly like that." Cocky...

The Lion reopened May 10th with John DeLucie from Waverly Inn as the chef. They were dropped off by their cab at West 9th and 6th Avenue to find a doorman who quickly asked if they had a reservation and their names. B could not believe he asked who she was...like he didn't already know...geez!

Picture a dark room with warm woods. It has this old library feel and reminded B of playing Clue, no idea why. As they walked in, they sat by the bar and people watched for a moment. The bar is located right next to the kitchen. The aromas emanating from the kitchen were so overwhelming; they began to salivate on cue. As they sat down, B noticed sitting to her right, Steve Nash with two other friends. It was a private affair except for the random patrons that would introduce themselves to Mr. Nash. she was sure they all wished he signed with the Knicks since he does reside in Tribeca.

For starters they ordered Artichoke Fritters, currently she is obsessed with artichokes. They are tiny balls of artichokes mixed with potatoes and baby leeks, she popped a few of these delicious treats into her mouth...yum. Dinner was a hard decision. B chose the Blue Fin Tuna Tartare after her girlfriend W recommended it and Justinien had the Sea Bass, they ran out of the halibut :-(. Perfect piece of fish and Justinien got upset when B put her fork on his fish and took a massive bite, well to B it was little nibble.

They opted for no dessert since B had a dozen cupcakes at home and whole ice cream cake.

The Lion - trendy, hot spot, perfect date spot, $$$$, scene

Dress - to impress

New York Times - Hot Spot

Urban Daddy

Esquire - Must Go

-S&B