from ME to NY - the best of maine on the LES

a good lobster roll is not too hard to come across in nyc. however, a good lobster roll for under $35 is. but, alas, it has been found. for only $14. and consumed. and consumed 3 more times.

where: luke's lobster 93 E. 7th street

when: best to go before 8pm to avoid the line out the door. which soon will be wrapped around the block.

why: perfect lobster roll, delicious root beer and all for under $16

i met my girlfriends, heather & nora at luke's to test out the lobster roll. the menu is small and simple. the staff are all original mainers. the tiny, quaint shop plucks you out of nyc and drops you in a little maine go-to that only locals know about. fortunately, only a few new yorkers know about luke's too as it just opened october 1st.

i started out with the staple lobster roll. amazing. super fresh lobster and lots of it stuffed into a mini bun that has been lightly buttered and toasted golden brown. a touch of mayo and a sprinkling of some secret seasoning (luke swears its only celery salt). this roll is best combined with salt & vinegar chips and a cold, sweet root beer.

H & N devouring lobster rolls

we were so impressed with luke's lobster roll classic, we decided to step it up a notch and get a taste of maine; lobster roll, shrimp roll and crab roll all in the mini form, pickles, 2 empress claws, chips (i nixed mine for an extra pickle) and yet another root beer.

in line for round 2

'a taste of maine'

needless to say we left full. and happy. and enough money left in my wallet to get a cab home.

p.s. luke is pretty cute.

movin' on up!

we recently moved out of our tiny studio on the upper east side. the always naked man visible in his bathroom from our rooftop had lost its humor. fast. we have had enough with roasting in the summer and a ridiculously high electric bill from over using our A/C to compensate. the washer in the basement had eaten enough of our quarters to buy us take away every night for a week. and with every argument with no place or space to storm off in the heat of the moment, i was tired of ending up in the bathroom. crying. and mostly crying because i was sitting in the bathroom.

so we moved to astoria. after searching in the pits of brooklyn (flatbush), ghetto and not-so-fabulous bits of harlem and same ol' boring squares of the upper east side we decided on sweet, delicious, sky riser free, greek infused astoria.

our apartment is practically heaven sent. my top three favorites things are the black & white tile floor in the bathroom, crown molding throughout and the antique glass doorknobs that i would totally over pay for in any little boutique.

(pardon the lack of chi)

we have painted (well, stuart painted and i assisted) the crown molding in true style; light inside, dark outside and white trim. martha stewart inspired colors of course! and our hand-me-down laura ashley L-shape looks as if we picked it out just for the space.

everything is slowly finding a home inside cupboards, closets and nooks. i even got to bring a few of my favorite things that didn't make the studio cuts previously into the new place. and all of my dishes are cozy in their cabinets. perfect! i even have enough kitchen space to have an entire cabinet & shelf dedicated to just baking tools. a self proclaimed baking goddess' dream.

i'm just waiting on my matching white, ruffled, laundry bags and shower curtain, currently on back order.

fashion week: carlos miele - a new york experience

every once in a blue moon i get this great feeling, tingles all over and fall madly in love with new york all over again. this one such blue moon was during fashion week showcasing spring/summer 2010.

one of my fav new yorkers, heather, managed to score tickets to carlos miele's show. we were no longer be circling the 'wichcraft stand trying to catch a glimps of designers and gurus but we were actually going to be under the (big, glorious, white) tents.

of course such an event needs to be preceeding with slightly glutenous, glamorous breakfast. reservation for 3 under holly golightly.

surrounded by glitz, glam and urban-chic wonder women, heather, lauren and i tried to maintain our coolness. this soon gave way to capturing the event on our cameras, which lead to giddiness and joy and brought us eventually to sheer vanity. (we did look pretty fabulous)

just waiting in line was exhuberating. watching the guests pour out of the carolina herrera show. r.zoe spotting. we finally got our (pretty sweet) seats and started to soak up the experience.

the show was wonderful. miele used such beautiful color palates and organza silks that could make your heart melt. everything that came down the runway was gorgeous. we were in awe.

still in love with the day and awaiting the next blue moon.

orsino love triangle

my dear friend heather recently got us tickets (by waiting in line for 5 hours) to see Shakespeare in the Park: Twelfth Night.

this was probably one of the best things i have done in manhattan. we had a terrific girls date night which included lots of wine & st.andre cheese.

the acting was amazing and featured anne hathaway playing viola. stellar. the set was perfectly simplistic. the play was just delightful as directed by daniel sullivan. performed in the language of shakespeare, i was pleasantly surprise with how well i followed it and even found myself laughing out loud (at the humorous bits of course)

here's a little recap via love map:

on top of all the theatrical magic, the rainy weather stayed at bay for the duration of the play. miracle for nyc in the summer of 2009.

cherish my cherin. sushi.

mmm! sushi.

i recently discovered a fabulous sushi restaurant in the east village. cherin sushi. reasons it is so fabulous: aaahmazing & creative sushi rolls and BYOB.

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among the traditional rolls and sashimi, cherin gets creative with fish combo's. options with mangos and red caviar are all over the menu selections. the marriage of fish & fruit is done so well here, you leave craving their house specialty rolls; the john roll (sliced mango atop spicy, crunchy salmon) and trisha roll (tune & yellowtail on top of avocado & crunch) are my favorites.

everything is super fresh. the rice is not too overbearing and cooked to perfection. and cherin scores extra points for simple, appreciated presentation.

decor is simple, clean, understated, but classier than your typical sushi joint. slightly dim inside and always packed with east village locals who are in the know. the little twinkly lights outside on the door & railing make it easy to spot.

best of all...cherin is totally affordable. and with the BYOB, you can bring along your fav sauvingnon blanc. perfection.

*image courtesy of nymag.com