My Favorite Restaurants in NYC On A Budget

New York is a foodie's paradise. But it can break the bank. I love Nobu, but I'll eat there when someone else is footing the bill (a la client, parent, etc.) These are a few of my favorite places to eat on a budget in Manhattan:

1. Buddha Bodai - Vegetarian Kosher Dim Sum (Mott St @ Bowery in Chinatown)
2. Han Bat - best cheap Korean in the City (35th between 5th / 6th Ave)
3. Mama's - Southern comfort food (great veggies!) in the East Village (3rd Street @ Ave B)
4. El Maguey del Tuna - best cheap Mexican food in the City - $4 drinks and surreal mole and nachos (LES: Houston Street near Norfolk, so very far east)
5. Cafe Katya - Eastern European food - divine wurst (so says my hubbie, I'm a vegetarian) and schnitzel
6. Blind Tiger - sure, it's a beer bar (yum) but their Italian Tuna Melt is grilled perfection
7. Quantum Leap - best. veggie. burger. ever.

It's Summertime: Grill Your Cocktails!

This past weekend, I picked up some delicious peaches from the Ft. Greene Farmer's Market (Saturdays -- the best farmer's market in Manhattan/Brooklyn, in my humble opinion) and decided to try to make a grilled cocktail for my friend's evening event, Grill Club NYC. I experimented at a birthday party in Brooklyn, where I mixed the first batch. The learning? Muddle MORE, and too much seltzer in the first batch!

The second batch was prepared for competition at Grill Club NYC on a rooftop terrace in the East Village. The best part of the night, by the way, was meeting an amazing couple from Denmark. I can't remember the chick's name, but I loved talking to her. She was tall and oh-so Nordic. Awesomeness.

Grilled Peach Bourbon Fizz
2 oz. bourbon
1 1/2 oz. elderflower syrup (from IKEA, or use St. Germaine Liqueur)
1 grilled skewer of peaches (about 5 minutes per side)
3 healthy dashes of peach bitters (I use Fee Brothers)
Seltzer float

Grill a skewer of peaches per cocktail. Place grilled peaches in cocktail shaker and muddle aggressively, until pureed (or use blender ideally). Add bourbon, peach bitters, elderflower syrup, and ice to shaker and shake vigorously. Pour using wide mouthed strainer into glass filled with ice. Leave 1 inch for seltzer float. Stir and serve with garnished peach slice and straw.

Grill Club NYC - Awarded “Best Cocktail” July 2009

sweeeeeet!!!

Amazing Nola / Modified

I make granola once a week -- I love the stuff. My mom used to make it all through my childhood, and I get so much pleasure from my daily bowl of granola and soy milk.

My friend Amy sent me a new granola recipe, and it takes a lot (a personal email from the talented Amy usually does it) to get me to try a new nola. I modified this recipe (from the New York Times) to be uber-healthy for folks with Blood Type A (I moderately follow the Blood Type Diet, when I can...) It turned out...AMAZING! The smell of cardamom was surreal while it baked. I've eaten it for two days -- my husband loves it, I sent my film partner home with a bag of it, and I now realize: I have a new weekly nola recipe! Try it -- you will NOT be disappointed.

I starred the ingredients I either changed or lowered the quantity of....

Olive Oil Granola With Dried Apricots and Walnuts

By MELISSA CLARK (Modified by Kit Cat)

Published: July 10, 2009

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 cups raw walnuts, chopped*

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, hulled

1 cup coconut chips

1/2 cup pure maple syrup*

Just over 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil*

1/4 cup agave nectar*

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

3/4 cup chopped dried apricots

Fresh ricotta, for serving (optional)

Fresh berries, for serving (optional).

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine oats, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, coconut chips, maple syrup, olive oil, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Spread mixture on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown and well toasted.

2. Transfer granola to a large bowl and add apricots, tossing to combine. Serve with ricotta and fruit, if desired.

Yield: About 9 cups.

VEGGIE MAMA

Nothing says summertime to me like opening up the fridge to an overwhelming amount of CSA (community supported agriculture) veggies. My dinner triumphs is when I can use the entire lot of random greens, roots, and summer squash in one meal. Tonight's feat: kohlrabi radish slaw, farm fresh egg salad, and chard with bok choy stir fried in garlic scapes. A feast!!

RAIN: LEAVE IT

City rain sucks. I can't ride my bike which makes it virtually impossible to get me out of the house. I bike everywhere, and the recent four months of daily rain has seriously made this Spring/Summer a less enjoyable experience. Instead, I get to take a 13 minute walk to the subway under a flimsy umbrella while rain blows from every direction, soaking my clothes which stick to me humidly on the platform of East Broadway? Ugh. I used to love rain. I think I will again, once we're out of the city....