Paggi House (Sunday Brunch)

My 25th is fast approaching!!

So, the parents came in to take me to Sunday brunch at Paggi House. 

It's a buffet, but you can also order items until you wish you had wore your fat-pants. 

I went for the berries, potatoes, bacon, quiche, smoked salmon, and goat cheese with pistachios. 

Dad chose ceviche shrimp, salmon, bacon, and the cheese. 


Mom had a lot of the same, except she tried the bread pudding and wouldn't stop mmm-ing.

Mom and I ordered eggs benedict and loved them. The hollondaise wasn't overwhelming, just dressed the dish beautifully. 


Dad ordered two different kinds of omelets (all you can eat!). He said they had nice flavor, but didn't wow him. 

We all were curious to try the chicken and waffles since CK (as in Chin) kept saying how fabulous it was. I really liked that the portion was small since the sweet flavor of the maple syrup was very strong. The waffle itself was delish! But I think I like 24 hour diner's better. Overall, it was a good and sweet morsel to finish off the meal with. 


The service was excellent, and I was surprised to see it half-empty at 1 p.m. on a Sunday. We didn't try the $1 mimosas, but that's enough incentive to make me go back. The patio was quite warm, but there was live music and plenty of umbrellas and trees for shade. There is a sunroom(?) bar in the back. It's pretty cute, just really really warm- the fans in there don't really cool it down. 

Blue Star Cafeteria

The time has come for one of  my besties to walk down the aisle. 

Now, don't judge me, none of my close friends are married, I have never been to an American wedding, much less been in the wedding, so I know NOTHING about this life-changing ritual. 

However, I will be co-maid of honor at J&B's April wedding, so when her day came to shop for wedding gown, I was ready. No one told me how mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausting this process would be, or how hungry I'd get!!

Knowing me far too well, she built lunch right into the schedule in between bridal shop appointments.

Blue Star Cafeteria, another one of Eddie Bernal's hit-or-miss restaurants (Santa Rita --gross, and 34th Street Cafe--$$$$), hosted the Bride-to-be, mother-of-the-bride, and the bridesmaids. The decor is simple, but very cute, the service was good, the prices were moderate, and the bubbly drinks were delish. Oh btw, Mr. Bernal is too cheap to get a liquor license, so you can bring your own "hooch" and save some $$ at 34th Street and Blue Star. To the left are the sparkling grapefruit and the poinsetta-- cranberry juice, sparkling wine, and lime juice.

I had the Waldorf salad with mango, jicama, candied walnuts, gorgonzola, turkey (I subbed with chicken), and a honey dijon dressing. Now, don't freak, but mine had a hair in it... so along with my freshly made second salad, came complementary desserts for the whole table! :). Good service.

J&B, her mom, and KT had the Asian Chicken salad (a.k.a the Hack salad at 34th Street Cafe). They were all super disappointed. Not enough dressing, it tasted different, the lettuce was not crisp, etc, etc, etc. 

DR and HS had a turkey burger and turkey sandwich respectively. The fries were excellent!

Then we all went a little bananas with the sweets. We ordered two Italian Cream cakes, one chocolate chip cookie pie thing with ice cream on top, and a key lime pie. All of the desserts were amazing and in very generous portions.
They comped my salad and $17 worth of desserts. Cha-ching. 

NYC:

As promised, I have a full report on my amazing culinary New York experiences. 

There's so much ground to cover! So, let's just start at the beginning. 

Thursday, Day 1

Lunch: Roebling Tea Room, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

First of all, the place is adorable and inviting. It was antiquey down to the light fixtures and hardware. Definitely feels like a tea room. 

The service left much to be desired. We were there at off-hours, but there was still plenty of staff and servers. Whatever, in the end it was fine.

I chose a light salad with beets, trail mix, and goat cheese with a light vinaigrette. The trail mix consisted of sunflower seeds, walnuts, pecans, and peanuts and was covered with super light layer of honey. It was fresh, light, and a lovely choice for my first meal. 

Italianini, on the other hand, went down a very different path. Imagine a juicy patty, a fried green tomato, english muffin, and chevre cheese in your mouth... just take a minute to imagine it... nice huh?

Dinner: James Beard House, West Village, New York

In 1985 James Beard died, leaving an empty house and an empty place in thousand of people's hearts. But, in 1986 Peter Kump, along with Julia Child, raised enough money to buy James Beard's townhouse and turn it into the North American Mecca for Chefs. 

As I walked through the front door I felt like the luckiest girl alive!! 

The Maître d’ was kind enough to take me through the kitchen (HOLY CRAP!)out to the garden where drinks and hors d'œuvres were being served. We were all then led to our assigned seats, some right by the kitchen in the sun room, some (including me) were in the main dining room, and some in a mezzanine by the stairs. The main dining room is where Beard's living room used to be. It was fantastic to be there, and I felt special even though they have these types of dinners nearly every night of the week. Four hours later, the Chefs were honored, toasts were made, and the last tequila shot was poured. I was happy.

Friday, Day 2

Lunch: Pastis, Meatpacking District, New York

After an amazing meal with fantastic wine pairings in the Beard House and a long night in Meatpacking District, Italianini dragged my disgustingly hung over a** to Pastis. He had a humongous (and delicious) sliced steak sandwich with onions and gruyere with a side of fries. I figured in my tender state I should probably take it easy, so I had the arugula and shaved parmesan salad with lemon.

Snack: Terrace 5 MOMA, Uptown, New York

In between Matisse, Dali, Klimt, and Picasso I wanted a snack. Mixed berries with crème fraiche and a coke was all my belly needed to recuperate. It was surprisingly refreshing and just the right thing to fix my hang over.

Dinner: Momofuku Ssam Bar, East Village, New York

David Chang is pretty much my favorite person right now (Just don't tell my Italianini). 20 of us crammed into the only large table in this tiny place for our 11 p.m. bo ssäm.

I would have been happy with the dozen oysters, the steamed buns, the crispy rice and sausage, the mackerel with melon and dijon, the kimchi, or any of the other 10 dishes on our table, but the big boy was coming...
I don't know how to explain this experience. I guess it's why they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

The pork shoulder comes with bibb lettuce and three different sauces. Chang suggests an oyster be included in the tiny pork lettuce wrap with one of the sauces, but I just slurped them right up!

 Yep, definitely bigger than a dollar...

Saturday, Day 3

Lunch: Mamoun's Falafel Restaurant, West Village, New York

I had been craving falafel since I got on the plane in Austin at 6 a.m. on Thursday, so Italianini took me to his favorite falafel place in the village. $3 will buy you a piece of falafel heaven. Italianini chose the shawarma sandwich, which didn't disappoint, but the falafel was amazing. 
I apologize for not having a picture of that, but it was a quick bite in between some shopping :)

Dinner: Roberta's, Bushwick, Brooklyn

After a super long afternoon enjoying this Summer's exhibit at PS1 (along with a few beers), we all enjoyed our last supper together at Roberta's. 
Let me tell you that this is the only thing Buswick has going for it, in my opinion anyway. It's the coolest place. It's in an adorable older building, worn wooden tables, a great huge pizza oven, and their own little garden. We ordered the meat plate, the cheese plate, the bibb lettuce salad, and about 10 pizzas. The wine flowed freely as we enjoyed the nice summer night in Brooklyn. 


I know I'm not supposed to blog about New York, my blog is an Austin blog, right? But man I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this trip and I just had to share!! When I really think about it, it revolved around amazing meals. 
I have a tough life, I know.

BRB

Headed to NYC. 

I'll be back with a full culinary report. 

Stay tuned...