Corfu

Michael and I ate at Corfu Grill on Austin Street recently and Denise and I went there for lunch today.

Both times I had a small Greek salad with gyro meat. Denise had the same today and previously Michael had the salad with chicken kebab meat.

#1: The service was much better at night than it was today.
#2: The lettuce is hard to eat because it is cut into long thin strips.
#3: Not enough feta cheese.
#4: The tzatziki is weak.
#5: The wine was off.

Otherwise :) it's okay.

My First Break

Brian Karp, owner of Press 195, posted a comment on my blog. Woo Who! It was very exciting to know that someone other than my friends and family read my blog :)

Jesse said "Isn't that a milestone for you?"

Last night I made dinner...for myself. I cannot remember doing that in recorded history. I made what I call Rigatoni Salt. It's rigatoni with a light marinara sauce that I add sauteed, thinly sliced pitted calamata and manzanilla olives as well as non-pareille capers (no salt is actually added, because you don't need any) :) Michael was at a golf outing and Jesse was just out.

Tonight I am making dinner for us and the Wisners. They have had their apartment floors replaced with gorgeous wood flooring, but the effort they put into moving their furniture, packing, unpacking, etc...was heroic. So they are getting help with putting stuff back and dinner.

Dinner is: Chicken cutlets, Risotto Bianco (from Michael Chiarello's Casual Cooking)and Peas with butter. Red wine and Pellegrino to drink and no dessert. The only ones who can safely eat dessert are Brett and Jesse (because they are so thin). So we are going to avoid it if we can.

Press 195

Saturday night we met Jill and Lenny at Press 195 (http://www.press195.com/) in Bayside.

We've been here several times, but not lately. The food is great! Small inside dining area with a bar and sometimes a wait, but there's an outside seating area as well (not for 97 degrees as it was Saturday night though) and bring your bug spray.

They have a wonderful selection of panini sandwiches all on ciabatta bread. We shared the hummus appetizer of black bean hummus, portobello mushrooms and roasted peppers. For dinner, I had the feta, spinach and black olive spread panini. We brought home a prosciutto and mozzarella for Jesse. Jill had chicken and black bean hummus. Lenny had roast beef (I think)and Michael had a salad with spicy chicken. The pitcher of red sangria was really good.

Definitely a place to remember for a good, casual meal.

Danny Brown's

Friday night we went to dinner with Joe and Denise and Tom and Monica. We went to Danny Brown's on Metropolitan Avenue (http://www.dannybrownwinekitchen.com/).

As always, the food is terrific. We had tuna tartare (x2), grilled calamari over white beans (x2), a 3-cheese cheese board and gnocchi to start with. Michael and Tom had burgers, Joe had spaghetti and Denise, Monica and I had scallops. May sound average, but nothing was. The scallops were some of the best I've ever had. Joe's spaghetti was anything but boring, very flavorful-no meat-always a good thing :)

Wine was good, 2 bottles of red, 1 of white. Dessert was yucky. Can you believe I said that? Denise ordered the lemon tart. I felt (not necessarily the opinion of anyone else) that the crust was made with too much lard and it had a "meaty" taste to it. In any case, the company is always good, so there's nothing to complain about (about dinner that is).

We are also looking for a used car for Jesse (now that's to complain about)!!!

Is all this supposed to make us stronger or is that a crock of shit?

xo

Lunch with the Ladies

Today I had a great time at lunch. Along with my very good friend Barbara, I met Roz, Pearl, Karen and Susan for lunch at the Palace Diner (westbound LIE at Main Street).

The food was unremarkable (and in NYC, diner food should be excellent-so skip this one, there are sooooo many other diners to choose from), however, the company was terrific. Roz was Jesse's 5th grade teacher, Karen and Susan were teachers at 175 when Jesse was there and Pearl was Principal. They are exceptional women with great talent for caring and educating children. I miss seeing them as frequently as I used to.

Before I forget: The service at the diner...how can I say this in public?..SUCKED! (And I don't often use that word). Susan and I had a bit of fun with it though.10% tip hopefully expressed our dissatisfaction :)

Happy Anniversary to US!

Friday July 16 was our 21st wedding anniversary.

We went into the city via subway...sooooo convenient. (Since I haven't worked in the city for over 20 years, I often forget).

We walked around the theatre district for a bit, had a beer at the bar at Maison (http://www.maisonnyc.com/index.php). Then walked over to Nocello (http://www.nocello.net) for dinner. We shared Caesar salad and clams oreganata then I had calamari puttanesca (sauteed in tomato sauce with olives and capers) and Michael had pollo romano with artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes. Everything was good. We were pleasantly surprised.

Then we went to the Neil Simon Theatre to see Harry Connick Jr. who put on a great show. Only flaw is that there is no dance floor. It's hard to hear his music and not want to move...It was a really great evening with my honey!

Saturday night, we went to the Centerport Yacht Club for a graduation party for Leslie's son Louis. Jesse looked GREAT in his new dress clothes. We had a ton of fun with great friends!

We spent yesterday lying by the waves at the beach. The breeze was perfect and the water was warm. Dinner was take out Chinese (I had eggplant and tofu in garlic sauce and Michael had steamed triple jade with chicken) Woo Who!

May make dinner a few times this week, not sure yet. Michael has Little League games and I am having dinner with my brother and his new girlfriend Tuesday night at TR's Great American in Williston Park.

xo

The Official Annual Polikoff Family Beach Day 2010

Monday was our annual beach fling. It was a great day weather-wise, friend-wise, food-wise, drink-wise, all ways! We missed Vin and Wendy and Emily and Abby this year.

And only one thing would have made it better: If the Wisners and Figliolias were there too. Then our circle of BFF's would have been complete :)

Sunday we spent another wonderful day at the Creutz' for Emily's 17th birthday.

Friday night is our 21st Wedding Anniversary and we are going to dinner and to see Harry Connick Jr. I can't wait!

Saturday night is Louis' graduation party at the Centerport Yacht Club. More fun!

And soon, August will be rolling in and we will be swept up in getting Jesse ready for school. Very bittersweet!

Have a good week.

Unbelieveable

Saturday Night night we went out with Jill and Lenny to the city for dinner. Our original destination was Daisy May's, a BBQ joint on 46th and 11th. Michael called ahead to make sure they had seating inside (they didn't used to) and we were told, yes they did and they get busy at about 8pm. So we got there before 8 and couldn't get ONE seat because they were having a private party. They must have forgotten to mention that when we called....

SO we crossed the street to the Landmark Tavern. Jill decided to have a beer at the bar (and we all joined her-of course) as we discussed where to go for dinner now. BBQ was on our minds. After ten minutes or so, we decided to stay put. There were 2 tables for two in the front window and the bartender said he would put them together for us to be able to seat 4. Not a minute later, a party of 3 guys comes in, asks for the tables to be put together in the window and they sit down. What the hell???

SO we went back to Daisy May's to see if they party was over and it was! There was an entire table open. So we sat down...but no...MORE of the original private party showed up and they told us we couldn't sit.

SO we left again...and drove to 23rd Street to RUB. Where we got to sit, no problem, but, hold onto your pantyhose...they were out of ribs. What was going on?

Meanwhile, all through this adventure, Lenny kept suggesting a Mexican place instead, so Michael kept calling and making and canceling and making and canceling and making and canceling a reservation for us (we never got there).

How was your Saturday night?

Summertime and the Living is Slow

So is the cooking.

Beach has been amazing so far. Can't wait for Family Beach Day on July 12. The Official Annual Polikoff Family Beach Day is early this year. Hope the weather cooperates!!! We order dinner in from Mother Kelly's in Cedarhurst. Their balsamic chicken is the best (so everyone says), the linguine with white clam sauce is good too. I love their salad and the bean stuff they send on the side.

We eat and drink and play and sit and talk and swim and sun and relax from noon until after dinner. It's a great day. This year we have 25 people all together. It will be a great day!

Tower Diner re-opened yesterday after there was a fire on their block about a month ago. So of course, we had to order in. I had a turkey burger (theirs are pretty good). Michael had a turkey burger also, but his was bigger than mine :) and came with no bun and sauteed mushrooms and broccoli on the side. We ordered a bacon, egg and cheese on a roll for Jesse (one of his favorite foods). All was yummy! Glad they are back in business.

Last Saturday we went to Aegean Cove with Joe and Denise and sat outside. All was outstanding!

Sunday was the 4th of July at the Shapiros. A great evening and great fireworks all around their neighborhood.

Tomorrow, Costco opens right in our neighborhood. Could be a good thing. We'll see.

No plans yet for Friday or Saturday nights. Sunday at Glenn and Eileen's for a pool party for Emily's 17th birthday. Great friends, food and wine!!! And Monday is Family Beach Day.

See you on the flip side...

I Know, I Know!

I am slacking off again. Not my usual style I admit, but it seems to be the wave of the summer season.

I am not cooking as much, or hardly ever, I should say. We don't sit down for dinner as a family at 7pm every week night anymore. Things in the kitchen are different.

This week I made chicken cacciatore, chicken sausage with broccoli rabe and turkey burgers with Greek salad. But we ate them at our own pace and not necessarily together. I guess I felt there needed to be food available for my boys.

I even went food shopping last, after we ate Tex-Mex takeout, at 8pm. It's nice when there are very few people in the store! Stop and Shop (or as Jill and I call it: Stop and Steal - because they are so expensive, it feels as if you've been stolen from) is open until midnight. Trader Joe's until 10pm. Who knew?

Last week we went to the Furthur concert at Coney Island with Jill and Lenny. Joe, the B-Man and Jerry showed up too. We even saw Andy Dymond and friends. But the show itself was not the music, it was the parking lot. What a scene! Straight out of a movie. The sixties are alive and well and still following the Dead. Of course, I had to have a Nathan's hot dog (with mustard and sauerkraut). It was just as I remembered from the last time I had one (maybe 2-3 years ago). Crunchy, yummy, greasy...didn't much like it later...but every 3 years it ain't so bad :)

This weekend is beach...beach...beach. It will be hot and maybe we'll stay one night to BBQ. July 4 at the Shapiros!!!! Yummy food, best friends, can't wait!