Blogher Pictorial: Wordless Wednesday

I know – I know… Blogher is over… but there are so many pictures I haven’t shared in other posts I decided to put the rest in one place!

 

Thank you to Romy of Romy Raves and Suzanne Cohen for your great photos!

The Eatery: Restaurant Review

It’s Sunday night in NYC. We had been going nonstop for 4.5 days. I’m talking 4 hours of sleep a night NONSTOP.

We were sitting in Jyl’s of Mom It Forward room with Rachel and Breanne – Today’s Mama – who were devastated after missing their flight. Thank you JFK and the Dominican Parade. And we were hungry.

Jyl called down to the concierge to get restaurant suggestions. We said the restaurant had to be close to the hotel – The Hilton -  and we wanted some good comfort food, please.

The restaurant we were sent to was The Eatery. We happily chatted as we walked the 5 or 6 block to our dinning destination, on arrival we were relieved to find there was no wait. Our server patiently revisited our table a few times before we decided what to order.  You know… we all had to check in with whrrl, foursquare and foodspotting before we could even look at the menu.  Yeah… we’re that cool.

BTW – the atmosphere in the restaurant was perfect – right down to the “pringle shaped” light sconces that lined the wall.  Very contemporary and chic without being cold and unwelcoming.

I had been eyeballing the White Cheddar Meatloaf with Beer Batter Onion Rings until Jyl got word that they had the best Mac N Cheese in NYC, that was all I needed to push me over the edge.  Now I haven’t eaten every other mac n cheese in the city, but their “Mac and Jack” was up there.  Especially when you bite into the yummy crusty dark brown edge – which I almost neglected to do.  Heaven.

Jyl ordered the hummus – Diva note: served with whole wheat pita!  Then we shared an Organic Baby Spinach Salad with goat cheese, beats, and pickled pear.  Yum.  Jyl swears it was the best salad she’s ever eaten in her life.  I was excited that it was organic, green and would soak up some of the saturated fat from my calorie laden choice.

Rachel ordered the Edamame – which we all ate.  They were fresh and salted just right.  Followed by the Eggless Chicken Ceasar salad – which she enjoyed in between bites of my Mack and Jack.

The one dish that fell a little flat seemed to be the Pan Seared Sea Scallop served with Asparagus Risotto & Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette.  To be fair, I didn’t try the Scallop, but did take a bite of the risotto, which just felt like it was missing something… when the others swirled it in the vinaigrette it improved the story for them… not so much for this diva.

Stuffed we skipped desert and rolled ourselves back to the hotel, where we left Jyl to run off with her husband.  Rachel and Breanne moved in with me for the night – we had a great slumber party and I’m happy to report they made their plane the next day!

I’m so glad to have spent this time with these amazing women, it was definitely a highlight.  The food was great, the conversation better and my favorite part was all the hands flying back and forth across the table – stealing nibbles… I mean bites -  and truly “sharing” our meal with one another.

This evening was the perfect closing meal for an unbelievable New York City whirlwind!

Cafe Blossom: Diva Review

While I was in New York City  for Blogher I had a chance to sit down with Neha from Greenista. We had lunch at Cafe Blossom, an organic vegan restaurant, located in the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Now… to be fair,  when I eat out I lean towards conventional restaurants.  When Neha suggested Cafe Blossom I threw caution to the wind and went for it.  I was after all – on my own in NYC…  and I  write a naturally focused organic and eco blog after all…

Sitting down to order was a challenge for me.  Being a vegan restaurant meant  they had no dairy – which meant no cafe latte for me and even though it was lunch, I had been packing all morning and really could have used that coffee!  I settled for Earl Gray Tea with agave and lemon… steeped in a thimble sized cup.

Note to Cafe Blossom – if you are going to serve tea – serve it in a teapot or at least a cup that holds more than 4 oz of water.  It took us 20 minutes to get more hot water to dilute the bitter tea.

Back to the menu…. I contemplated the Black Eyed Pea Cakes – but not being a fan of the black eyed pea – that seemed risky.  I considered the Autumn Sweet Potato Rolls, but was fairly sure I would be wishing for rice noodles while I munching on their raw coconut noodles and I wondered where the rest of the dish was for the Peas and Carrots – if it’s delish – it needs to be renamed!

I ordered the mushroom soup – which never made it to my table -  and the Veggie Grain Burger with sweet potato fries.  The sandwich my have looked a little plain, but it was delicious.  I didn’t miss the cheese at all (and I always miss the cheese!) and had the server ever returned I would have loved a little more of the yummy hummus.

Overall, service was a little too laid back for my style.  No one checked on our meal, to get more water for our tea I had to get up… twice… and by the time we flagged a server to get get our bill, we didn’t even have time to see if they billed us for the mushroom soup that never arrived.

After a little trepidation about the menu, I found the food to be very enjoyable.  I just wished the staff had shown even the tiniest care in serving their clientele, on the upside if you are looking for a vegan restaurant where they will leave you to linger in NYC this may be the spot for you!