Cozymels

Danny and I decided to grab dinner at Cozymels, a Mexican restaurant out on Long Island. We used to frequent this restaurant often when we were still in college but we haven’t been back in years! After shopping for the holidays, we hit up this restaurant. My favorite memories was in the beginning of our relationship. We went there with my best friend and Danny and I literally wrestled over the check. Danny also told me that him and his family have a tradition of stealing something from the restaurant (don’t worry. They have dried peppers/lemons out on display in the lobby. Nobody stole dinnerware or utensils.). I stole a lime and left it in our fridge in our dorm room and forgot about it when we left for winter break. When we came back, the lime grew mold all over it! Not sure why that’s 1 of my favorite memories hahahhahaa.

 

Anywho, they brought out a bowl of chips and salsa (really good!). We ordered guacamole as our appetizer but it took forever for the waiter to come around to our table, so we just canceled that order. I ordered the special “Santana” and Danny ordered a set of 3 enchiladas. Little did we know, our entrees were basically the same thing except mine was stacked and not rolled up like Danny’s enchiladas. If we had known, we would’ve ordered the cheaper 1 of the 2 (they were the same thing!!!!) Anyway, my entree consisted of a stack of corn tortillas layered with roasted pork, shredded beef, and ranchero chicken topped with ancho chili, verde, and poblano cream sauces. It came with rice and refritos. I really liked my entree because of the different meats and sauces. The ancho chili and poblano sauces were spicy but not overwhelming. The meats were cooked well and I loved adding the rice and beans with the sauce and meat.

 

Danny ordered the 3 enchiladas (shredded chicken, shredded beef, and roasted pork). He also wanted to substitute the red beans with black beans but his order came with red beans. He didn’t say anything because the waiter barely came around to our table. It was still good though. Danny liked his entree but it was basically the same as what I ordered. We were so full, we couldn’t finish our entrees. Based on our past experiences with Cozymel, we were a bit disappointed with this dinner. We canceled our guacamole appetizer because our waiter wasn’t around or attentive. Also, they forgot to replace Danny’s red beans with black beans. Hopefully if we come back in the future, our experience will be better.

 

Cozymel

1177 Corporate Drive

Westbury, NY 11590

http://www.cozymels.com

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05
Jan
2012

Ah Nhau

For date night, Danny and I tried a new Vietnamese restaurant in Williamsburg called “Ah Nhau.” I suggested this restaurant because they followed me on twitter and I love trying new restaurants in new cool areas (we haven’t really been around the Williamsburg scene, so this was a good time to do so). It was a saturday night and we thought it would be super crowded and popping but to our surprise, there weren’t too many diners at Ah Nhau. The restaurant is nice and was decorated with asian influence (there was even an outdoor eating area).

 

For drinks, I ordered coconut milk (just because I love anything coconut) and Danny ordered thai coffee (he originally wanted thai iced tea but they ran out of the iced tea (weird!!!). My coconut milk was light, yummy, and refreshing. Danny’s thai iced coffee was heavy and too sweet. It was iced coffee made with condensed milk and was just too much like dessert (would’ve been a great after dinner drink). Our waitress recommended it but it was definitely not a good drink to have with a meal.

 

For our appetizers, I ordered Roti Quail and Danny ordered classic pho with beef. My roti quail was super yummy and was sweet, thick, and very curry’y. I love quail (my dad used to make it a lot when we were younger). The quail was juicy and moist. The shallots and other vegetables were crunchy and tasted great with the roti. The only thing I didn’t like was how sticky my hands got.

 

Danny’s classic pho was good as well. The broth was light and earthy, rich in beefy flavor. The rice noodles were cooked well and also absorbed the beefy flavor. The beef was rare and when cooked in it’s own broth, was super beefy and moist. The pho was good but I don’t think it was the best we’ve ever tried.

 

For our entrees, I ordered the caramelized sliced pork belly and Danny ordered the Mi Xao with beef. My caramelized sliced pork belly was super delicious! The pork belly was braised in Vietnamese black pepper and served in a caramelized sauce. The pork belly came out in a blazing steaming pot and when the lid was opened, I immediately smelled the aroma of the caramelized sauce. The pork belly was super moist and sweet! I mixed some of the sauce in with some rice and it was just super yummy!

 

Danny’s entree on the other hand, was not as good as mine. The Mi Xao consisted of wonton noodles with beef sauteed with chives, bean sprouts, carrots, and snow peas. The beef was overcooked and the wonton noodles were stuck together and were al dente. The vegetables were good but couldn’t save the dish. Definitely not a dish we’d order again.

 

After dinner, we just walked around Williamsburg and there were a bunch of places we have to try (Meatball shop!!!). We also grabbed some bubble tea at this cute little shop (we love bubble tea!) As for Ah Nhau, we’d probably visit for lunch if we’re in the area.

 

Ah Nhau

172 Bedford Ave

Brooklyn, NY 11211

http://www.annhaunyc.com/

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07
Nov
2011

Crossbar

I recently purchased a Thrillist certificate for Todd English’s Crossbar. The $68 deal consisted of any 2 appetizers, 2 entrees (excluding the Bone-in ribeye), a dessert to be shared, and 6 cask beers. I’ve wanted to try Crossbar for a while, so I figured why not go here for Danny and I’s 5.5 year anniversary! Crossbar was pretty easy to get to and is located at the iconic Limelight Marketplace. Crossbar was actually built in the Limelight Cathedral. It was dark, gothic, and had a working fireplace going. We had the choice of sitting outside or inside. We chose inside because I didn’t want to get bitten up by mosquitoes. When our waiter came by, I showed him the Thrillist certificate. We ordered 2 cask beers (I don’t remember which beers we ordered because I lost all of my notes!). I also asked the waiter about the head to tail pork entree (I remembered reading about it on Thrillist. It even had stuffed pig ears, tail, and much much more!). The waiter informed me that they don’t serve that anymore. I was super disappointed…if they don’t serve it anymore, shouldn’t they change that information when buying a certificate?

 

Anyway, we ordered our appetizers. I ordered the Duck sliders and Danny ordered the lobster guacamole. I was super surprised when he ordered the lobster guacamole, when I’m the one that absolutely loves lobster. I didn’t order it because I don’t think lobster and guacamole goes well together. Unfortunately, that came out to be true. The chips had a little spice on them, making them a little too spicy. The guacamole itself was mediocre (my boyfriend and his dad make THE best guacamole, so I’m biased). The guacamole also had lots of lettuce on the bottom, so there really wasn’t that much guacamole in the mortar. The lobster was cooked well but the portion wasn’t that big. Overall, the lobster guacamole didn’t really go well together and was overpriced. The duck sliders on the other hand, were delicious! The 3 slides came with duck bacon, foie gras sauce, and crispy shallots. They were juicy and delicious. I could eat them all day!

 

For our entree, I ordered the Serrano Wrapped Pork Tenderloin and Danny ordered the Pork Belly. My pork tenderloin was cooked nicely but I barely tasted the manchego, the picada sauce was too spicy and strong, and the apples were too sour. Overall, the pork was good but went better with Danny’s curry sauce. His pork belly was to die for! The pork belly was still slightly crispy and was swimming in this delicious sweet/spicy curry sauce. My only complaint was the cucumber balls (they tasted more like pickles and I’m not a fan of pickles). Other than that, I love pork belly in just about any form!

 

For dessert, Danny wanted to be a little daring, so we ordered the Pecan bacon pie. This came out with bourbon-caramel ice cream and sticky toffee. Surprisingly, this pie turned out to be absolutely delicious! The pie itself tasted as if bacon fat was drizzled all over and the ice cream was just yummy and bourbon’y. There was just enough bacon flavor in this amazing dessert!

 

Here’s a pic of our 6 cask beers (I don’t remember which ones were which) but 5 out of 6 were really good! The only 1 I didn’t like was this super dark lager (it tasted like black coffee that went bad). The beers were pretty good (some of them tasted like Sam Adams). I like a light beer, so next time, that’s all I will order. Danny and I will definitely be coming back to Crossbar but will probably order a few different things.

 

CrossBar

47 W 20th St

New York, NY 10010

http://www.crossbarny.com/

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12
Aug
2011

Polish Dinner

So Danny loves pierogies and making them was 1 of my goals while he was on vacation to Italy. They came out great and when he came back to the U.S., I knew I wanted to surprise him with them. I fried up a bunch of pierogies and a pork cutlet. I just pounded out the pork chops, beat an egg in a bowl, and had the bread crumbs on a plate. Dip the pork chops into the egg and then cover with bread crumbs. I fried them for roughly 8 minutes. The only thing missing was applesauce. Danny absolutely loved the pierogies (he said they were better than Polska, the polish restaurant in Greenpoint we love). I am definitely going to make more just in case we get a craving!

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01
Jul
2011