Smoothies are one of my favorite breakfast dishes.  They're easy to make, we always have the ingredients on hand, and they're both tasty and healthy.  So with the hot weather here in NYC, I decided to turn my smoothies into popsicles!

Yay! The long weekend is here, which means Shake Shack has something special to offer!  For Memorial Day weekend, the corn dog ($4.50) is back on the menu at the UWS location.  We had it last Labor Day weekend and that deep-fried Vienna hot dog with sweet Rick's Picks corn relish was mighty tasty.

Macy's in Herald's Square is known for many things: the Thanksgiving Day parade, hoards of shoppers, and Santa's workplace in A Miracle on 34th Street. But did you know that it also houses a cooking school?  Just beyond the swimsuits and coats on the 8th floor sits the De Gustibus Cooking School.

We recently won 2 tickets to a wine class by correctly answering a question via Twitter (they often have contest so follow them for your chance to win).  All we knew was that we would be treated to a few wine pairings of St. Francis Winery & Vineyards wines with food from igourmet.com.  We ended up thoroughly enjoying (and completely stuffed from) our tastings of 10 wines, multiple cheeses, cured meats, and pates.

Having started this food blog over a year ago, we have both met some wonderful, interesting people.  One of my first blogger friends was Mardi, who I had the good fortune to meet in person when we were both in San Francisco.  She's based in Toronto (my hometown) and came down this past weekend to NYC with her husband.  So, along with a few other bloggers (Lauren, Mary Ann, and eventually Christine), we headed down to the East Village to celebrate her 40th birthday visit at Northern Spy Food Co (a quaint country-style farm-to-table spot).

Remember that sneak-peak we had of the New Taste of the Upper West Side?  Well, the event all happens this weekend and started off today with a passionate panel (with proceeds going towards Wellness in the Schools) discussing school lunch programs and ways to get our children (and ourselves) to eat healthier foods.

Elizabeth Kaledin (NY 1, photo far right) moderated the discussion and started with a startling statistic:  Obesity-related diseases cost NY state over $6 billion dollars a year.  The all-star panel, which featured (photo, l-r) Dr. Joel Fuhrman (Nutritional Medicine Expert), Kate Krader (Food & Wine Magazine), John Fraser (Dovetail), Ellie Krieger (Food Network), Eric Goldstein (School Support Services), Bill Telepan (Telepan), and (NY Post), had a lot to talk about!

Last Sunday, we attended the first annual Taste Williamsburg Greenpoint - a food event to raise money for the building of the Northside Town Hall Community and Cultural Center.  Not only was it for a good cause, but the event was a great way for us to explore these two areas of Brooklyn all in one spot.

So along with my husband (aka my hand model), we tried as many foods as we could, talked to a variety of vendors, and learned about places we'd like to visit in Brooklyn.

Dining at Del Posto is like transporting back to the classic New York City (think Mad Men era, but without the cigarette smoke).  The piano player is playing "As Time Goes By".  Crisp white linens adorn the tables.  

And the best part of this fine dining escape?  The bill was only a fraction of the normal cost because we ordered Del Posto's weekday fixed price lunch deal ($29 per person for a 3-course meal).  Like the lunch deal at Jean Georges, we enjoyed a wonderful meal with impeccable service.

Once in a while, we like attending open houses.  In NYC, it's a great way to see how other people live as well as gain a decor tip or two.  But food-wise, open houses tend to disappoint.

So when we heard that a handful of restaurants (including Shake Shack!) from the upcoming New Taste of the Upper West Side would be catering Curbed's open house event, we were eager to check out the luxury rentals at Columbus Square.

With thoughts of summer hopefully coming soon, I often think of casual dinner parties and summery cocktails to make for friends and family.  So when I was invited to last night's launch of Belvedere vodka's Pink Grapefruit flavor, I was interested to get some entertaining ideas.

After braving the cold, rainy weather last night in NYC, I ended up enjoying the night of cocktails, food pairings, and learning about the making of Belvedere's naturally-flavored vodkas.

The weekend before Cinco de Mayo, we decided to go on a taco run in the East Village.  We were far from our favorite taqueria in the city (Tehuitzingo in Hell's Kitchen) and interested in seeing what the other side of town would offer.

We ended up trying two spots along Ave A that were less than five streets apart:  La Lucha and Zaragoza Mexican Deli & Grocery.  Between the two of us, we spent about $20 at each place.   La Lucha's small tacos seemed pricey at $4.50 each while Zaragoza's $2.50 tacos provided the best overall value, but was found in a hole in the wall place.

Popsicles to us just scream summer on a stick:  bright, bold colors with fresh fruit flavors.  Here in NYC, a couple of stand-alone stores recently opened up devoted to this frozen treat.  We have cupcake shops, ice cream/gelato parlours, and now popsicle stores.  People's Pops was a familiar sight at the Brooklyn Flea markets and just last month, opened up a store in Chelsea Market.  Popbar, a new store in the village, just opened up a few days ago to sell gelato on a stick.

We love living in NYC because we get to visit so many different restaurants of various cultures.  Ethiopian food is one of our favorites and our go-to place is Queen of Sheba, a modest-sized restaurant in Hell's Kitchen.  Ethiopian food isn't the prettiest of foods, but eating it is a fun experience - we eat with our hands, taste different spicy flavors, and actually feel fairly full after the meal (we ordered enough for 4 people!)

In addition to today's (Saturday's) custard flavor (Red Velvet), the UWS Shake Shack location is offering another special (today only):  Ramp Dogs.   

Meatballs and Ice Cream sandwiches - we loved them as kids and they remain two of our favorite comfort foods.  So we were really excited to try out The Meatball Shop, a casual restaurant devoted to variations of meatball dishes and different combinations of ice cream sandwiches.

With the warmer weather, we've been lucky to have so many farmers markets and street fairs pop up around NYC.  Next Sunday, May 16th, we'll be at the First Annual Taste Williamsburg Greenpoint event (tickets still available!).  It's an outdoor culinary celebration of North Brooklyn’s local food, beverage and community.

We are looking forward to trying samples from our favorite vendors like the Bedford Cheese Shop and Van Leeuwen ice cream and check out new (to us) ones like Fatty Cue and Diner.  (Click to see all vendors and menu items).  There will also be live cooking demonstrations and live music.

All proceeds from the event benefit the building of the Northside Town Hall Community and Cultural Center to be housed in the converted historic former Engine Company 212 firehouse.

Details:  Taste Williamsburg Greenpoint

Date: Sunday May 16th, 2010

Time: 12 - 4 pm

Location: N 11th St. (btwn Berry St and Wythe Ave)

Tickets:

6 tastes: $35 (Advance), $40 (day of event)

10 tastes:  $55 (Advance), $60 (day of event)

18 tastes:  $95 (Advance), $100 (day of event)

With the Tribeca Film Festival in town, dinner and a movie took on a whole new meaning.  We loved checking out the movies, seeing the red carpet, and listening to why the directors/producers created their movies.  But finding a nice spot for dinner proved a little more difficult as movie-goers (and the regular Momofuku fans) crowded into Momofuku Ssam.  Instead, we checked out Bar Carrera and unexpectedly found both the nicest server in NYC and a good selection of Basque-style tapas.

Usually we follow food trucks' tweets on Twitter to find out where they are and what they're serving.  Sometimes it's easy, while other times we're on a wild goose chase as situations (e.g. traffic, police citations, weather, etc.) change these gourmet food trucks' locations.  So when we heard that at least 6 of them would be stationary in one spot, we were eager to check them out.  We headed out to the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market this morning to brave the crowd, soak in the sun, and eat our fill of Korean BBQ, BLT burgers, vegan doughnuts, and inspired ice cream.