Pub Crawl

Ok, it wasn't really a pub crawl... it was more of a wine bar crawl.... and it actually only involved two bona fide wine bars and then one A-mazing dessert place (which may have had wine in the back room, but we didn't think to ask once we had laid eyes on the cupcakes).

On my last trip to New York, I met up with Sia on a Saturday night for some good girl time and some great gastronomic fun. Sia is a gourmet and epicure extraordinaire, so I always know I'm in for top-notch eats and vino when I'm with her.

We started at Bar Veloce in Chelsea. We settled in and caught up over a diverse spectrum of Italian wine and great tapas-style dishes. Veloce is modeled after a European "fast bar", so it's meant to be a place where you pop in with friends for a drink and good bite to eat and then move on. While there are cocktail height tables as well as the actual bar, there is no wait staff, only bartenders. That means that if you are seated at a table (as we were), you had to push your way over to the bar and flag down a harried bartender in order to place an order for anything -- beverage or food. It was quaint, but not easy since the bar itself was jam-packed with a person at every seat.

Next stop was in the West Village. Warmed from our first glasses of wine, we headed off down 7th Avenue for a nice brisk walk on a cool February night and finally burst in through the doors of another quaint wine bar on Greenwich Avenue, Gottino. We installed ourselves at the bar this time, made friends with the bartender/sommelier, Kevin, and ordered a couple of glasses of his recommendations. We also sampled more food (of course!) and in a true New York moment, we started chatting with the couple next to us. She was a singer-songwriter and he was her best friend whom she'd tried to pick up 12 years ago in a bar -- until he informed her that he was gay and they've been BFF's ever since. (I LOVE the random encounters that happen in NYC -- no other city is quite the same way.)

Finally, after exchanging hugs and email addresses with our new friends, Sia asked if I was interested in dessert. Have we met?? She knew a place just a couple of blocks away that she promised would be perfect.

Batch did turn out to be perfect. It's a tiny place run and owned by renowned chef Pichet Ong. Pichet's specialty is pastries and desserts and now I know why. We each ordered a cupcake (both were to die for) and then Pichet (whom Sia knows personally) gave us a complimentary chocolate chip cookie. Which sounds like not a big deal, but let me tell you about this cookie! Even though it had been baked earlier in the day, the chocolate chunks were still gooey (made with special Valhrona chocolate) and Sia and I both thought we'd entered a new dimension after the first bite. (For all you foodies out there, Pichet has worked in the kitchens at Jean Georges and Tabla in NYC and Olives in Boston -- he is the real deal with many accolades and many, many three-star reviews over the course of his career. And to top it all of, he was just a nice, down-to-earth guy who kept trying to give us more free desserts.)

After our cupcakes and cookies, we waddled back outside and up to Greenwich Avenue to catch a cab and I headed back to my hotel where I'm sure I dreamt about even MORE food.