The Veal Deal Dinner: Veal and Mushroom Fajitas for Two

By: Finance Foodie

Living in New York City (aka Restaurant Capital of the States IMHO), I usually find myself going out to dinner most nights of the week versus staying in - with an array of eclectic and interesting options, why cook if a pro can do it for you? However, as sweet as it is to just sit down and get served, nothing still beats a home cooked meal. Now that my new job runs on a fairly predictable schedule, I find myself exploring my own kitchen, rather than Hells Kitchen for my daily dinner. This past Monday found me going back to my Texas roots - as it was Veal and Mushroom Fajita Night at the Finance Foodie apartment.

Ivy Revisited: This Time We’re Bragging About The Brunch!

By: Anne M. Raso

I loved my first visit to Ivy in midtown for dinner. The food was Modern American with a twist of different ethnic flavors and the décor is non-pretentious. It pretty much gives off the vibe of a clean, hip, midtown sports bar that the whole family could come to or that you can stop in for after work drinks or snacks. You don’t need a res (although they take them) and the staff is dressed casually.

Red Velvet Pancakes

Brunch At Pampano: You Just Can’t Say No!

By: Anne M. Raso

I was lucky enough to head over to Pampano yesterday to sample their highly popular brunch menu. This light and airy establishment with a lovely second floor terrace you can dine on for terrific midtown street views is co-owned by famous restaurateur Richard Sandoval and opera legend Placido Domingo. It is the site of the former Domingo’s and features some of the finest Mexican fusion cuisine in the city. It’s wonderful that the brunch, served only on Sundays from 11:30 to 3, offers unlimited small plates and “bottomless” freshly prepared sangria in both white and red.

Pambazos

Still Happy After All These Years: Howard Kaylan Talks About The Happy Together Tour And His Book, Shell Shocked!

By: Anne M. Raso

I was lucky enough to catch up with the legendary classic rocker Howard Kaylan in New York recently when he was in town promote his revealing autobiography Shell Shocked: My Life With The Turtles, Flo And Eddie and Frank Zappa from Backbeat Books (available on amazon.com). Howard and longtime Turtles partner-in-crime Mark Volman are currently touring all summer long as headliners on the Happy Together Tour where they mix their megahits like “Happy Together,” “You Baby,” “It Ain’t Me And More” along with their comedic chatter about everything from the primetime talent shows like American Idol to recent celebrity scandals to joking about what it is like to have lived through the 60s.

Justin Bieber’s Mom To Teen Girls: ”Learn From My Mistakes”! An Exclusive Interview with Pattie Mellette!

By: Anne M. Raso

Justin Bieber’s 38-year-old mom Pattie Mallette—a dead ringer for Sheryl Crow-- was just 17 when she got pregnant with Justin and now wants to share her turbulent journey with teenagers around the world who might find themselves in the same boat via her book Nowhere But Up: The Story of Justin Bieber's Mom (Teen Edition) with co-author A.J. Gregory. The original book for adults came out in September 2012 but this new edition for teens includes “discussion suggestions” and sidebars that are of interest to the younger set. Pattie is often asked advice from Justin’s fans that encounter her, so it’s a natural that she do a book in this format. She is always happy to dole out advice.

Fete Paradiso: A Little Bit Of Paradise On Governor’s Island!

By: Anne M. Raso

I was lucky enough to attend the opening day for Fete Paradiso on Governor’s Island this past weekend. In case you haven’t heard, it’s the first-ever festival of vintage carnival rides that date back as far as 1850. All the rides come directly from France, courtesy of the collections of Francis Staub and Regis Masclet. Included in the collection are numerous carousels, bicycle rides (where the riders supply the manpower since it is non-electrical), flying swings, an early 20th century Music Ball Guzzler and a carnival game that features the images of celebs popular in France circa the 1930s (Josephine Baker, Maurice Chevalier, Charlie Chaplin and more).

Five Aphrodisiacs Broken Down

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Sizzling Summer 4th of July Party with Frito Lay

By: ICY, in collaboration with Frito-Lay

Frito-Lay has the perfect summer snack for however you celebrate, whether you’re relaxing and unwinding at home with Lay’s Classic potato chips or celebrating summer with Tostitos Scoops! tortilla chips at a house party.

Chips Overload! 

The TMZ Tour: Star Spotting And Gossip Dishing, NYC Style!

By: Anne M. Raso

I was lucky enough to take the TMZ Tour of NYC  last weekend. The luxurious 52-seat coach is emblazoned with the TMZ logo and stays true to the tabloid TV show of the same name. Guests get to see funny vignettes and take quizzes about stars--which results in official TMZ NYC T-shirts as prizes--as the tour proceeds. Many landmarks of NYC are included along the way, including the Ed Sullivan Theater (which, of course, currently houses the David Letterman Show), Macy's, Central Park and the elite hotels of Central Park South, including the Ritz-Carlton (which seems to be the top pick of where to stay for out-of-town celebs these days).

Bake Me Some Bread: King's Hawaiian Event at Catalyst Cambridge

By: Joshua Liao

How can Hawaiian sweet bread be used in both home cooking and upscale, Boston dining? In endless ways, if you ask Courtney Taira. Taira – the granddaughter of the founder of King's Hawaiian bread – recently teamed up with local chef William Kovel to hold a special event at Kovel’s Cambridge restaurant, Catalyst.

Do you Give a Cup? Peet’s Give A Cup Social Sampling Experiment.

By: Finance Foodie, in collaboration with Peet's Coffee

Anyone who drinks Peet’s coffee knows how uncompromising they are when it comes to flavor. So when they started working on their Single Cups, they took their time – 5 years, to be exact. They worked to perfect each blend, using more coffee than most, designing a specific dose for each blend, and using a different kind of filter than allows more flavor to pass into the cup.

Image and value provided by our partner, Peet's

Aneri Tricaffe: Run, Don’t Walk To Corso Coffee To Try Some!

By: Anne M. Raso

I recently was lucky enough to attend a recent event at Corso Coffee in the newly renovated Paramount Hotel. You might know the space as the former Dean & Deluca (the first one ever in Manhattan)—it has been turned into a light, airy and modern place for friends to hang out, grab a pastry, frittata, homemade blueberry muffins and/or a world-class cup of coffee. But I must say that he scent of the coffee at Corso is like no other coffee house in town. As a matter of fact, when I am walking by the theater district, I simply have to walk in or by Corso to get a whiff.

The Fancy Food Show 2013: Top of the Line This Year!

By: Anne M. Raso

The Fancy Food Show is a highly beloved event that takes place in the Javits Center in New York each year in late June to early July and anyone interested in the food industry and buy a ticket and attend. Visitors get their money's worth whether they are there on business or just want to sample the world's great foods--some never before seen or tasted in the US. Many vendors come to the Javits in the hopes of getting a distributor so the Fancy Food Show is one of the best ways to try new things or even try to network to work for that company in the US and help take them to the next level.

Fudgeeeeeeee!

Making My Own Pasta at Giovanni Rana Pastificio E Cucina

By: Wela Quan

Have you ever thought about how pasta is made?

If you are like me, you probably have never really thought about how ravioli or tortelli is made – probably because you have always been too busy stuffing them in your mouth. When I heard about a pasta making class at Giovanni Rana, the new Italian restaurant and pasta factory in Chelsea Market, I was all too eager to sign up. Nothing sounded more fun than creating my own pasta!

Setting up!