We Moved!

Hi everyone!  Just wanted to let everyone know that we finally moved our blog over to http://www.iflipforfood.com/!  We're still the same food-loving monsters, we just look sexier.  Please come visit us at our new home!

New York City: Le Bernardin

*Post by Angela.
If you read our last post, you know that Mark and I decimated New York this weekend with our monstrous appetites (think Godzilla).  While eating at Ippudo and Grimaldi's (soon to be posted) were both fun experiences, I couldn't wait to write about the crowning moment of the weekend, a surprise belated birthday present from Pam and Jason: Dinner at Chef Eric Ripert's Le Bernardin in mid-town.  Le Bernardin is one of five NYC restaurants with 3 Michelin Stars, and Chef Ripert is known as a seafood god. While I didn't take photos this time around, believe me when I say we had an incredible experience there - the  beautiful decor, the impeccable service and the exquisitely presented, creative and delicious food added up to one of my favorite dining experiences in my life thus far. 

Click below to read more!

New York City: Ippudo

*Post by Angela.
This weekend, Mark and I were in New York for a quick visit with my sister Pam and her fiancee Jason.  We were also in town to eat as much as we possibly could, and we absolutely succeeded (if you know us at all, you know it was a ridiculous amount of food in a very short period of time).  We started our epic eating journey with a fantastic Mexican meal in Brooklyn on Friday night (which we'll post about in a few days), and after a fun-filled night, woke up late Saturday morning raring to go.

The day began with Lunch #1 at Ippudo Noodle Shop in the East Village.  The restaurant is the first and only American location for the Japanese chain, and Pam had been dying to try it out; unfortunately, every time she had walked by, it had been either packed or closed.  We showed up super early to guarantee seating (and to accommodate our very busy eating schedule for the day), and I'm glad we did.  Ippudo's rich broths, mouthwatering toppings, and house-made noodles combine to make a very satisfying and tasty bowl of ramen, the ideal fuel for a day of exploring Manhattan. 

Click below to see what we ate!

Date, Goat Cheese & Mint Flatbread w/ Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

*Post by Mark

Eager to try out our new camera, my lunch yesterday was more about making something I could take a picture of than it was about putting food into my body.  So I scraped together a 'kitchen sink' flatbread pizza using only the random items I found in our mostly empty refrigerator.  The pictures turned out pretty fantastic, but I was shocked that the flatbread actually came together as well as it did.  Hell, I even popped another one in the oven for lunch today.

Click below to see what all went onto the Flatbread!

Policy

*Post by Mark.

Policy is the kind of place you walk past.  I'd actually walked by the eatery's storefront a hundred times before I even realized there was a restaurant behind the poor signage.  Once I finally did become aware of its existence, I was quickly surprised to discover it was a trendy lounge; a pre-concert hot spot, even. Then full awareness dawned on me, as I received a Living Social coupon offer (half-off a $50 dollar gift card) and realized that they had more than just a lounge menu.  So, let me get this straight... this little storefront that looks like it should be a housewares store is actually a lounge that is actually a restaurant that may actually serve some pretty decent food?

Screw it.  The only way to find out for myself is to just go, right?  On a recent Wednesday night, Angela and I booked an early reservation.  We brought a pair of empty stomachs and wiped our slate of expectations clean.

Click below to see what we ate!

Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad with Tahini

*Post by Angela.
Two vegetarian recipe posts in two days?  The world has gone crazy.  I actually made this beautiful salad from Orangette a couple of weeks back for my annual Easter/Passover dinner (a dinner I didn't end up posting about because as the wine started flowing, I quickly forgot to take photos of what I was cooking).  Cooking dinner for my friends can sometimes be a challenging (but rewarding) task - in my little group of lovable maniacs, I have a couple of vegetarians (and those who oppose them, which means EXTRA meat), a couple of celiac sufferers (no gluten!), those who won't eat pork, those who won't eat seafood, and one who is so particular about food I maintain an actual physical list of things he won't eat.

This meal around, I wanted to make some kosher-for-Passover food that my Jewish vegetarian friend (who will normally eat anything, as long as it doesn't include meat) could enjoy as the rest of us were busy chowing down on the roasted lamb.*  While it did require the extra step of finding kosher tahini, this salad was well worth it - everyone loved this earthy yet bright, slightly sweet and tangy salad, and it's something I'm looking forward to making again in the near future.

Click below to get the recipe!

Potato and Leek Flat Bread

*Post by Angela.
Lately, the stuff we've been eating at home I haven't felt was worth posting about (or am kind of embarrassed about eating) - pasta with store-bought pesto, sandwiches thrown together from leftovers, frozen goods, canned sardines and rice...sigh.  But last night, even though I was feeling super lazy, I wanted to eat something I didn't heat in the microwave.  With a little assist from some refrigerated pizza dough, I threw together this tasty potato and leek flat bread from Real Simple in virtually no time at all. 

Click below to get the recipe!