It was a monumental weekend guys.. I went to my first Broadway show since living in the city! I know.. I know… it’s been a long time coming! 

After hearing nothing but absolutely GREAT things about Rocky Broadway, I decided it was time to get myself to the theatre! I’m not a huge musical or Broadway kind of person, so Rocky seemed like a fitting choice. 

And let me tell you… The show was phenomenal! The portrayal of the storyline, the acting, and holy moly let’s talk about the set design. It was truly amazing. If you’re in the city and even thinking about seeing the show, book tickets - you won’t regret it. Chris and I were truly blown away. They really went above and beyond on this one! It’s a really great choice for anyone who is a fan of the movies or anyone who isn’t a huge Broadway fan but wants to see a show. There’s was quite the mix of people at the show which made it pretty cool. 

I don’t want to spoil too much, but I will say the end of the show is nuts! The audience really gets into it and they escort the first 5 rows or so up on onto stage in bleacher seats, while the fighting ring moves to the center of the theatre. I don’t even know how they pulled off the last few scenes so smoothly. Seriously. Just go see it ;-)

After the show, we thought it was only fitting to play a tribute to the show by heading to the best Philly cheesesteak shop in the city - in my humble opinion - Shorty’s!

This trip, we went with the mozzarella triangles and we split one of their honey chipotle cheesesteaks and then (my favorite) buffalo chicken steak. I’m telling you, their steaks are the best I’ve ever had. Definitely order their italian fries too.. Mmm, the perfect pairing for your sandwiches.

A pretty good day to celebrate Philly if you ask me!

It’s Valentine’s Day! The day that people either love, or love to hate. Whether or not you think it’s just a Hallmark holiday, one thing is true. The goal of the day is all about celebrating love. The people you love, the things you love to do, and (in this case) the things you love to eat! 

Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate some flowers and chocolates, but nothing quite says love to me like a nice juicy burger. Which is why, for the last 4 Valentine’s Days, Chris and I have celebrated our love with burgers. BONUS! Most people aren’t getting burgers on V-Day in NYC (I guess they don’t share our love), so reservations aren’t such a big issue. 

So if you’re looking to jump on the burger love boat, here’s three places you definitely need to add to your list!

5 Napkin Burger:

You don’t see a lot of so called “chain” restaurants in the city, but with  5 Napkin Burger's 5 current locations you can actually hit up this joint in Boston, Miami, and NYC.  

I keep coming back to this place because their Original 5 Napkin Burger has this rosemary aioli that I just can’t get enough of. 10 ounces of juicy beef with caramelized onions and gruyere cheese makes this one a classic for the taste buds. If you dig hand-cut fries, their’s are a classic, well-done side dish. I also love their cheddar tots, because cheese and potatoes can never really be a bad thing.

Burger Bistro:

Next up, is Burger Bistro. This joint is exclusive to NYC, but there are 4 locations throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens for you outer borough burger lovers! Burger Bistro is awesome because you get to make your burger exactly how you want it. If you check out my header image, it’s a picture of their menu that you get to draw on and check off the ingredients to your liking. 

Now V-Day isn’t on a Tuesday this year, but it’s worth noting that they have this awesome special, Free-topping Tuesdays, where you get up to 4 toppings free. Which is usually when I’ll order a few extra toppings, just because. Two reasons why I really love Burger Bistro. 1.) the toppings are a little different than some of the other places we go to. Mozzarella sticks?! Oh yeah! They also have the option for buffalo shrimp, canadian bacon and pickled jalapenos. A little something different! 2.) And two, they have some bomb side dishes. Featured here is their buffalo tots. If you’re a wing lover, these are totally in your wheelhouse. They also have these deep-fried corn on the cob with this fantastic sauce that is just a tasty way to start out your meal. 

Something about the way they season their meat is just really great too. Very well done guys!

Minetta Tavern:

If you’re a true burgerhead you’ve definitely heard of Minetta Tavern. Not only is it a classic tavern in the West Village, but they’re famously known for their Black Label Burger. Google it, you’ll find a write-up, or two, or a hundred ;-)

I was first introduced to this baby because Chris lost our annual March Madness bracket competition and this was my prize. It should also be noted that this lovely, perfectly-crafted burger will set you back a nice $28. See, it’s not just any ordinary burger. The Black Label is made from dry-aged beef cuts in perfect ratios and is cooked with clarified butter drizzled on top. The only thing that actually comes on the burger is caramelized onions and if you try and order cheese, they’ll ask you not to. While incredibly simple in its nature, the masters behind this burger have really developed time into crafting the perfect tasting burger. 

So is it worth the high price? Yes! I should note that the price does include fries too, which isn’t actually the norm in the city so the price ends up not being as bad. This is a burger you really want to taste the meat though. The way it is cooked creates a perfectly crispy crust on the outside of the butter and even I, the ketchup queen, resisted putting much on it. The meat just tastes that good. It’s not a huge burger, and it’s not anything crazy unusual, but it is a classic burger done so right. 

I would suggest getting a reservation here though, because this place does tend to attract a lot of people. 

And there you have it. 3 more beautiful burgers to add to your food bucket-list! 

A little delay on this post… Needed a little recovery from my birthday weekend (hey I’m older now ;-)) and then a nasty cold decided to knock me out this week. So I’ve been DayQuil and NyQuiled up all week.. but alas, I’m feeling better so I’m getting this up!

Sooo my birthday week/weekend was pretty much amazing! I don’t know what kind of perfect alignment I got with the universe, but it was truly fabulous. My week started off with a beautiful surprise of flowers and balloons from Mama Duck that brightening my office all week long :)

Plus bonus, remember not only was it my weekend, but also our SEAHAWKS! So my birthday was kind of SUPER SUPER Blue Friday. I had to dress all work appropriate, but I still got my Seahawks colors in — proof cheesy bathroom selfie. 

On my actual birthday the office couldn’t have made my day better. My boss order lunch from one of my Italian restaurants and we had a feast!

Anddd they got me the best cake from Momofuku. Their birthday cake is to die for. Nom, noms.

After work, Chris surprising me with two dozen purple roses!  So I decided to make one big massive bouquet out of all of my mom’s pretties and his. It was pretty :)

It was a day of Italian food! We went to our usual spot for my birthday, this amazing restaurant called Crispo. It’s my 4th birthday we’ve celebrated together (ah, that many already) and the 4th time we’ve gone to Crispo. Also I think it’s the one place I have never actually taken pics in… I’m not sure how that’s possible, but let me just tell you.. We had the best dinner ever. I know I tell you about a lot of good things I eat, but that dinner, topped all dinners.

We got our usual truffled parmesan fries and mozzarella risotto balls for apps and splurged and also got some pomegranate sangria. I don’t usually order drinks with dinner, a root beer here and then but for some reason I just usually don’t. It was my Birthday though so why not!

Normally we get their spaghetti carbonara for dinner, which is amazinggg, but we decided to split an order of our carbonara and also try their Black Truffle Ricotta Ravioli. Maybe we just have a thing for anything with truffle oil (totally true) but that ravioli was hands down the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Like, if I get to plan my last meal, that’s it. After dinner we were on the subway heading down to meet up with my friend for a drink and we were just on the subway smiling.. about the ravioli. TRUE story. We’re food nerds.

We ended the night at the coolest place in the West Village called Houston Hall. It’s this huge beer hall, like it’s so big — totally unexpected for the location. I was giving Chris a hard time because my friend Lauren was visiting and found this place that both of us had never heard of — and she was just visiting! It was awesome. The beer was great and the company was even better. It was a great way to close out the night!

The next day led us to a full day of events! My friend Lauren, was visiting because her boyfriend was in charge of this HUGE event for DIRECTV for the Super Bowl, and bonus, they got us in! THANKS LAUREN AND BRIAN!!

During the day, they hosted a celebrity flag football game and they had all of these really cool things going on as well as some bomb-diggity food. Pretty much whatever food you wanted was there. It was awesomeee.

Oh hey dessert table, I see you ;-)

The event was SO much fun! And the venue was phenomenal. Get this, the whole thing was temporary and built in this huge tent on the westside waterfront. INSANE! I learned early on I’m not much of an event-planner but man do I have mad respect for the people who are. Just getting a little peek inside of all of the work that went into creating an event this big just boggles my mind. True dedication, and I learned a lot of sleep-deprivation.. These guys deserve a long all-inclusive vacation after what they pulled off!

It was really fun watching the celebs compete! Some of my favs including Chace Crawford, John Legend, Nina Dobrev, and Guy Fieri!

Oh yeah, and I tried really hard to get a good pic of Dr. Oz for my Dad!

After the game wrapped up, the venue switched over to a concert from Paramore. She rocks! I used to listen to her a lot in high school driving around in my car (miss you car!) so it brought back lots of fun memories.

Here’s where things get a little crazy. So not only did Brian’s team have to coordinate everything for the huge day event, but after the event wrapped they only had a few hours to switch it over to the night event. Insane! 

The night event was so awesome! The place was packed and the lines to get in were blocks long, but Lauren hooked us up and we got go past the lines. Totally felt like VIPs! The place was packeddd and also packed with celebs. We definitely spotted Kendall Jenner and Joe Jonas, but some of the other celebs that were there included Lindsay Vonn, Kate Upton, Jamie Foxx, Nicky Hilton, Spike Lee, and AnnaSophia Robb.

Let’s talk about the real star of the night though…. Yours truly, Jay Z! He came, he saw and he definitely conquered. We were literally one standing row from the side of the stage and it was crazy! I totally got my white girl, Taylor Swift dance moves on. No shame.

So Jay Z, was totally awesome and then…..

Beyonce showed up! You thought people went nuts for Jay Z.. times that by like 10 when Beyonce took the stage. I can’t even describe the night. Ah-mazing! We danced away the night into the wee hours of the morning and by the time I caught a cab home I was pretty tired, but not too tired to see the Empire State Building lit up in the Hawks’ colors! Best night ever.

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The weekend wasn’t over yet though… I still had another day of celebrating! My Super Bowl birthday shin-dig! I managed to get a few hours of rest in before I needed to get to work on my party food, but luckily the adrenaline for the game kept me going all day and night! 

 Here’s a few pics of my little food tables! 

Can’t ever have enough food!

It was such a fun evening with my friends and the fact that the Seahawks dominated the whole game had me dancing around like a little school girl. It might have not of been as eventful of a game for my friends that weren’t super into the Seahawks, but they fed into my excitedness ;-)

But wait, there’s more! Chris got me my first Fudgie the Whale ice cream cake, which is kind of a right of passage for kids around here. I might as well have been turning 5 because I was so excited about the cake and my friends loved it too! 

And the only other thing that could literally make my birthday weekend the best weekend ever?! I also won our Super Bowl squares pool! Luckiest, and best weekend ever. Hands down!

Thanks again to all of my lovely family and friends that made it so memorable! 25 definitely got started on the right foot!