Best St. Paddy's Day Corned Beef, Upper East Side

Ok... this is so right on so many levels. Pintales Pizza on York ave, and 83rd.
Wrapped in wax paper, tender, not salty, seeded rye, spicy brown mustard. Yes  authentic coleslaw unbelievable ....and quarter sliced pickle also wrapped in that wax paper.
I was going to take a picture of the sandwich but I couldn't stop eating. Try...Yummm today only. Happy St. PADDY'S DAY!!

China Spice in Yorkville is Fabulous Gourmet Chinese

Get off your duff Yorkville and patronize this place. Sometimes the best things are right under your nose.

My husband and I took a little trip to China Spice around the corner tonite. We didn't get past the fantastic  appetizers. This is not your stardard NYC Chinese restaurant. It's one cut above. I'd call it Gourmet Chineese.

The egg rolls were the best I have ever tasted. And I have eaten a lot of eggs roles in my time. The tempura shrimp were presented on a fab decorative square plate with lemon slices. They were crispy and light... perfect for a hot day. We also had the Szechuan wontons which  came in a really creamy spicy red sauce that I kept pouring on everything.

Even the chicken wings were light, crispy and the perfect size.

My husband and I are appetizer fans and I can't wait to try some more. The couple who sat next to us raved about the crab Ragooon.

Go.Try. Eat. YUM

#212-535-5223

Yorkville Creperie OPENS!

At last a creperie opens on the Upper East side on York between 83rd and 84th. Bring the strollers and stop in for a free coffee this week. If you miss DTUT, this is the perfect replacement.

The price of the crepes range from $5.00 to $9.00 from the very sweet to the Fluff-a-Nutter , with peanut butter, fluff, nutella, banana and graham to the savory Roma crepe with chicken mozzarella and tomato bruscetta . They've also got a fantastic morning crepe with bacon eggand Swiss and.. for those of you who don't want a crepe they've got a selection of mouthwatering panini.

Don't forget about the wide selection of of coffee wines and fresh baked good. So come one come all!

I snapped a picture of Harris Healy the owner of the Logos bookstore across the street. He loved his crepe and you will too.

Retails Sales... What Sales?

I can't tell you how the rest of the retailers in New York City are responding to the after Christmas sales rush, but I can tell you that on the Upper East Side in Yorkville the place is virtually sale free.

In search of post Xmas sales I began by scanning the local drug stores seeking those wonderful bath and body gift sets which I usually get for half price. Unbelievably, I could find none. I also observed that the in store Xmas sections where last year there were deep discounts this year... forget-about-it.

I also visited a collection of shoe stores scattered on 86th street. I was enticed in by the big signs with huge letters screaming 70% off and above in tinny tiny letters.."up too". Ignoring my past experience with such signage I took a walk into these stores. No surprise I couldn't find any of that "specially marked merchandise" that was actually 70% off. Someone must have bought out the entire two pairs of shoes that would legally protect the store from false advertising. I was foiled again.

Sadly, in my humble opinion this was the worst after Xmas shopping that I have ever seen and I'm beginning to think that maybe these retailers and us shoppers are locked in some kind of retail tango. Are we the shoppers holding out for bargains by punishing the retailers? Are the retailers in retaliation punishing us shoppers with crappy sales? Maybe so. Get out there and let me know what you think.

Weekend Overtime in Yorkville

This weekend is particularly busy in the hood. It's street fair bonanza. On 84th street between York and First Avenue ( one block from my house ) is a combination Farmer's Market and Church Fair. The Farmer's market brings in the freshest produce from local farms in the area. You can get anything from fresh garden green beans, to apple pies, and local seafood. It feels like you're at a real country fair smack dab in the middle of the city. Not only that when is the last time you've seen someone selling Tupperware? I was surprised to find out it still existed.

I also ran into a very strange man selling his used C.D. collection. He pointed out where the sale bin was and announced the sale price was $4.00. I took a look and finding it mostly classical. I stopped on a C.D. of Evita.

"Good pick!", he announced. He proceeded to tell me that it would cost $6.00 because it contained two C.D.'s. Then he picked up the C.D. and informed me that it would be $8.00 because it had a scratch on it.

I thought to myself , "a scratch? was this guy nuts? Was he really selling C.D.'s or was this a cover for something else?"

Before my writers imagination could get the better of me I cautiously put the C.D. down , very slowly, turned, and walked away.

Piggy- backing on the Farmer's Market this weekend celebrates St. Francis, the patron saint of animals, so the Hungarian Catholic church , Saint Stevens (located on the same block). has included a food court . Is is complete with homemade sauerkraut, cabbage rolls and fresh kobassa and indifferent Hungarian hospitality. They also have lots of donated second hand stuff. The kind of stuff you look at and then decide you don't really want.

By the time I got there I was crudely told there was NO FOOD. So, I proceeded next door to the hamburger and hot dog grills and boy was I glad I did. Never in my life, my whole life have I had a burger that was so amazing. Grilled, crispy on the outside Angus beef.....the BEST.

I recommend you get down there just to try a burger and tell me what you think.