Restaurant Review: Jules Bistro (NYC)

Earlier this week I had dinner in the East Village at a tiny French bistro. The place sports a postage stamp sized patio and has live jazz every night. We were seated inside the restaurant looking out at the patio and the street beyond which afforded us one of the better views. I liked the place the minute I walked in. There was a hum of conversation, soft jazz filling the background and incredible smells from the food being cooked and served.

The host also turned out to be our waiter. His thick French accent only served to enhance the mood and he quickly talked us into ordering a bottle of beaujolais ('06 Morgon V.V. Jean Paul Thevenet Gamay - $72). Although the restaurant provides a 3-course prix-fixe menu for $24.95 Monday - Thursday, we opted to order from the main menu. Dinner including 2 starters, 2 main dishes and a shared dessert (no drink or tip included) will cost approximately $75. First plates range from $7-$18 and main courses range from $16-$25.

I started with a tomato, basil and mozzarella salad. Along with the french bread at the table this provided an excellent beginning. The tomatoes and basil were extremely fresh and the cheese was as rich and creamy as it should be. Soon after our first plates were cleared, my main plate was brought over to our table. I ordered grilled hangar steak with shallot sauce, mushroom risotto, parmesan and truffle oil. The steak was cooked to perfection (pinkish-red in the middle) and smothered in the rich shallot sauce. The risotto with cheese and truffle oil complemented the steak, and I found myself going back and forth between the meat then the risotto.

The staff was both attentive and helpful without interfering with the dining experience so my friend and I could enjoy ourselves. Pet peeves of mine such as clearing our table before everyone was finished were avoided further impressing me. If asked, I would recommend the restaurant and happily return.

tomato, basil and mozzarella salad - $8.50

hangar steak w/ shallot sauce

and mushroom risotto, w/ parmesan and truffle oil - $18.00

Jules Bistro is at 65 St. Mark's Place (212) 477-5560
Reservations: recommended

NYC Underwear Run

Fellow blogger over at DanNation included a write-up about NYC's 1.7 mile "Underwear Run", which took place last week (August 5th) in Central Park. The run drew a bit more than 500 participants. You can read his posting, here and you can check out the YT video from this year's event here.

However, I have to say it seems pretty lame that there were only 500 runners. C'mon NYC, where is your sense of adventure? Boston's annual Santa Speedo Run in December (which is capped at 500) sells out in minutes.

An underwear run in Central Park in August actually sounds delightful. I'd even do the run if I lived in NYC. I hope next year a few more of you will check your modesty at the door and participate in what looks like a very fun run.

Here's the video from the 2010 Boston Santa Speedo Run.

Pictures from NYC

Here are some random pictures from my trip to New York City last weekend. I loved this vintage Leather Daddy photo. Its reminiscent of Tom of Finland don't you think? I saw this in a leather shop down in the West Village.

This giant sculpture entitled "Echo" was created by Spanish sculpture, Jaume Plensa and is on display in the Madison Square Park on Madison Avenue and 23rd Street. The oversized sculpture is hard to miss and evoked strong reactions by everyone I saw while I was there.

I'm a man of refined taste and extremely cultured so of course I went to one of New York's premiere museums...well actually I only went to the gift shop - I was pressed for time.

Hmm... you know you're really pretty gay when you find yourself walking down a street in New York City, look up and think, "So that's where all those designers go with Tim Gunn".
I've always loved the Fuller Building which was first completed back in 1902. The building also referred to as the Flatiron Building is another example of the amazing architecture NYC offers.

Hotel review: The Strand Hotel NYC

The Strand Hotel has a trendy vibe, which only makes sense since its nestled in the heart of New York City's Fashion District; located between 5th and 6th Ave on 37th Street.

The tiny lobby exudes a sense of style that carries through to the hotel room and it's furnishings. Although the rooms are tight, they are well appointed and suited my needs just fine.

Aside from the location, the thing I enjoyed the most about staying at The Strand NYC was its roof deck terrace and bar. (That's me and my buddy Paul enjoying a cold beer on the roof deck bar.)

Drinks cost a small fortune, but when you factor in the amazing view and the beautiful weather which made it so pleasant to sit outside - I couldn't get enough of the place.

I've included a picture of my tiny room and bathroom. You can click on the photo to enlarge. More pictures appear on my hotel review on TripAdvisor.com.

For more information about this hotel you can visit: www.thestrandnyc.com

Finding a bit of heaven in Hell's Kitchen

I arrived in NYC on Friday with my buddy Paul for a fun weekend in the city. We took the Acela from Amtrak down to the city and arrived in plenty of time to enjoy Boxers, crazy happy hour festivities.

Bars are not allowed to have happy hour promotions in Massachusetts so true to form we drank more than intended and left pleasantly buzzed with plans to head out to Hell's Kitchen after a quick pit stop back at the hotel to freshen up and a quick bite to eat.

We'd both been to Hell's Kitchen but it had been several years (at least for me since my previous visit). One of the things I really like about the neighborhood is how easy it is to bar hop. We started by checking out Industry. It was one of the busier bars we visited and the music was great, but neither Paul nor I were feeling it so we walked across the street to Therapy. However, Therapy was fairly dead by comparison so we opted to head over to Ritz.

Entering Ritz would make just about anyone feel claustrophobic but of all the places, this had the most energy and the by far - the best people watching. We worked our way to the back room and danced up along the walls.

Paul and I spent most of the evening watching a young couple "get familiar" with each other, some A-List wannabes with killer bodies shake their groove thing and chatting with people to our left and right - there always seemed to be a constant ebb and flow that brought a new someone every 5-10 minutes.

There are plenty of other bars all close by and when visiting its so easy to bar hop its enough to make my head spin. What bars in HK do you like and why? Leave a comment to share because I'm hoping I can head back soon.