Date Night & Dessert: Juliana's Pizza & Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory - DUMBO, NY - Wednesday 5/14/2014

Her Take: So as I have said before, I love pizza, but also I love ice cream. We had the PERFECT date! We had talked about taking the ferry to DUMBO so I suggested we do it to grab some pizza from Juliana's and get amazing ice cream from Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory! We were to take the 7:00 pm ferry at Kent avenue on the north side so Nicky and I met up at 6:30 and took a nice walk there. We made it just in time for the 6:45 ferry; we saw it docking and we ran to get tickets and literally ran inside. (We did a lot of running for ferries as you'll see) we got lucky! The ferry was very nice, spacious and fun! We went outside and took pictures like tourists and enjoyed the scenery. It was a bit cloudy that day but it was still really nice! The wind felt so good!
We arrived at DUMBO in 10 minutes, super fast. We walked off and straight to Juliana's. I don't know if you guys have heard of Grimaldi's? Well the originally owner Patsy Grimaldi sold his restaurant and name and since that restaurant moved to the corner, Patsy came back and opened up a new pizzeria again! Voila Juliana's! Patsy was standing right in the doorway and he seated us at a little bar overlooking the pizzaioli and the coal burning oven. We already knew what we wanted to we ordered right away: two Stella Artois on tap and a large margherita pizza with half pepperoni! We could see the pizzaiolo (pizza man) making our pizza and I was literally drooling. Our pizza was done quickly! Thank God cause I was starving, and the girl brought it right to us. We dug right it.. DELICIOUS!!! Just how I remembered it from when I was younger. So so so yummy I didn't even take a break I gobbled my whole half of the pie up. I was super satisfied and so happy that I had the deliciousness in my mouth and tummy. Nicky loved it too!! We weren't too full so we had enough room for ice cream. We turned around and saw that the place had FILLED UP! It was packed and a line was forming outside! We felt kind of bad so we asked our waiter for the check and he said no no no take your time! He didn't want us to leave, so we enjoyed our beer.
We finally got up and squirmed through the people and started walking toward the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. Oh my god yes I was so excited because I had been craving their ice cream forever!!!! Luckily it's only down the block :)
We walked in and I already knew what I wanted: CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHUNK two scoops in a waffle cone please!!! Nicky got one scoop of vanilla chocolate chunk in a waffle cone and we tasted it and our tummies smiled because its just THAT AMAZING!!! So creamy and the flavor is just right. They chocolate isn't too overwhelming it's milky chocolate goodness with big chunks of chocolate mixed in; OMG YUM I want some rightttt now!!! We ate as we took a walk through the DUMBO park, it was so pretty and by the water. It started getting a little chilly and misty so we went back into the ice cream shop and Nicky used the bathroom as I sat at a little table. We weren't sure what time the last ferry was so we peeked outside and saw the ferry docking! Once again, we ran for our lives for it!! We almost didn't make it! I ran with my ice cream cone in my hand and my studded loafers on my feet... Not a good combo. If I dropped my cone I would I have picked it up thrown it at Nicky and left him there for making me run!!!! But, it didn't come down to that :)))
We made the ferry just in time and relaxed until we had to get off and walked to a candy store since Nicky wanted something. He only got a pack of the gum that looks like cigarettes because he's a big kid. We walked home holding hands as he "smoked his cigarette" and digested all the yummy food all the way home to my house :)
We had a great night! The ferry was a cute and fun idea, I think everyone should ride it at least once, especially when the weather is nice to stand outside and enjoy the scenery! Pizza was amazing and the ice cream was to die for; definitely, definitely recommend both!! CHECK THEM OUT IF YOU LOVE PIZZA AND ICE CREAM! (but then again who doesn't?)
Links are in my post :)

His Take: Ariana and I love pizza, especially Ariana! We decided to do something a little different rather than the old "hey let's just go get pizza!" One of Ariana's favorite pizza places had reopened, Juliana's (the old Grimaldi's) in Dumbo, Brooklyn. They're pizza used to be great and it's coal oven pizza, which is absolutely delicious! Rather than just head over to Juliana's and give it a try, we took the East River Ferry. It as a decent day weather wise, I mean was supposed to rain but luckily it didn't! The Ferry was beautiful, we had caught it at the perfect time. From our neighborhood to Dumbo it is two stops on the ferry, a quick ride, perfect because we were hungry! We bought our tickets ($4 each person per way), and boarded our ferry. I really loved the ferry, on the way there we stood outside and watched as we passed both the Williamsburg and Brooklyn Bridges. I did the real touristy thing and took pictures and it was cool. I plan on taking the ferry again to it's other stops or even back to Dumbo.

Next stop, Juliana's. Off our enjoyable ferry ride we walked right to Juliana's and were lucky enough to walk right in. By the time we were done with our food, there was line of people waiting outside for their turn! We got to the door and the original owner greeted and seated us (Ariana had remembered him!). We sat at the counter top right next to where they make the pizzas. While normally I prefer tables, this time it was pretty sweet to sit and watch them make pizzas! Ariana and I ordered a large margherita pie, with half pepperoni. A large pie may sound like much, but for us two, it was perfect. We also order two Stella Artois and watched our pizza be made. Shortly after our pizza came and we feasted! This pizza was PERFECT. It really was absolutely delicious.  Mmmmm thinking about it now I could go for a slice or two! We ate the entire pie and almost forgot to take a picture! We finished most of beers and departed for dessert!

On to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory! If Ariana doesn't tell you this I will, she was the happiest I've ever seen when we decided to go here to! She absolutely loves this place, loves it more than she loves me! And I can see why, the ice cream was delicious! I got a vanilla chocolate chunk, one scoop that was more like three and Ariana ordered two scoops of chocolate chocolate chunk, which looked like four! We enjoyed our cones and walked the park on the pier. When we walked back we had to run to our ferry home because we were unsure of what time the last ferry was! We ran back and laughed as we got on the ferry just as it was leaving!

This was one of my favorite dates. The ferry, the food, the ice cream, and my date were all beautiful. I enjoyed everything about this date! The ferry is cool, and beats the more common means of transportation. The pizza was amazing! It really was so good. The ice cream was a nice finish. But most of all, my date was the best part! Enjoy guys!

Date Night & Dessert: Cubana Social - Williamsburg, Brooklyn - Wednesday 4/23/2014

His Take: Ok so I am going to take full responsibility for this one.  I did NOT like Cubana Social.  I would not go back.  I was craving some Spanish/Latin American food and decided to look some places up not too far from where we live.  I suggested Cubana Social to Ariana and she was all for it, as we were both craving a dish called Ropa Vieja, which is a shredded beef stew.  Off we went to Cubana Social, which is actually a nice looking place where they play old movies via a projector on the wall.  We sat down right away because the place was empty.  Even if it was empty, it took our waitress a little while to bring over our menus.  Finally our waitress came again to order our drinks, I ordered their version of a Cuba Libre, figured I would try something different.  Their Cuba Libre is a drink with rum and coke with lime, Fernet Branca and other bitters, and the more I drank of it (I did not drink very much) the worse it tasted.  This is not the fault of the place, this is more on me because it was a drink I did not like.  This Cuba Libre had a weird after taste that I could not continue to drink.  I was deceived when I looked this place up on Yelp, and looked at the pictures of the food.  I love empanadas and saw that Cubana Social had them, and I thought “great, a nice appetizer as well.”  Yelp led me to believe they were a lot bigger than the really are.   We ended up ordering 3 (started with 2), 2 beef empanadas and a pork empanada.  The beef ones were just alright, and I have definitely had better empanadas elsewhere, they were not bad, but they were not anything “to write home about.”  I tried a little bite of the pork one as well, and it was more or less the same as the beef.  Obviously when it came to the main course, Ariana and I both ordered Ropa Vieja, the sole reason for us coming to Cubana Social.  I have to say I was incredibly disappointed.  Any time I have had Ropa Vieja I have tested plenty of flavors as it is a stew that should cook for a significant amount of time.  Cubana Social’s Ropa Vieja tasted like NOTHING.  It literally did not taste like anything, not like the beef, the onions, the tomatoes, or the peppers!  The dish came with white rice, black beans, and plantains.  The serving size was a pretty good portion, but how much of bland food could you really enjoy.  Ariana's dish tasted different than mine.  Ropa Vieja is a dish where the flavors all come together and mesh while it cooks, and Cubana Social’s really lacked that.  Our waitress did come over again and noticed that I was not enjoying my drink and that a barely touched it.  She was kind enough to take it off our bill without us asking, because again I ordered it, so I did not mind if I had to pay for it.  We skipped dessert as we had planned to grab ice cream somewhere else not too far from Cubana Social.  Again, it is really hard to enjoy food that lacks taste, especially when it is a dish I know and enjoy!  Cubana Social, nice looking place, but the food killed it for me here!

After our disappointing meal, we headed over to an ice cream shoppe that Ariana had heard of called Oddfellows.  I knew once we were inside why this was the perfect name, their flavors were well, ODD!  There were flavors such as Lychee, Thai Ice Cream, Burnt Marshmallow, just to name a few.  I went with a small Burnt Marshamllow, and it was delicious!  There were little pieces of marshmallows in it and it was really really good.  Ariana got Thai Ice Cream and Chocolate Chunk in a cone.  She seemed to really enjoy her ice cream as well.  The ice cream shoppe was really nice they had little tables and bar stools near the window.  They made different ice cream treats and even cater to parties.  Oddfellows was cool, and I would head back to see what other flavors they come up with!

If you take anything from this post, its simple, head to Oddfellows for ice cream, and you can skip Cubana Social, especially if you are looking for tasty Ropia Vieja!

  

Her Take: I really wanted to like this place, I really did. We were both craving some Ropa Vieja, and we found this Cuban place on the north side and said lets give it a shot! We told my dad we were going there and he said he had heard that it wasn't too good, that we would be wasting our time and that he's always right. So I got annoyed and said nope were gonna like it, you never like anything and you are too quick to judge!
We got there and the place was a nice one; good space and they had black and white movies playing on the wall from a projector. We got the menu and saw that they didn't have too many options but we decided that we would get two empanadas. Nicky originally wanted to get one and split it because he said that they looked big online. I said lets get two just incase, or even three because they had a 3 for $10 deal. He settled on two. One pork with beans and garlic and one ground beef with sautéed onions tomatoes and raisins. Our waitress came and asked if we wanted a drink and we looked over the drink list and I ordered the "Oooh I wanna take you to coco-mojito" ( a coconut mojito) and Nicky got a Cuba Libre that had fernet branca in it. We also ordered our empanadas and one ropa vieja each.
the two empanadas came before our drinks, which surprised me; I thought the food was going to take a while. Turns out the empanadas were small (what did I say?) and Nicky ordered one more beef. They weren't bad. Then our drinks came and mine was pretty good but Nicky did not like his so the waitress took it off the bill.
Our ropa vieja came and it looked decent! It came with black beans, rice and platanos. We were excited to eat it and once we tried it we kinda made the same "eh" face. It didn't taste of salt but it tasted of the acidity of uncooked tomatoes from a can. I didn't like the taste of it so I picked at the rice and beans and ate all the platanos. I ate about half of the ropa vieja because I was really hungry, but couldn't finish the rest because it was giving me a stomach ache. It was no good.
We were disappointed and lost our appetite. Turns out my dad was right....
After our disappointing meal, we were craving ice cream so I suggested Odd Fellows ice cream shop which was a few blocks away. We walked down and I saw they had extra virgin olive oil ice cream and HAD to try it!! it was weird I don't think I would get whole scoop of oil.. but anyway I got a cone with chocolate chunk and thai iced tea; it was ok, I have tasted better. But I was satisfied! Nicky got burnt marshmallow which was veryyy good!! (Nicky is a marshmallow :))

All in all our dinner was disappointing and we were hungry two hours later.. Cubana Social, we will not be going back. Food was pretty bad 2/10, service was nothing special (poor girl was nice)
But we bought a bottle of wine on the way home, drank and ate some chocolate  :)

Cuba Libre and Coco-mojito

 Ropa Vieja

 Burnt Marshmallow Ice Cream

Thai Iced Tea and Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Date Night: Il Mulino - Taj Mahal - Atlantic City, NJ - Tuesday, 4/15/2014

Her Take: We finally went back to Atlantic City and I was sooooo happy! Much needed trip! Anyway,  we wanted to extend our anniversary and wanted to go to a nice restaurant to celebrate again in a more romantic setting. Nicky told me he wanted to take me to Il Mulino because he really liked it and knew I would too. So we made a reservation on Open Table and Nicky wrote "anniversary dinner" as a special note. When we went down they told us that we had actually made the reservation for the fine dining section so they walked us (next door) to the right place. We could definitely see the difference; the lighting was a bit dimmer, the tables had tablecloths, the glasses all set up and the tables were all candlelit. Also, the waiters were all dressed up with bowties and nice tuxedos. The hostess quickly took us to a nice round table against a wall but what was weird was that she did not give us menus. (hmmm?)
The first of our waiters quickly came over with a huge wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano and with his cheese knife and gave us each a nice piece. He then offered to take a picture of us with the cheese because he saw how excited we were! Right after he asked if we wanted a cocktail to drink and we said sure! I ordered a rum and pineapple (not rum and coke because I had given sweets and junk up for lent) and Nicky a vodka and sprite.
Once he left, another server came over and dropped a plate of thin zucchini "chips" that were drizzled in oil and garlic. I LOVE THOSE!! And then another server came, dropped off sopressata, and offered us bruschetta (yummm), I said of course and Nicky said no thank you. Right after that man left, ANOTHER one came over and dropped off spicy garlic bread, regular bread and focaccia. I was so excited, we hadn't even ordered yet and food just kept coming!! We got our drinks and we cheered "to us." We ate and ate (and unfortunately I couldn't taste too much because I was sick and stuffy, I was PISSED) and were a bit confused because we had never been to a restaurant like this, plus we didn't even have a menu! I was like "Nicky, what if they just give us whatever food they want?" and he was like "they can't do that what if we don't like something??" I was really confused and for some reason, nervous, so I told him to google Il Mulino and see what it said!! HAHA! we're so embarrassing! But just as he was about to, our second waiter came and asked how we were enjoying our complementary antipasti and asked if we wanted to wait a little bit or if we would like the menu. Ah-ha! There we go, our question was answered! *phew* We said yes we'll take a look at the menu now, acting all nonchalant as if we knew what was going on. When he gave them to us and left, we died laughing.
To be honest I was already pretty full from all the food they had given us, and you know me I HAD to eat it. But you can't NOT eat at a beautiful, fancy restaurant like this, you can't make them think you only came for the complementary appetizers and say "ok thanks see ya next time!" NO! So we decided on having a bowl of Tortellini in brodo each, I wanted the pollo encrusto and Nicky spaghettini carbonara. When the waiter came to take our order, Nicky asked if they had meatballs (which he had had last time in the other side of the restaurant) and the waiter said that if we wanted an order of meatballs, he could make that happen! So we got an order of meatballs, two tortellini, one chicken dish and one pasta dish!
I don't know where we thought we were gonna fit all the food we had just ordered because we were both already filling up, but we couldn't stop eating. Anyway, we got our soup first so we could take our time and drink on it slowly, I wish I could have tasted :( the tortellini I couldn't taste at all but the soup felt good for my throat and Nicky said it was really good! Then we got our meatballs, which came 3 to an order. I could vaguely taste them but from what I could gather, they were yummy! after having a meatball each, we were already exploding! The waiter came and asked us how we were doing and I guess our faces told him how full we were and he laughed and said he'd give us some time to digest before our entrees came out. YES, THANK YOU!
We sipped on our drinks and held hands and chatted about how great this place was; I have to say I was very impressed. Just then our entrees came out. My pollo encrusto was a huge breaded chicken cutlet in lemon, white wine sauce. It was very good, but just too big for me! I had to take a break and sit there for a while. I cut small pieces and ate little by little, I think I ate a good amount before I literally could not eat any more.
The waiter came over and saw we were done and we did a pretty good job! He asked if we wanted any dessert or coffee and I said I'll have a tea please! Nicky got an espresso. They also said that they give complementary grappa or limoncello and asked which we'd prefer and I said we'd take two grappas perfavore! They brought over a beautiful wooden tea box so I could choose which tea I wanted! I chose pomegranate green tea. They brought over a little pot of hot water, Nicky' espresso and the grappa. Not long after, they came over with a cheesecake and fruit with a candle and they sang happy anniversary to us! We had forgotten that we had mentioned it on Open table! They sang so nice and everybody in the restaurant clapped for us! We said thank you and one waiter said "What? No kiss?!! Come on!!" So we kissed and they clapped  :))) It was so sweet and made me so happy! We picked at it, I ate the fruit and whipped cream since I couldn't eat dessert and Nicky had a little of the cheese cake! It was very sweet of them! So many complementary things, and they were so good to us! (we left them a niceeeee tip ;)) We had the grappa, well I had it, Nicky didn't like it (too strong for him haha) But I understood; grappa is grain alcohol with a high proof so it is very strong.

I have to say that I was incredibly impressed with Il Mulino. The ambiance and atmosphere was amazing and beautiful, the service was perfect, the food was delicious, their restaurant mission is very well portrayed through their impeccable staff, food, presence and mannerisms. In my opinion, Il Mulino was the best dinner date that we have had! They we excellent I have absolutely no complaints except that I'm a little upset that I couldn't taste everything 100% but its ok, it only means that we'll have to go back :)))

His Take:  Ariana and I decided while we were in Atlantic City that we would go out somewhere nice to eat.  I had mentioned to her that I had eaten in Il Mulino at the Taj Mahal before and that I really enjoyed it.  That’s all it took to convince her.  We made our reservation using open table, and I added a special note that it was anniversary dinner (because Virgil’s as you know was no anniversary enough for me).  We arrived at Il Mulino and were immediately seated and greeted.  Il Mulino is set up beautifully.  This is truly a great romantic date spot.  The tables were set up with flowers and candles and it really set the mood we were looking for.  Immediately after we were seated, one of our waiters, yes we had two, came over with a giant wedge of Parmeggiano cheese.  My eyes lit up when I saw this.  I LOVE PARMEGGIANO CHEESE.  Our waiter sliced us both a healthy size piece right from the giant wedge, but mind you I probably could have eaten the whole thing.  We ordered our drinks, I a vodka and sprite and Ariana I believe a rum and pineapple juice. Next our waiters provided us with some bruschetta (toasted bread with diced tomatoes that are seasoned), some fried zucchini slices that were cut into chips, a few slices of salami, and three different types of bread.  We literally feasted on these and then realized, we had not even got our menus yet!  We wondered if maybe Il Mulino forgot or was just going to serve us until we could not eat any more (not a bad thing).  On cue our waiter brought over our menus and asked us if we enjoyed their complimentary foods while we waited.  Yes, complimentary foods, as in FREE.  Not only was this first wave of food free, but it was absolutely delicious.  Our waiter also told us if there was anything we did not see on the menu, we should inquire about it and he would try to accommodate us.  Last time I was at Il Mulino, the same one in Taj Mahal, just the other side of the restaurant, I tried their meatballs and they were amazing, so I wanted them again!  I did not see them on the menu, so I asked our waiter and he told me it would not be a problem.  Ariana and I also ordered a Tortellini in chicken broth each as an appetizer.  Our waiter was kind enough to suggest bringing just the soups first before the meatballs.  What an excellent idea. The tortellini in chicken broth soups were just as excellent as everything else!  And it was a great size portion, ordering one each was the way to go.  Plus the soup was perfect because Ariana was not feeling so well.  The soup was tasty, and I love tortellini soup! Next came the meatballs! Ariana and I enjoyed our three meatballs (sorry there is only one in the photo, we forgot to take a picture before diving in).  These meatballs were just as good as the ones I remembered eating last time.  For our entrees, Ariana ordered a Lemon Chicken and I ordered Spaghetti Carbonara.  I tried Ariana’s chicken and it was delicious and very lemon-y!  Mind you her piece of chicken breast was pretty big.  Now onto my dish! Spaghetti Carbonara is one of my favorite dishes.  It is spaghetti served with pancetta, onions, cheese, and egg.  I was excited when I saw the amount of cheese in this dish as well as adding more.  Il Mulino made my Spaghetti Carbonara perfect.  I really enjoyed it.  Ariana liked her chicken, but could not finish it because she ate most of the complimentary food.  When our waiter asked us if we wanted desserts he was shocked to hear us say no, but understood that we ate a lot.  He asked us if we wanted any coffee or after dinner drinks.  I ordered an espresso and Ariana a tea.  Pretty standard espresso for me, but Ariana was brought out a tea box and let her choose her own tea!  I thought this was pretty cool.  Ariana also suggested we order a Grappa each, which is an Italian after dinner drink.  I had heard of Grappa before and could have sworn I had it, but after tasting it I was pretty sure I did not.  I did not like Grappa!  Remember how I mentioned I had put in the note on open table that this was our anniversary dinner?  Well Il Mulino served us a complimentary (more free!!) cheese cake slice and they sang anniversary!  We were surprised by this and it was an overall nice cap on dinner. 

Il Mulino was truly the perfect date.  The place was great, the service was excellent, and the food was even better.  There are two other Il Mulino’s in New York and I promise you I will not hesitate to go back at some point in the future.  Il Mulino might have been the best place Ariana and I have been to.  I loved everything about Il Mulino.  Head over there and you have my word that you will not be disappointed.