Category Archives: Sunday Game Plan

Sunday Game Plan – French Restaurant Week

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Starting tomorrow, French Restaurant Week returns with participating restaurants offering prix fixe menus at $30, $45, $60 and $75. French Restaurant Week will run from July 7th thru July 20th. Last year there were 12 restaurants participating and this year there are 19 restaurants participating. What’s interesting is that two of the restaurants that participated last year are not participating this year. In addition, Le Gratin, who participated in French Restaurant week lunch last year and is only doing dinner this year. I reviewed 18 menus to date and developed my restaurant picks for French Restaurant Week. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that I will end up dining in any of these restaurants due to life priorities. Meanwhile, I will continue to support my restaurant picks for French Restaurant week.

Meal for One

Lafayette – $60 pp dinner – Sugar Snap Peas/Rotisserie Chicken Estragon/Gateaux Marjolaine

Le Rock – $60 pp dinner – Carottes Rapees/Rotisserie Chicken/Baba Aux Chartreuse

Loulou – $60 pp (Sunday thru Thursday) dinner – Frisee/Steak Au Poivre/Mousse au Chocolat

Cafe Boulud – $75 pp dinner – Salad Nicoise/Dorade Mediterraneenne/Cerise en jubilee

Paris Bar – $60 pp dinner – Farmers Market Salad/Lobster Bucatini/Apple Tart Tatin

Meal for Two

Levant on Smith – $60 pp – 4pm to 9pm dinner – (1) Sesame Tuna Tartare/Steak Frites/Creme Brulee (2) Crispy Goat Cheese/Seabass/San Sebastian Cheesecake

La Sirene – Soho – $60 pp – Cash/check/AMEX only dinner – (1) Escargots a la Bourguignonne/Braised Rabbit Diijonnaise/Croquant au Caramel (2) Ravioles de Royan a la Crème/Oven Roasted Cornish Hen/Choux Chantilly

La Sirene – UWS – $60 pp – Cash/check/AMEX only dinner – (1) Escargots a la Bourguignonne/Braised Rabbit Diijonnaise/Croquant au Caramel (2) Ravioles de Royan a la Crème/Oven Roasted Cornish Hen/Choux Chantilly

Margaux by La Sirene – $60 pp – Cash/check/Amex only dinner – (1) Escargots a la Bourguignonne/Braised Rabbit Diijonnaise/Croquant au Caramel (2) Ravioles de Royan a la Crème/Oven Roasted Cornish Hen/Choux Chantilly

La Pavilion – $75 pp – lunch – (1) Salade a la Grecque/Grilled Arctic Char/Tropezienne (2) Corn Veloute/Ratatouille/Café Cocoa Sundae

Loulou – $45 pp – lunch – Monday to Friday – (1) Gaspacho/Chicken Paillard/Mousse au Chocolat (2) Classic Bibb/Loulou Burger/Crème Brulee

Le Petit Village – $60 pp – dinner – (1) Wagyu Steak Tartare/Spring Chicken/Crème Brulee (2) Salad du Jardin/Le Burger/Raspberry Sorbet

Paris Bar – $30 pp – lunch – Monday to Friday) – Goat cheese croquette/Roasted Organic Half Chicken (2) Scallop Ceviche/Bucatini Printemps

Personally, I have solo-dined at La Sirene Soho four years ago. had their Ravioles de Royan a la Crème and the Oven Roasted Cornish Hen. Both dishes are definitely worth getting at either La Sirene location.

Ravioles de Royan a la Crème
Ravioles de Royan a la Crème
Oven Roasted Cornish Hen

Recently, I dined at the Paris Bar and ordered the goat cheese croquette doused in lavender honey. This unique dish is definitely worth ordering as the honey and lavender balanced the strong goat cheese flavor out.

Goat cheese croquettes

Meal for three

La Sirene – UWS – $30 pp lunch – Cash/Credit/AMEX – Monday to Friday – (1) French Onion Soup/Prince Edward Island Mussels (2) Fresh Roasted Beet Salad with Brie/Croque Madame (3) Homemade Pate de Campagne/Jambon Brie Sandwich

The Supper Club by Le Petit Parisien – $60 pp dinner – This restaurant is only offering the French Restaurant Week Menu (there will be no a la carte menu). (1) Poached Shrimp/Pan Seared Salmon/Apple Torte (2) Pate de Campagne/Atlantic Cod/Crème Brulee (3) Belgian Endive and Fennel Salad/Ravioles Comte/Crème Brulee

Lafayette – $45 pp lunch – (1) Frisee Salad/Rainbow Trout (2) Heirloom Tomato Salad/Rotisserie Chicken Salad (3) French Onion Soup/Omelette

Cheers to another year of French Restaurant Week!! Bon Appetit!!

Sunday Game Plan – Chinatown Restaurant Week

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Happy Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month!! Another restaurant week!! With the recent successes of restaurant weeks and restaurants months over the course of 30 plus years, Chinatown Restaurant Week starts on May 19th and will end on May 24th. Based on their website, 18 restaurants are participating and their prix fixe price vary, with lots to offer, but there are stipulations. Reservations to 10 of the 18 participating restaurants are only available on Eventbrite, 9 of those 10 restaurants have a set price for a minimum of two people. This set price includes: tax, 18% gratuity and processing fees. After reading the information on their website, this dining experience will not be feasible because personally it’s already difficult to get another person to join for a time constraint meal with no substitutions. Therefore, these menus do not accommodate diners with dietary restrictions. In addition, since the reservation has to be made via Eventbrite, the diner will be required to pay up front just to make the reservation. In the long run, the restaurant week meal will no longer be cost effective. So in conclusion, I won’t be partaking in this occasion as I would have liked to. Nevertheless, I’ll provide the places that I may check out for Chinatown Restaurant Week. To date, I’ve been able to review 17/18 restaurants.

Lunch for one:

Mee Sum Cafe – $13 set meal – 2 pieces of dim sum (har gow & shumai), toisan style salted chicken rice box, and small lemon ginger drink. No reservations. Walk-ins only.

Tada – $20 set meal – 2 fried mandus, 3 pieces of Korean fried chicken (2 wings and 1 drumstick), small side of kimchi fried rice and 1 Korean drink. No reservations. Walk-ins only.

Lunch/Dinner for two:

The Original Buddha Bodai – $62.76 per person (includes tax, 18% tip and processing fees). To take advantage of the 5-course vegetarian meal (perfect for Meatless Monday), reservations for a minimum of two people are required. I would have loved to try the salt and pepper fried ribs because they are only served during dinner currently. I’ve personally have dined in the restaurant once but that was before COVID-19, which was over five years ago and their portion sizes serve 4 people. This restaurant is one of my go-to for lunch via Uber Eats and one time, I ordered their Vegetarian Shark Fin Congee Soup. The soup was huge and it served about four people. Below is a photo from my lunch/dinner delivery order from this restaurant, which cost under $30.

Wok Wok – $35.69 per person (includes tax, 18% tip and processing fees). Reservations for a minimum of two people are required and only one set menu was being promoted: roti canai, curry laksa noodles and housemade tea. Personally I don’t think this is a deal because even without the promotion the cost would have been the same maybe cheaper without the processing fees. Four years ago I dined at this restaurant during dinner out of curiosity because of all the YouTube videos I watched during COVID-19. I did order the roti canai, which I did enjoy especially that chicken curry. The chicken curry had the perfect amount of heat for this appetizer dish. It’s definitely worth ordering alone or a starter for a 3-4 course meal. In addition portion sizes are usually generous and definitely meant for sharing.

Roti Canai

Dinner for one – Reservation is required.

Phoenix Palace – $76.30 per person (includes tax, 18% tip and processing fees). When I clicked on this link, I discovered that I can make a reservation as a solo diner. Based on what this restaurant is offering for restaurant week, I would order the Olive Yaotiew/Salt & Pepper Cuttlefish/Duck Breast/Dessert. This is the sister restaurant of the Michelin Gourmand’s Potluck Club. I have yet to dine in either restaurant.

Since I am not far from the participating restaurants, I will make an effort to dine in one of the restaurants after work or during lunch. In the meantime, I’ll be sharing posts on social media from the participating restaurants to support small businesses.

Traditional Tuesday Game Plan – Sunnyside Restaurant Week

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Happy Easter!! Another restaurant week!! With the recent successes restaurant weeks and restaurants months over the course of 30 years, Sunnyside Restaurant Week is back again!! Sunnyside Restaurant Week starts on April 22 and will end on May 4th. Based on their website, 49 restaurants are participating and their prix fixe price is $35 and/or other deals/discounts. This restaurant week actually will last two weeks, below is my best bang for your buck list of places I’d like to go.

Restaurants for meal of one:

Ariyoshi NYC – $35 pescatarian meal: seafood salad/shrimp tempura/flounder ginger/ice cream

Chihuahua – $35 dinner: chicken nachos/tilapia y camarones/flan

La Pollera de Mario – $35 dinner: Guacamole and Tostones/Plato Aguacatala/Flan

Sanger Hall – $35 dinner: Cheese curds/Rasta Pasta/Funnel Fries

Takesushi – $35 dinner: Ankimo (Monkfish) Liver/6 piece sushi and one roll/Nama Choco

Restaurants for meals for two:

Bajeko Sekuwa – $35 dinner: (1) Riesling/Timmure Chicken/Bengali Fish Curry/Rasmalai (2) Merlot/Chicken Tikka/Goat Rogan Josh/Lal Mohan

Bar 43 – $35 dinner: (1) Sheet Pan Nachos/Sizzling Chicken Fajitas/Bailey’s Cheesecake (2) Pretzel Bites/Steak Baguette/Turtufo Truffle

Costa Y Mar – $35 dinner for one: Papa la Huancaina/Lomo Saltado/Tres Leches (2) $28 Seafood Duo: Fish Ceviche/Jalea

Restaurants for meals for three:

Cardamom – $35 dinner: (1) Chicken 65/Tandoori Chicken/Kheer (2) Samosa Chaat/Chicken Sheekh Kabab/Gulab Jamun (3) Lasuni Gobi/Chicken Tikka/Rasmalai

Tito Rad’s – $35 dinner: (1) Lumpia Shanghai/Beef Mechado/Leche Flan (2) Ukoy/Grilled Tuna Belly/Ube (3) Fresh Lumpia/Chicken Adobo/Cassava

Zirve Turkish Grill – $35 dinner; (1) Piyoz/Manti/Tres Leches Cake (2) Lentil Soup/Chicken Adana Kebab/Baklava (3) Chicken and Vegetable Soup/Kofte Kebab/Rice Pudding

Personally I have dined in three restuarants listed for Sunnyside Restaurant week on different occasions. I’ve had the grilled tuna belly from Tito Rad’s and it was very good. It’s actually one of my go to dishes if I dined in this restaurant. I’ve also ate at Cardamom which is listed on Michelin’s Bib Gourmand list but the dishes I had in this restaurant are not participating in this restaurant week. More recently I’ve dined in Bar 43 for brunch and their pretzel bites will be sold during this restaurant week.

Realistically I don’t know if I’ll be able to dine in one any of the restaurants listed above due to my current work schedule. In the meantime, I’ll be check their social media pages and hopefully I’ll be able to repost on my stories as my way of support small businesses and another restaurant week concept.

Traditional Tuesday – Game Plan – Astoria Ditmars Restaurant Week

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Happy April Fools Day!! Another restaurant week!! Actually not kidding haha. Recently there have been emergences of restaurant weeks and resturants months, which is inspired by the successes of NYC restaurant week. During my routine daily scrolls on Instagram, I came across the It’s In Queens account stories of the day and they promoted Astoria Ditmars Restaurant Week. Astoria Ditmars Restaurant Week starts on April 2 and will end on April 8th. Based on their website, 26 restaurants are participating and their prix fixe price either is $25, $35 or $45. Since I gave up alcohol for Lent (40 days), I was already able to narrow down my personal picks. In addition, this restaurant week actually lasts a week, I will have a best bang for your buck list, which may include alcoholic options and another list to accommodate people who gave up alcohol and/or red meat for Lent. Personally I have never dined in any of these restaurants so there will be a first time for everything. To date, I was only able to review 16 of the 26 participating restaurants.

Restaurants that include alcohol:

Alba’s Pizza and Restaurant – $25 lunch

Bar Parioli – $45 dinner for at least two even three people with glass of wine for at least 2-3 people

Restaurants that accommodate to Lent (alcohol free)

Porto 23 – $45 dinner for one

Queen’s Room – $45 dinner for at least two

Rivercrest – $35 dinner for one

Spanglish – $25 lunch for two

The Bonnie – $35 dinner for one

YAAR – $25 dinner for two

Acento Latin Kitchen – $45 dinner for one

Telly’s Taverna – $35 lunch for two

The Pomerboy – $45 dinner for two

Realistically I don’t know if I’ll be able to dine in one any of the restaurants listed above due to my current work schedule. In the meantime, I’ll be check their social media pages and hopefully I’ll be able to repost on my stories as my way of support small businesses and another restaurant week concept.

Sunday Game Plan – French Restaurant Week

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Starting tomorrow, it’s Bastille week. Bastille Day is a national holiday in France that is celebrated on July 14th. The holiday commemorates the start of the French Revolution in 1789. Traditions that usually take place on this holiday start off with a military parade followed by food and wine with fireworks ending the night.

Usually pastries, wine, and champagne are consumed on this special occasion. In New York City, Bastille week is celebrated with French Restaurant week.  This year French Restaurant week will take place starting from July 1st thru July 14th. There are 12 restaurants participating. Not all the restaurant have published their menu for the French Restaurant week yet. It is $46 for lunch and $60 dinner for a three-course prix fixe.

Out of the 9 menus I reviewed to date, I developed a wish list of restaurants I would go to for dinner, but priorities have changed, therefore, it is highly likely that I won’t end up going.

Le Tout Va Bien

Gaby Brasserie Francaise

Supper Club

I’ve had the privilege to dine and participate in French Restaurant Week in the past. I’ve dined in:

2022

La Sirene Soho: all these dishes below except possibly dessert will be served during this year’s restaurant week

Ravioles de Royan a la Creme

Oven Roasted Cornish Hen au jus

Profitteroles

2023

Le Rivage: the dishes may change for this year’s restaurant week.

Soup of the day

Poulet Roti

Peach Melba

Bonne fête !

Sunday Game Plan update

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Well, it has been two weeks since my last post, and we are entering the third week of restaurant week. Guess what happened?! I sprained my wrist and hand, and I’m still recovering while making my baked hake two weeks ago.

Baked Hake and fish was still overcooked

Ultimately, as long as I’m OK, I’ll still continue posting content. As a result of not really utilizing my left hand, I couldn’t do things in a timely manner. Therefore, I had to change my game plan from two weeks ago.

I have resorted to air frying string beans and cauliflower instead of steaming the beans and roasting cauliflower.

I also only did two restaurant week meals. The first was at David Burke Tavern for early dinner.

Caesar Salad
Hanger steak with hipster fries
Key lime pie
Conundrum white wine

Second, more recently, I went to La Marchande for restaurant week lunch.

Ginger mocktail
French Onion Dumplings
Chopped Nicoise Salad – lasted two days

There’s more to write, but my wrist is now bothering me again, plus this electronic device is dying. So, please stay tuned for more updates.

Sunday Game Plan – Home cooked family meals during the first week of NYC Summer Restaurant 2023

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This weekend was productive and exhausting. We did a lot of food shopping since Friday, but it was mostly snacks and I defrosted lots of stuff from the freezer which took at least two days to defrost. So here’s this week’s plan:

Baked Hake
Scrambled Eggs with Andouille Chicken Sausage
Scrambled Eggs with Spinach
Steamed Green Beans

Roasted Cauliflower
Ravioli with a red pasta sauce
Ramen with Spinach
Avocado Toast (if the avocado ripen this week)

Ground beef enchilada for Saturday

Eight-nine dishes should be enough considering that I’ll be doing NYC Restaurant Week Lunch or Dinner tomorrow and maybe Thursday or Friday. The website for restaurant week was revamped resulting in less multitasking. I am hoping that two posts will cover it (one for Manhattan and the other for the remaining four boroughs). These restaurant week posts here are my wish list for each borough/neighborhood because I’ve been very busy juggling motherhood and my paid job, which financially funds this project for the last seven years. As of today (07/23/23), there are 548 restaurants participating and I’m reviewing so far 383 menus that have already been posted. Hopefully by the end of the week, I’ll post my restaurant week game plan wish list.

Sunday Game Plan – NurtureLife Part 2

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Back in May, I decided to take part in NurtureLife for the baby. We received 12 items, and it took about 1 – 1.5 months to consume it all because it takes about 2 days for this toddler to finish a meal.

There were some hits and misses for this first order. Below is an excerpt of the game  plan I had in mind for the first order:

Sunday: Lunch or dinner, depending on which meal I get treated to. We will have some Swedish meatballs, broccoli, and egg noodles.

Review: Toddler loved this dish. This was the number one favorite out of all the items ordered.

Monday: Honoring Meatless Monday with: A jar of the Squash, Kale hash with bell peppers for breakfast and lunch. Then, for dinner, we will have the super veggie gnocchi with string beans.

Review: Toddler was not a fan of any of the jar foods and the babysitter, aka my mom commented that the gnocchi and string beans needed more seasoning. Ultimately, I ended up eating all this for dinner.

Tuesday: Honoring Taco Tuesday with Beef Taco Pockets with fiesta corn.

Review: Toddler did not like the corn but gradually enjoyed the Taco Pockets.

Wednesday: Honoring Wellness Wednesday and traditional Catholicism with a jar of salmon cakes with peas and potatoes.

Review: Toddler did not care for this jar, and yours truly ended up consuming this for lunch.

Thursday: A jar of roasted chicken with potato and broccoli medley. Dinner of chicken, tortellini, and broccoli.

Review: Toddler did not care for this jar, and yours truly ended up using it for stir fry. Meanwhile, the chicken, tortellini, and broccoli were overall toddler-approved.

Friday: Fish Friday time with teriyaki salmon and rainbow rice.

Review: Toddler actually enjoyed this meal, but it took about 2 plus days to finish.

After the consumption of eight meals, which took at least 16 plus days to consume, we defrosted the Presto pesto Ravioli with chicken and carrots; Squash, Kale hash and potatoes, Grilled Chicken with carrots, peas and potatoes and chicken and Mac.

Review: We ended up utilizing the two jars: Squash, Kale hash, and potatoes, and grilled chicken with carrots, peas, and potatoes to make omelets for breakfast that lasted a total of at least four days. However, the Presto Pesto Ravioli and chicken, and Mac were toddler approved. Both dishes took at least another four days to consume.

What nice about the boxed meals is that if they were placed in the freezer, it is good after 90 days of drop off.

In retrospect, twelve items are a bit much for the week, especially since I have a bunch of items in the fridge that need to be cooked. I gave my review of what’s good and not so good on NurtureLife website.

Fast forward to two days ago, we received another package from NurtureLife. This delivery is another set of 12 items. Six of them are smoothies, which are good until September, so that’s a plus. So far, we have frozen six items: Chicken and Mac, Beef Roast, Cheese Pizza pockets, Mighty Bites Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Duo. The remaining items will be consumed this week.

Sunday Game Plan

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It’s been over a month since my last post, but a lot has happened in the last month with work and birthdays, so I haven’t been cooking as much. However, since my last post, I have actually completed all eight dishes during that week of the post.

I have posted pictures of my progress of the dishes I planned to make during that week on my Instagram stories (IG stories). Since IG stories only last 24 hours, a lot of followers haven’t seen the progress. Therefore, below are photos of what I’ve cooked since the last post.

Breakfast Egg Muffins
Egg Tomato Stir-fry
Spinach and Cheese Frittata
Banana Bread
Avocado Toast
Cinnamon Apples
Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce
Maple Syrup Glazed Salmon

After cooking these eight dishes and finishing the leftovers, I’ve only cooked three more dishes. Only one of the three dishes was cooked on Father’s Day. Two of the three dishes were made off the cuff because we learned that the Prego Alfredo Sauce bottle had to be used up after three days of opening and refrigeration.

For the two pasta dishes, I used leftover cooked pasta and mixed them with the Alfredo sauce for a quick dinner after a long commute. I even paired the dish with Graham and Fisk white wine in a can.

Wine and Dine with Prego Alfredo pasta and Graham and Fisk white wine in a can

There was still a half bottle of Alfredo sauce, so I sauteed leftover cooked Perdue short cuts roast chicken slices, broccoli, and leftover pasta. Finally, I used up the remaining bottle of Alfredo sauce and concocted this dish that lasted at least 2-3 days.

Chicken, Broccoli Pasta Alfredo

Finally, on Father’s Day, I made skirt steak, and it came out really good that my parents took the leftovers home.

Ingredients used to marinade the skirt steak for 2-3 hours.
Skirt Steaks right off the grill and resting
Top section – well done
Bottom section – medium

Last weekend, which was the holiday weekend, I decided to stay home and cooked a Butter Basted Rib Eye Steak.

Rib Eye Steak
Rib Eye Steak basting in butter, garlic, thyme and rosemary
Butter Basted Rib Eye Steak resting

I know I won’t be cooking as much this week because my mom is going to bring her version of adobo, which will last two days. In addition, I’ll be participating in French Restaurant Week, which takes place during the week of Bastille Day. Finally, NurtureLife has supplied us with more products for the toddler to try and hopefully enjoy.

Sunday Game Plan

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This weekend was a big food day for eggs and cheese. Yesterday (Saturday, June 3rd) was National Egg Day, and today (Sunday, June 4th) is National Cheese Day. So, to celebrate a weekend of eggs and cheese, I prepared a bunch of dishes for the week utilizing either eggs, cheese, or both.

Breakfast Egg Muffins
Egg Tomato Stir-fry
Spinach and Cheese Frittata
Banana Bread

The first four dishes should last about 4 days. In addition, there are other dishes we will be consuming, including:

Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce
Maple Syrup Glazed Salmon
Cinnamon Apples
Avocado Toast

Eight dishes should be enough considering that I’ll be doing Dine Around Downtown on Tuesday

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