Surprise, Surprise

One of my best friends, Nur, turned 30 on Saturday.  She lives in New Jersey right outside of NYC, so I flew up for 24 hours to surprise her.  Turns out, her wonderful fiance also wanted to surprise her…he had a bunch of her good friends waiting at a bar to send her into her 30s with a bang

The best part was that Nur was so unsuspecting that she was literally in tears Saturday morning because no one was doing anything for her big day.  She was so happy and surprised, and I’m so glad I got to be a part of it!

Before the surprise at Quay’s in Hoboken, Kelly (who graciously let me stay with her in her awesome apartment in midtown Manhattan!) and I had dinner at 3Forty Grill.  Awesome filet…and they barely cooked it just the way I liked.  The mashed potatoes were to die for, as well…slightly garlic-y, but still so yummy.  The best part?  The martini’s.  I had a raspberry and 3Forty…which tasted like rainbow sherbert!

Little did I know when I was planning my trip that Sunday was Easter.  Opps.  I had a nice Southwest Chicken Salad from McDonald’s on my way home from the airport.  Definitely worth it…it was a great weekend!

Update: Best Steak in Pittsburgh

About a month ago, I blogged about my favorite Pittsburgh steak restaurants. Well, I need to make some adjustments to that list. Two weekends ago, a bunch of us went to Ibiza to celebrate my birthday. I ordered the filet. I had this entree at least three other times and always loved it. In fact, every time I’ve ever been to Ibiza, I’ve loved it.

Except this time.

There have been warning signs that the restaurant was on a downward spiral. Gabby and her husband had a bad experience several weeks ago. And, it’s been increasingly easy to get a good reservation. But, like I said, I’ve always had great food and even better wine, so I chose it as my birthday celebration starting point.

I ordered my filet “extra rare. Cold in the center rare.” I don’t know how else to explain how I like it cooked. The waitress seemed to get it, and since I’ve had perfectly cooked (or undercooked) steak there before, I wasn’t that worried. My filet arrived – along with everyone else’s appetizers (I know it’s a tapas bar, but plan a little better, please! I sat there for a good two hours while everyone else finished their meals. Thank goodness there was good wine.) I cut into the center of the steak and was immediately disappointed. It looked almost medium. Not even medium rare. I forced myself to eat most of it though…and then started picking away at the table’s olive, cheese and meat platter.

Sometimes I will send back food when it’s not prepared correctly…but I feel really bad doing it. I shouldn’t…I’m the customer and should get what I ask for. But, our waitress seemed quite frazzled by our table – she could barely keep up with all of our various drink orders as it was.

So, I suffered in silence. And still had a great time anyway.

On a side note, Gabby’s pasta was mushy, and Brad’s meat platter was nothing special…very dry and bland. We won’t be going back there any time soon…unless it’s just for drinks because they do have fabulous wines.

My new and improved list of the favorite steak restaurants in Pittsburgh:

1. The Capital Grille – I had to send my first filet back because it came out more like medium well, but once they got it right, it was so worth the wait.
2. Mortons – Almost as good as the Capital Grille.
3. Mallorca – Even better when it’s with their Sangria.
4. Tie – Bruschetta’s and McCormick and Schmick’s
5. Mantini’s Wood-Fired Grill – I’ve only had it once, but they cooked it right, and their sides are amazing.

Back to Reality

Returning to work after a vacation is never fun. This blog pretty much sums up what happens when you return from a long weekend.

My work inbox had 236 unread messages this morning. I was actually surprised there weren’t more…I think a lot of people took time off over the 4th. I only have it down to 79 unread now – and it’s already 2pm. It’s hard to even start to figure out what needs to be accomplished to get your head above water when you spend all morning in meetings. Luckily, my meeting this afternoon was canceled, so perhaps I will be able to start sorting through the mess.

All of that said, I wouldn’t give up one second of my five day paradise vacation in Naples. It was amazing. I didn’t think about work once. There was really, really great food, lots of sun, fun times with family and friends and time to relax.

We found a new favorite restaurant, too – Trulucks, right off of 5th Ave, was good beyond words. My boyfriend can’t stop talking about the quality of the menu – he had a really tough time choosing, but loved his ahi tuna entree and some type of crab as an appetizer. (I don’t eat any type of seafood, so the different kinds of crab choices just flow right over my head.) I had a filet – prepared extra rare, and it is now my second favorite steak in Naples. It was wonderful. And the parmasean mashed potatoes were the best I’ve had in awhile.

I also read 2.5 books – Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger…one of my new romantic comedy favorites. I read Lauren’s first book, The Devil Wears Prada when it was released a few years ago, and liked it, but this one was better. The characters were more developed, the story flowed really well, and the different character perspectives kept me really interested. I am also now completely jealous of her career. The first book she wrote accomplished more than most authors or writers could hope to accomplish in an entire career! Now, she’s written a third, and in my opinion, even better book. Did I mention she’s only 31? Yeah, thinking about that over a birthday weekend marking the near-end of my 20s was not so fun. But it did make me really start thinking about writing a book. I’ve always wanted to be a published author, and there’s no time like the present, right?

The second book, The Last Time I Was Me by Cathy Lamb, was also good. It took a few chapters for me to really get into it, but I kept wanting to find more about the main character and her nervous breakdown, so I kept reading. Then once she was running along the river naked and ran – literally – into a new love interest, I was hooked. The writing was witty and honest, and although the story wrapped up a little too neatly for my tastes, it was a really great story about facing your fears, rediscovering your self and facing a tragic past.

I’m almost finished with Ellen Baker’s Keeping the House. I’ll let you know how I feel about it once I finish.

If only I was still at the pool or beach with a frozen raspberry margarita in hand…

Vacation Time

At this time tomorrow, I will be on a flight to Naples, Florida. I can hardly wait! I have so much to do between now and then….getting some work stuff finished, running some errands, most importantly to Sephora, and driving Bruin out to my sister’s so she can watch him.

Naples for the 4th (and my birthday) is going to be so much fun. Gabby and her husband will be there, along with her parents, my boyfriend’s family and friends of Gabby. This will be my third trip to Naples this year so far – fourth overall to Florida – I love the real sun, beaches and great shopping. Oh, and the amazing restaurants. So far, my favorite is Chops – best filet maybe ever!

I also hope the smell of smoke clears out of our house before we leave. Last night at 1030 pm, the boyfriend decided to make three pizza rolls. He stuck them in the microwave, accidentally turned it on for 10 minutes and went upstairs. I was on the computer and smelled smoke and screamed – the whole house filled with this awful smelling smoke. We opened all of the windows and lit candles, but I could still smell it this morning.

Right now, it looks like Angelina Jolie will be popping out her twins soon. First, the husband-stealing Jolie steals my name and now she’s trying to steal my birthday weekend thunder?! Whatever!

Nothing will ruin this vacation…I am so excited. Happy 4th of July!

Best Steak in Pittsburgh

I love going out to eat.  And nothing beats a good filet.  However, I will only eat filet if it’s rare.  By rare, I mean barely cooked.  It has to be RED and slightly cold in the center.  You medium to medium-well eaters out there may think that’s gross, but once you go rare, you can never go back.  The only thing that makes a rare steak better?  Side dishes of mashed potatoes and creamed spinach (but if I could only have one, I’d go with the mashed potatoes every time).

The top restaurants in Pittsburgh for filet, as rated by me:

1. The Capital Grille – I had to send my first filet back because it came out more like medium well, but once they got it right, it was so worth the wait.
2. Mortons – Almost as good as the Capital Grille.
3. Mallorca – Even better when it’s with their Sangria.
4. Ibiza – It comes Portugese-style which means with a fried egg on top.  I could do without the egg, but not the meat!
5. Tie – Bruschetta’s and McCormick and Schmick’s

My search isn’t over – if I find steak that deserves to be on this list, I’ll definitely add it!  And, I’m always looking for good recommendations! 

(In the next few weeks, I’ll post about my favorite steak restaurants outside of Pittsburgh.)