Flatiron Hall

I have an important announcement to make. 

I recently had a life-changing tater tot experience. 

Prior to this, I had thought that most tater tots were created equal.  Sure, some restaurants try to dress them up with fancy toppings like truffle oil and aged cheeses, but underneath all of that, they always seemed to be the same old freezer-aisle tater tots that you've been getting served since your elementary school cafeteria days.  Well, I'm happy to report that my long-held misconception has finally been dispelled.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Let me start at the beginning.

I had met S for lunch near where she works and she suggested that we go to Flatiron Hall, which, as its name suggests, is just a quick walk from the Flatiron building.  This place is a favorite among S and her coworkers for happy hour haunts and it has a cool, retro beer hall vibe.

We started off with a round of cocktails to celebrate the fact that S was done working for the week and I had just had a promising interview in the area.  It was ridiculously hot outside and I thought that the Spiced Island Mojito, with rum, lemon juice, black pepper raspberry simple syrup, lime, mint, and ginger ale, sounded like just what I needed to cool off.  S went for the Elder, with Maker's Mark, St. Germain, and club soda.

The drinks were fine, but not stellar, but we were soon distracted by the arrival of the aforementioned life-changing tater tots, which S had insisted that we order.  I will never doubt her again.

 

See? Just by looking at them, you can tell that these aren't your average tots.  

Crispy shoestring potatoes coat the outside, while the melt-in-your-mouth interior is full of bacon, chives, and aged cheddar.  I believe that I very forcefully announced to S that these babies were not tater tots.  They were HEAVEN.

But anyhoo, we eventually moved on to our entrees and we both ordered the Maui Fish Tacos.

Crispy cod tacos with a mango salsa, chipotle lime mayo, and spicy pickled vegetables.  They were also insanely good.  I'm pretty picky when it comes to fish tacos.  I usually don't go for fried options because I often find that the batter overpowers the fish, but these were light and just crispy enough to make it interesting, and the combination of mango salsa and chipotle lime mayo complemented the fish perfectly.

Tater tots and fish tacos might not seem like an obvious pairing, but they tasted amazing together on that sweltering day.  So, if you find yourself in the area this summer, stop in to Flatiron Hall and enjoy the AC and the tacos.  And see if you can eat just one of those tots.

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Foodie Friday

A mammoth cappuccino from The Wicked Oyster in Wellfleet, MA.

A classic summertime guilty pleasure:  a big 'ole cone of twist soft-serve.  From Mac's on the Pier, also in Wellfleet, MA.

Happy Weekend!

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Cape Cod Holiday, Day Two

After waking up on Day Two of our Cape Cod getaway, GK and I poked our heads outside and found that, just as we had hoped, the day had dawned gloriously sunny and pleasantly warm. 

We had big plans for a lunch picnic on the beach, so we meandered into town to grab a few last minute supplies, stopping to admire the colorful blooms that we found on the way.

 After getting the necessary foodstuffs, we browsed around in a few more shops and then went back to the cottage to quickly toast up some sourdough bread, grab blankets, sunscreen, vino, and some girly magazines and set out for Mayo Beach, which conveniently, was only a short walk away.  Once we got there, we found a quiet sandy spot, smoothed out our blanket, and set out our feast of strawberries, crusty bread, goat cheese, artichoke spread, and some nice sparkling rosé.

It was a simple but delicious feast, and the view wasn't too bad either.

After demolishing most of the bread and berries, we remembered that we had also brought along our chocolate haul from the day before, prompting us to make these faces:

 

However, it soon started to melt rather quickly in the sun, which prompted us to make these faces:

But fear not, we were up to the challenge and made short work of the box of treats, giggling as we got melty chocolate absolutely everywhere. So much for our sophisticated and elegant beach picnic.  We spent the rest of the afternoon sipping wine, reading our horoscopes, and skipping down to the water whenever the sun got too hot.

When we had had enough sun, we went back to the cottage and relaxed for a bit before joining GK's parents and an old family friend at Moby Dick's for dinner.  The menu was full of fresh seafood and the atmosphere was relaxed, friendly, and nautical to be sure.  The interior made me feel a bit like I was in the belly of a pirate ship, except for the disappointing lack of rum (Moby Dick's is BYOB).

I ordered the Grilled Shrimp and Scallops and was brought a skewer of each along with corn on the cob and a baked potato.

This meal tasted liked the best parts of summer.  Corn on the cob always gives me that summertime happy feeling, and the scallops were buttery and so fresh while the shrimp were nicely charred in all the right places.

When dinner had wrapped up, GK and I decided to hit up our favorite local bar that we had discovered while at the Cape last year, Mac's Shack.  After hovering creepily for a bit, we were finally able to snag a free table and ordered a round of pomegranate mojitos, which I think that we had both been craving since last summer.

They were just as refreshing as we had remembered, but it wasn't long before we started to get a bit peckish.  So we ordered some Truffle fries and we just couldn't pass up some local, Wellfleet oysters.  GK was very excited when the fries arrived in a bucket.

 

The oysters tasted deliciously fresh and salty, but they also tasted like more alcohol.  So for round two, we decided to mix it up and GK went for the Ginn Fizz while I went fruity with a Mai Tai.

Mac's version of the Mai Tai involves amaretto, which was a surprising but really delicious addition to the cocktail that gave it an extra level of complexity.  

GK and I chatted and laughed the night away with a few more rounds of Pom mojitos, came up with stories and imagined backgrounds for the other patrons at the bar, and then moseyed back to the cottage.  The next day was spent at the beach and then I had to catch the train back to Boston, followed by another train to New York the following day.  The trip was a lovely respite from reality and it was great to see GK.  I'm hoping that I can get away and go back again next year.  That should give Mac's plenty of time to restock their mojito supplies and fill up those buckets o'fries. 

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Cape Cod Holiday, Day One

Last week, I met up with GK in Boston, and we jumped in her car and made the drive to Cape Cod for a quick summer getaway.  We’ve been doing a good job of keeping in touch via Skype, but there’s really no substitute for catching up in person, so we enjoyed the roadtrip and filled each other in on all the shenanigans that we’ve been getting up to since I moved to New York.  We made it to Wellfleet around 9pm and called it a fairly early night.  Upon checking the weather the next morning, we saw that the forecast was calling for rain and decided that it might be better to go shopping than to try for a beach day.  We headed to the town of Chatham and got right down to it.  Of course, the rain had decided to hold off until later in the day and we were greeted with bright sunshine and blue skies.  

Our first stop was Jack Wills, where GK got her Old England-meets-New England preppy glamour on, and I admired this lovely staircase in the entryway.  

 

I kinda like the idea of pink and blue striped walls, don't you?  

Next, we walked by my favorite store discovery of the day, the appropriately named “Ducks In the Window."

After perusing the silly toys (and trying out a few of them, of course) and tubs of candy, we realized that we were quite a bit older than most of the customers in the store, so we went back outside and found GK’s next ride. 
Just think of how easy it would be to spot it in a packed parking lot when you can't remember exactly where you left your car.

Continuing on, we stumbled upon the newly opened Chatham Wine & Provisions (gotta love that name.  It makes it sound as if wine is a necessity, which of course, for some of us, it is) and had a lovely chat with one of the employees while ogling the displays.

We then strolled further down the main street before ducking into Gustare Oils & Vinegars, where we were greeted by row upon row of different flavors of balsamic vinegars and olive oils, just begging to be tasted.  

GK and I don't always agree on important, pressing questions ("Is today a margarita or a mojito sort of day?"  "If you could go back in time, who would you rather date, Gene Kelly or Humphrey Bogart?") but we did both come to the conclusion that the fig balsamic vinegar was the clear winner.


We wandered around a bit more, stopping to smell the flowers here and there.  

  

Next, we found Chatham Candy Manor.

We stopped to look in the windows, but the glorious, chocolately smell that was wafting through the door was simply too much to resist and we just had to pop inside.

....which proved to be a disastrous decision, considering how close it was to lunchtime.  Sugary, fruity treats lined one wall in colorful, festive displays.

But if we're being honest, I was really there for the chocolate.

The employees at the fudge counter were all delightfully friendly and very generous with the samples, so we tried a bit of everything.

We decided to get some Inside Out Reeses fudge for the road (mostly peanut butter with a swirl of chocolate running through it) as well as some truffles, chocolate-covered oreos, and chocolate-covered peanut butter ritz cracker sandwiches.  A rather restrained haul, if you ask me....

By the time that we left Candy Manor, the forecasted rain was threatening to fall and our stomachs were asking for more than just sugar, so GK and I met up with her parents and ducked into Carmine’s for some pizza.

We had passed this place earlier, and while it wasn't much to look at inside, the delicious smell filtering through the air was enough to convince me to give it a whirl.

We decided to split two pizzas and went for the pesto pizza with ricotta, tomato, basil,and green onions, as well as one of their specials, with green peppers and sausage. 

 

When it comes to pizza crust, I'm usually an in-betweener.  I don't like it so thick and doughy that it overpowers the toppings, but I also want it to have a little bit of bready substance, and these pies really hit the mark.

By the time that we had finished eating, the rain had stopped falling, so we popped into a few more boutiques and ogled the clothing, housewares, and stationery.

We stopped in nearly every store and then realized that there was one more spot that we just couldn’t miss:  Buffy's Ice Cream Shop!

I went for the peanut butter fudge in a homemade waffle cone....

while GK chose the black cherry vanilla chunk.  But I was too busy slurping my own (in a very ladylike fashion, of course) to pause and snap a photo of hers.  By the time that we had finished, we were covered in ice cream and feeling like we were five years old again.  We strolled back to the car and headed towards Wellfleet, but first we stopped off at the Chatham Bars Inn to plan out a future girly getaway at the lovely hotel.

We took a quick peek inside the lobby and then admired the sea views (in both color and black and white).

Doesn't it look like a nice place to stay and get up to some glamorous, seaside shenanigans?

After getting our fill of the view and the salty sea air, we drove back to our home away from home at Wellfleet. That afternoon turned blustery and dark, so we stayed inside with girly limoncello and prosecco cocktails (modified from this recipe). 

We decided that it was a bubbles and tv sort of night, so we watched a bit of I Wanna Marry Harry (I'm not usually one for dating shows but the hilarity of this one combined with my love of all things English got me hooked) and then turned our attention to The Great Gatsby.  A bit cheesy at times but well worth a watch for the visual spectacle alone, and I actually quite liked some of the story-telling choices that Baz Luhrmann made with the film.  

With our heads full of jazz, glitter, and prosecco, we went to sleep with plans to spend the next day on the beach.  But I'll tell you about that next time.

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