City of Brotherly Love

There is one obvious fact about Carnegie Mellon that none of us can deny: they don't understand the power of brotherly love.

And although many do not know what it's even like, I was fortunate enough to spend some time this past weekend with some of my Pi Kappa Alpha brothers, and let me tell you- there was a ton of brotherly love.

In the midst of disappointment, anger and shock due to recent events, it was inevitable to band together this weekend to remind us of why we fought so hard for this organization that we all hold very dear to our hearts. I was quickly reminded of the love we all share for each other, how powerful we can be when united and how we can get together after months apart from each other and instantly reunite the bonds that are oh-so priceless.


I originally had planned to have dinner with just one, and it quickly turned into an 8-some! Not only is more the merrier, the rapid growth of our dinner group really exhibits how well connected we still are to each other- I love it.

So after many changes to our reservation plans, we finally had a table for 8 at Trattoria Trecolori in the Theatre District- some of us felt like Italian.

I'm not sure what to really write about in this post- do I talk about the great time I had with my brothers, or do I talk about the abundant amount of food we got?!?

We ended up getting an assortment of dishes off their menu: Piccata alla Trecolori (Veal), Farfalle Primavera, Rigatoni Foccacia, Gamberoni dello Chef (Shrimp with Risotto), Calamari alla Luciana (Calamari with Risotto), Petto di Pollo- Trefunghi (Chicken Marsala) and the Fritto Misto and Classico to start.

Petto di Pollo - Trefunghi

Franzi- care to share what this is?

Rigatoni Foccacia



Gamberoni dello Chef





Farfalle Primavera

Calamari alla Luciana

Piccata alla Trecolori

Although I am missing some pictures, I think we get the idea- lots of food.

Unfortunately, I cannot comment on how all of these tasted besides the two risotto dishes (fellas can comment on their own dishes if they would like). I got the Gamberoni dello Chef after long and careful thought- I really wanted the Spaghetti Carbonara, but after talking to Shaman he helped point out that I love seafood. Right you are Shaman.

My risotto was pretty interesting. I was expecting a risotto dish with shrimp mixed in but I got the opposite- plain looking rice with shrimp lined around the sides on top of a tomato cream sauce! Intrigued by the dish, I quickly dug in, appreciating the lemon-y risotto with the surrounding creamy red sauce. The shrimp were cooked perfectly and surprsingly, pretty big- especially when these days you get regular sized shrimp at restaurants when you order their 'jumbo shrimp' dish. Yum.

I then eyed Shellhammer's risotto dish- the Calamari alla Luciana. Undoubtedly the most interesting dish out of all the ones we got, Shellhammer's saffron risotto was topped with Calamari cooked in squid ink! After listening to Keshav comment on how 'indian' the dish was because of the saffron, I got to sample a quick bite of the dish itself! The risotto was great, although tasted more like rice cooked in some saffron broth versus a well-thought out risotto- but you can't help but to appreciate the beautiful saffron flavor. The squid ink was interesting- I've had squid ink pasta before but have never had a something cooked in a squid ink sauce. The texture it gives the dish is almost indescribable- the chalky, murkiness along with the rich, heaviness of squid ink is definitely unique and I believe can only truly be appreciated by individuals with unique palettes. I, sadly, do not have a unique palette and although I didn't necessarily not enjoy it, I don't think I got as much out of it as others would have- maybe I just need to eat more! Thanks Shellhammer for getting such an interesting dish- I will definitely try some squid ink dishes in the near future!

The food at Trattoria was good, not great, but it definitely did the trick. Located in the heart of times square, right by other great dining options, broadway shows, and various attractions, the location and prices are hard to beat!

Needless to say, I left Trattoria Trecolori quite satisfied- not necessarily because I had a great meal but because I had my brothers with me. I quickly thought to make this a monthly occassion, as such a short time with these great gentlemen is barely enough! I feel blessed to have them as my friends, but even more special to wear their letters....

Now I usually say that nothing is better than good food and good friends- but I have to say that I have proven myself wrong- what is better?? Well good food and my brothers, of course!

As we ended the night with more fun ahead of us....I think to myself... this really is the city of brotherly love...

Suck it, CMU.

Price:$$

Food: B+

Ambiance: B+

Service: B

Wish me luck!

So it seems like I live in Atlantic City these days...

Within the past two months, i've been to atlantic city twice, some type of casino establishment 3 times (yes 3 weekends in a row) and now i'm going back this weekend (tomorrow) to Borgata for father's day (my dad is making me!.. sort of)

Alright, my gambling habits are awful- but hey at least out of the bad habit, I gain a good habit of eating good food? I mean, how can you not go down to AC when you get free rooms at Borgata and the Water Club??? You can't resist it.

So two weekends ago, Eric and I decided to go back to Borgata to use our abundant amount of comps (and free room offers). We ate lots of good food and guess what- all of it was free!

Although, I will publish our dinner adventure at SeaBlue in another post, I thought I'd make this a post of two places I went to during my time in Atlantic City- Izakaya at the Borgata and Trattoria Il Mulino at the Taj Mahal.

So besides the huge gambling loss that weekend, I would have to say it was a great weekend with Eric. We got to go to the boardwalk, play some carnival games and pretend that we weren't addicted gamblers! Really, we had a great time.

Last time, with Shaman and BJ, we didn't do anything but stay at the BJ tables, so I was really happy to get out- and go to the Taj Mahal. Oh the memories that place brings back! My family used to go to AC every other weekend (you wonder where I get my gambling habits from) and i met my first boyfriend when i was 2 years old here- yes he was a white blonde boy- coincidence?

On our tour of the grand Taj Mahal, we thought we'd stop by and grab some lunch at Trattoria Il Mulino (really, i just wanted the corndogs they were selling on the boardwalk outside, but Eric forced me to eat here).. and i'm not really sure if I'm happy I came here or not...

The place was empty. Maybe it was the weird timing (2:30pm) but there was nobody in the restaurant and we were a bit hesitant to even go in- but they saw us.. so we had to :(

The menu was a bit limited for lunch so I got the items off the pre-fix menu while Eric got a caprese salad and farfalle pasta.

For my appetizer, I got some type of egg, spinach soup- i forget the name.. but it's really not that important because it wasn't that good.

As for my entree, I got the seabass sauteed in a light garlic caper sauce with a side of spinach. Surprisingly (after my mediocre soup) this dish was pretty good. The portion of fish was huge and the spinach was great! I didn't end up finishing my entree, but that was mainly because I was eating off of Eric's plate.. i can't help it.. I love pasta..

His farfalle dish was also good, but it really isn't hard to mess up pasta with garlic and olive oil. The vegetables were actually overcooked and really made the dish unappetizing.. next time, we're staying at the Borgata honey (... and i'm pretty sure my corn dog would have been better)

Soup

Sea Bass

Farfalle with Garlic and Olive Oil

Alright, so our meal at Trattoria Il Mulino wasn't that impressive- but I would have to say that the service was friendly... don't mistake that for 'good service'. I really liked the servers there.. but mostly because they liked booboofuku- the 60 dollar stuffed animal Eric won for me.. :)

I'd give this place an overall B.

And now on to Izakaya.

So Eric and I ventured to Izakaya, a Japanese restaurant at the Borgata around 11:30PM. We wanted a late night snack and were suprised by the number of people still waiting to be seated! We were excited for a quick roll or two at a seemingly good restaurant and hoped to get back to the tables in half an hour or so!

Eric and I decided to get two rolls to share and leave it at that. We 'stayed safe' with a shrimp tempura roll and he got the dragon roll (tuna, salmon, yellowtail roll with spicy tuna and avocado on top)

What a disappointment. Not only did we leave there way later than we wanted to, the food was not good.

Maybe it was because we got there so late into the night, but the rolls were not very good and were extremely pricey! (Thank goodness we got this meal for free- thank you comp dollars). My shrimp tempura roll smelled. Yes, smelled. It smelled like overcooked, rotting asparagus.. which i feel like is what they used in the roll. The taste wasn't appetizing at all and I made Eric finish the rest.

Eric's roll was a little better, but nothing too impressing. The fish wasn't necessarily the freshest (ok, again, we went at 11:30PM) but really, this place sucked. Not only did we not get our waters filled.. the server didn't even get us soy sauce! We waited for a good 10 minutes for some soy sauce but eventually I had to convince Eric to run over to another table and grab theirs.. boo.

I would have to say that Izakaya was a disappointment and they will be getting a C+ from me.. at least for this experience. Hopefully next time (if there is a next time) will be better for me.. but as for now, i'm sticking to Bobby Flay.

And that's it for me now.. will have more to report on this weekend when I go back!!! Wish me luck!

Yay for you, boo for me.

Happy Birthday Honey!...ok.. maybe i'm a little bit late. Just about a month?

But hey- this was all Shaman's fault- it took him like a year to get me these pictures!

Oh yes, the dear boy is finally 21! I now no longer have an excuse to stay in when my friends all ask me to go out with them- Eric can now come too! woot!

We all know we've been waiting a while for this time to come, I think the only people more excited than me and Eric that he is finally 21 are... the casino managers all over the country. Yes, Eric can now legally come to your establishment and gamble away his inheritance... yay for you. Boo for me.

So how did we celebrate his birthday you ask? At Atlantic City of course!!! (Did you even have to ask?)

From lots of gambling to good food, the whole gang (and by gang I mean Shaman, BJ, Eric and I) had a great time! Risky bets (Shaman), rudeness to the dealers (Shaman), lots of money loss (Bruner) and high limit tables basically sums it up! After it was all over we decided to retire to Bobby Flay Steak.. a steakhouse.. by Bobby Flay (surprise surprise!)

We got a ton of food. The menu had interesting dishes and we all got different entrees and were able to sample each other's steaks.. yum! Included in our assortment of dishes were: New England Clam Chowder, Surf and Turf Skewers, Philadelphia Style Strip Steak, American Kobe Strip, Spicy SouthWest Ribeye, Filet Mignon Lousiana, Cauliflower Goat Cheese Gratin and Wild Mushrooms Mashed Potatoes with White Truffle Oil (oh yes, truffle oil)

Wild Mushrooms Mashed Potatoes with White Truffle Oil

Cauliflower Goat Cheese Gratin




Filet Mignon Lousiana

Spicy SouthWest Ribeye

American Kobe Strip

So I obviously forgot to take a picture of my own steak (whoops)- but it was just too good that I had to dig in!!

Everything was delicious (dammit Bobby Flay! why must you always prove me wrong!) I would say that the flavors of the specialty steaks really made the dishes as I am not a steak expert and really can't decipher how good of a quality a steak is (sadface).

Shaman's Spicy SouthWest Ribeye held most true to Bobby Flay's traditional flavors. The blend of spices give it a kick, the ribeye was juicy and tender and was delcious. BJ's Filet Mignon Louisiana was also delicious. I prefer the flavor of the crawfish sauce in the dish more than the spicy southwest dish (boo, big lips) but I definitely prefer the ribeye over the filet mignon! (I love fat, what can I say).

My entree was also great (and very large). A large strip steak smothered with a creamy, smooth cheese sauce- the classy philly cheesesteak, I would say, had the best sauce out of all three! Eric of course had to get the Kobe Strip Steak (since, I was paying, of course). Never having tried kobe beef, i didn't know what to expect. When Eric was kind enough to give me a bite, I was surprised by how tender the meat was and how the steak didn't even need any sauce- it was perfect on it's own!- and that's how it's served!

The side dishes were also delicious. BJ and Shaman, having been there before, were raving about the cauliflower gratin. They placed two orders. I, however, was more excited about the mashed potatoes with the truffle oil!.. good thing both ended up being delcious! The thick, creamy goat cheese binding the softly broiled cauliflower was amazing and provided a burst of cheesy flavor while the mashed potatoes were a bit more subtle with chunks of wild mushrooms in every bite, blended with the earthy truffle oil... mMmmm. I'm hungry.

We also got some clam chowder and surf and turf skewers to start- just so we could get some more food in! The Clam Chowder was amazing. With abundant amounts of thick bacon, the chowder was thick and creamy filled with the aroma of bacon (and who doesn't love bacon!). The skewers were also good- although I would have to say they were not the star for the night..

Well I have to say, Bobby Flay Steak was a great birthday dinner. The service was wonderful and the portions were huge!

If you're not a steak eater, don't you worry- they also have huge ass lobsters. Seriously bigger than my head...

If you're looking for some good steaks with some interesting twists, try out one of Bobby's specialty steaks- you won't go wrong with whatever you choose!

Comparing to SeaBlue (the seafood restaurant by Michael Mina) next door, I would have to say I would return to Bobby Flay Steak in a heart beat. And to think about it- I'm definitely returning for Father's Day!

At the end of the day, we had a great time with our great food and.. of course, great company.

Food: A

Service: A

Ambiance: A

Price: $$$$