Taste of the Ivory Coast in the NYC

by Adrienne Wilson on

Treichville may be a neighborhood in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, but it is also a restaurant in New York City, both of which I have never explored personally. However, for a sampling of the Ivory Coast and for less than half the cost one may consider swinging in for some fare. This Village Voice piece does a fine job taking us to the real Treichville by describing its bustling open-air markets, transportation terminals and nightclubs complete with French influence, yet the most African part of town. And just as quickly as the writer takes us across the Atlantic he ships us back across to the Treichville located at 339 East 118th Street, NYC where crab legs, mussels, clams, and shrimp can all be found on the menu.

From the sound of the piece it looks worth filling your tummy with a plate full. Again, I’ve never been, but if I were near by, without a question I’d be fueling up too.

Wedding Travel a.k.a. Personal Bankruptcy

by Iva Skoch on

The average wedding in the US costs around $30,000. According to CNN, the number of destination weddings has increased 400 percent in the last 10 years. So, I am certain, has the cost for guests.

Is it just me or has wedding-related travel gotten out of control? I like weddings, but…

If you are in the 25-40 year category, chances are that you have to go to a wedding-related event practically every other weekend in the summer. Events include engagement, bachelor and bachelorette parties, bridal showers (and if you are really unfortunate, they are followed closely by baby showers). Guests are, of course, encouraged to not only come, but also bring a gift, buy a new outfit, etc. This stuff adds up.

Lately, it has become customary to travel for similar events to distant, exotic places, which adds additional cost. It is nice if the destination is to your liking and you can make a trip out of it. Unless, of course, you are required to be “on wedding-service duty” 24-7 by a controlling bridezilla or a perfectionist-groom. You never know, there might be an emergency of colossal kind – what if the candles don’t match the flowers perfectly?

Umm, whatever happened to people eloping?

Most Expensive Restaurant Ever?

by Neil Woodburn on

You just know it’s going to be an expensive night when the corkage fee is an incredible $75.

Restaurant Guy Savoy, located in Caesars Palace, Las Vegas is one of the most expensive restaurants in the world. In fact, it might even be number one.

Lucky LA Times food critic S. Irene Virbila was able to mortgage her house and spend an evening dining away at this hallowed establishment. Her bill for two people came to a jaw-dropping $1000.

The review is a joy to read. Virbila uses a lot of fancy food words I didn’t understand but which made me drool nonetheless. I was particularly enamored by the following description:

“The butter – Echiré from France, both salted and unsalted and served in pastel glass containers with conical lids pretty enough to go on a dressing table – tastes like it comes from Technicolor cows. Black truffles run through the menu with abandon. Vegetables look as if they were carved by elves.”

Vegetable carving elves and truffles running with abandon. I love it!

Sadly after dropping a grand, Virbila wasn’t as impressed. The food and wine list were all amazing but the desserts and service were not up to par for such a classy establishment and Virbila dinged them with only three stars out of four.

Maybe I’ll stop by next time I’m in Vegas if they ever earn that fourth star–otherwise I’m spending my money on something else, like a down payment on a new car.

Costa Rica: Jungle for The Masses

by Iva Skoch on

Costa Rica has done a great job marketing itself as an eco-tourism country. It has been generally good to the rain forests. The country is beautiful, well-developed and super-easy to travel around.

The jungle of the Manuel Antonio park in Quepos, on the Pacific Coast, is breathtaking. It is, however, wide open to the tourists and therefore you are getting the clinically clean, safe, Disneyworld-version of the rain forest: sidewalks, safety signs, guides with telescopes and all that. No, I am not complaining. I guess that’s what you get when you want to prevent the rain forest from being cut down in order to grow coffee. So, once you can get past the Disney-quality of it, please do invest in a jungle guide (he will not come dressed in a Mickey Mouse costume, I swear). For an untrained eye, it is hard to see any animals, aside from the monkeys.

The park fee allows you to access the private beach within the park, which is small, clean and very romantic. Keep in mind that the Pacific beaches in Costa Rica are typically black, not like the white Caribbean beaches.

Speaking of coffee – make sure to stop by in Cafe Milagro in Quepos for a cup of freshly roasted, locally grown coffee. Yum.

Croc Hunter’s Revenge: Eating Stingray

by Neil Woodburn on

For those of you vigilantes out there disturbed by Steve Irwin’s death last week, you now have the opportunity to take revenge on the very animal which thrust it’s stinger into the Croc Hunter’s heart and dropped him dead.

Out of homage to Irwin, the strange folks over at Deep End Dining have posted everything you need to know about eating stingray. Of course, Irwin, being the animal lover that he was, wouldn’t appreciate such a ravenous, vigilante approach. Others, however, might feel some redemption chowing down on the creature which stung Irwin out of existence.

If you’re interested in doing so, stop by Nyonya, a Malaysian Restaurant in New York’s Chinatown and order stingray “wrapped in lotus leaf,” or “simmered in low heat with a lemongrass broth.” Our Deep End Dining friends describe the meat as dense and flavorful and the texture “a cross between fish and lobster.”