weekend re-cap

so i've never done this before, but because i had such a wonderful food and culture filled weekend, i wanted to report to you the new places i hit up. it was the weekend before my birthday, so definitely splurged quite a bit (aka i ate my face off).

on friday night i checked out stanton public for some allagash white with j, a & m

then on saturday i tried some amazing west village falafel at taim. only 5.25 for a big falafel sandwich! yum!

while basking in the cuteness that is the west village, we stumbled upon this AWESOME store which i've seen in blogs quite a bit. jonathan adler has the most awesome home stuff i've come across in nyc.

on sunday morning t and i headed to the asia society. i'd never been before and had heard wonderful things. we saw an exhibition on vietnamese artifacts like vessels, jewelry and even drums. it brought me back to the days of 9 am art history classes. and yes, i really do miss that.

for my final fat kid splurge of the weekend, t & i went to rosa mexicano to celebrate my birthday. good lord the food was good. the guac was definitely the best i've ever had and they make it right at your table. you must go.

westville

so last night, i had the most wonderful dinner date. and in my opinion a great dinner date is made up of good food, good people and good conversation (cheesy, i know). i certainly can find that easily with l & m. they are two of my favorite nyc girls and i love meeting up with them. they have great taste and always introduce me to cute, delicious and affordable places to eat in new york. l recommended we head to a restaurant called westville. there is a west village location and also one in alphabet city. i opted for the east side spot, simply be cause it's slightly closer to my apartment. when i arrived, it was already bustling. the front and side walls were mysteriously non-existent so it really felt more like we were eating outside. there's a real country feel to it (which i love) with worn signage and clapboard walls. the greatest thing about westville are the variety of sides you can choose from. they are fresh daily and include things like green peas with shallots and bacon and artichoke hearts with parmesan. you usually choose two from a list of about 20 to go with your entree. i'd have to say the best of all the sides were certainly the sweet potato fries (we decided they were probably the best we'd ever had). all in all, it was a wonderful night spent with great friends and i now have another favorite restaurant that has guaranteed good food for a reasonable price.

benny's

images courtesy of nymag.com

so last night i went to maybe my new favorite restaurant in new york. now keep in mind i'm 23 and broke, so inexpensive grub is part of what makes a good restaurant for me. benny's burritos is a little mexican place in the west village, and is the sister restaurant to benny's east (in the east village) and comes from the same owner as blockheads. however, benny's is above and beyond blockheads. the margaritas are 3 dollars! and they are unreal. two will have your legs tingling for sure. or maybe not, but i'm a lightweight so two is perfect! the other reason i like it better than blockheads--are the rice bowls! you can pick your style of rice, protein, salsa, sauce etc. and they are only about 9 bucks and will last you two meals of leftovers. in fact, i plan to have mine for lunch today. but anyway, benny's has this great kitschy decor with lanterns and bright colors. you kind of feel like you're in someone's backyard in mexico..except you're inside..and in new york. but anyway. i definitely recommend it and will happily trek there from the upper east side any day.