Dinner at Rayuela - 10/10 @ 6:30

I'm very excited about our next stop! Rayuela describes itself as "freestyle Latino cuisine." I'm not sure exactly what that means, but the menu looks amazing!

If you would like to attend, please let me know via email. For parties over 6, they require a credit card with the reservation so right now I only have us down for 6. Please feel free to invite a friend or two if you'd like!

Dinner will be Wednesday October 10th at 6:30

Rayuela is on the LES, but easily accessible from the JMZ which stops at City Hall Park

I'll be ordering all of the following:

• Lobster Revolution Ceviche: Sliced grilled pineapple, jalapeno, young coconut water infused with lemongrass and ginger, garnished with Uruguayan caviar
• Sureña: Ecuadorian seafood stew with octopus, scallops, mussels, clams and shrimp flavored with coconut and aji Amarillo.
• Camarones con Chorizo: Shrimp and chorizo with fufu, spicy salsa and plantain chips.
• Arroz con Pollo: Free range chicken cooked with paprika flavored rice, apple chicken sausage, capers and olives
• Churrasco con Cangrejo: Grilled beef tenderloin, oven roasted Peruvian potatoes, wild mushrooms, bone marrow, crabmeat chimichurri and Tetilla fondue

They even have salads and veggie dishes for Rachna, and Sweetbreads for Sterling! Mmmm!

Dinner Tonight - Meet at 6:00

Where: Peasant - 194 Elizabeth between Spring and Prince

How: 6 Train to Spring St.

When: UPDATE: Meet downstairs on the other side of the escalators at 6:00; Reservations are now at 6:30 to ensure no one is shirking their work responsibilities

Who: We have 6 folks coming tonight so it should be a nice-sized group

See you at 6:00!

Wednesday 9/12 - Peasant

Our first restaurant visit will be this Wednesday at Peasant. The place has some very good reviews, nice atmosphere, and a menu with a range of price points.

We have reservations at 6:00.

If you plan to go, please add a comment with your name. If you can do so by EOD Monday I would appreciate it as they have a cancellation penalty.

We'll meet on the other side of the escalators at 5:30 and head over to 194 Elizabeth between Spring and Prince. We can take the 6 train to Spring St.

See you all then!

We're baaacck...

Welcome back to all of you! Now that most of us have settled in (and those who aren't starting till September, you'll excuse us if we get on with our lives while we wait for you to join us) it is time to start eating again!

Some exciting changes:

• I've added an email subscriber option. I recommend signing up as I do not intend to send update emails - I'll enter all updates on the blog. You will get a daily email update (only when something new has been posted.)
  
• I will keep a list of places people suggest, and each month we'll have a new poll which will inform - but not completely determine - where we eat. You can vote for as many as you like. For now they don't allow links in the poll, so I've provided websites for your reference.
• Instead of weekly, we'll dine together monthly.
• We'll aim to dine Tuesday or Wednesday nights around 6:30, but the day and time will remain flexible.
• Feel free to bring guests.

Let me know if there are any questions, concerns or suggestions based on the above.

Grand Finale!

Our last stop this year is going to be a good one! The Stanton Social on the LES is beautiful (like all of us), smart (like all of us) and has had great reviews (like all of us will have shortly)! They have a wide assortment of small plates which should be perfect for sharing with a big group.

Details: Thursday, 8/10 @ 6:30

Reservation is for 10. But if you are interested in going, please sign-up and I'll see if we can up the reservation if we get more then 10. Click the "Comments" link below and respond with your name and what group you are in.

Drinks afterwards at a spot TBD for those who want to continue the celebration and tearful good-byes.

Last Stop...

Mark your calendars, the last stop for our Restaurant Tour will be Thursday, August 10th. Given there will be a lot of presentations this week, and we have the farewell cruise and some division-specific events, we'll take the week of 7/31 off.

A poll will be posted this week, but look for some serious contenders for our finale and clear your schedule the night of the 10th.

P.S.: Email me if you have any recommendations!

Next Stop...

Is Holy Basil, a Thai restaurant with rave reviews from seemingly everyone. It also comes highly recommended by Shannon Kostrowski, a fellow intern in CCSG.

Dinner is at 6:30.

Next Steps: If you'd like to go, click-below on the word "Comments" and type in your name and what group you are working with. First 10 to sign-up are in.

Location: 149 2nd Ave, between 9th and 10th St, right by NYU

Logistics: We'll meet on the other side of the turnstiles downstairs at 6:00 and take the 6 to Astor Place.

Questions: Email Victor J. Colombo

Tacosalot and Spamalot

Alas, we have no pictures from this week's dinner at Agave. All that is left are the pictures in our memories. Pictures of friends, of laughing, of laughing friends. Of hand-hacked guacamole, gooey blue corn enchiladas, and rich mole sauce poured over short ribs. These experiences...I don't think pictures would do them justice. It is best to move on and hold dinner, and Spamalot, and the pouring rain the followed, close to our hearts...forever.

Next Stop...

Nine of you have spoken and the next stop is Agave. One review notes that "the candles make the restaurant very romantic," so clearly it is the perfect place for a big group of interns! Maybe this is more relevant: it was voted Best Tequila Bar in New York a couple of years back, and was recommended by our friendly Campus Recruiting Team!

We've reserved space for 15 this week to allow more people to attend since we'll be heading to Spamalot afterwards. We eat at 6:00 which should give us plenty of time to get to the show by 7:45.

Next Steps: If you'd like to go, you need to click-below on the word "Comments" and type in your name and what group you are working with. First 15 to sign-up are in. If 15 have signed up and you want to go, email me and I'll see if we can increase the reservation.

Location: 140 Seventh Ave South, between Christopher and Greenwich Ave

Logistics: We'll meet on the other side of the turnstiles downstairs at 5:30 and take the 1 to Christopher St.

Questions: Email Victor J. Colombo

Basking in Bobby Flay's Magic

I'm late. I'm sorry. Interim presentation this week. Apologies.

So like 5 days ago now or something, another group of 10 adventuresome diners headed out to enjoy the cooking of yet another Iron Chef America star, Bobby Flay, at his highly regarded Mesa Grill outpost.

The dinner started out, as all good dinners should, with the establishment of some ground rules for the evening: there was to be no discussion of the World Cup Final (in which Italy triumphed over France to become the 2nd winningest country in World Cup history...you know, for those that missed it); and there would be no discussion of politics either (like what is the US doing in...um, never mind).

As this meal was part of Restaurant Week, each Intern got to make an appetizer, entree, and dessert selection. Some of the more popular choices included the Shirmp and Asparagus Taquito, Fire Roasted Chicken, and Yellow Corn-Crusted Chile Relleno. I think it is fun to say "taquito."

This week's group included a nice mix of Restaurant Tour vets - Erica Breckner, Cassie Walls, Mina Chang, John Paasonen and Lawrence Cho - as well as some newbies - Samantha Sugarman, Chitra Agrawal, Mike Mendelson and David Sims.