That's right! After 20 years of living in Chicago (9yrs) & LA (11yrs) I have moved back to my hometown of NYC! Queens to be exact! I grew up in Hollis Hills & now live in Kew Gardens with my boyfriend Howie. I met Howie at Queens College about 27 years ago where we were just casual friends. On my vacation last summer to NYC we reconnected. Both of us were still single & yes we're normal!
What ended up becoming our first date took place at Live Bait , 14 East 23rd Street in the Flatiron District. It's a divey, southern, seafood joint with a cool bar, booths & a great jukebox! Over a couple of Brooklyn Lagers from the tap & some raw blue point oysters & clams & a few hush puppies (also known as cornbread balls) we realized we both loved food, had similar views on the world & realized how cool we both were & never knew it. The oysters & clams weren't the best we ever tasted (hama hamas, kumomotos & belons anyone!). I've definitely had better balls in my lifetime but the tunes & Howie were awesome.
So, what is this blog about you might be asking yourself? Well, the title kind of says it all. Being back in NY & walking through the streets I am amazed at how many restaurants there are! How can they all stay in business? Literally in Manhattan there are as many as like 8-10 on one city block! I'm not talking about take out delis & Starbucks. They have those too. Like 8 sit down restaurants on one block! Tons of adorable cafes, bistros, fancy & not so fancy places to dine! Each borough (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx &Staten Island) loaded with a wide array of ethnic & trendy eateries. Can a couple with limited funds eat at every single establishment & then can I, EJ, give my take, good or bad, with a little edge & humor & maybe some guerilla video footage? Probably not but I'm gonna have a lot of fun trying. I will figure out what my parameters will be (ie: has to be a joint with table service, only Zagat rated, will I go once a week, will i always go with Howie or mix it up, etc...) in the coming days. I hope you will tune in.
ej eats
