Valentine's Day Brunch at Tournesol

(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Tournesol
50-12 Vernon Boulevard
Long Island City, NY
(718) 472-4355 | Map

This is so embarrassing! My life has gotten so hectic over the past few weeks that it has taken me 10 days to write my review about the impromptu Valentine's Day brunch I shared with my boyfriend Stephen at Tournesol in Long Island City. The quest for food began with Stephen declaring his desire for waffles and then veered into a completely different direction when I reminded him of the amazing crepes in Boston "that one time." Eventually, we remembered just how cold it was outside and decided that we didn't want to stray too far from my apartment.

Lunch at Jackson Hole: Bring a Friend

Jackson Hole
1270 Madison Avenue
New York, NY
(212) 427-2820 | Map

I had the opportunity to catch up with my friend Julie, and to meet her husband Izzy, during their recent trip to New York. Julie and I met back when I was a graduate student in Cleveland, and until our lunch, I hadn't seen her since I left Cleveland nearly three years ago! She and Izzy were planning on spending their morning at the Guggenheim, so Julie left it to me to pick a place nearby where we could have lunch. A bit of Internet research led me to the Madison Avenue location of Jackson Hole. (There are several Jackson Hole locations throughout the New York area.)

Marx Foods Artisan Ravioli Giveaway

The folks at Marx Foods are holding another amazing giveaway!!

This time, the prize is 5 pounds of artisan ravioli! To enter, go to the Marx Foods website and leave a comment telling them what kind of ravioli you'd like to win. You have until 12pm PST on March 2, 2009 to leave your comment. That gives you plenty of time to check out the descriptions of all of the available flavors and make your choice. If you are picked as the random winner, Marx Foods will send you a box of the Nuovo pasta that you have chosen!

It's just that simple. So, go to the Marx Foods website and leave a comment to win! Good luck, everyone!

Panko-Crusted Honey Ginger Shrimp

Topping Mark Bittman's list of ingredients that are "out" for 2009 are packaged bread crumbs and croutons. One of my readers commented on the blog post in which I reacted to Bittman's list and said he'd "take packaged panko over homemade breadcrumbs just about any day." That's when I realized that I hardly used Panko in my own kitchen! Unacceptable. So, I added Panko to my next grocery order and, as luck would have it, Fresh Direct was having a special on shrimp. A recipe immediately popped into my head and I couldn't wait to get started on it!

Quaker True Delights Granola Bars

Not too long ago, I signed up to become a member of the FoodBuzz Featured Publisher Tastemaker Program. This means that, from time to time, the lovely folks at FoodBuzz will send me various products to sample or to test. While none of the Tastemakers are required to post about our opinions, I figured it couldn't hurt. Especially since the product I sampled, the Quaker True Delights Granola Bars, are brand new to the market.

Two Quick Restaurant Reviews

I admit it. I've been busy. Despite making some minor improvements to Taste As You Go within the past couple of days (feed readers, please click through to see!), I haven't posted any new content for a week. *blush*

It's not that I don't have anything to write about or that the desire to do so has dwindled away... I've just been busy. Since Sunday, alone, I've attended a Super Bowl party, an Annual Fund breakfast for my high school, an Exec Board meeting for the Alumnae Chapter of my sorority, and Happy Hour with friends from college. Today, I'll be meeting up with more friends for margaritas and a movie, visiting my old grad school roommate, and closing the evening with a concert up at the Italian Academy at Columbia.

Ahh... Life in New York.