NEW YORK SHARKS ARE NOW 5-0

The New York Sharks women's pro football team took their fifth win with a score of 12-8 against the Pittsburgh Passion on Saturday, May 8th. Adrienne Smith scored the first TD with a stretch of the hand and Chante Bonds ran in for the second TD.

McCORMICK & SCHMICK'S TASTING

I decided to "go into the city" today. You'd think I didn't live in New York City when I say that. Whether you live in one of the four other boros of NYC or even in the tri-state area, it means MANHATTAN. I was spending the day with my friend Joanna and it was time to chow down for lunch. When it comes to midtown Manhattan the only place I could think of is McCormick & Schmick's as they have the freshest seafood going.

Executive Chef Christopher Sellati always seems to come up with some fantabulous items for the menu. I simply said, "Chris, bring it on. I want to do a tasting" Servers Megan Davis and Scott Woltz got the word from Chris and the menu items appeared.

We began with an amuse bouche of a this thin slice of rare filet mignon with wild mushrooms. That was followed by beer battered soft shell crab with a mango aioli. The crab was perfectly cooked to have the bit of crunchiness on the outside while retaining the juiciness of the not so tiny crab.

Next came the Ahi Seared Rare that was served with a Yuzu Vinaigrette, a grapefruit citrus flavor with Aisan influences. There's a wasabi dressing, Asian slaw, some fried won-tons and avocado salsa.

The tummy yummy continues with juicy and un-fishy (you know what I mean) Steamed Wild Halibut. It's steamed in a cilantro lime broth. Capture that flavor in your mouth. Let's add that that halibut is surrounded by fresh asparagus and colossal lump crab meat!

Yes, there's more! Grilled Mahi-Mahi sitting atop...get ready...a mound of sweet potato-crab hash that's surrounded by a butter BBQ sauce and then topped with a fennel salad. Wow...all of those taste buds are dancing the horah!

They have a new dessert on their menu that resembles a Smores! It starts with a walnut brownie, topped with Rocky Road Ice Cream, housemade marshmallow that gets toasted and a graham cracker. It's also surrounded by nuts...just like Joanna and myself.

I thought that this was a great idea until another dessert appeared. OMG! This chocolate hazelnut mousse is surrounded by a group of chocolate (I think) meringue roll-ups with some hazelnut mousse in them. Not for those who dislike hazelnuts. This is absolutely the perfect dessert that full of flavor, texture and "airiness" due to the absence of cake. There's nothing to chew. It all melts on your tongue and slides around those happy little taste buds.

I think I might be able to get Chef Chris on my next radio show!

Tea For All

When I had made my trip into Flushing to dine at Sentosa, I stopped at a place called Ren Tea to learn about various Chinese teas. They also make bubble tea there.

KETUBAH FOR YOU-BAH?

I met Michael Shapiro at the GLBT Expo in March. Michael sells ketubahs. They are mostly artistic Jewish marriage certificates. The one that I got was a Blessing For The Home.

SNEAK PEEK AT SOTHYS

I had a great spa experience at Sothys in Midtown Manhattan. I will call it "Hannukah Sue Me" in order to remember the name of this body ritual. "Hanakasumi Body Ritual. Experience the ancient art of beauty with this relaxing body ritual inspired by Japanese traditions. Your journey begins with the application of a warmed exfoliating cream with cherry blossom and rice powder followed by an exfoliating towel massage to soften the skin and invigorate the body. A unique foot massage based on reflexology revives vital energy. Complete the ritual with a full body massage of melted aromatic shea butter to bring blissful relaxation."

That's Simona applying the blissful relaxation. More to come on this.

WINE CADDYS

I got Andra Douglas one of those wine caddys from www.winecaddys.com This was special. The caddy is of a quarterback player. Andra, who's the owner of the New York Sharks, played quarterback on the team. She placed a special bottle into it before taking photos.

WALKING IN WOODHAVEN

The weather was just great for taking a walk along Jamaica Avenue in Woodhaven. I stopped at Sam's Deli just across the street from Trama Motorcycle and Auto School. There's really a BIG difference between one of those five dollar foot longs at Subway and one at Sam's. Tony prepares a typical sandwich that is certainly no low on the protein. Last time I had a pastrami, turkey, mozzarella, pickles, lettuce, tomato and mayo all using Boar's Head deli. Here Tony makes me turkey, mozzarella, lettuce, tomato and mayo.


Next I spotted a Green Cart. Fruit and vegetables more reasonable than the grocery stores. Best part is that they said that they will be there daily. Hey, it's like being in Italy where people walk and pick up there fresh produce for the day's meals.