NYC Holiday Markets

Do you love? Do you enjoy happiness? Do the holidays give you a special warm spot in your heart? Then there is no reason why you have not been to one of the many amazing Holiday Market’s that NYC has to offer. It is a sign of the season and not to mention great spots to get some amazing and unique holiday gifts for your friends, family and special someone.

Check out a list of the holiday markets that NYC has to offer below. Not gonna lie, our personal favorite is the Union Square Holiday Market – what’s yours? Let us know your favorite market and what you like to pick up when you are there below in comments.

Holiday Shops @ Bryant Park

Dates: October 26, 2012 – January 6, 2013

Hours:
Monday – Saturday: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Location: Bryant Park, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and between 40th and 42nd Streets.

Columbus Circle Holiday Market

Dates: November 28 – December 24, 2012

Hours:
Monday – Saturday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Dec. 24th: Closes at 4 p.m.

Location: Columbus Circle at the southwest corner of Central Park, Eighth Avenue and 59th Street

Union Square Holiday Market

Dates: November 16 – December 24, 2012

Hours:
Monday – Friday: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Dec. 24th: Closes at 4 p.m.

Location: Union Square at 14th Street

Grand Central Holiday Fair

Dates: November 12 – December 24, 2012

Hours:
Monday – Saturday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Dec. 24th: Closes at 6 p.m.

Location: Grand Central Terminal

Burger Bash!!!

On the second day of the New York City Wine and Food Festival we were beyond excited  to experience Rachel Ray’s annual Blue Moon Burger Bash…and a BASH it was! Check out all the fun and excitement in our video below.

Oooooooo if Honey Boo Boo were here with us there wouldn’t be a burger left in site, which would be difficult considering there were more burgers, buns, cheese and beer than anyone could have ever know what to do with! It was like a burger & beer wonderland…it felt like what Al Bundy’s dreams must look like.

Get your calendars out now and mark them for next years NYWFF, because the Burger bash is an event NOT to be missed! You can find a list of all the restaurants that participated in the event HERE. In the meantime, we’ll let you drool over these delicious photos!

Le Rivage  

BYO Hospitality Group

Good Stuff Eatery

Ai Fiori

Sons of Essex

The Capital Grille

Have you ever had a burger from any of these restaurants? Let us know which one you think was the best!

More on the Wine & Food Festival to come next week! GET EXCITED!

New York Wine & Food Festival: Night One

In case you missed it a month ago, we’re going to rewind and give you a glimpse of our time at the New York Wine & Food Festival. Here’s a look at night one at the Astor Hours Cocktail Event at Joe’s Pub!

Does your typical Thursday night include about a dozen mixologists, delicious fritters and multiple talented live music groups? Well ours did last Thursday evening at the Astor Hours Cocktails Event as we kicked off a weekend of fun at NYC’s Wine and Food Festival! The event took place at the Public Theatre, home to the famous Joe’s Pub and it’s newly renovated lounge, The Library. Hosted by chef and restaurateur Andrew Carmellini , it was a can’t-miss late-night cocktail crawl. The space showcased three gorgeous rooms, each with their own group of mixologists and paired with live music. We chowed down on delicious crab cake burgers that melted in our mouths, while sipping on tasty margaritas.Famous Mixologist Willy Shine and his hand-picked troupe of cocktail trailblazers included Andy Seymour, Justin Noel, Tim Cooper, The Dutch Kills Crew and many more. They transported us through various eras with each unique (and strong) cocktail. A surprise musical performance was around every turn. Whether it was a DJ jamming out, a band with a banjo or the smooth sounds of jazz filing our ears, the crowd was hopping and people were enjoying the insanely rhythmic atmosphere.It was the perfect way to kick off our weekend with the Wine and Food Festival! We even had the opportunity to quickly chat  with Andrew Carmellini! His menu of classic and signature American bar snacks was the cherry on top of the cake and we left feeling full and satisfied.

What’s next on our Wine and Food tour? You guessed it Burger Bash… so stay tuned!!

Lunch Special: Bodhi Tree

Let’s break it down, who doesn’t love a lunch special? I mean come on! A variety of items all for a low price, it does not get much better than that. Sometimes when we are sitting in the office and it is has been a rough day, all we need to do is get a great lunch special and our entire day turns around! In this edition of our Lunch Special reviews, we need to give props to Bodhi Tree, located near St. Mark’s St in NYC’s East Village.

Ranging from $7.95 – $9.95 (depending on your choice of protein) you get a choice of two, that’s right TWO appetizers as well as an entree! That is one heck of a lunch special folks! The food is classic Thai, delicious but not the best you have ever tasted – no matter what you order, you will not be disappointed at this neighborhood lunch gem.

Please note: The credit card minimum is $10, so if you go to lunch alone make sure to bring cash, otherwise bring friends!

Veggie Spring Rolls

Crab Cake w/ Thai Sweet-Spicy Sauce

Thai Fried Rice w/ Chicken

Check out the full menu at Bodhi Tree HERE

New York Meets Panera

Is it just us or has there been a Panera takeover? They have been popping up all over the city recently. A ginormous sized Panera on 86th street and a delicious Panera downtown at Union Square! We here at R U Going To Eat That? could not be happier!

In a world of speciality restaurants and mom & pop cafe’s, a chain like Panera takes on a new meaning in Manhattan. It’s funny how New Yorkers can get excited about the simple things. A Panera in your hometown might go unnoticed  but a Panera in the big city becomes the highlight of your week. You become ecstatic about the thought of a broccoli cheddar bread bowl at your finger tips!

What is your fav Panera menu item? Are you a half soup and sammy kind of gal or a whole panini with chips sort of dude?

We personally think you can’t go wrong with the Frontega Chicken Panini, Broccoli Cheddar Soup or the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad. We love our gourmet foods, but we can always appreciate  chowing down on some classic Panera!

Check out Panera’s website to find a Manhattan location near you!

What are you feelings on the Panera takeover? Do you love it or loathe this chain coming to Manhattan? Comment below!

We’re Back!

Hello fellow foodie friends! So sorry for our delay in posting, things got a little crazy in our beautiful city following Hurricane Sandy and then we got caught up in the beginning of the holiday season! Long story short, WE ARE BACK and hungrier than ever!! From now through the end of the year we have a ton of special posts, quality videos (we still have so much to show you from the NYC Wine & Food Festival)

Today, we are just going to ease back into things with a few of our favorite holiday treats – don’t worry, there is plenty more to come. Get excited for the holiday season ya’ll!!!

Trader Joe’s – Snickerdoodles: We know, we know, we know – people think we get paid by Trader Joe’s because we always post about them, but we don’t! They just have GREAT stuff!

Shoolbred’s – Any alcoholic beverage, why? Because there is a fireplace!

Carmines – Pasta! Pasta! Pasta! Gigantic family dinner! Nothing says the holidays like pounds of pasta and all your friends & family.

Rolf’s – Come on, just look at this place. It is magical and they have this awesome holiday beverage called Mulled Wine (it’s like the holiday’s in your mouth!)

StarBUX: Peppermint Mocha Latte – You know we LOVE our BUX! There holiday dranks at bux are better than ever, peppermint mocha being our favs! Yes, it comes skinny.

NYCWFF: Burger Bash

On the second day of the New York City Wine and Food Festival we were beyond excited  to experience Rachel Ray’s annual Blue Moon Burger Bash…and a BASH it was! Check out all the fun and excitement in our video below.

Oooooooo if Honey Boo Boo were here with us there wouldn’t be a burger left in site, which would be difficult considering there were more burgers, buns, cheese and beer than anyone could have ever know what to do with! It was like a burger & beer wonderland…it felt like what Al Bundy’s dreams must look like.

Get your calendars out now and mark them for next years NYWFF, because the Burger bash is an event NOT to be missed! You can find a list of all the restaurants that participated in the event HERE. In the meantime, we’ll let you drool over these delicious photos!

Le Rivage  

BYO Hospitality Group

                                                              Good Stuff Eatery                                                                                                

Ai Fiori
Sons of Essex
The Capital Grille

Have you ever had a burger from any of these restaurants? Let us know which one you think was the best!

More on the Wine & Food Festival to come next week! GET EXCITED!

NYC Wine & Food Festival: Astor Hours Cocktails Event!

Does your typical Thursday night include about a dozen mixologists, delicious fritters and multiple talented live music groups? Well ours did last Thursday evening at the Astor Hours Cocktails Event as we kicked off a weekend of fun at NYC’s Wine and Food Festival! The event took place at the Public Theatre, home to the famous Joe’s Pub and it’s newly renovated lounge, The Library. Hosted by chef and restaurateur Andrew Carmellini , it was a can’t-miss late-night cocktail crawl. The space showcased three gorgeous rooms, each with their own group of mixologists and paired with live music. We chowed down on delicious crab cake burgers that melted in our mouths, while sipping on tasty margaritas.Famous Mixologist Willy Shine and his hand-picked troupe of cocktail trailblazers included Andy Seymour, Justin Noel, Tim Cooper, The Dutch Kills Crew and many more. They transported us through various eras with each unique (and strong) cocktail. A surprise musical performance was around every turn. Whether it was a DJ jamming out, a band with a banjo or the smooth sounds of jazz filing our ears, the crowd was hopping and people were enjoying the insanely rhythmic atmosphere.It was the perfect way to kick off our weekend with the Wine and Food Festival! We even had the opportunity to quickly chat  with Andrew Carmellini! His menu of classic and signature American bar snacks was the cherry on top of the cake and we left feeling full and satisfied.

What’s next on our Wine and Food tour? You guessed it Burger Bash… so stay tuned!!

Indian Disneyland

Do us a favor, close your eyes and follow us on a journey…you walk up a series of narrow rickety stairs and take a sharp left into a what one might think as a simple Indian Restaurant…but they would be seriously mistaken. Suddenly you are blinded by colors, clutter, lights and the size of the space you are actually inside. There are tables and chairs lining every wall and an aisle in between that would make an aisle on a plane look like the most spacious walkway you have ever seen. The sounds are plentiful and the joy seems never-ending (most likely due to the extreme lights, colors and BYOB policy for all patrons) and the smells of freshly cooked Indian food get you excited for the meal you are about to partake in. Well my friends, you have just entered what we so fondly refer to as INDIAN DISNEYLAND (©KNY).

Located on First Avenue between 5^th and 6^th street there is a land of so much color and joy that you actually think for a moment you have found Disneyland inside New York Cities East Village. Now, there are actually 4 Indian Restaurants located within the exact same building, but locals know that the best of the four is hands down Milon (located at the top left of Indian restaurant quad). You will also notice that Milon is always significantly more crowded and has a longer line than any of the other four restaurants in the quad.

Let’s be honest, this is not going to be the best Indian Food you have ever had in your life, or the best service or the nicest establishment. It is, however, going to be one of the most fun and memorable dining experiences you will ever have. Fingers crossed that there is a birthday celebration while you are in the building (as long as you are not epileptic) because that is something to be experience (heck, if there isn’t a birthday, just tell them it is yours and see what happens!)

This is a GREAT place to bring out of town visitors, to go for a cheap birthday dinner (the prices are great and the BYOB makes it practically free). This place is a win/win for everyone. Find our more HERE.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Hot Cocoa Fest

Let’s be honest, this new cold NYC weather feels less like fall and more like winter, which has us thinking about things like log cabin fires and cozying up with a hot cocoa and a pie. Yes, the whole pie.

So we want to make sure all of our readers are not left out on one of the best past-times of winter, the annual City Bakery Hot Chocolate Festival! We know, we know, this is not until February…well guess what, as it gets colder and colder, our memory starts to go (it’s a fact, google it) so we want you all to put this on your calendar NOW so you don’t miss one of the only bright and shiny parts of February in the frozen tundra.

The premise of the Hot Cocoa Fest is exactly what you would think, it is a festival of Hot Chocolate that parades around different flavors of the classic childhood drink! This will take place throughout the entire month of February with a new flavor every day. Now, we are not saying go every day…but we may just try that ourselves, you know, in order to give you all a true perspective and our opinion on all the options that are offered.

Check out more on the HCFest HERE