Tapas in Union Square

It's been awhile since Miss Tea saw her dear friend MLS and last night we finally met up! Of course, Miss Tea was in the mood for something new to dine and catch up. Big thank you to Miss Lala for suggesting Pipa Tapas y Mas, at Union Square. It's the restaurant that's part of the ABC Carpet store.

With an abundant amount of dimly lit chandeliers (and price tags hanging down in case you had an urge to splurge) spread throughout the room against the brick walls and dark wood, the restaurant is definitely 'muy romantico' and, judging from the crowd last night, definitely popular. Thank goodness Miss Lala told Miss Tea rsvp ahead of time.

The menu has a few sopas, a few ensaladas and a lot of tapas. Miss Tea and MLS both started with the Maiz Dulce (Hot) which is sweet corn and milk soup. MLS had the patatas bravas while Miss Tea nibbled on the crispy calamari with smoked paprika aioli, a little sweet but delish nonetheless. Miss Tea also had a glass of the Torrentes from Argentina.

Miss Tea definitely liked the vibe of this resto and wouldn't mind coming back just to hang out at the bar because of the Village crowd. Pipa is a welcomed addition to the list of USQ standbys: Heartland Brewery, Republic and Coffee Shop.

Incidentally, for those of you who have not heard, my beloved Pamplona hangout has closed. Wah! So Miss Tea must search for her next neighborhood hangout. Courage!

Visit www.pipa-nyc.com for reserverations, directions and menu. Ciao-ciao!

The Garden at Four Seasons NYC

Well, hello you!

That is probably what Miss Tea sounded like after a glass of the Ruinart champagne, served during the opening event of The Garden, the new restaurant and wine bar to hit the Four Seasons Hotel in New York. Luckily Miss Tea was able to bring a few plus ones to enjoy the event with her! Miss Lala, Rocky and Pdizzle were all in tow and mingled with the suits and high-maintenance chicks that cruised this "swanky party" (as Pdizzle would say). We also had the pleasure of meeting other people on the Manhattan Magazine circuit, and then some. ;o)

Aside from the bottomless glasses of champagne, we nibbled on serrano ham, machego cheese, goat cheese and flatbread crackers while waiters served passed apps of prociutto-stuffed and salami-stuffed dates, breaded risotto balls, spicy shrimp skewers and pate on top of toasted bread.

On top that, each of us got $50 off dinner to boot! How you doin'!

The Garden Restaurant and Wine Bar can be found on the lobby level of the Four Season Hotel.

http://www.fourseasons.com/

Schmoozing...well, sort of.

Miss Tea is fatigued today because of last night's soiree. pubLiZity and Miss Tea received an invitation to Manhattan Modern Luxury Magazine's celebration of their Restaurant Issue (July/August 2009). Unfortunately, pubLiZity couldn't make it last minute. Luckily Miss Tea found three friends to replaced her. Yes, it takes three people to replace the illustrioius pubLiZity. Also, Miss Tea likes having an entourage.

Off to the Poliform showroom Miss Tea went, with Natasha 98, Miss Lala and P.Dizzle in tow. Thankfully, the list-checking, crasher-kicking bouncer chicks let Miss Tea through with her, uh, plus three. (Honestly Lala, Miss Tea just gave her name and the woman crossed out the plus one and changed it to three. Miss Tea's reputation precedes her perhaps? Nah.)

When the elevator door opened to the 6th floor, we were greeted by several handsome/beautiful servers who offered us champagne - now that's how you say hello to a guest! Manhattan Mag certainly knew how to throw a swanky party, complete with DJ, a Leblon Rum-stocked bar and some of the restaurants featured in the magazine.

First stop was Anthos, where Chef Michael Psilakis served us his Greek sushi (and almost slaped Miss Lala for taking her plate before he was done putting the toppings on it). Next stop was Jean Georges, where the master chef himself served us breaded shrimp laid on a a special dipping saunce. Our last stop was Bouley, where Chef Isao Yamada served a lobster treat. Throughout the night we sipped on Leblon Sangria Blanco and enjoyed watching all the beautiful people, servers and guests alike, like us.

Here are more pictures from the evening. The Poliform showroom worked well as the backdrop for this event. Miss Tea wishes she had some of these closets and kitchens in her own house.

Miss Tea needs to create a T-shirt that reads "I HEART food." P.S. Were the chefs really there? Um, yeah! But Miss Tea did not take pictures of them, because she was starting to embarress her entourage.

Belgian Waffles

Miss Tea thinks that colleagues, no matter the best of intentions, should NOT bring chocolate-covered Belgian waffles topped with whip cream into the office. It is a very BAD idea. And everyone knows how much Miss Tea loves bad ideas.

Sigh. Now Miss Tea has to go hunt down this magical truck, look at the menu, see what everyone's getting and beg for samples.

For those of you who are intersested, the waffle supplier is Wafels & Dinges who travel to different areas of NYC in their yellow waffle truck. They also do catering in NYC, Hamptons, heck, the Tri-State area!

In Belge, I guess waffles are spelled wafels (I hope so, otherwise that would be very confusing!).

So go on and be like Miss Tea...chase the waffle truck.

Wafels & Dinges
http://www.wafelsanddinges.com/