Labor Day Weekend

And so it has finally arrived! My second favorite Holiday of the year!  LABOR DAY!!! 3 day vacation, lots of food, beer, food, beer and food and beer ( :-) ), precious time with your family and friends, great weather, if you're single, perfect time to mingle, if you're taken perfect time to spend quality time with your loved one!! I mean really, what is there not to love about this weekend?

I have a really big family BBQ tomorrow in Queens. It's something we all look forward to every year. We all pitch in to make it better than the last and this year is going to be a fat fest!! Here's a sample of our menu:

Baked Ham
Spanish Rice
Collard Greens
Jerk Chicken
Grilled Chicken
Fried Chicken
Hot Dogs
Hamburgers
Fish fry
BBQ Pulled Pork
Ribs
Baked Mac & Cheese
Potato Salad
Hot Italian Sausage
Baked Ziti
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Apple Crisp

And much more! Hope I didn't make you hungry =)

What are your plans for this Labor Day weekend?? Vacations? BBQ? Beach? Please share!

**Spotlight Friday's**

“Leave the gun. Take the cannolis.” - Clemenza, The Godfather

This quote really doesn't have much significance to today's post, except that it is one of my favorite lines from this Classic movie, and one of my coworkers said it today, I cracked up, and so I decided to share =)

"Food is our common ground, a universal experience." - James Beard 

I swear, for some reason I have the most influential, engaging conversations, during a meal. Any meal! Theres something about gathering around food that gets people communicating, and I love it! Some of the most memorable conversations with Don Pepe have of course been over a meal or while sitting on the couch having a glass of wine.

Recently, during NYC Restaurant Week, we visited:

City Lobster & Steak

121 West 49th Street

New York, NY 10020

Courtesy of NYCGo.com

It was over our 3 course dinner here that I figured out the exact direction I wanted to take my career, and it was liberating. (I stress about that alot).

The food was delish! And for $35 it was even more delish!

Don Pepe enjoyed the calamari, 2Lb lobster and Red, White & Blue Shortcake for dessert and a couple of Pinot Grigio's. I tasted his lobster and who knows what seasoning they used but it was amazing! Kind of spicy and sweet, it was pretty much indescribable.

I got a Caesar salad (which by the way was THE best I have ever tasted thus far, i was tempted to lick my bowl =/ but we were in public ha ha), the Petit Filet Mignon with Crab meat, and Profiteroles Arabica for dessert which is basically coffee ice cream between two fluffy pastries drizzled in Chocolate Espresso sauce a.k.a the most delicious decadent dessert in the world.

Overall it was a great meal, not only because of the food, but for the company and the excellent conversation!

I do recommend City Lobster & Steak for a nice night out on the town and definitely during Restaurant week! It receives the Official Cupcakes & Caviar Stamp of Approval!!