Wine a little, you'll feel better

GNB, my resident wine expert who has written several articles about wine, has agreed to do a guest column on my blog talking about wine. If she were to do this, what would you be interested in learning about? She suggested things like- best wines from _____ region/area, best wines under $10/$15, best pinot grigios (or other type of wine), etc. If there is something that you would like to see her write about, please comment with it here, and she can do an upcoming post on the most popular subject. No, Prep-E-Girl, she cannot do a column on how to drink a lot of wine and not be hung over!

I love having friends with cool jobs

So my BFF, GNB, works in the wine industry. As part of her job, she is expected to go out to eat at restaurants to maintain good relations with them. Yesterday, she invited me to be her date, and how could I turn her down? Best friend, perfect weather, cute new DvF dress, and free food? Perfect combination. We first met up for Amaranth on the East Side for drinks and snacks. We had their signature dish, the Foccacia Robiola. Despite the fact that it is a relatively simple dish, I have never tasted anything like it, and we both really loved it. Amaranth is located on 62nd between 5th and Madison Avenues, so if you are visiting NYC and want a place to grab lunch or dinner at after shopping on 5th Avenue, this place would be perfect for that.

After Amaranth, we walked a few blocks north to L'Absinthe on 67th between 2nd and 3rd. L'Absinthe is a really nice French restaurant with a terrific menu and an extensive wine list. Since we were still full from restaurant #1, we split the Salmon Tartare as an appetizer, I had duck confit for my entree, and she had seafood dumplings in a lobster sauce, and we split orange caramel flan for dessert. Along with some white wine. I did not try her entree, but everything else was absolutely delicious. Also a place a highly recomment. Best of all, all of this was free! :)

After that, we took the train down to Freeman's for some drinks. At this point, we were too full to even think about ordering any more food, so we just sat at the bar. We clearly did not drink enough at the first two places, because we got more wine. (Rather, I got more wine, GNB was wined out and got a Stella.) The wine that I had was also excellent. We got to watch their bartender make some of their specialty drinks and they looked really interesting, so we will be going back there for drinks and food. This place is also a possibility for MRM's Birthday.

After drinks, GNB and I took the train back together to Brooklyn. She had a bottle of wine from work with her, and just in case I was still sober, gave it to me to take home. I was too tired when I got home last night to open it, but am hoping to get into it either tonight or this weekend. I love my BFF and her cool job.