Disappointment

Last night, we checked out a new addition to the Park Slope dining scene - Chiles & Chocolate.

We were excited to try it as it had a great location on 7th Ave. (close to us), nice-looking decor, good marketing and a unique offering - authentic Oaxacan cooking.

The menu looked good, so we headed there and brought a bottle of wine (it's B.Y.O.B.). Right off the bat, there were a few things they didn't have that were on the menu. I ordered the pato cacahuete y chocolate but was told later they didn't have duck. Undaunted, I gave them a pass since they've only been open for a couple weeks. Instead, I went with the Mole Negro with chicken breast and my wife tried the Mexi Mahi Mahi. The entrees were fine but not spectacular - the Mahi Mahi too spicy and the Mole Negro not as flavorful as expected. We also started out with the Quesadillas Antiquas but the chicken inside was cold and the quesadillas were not served with any salsa.

All in all, we wanted Chiles and Chocolate to be better than it was. And maybe they need to work some kinks out, but it's hard to be forgiving when there are tons of other restaurants you can spend your money on.

Quite A Gift

Friday night brought the Christmas gift my wife gave me - tickets to Knicks/Nets at the Garden. It's always a good time - beer, hot dogs, and the usual Nets' drubbing of their cross-town rivals.

There were some annoying fans behind us but that's to be expected at a sporting event, unfortunately. The Mets' Willie Randolph and New Yorker Ed Burns were in attendance and on the big screen. But the real star was ageless Cliff Robinson who had a putback of Vince Carter's miss for a 101-100 Nets victory.

Continued limited success, Knicks!

Birthday Dinner

On Thursday, we headed to Greenwich Village for my wife's dinner at Blue Hill.

The ambience was nice, service attentive and food possessed the quality expected from a restaurant that has its own farm.

For appetizers, my wife had the chestnut ravioli while I opted for the maine crabmeat. For entrees, she had the berkshire pork while I tried the grass fed lamb. We ended the night with the chocolate bread pudding.

The Indian Version Of Thriller

Bollywood version of Thriller. Enough said.

Nice Dumplings

We went to Union Square today to pick up some items for our place and decided to stop by Rickshaw Dumpling Bar for lunch.

I had the peking duck with shredded cabbage and scallion.

My wife had the chicken and thai basil.

The showstopper, though, was the chocolate shanghai soup dumplings that we had for dessert.

Take that to the bank

I don't like bankers. And I certainly don't like the fact they received huge bonuses.

But I do like people who make fun of them. Like this "fake" blog - Leveraged Sell-Out.

Nerdy Weekend

This weekend we:

1)Came across great train wreck TV in VH-1's new reality show, The White Rapper Show.

Bad flow, worse lyrics and zero self awareness equals great television.

Keep your eyes on the "King of the 'Burbs" who's bent on initiating a "Ghetto Revival" whatever that means.

2)Purchased and played excessively Guitar Hero II on the PS2.

3)Watched the first episode of Battlestar Galactica from Netflix.

Random

My wife found this card catalog creator....

Knicks, Cheesesteaks and Pita Pan

The only place the Knicks will win is in video games as evidenced by the Bobcats/Knicks game that I went to on Friday night.

Thankfully, the tickets were free and I had a chance to enjoy the Garden environs with a friend, chow down on a burger and have a beer. If it weren't for the in-game entertainment (the kids playing b-ball between quarters, the Knicks city dancers, and yes, those thunderstix), it would have been a lot less fun. No good celeb sightings either - Penny Marshall (from Laverne and Shirley) and old Knick Johnny Newman were in the house.

Yesterday, we checked out High Stakes Cheesesteaks in our 'hood and it was a nice surprise. Good food, clean restaurant and close to the Bergen Street stop. Do I see more cheesesteaks in my future? Yes, just what the doctor ordered.

Earlier in the week, we also tried Pita Pan finally and it's not a bad place for low-priced Mediterranean, though I don't see us making the trek down Seventh Ave. for it too often.

Blades of Glory Trailer

Stupid but I want to see this movie.

The Smiths - There is a light that never goes out

Unseasonably Warm

Sure, it's an inconvenient truth, but we had to enjoy the near 70 degree weather in NYC today.

We met up with a friend for brunch at Balthazar in SoHo. The food was good, albeit pricey. We started out with the "Le Panier" - basket of fresh breads. For the entrees, my wife had the scrambled eggs in puff pastry with wild mushrooms and asparagus, our friend had the sour cream hazelnut waffles with warm berries and I had the eggs benedict.

Afterwards, we strolled down Broadway and my wife exchanged an item at Banana Republic. Then we headed to Broome St. to pick up some bottles of wine at Vintage New York since we had received a gift certificate there for Christmas.

Later, we returned to Brooklyn and took in some sun at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Death Cab For Cutie - The New Year