Joie de Vivre

WEBSITE 

WHERE: Alphabet City

WHAT: Southern

HOW MUCH: $$$

RATING: 9.5/10

WHAT TO EAT: Everything! It is all so good... definitely get the chicken and deviled eggs. This restaurant serves it up "sharing style" (my fav) so go with a few friends and try a bite of everything.

NOTE: Hot spot right now as Southern food is becoming trendy in the city. Both chefs are from Top Chef and are bringing the South to the North! 

The Chefs

Drunken Deviled Eggs. Handsome brook farm catskills NY eggs, pickled roots and chips.

Grilled Romaine Wedge Salad. Grilled corn, tomatoes, avocado, root chips, pickled shallots & buttermilk blue cheese dressing.

Forgot to snap my own picture, but here is the Half Crispy Free Range Bird... delicious!

WEBSITE 

WHERE: Upper West Side

WHAT: Mexican

HOW MUCH: $

RATING: 8.5/10

WHAT TO EAT: Barbacoa and Chorizio tacos were amazing!

NOTE: Super casual Mexican spot... they have locations all over NYC!

WEBSITE

WHERE: East Village

WHAT: Mediterranean/ North African

HOW MUCH: $$$

RATING: 8/10

WHAT TO EAT: this is definitely the place to try new flavors such as the Chicken Pastilla which has hints of cinnamon and sweet almonds

NOTES: Great place for groups- we made a reservation for 12! The service was great, the atmosphere was fun and different. Ask for the table in the back corner if you have a large group. They have interesting and different types of foods for those who are adventurous and they have your typical Mediterranean food (flat breads, fish, pasta) for those who are less so. Enjoy!

Nomad Trio Dip  Choice of three: Hummus, cucumber yogurt, dry fava bean, muhamara, and zaalouk, served with crispy pita

Moroccan Mussels Served in a green charmoula sauce

Grilled Calamari Salad Pears, fennel, greens, tomatoes, red onions, extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon

Goat Cheese Raisin Pizza  Spanish goat cheese, preserved raisins, arugula and pumpkin seeds 

Branzini Served with sauteed mushroom spinach & celery root puree 

The whole group!

Here are some other pictures from their website gallery:

WEBSITE

WHERE: Murray Hill? Technically it is on the water given it's a boat

WHAT: American/Seafood

HOW MUCH: $$$

RATING: 8.5/10

WHAT TO EAT: Drinks and some appetizers. I would get guac and chips and the oysters

NOTES: This is a great summer spot for drinks on the water. I would recommend just getting drinks and appetizers here as it's mostly for the view and atmosphere. Food is ok but not the best.

Photo Credit: NYBuzz

Inside the Water Club

The view

I had the pleasure of running into Polo the Fur King on the Lower East Side last weekend. His full name is Polo A.K.A.P Diddit and he is the C.E.O and founder of Exclusive Fashion and Furs. He designers everything from furs, suede, linen, leather, silk and satin. Polo has designed for Ice T, his wife CoCo and pro-boxer Kendal Holt.

Click here to read an interview with him: http://agamemagazine.com/site/2011/03/the-king-of-fur-speaks

Here are some pictures I took of him (apologies for the quality- it was dark and with an iPhone)

He is wearing a coyote fur coat and the shoulder/elbow patches on his shirt are snake (obviously all designed and created by him!)

Let me know what you think!

First of all, Happy Birthday Rihanna! Our girl is 25 today.

What a day to announce her collaboration with M.A.C Cosmetics. "MAC and Rihanna have collaborated on several color collections launching this year, according to WWD." (USA Today)

The first item out: RiRi Woo, a lipstick inspired by her favorite MAC red, Ruby Woo. 

"When you think of makeup, the brand that pops into your mind — for something legit — is MAC," the singer told WWD. "Whatever color you want, it's like 'Let's go to MAC.' I've been using MAC on tour for such a long time it was a natural fit for me. I have always loved makeup, and I always said that if I do it, I want to do it with a credible brand."

Hopefully this will take some heat off her relationship with Chris Brown.

Ads will start running any day now- be on the lookout!

~Enjoy