This weekend's theme was restoration.  Friday night @cocktailspirit and I went to a yoga class, which was exactly what I needed after my busy week.  After a quick dinner, I spent some quality time on my couch catching up on my DVR.  Saturday I slept later than I thought was humanly possible, then met Bill for dim sum at Red Egg.  Afterwards, we wandered around Chinatown and the Lower East Side, then decided to continue over the Williamsburg bridge.  Once we got to the other side, we rewarded ourselves with a tipple or two at Dram.  On a side note, Dram's new food menu looks great.  Have to return at some point when I'm hungry. 

Sunday began with laziness and the NYT, then I headed to Maharlika for brunch with @selenawrites and @libationdiaries to support our friends Enzo & Noel, who are involved in this great pop-up Filipino brunch spot.  The gorgeousness you see above is the Eggs Benigno: lola mahal's home-style pandesal, thinly sliced housemade spam, calamansi hollandaise and kamote fries (more brunch photos here).  Selena and I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and walk off brunch by walking downtown and over the Brooklyn Bridge.  Afterwards, I went home, did some writing, and watched the Oscars, which were only bearable thanks to Twitter and a Vieux Carré.  Oy.

All in all, a lovely, relaxing weekend.

Thinking about 1985.  Dedicated to MP.

Due to having gone over my allotted text message allowance for several months in a row now, I just upgraded my text plan.  Feel free to text away, kids!  Of course, you can always just pick up the damn phone and call.

 
I suddenly feel like I spent a decent chunk of my weekend eating sea creatures.  Friday night I had oysters at Maison Premiere, Saturday night we shared a chilled seafood platter at The Astor Room, Monday we had crudo & clams at Eataly followed by oysters at The John Dory Oyster Bar, and at T.J.'s Supper Club we started off with a fluke crudo.  I don't think I had any fish, shellfish, or other random crustaceans on Sunday.  And on a related note, I must learn to shuck oysters.

Sure, drinking can be fun, but it's even better when it's benefiting those in need!

Salud! Healthcare for Bartenders - Did you know that 89.7% of bar/restaurant workers lack employer-provided healthcare?  On Monday, 2/21 head to Freeman's for cocktails made by Lynnette Marrero and Jim Kearns (Peels), Jason Littrell (Death & Company), Marshall Altier (1534) and others to raise money for healthcare for bartenders. Tickets are $40 and are available online.

Women & Whisky Unite! - Join the lovely ladies of LUPECNYC and Compass Box Whisky as they join forces to celebrate International Women's Day.  Tickets are $85 (available online) and will include 8 specialty cocktails - 4 named in honor of iconic NYC women, 2 matched with chocolates from Bespoke Chocolates and 2 with fine artisanal cheese. 30% of all ticket sales will be donated to Bottomless Closet, a non-profit organization which helps disadvantaged NYC women become self-sufficient through comprehensive training and development programs.

This one goes out to anyone who was at my high school graduation.  Last week a got a news clipping from my dad about Christina Aguilera flubbing the words to the National Anthem at the Super Bowl (which I didn't see).  His note on it said something like, "see, you're in good company."  First of all, I never messed up the words.  I merely lost track of where I was in the song (I was nervous), so I stopped where I was, then started again from the beginning.  Oops.  No mention of my redeeming (perfect) performance of the Anthem at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden for NYU Law School graduation, however.  Harumph.

Spread the love, people.  Happy Valentine's Day, courtesy of the chalkboard at Terroir, designed by @ColinTuska. 

Looks like we've got a guest bartender trend going on in NYC these days!  Fatty Johnson's, the temporary restaurant in the old Cabrito space, has been inviting local bartenders to take a turn behind the stick since it opened, and it seems that several others have joined in on the fun.  Compose and 1534 are both home to guest bartender programs, and Dram is known to have guests every now and again. 1534 is calling their weekly series "Roustabouts" and has released the initial schedule:

Times: 8pm-12pm
·      2/23: Dushan Zaric, Employees Only, Macao Trading Co. & Aisha Sharpe, Contemporary Cocktails
·      3/2: Dominic Venegas, Smuggler's Cove & Willy Shine, Contemporary Cocktails
·      3/9: Misty Kalkofen, DRINK Boston & Leo DeGroff, AKA Wine Geek
·      3/15: Phil Pepperdine, St Germain & Daniel Undhammer, UK Bartender and Rep for ZU Vodka

Check their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds for details and support your bartender friends, wherever they may be!

Remember when I ate all that fried stuff?  I finally posted my pictures from that extravaganza (the TONY photographers' pics were better).  And on a related note, the Doughnut Plant is opening a new location in Chelsea on Valentine's Day!

My sister gave me such a wonderful gift for Chanukah this year -- she knows how much I love having flowers in my apartment, so she put some cash together in an envelope and dubbed it my flower fund.  This past weekend I bought my first batch of flowers from the fund: some tulips from the local bodega.  Note to self:  tulips are currently cheaper at Whole Foods than at my bodega!!  Gotta stretch that flower fund out for as long as I can!