Novella Ristorante

I know most of my posts include suggestions for “ideal first dates” but this lovely restaurant in Little Italy is def the place for a perfect date. Period.

Call me a hopeless romantic but sometimes I just find places and think “awe couples would love this place here” but I guess I just love food. This place would be considered a splurge but I can guarantee its worth it.

The decor of this Novella is just beautiful and so simple yet complex. Giving it such an elegant and relaxed vibe, it makes you just want to sit back, relax, talk and enjoy. And of course wine and dine.

Unfortunately though I wasn’t very hungry so my choices were limited but like every other place I’ve tried, a sample is just enough to have me coming back.

Sangria: I don’t know exactly when my love for this amazing drink began but its a must have when having a delicious meal. Ordering a pitcher is a just a must. Even though it tastes like juice it gets it job down and just allows it to go down smoother.

Calamari: You can never go wrong with fried calamari. Especially when they’re large chunks of calamari and you can actually get some meat and not just the crispy skin.

Pizza quattro formaggi: I went through a phase where I didn’t eat any type of pizza unless it was neopolitan, then I got to college and realized I was “broke” college student. Unfortunately however this pizza didn’t live up to the name. I say it was the basil, my friend says it was the cheese.

The bread of the pizza however was very delicious. and so was the sauce. So I guess it was just the cheese or the basil. Maybe I should’ve asked or actually read what type of cheeses were on the pizza. I love cheese but sometimes not everything goes.

So minus my bad pizza experience, I will be returning. There’s no way I cannot. It was just too cute and adorable to let one bad choice turn you around.

Besides the service was great. The staff all very friendly and attentive. And it seems as if they offer a really good lunch special, I say a must go.

Acquista Trattoria

The pros and cons of going to school at St. John’s is that the beautiful city of New York is your backyard but sometimes that ride into the city can seem like too far, and if you don’t have your car then you can’t even go to Long Island or Astoria for good food without having to hop on the train.

Union Turnpike located just outside of St. John’s gates attempts to provide students with many options for food but still lacks what school’s like University of Maryland and Georgetown have to offer.

Still though there are some treasures offered here. Acquista Trattoria is one of those. I’ve passed this place so many times and never looked at the menu, until finally I decided to pay it a visit.

Compared to the other spots on Union, the design of the restaurant really makes visitors want to stay and dine in opposed to just ordering and leaving.

The fun part: The menu.

Acquista has a VERY extensive menu. I would probably say over fifty meal options plus three specials that vary from night to night, this is both a positive and a negative.

Positive because you’re not just limited to a few number or meals but negative because there is just so much you want to try everything.

I was torn between the Prosciutto Di Parma and the Cheese Ravioli.

Even though there were many other great options I would’ve loved to have had, it was late and I wasn’t try to eat a lot. But of course my indesicive self ended up choosing something completely different, and I’m happy I did.

I order the special of the night. Chicken breast sauteed in wine sauce with corn, eggplant and cherry potatoes served over mashed potatoes. 

The Yums. I was very pleased with my choice because the wine sauce was delicious especially with the mashed potatoes. There were so many different flavors going in on one bite that it made the meal quite enjoyable.

The sweetness of the eggplant, the chicken, the wine sauce, buttery mashed potatoes, sour tomatoes and sweet corn kernels. Again The Yums.

The proportions were very generous that I ended up eating a good majority of it because it was so delicious and was still able to bring some home.

Another dish I know was very good was the Lobster Ravioli. 

Stuffed with lobster meat and served with pink sauce, for only $14.95, the plate quickly disappeared once one bite was taken. But then again I was also very intrigued in my own plate.

Unfortunately we got there just a little before the closed and didn’t really get to try their desert but apperently their Tiramisu is very delicious.

With that being said I know during my next visit I will be trying their Prosciutto and Tiramisu. With so many different options and so far two seeming to be very promising I don’t see why I can’t.

So now you know, if you’re a St. John’s students looking for some delicious pasta and a cute sit down place perhaps for a date, just walk outside of gate four and head onto Union for your italian needs!

Boyd’s Thai

So Monday I get a follow from an @Urbanfoodjunky on twitter and I’m thinking ok, just another spamming blog. But long behold, its a trusted food guru who got me to try Halal from a cart on Hillside Ave in Queens one day.

So being that our circle of friends loop in here and there, it was no doubt we would follow his first suggestion on a Tuesday afternoon as we finished shopping.

Following his suggestion of Boyd Thai located in the Village in NYC, the fifteen minute walk from Union Square Park was quite pleasent seeing as it had amazing scenery and really got our appetite going.

Located right in the middle of bunch of many little cute and hippiesh shops on Thompson Street (near Bleecker) the glass windows and ultra modern restaurant definitely gives ambiance making it as perfect for a first date as it does for a night out with friends.

Offering lunch specials that start around $9.00 depending on choice of meat, Boyd’s also offers an early bird special from 4-7 that includes and entree, soup or salad and rolls all starting at about $12.

Here are three things off the menu that is a must try and one that I would definitely never be ordering again.

Crispy Calamari: $6.00

I love fried calamari and usually its always the Asian restaurants I visit that do it best, and this is no exception.

My reason for loving fried calamari is that it allows you to eat a type of seafood you probably would never eat because if its not fried, don’t bother on getting me to try squid. If you can fry squid and not get it to fall apart and take away most of the seafood taste then you’ve already done it for me.

Crispy is def what would this explain this appetizer and will def be something I look forward to ordering again.

Pineapple Fried Rice w Chicken: $9.00 w.o meat (add $1-3) depending on choice of meat.

This right here ladies and gentle man is what you may just call DELICIOUS. If there’s a dish at Boyd’s that will have me coming back its definitely this one.

The pineapple and chicken compliment each other so well that you’re almost left at a cross between a pina colada and a thanksgiving ham. The rice was also very delicious seeing as it wasn’t too oily or hard, cooked to perfection.

Also, if you’re a fan of nuts then you’ll get a crunchy sweet addition of cashew nuts which tastes almost like the roasted almonds sold throughout New York City nuts stands.

Grilled Beef Salad:

I actually didn’t get a chance to try this but according to my friend who did order it, it was really good. With that being said if I ever feel like grabbing a salad one day while I’m out shopping, Boyd’s will be one of the places I visit if I want a nice sit down & serve spot.

I can say though that it did look very good and seemed to have actual pieces of meat not little portions of meat and the rest just greens or noodles depending on what it comes with.

What looked like tomatoes, red onion, cucumber and greens dressed in a vinagertte, I would hope it was kind of sour. Giving it a Latin Carne Asada with pico de gallo taste.

Now the dish I would never ever order again, which quite ironically is the most ordered dish of the restaurant: The Pad Thai Noodles

I took a single noodle strand and almost felt like I was chewing slimy rubber. Since the proportioins are very large it made sense that I’d share this with someone else, and niether of us even so much took more than 3 bites.

I actually did try to take more but the taste and the feel of it just wasn’t working so we just ended up picking out the chicken chunks and munching on that.

Another note worth mentioning: If you arrive after 4pm Monday-Thursday you should try their unlimited Sangria special for $10. I guarantee you it puts in work and its really great tasting, good quality Sangria.

and I mean $10 for unlimited Sangria pitchers? How can you not?