Last weekend, Joel and I took a trip to NYC. My brother Patrick, along with a friend, decided to throw a surprise baby shower for his fiancée Jeni. We have not seen them in a long time, so we were very excited to go. My sister and her husband David were also coming to the shower, so we were excited to see them too. I love visiting my brother not only because I get to see him, but also because we always end up eating some really great food. You see… my brother is a chef. Need I say more?? :)
We arrived in Brooklyn on Friday at 6:00 pm after a very long drive. We got stuck in traffic coming into the city and into Brooklyn. I forgot how much I hate driving in NYC. It felt like it took the same amount of time to drive from the edge of NYC into Brooklyn as it did from Rochester to the edge of NYC. The best part of the ride was driving on RT 17, which took us by the Catskills. That section was so nice! The leaves have changed around that area, so the scenery was amazing.
Since the shower was a surprise, we could not get together with Jeni. Also, my brother was working, so we could not get together with him either. We decided that it was the perfect time to have dinner at the restaurant where my brother works. The restaurant is called No. 7, and is located in Brooklyn. This was our first visit to the restaurant, so I was happy to see that the kitchen was open to the dining area. I love seeing my brother in a chef’s outfit. :) It really suits him. Our experience was great, of course. It does pay off to have a brother as a chef. :) We pretty much got everything on the menu – appetizers, main dishes, and desserts. Granted their menu is small, but still. From the several appetizers that were brought to us, a favorite was these small chicken tacos. The chicken was so flavorful and tender. They were delicious!! Another favorite was the Fried Broccoli. They took a fairly large broccoli crown, battered it with a delicious batter, and fried it. Greens and grapefruit segments and black beans accompanied it. The flavors really complimented each other. For the main dish, I ordered the Wild Striped Bass with shrimp, cockles, lobster broth, and cauliflower. I was expecting a fillet of fish with the seafood and cauliflower on the side and the broth as the sauce. What I got was a lot better! The waitress brought this cute white dish with a lid and a side of rice. As soon as I uncovered it, I was excited! It was a stew like dish. The broth was light and flavorful and the Bass, seafood, and cauliflower were tender. Yummy! As soon as we finished the entrees, they brought the dessert. We were told that they could not decide what to give us, so they made every dessert on the menu. :) One of the best desserts, and the most interesting one, was the oatmeal bacon cookie. At first, we thought that we misheard what the waitress said. But no, the cookie really had bacon in it. It really was very delicious!! I never thought about incorporating bacon into a cookie, but it really worked. Another favorite was the maple “milkshake” that accompanied another dessert. It was so good!! My brother-in-law and I were in heaven. :) We could not get enough of it. Unfortunately, it was in a very small cup and we had to share it among 6 people. Good thing we had other desserts to try! :)
My brother also prepared the food for the shower. The menu included the same chicken tacos that we had at the restaurant, bagels with several types of cream cheeses, smoked salmon, deviled eggs, a green bean salad, and crepes. Unfortunately, my brother was unable to be at the shower due to a work conflict, so he recruited a friend to help. His friend brought the food over to my brother’s apartment, and a bunch of us put everything together. All the dishes looked and tasted delicious. With the help of today’s technology, Jeni was brought back to the apartment shortly after we finished everything. The lights were off and about 30 of her closest friends and family were waiting patiently for her to walk into the door. As soon as she did, we yelled, “surprise!” And oh how surprised she was! As she was walking around the room, she was so excited to see everyone. It was great! I am still amazed that they were able to pull it off.
We had a wonderful time at the shower as well as spending the rest of the evening with them. We ended up going out to dinner to a restaurant within their neighborhood, which of course served some delicious food. But the best part of the trip was being together with my family.
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