I was lucky enough to have not just one, but two dates tonight :)
The first was this gorgeous girl (meets life):
And the second was this little guy.
But keep your pants on, that's coming later.
Though Gracie and I had a reservation at v-note, a new vegan restaurant on the Upper East Side, we decided to change our plans at the last minute when we realized that they were only offering a $60 prix fixe menu. A bit steep for a casual girls' night! Instead, we opted for Indian, and headed to Baluchi's in Soho.
Usually I'm all about the baigan bhartha, but I went for something different tonight and got the vegetable jalfrezi.
It was good- not too spicy, but still a decent amount of kick. There was also plenty of ginger, which I loved.
Ironically enough, Gracie ended up ordering the bhartha. Good call on her part!
We split an order of roti:
And a mammoth dish of rice, which I didn't try. Rice is just so bland to me!
I was pleased with myself for eating until I was satisfied, not stuffed. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had room for the second stop on our date: Crumbs, for a gourmet cupcake.
The bakery was almost completely cleaned out. Though they usually carry about twenty flavors, it was down to just a handful. Fortunately, one of my favorites was still in stock- the grasshopper.
Rich chocolate cake filled with chocolate fudge and topped with mint flavored cream cheese frosting with chocolate cake crumbs, edged in mini chocolate chips and finished with a buttercream rosette.
Oh yes.
While the frosting was amazing as usual, the cake was actually super stale and dry, which I've never experienced before at Crumbs. In their defense, it's hard to keep cupcakes fresh when you're making enough for a dessert-centric holiday...and I only usually eat the frosting anyway, so it wasn't a total fail.
Meanwhile, Gracie fell head over heels for her Fluffernutter cupcake: moist vanilla cake, filled with peanut butter buttercream and topped with marshmallow fluff frosting with a peanut butter swirl and sprinkles.
She said it was incredible, cake part included. I'm just glad the Crumbs standards aren't slipping across the board!
I'm glad I got out to celebrate the love tonight- both of the friend and food variety. Though I have to say, Gracie was the better of my two dates :)
Happy Valentine's Day to you all!!
