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Bar Boulud: A serving of classic French fare
This weekend has been absolutely wonderful thus far filled with an 8 mile long run through snowy Central Park which was tough but so gorgeous and fun since Bo and I talked the whole time , long walks through the city, apartment hunting, drinks with friends at The Red Lion,
relaxing on the couch watching The Tudors, experimenting with healthy breakfast options, and dining out! Bo and I normally only order in once per week (normally from our local favorite Shi) and dine out on Friday nights after work. However, this weekend, due to the holiday we ended up eating out both Friday and Saturday night at two wonderful restaurants, Bar Boulud and Perilla.
Bar Boulud is Daniel Boulud’s casual classic French bistro located across from The Lincoln Center in NYC. Daniel Boulud is a famous French chef and restauranter who now has restaurants in NYC, Las Vegas, Vancouver, Beijing, Palm Beach, and Miami. He opened his first restaurant, and most famous, Daniel, in 1993 after his time as executive chef Le Cirque in NYC. Bo and I have often passed Bar Boulud during our long walks and Columbus Circle ventures and finally decided Friday night that we had to try it! After a work happy hour we wandered up to Lincoln Center around 7:30 in hopes of snagging a seat even though we didn’t have reservations. We were escorted to the bar area while we waited for a table but after fifteen minutes were told that we could in fact eat at the bar if we wished. This was a perfect option as the bar area offers the full menu, a first hand look at some of the cheeses and chartucerie, and wines. We started the evening with a glass champagne and the Degustation de Charcuterie to share (3 types of pate, charcuterie, condiments, pickles, and mustard) and the escargots persillade (wild burgundy snails garlic and parsley). The pates were amazing though the chicken liver pate was definitely my favorite. The snails were a treat as i’d never tried these before and they were rich and succulent. The parsley added to the flavor against the warm snails especially when paired with the small hushpuppy like potato balls.


As for our main meal, we shared a classic French fish dish, local catskills trout, toasted almonds

roasted cauliflower brown butter, verjus. This dish was absolutely divine as they used the cauliflower in so many different ways and the fish was perfectly crisp.
Bo and I agree that Bar Boulud’s food and wine was absolute perfection. Everything we tasted was seasoned perfectly and bursting with flavor. However, it was all very classicaly prepared which means the flavors weren’t innovated (to be expected at a classic French restaurant) and the service was attentive but a bit pretentious for our liking on a Friday night after a long week. We would definitely go back but we’d probably take friends so we could make our own noise and laughter. This Friday night it was painfully quiet and reserved which was ironic since Zagat warns of the noise levels.
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Love your body with this healthier pancake recipe

Happy Valentine’s Day! Do you have any fun plans today either with friends or your valentine? Bo and I are savoring the long weekend and relaxing this morning at home with The Tudors. We bought Season 1 on Friday night at Best Buy and are enjoying it thus far. We’re both huge history buffs so it’s right up our ally. Keeping up with Henry’s wives is definitely difficult! Later today we’re heading into the city to shop for our Valentine’s Day meal which we’re going to cook together at home. Cooking together is one of our favorite things and since we don’t have work tomorrow we can enjoy a few glasses of wine and hopefully enjoy some more difficult than usual recipes from our favorite cookbook, The Inn at Little Washington. We may even catch a yoga class this afternoon to work out the knots from yesterday’s hilly long run!
After the wonderful night out with friends last night, Bo and I enjoyed a lazy nine hours of sleep! After plenty of sleep we decided that we should test another healthier pancake recipe this morning. Bo requested a recipe that would taste like traditional pancakes but be much healthier. I love using the ingredients we already have on hand versus using a box mix. I don’t think we’ll be buying box mixes anymore! Today’s pancakes turned out absolutely perfect. We enjoyed them with canadian bacon and warm cinnamon maple syrup! Yum!
Ingredients:

2 Egg whites
1 cup skim milk
1 tsp safflower oil/vegetable oil
1 tsp agave nectar
1 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder

Stir together dry ingredients. Add eggs, agave, milk, and oil. Stir until dry ingredients are moistened (batter may be lumpy). Cook on preheated griddle until bubbles form and edges start to dry. Flip and cook until lightly browned. I like to serve with warmed maple syrup mixed with some cinnamon.
Have you tried Rudi’s bread? Hop on over to http://www.juliegolean.com/2010/02/oh-you-know.html to enter her great giveaway!
Do you love Champion running gear? Would you like to snag a HUGE package of great stuff just for you!?
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Bar Boulud: Classic French Fare with A Side of Pretention

Bar Boulud is Daniel Boulud’s casual classic French bistro located across from The Lincoln Center in NYC. Daniel Boulud is a famous French chef and restauranter who now has restaurants in NYC, Las Vegas, Vancouver, Beijing, Palm Beach, and Miami.

He opened his first restaurant, and most famous, Daniel, in 1993 after his time as executive chef Le Cirque in NYC. Bo and I have often passed Bar Boulud during our long walks and Columbus Circle ventures and finally decided Friday night that we had to try it! After a work happy hour we wandered up to Lincoln Center around 7:30 in hopes of snagging a seat even though we didn’t have reservations.

We were escorted to the bar area while we waited for a table but after fifteen minutes were told that we could in fact eat at the bar if we wished. This was a perfect option as the bar area offers the full menu, a first hand look at some of the cheeses and chartucerie, and wines. We started the evening with a glass champagne and the Degustation de Charcuterie to share (3 types of pate, charcuterie, condiments, pickles, and mustard) and the escargots persillade (wild burgundy snails garlic and parsley). The pates were amazing though the chicken liver pate was definitely my favorite. The snails were a treat as i’d never tried these before and they were rich and succulent. The parsley added to the flavor against the warm snails especially when paired with the small hushpuppy like potato balls.

Photo from post Classic French Fare with a side of pretention

As for our main meal, we shared a classic French fish dish, local catskills trout, toasted almonds roasted cauliflower brown butter, verjus. This dish was absolutely divine as they used the cauliflower in so many different ways and the fish was perfectly crisp. Bo and I agree that Bar Boulud’s food and wine was absolute perfection. Everything we tasted was seasoned perfectly and bursting with flavor. However, it was all very classicaly prepared which means the flavors weren’t innovated (to be expected at a classic French restaurant) and the service was attentive but a bit pretentious for our liking on a Friday night after a long week. We would definitely go back but we’d probably take friends so we could make our own noise and laughter. This Friday night it was painfully quiet and reserved which was ironic since Zagat warns of the noise levels.

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