An afternoon nap and mani+pedi were exactly what I needed after the Queens half marathon to get a second wind for Bo’s birthday celebration!  His friend Michael gave him a wonderful card with this hilarious pin, “Another Year Sexier” which Bo wore all night long!

Last night, 13 of our closest friends came together to celebrate Bo’s 27th birthday at Birreria. Birreria is the rooftop restaurant at Eataly. They have been trying to classify it as a beer garden but after three visits, I really don’t think you can call it that. While they have a wonderful and extensive beer selection the atmosphere and food is definitely a step above your typical beer garden.

Two weeks ago I called and made reservations, since they only accept them 2 weeks in advance for groups of 12 or less. Our friend Liz called and made reservation for a smaller table, requesting it to be near the group of 12. This allowed us the flexibility to have up to 18 people join for the celebration.

The best thing about bringing all our friends together is that by now most of them have met and spent time together during either our Marathon Party, Tacky Christmas Party, Ski Weekend, or Derby Party!

Each table started with a round of drinks and appetizers as everyone caught up on life and the Summer adventures. Luckily, they had my favorite Blue point Summer Ale back on the menu last night which I enjoyed along with our table’s order of pretzel bread and cheese platter. You must order their pretzel bread if it’s on the menu; salty and doughy goodness. The rest of the table shared the salumi affettati misti platter which features a selection of all salumi.

I didn’t have the chance to take pictures of other people’s entrees but I ordered the Insalata Cotta Cruda which was once again a perfect summer meal. Filled with wax beans, potatoes, and other mixed vegetables it is light and filling.

Overall everyone was very pleased with their entrees including the pesce con verdure miste, pollo con pesto di olive verdii, bistecca con salsa verde, and sausage. 

Birreria was the perfect location for a birthday dinner with a large group! Our waitress was very accommodating throughout the evening. Furthermore, our tables were adjacent to each other so we were able to play musical chairs all night, socializing with each table.

After dinner we headed over to Society Billiards for a few rounds of pool. We were looking for a relaxed atmosphere where we could have some fun, continue the laughs, and hang out. Their website describes it perfectly:

Society Billiards and Bar, in the shadow of the Flatiron, takes care to bring pool’s greatest traditions and welcomes a rich future for the game. Our friendly staff are all players as well and are dedicated to the reintroduction of a pool hall in the heart of this historic district of Manhattan.

It was a wonderful night celebrated with great friends. We missed those who couldn’t make it but were lucky to have both New York an Philadelphia friends up for the night.

A fun Saturday means that today is a relaxing recovery day. I’ve already enjoyed 30 minutes of gentle yoga and foam rolling followed by a homemade brunch.

Question: What is your favorite summer drink?