Drag Dining at Lips

It was my mother's birthday last week and I didn't know where to take her to celebrate, until she suggested Lips. Lips, located on 2 Bank Street, isn't any old restaurant. It's actually a restaurant where your servers are none other than fabulous drags queens! I've been to Lips once before, but Diva Thursdays was quite a spectacular experience.
Every Thursday night, the Lips ladies put on a performance where they dress up as various famous divas that lip sync and dance for the crowd. My mom and I saw Dolly Parton, Bette Midler, Madonna, and Cher closed the show, with Joan Rivers as the announcer.

(From Left to Right: Joan Rivers, our waitress Ginger doing her best Bette Midler impression, and Ginger getting "up close and personal" with a customer; Below: Cher serenading the crowd)

Besides the crowd pleasing "waitresses" is the $8.50 famous Frozen Cosmopolitans (I had two and was feeling tipsy!) and the food. Surprisingly the food is extremely tasty and not overpriced considering the show is free (except for a $10 entertainment fee on Fridays and Saturdays). My mom and I split the $7.95 "Paulina" chicken fingers that came with a chipotle mayo dipping sauce. The dipping sauce was awesome. When it came to entrees, I chose the "Gloria Wholesome," salmon with white wine tarragon butter sauce served with jasmine rice and baby greens (19.95) and my mother stuck with the "Mirkala Crystal"- Chicken and sauteed mushrooms in parmesan cream sauce over fresh spinach fettucine ($15.95). My mom raved about her pasta and I loved the pan seared salmon with the rice and the light baby greens. I ended up feeling full without feeling stuffed for cake.

(Left to Right: Paulina, Gloria Wholesome, Mirkala Crystal)
We ordered the Chocolate Sin cake ($6.50) and Ginger came out with a cake and crown for my mom to wear. After Ginger seductively danced on my mom, we all cheered for her and we split the most amazing chocolate cake ever! The night definitely ended on a positive note and it was a birthday to remember.
A suggestion for anyone interested in Lips: make a reservation a week or two in advance. It gets extremely packed but it is well worth checking out. Lips throws different themed parties every night. Next time I go, I'll definitely check out Wednesday nights, otherwise known as "Bitchy Bingo" night.

Until next time, Happy eating!

Bianca

I've Got Soul..at Amy Ruth's

Fall has finally hit full force. With the cold air and leaves falling, it was a perfect outing on this lazy hazy Sunday. My friends and I decided to catch an early dinner at the best soul food restaurant in Manhattan: Amy Ruth's. Amy Ruth's has been opened since 1998 on its 133 w. 116th St. address and caters to everyone from family, friends, to celebrities such as John Legend and Denzel Washington!

This is a great place to experience the authentic soul food cuisine. It's also a place that will give you a food coma afterwards. The best time to go is on Sundays, around two or three in the afternoon. It's got a good crowd and this food can serve as your breakfast, lunch and dinner because of the great helpings and huge portions.

My friends and I were starving so we quickly glanced over and salivated over the menu. Everything sounded incredibly but a friend of mine and I decided to order the "Terry Rivers" which was honey dipped fried chicken that came with any two sides of your choice. My other friends chose on a platter of waffles with fried catfish, the fried seafood platter, and fried chicken platter. Before our main courses came out, we munched on the best corn bread I have ever had. The bread was extremely soft, fluffy, and free!

When our main courses came out we almost jumped for joy. The aroma is this homey joint can make any full person hungry again so needless to say we were famished. Here is a depiction of the honey dipped fried chicken. I ordered the mac and cheese and green beans sides while my friend ordered the mac and cheese with mashed potatoes and gravy. All of this food was only $13.95 each! My chicken was a really generous size and the drizzled honey made it more worthwhile. All of the food prices were no higher than $16 a course which made it a cheap yet delicious place to go. My other three friends were also satisfied with their meals, and while we were getting ready to take a nap and unbutton our jeans, we couldn't deny ourselves dessert.
Depicted is the peach cobbler ($4.50) and the red velvet cake ($5.00) complete with cream cheese icing. We also ordered the creamy banana pudding with nilla wafers ($3.00) but it disappeared before I even had time to take the picture! The dessert portions were perfect for the five of us, and we left Amy Ruth's with only dropping $25 per person on the bill. Amy Ruth's is definitely the perfect place to catch up with friends in a laid back and friendly atmosphere with only the best comfort/soul food.
Afterwards, you and your friends might want to check out the Harlem Shabazz Market, on 116 st. btw. Lenox and Fifth Avenues (right down the block from Amy's). It's an outdoor lot filled with African clothing, paintings, jewelry, pottery, etc. and is run by Africans who are complete in their kente clothing. It was interesting to see all the African instruments and jewelry that were made by the Africans on the premises. My friend and I both bought this really neat snake necklace for $10. It's definitely a place worth stopping by to experience African culture and find some really unique and cheap jewelry.

Until next week, happy eating!

Bianca

Vynl

One of the best places to catch up with a friend is at the diner. Even Sex and the City shows the girls meeting at least once a week at their favorite diner to catch up on their lives as well as their favorite comfort food. Needless to say, a close friend and I opted for some comfort last night at our favorite diner. However, Vynl is not just any old diner. Located on 78th and second (there are three other locations in the Upper West Side, Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen) we sat in a booth and enjoyed the scene. Vynl is a diner that mainly absorbs itself in the music scene.
There were obviously vinyl recordings lining the disco ball glittered walls along with various memorabilia such as New Kids on the Block dolls and Spice Girls lunch boxes. Sitting down, our waiter created us with some Vynl vinyl album menus. The drink menu always post a problem because everything sounds so great and all the names are funny to say. There's the Fiona-Appletini, The Purple Rain, but naturally my friend and I chose the Pearis Hilton, which consisted of ketel one, pear liqueur, and pineapple juice. It was really strong and so delicious that I next decided on trying the "Who's-da-man-go?" which was a take on a mango mojito (my favorite). For $8 each on a well made drink, it was worth having more than one, and it was worth the smile on my waiter's face when I told him I wanted a "Who's-da-man-go?"

The food on the menu is unique as well. Besides the usual diner foods, there is also Thai and Asian stir fry on the menu that always smells amazing, but my friend and I always stick to our usual faves. I ordered the caesar salad with salmon topped with harissa paste. Harissa paste has this nice spice and kick to it that made my taste taste even better, and for only $11.75 it was really worth it. My friend always gets the grilled cheese with tomato that comes with a pickle and homemade potato chips that comes to only $5.50!


Even though we were stuffed we definitely were in the mood for something sweet. The dessert menu was so tempting, and since each dessert was only $5.50 each, we decided to split the banana bread pudding. It was coconut banana bread pudding with whipped cream, berries, and caramel sauce that was so amazing we didn't even bother taking a picture and it was seriously scarfed down in two minutes!
Towards the end of the night, we had to go to the bathroom, which is one of the my favorite places (no, I'm not weirdly obsessed with bathrooms). The bathrooms are noted as "Halls of Fame" where each restaurant has different bathrooms that worship some of the greatest of all time pop and rock stars. My friend situated herself in the Madonna bathroom while I was in Beyonce. Each bathroom plays songs from that particular pop star. My bathroom was playing songs from Dream Girls, with a Beyonce doll encased in the wall and on the opposite wall was a huge mural of Beyonce.

Vynl is definitely a place you can spend all night hanging out and getting drinks with your friends, listening to music and joking around with your humorous waiter. Hope you enjoyed the blog, foodie friends.
Until next time, happy eating.

Bianca