It has been almost 11 months since I returned home from NYC which makes this post long overdue. 3 months before I set out for New York City I had made a dinner reservation at the restaurant of my favorite chef, Eric Ripert. Le Bernardin   at the time of my visit was ranked number 1 in New York and number 17 in the world for french inspired seafood.  I hit the reserve button and got the confirmation email and instantly had butterflies. It was all I could think about for days. Eric Ripert is a bit of a personal hero of mine, sharing the same philosophies. in life and intense love of good food, but aside from that I had never at that point been to a place quite so upscale, quite so polished or so fantastic. My best friend and I who were traveling together had the dinner reservation booked for the Thursday of our trip. I had purchased a dress , made sure I was hungry despite the food tour we had been on earlier that day , and with child like anticipation we approached ...

If most people leave their heart in San Francisco, I am certain I left my stomach in New York City and I mean that in the best way possible.   I have a special relationship with the City after spending 3 years of my early adulthood living on Long Island NY and I was no stranger to the culinary wonders that awaited me when I adventured there for a girls week holiday.  After  a very long day of travel my friends and I finally made it to our hotel at about 9pm on the first day of our trip. Flight from Toronto had been delayed and put a pin in our original plan to go to a karaoke bar after finding dinner of some sort. We were tired and starving in a city with too many choices when you are that tired and hungry. We did the only natural thing we could, head to the big shiny watering hole across the street called " The Smith" We were right downtown in Manhattan on 27th and Broadway so the restaurant was hopping at 9 pm on a Monday night. We were greeted with warm service ...