Ballaro- A Cozy Neighborhood Place

A cozy neighborhood find. Ballaro (www.ballaronyc.com/) is great for a bite out with your friends, with its warm, comfortable atmosphere you will be happy you chose this place. Though the wine list was reasonably priced, and the bar tender (who was also our server and very helpful) let us try a number to wines until we found one we could all agree on. There was a complementary cheese, meats and bruchetta spread set up across the far end of the bar which was not only presented beautifully but tasted delicious! It included a nice variety of cheeses and we especially enjoyed the selection since we were starving. The salads were light yet very flavorful which quenched our need for greens after the cheese spread. We enjoyed the spinach and artichoke salad and the mesclun. The Tuna crostini was good, but the pasta stole the show. a beef ragu with veggies tucked inside was incredible and i would highly recommend trying it. All of the dishes were prepared perfectly and we will definitely go back! Great for a quick bite out, date, night with your friends

Grape and Grain-

Grape and Grain (http://www.grapeandgrain.net/) is cozy laid back wine and tapas bar tucked into the east village on 6th street between Avenue B and C. This dark dimly lit restaurant gives off very relaxing vibe, with brick walls and dim lighting provided by old fashion chandeliers, you can’t help but pop in, at least for a drink. Inside of our table was a drawer filled with secret notes and poems from past diners. Have a great time reading this hilarious hidden messages, especially the one about the Jewish transvestite going to McDonalds (really funny and includes a picture). Don’t forget to add your own message to the drawer before you leave.

Grape and Grain offers a nice and reasonably priced wine selection, so pop open a bottle or have a glass before deciding which delicious item on the menu to try. The presentation of the dishes was beautiful. We started with the tuna Carpaccio which was sliced into very thick pieces of tuna, and accompanied by a jalapeño infused citrus vinaigrette and pickled avocados, a very bold dish. The meatballs did not disappoint, they were cooked perfectly and the roasted chicken salad was filled with flavor. Known for the pizza’s, we tried the margarita and Portobello. They were both wonderful , and made on a delicious foccacia bread. We capped off our meal with the apple dessert. It consisted of a warm apple tart with apple sauce covering the top (that was a little weird, could have left off the apple sauce- was never a fan of adding it to things), but the cinnamon ice cream truly made up for the extra sauce. A wonderful way to kick off the week, would recommend this place for a group of friends or for a cute date night.