Restaurant Outings: The Smith at Lincoln Center

I went on a dinner date with one of my close friends last weekend to one of my favourite restaurants: The Smith––the one at Lincoln Center. And it was absolutely delicious, just as I expected! The only problem might have been that we ate a little too much––and had a little too much wine as well! But it was truly amazing.

We skipped the whole appetiser part––thankfully, because our stomachs wouldn't have handled it!––and ordered a paella...

...and black tagliatelle with shrimps, scallions, and bread crumbles...

...both accompanied with some Pinot Grigio (which unfortunately didn't look as good as I would have liked it to.

For dessert, we chose to have the hot fudge sundae...

...and the lemon icebox tart.

It you want to check out the full restaurant menus––and their different locations––you can do so here. If you want to visit, try to make a reservation because the place gets a little crowded! You can call them at 212.496.5700 (this is the Lincoln Center phone, you'll find the others on their website).

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

City Views: The Empire State Building

There are several things I love about New York, and the Empire State Building is one of those. Although it's been standing there for ages, it's a pretty building and I can have a good time just staring at it––especially if I have some good drinks at hand. About a year ago, I discovered a The Strand Hotel, and its rooftop bar became my favourite place to see my favourite building.

Of course, I had to take my friend who was visiting for a few days there. We had dinner at the bistro on the first floor, and then we headed up to the bar, to enjoy a cure view of the building while staying warm and happy inside.

We had kale lasagna for dinner, which was pretty hearty, with lots of cheese and tomato sauce.

As for the drinks, we both chose a forbidden fruit cocktail––prosecco, crème de pamplemousse and grapefruit twist––which was also really, really good!

And to top everything up, we had a perfect view of the Empire State Building and a huge amount of fairy lights!

No doubt this was a more than perfect girls night––followed, of course, by the greatest pillow talk when we got back home!

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Restaurant Outings: Fig & Olive

I'm finally starting to feel more settled down in New York, which means that I am ready to start exploring everything that the city has to offer for its inhabitants––and I guess some of the tourist-y things as well!

Last week I had the chance to go to Fig & Olive––on 52nd Street, just off of 5th Ave––and I couldn't enjoy it more. I really love Mediterranean food––which was actually one of the main reasons why I chose this restaurant––and this place is likely to become one of my go-to restaurants in New York... Although I probably want to try a few new places before going back!

First of all, I feel like I should mention the olive oil was just amazing. I believe it is one of the signature offerings of the restaurant––which means you were probably expecting to hear the olive oil was good––but it is worth making the remark. It was truly incredible!

After the bread, we kicked off with melone e burrata and truffle mushroom croquette. The melon was sweet and the burrata absolutely perfect... But I must say that the mushrooms were my favourite. It had been a long while since I last experienced such an intense pleasure in having just a little bite of food. I probably could have ordered three or four servings of mushrooms and eaten them all!

We then had lobster bisqué...

...followed by paella del mar and primavera lobster risotto to share. The paella was excellent... Although I must say I would stay with the risotto! It is a little spicy, so I wouldn't recommend it if you're not that much into the spices. But I loved it!

We ended up with a crème brulée cheesecake. It wasn't very big, but my stomach wouldn't have been able to handle anything bigger anyway. And it was very tasty, which is what really matters.

All in all, it was an excellent night, full of the food I love! I sincerely recommend visiting Fig & Olive. If you're still not sure, you can check out their menu here. If you're already sold––I would be––make sure you book a reservation before arriving, as the place gets busy quickly!

Love,
Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Travel Diaries: New York, Day 3

Monday was the last day in New York before the conference –the whole purpose of my trip– started. We spent most of the day preparing for the conference, practicing the procedures, doing some teamwork, and being clever. It was a long and exciting day––which is why we had dead faces by dinner time!

It was also our last meal in the week. We went to an Italian restaurant in 47th Street, between 6th and 7th, where I ate a seafood salad and stole some of my friend's tortellini (which were so good)!

The day after this, the conference started and we had to forget about sunlight, any food that was not sandwiches or something you can grab to go from a deli, and sleep. But I'll talk more about that tomorrow!

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Travel Diaries: Rome, Day 4

Being in the conference that I'm making part of has left me very little time to explore Rome and rest. On some days, it has also left me little time to eat, especially at lunch time. This is exactly what happened on my fourth day, when lunch was a wrap followed by an espresso and some porchetta––which actually made up for lunch, as it was very good!

However, after spending the whole day in the conference, my hard work was rewarded when I was taken for dinner in Trastevere. I personally love this neighbourhood of Rome because, although buildings are probably not as mesmerising at the Coliseo or the Vatican City, you can still see the beautiful architecture this's city has. I also love walking past restaurants and trattorie every 50 m and seeing all the activity of the city at nighttime.

Of course, you can't come to Rome without going to have dinner in Trastevere at least once. Which is why I always try to go as many times as possible. We went to a pizzeria called Dar Poeta, where I ate the biggest meal I've had in this trip so far. I'd say I probably ate more than the second day, when we had our huge Italian traditional dinner.

As a starter, I chose some mozzarella di bufala, followed by bruschette con pesto e ricotta. Then I had a pizza bufala, which was made with––you guessed it––mozzarella di bufala and tomatoes. For dessert, we shared a calzone filled with Nutella and ricotta, which became my new favourite!

I'm really sad my time in Rome is reaching and end... Can't I continue traveling forever?!

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Travel Diaries: Rome, Day 3

My third day in Rome was very busy, so I didn't have much time to be a tourist and do many fun things. It was also very cold and rainy, so I am actually thankful I got to spend most of the day inside!

For the lunch break during my conference, I went with my new Italian friends––and some old friends as well––to a wonderful pizzeria that was just a few blocks away from the conference centre. This place was very colourful and wonderful, which made me feel in a fairy tale. From the moment I saw the place, I fell in love with it! I had pizza prosciutto, which is one of my favourites. Anything with prosciutto is always on my fave list!

We strolled back to the conference centre, and got to see some of the magic of the streets in Rome... Which happened again when we were going back to the hotel, exhausted after a very long working day!

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Receiving The New Year

For New Years Eve, I wanted to share some time with my mum and my sister, while doing something calmed and relaxed. So instead of going out partying, we went for dinner at La Mina Steak & Lobster (which is located at the JW Marriott Bogota hotel), one of my mum's favourite restaurants in Bogota.

The menu consisted of six dishes, all of which were absolutely delicious.

We started with crunchy crab claws with a thai peanut sphere over smoked panka hot pepper.

Then we had a foie gras terrine, with bagel crunch, lychee foam, and balsamic syrup.

We moved into a warm prawn ceviche with sweet potato and manchego cheese dauphin.

By this moment, we were ready to cut all the flavour out with a red fruits and ciroc vodka sherbet.

Have I mentioned there was a saxophonist playing live all the time?

Our main dish consisted of two parts: salmon with osceta prestige caviar over cilantro mashed potatoes and red wine vinaigrette, and Surf and Turf (i.e. steak with green pepper sauce and garlic stone crab), with potatoes stuffed with corn.

I chose to drink some Chardonnay with my supper, which was absolutely perfect! I think this might be my favourite type of white wine!

Finally, for dessert, we had a pistacchio crème brulée––which was my favourite––a chocolate cake and some sort of grape flan with ice cream. I must admit that this was probably my least favourite part of dinner, in part because I was full by the end of my main dish, but also partly because I didn't understand the flavour of the flan.

Naturally, with all that food, we needed to have some herbal tea to help our digestion.

At this point, we had already spent around three hours eating, and we finished just in time to cheer the New Year. We drank some champagne and saw the fireworks in the hotel's terrace...

...Just before going back home to sleep happily, with our bellies full––until yesterday around 2pm!

Love,


Oh, and my mum and my sister wish you all a Happy New Year!