My tummy is excited

At least two Potbellys (-ies?) are set to open in Manhattan in the coming months. Or "soon-ish" as the window of the soon-to-be Rockefeller Center concourse location boasts. The other location I've spotted is on Maiden Lane in the 2 Gold building retail strip, making it perfect for me to have one Potbelly by my office and one by my home. Clearly Potbelly's corporate offices have no consideration for my own growing potbelly.

Admittedly I've never actually had a Potbelly sandwich, but my friends in Washington D.C. and Chicago rave about them so much that I can almost vicariously taste the deliciousness through their descriptions. And I cannot wait to have another option for yummy carb-filled comfort lunches.

Restaurant Week: Part 1

New York Restaurant Week is a two week event that occurs twice a year during which over 250 of the city's top restaurants offer 3 course prix-fixe meals at a highly discounted rate. This is obvi an amazing way for people who may not have otherwise been able to afford these restaurants to experience some of the city's amazing upscale culinary cuisine. Perfect for broke-ass wannabe-cultured entertainment professionals like myself. Prices for the prix-fixe meals are $24.07 for lunch and $35 for dinner.

Megan's personal Restaurant Week tip: Many restaurants have identical menus for lunch and dinner, so go for lunch to get an even better value.

I took my own advice to heart and took myself on a lunch date to Smith & Wollensky (49th Street and 3rd Avenue). I've been wanting to eat here ever since Andi threw Miranda Priestly's unwanted steak from S&W in the sink in The Devil Wears Prada movie. It looked so delicious, what a waste. I would have kept it for myself and savored every bite of that magnificent steak that I special ordered and picked up at 10:30am before the restaurant even opened, silently telling my job and my boss to go eff themselves... But oh yah, the real life food.

I opted to upgrade my lunch to include Smith & Wollensky's own Restaurant Week wine offering: $30 for the regular prix-fixe plus a glass of wine from a limited list. My chosen meal consisted of a glass of cabernet sauvignon, a caesar salad, filet mignon, and a slice of cheesecake. The wine portion was generous and with the Restaurant Week price significantly cheaper than normal at $6 (compared to S&W's cheapest wine by the glass at $11). The salad was refreshing with a delicious caesar dressing, and the bread basket included a variety of different breads and a flavorful whipped butter. The filet mignon was just as perfect as the steak in my daydreams. The 10 oz fillet was tender and cooked to a perfect medium-rare. I don't typically use steak sauce, but Smith & Wollensky's own sauce was a perfect compliment to the filet providing a subtle smokiness and great flavor. I'm also not much of a dessert person but do love a good cheesecake, and S&W's delivered with it's almost mousse-like creaminess. The waitstaff was extremely attentive and conversational without being overwhelming, and I left Smith & Wollensky feeling relaxed and gluttonously happy, the perfect sophisticated break from the workday.

New Forever 21 - grab your hardhats, ladies! (no seriously...)

Tomorrow, June 25, at 10am the massive new Forever 21 will open in Times Square. This will probably cause the second earthquake in the tri-state area this week. The new 4 floor, 90,000+ square foot store will (sadly) occupy the former Virgin Megastore retail space. Despite the slap in the face to history in regards to the location, I'm giddy with excitement about the new Forever 21. It's larger than I can possibly imagine or comprehend, only 4 blocks from my office, and is scheduled to have normal store hours until 2am. Those hours are absolutely insane, but perfect for buying a new outfit last minute before clubbing. (I apologize to retail workers in advance for my upcoming drunk visits at 1:30am.)

Of course the grand opening has some fun and freebies to celebrate the further demise of Times Square. The first 1000 shoppers in line will receive complimentary gift cards valued at anywhere from $10-$210, and there have been additional 10% coupons for opening day floating around the internets to VIPs (like me). Other festivities include a Minx Nails manicure station, makeovers featuring F21's cosmetics line Love & Beauty, a "red carpet" photo booth, and sheer pandemonium.

Seriously, Forever 21s in NYC are a war-zone on a normal shopping day, so I'm just a little scared for this 4 floor monster on opening day. Is fear going to stop me? Absolutely not. I'll do just about anything for freebies and discount trendy clothing.

Zac Attack!

If you noticed a stampede of stiletto-clad fashionistas among the sneaker-clad commuters outside Penn Station today, it's because Zac Posen's new collection for Target is holding a preview pop-up shop. For 24 hours only, New Yorkers can browse and purchase Posen's discount collection at 481 8th Avenue (at 34th Street) before it debuts in Targets across the nation on April 25. The shop is open from April 15 at 11pm-April 16 at 11pm, creating a limited but unique shopping experience featuring an overnight party vibe.

I'm not much of a night person so I didn't run to the store when doors opened, and I don't think I'll be hitting it up today either. The prices are great for the everyday woman who wants some Posen in her life ($79.99 for this fluffy red number), but aside from this dress I'm not impressed with the collection as a whole. The prints in mostly reds and pinks are fun but not chic, and the gold metallic dress and swimsuits border on tacky. The black dresses, jacket and pants are nice, but hardly standout pieces. This collection is missing the chic drama that Posen usually brings, and in my opinion doesn't have the same "must have" factor as many of Target's previous designer lines.

Bar crawlin

Great times at Halloween pub crawl! Shout to www.halloweennow.com

The Village Pourhouse
East Village
64 3rd Avenue (at 11th Street)
New York, NY 10003
212-979-2337
www.pourhousenyc.com

What can I really say about this place? It’s practically an East Village legend. Lots of beer, lots of college students and those who wish they still were, and lots of mingling are guaranteed at the original Village Pourhouse. You can always find a friend here (or quickly make new ones) and catch the game in one of their multiple rooms with multiple flat screens. If getting drenched in beer every time the Giants make one of those touchdown thingeys really isn’t your scene, relax on a couch in the lounge area in the back which provides a completely different atmosphere for those girls who just aren’t up to pretending to know what’s going on in the game, but still want to partake in the pickup scene. The Pourhouse sets the scene for the type of nights with friends that create lifelong memories…that is if you can remember it the next morning.
Rating: 4 stars


Coyote Ugly
East Village
153 1st Avenue (b/w 9th and 10th Streets)
New York, NY 10003
212-477-4431
www.coyoteuglysaloon.com

Ever since I was a wee girl of 19, it’s been my dream to one day become a coyote at Coyote Ugly. Dancing on the bar, wearing sexy/skanky outfits with cowboy boots, getting inappropriate yet flattering attention from dirty men, and of course all the country music you can handle. Now that I finally convinced a friend to accompany me to my dream bar, I found that only the parts of my fantasy that were true were the country music and the male attention…except it was just downright skeezy and not at all flattering. If you enjoy country music like myself and feel deprived of it in New York City, then come to Coyote, but do not expect much other than these comforting twangy beats. The music gave me that happy feeling and I wanted to shake my honky tonk badonkadonk, but I seemed to be the only one in the bar who felt the need to do so. Bar dancing alone does not equal sexy, but rather makes you the crazy drunk girl who dances on the bar alone and thinks she’s sexy. Even the real coyotes did not once dance on the bar in the hour plus I was there. And it’s not like they were too busy serving drinks, despite its surprisingly small size and busy rep, Coyote Ugly did not house the raucous crowd from the movies. *Sigh*, goodbye sweet daydreams…
Rating: 2 stars


Bar None
East Village
98 3rd Avenue (b/w 12th and 13th Streets)
New York, NY 10003
212-777-6663
www.barnonenyc.com

Another great find in the E-Vill. Bar None is one of those bars you walk past a million times, never go into, but when you finally do it then becomes a good standby in your going out repertoire. (Btw, it’s embarrassing how long it took me to figure out how to spell “repertoire”) Bar None provides a no-frills atmosphere minus the sports bar vibe that plagues many other bars of its kind. Check the website, Bar None also offers some awesome happy hours and other specials. Despite the hearty crowd, we were actually able to get seats at Bar None, which surprisingly didn’t even limit the socializing. Many a new friend was made. The patrons and staff at Bar None are friendly, social, efficient, and just plain looking to have good times.
Rating: 3 stars


TG Whitney’s
Midtown East
244 East 53rd Street (b/w 2nd and 3rd Avenues)
New York, NY 10022
212-888-5772
www.tgwhitneys.com

You’ll find a smattering of everything at TG Whitney’s. Relaxed pub atmosphere, yummy bar foods, good drink specials, but this is more than your typical midtown pub. TG Whitney’s also offers great karaoke Thur/Fri/Sat without the intimidation and pretention of so many official karaoke bars…or the letdown of bars that claim to offer karaoke but simply have a guy in the corner with a microphone. TG Whitney’s never gets uncomfortably crowded, but can border on empty at times. Great staff though, I once planned a birthday gathering here for two friends and the managers and bartenders couldn’t have been more accommodating. And they did many, many shots with us…score!
Rating: 3 stars