It's the simple things in life...

(please excuse my poorly lit iphone photo)

I've had an abundance of delicious meals at Gilt Club, but one of my personal favorites is the warmed focaccia with arbequina olives and extra virgin olive oil. One friday night we stopped in for dinner. I was ravenous and ordered this as a starter, just a little something to get me through to when the main course arrived. I wasn't expecting much. I mean, how remarkable can bread be, right? Wrong. It is made in-house and is just amazing. It has herbs and onions baked into the top and is drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Simply perfect.

Maybe you're in the mood for a full meal, but you don't know what wine to sip with it. I'd like to recommend the ‘05 Vietti Barbera “ Scarrone” from the Piedmont region in Italy. The vines are 60 years old, so they're practiced at producing good quality grapes. This wine is made to go with food. It is round, versatile and asks you to have a feast.

I've written previously about the Brooklyn cocktail, and we've all enjoyed a Manhattan or two, but what about the other boroughs? There's the tasty Bronx, which is a mix of gin, vermouth and oj, but do you know what the Bronx becomes when some orange bitters are added? No, it's not another borough, but instead something you'll want to drink between January and April 15th. I guess it only makes sense that a drink called the Income Tax would have bitters in it... Drink it while doing your taxes and then have one more to celebrate dropping that envelope off at the post office.