Sending Off James . . .

Last night we had a send off for my SUPER co-worker James. The night started with drinks in the lounge at The Night Hotel . A dark, kind of goth, intimate space, it is a great little hideaway in Midtown. I was happy to find out they did have 6 different wines by the glass, not just the standard merlot & chardonnay. The martinis looks enticing as well. The bartender was friendly, accomodating and handled our large crowd quite well. Great music and kind of a funky vibe. Oh, and for you smokers - there is a little interior patio off the lounge area where you can get your tobacco on.

Our next stop was for some nosh at Casellula, a new wine and cheese bar in Hell's Kitchen. LOVED this place! My only issue is that the actual bar is very small so it's sort of more of a restaurant feel. We sampled the endive salad with roaring forties blue cheese (which I'm still dreaming about), pear, macademia nuts and a sherry vinagrette ($13), the mac 'n cheese with lardons and carmelized onion (PERFECT for a cold night! - $12) and the pig's ass sandwich with pickles and a chipolte aoli ($12). We paired this with a bottle of Malbec ($36) and all was good!