Three by Three

You know those nights where you meet up for a “quick drink” with a gal pal and the next thing you know it’s midnight and you know tomorrow is going to be a loooooooooong day at the office? Had that last night. But totally worth it: Three new spots with two fun people.
Sarah G and I kicked the evening off early at Nectar, a wine and nibbles bar in the Marina. I did a flight of whites and she a flight of reds with a cheese plate to absorb the alcohol. Sarah (and I know you’re reading this), would you agree, in a few years you’ll remember that creamy cheese??? MMM. I would go back just for that cheese. Not to mention, between Sarah’s cool coupon and the HH specials, our grand total was $2.41. Cha-ching!

With wine buzz in full force, Sarah and I left Nectar and ran into Omar, our ridiculously fun work friend.* Now a party of three, we bellied up to the bar and ordered cocktails with fancy names and sampled several of the small plates. Delarosa is a spinoff of Beretta in the Mission (previous positive experience before the birth of the blog) and the Marina location has the same vibe, food focus, creative drink options. Using Omar’s post-exercise appetite as an excuse to pig out, we tried the eggplant appetizer, chicken skewers, gorgonzola/potato pizza, and fried shrimp balls (the menu calls them something fancy). Fried shrimp balls (served with spicy aioli) were by far the best; wish there were more than four of them though. All the plates were enjoyable and I’d be excited to go back and try some of the pasta and other dishes. We all agreed this is a good date spot (great lighting), but only during mid-week as it’s probably Times Square over the weekend.

NOT exercising good judgment on a school night, we then migrated to The Republic for a nightcap (and eventually onion rings and French fries…whoops). For The Republic’s sake, I am trying very hard to forget the banana pudding thingamajig I ordered. Expecting something in the bread pudding family, this came out in a small cup and resembled applesauce. Not good. So not good I felt impelled to order fried onion rings to finish the evening with a better taste in my mouth and memory in my mind. Rings were good. Can’t go wrong with Rings.

My three visits as a group of three absolutely goes down as a 2010 YTD highlight.

*I need to digress from the main topic at hand and address how fast boys can get ready. Omar was walking back to his apartment from the gym but promised to meet us at Delarosa when he was showered. I swear I was still hanging off my coat when Omar showed up – fully showered, changed clothes, and ready to roll. Incredible – girls take note.