twist & pour

Ah wine coolers in upstate New York...

Just kidding :) a few days ago the boy and I went to his former place of work, Twist, an American restaurant.

It was so tiny and sophisticated with a gourmand feel. I adored the colorful atmosphere.

Plus, we were treated like royalty. The kitchen staff made sure that his friend served us the best of the best.

There menu is not extensive, by any means, but utmost quality and care is put into every dish.

To start, I had a special, the strawberry basil mojito. As you may (or may not know) mojitos are my favorite cocktail and the only other time I had one with basil was in San Pedro. It was spectacular.

As an appetizer I ordered a salad made with local tomatoes, homemade croutons, basil, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. It was divine. The boy had a Caesar salad that was also beautifully presented but the picture came out blurry. I nearly cleaned my plate and was ready for my entrée.

Instead, or rather before it, I got this, a second, complimentary, appetizer. The special made with duck, and goat cheese over heirloom tomato. Yum but I only picked at it to reserve room --

for the amazing Seared Tuna, served alongside shiitake mushrooms, baby bok choy and pineapple-wasabi salsa. I enjoyed about a third since nobody likes a tummy-ache :).

Despite his preference for bright drinks with the occasional umbrella the boy ordered a "manly" plate of baby ribs with polenta and cole slaw. It literally fell off the bone, he loved it.

But alas we were both quite satisfied, on the verge of being full, so dessert was out of the question. Ha, as if. The wonderful staff at Twist would not have it. We were served a vanilla macaroon with goat cheese ice cream and a raspberry reduction sauce. Oh yes, the two bites I had were beyond delicious.

What fun. And it continued throughout this entire week. It's my last week interning so I've made sure to make it a memorable one. Most recently, my mom and I went to see Rock of Ages on Broadway. It was a blast. We were singing along the entire time, and we weren't the only ones ;).

I am going to miss frequenting the city as much as I have this summer... but that means that I get to start another adventure, my senior year of college. Woah. I fully intend on having as good of a time up in Syracuse :) Enjoy your weekend!