Ziggy's

Hey guys! So this post is going to be a little longer than usual, but I want to go into details about one of my favorite places in New York City. It is called Ziggy's and is located on 2nd Ave. between 77th and 78th street. Read about it on Yelp.

Ziggy's is open 7 days a week, 4-1am Monday through Thurday, and 11:30am-1am Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The theme is Mexican Beach Bar, so think surfboards and a summery vibe. The whole place is painted aqua blue and the main goal of all the employees is to insure you leave happy (and drunk).

Ziggy's serves Mexican food, so think menu items like tacos, quesadillas, burritos, and a very delicious guacamole that is made in house.  Here is a list of my 5 favorite tacos:

1. Hawaiian Carnitas- braised pork belly served with pineapple
2. Carne Asada- steak served with pico de gallo and roasted poblanos
3. Mojo Shrimp- grilled shrimp
4. Crispy Fish- fried sea bass
5. Downtown L.A- Korean style steak with kimchi 

The food is good, yes, but if you are coming to Ziggy's, it is the drinks that you MUST try. They make a killer margarita both on the rocks and frozen that is sure to have you stumbling home. They have an awesome Happy Hour, which is from 4-5pm Monday through Friday. Their Happy Hour includes 2 for 1 drinks (including margaritas, sangria, and specialty cocktails), $3 draft beer,  $5 muchies (including guac) and $1 oysters.  

They also have bottomless brunch on the weekends from 11:30am-4pm. For $25, you get an entree and bottomless drinks for two hours. Trust me, this is a good deal. 

Another awesome deal Ziggy's offers is Ladies Night every Wednesday. On Ladies Night, all girls drink for FREE. That's right, completely free. However, as a moral human being, you should still bring cash to tip the bartenders, as they work incredibly hard to make all those drinks and don't get tipped well because the drinks are free. 

Ziggy's also offers certain deals all the time. Here is a list of them:

1. The Shot Ski-$25  This is 4 shots of either tequila or whiskey in a SKI. Grab three of your friends and line up as the server counts to three and take that shot. You can even do it with no hands. If you want your Ziggy's experience to go from good to great, this is what you need to order. 
2. The Beach Bucket- $25  The beach bucket at Ziggy's comes with 5 different beers, including Kona Big Wave, Coney Island Pilsner, Liliko'i Kepolo, Leinenkugal's Summer Shandy and Bronx Brewery Summer Pale Ale. It comes beautifully decorated and for $5 a beer, it is hard to beat. 
3. Scorpion Bowl- $24  The Scorpion Bowl at Ziggy's is also a ton of fun. A drink for two or more, it comes in a cool bowl with a shot of 151 in the center that is lit on fire. The alcohol is strong and tastes delicious. 

I went to Ziggy's on my 21st birthday and I was far from disappointed. I was dancing on the bar at the end of the night, which tells you something about the atmosphere. 

So, what are you waiting for? Go NOW. 

Ask for me (Amanda) and if I am there, I will bring you and your table free tequila shots on the house. 

Birthday Adventure

Hey Guys! So last Wednesday, I turned 21 years old and I wanted to share with you how the day went and the cool places I went so you can check them out too!

I started with a nice dinner at Bangkok Cuisine UES because it is close to where I live and if you read my previous post (which you can find here), you will see why I needed to return and bring my family with me.

I had the same thing I ordered last time, which was the Massaman Curry, and it was delicious. However, maybe not the best thing to get in preparation for a night of drinking. LOL

My family all really enjoyed the meal as well, and my mom even mentioned that she, too, wanted to return to this restaurant in the future. This is a HUGE deal because my mother is a very picky eater and usually will not go to a restaurant that isn't basic Italian cuisine.

My next destination was Ziggy's Mexican Bar with two of my best friends, which is located on 2nd Ave between 77th and 78th street. We decided on Ziggy's for one very important reason. Ladies drink for FREE on Wednesday nights. So there you have it.

I have also eaten at Ziggy's before and have to say that their tacos are pretty delicious along with some of their other menu items. On Saturday and Sundays, they offer $10 bottomless drinks as long as you buy a $15 entree (which is three tacos). Totally worth it.

After Ziggy's my friends and I decided to take a stroll uptown to Insomnia Cookies. If you have never had an Insomnia cookie, stop whatever you are doing right now and go get one. (And then eat it while reading my blog).

They are served warm and fresh until 3am. AND they deliver. It's pure perfection.

Last, we ended up at Iggy's New York. Located on 2nd ave between 76th and 75th, it is a NYC staple that is open 7 days a week, 365 days a year from noon-4am. It also has karaoke at 7:30pm every.single.day. How can you go wrong?

So guys, all in all, my birthday went well. Be sure to check out one or more of these places for your next birthday (or just because you can...)

Pil Pil

I'm back with another restaurant review. This place is called Pil Pil and it is a small tapas restaurant on 78th street between 3rd and 2nd ave. The food taste was average and the prices were high.

Here is what we ordered:

The Ceviche: It was a hot day, so I was looking forward to a cold, refreshing seafood ceviche. This was a disappointment for a few reasons. First, I was hungry and the metal cocktail glass that the food was presented in served no purpose except making it difficult for me to put anything on my fork without knocking over the whole thing. And second, both the octopus and the shrimp were extremely overcooked.

The Mini- Paella: I would have to say that this was the best thing that I ordered. The seafood wasn't overcooked unlike the ceviche. The rice was very tasty, as was the shrimp.

The Pulpo (Octopus): In Spanish cuisine, Pulpo is by far one of my favorite dishes. The actual pulpo in this dish was good, however I can not say the same about the other components. The potatoes were EXTREMELY undercooked, not mushy at all and hard to bite into. I'm convinced they were raw.

The Lamb Skewers: I do not particularly like lamb as it is, and this dish certainly did not change my mind. The lamb and the zucchini were lacking in seasoning. The lamb meat was tough which means it too, was overcooked.

My Rating: $$$ ***  (see side gadget for further explanation)

Pil Pil displayed to me a lack of knowledge in the kitchen that should not be there given the price of each dish. The total bill, including tax and tip, reached $80! Not worth it. 

Instead check out Boqueria which is two blocks south of Pil Pil on 2nd Ave. You will pay a similar price, but leave much more satisfied and truly satisfy a craving for Spanish tapas.