Missy Maintains » Restaurant Review

Endless Sushi!

MissyMaintains — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:46:06 +0000

Last night I discovered an amazing sushi restaurant that all of my New York readers must experience at some point! My roommate has been trying to take me there for months now but it is located in Great Neck so is pretty difficult to get to. Luckily I brought my car to New York recently so we decided to drive there last night. The restaurant is called Sushi Palace and is all-you-can-eat for just $20.00! I usually try to avoid places like this because I immediately think of two things: 1) low-quality sushi 2) eating way too much. I am not good at the whole stopping when full thing, especially when there is delicious sushi on my plate! My roommate assured me that the sushi was fresh and made-to-order so I agreed to try it. Sushi Palace is also BYOB (oh yeah)!

Jackie and I drove there and it was just 20 minutes away from our apartment in Queens. There was even a free parking lot behind the restaurant (a very rare luxury in New York). We arrived at the restaurant around 7:00 p.m. and did not have to wait for a table. It did get very busy about an hour after that so I would recommend going on the earlier side. We were handed an appetizer list and sushi list and got to check off anything (almost everything for us) from the menu! We took full advantage of the $20.00 all-you-can-eat deal. Evidence pictured below….

Japanese Mushroom Soup

Spring Rolls

Seaweed Salad

Seafood Udon Noodles

Garden Salad

Edamame

Round 2! More Salads and Sweet & Sour Soup

Sushi Part 1: Eel Avocado Roll, Crunchy Shrimp Roll, Sashimi!

Sushi Part 1: Salmon Avocado Roll with Crab, Salmon & Tuna Sashimi

Rock Shrimp (AMAZING)

Aged Tofu

Green Tea and Red Bean Ice Cream

Talk about sushi coma! I’m going to go ahead and say that we got our $20.00 worth! I loved everything that we ordered besides the tofu (just because it was too slimy for me). I can’t even put into words how delicious the rock shrimp was! All of the sushi was very fresh and the food came out super fast! The service was incredible for such a busy restaurant. If you are able to visit Sushi Palace, do not leave without trying the Red Bean ice cream! If anyone needs a ride to Great Neck, do not hesitate to ask me. I’d be happy to eat at this restaurant again ASAP!

Have a great Friday! Happy 11/11/11!

Do you like all-you-can eat restaurants and buffets? Why?

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Sati LOVE Flash Mob Success!

MissyMaintains — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 14:34:33 +0000

This past Friday was an amazing day that I will never forget for the rest of my life. I participated in the Sati LOVE Flash Mob as well as a 2 hour advanced intenSati class led by Patricia Moreno. Both events were a huge success and brought the Sati community even closer together. The flash mob was the most amazing and powerful 5 minutes and really demonstrated our commitment to spreading peace and love in the world.

I started my day off with an intenSati class at 6:30 a.m. in the morning! This was our last opportunity to practice for the flash mob and I knew it would be fun to start the day off with my usual morning Sati crew. There was so much energy in the room because we were all so excited to finally do the flash mob series that we had been practicing for in every class for the last two weeks!

I especially had a great time in class because my good friend Tiff was there! She recently moved to Arizona but took the red-eye in just for the flash mob! Amazing!

After class, we all walked together to Washington Square Park where the flash mob would take place. This walk was also one of the highlights of my day. Imagine walking around NYC with your entire gym class of 30 people in bright colored clothing. I felt like I was on a field trip! People were staring at us in their business clothes wondering how a group of people could look so happy and energetic at 8:00 a.m. in the morning! I also felt a little mischievous being a block away from my work since I definitely took the day off for this.

We arrived at the park and saw colorful people everywhere chatting with each other. It kind of felt like a dream since I knew almost every single person but had to pretend like I was just relaxing in the park with a friend! It was really cool to see the live drummers and camera crew getting ready!

Some of us paced back and forth and others pretended to read newspapers. It was so exciting waiting for Patricia to begin the flash mob series!

All of the sudden, the drummers began playing and Patricia started dancing around by herself in the middle of the park. She eventually started the series and one by one, we all joined in. Check this video out!

I was in the front and never looked behind me but heard there were about 200 people there! For 5 minutes, we happily yelled:

“I am the change
I want to see
I am done complaining
I set myself free
I choose love, peace, gratitude and faith
I have all that I need
Already within me
May everyone be happy and free”

After the 5 minutes, we sat down in complete silence and meditated. There were a few cheers and whistles but then the people watching seemed to understand the precious moment of silence and the park got completely quiet. Everyone had been instructed to send a blessing to those they know who are suffering and radiate love and peace for 30 seconds. This moment was so powerful and also really emotional. Sitting in silence with 200 people I love in a park after doing someting we had spent so much time preparing for was just amazing. We all got up and walked away in different directions and went about our day feeling a powerful shift had been made. Success.

The flash mob already made the news! Check out some more videos below:

Flash Mob Brings Fitness Moves to Washington Square Park

Sati LOVE flash mob video

As soon as I found some of my friends, we all started hugging and felt so proud of each other. Some people headed home, other people headed to Patricia’s dance class at Equinox, while a few of us went out to breakfast before our next workout! While I was very tempted to take dance class, I knew that my body would not appreciate me working out for over 4 hours! I chose breakfast instead! We went to a cute little restaurant called Caffe Reggio.

It was very old fashioned and pretty inside!

I enjoyed a delicious iced coffee and a piece of a cheese pastry (I forget the name!)

I also got the spinach and ricotta cheese omelet with whole wheat bread. Perfect breakfast!

My friends are down for the food blogging so I got to take pictures of everything on the table!

Prosciutto, Mozzarella & Fresh Basil Panini

CREPE REGGIO: buttered spinach and ricotta filling under melted european cheeses

The service was pretty awful but we did not mind too much because we needed some relaxation time! While we were at breakfast, a second flash mob happened in Union Square with Patricia’s dance class!

Love it!

Eventually we all headed over to the next Equinox for our 2 hour Advanced Sati Master class! Let me just say that it was the coolest thing ever to see the drummers and the camera crew all set up inside the fitness studio!

I seriously love being filmed while working out. I always work hard in Patricia’s class but the cameras are extra motivation to give it my all! I felt like I was going to pass out after the first 10 minutes but the whole point was to get us out of our comfort zones and to practice not complaining. If we found ourselves complaining about something, we were instructed to have a sip of water. This is such a great idea because it will definitely make me more aware of my negative thoughts if I actually have to take action and drink water when complaining. I found myself drinking tons of water during the class, and not just because I was dehydrated. It really was so challenging but also amazing. Having live drummers instead of regular music also added so much to the class. Imagine being told to go all out for one minute while doing mountain climbers and confusion punching combinations. The drummers would start drumming super fast and get louder and louder which really helped keep our energy levels up. I loved them!! They may do more of our events and classes in the future!

Jacquie from The Sweetest Things also came to the class and loved it! I love recruiting blog friends from Twitter! So fun!

The entire day was so amazing and filled with joy and love. I am so happy that the flash mob was a success and can’t wait for the next one! Thank you for reading and have a wonderful weekend!

Margarita Pride

MissyMaintains — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:34:15 +0000

One of the highlights from Pride Day for me was stopping at Rosa Mexicano for some margaritas and lunch! After watching the parade for at least two hours after doing an intense workout, I desperately needed some good food and strong drinks! I enjoyed watching naked men for quite a while but eventually decided that they would be even more fun to stare at after some tequila! I had never been to Rosa Mexicano before Sunday and it happened to be across the street from the parade! I was a little worried about the steap prices but as soon as I heard about their amazing, pomegranate margaritas, I was in!

I was expecting one drink to be about $20 at a place like Rosa Mexicano but it was only $14! I know…still kind of expensive but the margarita was super strong, delicious and exactly what I needed at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon!

There were five of us at the table so we ordered a large bowl of guacamole and chips to start. It is always a good sign when they make it right in front of you! We got our own little guacamole show.

Hell yeah.

I would go back there just for the guacamole. Amazing! I also loved that they served us chips, along with mini tortillas and two different dipping sauces.

It was time for a second margarita before our meals even arrived! We all thought we weren’t drunk from the first drink but it definitely hit us about five minutes later. Gotta love tequila.

It was one of the toughest decisions of my life deciding what to order from this menu but I eventually went with the Vegetable Tacos: a skillet of market fresh vegetables: portabello mushrooms, roasted beets, asparagus, string beans, Swiss chard, and garlic topped with fresh herbed cheese. Served with flax seed tortillas and red beans.

It was also served with red bean chorizo chili, corn esquites, and chile de arbol salsa. I need to start studying my Spanish again. Don’t ask me what any of that means.

I really enjoyed every single part of my meal! The vegetables were so fresh and flavorful and I especially loved the cheese on top! It was also super fun making my own tacos while drunk! You can probably tell from the photo that I could not see straight….

It was more than enough food and probably made about six little tacos. Lisa kept ordering more and more tortillas so I don’t even know how many we really had! The service at Rosa Mexicano was also amazing, but probably too good because the Busboys kept trying to steal our food before we were finished!

A little view of the restaurant….

We were a very happy group after two of those pomegranate margaritas!

Who wants to go back to Rosa Mexicano with me? Raise your hand!!

What is your favorite Mexican restaurant? What do you usually order?

My Birthday Weekend!

MissyMaintains — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:07:14 +0000

Happy Saturday! I am finally back after a mini blog vacation. I had the craziest week at work and seemed to still be celebrating my birthday every night this week! I am going to recap back to last weekend and share some of the highlights of my birthday.

Friday

I took the day off of work because Patricia Moreno held a 2 hour advanced intenSati workout for leaders during the day.

This was the hardest intenSati workout of my life. It was the most amazing and challenging two hours though. It was extra special because the entire workout was filmed! I always work harder when I am exercising on camera. There was also a photographer there taking pictures for the new website! Very cool. A few of us decided to have some drinks after class as a pre-birthday celebration for me! We headed to Vynl in Chelsea since I knew they had delicious cocktails there. We had every intention of making this a typical happy hour with dinner and maybe two drinks. Hmm…not so much.

We all started with a margarita. One margarita turned into four margaritas.

I got a veggie burger and fries. I thought this would save me from getting too drunk. No.

Pretty soon the glow sticks came out. Tiffany ordered an Electric Lemonade which really was electric!

We made friends with the boys around us. One happened to be Robert Downing Jr.’s cousin!

Apparently he started buying us frozen cosmos. I learned the next day that I drank four of them…after the four margaritas.

The alcohol started to kick in. We turned Vynl into a dance club!

We had a blast (from what I can remember) and got our entire bill paid for by Robert Downing Jr’s cousin. Yes!

Birthday night number one=success.

The next morning=shit show!

Saturday

I woke up at 5:00 in the morning and got quite sick. I knew I had to wake up in a couple of hours for the intenSati class that Dori and I organized for the BeFitNYC.org launch! I eventually woke up back at 9:00am and continued to get sick. I had abosolutely no idea how I was going to participate in an hour long intenSati class! I could not stay in bed after working so hard to organize this event. Somehow I made it to Simple Studios and got enough energy back to survive the entire class.

The event was supposed to be in Central Park but it was rainy and cold out so we moved it to Simple Studios. Luckily they had coconut water waiting for me!

The event was a huge success! We had an amazing turnout and Lindsay Davis taught such an empowering and inspiring class.

The class was also filmed so that got me a little extra motivated to do my best even though I felt like crap!

We plan to organize some more events with BeFitNYC.org in the future so stay tuned!

For my main birthday party, I was originally planning on doing a rooftop party outside all day. I did this last year and the weather was perfect! This year, it was gross out and the thought of drinking again at 2:00pm made me feel even more sick! I decided to cancel my birthday and do dinner and drinks later that night.

After chugging tons of coconut water, eating an egg and cheese bagel, and resting all day, I finally felt better! I met Dori and Lisa at Cinema for some dinner.

I enjoyed two Lychee Martinis but had a pretty hard time drinking the second one! Where did Missy go?

We split a few amazing appetizers:

We got asparagus and tomatoes with mozzarella cheese. We also split grilled seasonal vegetables with herb vinaigrette.

Dori and I shared a delicious pizza: White Tarte Flambé with crème fraiche, mozzarella, fontina, ricotta, parmesan, fresh spinach, roasted garlic and truffle oil drizzle.

Lisa got the steamed vegetable dumplings.

Dori brought us cupcakes from a Sprinkles that just opened near her apartment!

So pretty!

We tried Red Velvet, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Banana, and Milk Chocolate. They were definitely some of the best cupcakes I’ve had in New York! Thanks Dori!

Lisa and our friend Alison continued on to one more bar to finish the night. I tried to drink a beer but I was just way to exhausted from the night before!

The weekend ended with a visit from the parents on Sunday. They took me out to dinner and got me this….

My first flat screen! Now I just need some cable! One of these days…

I had a great birthday and enjoyed all of the time I got to spend eating, drinking, and exercising with my friends! Now I am off to brunch with Marina! Stay tuned for a new restaurant review. Have a nice weekend!

Mother’s Day 5k!

MissyMaintains — Tue, 10 May 2011 13:31:47 +0000

Hi! Hope everyone had a great weekend! I had a nice time at home in Philly for Mother’s Day! My roommate and I took the train home together on Friday and had plans to meet bright and early Sunday morning for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure! Let’s backtrack to my pre-race dinner on Saturday night! My parents took me to a restaurant called Grandma’s Grotto, a gluten-free bakery and Italian restaurant. My mom eats gluten-free so she is a regular at this restaurant. My dad brought us a bottle of wine since it is BYOB there! I appreciate BYOB so much more now that I am used to paying $15.00 for one cocktail in NYC!!

We started off with some gluten-free bread!

For my main course, I went with the Chicken Napoli: chicken sauteed with broccoli rabe, sundried tomatoes, and roasted peppers in a garlic wine sauce.

The chicken was delicious! There was a ton of gluten-free pasta with garlic butter sauce under the chicken! Perfect pre-race mea!

The best part about the restaurant…the gluten-free baked goods!

Amazing!! We got a bunch of gluten-free cookies, a canoli, and a cupcake. I could not tell at all that everything was gluten-free! I wanted to take the baker home with me…

I woke up at 6am on Sunday morning ready to run! I was a little nervous but also excited since Jackie and I have been jogging a lot outside for the last couple of months!! I drove us to Philadelphia (so much fun after not driving for a year) and we found our spot with the rest of the runners.

My mom and I got a little creative the night before!

The shirt was huge so we decided to make it pretty! I got a lot of attention on race day!

Once the race began, Jackie and I jogged together at a nice pace for the first two miles. I loved running through Philly and felt much more at home than I did while running through Wall Street last year. The weather was perfect and I felt great for the first 20 minutes! We decided to not stop for any water because we were both scared of getting cramps. Once I saw the 2 mile marker, I was so happy but also so out of breathe!! My legs started to feel very sore and I just wanted to stop! After about 2.5 miles, Jackie had to stop and walk and I was not sure what to do. I felt bad but I wanted to keep running!! I went ahead of her and waited for her at the finish line. I could not breathe and was cursing but felt good enough to make it another half of a mile. I sprinted from mile 3 to the end and then collapsed onto the grass!

I made it!!! Official time: 30:59. I am very happy with this and know that I did my very best. Honestly, I have absolutely no desire to ever run more than a 5k! The race was really fun but long runs are just not my thing.

Try to find me!

One of the things I miss most about living in Philly is Wawa!! I was thrilled to see a giant Wawa tent at the end of the race! They were giving away soft pretzels, string cheese, donuts, grapes, apples, yogurt, bananas, and iced tea! I seriously forgot how good Philly soft pretzels are. If you’ve never had one, you are totally missing out!

Jackie and I walked around and enjoyed our free food and then headed back to my house to soothe our muscles in the hot tub!

Later that night, we headed back to New York with the kitty!

Besides dinner and the race, I also took my mom’s Zumba class! She is a great instructor and really got me sweating! Like mother, like daughter. I am going to be teaching intenSati again starting next week! Stay tuned for more details!

What did you do for Mother’s Day?