Perfect Friday Night

I cannot imagine a better Friday night...but let me just fast-forward to my very favorite part, which came at the end of the night!

There it was, between the Pinot Grigio and the Sauvignon Blanc, above the Muscadet and the Gewurtztraminer...

Domaine Lecomte, Quincy, '09, France. $11/glass, $49/bottle.

For real?? Has anyone else from the Q discovered this already? The manager informed me Quincy is in the Loire valley near Sancerre. He also helped me with the fancy French pronunciation, which I'm not sure I can mimic. His description of the wine was similar to what I found on this website: a zippy white with plenty of citrus and herbal flavors, kept in check with an underlying minerality and crisp acidity.

Anyway, that was just the ending of a fantastic night, which started when Travis and I met after work and went to Favela Cubana on LaGuardia south of Washington Square. I was trolling Open Table for restaurant ideas and came across it. Brazilian and Cuban food? Right up my alley!

We started with an amazing cocktail called Mora Picante: roasted jalapeño infused tequila, blackberries, cointreau, and lime juice. I'd never had anything like it -- just the right amount of heat, cut by the sweetness of the blackberries and the salt on the glass.

With our cocktails, we split an order of pao de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread), which was soft and warm and just scrumptious! For entrees, we got the Lechon (braised pulled pork shoulder with yucca puree, green apple and batatas fritas) and the Camarao a Baiana (shrimp in the Bahian style -- grilled shrimp, coconut milk, bell peppers, grape tomatoes, white rice) and shared both. We also had the "samba salad," which was corn, mango, avocado and tomato.
 

It was THE BEST meal! We sat outside, and even though it was a bit cool, it just felt really fresh and pleasant to be outdoors. The east side of LaGuardia is tucked a bit away from the street, so the setting was just perfect. Travis treated me for my birthday, and I can't imagine a better evening.

We walked back toward my place and ended up at Monument Lane for dessert, which was where I discovered the wine. We split the stone fruit crisp with vanilla ice cream and got to sit in front of a big window on 12th street to watch everyone pass by.

So much fun! Today I was wishing I could do a replay and taste everything all over again...it was that yummy.