5th Anniversary @ Maze

Andrew and I recently celebrated our fifth anniversary at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant, Maze, at The London hotel in the city. Andrew and I are big foodies and are a big fan of his British show, The F Word, so it seemed like a good place for us to check out.

The space was amazing with beautiful chandeliers at the bar and blue seating everywhere. I also loved the bathroom area, which is basically a corridor of  individual bathrooms that include your own personal sink with a great selection of lotions.

The food was also amazing. Yes it was small portions and it was expensive but I knew that going in. I truly enjoyed everything I ate and the portions were good enough for us to share. We got the foie gras, spicy shrimp toast and scallops for appetizers. The foie gras was a bit messy to eat and the shrimp toast wasn’t really spicy but we didn’t mind one bit, they were all delicious. Andrew got the NY strip steak and I got the branzino. We also tried the brussel sprouts and the wild mushroom sides. If I could’ve licked the brussel sprout plate, I probably would have. To top it off we got complimentary dessert because they had to move us to another table to accommodate another party. It wasn’t really a big deal since our plates were already cleared when they asked but I gladly ordered and finished the apple tart and the chocolate mouse.

We spent easily around $250 but I’m worth it =). I would absolutely go back and maybe hang out at the bar before enjoying my meal next time.

Figuring out what to get

Figuring out what to get

scallops, the foie gras and the shrimp toast

scallops, the foie gras and the shrimp toast

very excited for my branzino and brussel sprouts...

very excited for my branzino and brussel sprouts…

wine and dessert

wine and dessert

Taping of America’s Got Talent

I’m actually more of an X-Factor girl myself but when I heard about the opportunity to attend an audition for America’s Got Talent in Newark I couldn’t pass it up. I’ve been on shows before in college, I was on Total Request Live once and went to The Daily Show but never anything talent/contest related.

So the taping was at a performance art center in Newark and I was a little bit worried about transportation, turns out it was a piece of cake. Two $5 NJ Transit tickets to Newark at Penn Station and a 20 minute train ride later, boom Adrienne and I are in Newark. Adrienne’s friend Aileen picked us up from there but the center was pretty close to the NJ Transit station.

I must say getting in was pretty smooth, we were barely online for five minutes. We got our tickets, showed our bags and then headed to our seats. We unfortunately were in the third ring and probably won’t get any TV coverage but it was still fun. They had an Audience Manager/Producer that was pretty on point and kept everyone lively  practicing how to clap and cheer. One thing that I actually was pretty surprised about was how many kids were at the taping. The audience was definitely mixed but it just so happened the area that I was located in had a ton of kids, at least everyone was well behaved.

I had a great time with the girls even though there was a lot of waiting time but I must say no one really wowed me. They had about five singers, two comedians, three dancers, a psychic act and a magic show act. I really wanted to see a dog/dance act but that didn’t happen. Only a few got through to the next round….so there may or may not be a cool magician act or weird dance act going to the next round but those were my favorite ones =).

Here are some shots…

Adrienne, Me and Aileen talking a selfie

Adrienne, Me and Aileen taking a selfie

Waiting to be entertained

Waiting to be entertained

Enjoying the Golden Girls

Growing up I loved watching the Golden Girls. I mean I wasn’t the obvious target audience, being a kid and all, but I enjoyed it never the less. Blanche was my favorite, with Sophia being a close second. The friendship these women had and the story lines were heartfelt. Even as a kid I related to some aspect of it. For instance the relationship between Dorothy and Sophia reminded me of my relationship with my mother. Being that I’m an only child and my parents are separated, I always wondered how it would look like taking care of my parents and we bickered constantly. Also the crazy relationship with Dorothy and Stanley resembled my parents at times.

Anywho, I decided to go with my friend Adrienne to ‘The Unofficial Golden Girls Musical’ in early February. The plot was  absolutely ridiculous -Ricky Martin became their new neighbor and had crazy sex parties that the girls found disturbing- and the actors were in drag but it was hilarious.

Since it’s the ‘unofficial’ musical, all the names were changed. Blanche became Blanchet, Dorothy became Dorothea, Rose to Roz and Sophia to Sophie. Again the plot was absurd but they made all important ‘Golden Girl’ references and I applaud how these men got the mannerisms of these ladies down to a tee. They added a special sub plot about ‘Dorthea’ that I didn’t really enjoy but it was still fun.

The show itself was only $20 but you had to spend a minimum of $15 on drinks or food; which I didn’t mind. We sat closer to the stage and could see everything the only negative part was that I was right under their A/C system and was freezing. Don’t know why air conditioning was on in February but I had to cover myself with my coat.

Don’t have a picture to share and wouldn’t go again but it was a funny night of sh*t and giggles with Adrienne.