"E" is for Elia and OOPA!

Dan had the brilliant idea to ditch the Manhattan dining scene for a culinary adventure in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. He dared us to leave the island and join him in his new Brooklyn apartment for a pre-dinner screening of Saturday NIght Fever -- with the added bonus of boogie-ing down with special guests Mr. and Mrs. Rollman. If you can't make it out in the picture, Mrs. Rollman is, amazingly, only 4 feet tall and Mr. Rollman is bald. (Sidenote: Dan has a washer / dryer in his apartment so feel free to bring dirty clothes if you ever visit).

In case you're wondering what Bay Ridge or Saturday Night Fever have to do with '"E" night (all 3 of you who actually read this blog), Bay Ridge is home to the set of Saturday Night Fever and a delicious Greek eatery called "Elia". While the jury's still out on Saturday Night Fever, "Elia" is definitely worth the (really super far) trip to Bay Ridge.

The meal started at a cozy round table when our Greek waiter showed up with a block of creamy, yet firm cheese set on fire. With singed eyebrows we devoured the artery clogging deliciousness. After the cheese flambé, we had more appetizers that were authentic and tasty -- mediterranean spreads, warm-doughy-pita bread, salad and olives. When it came to the entrees, we weren't too adventurous in ordering: Moussakas and the Halibut special. They were both quite impressive. Simple, fresh, satisfying.

We dined like Greek gods, drank like Kings (Coors Lights) and listened to tales of Rollman travels and conquests (well, maybe not conquests but we did hear about Kew Gardens). I suppose if I was a real food critic, I wouldn't give anyone above 2 stars, but what the hell? It was a splendid night indeed - 3 1/4 stars!

"D" is for Darnivores at Dinosaur BBQ

For an ultra-American BBQ joint, it was surprising that the theme of the night was two Spanish words: Tres Hombres. All 14 of us sat down at a large wood table and looked to the BBQ "expert" Colin for guidance. Majority of us newbies went with his recommendation of the "Tres Hombres" platter -- 1/4 rack of ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork and two tasty sides (ranging from cajun potatoes to baked beans). Only tubby Tyler got nervous and decided it wasn't going to be enough. He insisted upon getting a 1/2 rack of ribs, an order of pulled pork and a side of brisket (he slipped into a slight coma at some point on the subway ride home). The pork was melt in your mouth, with just the right amount of sauce and kick. The brisket depended on what piece you got (the crispy ends had tons of smoky flavor) and the ribs were lined with plenty of stick-in-your-teeth tender meat. And the wings! Lest not we forget the wings! The giant wings were glazed with BBQ and were nice and juicy - we got these as an appetizer but basically could have stopped right there.

And our turnout? We didn't think we could beat "C" night's turnout of 13, but leave it up to smoked artery cloggers to inspire a crowd. We had 14 people, including 5 out of towners. Although they claim it a pure coincidence, Rivitz & Tyler showed up in NY again right in time for "D" night. Rivitz was so excited, he even made his parents trek from Baltimore to Harlem to check it out. That's dedication - we might have to invite Mr. & Mrs. R again for next month.

And the most exciting news of the night, we're expecting a new Zupperite into the family! Not A Meal Missin' Nissans are expecting our littlest member yet. I'm sure they'll think of a great name that will fit nicely with the club. Mike & I are thinking: Zane or Zike (although Zemily and Zolin are nice too).

Well kids, it just keeps getting better & better! Dinosaur BBQ gets 3 full stars for ridiculous food (taste and portions), fun atmosphere, cheap (thanks Hilary! ) and of course a great turn out. Cheers to Allison - good pick.

p.s. mental note, next time you eat a small petting zoo, do not take the subway home.

"C" is for Casimir"

"C" night was full of excitement: record attendance, guest
appearances, near death experiences... even the ghost of Rollman
was present! Oh, and some pretty tasty French food in a super cozy
place.

Zupperite, Colin Nissan, chose Casimir in the East Village. The sepia toned, candlelit atmosphere was just dark enough that no one could notice the red wine induced blue teeth. "C" night actually (strangely) began the night before. Guest stars, Matt Rivitz & Tyler Magnusson, were in town so the majority of the crew went out, got wasted and decided to open the invite list to the ex-goodby guys. Rivitz was so excited that he wanted to prepare for the Zupper night by stalking a nearby pizza joint that night at 3:30am, rolling an entire pizza into the shape of a taco and shoving it in his mouth. The news of the "C" night spread like wildfire. Nancy King, along with Covitz and Andrea, jumped on board to make the final turnout a whopping 13 people. We were aiming for 14, but alas, a guy named Paul Foulkes (aka Alex Rodriguez in the playoffs, batting avg. 0-3, .000) didn't show.

The night was full of steaks, melt in your mouth mash-pos, and tasty (affordable) wine. And best of all, the whole bill was pretty damn cheap. The burger was just a burger, and the rest of the menu was typical French but overall pretty impressive. However, the highlight of the night went to Mike Sweeney. He had the whole crowd on the edge of their seats while recounting the harrowing tale of battling Guillain- Barre Syndrome. While Mike painstakingly recalled the paralysis, Italian diagnosis' and other details no one ever wants to hear at dinner; Colin noticed there were tears in Alisa's eyes. Once we calmed her down and told her that "no, really, mike doesn't end up dying", we all celebrated with one last toast and headed out for the night. Overall, a night to go down in Zupperite history. Thanks to all! p.s. Dewine you're up for "D". Really, no pressure at all.

"B" is for "Booyah!"

Okay, you're right. "Booyah" is circa 1987. My bad. Sorry about that.

Let's try this again..."B" is for "Bread!" And what delicious bread it was. Actually, hold on. Let me back it up a bit. I don't want to start this off on the wrong foot but the bread kinda sucked, right? Am i wrong here? Kinda stale? Rough to the touch? Gave you a little bit of that Honeycomb mouth at the top of your palate? Who's with me?

Anyway, nevermind the namesake. Everything else was pretty awesome. I'll let the rest of you "foodies" get into the specifics about the actual meal but I'll offer up a few observations to get us started.

1.) Nice rebound from the "A" attendance. Good to see some people were finally there and some people weren't. I'm not naming names but, Paul.

2.) I like Allison's new haircut. She now has shorter hair than two so-called "men" in the club. Nice ponytails, "guys."

3.) I wish i wasn't balding.

4.) I think we all got either chicken paillard, lasagna, or pork. Umm, delish!

5.) I think we all decided "C" would be for Colin.

6.) And then I think we all decided that we didn't mean that we should eat at "Colin" because that would be weird and, quite frankly, I don't think colin's body could fit all of us. Then again, he wouldn't need to fit ALL of us since Paul probably won't show up. But the point is that he should pick the next restaurant on the list. The "C" place. Not that we should eat Chez Colin's Body. See how those misplaced modifiers can cause confusion? Mind your grammar people.

7.) Rumor has it we're all going to be cooking up some tasty zecipes one of these days. Hook a brotha up. Or hook Jane up so she can hook a brotha up.

8.) Do you think Colin cheated on us in San Francisco and went out with another A-Zupper Club? If he did, it was probably the A-Zupid Club.

9.) Yes, of course I'm stalling. Do you really think I'd ever write "A-Zupid" if i actually had something real to talk about? But you can't end a list of thoughts on 9. It's got to be 10. This isn't Communist Russia.

10.) "B" is for "Bravo!" Emily. Awesome job picking the place. Your man was cheating on you with the Zupids and you pulled it off with flying colors. Great job. Good times had by all.

Booyah.

A is for Azul

Our first letter, our first success!... (kind of)
4 hard core members showed up with A-Z tattoos on their asses and got down to some serious eating: Colin, Dan, Jane and Mike.
There was wine, there was steak and there was a pretty hot waitress that Dan somehow thought he had a shot at. Dan's funny that way.
The place gets 2.5 stars. It was dark enough that the previous statement of "hot waitress" could have, in fact, been a moderatley attractive busboy. The steaks were pretty tasty - some better than others (the filet and flank steak were the best).
We walked away from Azul with full bellies, good laughs and, unfortunately for one of us, no phone numbers. But there's always "B" in November. So let's storm "B" in force next month and show our A-Z spirit ("We can eat, yes we can, we can eat how 'bout...you?" Not sure how that cheer goes but you get the point. Let's git 'er done this month.)