Food and Fitness: Some Hits, Some Misses

This week has been kind of 'meh'. I have been feeling tired, a little low on energy and I have not been sleeping well. Workouts this week have been hit or miss. Some were great, like yesterday's Refine Method boot camp-style class, chock-full of mountain climbers and jumpbacks, performed to the point where I thought I would die; but there have also been some workouts where I just wasn't feeling it.

I took a spin class with a teacher who I had not tried before. While she taught a great class she played music that did not resonate with me. For a spin class, the music is key, and if its all going to be top 40 then that's going to be a problem. My knee was also beginning to get irritated with the repetitive cycling motion so it all added up and I ended up wishing I had taken the day off.

This was not the case this past weekend when I attended another one of Physique 57's workshops. This one was called "Trim and Tone Your Trouble Spots" and in a 90-minute frenzy, it did just that. The instructors, Tanya, Alex and Stephanie, led a tough class that was also fun as hell. Each time they would demonstrate a contorted move we were expected to emulate I would look at them quizzically and mouth, "Really? You really want us to do that?" I am not going to give an in-depth review of the class because honestly, I was enjoying it so much  that I zoned out, and so do not have a lucid recollection of the actual sequence. What I do remember is that we targeted every aspect of the seat and thigh - definitely my trouble spots!

On Monday, the husband and I went out for date night. I had forgotten how hard it is to a score a reservation in this city, and this is a week in advance! We tried all the hot spots du jour: The Dutch-5pm and 11pm slots available (um, no thanks); Maialino-11pm (you're kidding, right?); ABC Kitchen- fully booked for the night and the next two days (who are these people taking up all the reservations on a Monday?!). Slightly annoyed, I kept going down the list of all the places I have been wanting to try. Finally, I was able to get an 845pm reservation at Osteria Morini - Michael White's hot, new, Italian restaurant in Soho. I loved his old restaurant L'Impero, which later had its menu spruced and was renamed Convivio (closed now). Osteria Morini is his newest venture and has been getting a lot of buzz so I was excited to try it.

Source: Osteria Morini

The first thing that struck me when I entered the dark, cozy space, with its terracotta floors and wooden rafters hanging from the ceilings, was how casually everyone was dressed. One guy was even in flip flops! Hoping for a glamorous night out I had dolled up and so felt a little silly in the mix of things! It's my own fault. Morini does not have a dress code and in fact "Osteria" means inn or tavern so the restaurant is going for a casual vibe.

Source: Osteria Morini

But still, flip flops?

Well, let's move on to the food. To start with, I had the Sformato, described as parmigiano-truffle cheese custard with wild mushroom sugo.

Verdict: Delicious! The braised mushrooms on top really brought out the umami in the dish and the cheese custard was just as decadent as it sounds!

Next up, the main course: I had the Creste: pasta crests, with mussels, shrimps, scallops and parsley e aglio.

Verdict: The pasta was good. Was it finger-licking-I-don't-want-this-to-be-over good? No, but I enjoyed it.


For dessert I had the Torte, which was a plum cake. 

Verdict: Delicious!


Overall: The food here was pretty good, however, the service we received was not. Our server was impossible to get a hold of and one of the sides we ordered showed up after we had already finished our main course, and so I sent it back. Also, the place was LOUD! Not ideal for a romantic date night, as we were hoping. I probably won't be back since there are so many other great Italian restaurants in the city where the service is not sub-par. I do feel bad saying this since the food itself was good but, for me, going out to eat is an experience where everything matters, from how long you have to wait to be seated, to how promptly someone fills your glass of water and so on and so forth. I'm a tough critic, I know.


There's going to be some travel in the next week or so and therefore I may be missing in action. But I shall return! I have some new exercise classes that I will be trying out and reviewing in the next few weeks so stay tuned.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!