There are some weekends when we just stay around Astoria with no real plans at all. Our friends from NJ, Danielle and Jon, were coming to visit and discuss a trip we have coming up with them in the late fall (more details to come).

We ordered Chinese takeout from our favorite place (Number One Flower Drum House) and sat around our kitchen table to form a game plan that will probably change the closer we get to the trip. We’re all really excited to get away together. Hint: it’s going to be warm there and cold here!

Since, they came all this way we didn’t want them to sit in our apartment the whole time, so we took them out for some late afternoon cocktails.

We started out at The Bonnie Bar because I plan on working my way through their amazing summer cocktail menu, one drink at a time (check out our Local Sculpture Fun post for more Bonnie Bar). I ordered their Summer Shandy (Grapefruit, Earl Grey Tea, Lemon, Ginger Beer, Pilsner) and  Tom ordered the Bonnie Punch (Gin, Brandy, Allspice, Aperol, Batavia Arrack, Maraschino, Cinnamon, Pineapple, Grapefruit, Lemon).

Afterwards, we walked over to The Ditty to play some games while the boys ordered one more drink. A Watermelon Montauk for Tom and a Negroni for Jon.

We played one round of Cards Against Humanity and then several rounds of girls vs. boys Guess Who. It became very intense.. just kidding.

An hour or so later we bid farewell to our Jersey friends and decided to do something we don’t do often enough.. we went on a date.

Whenever we do laundry we walk by Telly’s Taverna and every time I tell Tom how cute it looks inside. He perfectly selected this location for our date.

My gut feeling about this place was correct, cute on the inside, delicious food, and really nice people. I definitely give it 4 out of 5 stars.

We ordered a Greek Salad to share. It was fresh and full of flavor. I wish the tomatoes were a little riper because it was mostly tomato and cucumber with some red onion, olives, and huge pieces of tangy feta. All in all, it was very tasty.

I ordered the fried sand shark because, “if it looks good, eat it” (Andrew Zimmer, Bizarre Foods)! I’ve never had shark before. It reminded me a little bit of swordfish because the texture is firm with a mild flavor. I had a side of lemon potatoes because you cannot go wrong when something is covered in quality olive oil and lemon juice.

Tom ordered the Chicken Kebab. It came with crispy potatoes and some veggies. The chicken was grilled to perfection and so juicy.

The portions here are HUGE. This usually turns me off a little bit, but I was excited to bring home leftovers to enjoy for lunch the next day. Our waiter noticed we didn’t finish our food and instead of asking us if it was ok, he knew we were just full and teased us a little about it. He offered to wrap up everything for us, including the bread. It’s the little extra touches like this that will keep us coming back.

Our last event for the night was Bad Movie Night. Our friends Stephanie and Peter hold a gathering in their apartment where we eat treats, drink beer, and watch some of the worst movies ever made. The selection this evening was Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star. As expected this really is a terrible movie. It was so bad that it was hilarious. I linked to the trailer for this R rated adventure above. I won’t spoil the award winning plot.

Fun fact: our moms have the same birthday! We celebrated on Sunday with both our families. We took them to Sac’s Place on Broadway, which is our absolute favorite place to get pizza. If you like it spicy, get the classic with pickled jalapeños and pepperoni!

While we’re getting ready and saving for our Disney trip we’ll be sharing even more local adventures!