Diana's 23rd bday

Diana's bday was on 04/02, but she celebrated with her Francis Lewis gang and me this past Saturday nite. We ate at Cafe Mogador in St. Mark's place. I had seen one of my friends post up pics on Facebook of her going there (no, i wasn't being a stalker -_-) and the name sounded interesting and when I saw so many good reviews on yelp.com, I knew I wanted to visit this place sometime in the future. But it was mainly cuz I wanted to try Moroccan food. I learned about the country Morocco in my french class back in hs, and the name of this arabian country just sounded so exotic, I even thought about adding it to my list of countries to visit for the future.

After reading the reviews on yelp, I decided to go with Lamb Tagine since so many ppl were recommending it, but I still wasn't sure on the sauce. I eventually went with the Casablanca sauce (chickpeas, raisins, onions), but I had wanted the Charmoulla (spicy green sauce), but too bad it was spicy. I didn't know what to expect, but the lamb was really good, but only texture-wise. The meat was tender and fell off the bone easily, which i love. But for flavor, it was quite lack luster. If I ever come back, I will get it with the spicy green sauce just for that added kick. I also got a small plate of cous cous, which was better than I expected. I've had cous cous once before, but it was so long ago that I wanted to renew my taste of it. Diana said it tasted hair-like, but what I tasted was more fluffy and I enjoyed it very much. I think I liked my cous cous more than the entree lols

*stolen from annie's album*

*stolen from annie's album*

Annie got the Chicken tagine with the apricots and prune sauce, and it was surprisingly very tasty. I almost wished I had her dish instead. Christina got the grilled chicken and this is her picking out the onions. I never knew she didn't like onions o.0 I think i can understand why b/c the taste is strong esp for the purple kind, but caramelized onions are SOOOO good in your hamburger/hero! Wendy got the steak with salad and fries. Her medium-rare steak was good even tho it was my first time eating any meat medium-rare. and then I forget what others got, but here is the group shot!

I'm really sad about the quality of this pic, but I did my best in editing this pic cuz me and annie were practically white-washed by the flash. I think a double flash occurred, but something happened.

After dinner, the gang walked hung out around the hipster neighborhood. Someone wanted fro-yo (i'm thinking it was jas), and so, Diana brought us to 16 handles. This place charges by the weight, so it can get pretty pricey if you're not careful (sneaky business tactic >.<). But at least we were able to try out the diff. flavors before making the final decision. I went with the mint chocolate and the euro tart (which really tasted like pinkberry flavor). The cheesecake flavor was a disappointment, but the blackberry one surprisingly good. For the toppings, I got peanut butter cups (which were so yummy), mochi (meh), gummy bears (threw out cuz they weren't gummy), and prolly something else but i forgot. I didnt get the cheesecake balls based on the yogurt flavor, but now I wished I did cuz the others said it was better tasting. *smacks my forehead for forgetting to take a pic of the moment*

*stolen from annie's album*

With our sweet tooth satisfied, it was time to part ways =(  But Lily, Jas, and Annie wanted to pre-game at a bar since they were going to dance away at Sutra Lounge later. Tiff and I went with them to spend a lil more time together. When the bouncer checked my ID last, he said (not asked) "You all born in the same year?" and we were, but was that so strange for a group of friends going to a bar? *shrugs*  The place was loud, and I don't like that cuz it's hard to hear what others are saying. The noise completely turned me off until we got our drinks. We clicked on our $2 tequila shots (which I could only finish in 3 separate times since it was so strong). The others got beer as well and it tasted refreshing (esp for just a buck!). I've always preferred beer over shots cuz it's cheaper and not throat-burning (which is the part some ppl find the thrill in, but not for me *shakes head*). Then it got awkward standing around in the bar and we just kept looking around ourselves. Then I left the bar with Tiff to go home.

But I had remember reading in the amNY of a free coffee party event taking place in chelsea. Since the nite was still young, I didn't go home just yet. It was an after-party for this barista competition and so I thought, free coffee and possibly alcohol? Besides, I wanted to feel more caffeinated than inebriated. It was sheer torture for my feet on heels to walk 3 avenues, and when I got there, I noticed a bunch of young, 20-something year olds in front of the High Line loft building. While I waited for the elevator, I overheard another attendee saying this event was offered free beer to the city and that's why so many ppl were there. And hearing that kinda prepped me for the coffee let down when I got to the 5th floor. It was a huge room with just bare white walls and filled with ppl holding beer bottles and a projector screen showing the barista championship. I looked around a lil more and there was no pro barista person making coffee that I had conjured up in my mind. Not to make the trip go to waste, I grabbed 2 beer bottles. I could have stayed a bit longer since many of the ppl were good looking, but my feet just wanted me to leave.