Always check if it's a BYOB!

#11: Try a new restaurant every month

So this past friday night I met a couple of my girlfriends for dinner down on the lower east side. We chose this restaurant, new to all of us: Antibes Bistro. One little issue with the place...it was a BYOB and we didn't know it!! The site has a wine list under the list of menus and you have to click onto the wine list for it to tell you that it's a BYOB and then it gives you a suggested wine list. I mean come on! That was a major disappointment since on a friday night, I was in need of a nice big glass of wine to start off the weekend right.

Anyway, the place was cute and small with nice ambiance, tho a little too tight with other tables. I love small places downtown but waitresses shouldnt have to ask people to move so they can reach another table! They put the 3 of us at a table for 2! And we did call for reservations in advance. They also had a small little outdoor seating area that would be nice in the warmer weather. We were astonished to see multiple groups of people sit there in the 40 degree cold! At least they had their own wine tho!

On to the food - I got the Beet and Goat Cheese appetizer which was sooooooooo yummy. I'm a big fan of this combo. For the entree, I got the Salmon with Ratatouille which was a little disappointing - for one, I saw a picture on their website of this which looked a LOT better than what was served to me. Secondly, the salmon wasn't so great, not enough flavor, a little too fishy. The ratatouille was good though. Then we split a Vanilla Panna Cotta with Poached Pears for dessert, which just didnt look appetizing at all. The pears had a pinot noir sauce that I just didn't like and the Panna Cotta was better than I expected (I have a thing about foods with weird consistencies) but still pretty blah.

Overall, I loved the appetizer and the ambiance of this place and would consider coming back with Justin sometime - with a bottle of wine in hand - and trying a different entree (since both my friends loved theirs).