Let me dine

One weekend, three meals, three stories.

This weekend, I had three distinct dining experiences.

The first story starts off actually before the weekend, on Thursday night. My friend and I wanted to swing by our go-to weeknight dinner spot—Kazu Nori. If you’re unfamiliar and live in NYC, I suggest you get familiar. It’s a hand roll-exclusive spot owned by Sugarfish, and it’s nothing shy of delicious.

Our dinner lasted thirty minutes. That may even be generous. A feat I didn’t know possible. Kazu churns out hand rolls at a mechanic rate, putting the next one in front of you sometimes before you’re finished with the one in your mouth, so it’s a great place for a quick bite. It also operates on a no-reservation, line-up system, meaning they want to turn over as many counter seats as possible. The truth is, we were foolish to go to Kazu if we wanted to chat, however, the mere speed of our meal seemed a bit ridiculous, leaving us with the feeling of let us dine.

To prolong the hang, we stopped by Salt & Straw in the West Village. It has since turned into perhaps my favorite ice cream place in the city, and I highly recommend visiting.

Friday night, I wanted to swing by the Shy’s Burgers popup at one of my favorite bars, The River. As my friends and I were in our respective Ubers, and I was turning onto Baxter Street, Shy posted “SOLD OUT” to his Instagram Story, leaving us heartbroken and lost, the hopes of finding another burger and martini in Chinatown just as satiating feeling slim to none. I heard another disappointed patron as I waited for my girls outside exclaim “NOOOOO. IT'S THE BEST BURGER I’VE EVER HAD!” I understood every bit of her sadness.

Suddenly every burger joint in Lower Manhattan was wiped from my memory. We were dead set on burgers. We would not settle for any other type of cuisine. Every place I could recall was either a hyped up hotspot that’s been booked on Resy for a month solid, or 7th Street. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and I turned to my Instagram community for help. I posted a Story that was not a joke or rhetorical, begging my audience for a place we could go for a burger and a martini without waiting an hour.

We set sail into SoHo, where we stumbled across Fanelli’s. Fanelli’s gives me horrible social anxiety. I’m afraid I’m going to see failed Hinge counterparts or ten influencers. But they do have great late night bites, and it’s something of an institution, so it seemed like the perfect option for us. The host informed me it would only be about thirty minutes, something I consider a New York Minute in the dining world. We grabbed some tini’s at the bar before being sat even sooner than he said, finally satiating our cravings and enjoying some girl chat for over two hours.

This was in stark contrast to our Thursday night meal. Finally, we found somewhere that would let us dine. A place known for loitering, Fanelli’s didn’t disappoint. The waitress kept the drinks flowing for us, no one rushed us out, and we were able to end the night at a reasonable yet late hour, long after we arrived, that you wouldn’t think possible in SoHo on a Friday.

On Saturday, I engaged in an activity I don’t often do—brunch. I was invited to celebrate a birthday of a dear friend at Sant Ambroeus, another institution of sorts. You may stop and think to yourself at this point, wow, Olivia really spent a lot of money this weekend, and you’d be right, reader. I’m suffering from very real Sunday Scaries induced by my bank account.

But it was all worth it, because we enjoyed yet another prolonged meal, filled with gossip and mimosas. Why don’t I go to brunch more often? It was exceptional service, delicious fancy food, and a very classy vibe. We ended on their infamous Princess Cake, which was just as delicious as I’ve heard.

I’m someone who goes out to eat a lot. My Beli goal this year is 75 new restaurants, which I surpassed in 2024. I’ve experienced all different types of dining, and don’t claim to have a favorite. However, when I’m with my girls, I want to dine. I want to sit and chat for hours. It might just be my favorite activity in the world. If you’re in the service industry, this probably sounds really annoying, but I can’t help how I feel.

The art of dining in New York City is coveted. People are using AI bots for reservations and standing in line for hours. You can either go out and do something as quick as grab a pizza from a $1.50 stand, or fight tooth and nail for a spot at the Corner Store bar. As someone who gets her greatest joy out of obtaining a hard reservation, I want to truly dine. There are few things I love more than the bay scallop hand roll, but at what cost? The loss of

On Sunday, I treated myself to one of my favorite forms of dining—ordering in on Uber Eats. Uber Eats is a true luxury, there are few things as amazing as having food be delivered directly to your door, especially in the cold. I’m writing from the future, so I haven’t actually gotten it yet. I have a Bobwhite Counter addiction, so I may have to do that, but there’s a devil on my shoulder telling me to order Soothr. I think about the duck noodles every day. Big decisions in my life.

My purchases this week have been beauty-centric. I ordered the rhode lip liner and a peptide tint to go along with it. I was convinced after seeing Emrata try it on. Full review coming next week. I’ve been getting into eyeliner, and ran out of the Victoria Beckham freebie I scored from my mom. I ordered this Laura Mercier one to try next, another review coming soon.