"Uptown Name with a Downtown Address"

So, here's the inside scoop: there's a great friend of mine who makes some spectacular jewelry. Her line is called Three Jane by Katie Schloss, and she's having a trunk show to showcase her new season of jewels. She's extremely talented, so definitely stop by on Thursday evening for some beverages, snacks, and, the main highlight, jewelry. Please see below for the details!

WHAT:   Three Jane Trunk Show
WHERE: Teich (22 8th Avenue at West 12th Street)
WHEN:   Thursday, July 19th from 5:00pm - 9:00pm

Also, check out her Pinterest. You'll be re-pinning for hours. 

POGS,

AKtually Ashley

5 Star Chicken... Fingers

Yes, I love my expensive, "special occasion only", dimly lit restaurants with incredible food. Trendy asian fusion finds, french bistros, steak houses, and wine bars. Guilty. My interest and love of restaurants, however, covers both extremes. For example, McDonald's is usually JUST as good as a candle lit dinner in the Meatpacking District. More often than not, I search high and low for something that falls under both categories: gourmet and cheap. That's where Sticky's Finger Joint comes in. Gourmet Chicken Fingers. Believe it. A restaurant, in the West Village, dedicated to serving a variety of high end, specialty, antibiotic free, hormone free, cruelty free, free range fried (or baked or grilled) chicken fingers. What a mouthful! Pun intended. 

I have to admit, I haven't actually gone to Sticky's, but I have had their epic chicken fingers. They made an excellent business decision when agreeing to ignore their delivery barriers, and travel all the way to Murray Hill (from west 8th street) to make my dream come true. So, thank you to the guy and delivery dude for making that awesome decision on July 6th. 

We decided to try a little bit of everything via the 10-finger sampler. They have a rotating menu, but some of the fingers are staples. After ordering two of their classic southern style fried finger, called "The Finger", we opted to get a little adventurous. I chose the "Wasabi Finger", which is topped with wasabi, ginger, seaweed flakes, tobiko and wasabi glitter. It literally tasted like chicken sushi -- YUM. Next, we both ordered "The Buffalo", which is buffalo chicken with a twist. The sauce is infused with balsamic vinegar and pure maple syrup! I'm currently on a buffalo kick, and it definitely hit the spot... and then some. We ordered two "General Sticky Tso" fingers, which definitely resulted in a sticky finger aftermath. They could have used more sauce, but were still delicious. 

The Wasabi Finger -- Courtesy of Thrillest

Sorry, need to take a breather... the memory of these fingers is putting me back into a food coma!

The last two orders were by far our best. We ordered two orders of the "Bada Bing!". It's essentially a chicken finger stuffed with a mozzarella stick, and topped with homemade marinara sauce, tomato aioli, fried basil leaves, and bada bing glitter (whatever that is). SO GOOD, and it gets better. The last finger was "The Salted Caramel Pretzel". I love chicken fingers, caramel, and pretzels -- separately -- but, I was a little nervous about the combination of the three when I read the menu. Boy, was I wrong. I completely underestimated this finger. It was by far the best out of the 6 flavors we ordered. The chicken is breaded with crushed pretzels, drizzled with homemade salted caramel sauce, and topped with pretzel sticks and pretzel salt. Sticky, sweet, salty, savory... basically 30 different things going on with your taste buds at the same time. 

The Salted Caramel Pretzel Finger

Though the chicken fingers were the highlight of the meal, obviously, we also had the treat of dipping them in various sauces -- not that any of them really needed it. There are about 20 different sauces on the menu, but I asked the guy to toss in us their best sellers. We were given Balsamic Ketchup, Thai Sweet Chili, Sticky's Sauce (a Southern style white BBQ), Jalapeño Mac, and Garlic Aioli. 

By the end of the meal, I was stuffed and so satisfied. I'm glad I was talked out of ordering a side of their Purple Sweet Potato Fries, but I'm also secretly bummed. It's OK though, because I'll definitely have another chance. Next time I'd actually like to go to the restaurant and see the place for myself. Although, I hear there's not much to see. A futuristic, yet classic, red and white color scheme, cafeteria-esque, with metallic tables. Joint is the perfect word to describe it. Clearly, I won't be going for the atmosphere, but rather for another incredible, delicious, gourmet chicken finger experience! You must go and see for yourself, or order delivery!

Oh, and did I mention they are open until 4:00AM on Thursday-Saturday? In their own words, Get Fingered! Hmm...

POGS,

AKtually Ashley