"A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous." - Coco Chanel

Wine and Roses. . .Doesn't get much more romantic than that (well, maybe it could). But, this was such a perfect place for a girls night out. It's a small, dark, candle lit restaurant where the bar is central and takes up most of the space that breaths romance with the fresh flower petals scattered across the table and bar tops. There's a warmth about the whole place from the food to the wine that oozes out to the sidewalk even on a cold winter night. While it's not in my neighborhood, it was worth venturing out to the quiet, more mature, upper west side one evening to reunite with a couple of great girls in my life. They have an excellent wine selection, although pricey, and savory food choices that are more moderately priced for an UWS-NY spot. However, it's definitely not worth going for a $4 espresso!

There's nothing quite like a girls-night-out. .. and even better with the girls being single. Yes, that's because I'm single and want others to be open to have as much fun as me ;) Also, then we can bash boys and share stories of the difficulty of dating in the city or, on the positive side, of crushes we have or great one night stands. I mean, what else do you think girls do together? Really though, true friends that will stay around for life are hard to come by and worth the effort of maintaining even as times get busy. Girlfriends offer a unique relationship of support, nurturing and loyalty unlike that of what a guy could offer. Men are wonderful (some of them .. . sometimes) but they are a different species from Mars and women are from Venus. . .simple as that. There is not a man in the world that could take the place of a girlfriend.

Another place worth frequenting for a girls-night-out is Employees Only in the West Village. The cocktails are some of the best, along the lines of Little Branch, Hotel Griffou, Raines Law (just to name a few). The ginger smash uses fresh ginger root muddled with sweet cranberries, gin, apple liqueur and squeezed lemon juice and makes you feel semi-healthy and rationalize that the ginger is helping settle your stomach and easing your cold symptoms. Another popular drink amongst my girlfriends is the Amelia, potato vodka and St. Germain elderlower liqueur shaken with pureed blackberries and fresh lemon juice. Although this is too sweet for me to drink a full glass of it, let alone 3 as some of my friends, I enjoy a mini champagne flute of it compliments of the bartenders who are as unique as the place itself. It's best to get there early to get a seat at the bar to build a relationship with the bartenders before the crowd arrives. When my sister and I went on Christmas Eve, we enjoyed a low key dinner and glass of wine in the company of the men behind the bar. Dev generously complimented us with mini flutes of their Fraise Sauvage - gin shaken with wild strawberries and tahitian vanilla, topped with prosecco. It was the perfect ending to the delicious light meal of seared diver scallops and arugula and shaved fennel salad. The salad was mixed with a tangy lemon vinaigrette that was the perfect balance with the bold anise flavor from the fennel and sharpness of the shaved parmesan. The menu described the scallops accompainment as roasted cauliflower puree and tobiko, but what I received had a surprisingly different light curried flavor with a small slice of roasted cauliflower. But, I couldn't get enough, soaking up whatever puree or sauce was left in the bowl with the leftover table bread. Yum!

At Wine and Roses, my friend got a quiche that looked so comforting and hearty, perfect with a deep red wine that it inspired me to find some good recipes. Below is one for a feta veggie quiche that can easily be adapted to taste:

Ingredients
1 (9 inch) wheat pie crust
1 whole egg

4 egg whites
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach
1/2 cup broccoli florets, chopped or roasted red peppers
1/4 cup crumbled Greek feta
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line pie pan with pie crust, and place a double layer of aluminum foil over the crust. Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes, and then remove foil. Continue baking until crust begins to set, about 5 to 7 minutes; remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with milk and flour. Stir in onion, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, and feta cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Pour mixture into hot crust.
Bake quiche at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes to one hour or when knife inserted in center comes out clean.