Joan's Restaurant Review - G Bar, Bronx, N.Y.

575 Grand Concourses
Bronx, NY
Ph: 718.402.6996
Fax: 718.401.0686

Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday 10am to 1am
Saturday & Sunday 10am – 12am

Forms of Payment: Debit Cards, Visa, MasterCard, AMEX & Discover

BONUS: FREE PARKING IN G BAR’S PRIVATE PARKING LOT!


The sister restaurant of the ultra popular Giovanni’s Restaurant; located just 5 minutes from Manhattan this trendy Italian eatery is a hidden treasure that serves up solid Italian fare that you won’t find anywhere else in the Bronx. The Get 'Em Girls were treated to dinner Friday night, thanks to Jeniece’s fiancée Dee- and oh what a treat it was! The ambiance is inviting, cozy and intimate (very intimate we actually saw two couples making out). The warm sophisticated vibe can easily accommodate a ladies or guys night out or even a couples’ night out. Dining in the upstairs lounge is a real treat especially since it has a huge projection screen and from what I hear a game is always being shown.

Now let’s talk food. Simply put…the food here is great, timeless Italian cuisine from a talented kitchen. G Bar’s kitchen demonstrates considerable skill with a distinctive touch on classic Italian dishes. The Get 'Em Girls SHARED an order of calamari for our appetizer and meat lasagna and chicken ravioli for our entrée.
The lasagna portion was huge (we couldn’t finish it); the tomato sauce surely contains a few secret ingredients. If you're really hungry I would suggest that you forgo the chicken ravioli; it’s really tasty but the portion is just enough for my 5 year old god-brother to enjoy. It’s no secret that my favorite part of any meal is dessert and I’m so glad G Bar didn’t leave me disappointed. Against my better judgment and Jeniece’s advice we shared a caramel apple cake with vanilla ice cream which literally means we only got one spoon-full each.  We each should have ordered our own dessert – I know for the next time.

G Bar will have you begging for more so make sure you proceed with caution.

Enjoy!

Wanted: The Owner of this "Non-Stick" Pot!

This pot was found in the pantry of an undisclosed single male in the Bowie, MD area. If anyone has any information leading to the detainment of this offender please contact the authorities at www.getemgirls.com.

Reward: One 12-inch wooden spoon...lol!

Bikram Yoga...HELL!

OK...so Shakara decides that she wants us to take a yoga class. She heard from a friend of her sister that this "hot" yoga was great; in fact, she and everybody that she knew that has gone to this class has dropped an extreme amount of weight since attending. So you know me...being the health-nut that I am (enter sarcastic smirk right here) I decide to go. We have already been warned, "you're hair will be a mess!", "you'll want to leave...but it's good", "it's hot...not too bad, but it's hot", so we don't get our hair done that week and we head out on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to the yoga studio.

The first clue that things were about to get bad...the 22 flights of steps you had to walk up to get it. I mean come the hell on! I guess that was the warm up!

Next, the waiting/registration area, better known as Purgatory. The only thing in that joint was water...I mean everywhere...water jugs, water bottles, Vitamin water...they know what the hell is going on. Water bottles just spilling all up out the garbage...and they was charging like 48.95 for a 16 ounce bottle. I came with a little water, and was like this will suffice until I get home...NOT!

Next clue...19 more flights of stairs...where the hell is this place? I passed 4 people on the way up and I could've sworn they mouthed the words "don't go!" to me...oh well.

We change, and rush to the class, because as usual the Get 'Em Girls are on CP time. We get the to class...open the door and for the love of God a wave of heat hit me so hard I thought I was an extra in Backdraft! I mean people were sitting there just smiling like they had resolved that they'd lived the best and sinful life they could and they were more than happy to wade in the fiery pits of hell!

The instructor, who I will call "Lucephina", was just as chipper and bright as she wanted to be. She knew everyone's name and quickly asked Joan and I our names and instructed us to take a seat, before we had a chance to bolt. Shakara came in a couple of minutes after us...I tried to get her attention before she walked in but it was too late.

So now we've been in here two minutes and my water is halfway done. I'm trying to take small sips, but... Lucephina goes into the origin of Bikram yoga and which part of Hades it originated from.

5 minutes later...she goes into the standing poses. She starts with the half moon...I'm getting light headed!

5 more minutes later...she goes into a back bend. "Jesus be a fence around me..."

5 more minutes later...she goes into this eagle pose. I look at Joan, Joan looks at the thermometer (it reads 100 plus degrees), Joan looks back at me...and I pick up my towel and my now boiling water and tell Lucephina that we are leaving! LOL

She convinced us to just hang out and watch...it won't be so bad! The devil is a liar and the yoga instructor of liars because I passed out two times before that class ended...and I wasn't even working out anymore!

Needless to say, you won't catch 2/3 of The Get 'Em Girls at any more hot yoga sessions...you can find us at weekly prayer, revival, baptisms, and handing out bible tracts on the A, C, and D lines.

Shakara...good luck with that my sista!

Tell 'Em How You Feel..lol

Out of the three Official Get'Em Girls, I'm the only one who still holds down a 9 to 5! Due to my work schedule I had to miss the last leg of the Durham/Charlotte book signing (I was devastated - this was the first book signing I missed)! I came back to NYC after the Baltimore Book Festival, so I missed the whole bed bug incident *wink*. The ladies told me about all about NABFEME and how much fun they had. My issue is that I open up today's Delicious Life Weekly - viewed the blog spot and Jeniece has a photo with Anthony Hamilton!! I have spoken to Jeneice a million times since she got back from Charlotte and she never mentioned that she spoke to or took a picture with Anthony. I LOVE ANTHONY HAMILTON! Anthony is one of the best singers we have around now; his albums are well arranged and his music is meaningful. You can walk by my place any given Saturday morning (that I'm in town) and hear Anthony Hamilton's harmonic voice blazing from my home. So I'm very, very disappointed that I didn't get a chance to meet Anthony....maybe next time :(


Joan

Anthony and I...and Dr. Jan

I had a wonderful time at this year's NABFEME...anytime I get a chance to get to the Charlotte area is great! Aside from getting to spend time with my family, I got a chance to meet one of my favorite singers (and his mom)...Anthony Hamilton. He was so nice and after talking for a minute we realized we have a lot in common.

Dr. Jan, was hilarious! She's like the Aunt that you invite to dinner...for entertainment purposes only! She was hilarious, intelligent, and SHARP!!

All in all, I met a lot of wonderful and inspirational women during the course of the weekend and although I was so over the "tour", I was glad I stayed around.



Jeniece

Cooking Uptown with The Get 'Em Girls - Episode 1

Ok...this is a better version. Still hilarious!

Cooking Uptown with The Get 'Em Girls - Episode 2

Pure comedy...

There is no place like home !

I am so glad to be home! The Official Get 'Em Girl's have been on tour for 2 weeks and though we had a great time...there is no place like home (clicking my ruby heels). Though I would love to discuss the wonderful trip. In this blog I will talk about a horrible hotel we stayed in. After our book signing in Durham NC we then traveled back to Charlotte for the NABFEME Summit. We were scheduled to check in on Thursday at the beautiful Hilton downtown, so Wednesday Jeniece and I decided to budget and stay at a less expensive hotel. The first hotel we checked into was a Ramada . The room was $40 and came with a $30 rebate..lol ..When we arrived at the Penthouse (3rd floor) we noticed there was police tape covering the exit door (2nd sign). I am sorry the (1st sign) was the hotel store sold Kool Aid Juice boxes. When we walked in there were no towels and the sink area was damn near touching the TV (3rd sign). At this point Jeniece pulled out her laptop and started looking for a new hotel. Later that night we decided to stay at a Best Western. The hotel had 3 stars, nice decor, continental breakfast, work out center and BED BUGS!......Jeniece had got into bed and dosed off while I did some work on the laptop. I turned the hotel light off, however the laptop light caught something crawling so I turned on the light and there was a small bug in my bed. I start screaming and when I killed it a lot of blood comes out. I tell Jeniece and she starts yelling "its just a bug...you act like you a never seen a roach or a bug before.!" Then she turns over and goes back to sleep. At this point I call the receptionist and tell him I need to speak to the manager in the morning. I do my best to go to sleep ...About 5am in the morning Jeniece wakes me up saying she found a bug in her bed. Her bug was very small and red. I guess that was the mother in my bed. We then took the video camera out and documented the mutants..lol. There were more in my bed. I could go on and on ...maybe one day we will put the footage online.

In conclusion...you get what you pay for...when you are online trying to find the best deals...remember there is no deal worth your health. Staying at that hotel caused me a trip to the dermatologist appointment (yes I had bites). Thank God I am alright.

Shakara