Tela Design Studio’s BLOW OUT!: The 411 on Hair Straightening Products with a Special BravoTV Millionaire Matchmaker Model!

By: Anne M. Raso

We were lucky enough to score an invite to the Tela Design Studio’s BLOW OUT! Breakfast at the Tela Studio in Manhattan’s famous Meatpacking District. Philip Pelusi, CEO and founder of Tela Beauty Organics (and, of course, the Tela Design Studio) demonstrated BLOW OUT!, the world's first 85% USDA Certified Organic Keratin smoothing treatment. Phillip, a 46-year veteran of the hair salon business, tells us, “BLOW OUT! contains no formaldehyde, no aldehydes, no harsh chemicals, no irritating fumes or odors, and is sulfate and paraben-free with an allergen-free fragrance.” He adds that the product would have been 100 percent organic if it was not for the preserver that had to be added to give the product a good shelf life.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Sodastream!

By: Anne M. Raso

We love Sodastream here at financefoodie.com--not only does it save a busy New Yorker time and energy lugging home bottle of soda and club soda from the supermarket but each bottle of flavoring makes about 40 thirty-two ounce bottles of soda. While you can purchase all different styles of Sodastream in the price range from $80 to $200 (basic plastic models are in stores like Target while the fancier metal ones are sold in upscale markets like Dean & DeLuca), we find that all the styles do the job of fizzing up water equally well. The basic premise is that you buy a Sodastream machine, purchase one of their refillable O2 tanks (aka "carbonators") for about $20, depending on size (the Sodastream people will come pick up empties for you and bring you new ones wherever you live and most New Yorkers just leave them with their doorman).

Nubar Cambridge: Big Eats with One of Kind Treats!

By: Jessica Cickay

There really isn’t much you can do when multiple courses of delicious food are placed in front of you. You kind of just have to eat them – and eat them all, so much so that your server gets teary-eyed and tells you that she wants to hug you. Had the food, drinks, service and value at Nubar – the recently opened restaurant and lounge in the Sheraton Commander Hotel in Harvard Square – not been so on point, this interaction could have gotten a little awkward. But instead, the love and excitement that was easily evident in Nubar’s fare transferred over to my well-fed body, and all I could say was “Hug away!”

Rasputin: Flash, Fun And Russian-Inspired Grub!

By: Anne M. Raso

Brighton Beach, Brooklyn is the home to the swanky Rasputin Restaurant and Entertainment Center and to be honest, at $75 to $145 for their prix fixe dinners (which include an extravagant floor show complete with gypsy dancers), the facility seems to be used mainly for special occasions like weddings and birthday parties. We recently stopped in on a Saturday night and were pleasantly surprised at how opulent (in a classy, modern way) the surroundings were--kind of if P. Diddy opened up a supper club in a Russian “nabe”!