After a long day at studio, sometimes you just need to unwind with your friends over dinner. A fun and friendly 
environment to do this in is just a stone’s throw away on Union Square—the Heartland Brewery. With locations around the city, the brewery might be a chain, but you can’t hold that against it. Their brews are scrumptious and their food is fast and yummy.
Danielle, Nicholette, Andrew, Dakota and I went one night after a Professional Practice class, drawn in by the lively atmosphere and warm décor. Looking at the drink menu Danielle and I were immediately set on the ‘Voyage of Beer’—a 5 oz. sampling of their six classic beers. The others enjoyed pints of their choosing.
The dinner menu faired with similar results. Danielle and I shared the Pu Pu Platter, as did Nicholette and Dakota, while Andrew was content with chicken. By the end of the meal we were stuffed and couldn’t even think about dessert…that is, until we stood up and decided to head to our next comfort spot, Rice to Riches, for a sweet ending to the evening.
Following the Pinkberry trendy frozen yogurt model, Rice to Riches is a store devoted to the art of rice pudding. We took the 6 train down to 37 Spring St. between Mott and Mulberry St. and walked into the glowing box that is Rice to Riches. The store is littered with signs that promote healthy eating, love of all things sweet, and so on. The one thing they don’t promote is dieting (should mention this is not the place so start counting calories). The flavors are endless, and I know that if I listed even half of them you’d all get 
sad that you aren’t currently standing in line waiting to order yourself a tub of this delight. My advice to overcome your blues would be to explore this wonder in all its glory by heading down to 37 Spring St. and using your riches to buy some rice…pudding.