happy K day!

Happy Birthday K! ^^

DB Kitchen

As my birthday present to you, I'm doing something I've never done before - blogging right after! [Okay, well I tried to...but some technical error kept telling me that I couldn't upload my photos. At least I still got it up earlier than usual!]


C+M just came back from Napa so of course we let them choose the bottle for the night: Ramey, a Cabernet. Wine only falls into two categories for me - good or not so good - and this one fell in the good.


When we eat, we go all out, so of course we opened with some snacks, jars, and starters: Maple Bacon/Dates/Peanut Butter, Tomato/Eggplant/Ricotta, Ants on a Log (veal bone marrow/snails/parsley/garlic). I only tried the jar, but I hear the Ants were delish!


For my entree, I really wanted duck, but alas...there's none till Saturday. So I went with the Roast Organic Chicken. Yes, it comes with prosciutto fried egg, and yes I ate (some of) it, and yes, I thought it was really good stuff. If thrown on my plate again, I might eat the whole thing *gasp* (I did finish it for lunch the next day *doublegasp*!). It also comes with succotash, in some brown sauce which I probably could've eaten an entire plate of. But no one really cares what I eat; it's all about the meat!

M went with the braised lamb shank, a special of the day ("braised" and "confit" are magic words) ~

"...fork tender, fall off the bone delicious! The crispy kale added a nice bit of earthiness and the creamy polenta was great side to balance out the flavor of the lamb. Terrific heated up the day after too!"

C tried the Pork Chop ~

"Topped with bacon...makes everything better. This was no different. Thick cut and sweet. Perfect partner for the pork chop. The mango added a nice touch of sweetness and the onion ring was a nice crispy complement."

L went for the Short Rib and Cavatelli ~

"...delicious on a cold night! stick to your ribs good and very heavy, so good enough for 2 meals. the dollop of truffle butter they put on top smelled amazing and added a decadent creaminess to the dish."

E tried the Lamb Cross-Bone ~

"...medium rare was good (well done - not good!), toasted barley was better and was creamy like a risotto. Overall, maybe get the lamb shank next time." ps. beware the tasteless lamb bacon if that was your initial draw to this dish.

As if that wasn't enough food, we ordered sides also. Apparently, you can order 3 for $18 or 1 for $7, so despite knowing that's not a real deal, our hungry eyes were swayed. Smoked Beef Fat & Jalapeno French Fries, Wild Mushrooms, and Basil Whipped Potatoes. Those were some heavenly wild mushrooms.


Meals are never complete without dessert! Monkey Bread, Crazy Good Coconut Cake. I wouldn't say the coconut cake was crazy good, but the mango sorbet that came with it definitely was. They were both a really good complement to the pure sweetness of the monkey bread. After watching the dessert preparation for another table, I knew this had to be video'd come our turn.



Thanks to my lovelies, C,E,L,M for a wonderful birthday dinner! :)

David Burke Kitchen
23 Grand Street
(at 6th Ave)

Mini-cupcake war

Our whole office may be dieting, but somewhere in the rulebook, there's an exemption clause for birthday celebrations - especially when they come with cupcakes. But hey, we they don't want to cancel out all that yummy salad we've they've been living off of for the past month, so we compromised and went mini.

We had two birthdays to celebrate within a two week span: MJ & IG's. Our initial plans to try some more cupcakecrew flavors were spoiled by the fact that they weren't accessible on MJ's bday. Boo. But that meant we could finally try Baked by Melissa.


If you're looking for mini, this is as mini as you're going to get, short of eating air. Their cupcakes are quarter size (as in, the size of a quarter), which is great when you want to try out several flavors (or have a room full of dieters who you're celebrating a birthday with), but quite unfulfilling if you've got a sweet tooth.

I personally only tried their special flavor of the month - the firecracker - and I'd have to say it was a party in my mouth! Literally. A fun & unique cupcake to say the least. I'll take it that lack of comments about the other flavors (mint choc chip, cookies & cream, pb & j, red velvet, choc chip pancake, and s'mores) meant they were all good, but nothing to call home about. Either that, or someone wanted to hog all the extras for herself. Would I eat them again? Yeah, probably. But I wouldn't go out of my way to pick some up. Say...like I would for Cupcake Crew.


We were lucky Cupcake Crew was in our neck of the woods for IG's bday, and didn't hesitate to pick some up for... breakfast (what's even better is that we got 6 free since M told them I followed them on twitter!). What'd I try this time? "Cousin Vinny" - a mix of vanilla chocolate chip cake, filled with canoli cream rolled in a fried canoli shell. If that doesn't sound good, then I'm not even sure why you're bothering to read this post. Other flavors in the pickings? Trusty old red velvet, coconut raspberry, chocolate caramel pretzel, vanilla peach, and strawberry balsamic...the latter which I heard tasted kinda gross.


And the conclusion is...? There's always one cupcake in the tray that's going to topple over.


Baked by Melissa
526 7th Ave
(btwn 38 & 39th)

Cupcake Crew
varying locations
but this batch was bought from the corner of 40th & 6th

Social Eatz

(with a side of Crumbs!)

For J's bday, the usual gang went out for some atypical Asian-American food - some good ole Asian tastes, burger style.

After starting off with some ribs and spring rolls as apps, we each filled up on an entree and fries. LOTS of fries. L successfully finished her bibimbap burger, which A had tried and recommended. A & C tried the bulgulgi burgers, which were tasty, but not as much as the bibimbap. MM tried the fish tacos, and M tried the Korean tacos, which were "good...not wow, but good". EM liked the Hanoi burger but couldn't finish it, and I definitely needed help finishing up half of my ("wow") kung pao burger. It had just the right amount of spice to it, to give it a good kick. But I wouldn't say, wow. The fries, however, were exactly the way I love them - skinny and salty. YUM. Too bad I had to fight L for them (though I let her have all the funky cheese dip) ;p

OMG. Lost in reveries about the fries, I completely forgot about the birthday boy. Who ordered the dog. And only ate the dog ("it was okay"). No bun or toppings. But we won't judge him...today. :p

Unlike at Bonchon, the staff here was very accommodating, and we were able to celebrate with some mini-Crumbs cupcakes that EM had brought. They even took the bunch to the back, plated it nicely, and lit a candle for us :) Oh, and sang, happy birthday, too :)


We were SO stuffed, but I'd been craving the yuzu cream puffs, so we ordered one dish to try. First off, they were NOT cream puffs. False advertising. But they were good doughnut holes - warm and sweet with a nice balance of the yuzu tartness.

After all that goodness, we lifted our fat selves a couple blocks away to The Volstead, to dance away our calories to bad music mixes (boo mr. dj!).

ps. Sorry bout the photos - it was SO dark! The burgers really do look much more appetizing than this.


Social Eatz
232 E 53rd St
(btwn 2nd & 3rd)

Crumbs
I'm going to wager a guess and say they were from this location:
880 Third Ave (@ 53rd)
[though I could be wrong]

In the WOOOORLD!!!

Quite the haughty, egoistic cafe name if you ask us. Improbable? Impossible! Which is exactly why we just had to try it. And get everyone else to try it too.

How can you so easily claim to have The Best Chocolate Cake IN THE WORLD? Well, it got us to buy a whole cake. So, I guess the name is working for it somehow. Best in the world? Not likely. But, we are chocolate fiends nevertheless. The menu's selection is directly proportionate to the size of the cafe. This slip of a hallway/shop pretty much serves just the one type of cake and the typical coffee/tea fare.

Try it out and let us know where you rate it!
Oh yeah, and HB to July! Thank you for the excuse to purchase a WHOLE cake.


The Best Chocolate Cake in the World
55A Spring Street
b/t Lafayette St & Mulberry St

Happy Weekend #30

Happy Birthday to E, happy birthday to E, happy birthday dear Eeeeee...

As a Rainbow Cookie FIEND, there really isn't a cake that could appear to be more appropriate for E's birthday. Never judge a book by its cover. This cake, surrounded and topped with rainbow cookies deceptively houses chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, and raspberry jam. Mark our words, it's also deceptively sugary sweet and tastes best frozen. Tricky.

That being said, they make pretty good Italian cookies (and we read the cannolis are excellent)... Now that Palma's is gone, this is a decent replacement. Let's take a moment of silence for Palma's, those of us who remember that petite bakery store...

Found at:
La Dolce Bakery
3141 U.S. Highway 9
Old Bridge, NJ


Read THIS WEEK'S POSTS here:
Paris Baguette

Read LAST WEEK'S POSTS here:
Hill Country Chicken
Ça Va Todd English


Related Posts: Happy Weekend #27. Happy Weekend #28. Happy Weekend #29.

HC Chickennnnnn!

This place ain't no Hill Country BBQ, but I'll be darned if they ain't got some good chicken up in here. That Mama El's got some good recipe goin' on, even though she ain't left the skin on them suckers. But if you like them skin, you just try that classic recipe they got - they make it good and tender. Jus like them things they call "chicken tenders". One'll fill ya'll right up, or maybe three if ya'll one o' them big guys.

Who put them fire in those pickles?!? They be burnin' up our mouths and they gone lied 'bout that ice. We had to use them cheesey mash potatoes jus to put the fire out! But they good. Not as good as them fries though - them be real good. They biscuits - they alright - they be good fer bufferin' them pickles though.

'N don't get me started on those pies. Those pies be deeeeeee-licious! Specially that bananer cream one - that one there's our favorite. 'N we gone tried the lot. Almost.



You go on 'n try some now, ya hear?

Hill Country Chicken
1123 Broadway
(Corner of 25th)

Ça Va...again

In celebration of my bday, my coworkers took me out to eat at Ça Va once again (it's becoming a birthday regular!). I wasn't going to post about it, but since we all tried different dishes than the previous time, thought I'd share.

The one thing we didn't order differently was the wine - the Louis Latour is still really good.

My coworkers started off with the mussels as an app, and IG claimed they were "not bad"....the other two thought they were really good - especially the broth (which M kept trying to get me to try).

Sadly, ALL three of my coworkers are on diets (say WHAAATT?!), so they went healthy on the entrees: tuna salad, trout salad, and salmon. I, on the otherhand, went for the sweet pea ravioli. The ravioli was quite good, but unfortunately, I skipped over that part on the menu where it said there was pancetta (nevermind that it's the first thing in the description). Needless to say, there were a whole lotta tidbits left over on my plate.

Apparently, diets are broken come dessert time. :) I ordered a chocolate tart, IG got a gâteau à l'orange, and M ordered some sort of hazelnut pudding thing (sorry, their online dessert menu is different so I don't have refernce material). I think we were most impressed with the fact that the choc tart and hazelnut came with cocoa puffs (we're so easily appeased)! Both dishes were exceptionally good. The gateau was an excellent deviation from all the creaminess of the other two. The waiter also surprised me with a little birthday dessert dish! He started singing, I said I'd walk out - he stopped singing. The dish included a couple of chocolates, a chocolate/nut cluster, and a madeleine - so very French. I was too stuffed to try them all, but had to at least get a bite of the madeleine - it was quite soft though not as buttery as I'd expected.

cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!
Overall, food was still good, restaurant was still semi-empty, but the experience wasn't as wow-ing as the first time. Though, of course, I'd still go back in a heartbeat. (And now that I know their Marché is open, don't be surprised to see a post coming soon!)

Ça Va
310 W 44th St
(@8th Ave)

Veniero's (with Pictures)

We've posted about Veniero's before, but this time, we provide pictures. And, a different point of view. Strangely enough, not too different. This is similarly the third stop of the night, but we decided to take out all the stops and put our metaphoric dessert car in full gear. Between KM, P, & I, we tried the Tortoni, Italian Cheesecake, and Chocolate Banana Strawberry Cake. The menu is so extensive (if a little ghetto), it's hard to pick out just one (or three). But, of course, we're not complaining! I'll be honest, it's not the most amazing Italian dessert I've had in NYC, but the place has got something for everyone. On every occasion.

When I said we pulled out all the stops, I meant it. We got some Rainbow Cookies for take-away too! Again, not the best we've had. The cake layers were a smidgen dry for our trained Rainbow Cake palates.


Veniero’s Pasticceria & Caffé
342 E 11th Street
nr 1st Avenue

Luzzo's

Tartufata Pizza: tomato sauce, mozzarella, truffle pate, basil

The yearly (?) reunion with P (and KM) involved one request from yours truly. Something CHEAP. But again, it's NYC, so "cheap" is hard to come by, and I can't say this meal satisfied the sole request made. OK, so my gripe with NYC food prices has obviously continued to increase (who knew that even was possible?). On the brighter side, that was some damn good pizza. Basil, fresh sauce, mozzarella, and TRUFFLE? I'd be more surprised if it wasn't tasty goodness.

Oh yeah, we also tried the Special, Pappardelle Funghi w/ Speak (pronounced 'speck'; homemade pasta with mushrooms and smoked prosciutto), and Carciofi Gratinati (artichokes in breadcrumbs in lemon & garlic dressing). Personally, I found the Speak to be a little too smoked and overpowering. However, 2 of 3 in the party disagreed. Perhaps my palate is just that much more refined... To each his own! But don't even try to skip the Tartufata Pizza. That's just bananas!

Luzzo's Restaurant
211-213 First Ave
b/t 12th & 13th Streets

Happy Weekend #13

For the upcoming dreaded Valentine's Day, we present to you an apropos update dedicated to SWEETS!

As we mentioned in our previous update, our Mom's bday was this past Saturday. It's always a question of what kind of cake to get, but nothing beats a homemade K cake!

K in action spreading the ganache - and check out the ooey-gooey, mouth-watering
ganache spilling out of the cup -mmmmmmm....
Trying out some new recipes from K's newly acquired cookbook - Rose's Heavenly Cakes, this two layer cake is made up of Lemon Sponge Cake, Lemon Curd, and Midnight Ganache. The heaven of Midnight Ganache uses a Caramel base, mixed with a 62% cacao, differing from the typical Chocolate Ganache (usually just cream, sugar, and chocolate). We need a side-by-side taste test to really tell you our favorite Ganache, but this one has an amazing smooth-like-butta texture. And, mixed with a bit of tart Lemon Curd, it's like a birthday party in your mouth.

The finished product!

Party on(!) and Read THIS WEEK'S SWEET UPDATES here:
Mid-day Snack at Teleon
Rainbow Cookie Maker
STOP for Cupcakes


Related Posts: Happy Weekend #10. Happy Weekend #11. Happy Weekend #12.

Happy Weekend #12

Congruent with the concept of weekly themes, this week we celebrate birthdays! In bunches! Birthdays of the far past, recently past, present, and immediate future. This first week of February offers many reasons to celebrate. So, to all those birthday boys and girls, we offer you-- a picture of our Dad's birthday cake! From January.

It's a 10" round Sugar-Free Cheesecake. One of the easiest cakes you can set your mind to. Just 5 basic ingredients (plus 5 not-so-secret ingredients for depth) and you have yourself a homemade cake. From scratch! The top is decorated with miniature Chocolate Shortbread Cookies (place them on before baking). Their cute doughnut shape allowed for a piped dollop of blue-tinted Cheesecake batter.

NOTE: If you're wondering about the wonky crack, it's way too easy to make an imperfect cheesecake, especially if it's sugar-free. Tips: Make sure you bake with a water bath, pop surface bubbles before baking, don't over-bake, and never poke any hole into it! This particular one was... over-baked. Urgh!

Happy Birthday to J (2|3), A, A & A (2|4), C (2|5), & Mom (2|6)!

Read THIS WEEK'S UPDATES here:
McCormick & Schmick's
McCormick & Schmick's, Jr.
McCormick & Schmick's, III


Related Posts: Happy Weekend #9. Happy Weekend #10. Happy Weekend #11.

The ORIGINAL Frank Pepe

Again with the cell phone pictures! My phone seems to give everything a yellow-ish tint (Ooooo mood lighting). If you're ever in the neighborhood of Yonkers (tyeah right, I know!), Frank Pepe's is similar to many a pizzeria-- blazing fluorescent lighting and booth seating. Of course, the BIG difference is the pizza offered. Not being a Pizza Connoisseur, I can't tell you it's "The Best Pizza" (as J will tell you), but I can say it was damn good and tasty. Each bite is riddled with the taste of whichever topping you choose (in this case: clam w/ white sauce, meat lovers, OR cheese); they don't skimp on the toppings. They may occasionally mix up your order with friends at the next table, and instead of giving you a clam pizza with white sauce and cheese, they may lay down a clam pizza with white sauce and no cheese. But, of course, there were no hard feelings. Or lingering looks at the next table's pizza. Or fighting. OK, maybe a wee bit of fighting. And, maybe some hard feelings. And maaaybe some downright staring.

Behold! Trapezoidal pizza slices! BEWARE! Those droopy suckers are seriously messy.



The Original Frank Pepe Pizzera Napoletana
1955 Central Park Ave
Yonkers, NY 10710

Turning Point

Hawaiian Cafe

Though we've been here dozens upon dozens of times, we've only written about Turning Point a couple times here and here.

Yes, the whip cream is eating the Pumpkin French Toast before your very eyes.

Low and behold, the Chef's Specials! Every restaurant has it! Yet, it's taken us this long to realize that if you're bored of the same ol' same ol', check out the small placard in the center of the table! This week's special was the Pumpkin & Apple Stuffed French Toast w/ Apple-Cinnamon Brown Sugar Syrup. YUM. Around the table, we also had: Chocolate Chip Pancakes, the Bandito Burrito, Ham-Cheese-&-Egg Baguette, (2) Western Omelets, and a Catalina Wrap.



Turning Point
55 Route 9 South
Manalapan, NJ 07726

McCormick & Schmick's, III

Third time's the charm right? This time is for our cousin, K's birthday. We've been here at least 3 times since we've started this blog, but it isn't until the third visit that we've, finally, buckled down and posted. All three: here, here, and HERE!

You can't go too wrong with any of the dishes you choose. Since the menus are printed daily, there's always a special, never a bore, and the fish is fresh. Now, sometimes certain fish dishes are a little overcooked and a little under-seasoned. So, it's a bit hit-or-miss. Mostly a hit. If you want an amazing meal, and you're playing it safe, order the Beer-battered Fish & Chips. It's seafood, nicely battered, fried, savory, and comes with french fries and coleslaw. How can you go wrong? (pssst... You can't!) Pictured below, is the Special of the day-- Mashed Sweet Potatoes Crusted with Almonds. If you see this on the menu, order it. The almonds are To Die For, and we don't even really like almonds...


McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant
400 Commons Way
Bridgewater, NJ 08807

Il Gattopardo

As a super belated birthday treat for me, J took me out to dinner at this little townhouse restaurant directly across from the MOMA. It came highly recommended on yelp, and I'd have to agree...with some disclaimers. They're a friendly bunch, especially the one who I presume to have been the owner, and they're quite prompt with greetings and catering to your drink needs. Menus are set up on the table, so there's no need to sit and wait for anything really. The crowd, however, is a bit on the older side, and more of the 'business gathering' variety. I felt slightly out of place, but I got over it. Now, when I said "little", I really meant it. The restaurant is set up as a long hallway, with very narrow walking space - two people trying to get by butt-to-butt is even pushing it. This was a bit of a nuisance during the course of the night as waiters were constantly walking by. That added to the fact that our table was wobbly made the experience less than grandiose. However, the food is impecable.

Though the chicken was tempting me, I really prefered a pasta dish. The "risotto of the day" sounded quite appetizing and it was yummier than I had imagined. I'm not a regular risotto eater (this might've been my first try), but I just might be eating more of it from now on! I couldn't tell you what was in it, but somewhere in the waiter's broken English, I caught the word 'eggplant'. You can tell how much I loved it by these before-n-after photos. Miss J decided on the linguette with baby clams and cherry tomato, of which I stole a tiny bite (sans clams). Quite the deliciousness! Just picture the before photo as a bowl of linguette enveloped by small clams, and an after photo that looks like mine - with empty clam shells.

To go along with the meal, I think I had a glass of the Montefalco Rosso "Santanbrá" Tiburzi (2006), but I could be completely wrong here. XP I'm horrible at choosing wines. Though I'm partial to reds, I have no preferences further than that, and my descriptors don't go beyond "good" =P So the take-away here is: don't ask me for wine recommendations.

Though I was so full, I could hardly breathe, we couldn't leave without trying something off the dessert menu. The Pastiera (traditional Neapolitan cheese cake) was a perfect choice. It was lighter than regular cheesecakes, and oh-so-good with an accompaniment of a cup of coffee.


By the time we were ready to leave, I could hardly stand.

Il Gattopardo
33 W 54th St

U-Yeeeeeeee

Sashimi: Tomago

Rolls: Lobster & Mango, Baby Futomaki, Shrimp Tempura, Sweet Potato, Shiitake & Asparagus, Philadelphia, Volcano, Soft-shell Crab, & Rainbow

Entrees: Yakisoba with Chicken, Yakiudon with Pork, Chicken Katsu, & Shrimp & Vegetables Tempura

Dessert: Deep-fried Cheesecake slice (here is better) & Cappuccino Truffle

For a birthday girl who's already gotten her food requests through her siblings' birthday dinner, we let A have the chance to make a suggestion from our list of Really Good Restaurants We Haven't Been to in a While. U-Yee's, with its half-price sushi Sundays (and practically every other day of the week), is a sure-fire way to hit your Japanese food cravings. That is if you can wait the wait and eat all the eats.

This goes against all our religious beliefs, but it really is OK to skip dessert here. Gasp! Most, if not all, of the choices are imported (from a box?) or never available.


U-Yee Sushi & Steakhouse
675 US Highway 1 S # 12
Iselin, NJ 08830

Happy Weekend #3

This weekly thing is still going strong! Yay! (You should be proud we've lasted so long, O' Lonely Reader.) Please refrain from noticing the indecisive changes that are being made on the blog. Thanks!

This week's posts honor A's birthday (which was almost 1 month ago... ^^; tehee), and it would only be logical to finish off this week's posts the same way we finished off his birthday celebration. Pictured below is A's birthday cake. It's a homemade (even the ice cream!) answer to his request of Peanut Butter Marble Cake (in case you live in NYC, we'll have you know it is seriously difficult to find that in Central Jersey-- harrumph).

The Android Andrew Birthday Cake is made up of PB MARBLE CAKE, STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM, and CHOCOLATE GANACHE FROSTING. To make PB Marble Cake, follow recipes for PB CAKE and CHOCOLATE CAKE batters simultaneously, but in separate bowls. Questions? (And before you ask, no, we don't know why most of the recipes posted so far have belonged to Martha Stewart... We'll try better next time.)

Read THIS WEEK'S UPDATES here:
Re-visiting the Gnome
Koo Take-Away


Related Posts: Updates. Happy Weekend #1. Happy Weekend #2.

Happy Weekend #1

NOTE: Let's try something new, and then, let's see how long it lasts.
Since we have the unforeseen fanbase of 1, we (or at least one of us...) feel the guilty need to update on a more regular schedule.

So instead of randomly completing posts from a decade ago and expecting you (our sole loyal reader) to find it in the depths of our seemingly stagnant blog, we will [try] to post [at least] one update a week along with this wee FYI-er. This wee FYI will both update you on our recent posts and give you a little extra random somethin' somethin'.

So sit back. Relax. And Enjoy. [for however long we can keep this up...] (end note)

In honor of this week's updated post, we have the COCONUT CUPCAKES that were baked for Em's Birthday Celebration. Unfortunately, we don't have an image of the decorated Coconut Cupcakes, as they were devoured before photos could be shot.

Some adjustments that I made were:
1. Food-processed the coconut shreds into smaller flakes before incorporating them into the batter for a smoother texture.

2. Used CHOCOLATE GANACHE FROSTING instead. We love chocolate.

3. Topped everything with toasted coconut. Just put about a cup of coconut on a clean frying pan over medium heat, and stir every few minutes until the coconut just turns golden. You'll smell it when it's about ready. (YUM!)

Read THIS WEEK'S UPDATE here:
Em's Birthday at Maggiano's


Related Posts: Updates

Koo Take-Away

For A's Birthday dinner, we decided to bring food home. After such a heavy (but delightful!) brunch, we went with Japanese food from Koo (that's similar to the 1st choice of Chipotle, right?). If you're not going to read the rest of this post, at least read this: DO NOT EVER EVER EVER order online nor ask for delivery! Obviously, a lesson learned firsthand. The food is pretty tasty and the place is close by, but the non-sushi food is a bit pricey for their rather small portions. And yet, we still keep going back!

In case you're scratching your head, trying to figure out what the 2nd picture is, THAT would be the SASHIMI PIZZA my confuzzled friend. Now don't ask how they got that idea. And don't ask why those sprouts are so spicy. And definitely don't ask why there's a lone maraschino cherry on top. Just know, it was pretty good, and we're likely to order it again.


Koo Neo-Japanese Cuisine
71 A South Main Street
Marlboro, NJ 07746