To live and eat in NYC

China Y Latina

2010-02-08T15:09:00.001-08:00

Before I moved to New York, my friend Vinny was giving me some pointers about the city. And since he was born and raised in the Bronx (family immigrated from Puerto Rico), and he worked in Manhattan, I listened to his advice. One advice was "try to avoid getting shot like me near the subway," but then again he lived in New York during the height of crime. I don't think it phased him much. His other advice was about food. But he didn't eat at Manhattan's fancy schmancy places. His favorite spots were at working-class places. So he told me that I absolutely had to try Cuban food made by Chinese immigrants that immigrated from China to Cuba to New York. My first reaction, was "are you serious?" and my second reaction was "I guess only in New York could I find that." He said they were some of the best chefs and made Cuban food often times better than Cuban-born chefs. Sounded like my kind of food, and we found one such restaurant conveniently located near our apartment called La Nueva Rampa (149 W. 14th St.). Their menu is exhaustively huge and consists of a mix of Chinese and Cuban food. Carne Asada Chow Mein anyone?

La Nueva Rampa is the kind of restaurant that wealthy people might look at as being sketchy. Hell, there were a few times we walked by the place and thought the same, and we normally love hole-in-the-wall places. But we're glad we weren't deterred by the look of the place because the food was damn good, especially for the price, like this Spanish sausage fried rice. I think we paid $6.50 for this and the portion was gigantic.

And this was our favorite - Cuban Tamale ($2.50). It was unlike any tamale we had ever tasted in our lives. If you eat here, eat this tamale. And it's dirt cheap. If you ate the same thing at some fancy Cuban restaurant in the West Village, they'd easily charge at least $15 for this. Sure, the tamale was unique, but what was more fascinating about our experience here was the workers. While we were eating our meal, it didn't occur to us until we turned around that the group of folks speaking Spanish to each other were the Chinese workers. And they weren't speaking Spanish the way people learn it in school as a second language, they spoke it perfectly without any accent. And just as quickly, as soon as a Chinese customer walked in, they would start speaking Chinese to them. They seamlessly moved in and out of speaking Chinese and Spanish to their working-class Chinese and Spanish customers. It was one of those moments in New York that just makes you fall in love with the city all over again.

We unfortunately didn't make it up to the Chinese-Cuban restaurants in Jackson Heights like Vinny told me to, so I can't recommend any there (we'll have to scout that out when we return to New York). In the meantime, another option is La Caridad on Broadway between 77th and 78th Street on the Upper West Side. We weren't able to try the food there, but every time we walked by this place and peeked in, the restaurant was at full capacity.

Zucco: Le French Diner

2010-01-16T11:18:00.000-08:00

Zucco: Le French Diner is the perfect place to get a hearty, savory breakfast on a rainy day in New York City. The eclectic music you'll be listening to while eating your buttery dishes come courtesy of Radio Nova.

This menu doesn't include their daily specials, which you should most definitely take advantage of. 188 Orchard Street. Cash or AMEX only. No reservations.

L.E.S.

2010-01-14T11:02:00.000-08:00

L.E.S. - a playground for the early-20-something-year-olds, bars, bars, and more bars, expensive boutiques, the Tenement Museum, iconic restaurants like Katz's Deli, and what could possibly be the largest Whole Foods in America. It's also where we found Johnny Cash, where we went for skate art, where we froze our fingers and nose eating bagels on the bench outside Russ & Daughters, and where eight-year-olds sell homemade cookies at bars.

This image represents what we always imagined a typical New York street corner would look like before we moved to New York.

And this image of this other corner represents the modernization of New York. The two bottom floors of this entire building in the Lower East Side is Whole Foods. There's many Whole Foods in NYC, and they're all pretty damn large, but this has to be largest and fanciest one. When you first walk in, the entire front section is devoted to beer, and we're talking the size of several liquor stores. It's incredible. In addition to the large grocery and personal care section, the entire upper level contains a sushi bar, a pasta bar, other mini restaurants, and a huge dining area.

The restaurant supply street.

There's rarely plain walls in the L.E.S.

And the following pictures show reasons why the L.E.S. can be fun, even for the 30+ crowd, like being able to watch John Hughes movies all day while slowly sipping champagne and eating free bagels.

Skate On

2010-01-06T11:19:00.000-08:00

Would love to be doing this right now.

ChikaLicious Dessert Bar

2010-01-03T11:12:00.000-08:00

Behind these unassuming glass doors at 203 E. 10th Street, near 2nd Avenue, is ChikaLicious dessert bar. Opened in 2003 by a husband and wife team, it was New York's first dessert bar. ChikaLicious is still one of the few places that only sells desserts, and their three-course prix-fix menu is the thing to experience here.

If you like the look of John Lennon's Imagine video, you'll love the Chikalicious decor - white, modern, and simple. The best seat is at the dessert bar centered around an open kitchen where you can see owner/pasty chef Chika and her assistant in action. For $14 (used to be $12), you can get an amuse, your choice of dessert off a menu that changes daily, and petit fours. The amuse and petit fours are chosen for you by the chef. Each additional dessert costs $7. Since there's only 20 seats in the 400-square-foot Chikalicious, they take no reservations and parties greater than four will not be seated. We've read the wait can be impossibly long, especially on weekends. We went on a weekday at around 3 PM and had no problem getting seated at the bar, although we took up the last two seats.

The dainty desserts are airy and delicately sweet. Chikalicious is not the kind of place you get traditionally heavy, ultra creamy, extra sweet desserts. Chikalicious is the antithesis to a place like Serendipity. The dessert we chose was one of their signature dishes - the Fromage Blanc Island "Cheesecake." We knew we were in for something special as we watched Chika's assistant skillfully prepare this for us using a cheesecloth. The Fromage Blanc, served on ice, was a more elegant interpretation of the classic cheesecake. It was much more in line with the Japanese style of cheesecakes, but with a twist. It was unbelievably light and delicious.

For an additional $7, you can get a wine paired with your three-course sweet meal. The menu provides suggestions for the best pairing for your dessert. We could see the logic in why this wine was paired with our dessert; however, it was much too sweet for our taste. We would have been better off ordering their espresso.

We always love learning about the history and the story behind the place. We especially love when businesses are owned and operated by families. Pastry chef and co-owner Chika Tillman (pictured below) was born in Japan, trained at the French Culinary Institute, and worked at places like the Gramery Tavern before opening ChikaLicious with her husband Don Tillman. Don, a saxophone player from Philadelphia, was a Japanese-language major that fell in love with a nutrition student named Chika in a Tokyo jazz club decades ago.

As we sat at the bar, we saw what a great yin and yang team Chika and Don formed. Chika was focused, friendly in a more restrained way. We appreciated that she created the desserts with such precision, with such refinement; as though she was gracefully playing a piano. More importantly, we appreciated her almost zen-like calm. It was truly relaxing to watch her moves.
Don served as host, busser, manager. Don was very friendly, welcoming, polite, and could probably make any stressed out New Yorker feel more relaxed with his genuinely inviting smile. We didn't realize he was the owner until much later. Considering how many arrogant business owners are out there, we really appreciated his almost humble air and un-forced warm demeanor.

Our petit fours were adorable, they tasted delicious, and although we were prepared for small portions here, these left us wanting/needing more. But we definiely appreciated this French-style presentation.

This brilliant, refreshing melon gelee amuse was by far our favorite. We'd eat this every week if we had our way. The sweet melon flavors definitely took me back to Japan. It was sweet in a mellow way and the soft texture felt so good in our mouths. What we liked most about this was that the flavors and texture of this dessert aren't something you can easily find in many dessert places in the U.S.

As we sat at the bar, we noticed that Don Tillman kept walking to and from a place directly across the street. We learned that he was also managing their recently opened Dessert Club, Chikalicious. Dessert Club, ChikaLicious also only sells desserts, but it's more take-out style, although there are seats. If you want something quicker, less expensive, more casual, and with a larger dessert menu, Dessert Club is an excellent option.

Dessert Club, ChikaLicous was recently voted as having the best cupcake in New York City by Grub Street. They have a fantastic dessert menu. And like its predecessor, Dessert Club also does desserts differently. For example, their cupcakes doesn't consist of thick, highly sweet icing (like Magnolia's, which we love); like Chika's other desserts, these cupcakes are light and airy. It's definitely the most unique cupcake we've tasted. Their cupcake options include: Smore; Caramel; Banana; Triple Chocolate; Mocha; Red Velvet; Coconut; and Black and White.

The vanilla cupcake from Magnolia's Bakery is still our favorite cupcake, but this Smore cupcake is a close second. How can you not love a cupcake with marshmallow topping and chocolate filling that doesn't leave you feeling full and overly high on sugar? And if you want to walk around the East Village while nibbling on a sweet treat, you won't have to worry about getting messy frosting all over your face.

Dessert Club, ChikaLicious also sells: Shaved Ice; Espresso Ice Shots; House Made Brioche Bread Pudding (baked in Vanilla-Brandy custard); Adult Chocolate Pudding (dark, Valrhona ganache-chocolate served atop crunchy chocolate streusel); Coconut Marshmallows (seasonal); Banana Creme Custard; Ginger Spiced Carrot Cake; Cinnamon Baked Apple Crisp; and Vanilla Apple Pudding Cake. The best part about this "casual" dessert spot is that you can have beer, wine, or champagne with your cupcake and shaved ice. You can't get that at Magnolia. How's that for some grown up fun?

We loved the way the desserts at both ChikaLicious Dessert Bar and Dessert Club, ChikaLicious tasted. We loved how clean everything was (germaphobes appreciate cleanliness). We loved that you can get the fine dining experience at one place and then get desserts to take home from the other place. We love that it's run by a husband and wife team from different parts of this world. We love that they took that risk. But most importantly, we loved how we were made to feel invited as guests. That's mainly thanks to Don Tillman. Who knows, we could have just caught him on a very good day. We just hope all customers that enter ChikaLicious catches him and the rest of his staff on a very good day. One criticism - being unable to navigate their website - when you click on some of their links, it just freezes up your computer.

The Prune Brunch

2010-01-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

It's Saturday, which means many people in New York have had brunch and cocktails somewhere in New York. This calls to mind our brunch experience at Prune (54 East 1st Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues). It's a place that has packets of Alka-Seltzer at its bar. After you've eaten here, you'll know why. Prune is famous its quirky American menu and Bloody Marys, and its chef/owner Gabrielle Hamilton, described as "rogue" and as one of the most exciting chefs by Anthony Bourdain, and who just happened to beat Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America in her spare time. At Prune, you'll find all the "comfort" dishes Hamilton personally loves, like monkfish liver.

Prune's wait during brunch was horrible, as expected. However, we lucked out and managed to be seated in about 10 minutes. The people immediately after us weren't as lucky and crowds of people kept forming outside the restaurant.

This restaurant is cramped, and you will be knocking elbows with strangers during your entire meal as waiters in their pink shirts try to maneuver around the small space.

We arrived at almost 2 PM, ample time for brunch considering Prune's brunch ends at 3:30 PM (lunch is also served until 3:30 PM on weekdays). We wanted to try everything on the brunch menu, but since our budget only allowed us to order two, we started with Prune's Dutch Style Pancake - One large pancake cooked in the oven with blackberries, served with Canadian bacon, sour cream, and powdered sugar, $14. This pancake just looked perfect. It was almost too pretty to eat, and looked more like dessert than breakfast.

We've never seen a pancake so thick. And considering how thick it was, it was made perfectly fluffy. The sour cream with the powdered sugar was a child-adult's fantasy fulfilled.

We also ordered the decadent Monte Cristo - Triple decker ham, turkey, and swiss cheese sandwich, custard-style battered and deep fried, served with fried eggs and egg currant jelly, $13. This was also good, but for the price, we felt the portion was just a tad bit small, or maybe it was just that good that we wanted more. Maybe they should make it a quad-decker? Other brunch items include: Lower East Side Appetizing (courtesy of Russ & Daughters) for $23, grilled handmade lamb sausages and oysters served with stewed tomatoes and grilled peasant bread for $18, Youth Hostel Breakfast (fish pastes, liver wursts, lanjaegers, and grainy breads for $16, and spicy stewed chickpeas for $14.

We noticed we were the only ones that weren't fully engaging in the full Prune brunch experience, which meant ordering one of Prune's sadistic, downright scary-sounding Bloody Marys. And, the Bloody Marys are served with a Red Stripe as a beer chaser. A bit whoa, even for us. This combined with rich food could spell out heartburn disaster and we had a full day ahead of us and we were not about to be spending our day walking the city in search of toilets. Prune's Bloody Mary menu includes: The Bullshot (Absolute vodka, beef-bouillon, Worcestershire, Tabasco), Mariner (Absolute Citron vodka, clam juice, and olives), Southwest (Tequila with smoked chipotle peppers), Caesar (gin, clam juice, and pickled egg), Chicago Matchbox (homemade lemon vodka, pickled vegetables, caperberries), the Green Lake (with wasabi), and the Danish (marinated with white anchovy).

Prune is hardcore brunch not for the faint of stomach. But if you can handle it, you'll love it.

Yellow Eye View

2009-12-29T14:20:00.000-08:00

We almost always either walked or caught the subway, but seeing the constant sea of yellow was more comforting than an eye sore, as much an important part of the Manhattan landscape as skyscrapers and food carts.

Corner Bistro

2009-12-20T17:25:00.000-08:00

Corner Bistro on 331 West 4th Street (between 12th and Jane St) has dubbed themselves "the last of the bohemian bars in West Greenwich Village." They're a burger and beer bar institution in the area.

We liked Corner Bistro for several reasons:

1). Cheap beer. Order the McSorely Ale or McSorely Dark on tap for $2.50. If you're a high roller, you can order a Guinness Pub Can for $6.00. But why would you do that? Guinness is my favorite beer, but $2.50 at a bar in New York City is a great deal. Take advantage of it.

2). Affordable, simple beer-friendly food. You get no menus here and sometimes that's a good thing. There's only a few things you can order off a chalkboard. We've heard people exclaim that Corner Bistor's Bistro Burger is the best burger in New York City. We wouldn't call it the best, but the hefty 8 oz burger with melted cheese, bacon, and raw onions is pretty good, and the sheer volume of this burger makes it a good deal for just $6.75. We might have ranked this burger higher if the meat was more juicy and the bread less crumbly the first time we ordered it.

You can also order a chili burger for $6.75, a cheeseburger for $6, a regular hamburger for $5.75, or a grilled chicken sandwich for $6. The best part about the average-tasting chicken burger were the toasted buns. A burger is a better choice here.

But the best thing to order at Corner Bistro is their grilled cheese sandwich for $3.75. Granted, you can easily make a grilled cheese sandwich at home. But everything about the way Corner Bistro made this was perfect - nicely grilled, crunchy bread, ample amount of cheese, and it wasn't overly greasy or soggy. Pair it with a beer, and you have a lovely match. Pair this with a McSorely Ale and you'll have a fine dinner in Manhattan for $6.25! Add fries to the mix and your tab will still be under $10.

By the way, there's ketchup bottles everywhere.

3). Casual atmosphere in a non-casual neighborhood. You can walk into Corner Bistro dressed as down as you want and no one gives a shit. Corner Bistro has a mixed clientele, but consists mainly of dudes. If you're a single female in the city looking for dudes, don't bother trying to pick up men here. Corner Bistro guys seem like the kind of guys that would rather drink beers with their man friends while talking smack about women than the kind of high fivers actively seeking female companionship (you can find them paying $15 for martinis down the street).

4). 50+ bartenders. They look like they could be your pop or your wise-cracking grandfather that doesn't have time for young kids' attitudes. It's refreshing to see these type of guys behind the bar in a bar industry obsessed with hiring winking men with overly slicked back hair or girls who've blown all their tips on implants and too much makeup.

5). Yes, you can actually sit down to have a beer. Although it's a relatively small bar, there's at least seating options - intimate booths in the back area (mostly college types and couples) or the front bar area (mostly large groups of co-workers).

6). There's a jukebox. The music tends to get drowned out in the sea of conversations, but at least the choice to play music you like is there.

Another thing to know about Corner Bistro is that it's always crowded. It really doesn't matter if it's day or night, weekday or weekend. We've had to stand in lines, but the wait isn't too bad. For some reason, we always ended up seated next to the jukebox and kitchen counter.

One thing we didn't like about Corner Bistro is that they are one of the few places in Manhattan that doesn't deliver, which is why we ended up on several occasions ordering a Pop Burger instead. We can bet that they're too short staffed to deal with delivery orders. They'd be getting way too many burger orders at 3 AM.

Palate for Half Price Latin Drinks

2009-12-19T13:42:00.000-08:00

New York City has the best bars in the U.S. Period. Proof - Paladar at 161 Ludlow Street. Best time to go to Paladar is between 4 and 7 PM to get tipsy off their half price drinks.

One difficulty at this bar is getting a seat at the bar.

Once you overcome that hurdle, the next challenge is deciding what drink to order - Mojito, Caipirinha, Margarita, or Sangria? Easiest decision is to try them all. They're all good. The bartender was making drinks factory-production style. It was crazy that there was only one bartender considering how crazy busy it was during the half-price hours. We've never seen a bartender with such mechanic focus.

We so badly wanted to order something off of their seafood-friendly menu but the food didn't come with happy hour prices so we stuck to the booze.

Paladar's a fun, lively spot. It's also located on a great bar hopping area. If you're over the age of 27, chances are you'll feel like a senior citizen among the sea of L.E.S. trendsters. But don't let that deter you from getting your discounted drinks on.

If we were in New York today, we would have definitely spent the day playing in the snow in Central Park then heading to a bar like Paladar to warm ourselves up (with fine summer time cocktails). New York, we're missing you most on a day like this.

The Big Papaya

2009-12-15T12:08:00.000-08:00

The gazillion Papaya chains can be an eye sore with their in-your-face signs, neon lights, and tacky Partyland decorations, but they bring back memories of good times in New York City, like the Presidential election. After we voted for our new President, we went to our neighborhood Papaya King and got hot dogs to go for dinner. We watched the news coverage of the Presidential election while eating our Papaya King dogs.

After experiencing an incredible Roy Ayers performance at Blue Note, we stumbled into Papaya Dog on our way home.

The fluorescent lighting is really harsh when you've had a long night.

Hot dog and corn dog was the best way to end that night.

No, wait, hot dogs and corn dogs followed by a beautiful distant view of the Empire State building when the streets are eerily quiet was the best way to end that night.

All the Papaya dogs pretty much taste the same, but for some reason, we'll give the edge just a bit to Gray's Papaya.

Multilingual

2009-12-12T18:50:00.000-08:00

This is why New York is the center of the world.

Herd of New York Lovers

2009-12-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

This is the way you want to scream tourist.

Perhaps not the most street smart way to travel when in New York, or when you're trying to prevent getting overcharged, but it's cool that they don't give a damn about the way they're dressed or their image (well, unless their luggage was lost and they had no choice but to buy five white I Heart New York shirts for five bucks).

Around The Park We Go

2009-12-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

Additional pictures of Central Park that we took throughout the year.

A park where people go to tango . . .

This was the cutest and strangest thing. The guy on the bongo was singing "Who's your baby daddy? I'm your baby daddy." The kids were having a ball, but somehow that song was grossly inappropriate. I still have that song stuck in my head.

Images of rape and drugs at Central Park are gone, replaced by images like these.

Did we mention how kid-friendly this park is?

This playground area is so well designed, fun and functional.

A park for painters, photographers, artists and musicians.

A park for brides and grooms that want stunning background images, if they can somehow manage to get all the tourists and onlookers out of the shots. It's also a fantastic place for proposals.

A park for dogs.

A park for Lennon and Beatles fans.

A park for lovers and romantics.

A park for Shakespeare lovers (although the lines for free Shakespeare is ridiculously long and competitive).

A park for dancers, singers, jazz musicians trying to make some extra money while entertaining tourists.

What we love about this park is you can find your hidden, private spots or you can lounge among hundreds of people in the great lawn picnicking, playing sports, playing music, dancing, signing, hula hooping, performing, rehearsing, photographing, painting, acting, rowing, proposing, and ice skating. There's always something to see, something to experience, and something new to fall in love with.

And it's open until 1:00 am, although we've always left the park when the sun began to set. Probably not a bad idea.

Basta

2009-12-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

Our dining experience at Basta Pasta this past August wasn't nearly as sugoi as our first time there. The food was good but the portions were too small for our appetites and our sour-faced moody waitress brought us down.

This Crespelle con Funghi e Ricotta was a nice and light, airy pasta dish with subtle flavors. We especially loved the homemade silk handkerchief pasta, but for $16 it still left us feeling hungry.

I had to order the Spaghetti con Prosciutto e Parmigiano because the presentation of being served pasta from a half wheel of Parmesan cheese at the table was enticing. As a lover of all things cheese and pasta, this was paradise.

But it would have been a more fun experience if our personality-less waitress at least pretended like she was doing something enjoyable. She was going through the motions like she was cleaning a toilet. Can I please help you take the block of Parmesan out of your ass please? Can you take a shot of something at the bar and come back to our table?

So yes she kind of ruined it for us. It would have been way better if they created a smaller version of this wheel and let you eat the pasta directly from it. Then as a dessert, you'd chomp away at the cheese wheel and whatever you couldn't finish, you'd take it to go in a takeout box. Brilliant idea.

The pasta was rich, creamy and delicious. The thinly sliced high-quality parma prosciutto tasted equally wonderful. But there was hardly any pasta on my plate and the prosciutto was barely there. It was cruel because it just left you desiring more. It was more like an appetizer portion.

As someone who's worked as a waitress, if you want to make money off of tips, you leave your attitude at the door no matter what kind of shitty day you've had because you know your day will be much shitter when you count your cash at the end of the day and see how little money you've made. Perhaps our waitress wasn't so nice to us when she learned we were a table on a budget (no antipasti, no high alcohol sales, and no food off the higher price secondi piatti). But even if we ordered just one salad, we expect good service. We should have waited for seats at the bar to open up and let Misa serve us instead.

Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Truck

2009-12-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

The long lines of people dressed in Giorgio Armani at the Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream truck (a truck that's been revamped from an old postal service truck) parked in Meatpacking near the entrance to the Highline Park prevented us from trying their tempting treats.

But despite the long lines and higher than standard ice cream prices, we might just have to give this one a shot next time we're in New York after reading how their ice cream might be just a bit better for your health and the environment. Their ice creams are made from organic milk/cream/eggs that are locally sourced, free from hormones, antibiotics, preservatives, and stabilizers. Their hazelnuts come from a farm in Sicily, their vanilla is made from Tahitian beans aged in Vodka in oak barrels, and their recyclable cups and spoons are made from sugar and corn husks. This all sounds great, but for most New Yorkers on a budget Mister Softee is still king.

Le Grainne Cafe

2009-12-01T10:23:00.000-08:00

It was a shame that we only ate at Le Grainne Cafe (located at 183th Ninth Avenue) just a few days before we moved out of the city. It would have been our perfect neighborhood brunch spot.

It's a sweet and simple Parisian bistro in Chelsea. It really does look like it could be in any street in Paris.

We were seated right by the counter/kitchen, which was torture since we had to see and smell all the delicious foods being brought out. Our seats also gave us a perfect view of how hard the guys in the tiny kitchen work. It looked like only one or two guys were doing the cooking, which explained why it took so long for us to get our food. Although it took awhile for our food to hit our table, the chefs were working as fast and diligently as humanly possible. Like most restaurants in New York City, the chefs and people that cooked our food - whether French, Italian, or Chinese - were Mexicans. We were impressed with what was going on in the kitchen - when they weren't cooking or plating, they were cleaning or organizing. Basically working their asses off.

This fresh bread saved us.

We absolutely loved Le Grainne's menu, which was simple but savory. It was like taking me back to France: French onion soup, cheese plate with fruits, pate, snails with garlic butter sauce, croque monsieur, croque madame, warm spicy lamb sausage on baguette, and crepes (sweet or spicy sausage, goat cheese and leek, smoked salmon with fresh basil cream and grilled vegetables, butter sugar with ice cream). We noticed everyone was ordering Moules. If not for the price, we would have loved to order the Provencales Moules (mussels in white wine, shallot, garlic, and fresh herb sauce with tomato concassees, black olives, and pesto). The fiance, trying to lower his cholesterol and be healthy, could only order the Salad Nicoise (grilled tuna, boiled eggs, roasted peppers, potatoes, string beans, black olives, and anchovies on a mesclun salad, $14.00). Although it was hard for him to eat this while smelling butter and everything cholesterol-unfriendly in the restaurant, he enjoyed this fresh, filling and pricey salad.

I ordered the Saucisson Beurrer (handmade sweet sausage and butter on baguette, $8.75). The baguette tasted out-of-the-oven good, the sausage was delicious and was perfectly complemented by the rosemary. We've since tried to recreate this at home.

We ended our meal with a great Cappuccino, $3.50.

We went to Le Grainne Cafe around 2:00 PM on a weekday and it was still pretty crowded, so we know this place gets crazy during weekend brunch. One thing we found amusing while people watching at Le Grainne were how many people were drinking champagne and mimosas in the middle of a weekday. We watched a young man near our table polish four glasses of champagne before he received his food. Yup, it was like being back in Europe - people drinking at all hours of the day, enjoying themselves, not working, eating good food. The life.

Le Grainne Cafe is a wonderful place to go for simple French classics. We love that they serve breakfast all day. We bet just ordering their basic Petit Dejeuner Continental (tartine, croissant, chocolate croissant, orange juice, fruit and coffee or tea, $13.50) is splendid. We can picture a writer going to Le Grainne Cafe to enjoy a cup of Rhum Lait Chaud (spiced rum, milk and honey) and an almond croissant. Le Grainne Cafe is open from 8 am to midnight, delivers from 10 am to 10 pm.

Must Love Dogs

2009-11-30T11:56:00.000-08:00

Jorge Munoz: Working Hard to Feed the Hungry in New York

2009-11-25T12:11:00.000-08:00

It will be especially hard being away from our family tomorrow; our second Thanksgiving apart from them. But we also reflect on so many people who are having such a hard time, who are in pain and alone. I also think of Jorge Munoz, a man who doesn't have much but gives so much of himself, his time, from his small paycheck to feed the hungry in New York. This New York Times Article The Chicken and Rice Man about Jorge Munoz is uplifting and makes us think we're not doing enough of the things we should be. Watch the Tribute to CNN Hero Jorge Munoz clip.

What's really inspiring about Mr. Munoz is that he makes a commitment to these people everyday to hand out the meals himself; much harder than just writing a check or passing out some spare change. Equally important, he does so with compassion, love, respect for these people, understands their situation, relates to them, doesn't judge them, doesn't expect anything in return. Much respect!

How this man can give so selflessly yet there are so many wealthy people who would rather buy 10 luxury cars or 15 Gucci bags than to part with some money to help a hungry person is beyond my comprehension.

Small Islands

2009-11-24T14:28:00.000-08:00

Typical scene in New York - standing on a small concrete island in the "middle of everything."

The view from this island - diagonally to our left - is Macy's Herald Square flagship store. The size and volume of this Macy's store is insane. It's also one of the last turn of the century department stores in existence.

El Papasito

2009-11-24T12:01:00.000-08:00

After we turned in the keys to our Chelsea apartment, we stayed at the Holiday Inn on West 57th for our last two nights in New York City. We recommend this hotel if you're on a budget but want something in a good location (it's in easy walking distance to Central Park). We were able to get a special rate of $150 per night, which is unheard of for a last minute reservation and for the area, and our room was extremely spacious and clean. Thanks Erika for the recommendation! There's a decent amount of dining options along 8th Ave., but we bypassed them all and headed to El Papasito instead (346 West 53rd Street between 8th and 9th avenue). And yes, this dark photo was taken with flash.

It's wasn't a good sign when we walked in and we were the only customers on a Friday night at 8:30 PM in New York City, especially since we just walked past dozens of crowded restaurants where people were waiting to get in through the doors. But for some reason, part fatigue and part a desire to try (Dominican) cuisine we didn't think we could find as easily in the Northwest, we were dead set on eating at El Papasito.

Their big menu selection includes: Mofongo with Spanish Sausage, paella, lobster salad, pigeon peas gumbo soup, creole gumbo, tripe soup, hot oxtail, goat stew, pig feet with chick peas, Dominican fried pork, baked chicken, pickled fish, liver steak, and Codfish stew. One of the entrees we ordered were pepper steak, served with plantains and yellow rice, all for $10. Everything on this plate was good, we especially liked the plantains, but nothing to rave to your friends about.

The other entree we ordered was the Dominican-style spaghetti, $9. We ordered this because we love spaghetti and wanted to see what made this "Dominican style." What made this different was the spicy kick and it consisted of cilantro, olives, and red peppers. Eh, it wasn't earth shattering but it was satisfying. A good dish to try recreate at home.

We decided to skip their desserts, which included papaya chunks with cheese, coconut custard, and flan, because we got our sweet fix from their pitcher of Sangria, which was just too Kool-Aid sweet for our taste. A really loud blues band came in to play right in front of the opened restaurant doors, probably to try to draw in some customers. It didn't work. There was only one other customer besides us the whole time we were there.

However, their delivery business seemed to do much better and we understand why. The food is pretty good but the dining experience sucked. If this restaurant was in our neighborhood, we would definitely have breakfast or lunch delivered, especially since they have $6 lunch specials and $3 to $5 breakfast specials. Our waiter was nice, but very slow, inexcusable because there were no customers. The other workers were sitting around watching sports on T.V. The interior could use a makeover (first thing, please take down the collage of soccer players). And although we like Blues, perhaps playing Merengue or Bachata would be more fitting.

Those Late Night Wine Deliveries

2009-11-21T12:40:00.000-08:00

Our favorite wine shop in New York City was 86 Chelsea Wine Country, which was right around the corner from our apartment. It's a small shop so you aren't overwhelmed with selection. It's the kind of no-frills wine shop you go to when you're on a budget, know what you want, don't want to be bothered with pushy workers or snobby wine connoisseur types.

We knew which areas to go for the good deals - either by the cash register or all the way in the back near the floor. The owner of the wine shop or his daughters are usually there and their sales guys are mellow and friendly. If you go there and buy just a $5 bottle of wine, you won't get any strange looks or attitude. Actually, once when I went in looking for a Pinot, one of the sales guys offered me the cheapest bottle of Pinot they had. It was actually quite funny . . . that he knew our budget by then.

But our relationship with 86 Chelsea Wine Country consisted mainly of those late night calls, when at 10 PM or so, we'd have the craving for a nice bottle of something but didn't feel like getting dressed for the cold to get it. So we'd call our friends at the shop and they'd deliver the good stuff to our doorsteps in no time. Again, another great thing about New York is free alcohol and food delivery. We also discovered this budget sake at 86 Chelsea Wine Country - the Itami Onigoroshi - a very mellow, dry sake that's very easy to drink (maybe too easy). Good times. Cheers!

Junior's Cheesecake

2009-11-20T10:45:00.000-08:00

The Broadway production of Billy Elliot at Imperial Theatre ended past 10 PM so we were starving and decided to head right across the street to Junior's Cheesecake. Sure, its convenient location from the Imperial Theater was motivation to go there, but we also wanted to try their cheesecake since we first moved to New York. Initially we wanted to go to their original location in Brooklyn (386 Flatbush Avenue), but time is never your friend in New York and we never made it down there.

Their West 45th Street location (between Broadway and 8th Ave.) is a gigantic restaurant, probably one of the largest sized restaurants we'd been to in New York, and at 10-something P.M., there was still a line to get into the place. A money-making machine. The wait wasn't too bad and we were able to even sit outside.

Service from the front of house to the manager to our waiter were all very nice. For example, when I exited the restroom, the staff literally parted the sea for me - it was a little strange but nice, so nice that you can tell the entire staff has been rigorously trained to be extra nice. But anytime you have a polite and friendly staff, whether it's genuine or forced, is fine with us (we're not paying good money to get an attitude).

We started off the night by ordering a Junior's 10 oz. char-broiled steakburger on an oven toasted bun with lettuce and tomato, served with onion rings and steak fries ($12.50). The burger was pretty good. Although it looks burnt, it was quite moist and juicy. We were hungry, so the hefty size was perfect.

The toasted bun was also good. The fries were unfortunately too soggy and greasy, and despite the large size of the onions rings we were disappointed that there were only two . . . until we tasted how horrible they were and so we ended up only taking two bites anyways.

We also ordered one of the thickest tuna salad sandwiches we'd seen ($9.95). What really made this sandwich worthwhile was the thick cut challah bread. Junior's Cheesecakes has a huge dining menu which includes other sandwiches like fresh brisket, prime roast beef, corned beef, pastrami, beef tongue, chopped liver, and reuben. Other menu items include baby back ribs, Hungarian beef goulash, baked meat loaf, broiled cod, and potato pancakes.

Of course we ended the night with a Junior's cheesecake. Since it was our first time eating it, we had to start with the plain option - a true test of a good cheesecake. What can we say, the cheesecake was wonderful. One of the best we've ever tasted. The cheesecake crust was very different from other cheesecake crusts. The Junior's cheesecake crust was more like a light pie crust. The cheesecake was creamy, the texture was perfect, and it wasn't too thick. We didn't mind paying $6.25 for one slice considering the huge size of the slice and how good it tasted. We couldn't believe how fast we ate this after eating the enormous burger and sandwich. When in New York, go big.

We were glad to confirm that Junior's cheesecake wasn't an over-hyped dessert spot the way Serendipity was; Junior's lived up to its claim-to-fame with their cheesecake. Junior's offers other cheesecake options like brownie marble swirl, a Reese's cheesecake or red velvet cheesecake from their fancy and seasonal selection,and even a sugar free option. If cheesecake's not your thing, they also have a "Junior's Famous Fresh Strawberry Shortcake," coconut layer cake, pound cake, rugelach, brownie, skyscraper ice cream sodas, mountain high sundaes, Fox's U-Bet Brooklyn Egg Cream, and a whole page of liquor options as well.

It all sounds very appetizing, right? Check out this photo we recently discovered.

Traffic Sucks, Thank You Subways

2009-11-19T11:52:00.000-08:00

One of the many things we liked about living in New York was not having a car, which meant not being stuck in horrible traffic, looking for parking, registration fees, blowing money on car issues, and high gas prices. NY subways are fast, convenient, can take you pretty much anywhere you need to go, and you're waiting mostly underground so you're sheltered from the winter extremities (summer heat is a different story).

It took me 7 minutes on the A train to get to work (almost 50 blocks up from our apartment). By far the easiest commute to work I've ever had in my life (when the trains are running properly or you don't zone out and get off at the wrong stop).

Sure, it can get annoyingly crowded during rush hour, but I'll take a quick subway right smashed, prodded and elbowed between people after a long day at work over getting in a car and dealing with traffic, rain, snow, congestion, road rage, and drunk drivers any day.

Sometimes there's nut jobs on the train; that's when your iPod shield or book comes in very handy. Leaving your iPod at home in New York when you're planning to ride the subway feels as naked as not having your seat belt on when you drive a car.

We've probably caught the L train a million times. Our least favorite subway station is the overly crowded Union Square. Always too much activity going on there.

Last stop on the train.

Now why doesn't this type of public transportation exist in more cities?

Kunjip Korean Restaurant

2009-11-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

We've been to several Korean restaurants in Manhattan's Korea town, like Shilla Korean Barbeque, but Kunjip (West 32nd Street) is the only restaurant where returned to on several occasions, mainly because of their really great menu selection (not all listed online) and also because there was always a line out the door. By far the busiest, most popular restaurant on the "Korean street." They're open 24 hours a day and like most restaurants offer free delivery.

Our eyes popped out when we were handed their menu. It's always best to eat at Korean restaurants during lunch time to take advatnage of their lunch specials. Kunjip's lunch specials are Monday-Friday 10 am to 3 PM. Also, it's worthwhile to spend a bit more for combination offerings.

We loved Kunjip's banchan (side dishes). You know Kunjip is a real Korean restaurant that heavily caters to Korean clientele by looking at their banchan size and selection (as opposed to the Korean restaurants in the East Village / West Village / Union Squre areas.

This type of kim chee is one of my favorites. It was delicious.

This salty, hot egg dish is classic, at-your-grandma's house Korean comfort food.

This healthy rice is one of my mom's favorites. The flavor kind of throws me off since I prefer white rice, but it doesn't taste so bad when you mix it with the soups.

This was very good Pajan. Note the wonderful crispy edges.

Soon Dae (Korean blood sausage) is one of my favorite Korean dishes, which for some reason isn't offered at all Korean restaurants. So I was happy to find it at Kunjip even though it wasn't the best I've had. It was good enough to satisfy me!

Not sure what the proper spelling of this dish is but it's pronounced fhe-da-pa. It's rice mixed with sashimi, vegetables, and hot sauce. This was just okay, mainly because their sashimi didn't quite taste fresh.

Chigae - another Korean comfort food staple. This was spicy enough to make you blow your nose several times during the meal, but not too overbearing.

Kunji's Sulungtang (mild beef soup) was not bad. Perfect soup when you're feeling under the weather but don't want to aggravate your stomach with spices. I was a bit disappointed that the soup didn't come with other intestines/animal parts (like the marrow) that I've had with other Sulungtan. Then again, the soup was affordable so I can see why they kept it very basic.

We've also tried Kunjip's Dduk Boki (very good) and Duk Mandoo Guk (not bad, not great). So to summarize, the few things we tried on Kunjip's menu we'd rate average to above average. Again, not the best Korean food we've had (i.e. like in L.A.), but Kunjip was the best we had in New York City. It was too bad that we didn't have more time to explore the great Korean food options in Flushing, Queens.

And the perfect way to end the meal. We love this cinnamon drink. But why do the restaurants always give such a small shot?

One thing we have to note is that soon after we ate our final meal at Kunjip, we popped into a discount jewelery store owned and operated by a really nice Korean family (some of the nicest people we met while in the city) that talked story with us and gave us a great discount. One of the workers who was about our age recommended another Korean restaurant in Korea town that we didn't have time to try, but he also added that he didn't like Kunjip because they use MSG. There's no way for us to know how he knows this but we probably wouldn't have eaten there all the times we did if we had this conversation with him when we first moved to NYC.

Well, in addition to Kunjip, there's a ton of other Korean food places to try on the same street if you don't have time to make it to Flushing. This Korean mart pictured below was great.

The well known "dumpling lady" in Korea town that's supposed to make phenomenal dumplings for your viewing and tasting pleasures.

The Blue Ribbon Empire

2009-11-17T17:44:00.000-08:00

Everyone raves about the eight Blue Ribbon Restaurants in Manhattan, which includes three sushi restaurants. We've only been to the Blue Ribbon Bakery (on Downing and Bedford) and went there because we read such great reviews about their weekend brunch.

Maybe we caught them on an off day, but the food was just okay and the environment was a bit too hectic and cluster-F'd even by Manhattan standards. It didn't help that we were seated in the corner in a tiny, cramped and hot area in the basement (where their bakery is located). On a positive note, seeing their bakery and experiencing the unbelievably wonderful smell coming from their old-world oven was the highlight of our visit.

Dark Smoothie

2009-11-17T17:42:00.000-08:00

Those Come-Hither Signs

2009-11-16T18:06:00.000-08:00

Follow the Food

2009-11-16T10:52:00.000-08:00

Often times you feel like you have attention deficit disorder when you walk down a street in New York City. Restaurants and bars and bodegas and food carts and food trucks and cafes. It's dizzying and exciting.

Simple and intelligent window display - an image that reminds you of your grandma and comfort food plus a sign that says Free Mac & Cheese Tuesday. Brilliant.

An awning with the words "Burgers and Cupcakes" just makes us smile.

Not big fans of lumping together Korean and Japanese food. Note the sign "EXOTIC sake bar" - we take it this is to lure in customers who really don't know the difference between Korean and Japanese food. Peculiar pub sounds more interesting.

Esposito Pork Shop (located on the same street as Manganaro's Hero Boy and Manganaro's Grosseria and Ristorante). If you don't like animal knuckles, nose, ears, tails, and butt bits, you would hate Esposito Pork Shop's window display.

Even the strongest people have a hard time resisting "FRENCH FRIES" on a big red banner. The come-hither smell of french fries being fried in artery clogging oil will always test your will power.

We walked past this neon sign in the East Village several dozen times, especially since our temporary sublet was right around the corner. But we were always one our way to somewhere else and just never made it in Paul's Da Burger Joint (is the owner from Hawaii?). So we have no way of agreeing with or disputing their "the best hamburger" claim. We're cool with not having tried their burger since we fell in love with the J.G. Melon, Shake Shack, and The Burger Joint burgers.

Although we were never out until 5 or 6 am like many young and old kids in the city, it was just nice to have so many options for 24-hour food places.

Marie's Crisis Cafe is on our still growing list of places we want to go go to when we visit or MOVE back to New York. It's been an underground West Village piano bar for musical theater performers, gay men, and people that just like to have fun. The underground space itself has been around since the 1850s.

Rich Nation, Poor People

2009-11-15T18:56:00.000-08:00

Must watch: Sick Around the World

Everyone in the United States should have good, affordable health insurance NOW!!!! The fact that this is a topic of debate is unbelievably stupid.

Wealthy lawmakers who don't have to worry about medical insurance coverage for themselves and their families cannot be the ones making choices about health care.

Chelsea Antique & Collectible Flea Market

2009-11-15T10:21:00.000-08:00

On mellow weekends when we didn't want to do anything in particular or get on a subway, we'd just stroll around our neighborhood. We'd often end up at the Chelsea Antique & Collectible Flea Market, which utilizes a small parking space on the corner of 17th Street and 7th Avenue every Saturday and Sunday. This isn't really the best photo; it was taken as the market was wrapping up for the day.

At this flea market, you can find a ton of jewelry, some nice but expensive furniture, paintings, old magazines and comic books, toys (which includes boxes of haggard looking naked barbie dolls), bags, cowboy boots, records and VHS movies. There's a hardware vendor that has a table covered with old tools, door knobs, and keys. One lady sells some cool vintage clothes and shoes. Another lady sells what many people might consider junk. She literally has about two large folding tables covered in heaps of old clothes that she probably just tosses out of garbage bags. If you don't want to go through the effort of digging through the clothes, some soiled and with holes, then she also has a rack of her nicer stuff. I walked away with a $3 blouse. Other stuff we've purchased at this flea include an old license plate and a wooden cross.

The Chelsea Antique & Collectible Flea Market doesn't have nearly as much selection as The Garage Flea Market (on West 25th between 6th and 7th) and it can be really hit or miss as far as finding stuff, but it's still a fun place to just wander around. This flea market is also at the end of the street where Housing Works, Angel Thrift Shop, the Rubin Museum, an antique alley and antique jewelry store are all located. It's also right next to a great dry cleaner/tailor shop where we've taken our coats to get fixed - the folks there are super nice and can give you recommendations on Korean food in Flushing!

Tim Burton Events at MoMA

2009-11-14T20:29:00.000-08:00

Ah hot damn, we need to stop reading about stuff we're missing out in New York, like the Tim Burton book signing at MoMA on Wednesday, November 18th in conjunction with his career retrospective at the museum. Burton will be signing the exhibition catalogue as well as The Art of Tim Burton. Meeting Burton via book signing is much more appealing than shelling out thousands of dollars to attend the MoMA Film Benefit A Tribute to Tim Burton on Tuesday, November 17th.

Liquiteria & Getting Beet Down

2009-11-14T14:27:00.000-08:00

Enjoy a blissfully greasy meal from any of the hundreds of food joints in the East Village, then walk over to Liquiteria to wash the oils away. In one day, we bought three juices at Liquiteria as a peace gesture/apology to our bodies for the amount of crap we had been consuming. Liquiteria's Beets Me fresh pressed bottled juice (carrot, beet, apple, pear, lemon, ginger) is absolutely delicious. If money wasn't an option, we could easily drink this everyday. We assumed the All Greens bottled juice (kale, spinach, romaine, parsley, celery, cucumber, apple, lemon and ginger) would be disgusting (still suffering from wheatgrass post-traumatic syndrome). But Liquiteria's All Greens juice was surprisingly good. The apple, lemon, and ginger were a nice, sweet contrast to all the greens. The Killer XX (green apples, double serving of ginger, and cayenne) was also good but it left our ears and throat on fire from the cayenne and ginger pairing.

In addition to the juices, Liquiteria sells smoothies, supplements, and some healthy food options like jumbo tofu dog, grilled soy gouda, and organic PB&J. Liquiteria is located on 170 Second Avenue at 11th Street and offers free delivery on purchases of $10 and more, which is easy to do since their juices are expensive. Well, I guess it's not so expensive when you think about how expensive at-home juicers are, how expensive fruits are, and how messy it is to juice your own fruits. Not too long ago we tried to recreate the Green Pirate Juice Truck's Hot Pink Limeade juice (red apple, lemon, lime, cucumber and sweet beet). Since we don't have a juicer, we used our blender instead. BIG MISTAKE. We nearly gagged drinking our overly thick, hot pink smoothie and it left our lips looking like we applied very bad shade of 1980s lipstick.

Tenement Museum

2009-11-12T19:04:00.001-08:00

We love immigration stories about struggle and survival since we come from immigration families ourselves and can relate first hand, so we finally went to the Tenement Museum in our last month in New York.

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum is a landmark 1863 five-story tenement building that was home to about 7,000 people from over 20 countries between 1863 and 1935. Visits to the building are available only through one of their one-hour guided tours, which share the stories of actual families that lived in the 97 Orchard Street building. The apartments have been decorated to look as they would have of the actual residents that resided at the time. Tours are also available via Spanish and sign language.

Of their tour options, we decided on the Getting By tour. We visited the restored apartments of the German-Jewish Gumpertz family, whose patriarch disappeared during the Panic of 1873, and the Italian-Catholic Baldizzi family, who lived through the Great Depression. We tried to imagine how it felt for a woman at that time to be suddenly left without her husband who had been the financial caretaker. More chillingly, we were told that generations later, a similar scenario took place to the same family (due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City).

And although we found the true stories of these families compelling, especially the parts about their determination to succeed and thrive, the tour itself felt a bit sparse. Adult tickets are a whopping $20 per ticket for a short one-hour tour (in comparison, for the same price you can spend all day at the MET plus visit the Cloisters). There was way too much Q&A that our tour guide was trying to force on us and we wasted time talking outside the building before and after the tour. The tour would have been much better if they extended the tour by 30 minutes and allowed visitors to visit all the apartments in the building. It was a shame they only allowed us to see two small apartments when we clearly could have had time to see more.

This lady pictured below brought her son and grandson to the Getting By tour. We spoke with her after the tour as her grandson and son stood in line for ice cream. She seemed to think the tour was just okay as well. She talked to us about her travel stories, about how after she lived in New York City for quite some time, she moved away. But she said even at her age, she missed New York City so much that she had to move back. It was bittersweet listening to her tell this story when we knew we'd be leaving (and missing) New York soon thereafter.

It's best to avoid going on this tour during the summer months since it's too hot inside the tenement building. We cooled off after the tour by eating at il laboratorio del gelato. The flavors they offer are ridiculously drool worthy.

Please Babka Me

2009-11-10T16:04:00.000-08:00

We need a Russ & Daughters cinnamon babka fix pronto.

Far End of Suburb America

2009-11-08T17:52:00.000-08:00

There's something about images of neighborhoods with cookie-cutter homes and nicely mowed and manicured green lawns that make me feel a bit squeamish. Some people might feel that moving into a large, two-story home that looks identical to their neighbors' homes is comforting and a symbol of success you're supposed to achieve by a certain age. For me, it brings a completely different sentiment. It evokes feelings of sterileness, banality, commonality, and entrapment. I'm not being melodramatic here, it's just how I feel.

Films like Edward Scissorhands, Poltergeist and American Beauty are films that illustrate a sort of nightmare on Suburban street. Powerless feelings of being tied to the house/tied to the job were so eloquently and realistically portrayed by characters Jack and Norma Arnold in The Wonder Years. After watching that show for years, I was left feeling I wanted to get as far away from domestic suburb life as I could.

And perhaps that's why I felt so free living in New York City, despite living in an apartment the size of a closet or on dirty streets cluttered with dog poo and scum (we were very lucky to have avoided the bed bugs). I felt I was able to finally breathe on the streets of New York. Each building has its own story and temperament. Old buildings that once housed new immigrants stand right next to new condos. The same building could contain a new wide-eyed transplant that's shelling out $3,000/mo in rent and an elderly woman that's paying 1970s prices. There's an interesting mix of transience and solid history. Just walk a few blocks and you'll see stories unfold.

Pac-Man and Beer

2009-11-07T15:10:00.000-08:00

On a rare bar-hopping night, we ended up at d.b.a on 41 First Avenue. d.b.a. stats: They're known for their large selection of scotch, tequilas, and beer (usually over 250 varieties), open from 1 PM to 4 AM daily, has a large back garden area and a quirky baseball shrine, and a few "old school" arcade games.

When we went in the summer, all the seats in the garden area were taken but there were ample seating in the bar area. So we decided to spend our time playing the classic Pac-Man, which isn't so easy when you've had a few. The crowd was uber young (mostly college types to mid-20s), but we felt the youngest at heart that night playing our game. Then again, most of those kids probably didn't grow up with Pac-man the way we did. They'd probably call it a "vintage" game. What's an arcade? Oy.

(I didn't include a link to their website drinkgoodstuff.com because when I attempted to enter their website several times just now, it froze up my computer).

Little Tokyo Street

2009-11-06T11:22:00.000-08:00

There's a section of St. Mark's in the East Village known as Little Tokyo. East 9th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues in particular has some good Japanese restaurants (same street where Sake Bar Decibel, Otofuku, and Yakiniku West are located). The building at the corner that also houses the St. Mark's bookstore (across from an NYU building) contains Sharaku, Village Yokocho, and Angel's Share.

LUNCH - Sharaku is a reliable place to go for Japanese food. The main draw is their lunch specials, which include sushi and soba combos and a good salmon bento box, at relatively affordable prices.

DINNER - Next door to Sharaku on the upper level is Village Yokocho, open from 5 PM to 3 AM. It's in the style of a Japanese pub so instead of ordering one large meal, you sample a little of this and a little of that (which can really add up so beware of the large bill at the end of your meal).

Village Yokocho was down-the-stairs and out-the-door crowded the times we went.

No sushi bar here. This is their yakitori bar.

Village Yokocho's menu is extensive, diverse, and kind of all over the map. The menu options are so large that it actually takes a long time to figure out what to order. It's not the standard menu consisting of the typical sushi/donburi options/teriyaki options. This rich, buttery mushroom dish was delicious.

Village Yokocho also has Korean dishes on its menu, like this pajan (Korean Pancake). We love when Pajan is extra crispy on the outer edges.

We wonder if the Otofuku guys just bring this up?

Fresh, healthy chirashi bowl to offset the heaviness of the buttery and greasy dishes above. (Note: These photos were taken about a year ago, well in advance of my food poisoning incident - it's hard enough for me to just look at photos of Ikura now).

COCKTAILS - And while you're sitting at your table at Village Yokocho, you'll notice people walking in and out of an unmarked door inside the restaurant. You know it's not the restroom. You ask, is it a private room? Sort of - it's Angel's Share.

Behind the secretive, unmarked door oddly placed inside a bustling, yakitori-smelling Japanese restaurant is a quiet, small, serene dimly lit elegant parlor. The large mural lit above the bar gave it a dreamy ambiance, and looking around at all the couples, a popular date spot. The two Japanese bartenders looked like they were handling their business efficiently and politely, while wearing their crisp white shirts, black ties and black vests.

We somehow lucked out on the last two seats. Angel's Share has a no-standing bar policy, probably to maintain a subdued environment, which is almost unheard of at other popular New York City bars and lounges on weekends. There's also a strictly enforced rule where only groups of four or fewer can be seated.

The cocktails were expensive so we sipped our one cocktail each very slowly. The downside was that due to the limited seating space, we felt a bit pressured to order more to keep our seats (since we saw people attempting to enter the bar then being turned). Nevertheless, it's a cool little bar with some interesting drink options (we stuck to beer and sake because the mixed cocktails were buco bucks). They also offer interesting food options, prepared in the Village Yokocho kitchen of course. The greatest appeal of Angle's Share is feeling like you're drinking at a mysterious spot, even if it's not so mysterious anymore.

Fish + Milk @ Chelsea Market

2009-11-02T14:50:00.000-08:00

Whenever we walked into Ronnybrook Farm Dairy at Chelsea Market, we had to remind ourselves that we are lactose intolerant. Ronnybrook Farm Dairy's milk bottles are so visually appealing, we almost wanted to forget the aftermath of drinking a straight glass of milk.

For those that have had the phrase "lactose intolerant" handed down to you, Ronnybrook Farm Dairy makes you want to challenge that diagnosis when you're at a milk playground like this.

Ronnybrook is known for their milk shakes and ice creams, but they also sell organic eggs, drinkable yogurts, spreadable cheese, and free range chicken sandwiches. Ronnybrook's other comfort food items include their mac & cheese and their Shakshuk eggs (tomato-vegetable stew over two sunny side up eggs).

The one thing we disliked at Ronnybrook was their extremeley tart atomic green mint with crushed ice drink shown in this photo. Stick to the dairy.

Their sandwiches are healthy so don't expect one of those mindblowing Katz's pastrami experiences, but the food is fresh, it's good for you, the place is clean, the service is usually pretty good, and it's nice to sit at the circular counter eating lunch that won't break your bank like some of the other Meatpacking lunch spots.

Chelsea Market also has a fish playground called The Lobster Place.

In addition to being New York City's larget purveyor of live lobster, they have one of the city's largest selection of fish, they sell clambakes, smoked fish, and more. This is the place we liked buying our salmon from since the salmon at the grocery stores in our neighborhood looked a bit schpent and unhealthy. Here, we were confident that we were getting the fresh goods. (Perhaps Sakagura should buy their fish from here and learn how to discard old fish).

You can also have a raw bar event at the Lobster Pound. Fresh oysters and hotate - our kind of party. Great idea for a company Christmas party. Think outside the hotel/banquet box people!

The Lobster Place also sells (fairly pricey) prepared food: soups like lobster bisque and Manhattan clam chowder; crab claw cocktail and smoked salmon cocktail (six slices of Norwegian smoked salmon served with their scallion cream cheese, capers and Amy's bread); "Shack-in-the-back" rolls (served on a buttered and grilled top-split bun) like tarragon shrimp roll (sweet shrimp tossed with fresh tarragon, capers, comichons, parsely, chives). Other menu items include seared ahi soba noodles and curried tuna salad wrap (fresh steamed yellowfin tuna mixed with madras curry, golden raisins, red onions, cilantro).

And of course, they sell sushi! The sushi bentos are also expensive but remember they're fresh - prepared right there for you and this place has a high turnaround.

Their lobster roll sushi is delicious but they don't give you very many for the price. It actually leaves you feeling unsatisfied. If you're going to splurge on semi-lobster, spend your money on the Red Hook Lobster Pound lobster roll instead, which we're craving like no one's business right now.

You know you're going to get good bread at Amy's Bread when you watch the workers through the glass in their bakery next to their small store making the bread (it's the area where tourists are taking photos). The bread is made by hand daily, they use organic whole grains and unbleached flour, and they offer an excellent selection. They also offer cookies, muffins, almond brioche toast, chocolate cherry rolls, coffee cakes, lowfat applesauce doughnuts, biscuits, scones, freshly baked pizza, quiche, focaccia diska, a very European looking sandwich menu, and layer cakes. See their complete menu. Their Chelsea Market location is quite small and always crowded so it's better to take their food to go. Grab one of their sandwiches and walk over to the Highline Park (they actually sell picnic sandwich boxes during summer).

Who wouldn't want to receive Sesame Street and burger and fries cakes?

Chelsea market always has photos dislayed on its walls.

And there's music, usually jazz, that's great while you're having lunch.

This is sort of torture thinking about places you can no longer walk over to or call for delivery, like right about now during dinner time we'd be calling Chelsea Thai Wholesale and getting pad thai noodles delievered to our apartment. It's still the best pad thai we've ever tasted and still a great deal at $7.85 (despite the fact that the price has been slightly raised). We don't think you can order a bad thing off of their menu.

We Missed Stevie Wonder

2009-10-31T18:38:00.001-07:00

If we were still living in New York City this year, we would have stayed home a month to pay for two concerts that took place in and around New York. First for us would have been a short flight to Norfolk, VA to see Stevie give a three-hour concert that was described as "a perfect concert." I cry.

Second concert on our list would have been the first night of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary show at Madison Square garden. The amount of music legends in one room . . . unfreakinbelievable: Paul Simon, Jerry Lee Lewis, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen and the E. Street Band, Billy Joel. There were tributes and dedications. John Legend dedicated a song to Marvin Gaye. Stevie Wonder did a "stunning" homage to Michael Jackson with "The Way You Make Me Feel." I cry. Stevie also did duets with Smokey Robinson, John Legend, Sting, and B.B. King. Oh Beejeezus. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band did a version of "New York State of Mind" with Billy Joel. Once in a lifetime event. We should have been there.

Night two of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary show also had some incredible talent. Aretha Franklin paid homage to our favorite city with her version of "New York, New York." Also performing were Annie Lennox, Lenny Kravitz, Jeff Beck, Metallica, Lou Reed, Ozzy Osbourne, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen again, U2 and a surprise appearance by Mick Jagger.

If anyone hears that Stevie Wonder will be performing on the west coast, please let us know ASAP!!!

Party Animals

2009-10-31T16:20:00.000-07:00

If we were celebrating Halloween in New York, these are the people we'd party with - people dressed in creative costumes, not the predictable of-the-moment fad that people our age and younger can't help but wear every Halloween, people who can shake their tooshies to both "Monster Mash" and Missy Elliott's "Get Ur Freak On.

Lost in the Wilderness

2009-10-31T12:17:00.000-07:00

This great quote on the exterior wall of the Rubin Museum has new meaning in our lives. At this moment in time, we are very lost. I suppose this means we will be finding ourselves soon.

Living Large in New York

2009-10-29T11:43:00.000-07:00

You haven't seen rich people until you've lived in Manhattan. They're a separate breed from other "wealthies" in the rest of the United States. Just walk into Bergdorf and observe the folks with personal shoppers. It's actually quite startling if it's your first looksie in Bergdorf, then quite amusing. Or walk down Madison Ave or walk by Columbus Circle and see the long lines of personal drivers waiting in shiny black Mercedes for hours until their bosses wearing Tom Ford suits are ready to be driven just one block away. So where do these wealthies live? They live in the Dakota-esque buildings with doormen wearing suits nicer than your nicest suit. They live in the big fat large condos - in the West Village, the lofts in SoHo, the large condos on the Upper West side overlooking Central Park.

It's always insane when we see real balconies in Manhattan. Our balcony was the glamorous fire escape with a view right into someone's messy bedroom in the opposite building.

Not big fans of the expensive, trendy SoHo neighborhood, but we'd love to live in any of the spacious lofts there.

There's so many elegant as Cary Grant apartments on the Upper West Side, especially the buildings closest to Central Park. You can lick the sidewalks there. It'd be a great place to raise a family.

The coveted top units. We'd always look up at apartments like this and wonder what the rent must be like and how great it'd be to have some margaritas on top outside during the warm months. And we'd wonder if the people living in these gorgeous apartment appreciate living there, just as Andie asked Duckie in Pretty in Pink.

This apartment was one block from our apartment. We always passed this apartment on the way to the Chelsea Market. We like the look and charm of the older buildings in New York, but hell we were ready to pack our bags and roll our stuff across the street here. It didn't matter that it's right across from the hospital.

This multilevel top story apartment with the spiral staircase in the LES stood out since it was the only one with a modern design on a street, and area, consisting of mostly older buildings. The people who built this definitely wanted to be "seen."

We once went to an open house in the West Village to torture ourselves. Sometimes we're sick like that. It just looked like a typical New York apartment from the outside but when we went in, we fell in love. It was two bedrooms (gasp), had its own separate kitchen (almost fainted), had a huge living room and dining space, had gorgeous brick walls throughout the apartment. The apartment was also the only apartment on the third floor so there were windows on all sides. It was love until the realtor told us the rent was $4,000/mo. Don't get us started on apartments in DUMBO right by the Brooklyn Bridge or the ones at the Brooklyn Heights Esplanade.

Restaurant Advertising

2009-10-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

Jekyll and Hyde Club might not be the kind of place we'd go to drop money for a meal, but we have to give it to them for their eye-catching advertising gimmick.

I'm sure the boss didn't mind that the driver was parked here illegally while getting his pastrami sandwich if he saw how many people were taking photos of the car, which includes their web address as well.

Ruben's Empanadas

2009-10-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

Sigiri Sri Lanka Restaurant was closed so we decided to lunch it at a small empanada take-out joint Ruben's Empanadas in the East Village (122 First Ave., near 7th Street). Ruben's Empanadas has been hand wrapping and baking empanadas out of their Brooklyn Factory since 1975. All empanads are about $4. We ordered their lunch special - $7.38 for one empanada, rice and beans, cup of coffee, and a bottled water.

We were starving so we very pleased when we saw the huge plate of rice and beans included in our empanada lunch special. Unfortunately, the rice and beans were too dry and turned out to be too much to finish.

We were equally pleased when we saw the size of the empanada.

However, the taste was lack luster. Although the spinach tofu empanada was proportionately stuffed and tasted decent, the other empanadas tasted flat. My ham and cheese empanada (not pictured) was very disappointing. It looked nicely stuffed from the outside, but when I broke it in half, there was hardly any filling. Did it evaporate? Where did my filling go?

The empanadas were so flavorless and dry that even madly dipping them into the hot sauce didn't help. There are so many places to eat in the East Village that we wouldn't go back even if they offered $1 lunch specials.

The $3 Lusso Sangria

2009-10-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

We miss unplanned, relaxing 3 pm Sangria happy hours. We miss dirt cheap $3 Sangrias that taste like 15 bucks and that are served all day even more. We miss Lusso's Sangrias! And don't ever call it fruit punch for adults.

Drinking a happy hour priced drink without the loud happy crowd in New York City is priceless.

Painting of Lusso in Lusso.

Fond memories of walking around the NYC streets and seeing bargain drink signs everywhere will never fade.

Housing Works Thrift Shops

2009-10-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

There's many things to like about Housing Works thrift shops: chic eye-catching window displays, great bargains (although it can be hit and miss depending on the day), high-end fashion merchandise at greatly discounted prices, 40 to 50% off sales on already slashed prices, and an absolutely fantastic mix of unique furniture pieces, most at affordable prices. Because New Yorkers are such savvy, quick shoppers, the best furniture pieces always have a "sold" on them.

But the best thing about shopping at Housing Works is that purchases help their efforts with AIDS and homelessness. Housing Works is the largest community-based AIDS service organization in the U.S. and since 1990 has been providing housing, medical and mental health care, meals, job training, drug treatment, HIV prevention education, and social supports to thousands of homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS.

Although Housing Works has seven locations in New York City (and one in Haiti), we've only been to our neighborhood Chelsea location on West 17th Street and the store in Brooklyn. We're not sure what the other stores are like, but we have a feeling the West 17th store is the best (the Brooklyn store, for example, was much smaller and carried a less diverse merchandise).

If we were staying in New York for the long haul, we would have absolutely bought this shelf/storage unit. This swiveled around 360 and has a full-length mirror on the back as well as coat hangers on one side. A good looking functional piece and a good deal for $50.

In any other state, a man wearing this jacket might look a bit special or even criminal. But we're pretty sure a man in New York could style this and pull this off any time of day to any place.

This barber's chair was expensive at almost a thousand dollars but if you have the money, like many people in New York do, then what a great buy.

And even if you walk out of the store empty, it's always a fun visit - listening to workers singing to an old Madonna hit or watching customers furniture battle or observing girls stalk other girls for boots and dresses. Housing Works also has some great events. I really wish I could be at their Bride on a Buck 2 event. I'm sure the event will be nutty and the dresses will be sold out in under an hour. Someone should definitely tape the scene of women at the fiercest moment - bargain shopping competition.

After a Housing Works visit, walk across the street to Angel Street Thrift Shop. That's where I scored my Phillip Lim coat. Fun times shopping in New York in the fall!

Manganaro's Hero Boy

2009-10-15T10:37:00.000-07:00

As we mentioned in our older post before we left New York, we have a few more food-related posts that we just didn't have any time to do while we were in a frenzied pace to see and visit every crack and crevice in New York while we still lived there. We'll start with a place and its sandwiches we're craving right now: Manganaro's Hero Boy in Hell's Kitchen (at 494 9th Avenue).

Manganaro's Hero Boy is a working person's place and has been in business for over 50 years. When we went during lunch on a weekday, we saw a steady mix of white collar and blue collar folks. The restaurant serves the sandwiches cafeteria style and has a large seat-yourself dining section to the right. The portions are huge, the prices are reasonable, and the food is satisfying. Our kind of place. Most people will recommend their chicken parmigiana hero and their traditional lasagna, but we decided to order their meatball hero and the prosciutto, mozzarella & tomato hero, which turned out to be very good choices. The large meatballs were very moist, the traditional style tomato sauce was mellow, and the nicely melted cheese was plentiful.

Just check out the size of this heartburn-inducing hero. The only downer was the soggy bottom caused by the tomato sauce. They should serve the sauce on the side so you can spread and dip at your digestive pace without turning the bread "prematurely wet."

The prosciutto was simply stunning. How can one not love prosciutto? More importantly, how can a place screw up a prosciutto sandwich? Yes, odd, but many surprisingly do (too little meat, too dry, too much unnecessary sauce barfed on it). Thankfully, Manganaro's gives you a simple prosciutto sandwich done right. The meat tasted fresh and the portion was perfect.

The size of the heros are enormous, but not disgustingly tiresome the way a Carnegie sandwich is. So yes, you can actually eat the whole thing as long as you pace yourself right. The sandwiches were pretty good deals for $8 and $9 considering the portions. We were surprised that some rather large men could only finish half their hero. Tackling Manganaro's famous six-foot heros would probably be not so easy. One thing to know about Manganaro's besides their food is that they're located next to Manganaro's Grosseria and Ristorante. It's the same name, same family from the same blood line, but completely separate entities.

The decades long bitter family feud between Manganaro's Grosseria and Ristorante directly next door to Manganaro's Hero Boy is widely known. There's even a sign at the Grosseria that states "Manganaro's Foods is not affiliated with Hero Boy." The two separate Manganaros are owned and operated by feuding brothers. I'm sure their uncle James Manganaro who started working at the Grosseria as a young boy at the turn of the century and who gave the boys the business wouldn't be pleased with the War of the Manganaros. While the Hero Boy is more modern and has the larger scale cafeteria feel, the Grosseria, which is an old world Italian specialty food store and small restaurant in the back, make you feel like you've stepped back in time, like you walked in a scene of The Godfather. The Grosseria looked like the kind of place we'd want to eat at . . . with charm and history . . . BUT . . .

Both Manganaros were featured in Anthony Bourdina's No Reservations (separately, of course). We didn't have enough time to eat at the Grosseria, but we've read many unhappy reviews of bad treatment by the Grosseria proprietors. And we can also attest to a slightly rude treatment there. If you're in a nasty competition with your family members that run a food place next door that sells similar old school Italian food, why would you treat your customers like shit? Because when you make them feel unwelcome, they're going to go next door to Hero Boy instead where the service is quick and straightforward but certainly not rude or mean. As much as we wanted to try Grosseria, there's just too many places in New York City to discover and go back to, and a place that can't respect its customers on a basic level is just not worth the time (which is why we skipped Kebab Cafe).

Spike Jonze Retrospective at MoMA

2009-10-14T17:28:00.001-07:00

Another thing we missed in NYC was the first-ever film retrospective of Spike Jonze at MoMA, one of our favorite New York museums. Jonze even participated in an opening night discussion with Maurice Sendak on October 8th. Sigh. MoMa had asked Jonze ten years ago if they could do a retrospective on him and he declined saying he thought it was too early for a retrospective at that time and asked them to ask him ten years later if they still wanted him.

Although he doesn't have many film credits under his belt (obviously a man of quality over quantity when it comes to film work), he certainly has many fans, like us, of his earlier music videos. This list has a few of his video work, although the list is astonishingly missing Weapon of Choice by Fatboy Slim. And we also loved Sky's the Limit by Notorious B.I.G.

We're looking forward to seeing Where the Wild Things Are and how Jonze tackled the difficult task of adapting this beautiful childrens' classic picture book with so few words.

Stevie Wonder Concerts this Month - New York

2009-10-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

We keep missing Stevie. For crying out loud, we have a wonderful framed Stevie concert poster and we've never been able to see him perform live.

He'll be one of the performers at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 25th Anniversary concerts on October 29th and 30th at the Madison Square Garden. Other performers will include Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, U2, Paul Simon, Metallica, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Friends, and Simon Garfunkel.

In addition to the the anniversary concert this month, Stevie has lined up concerts in neighboring cities. We would have gladly taken a quick 1 hour 15 min flight to Norfolk, VA.

No news of him ever coming this way.

New York City Wine & Food Festival

2009-10-02T17:53:00.000-07:00

Wish we could be there. The second annual New York City Wine & Food Festival from October 8-11. Locations include some of our favorite areas like DUMBO and our neighborhood haunt - the Meatpacking District/Chelsea Market. The multitude of events look really impressive, although expensive. Then again, 100% of the net proceeds benefit hunger relief via the Food Bank for New York City and Share Our Strength. What really bums us out about this one is that Anthony Bourdain will be take part in this year's festivities. Really wished we could have ate some grub and talked some smack with him.

Missing New York

2009-09-30T17:09:00.000-07:00

We're missing New York City so badly. We should be back to doing more posts once we move into our new apartment in a few days.

Bronze Subway Creatures

2009-09-09T23:04:00.000-07:00

This is why we loved our subway stop - these whimsical and cartoon-like Bronze sculptures depicting the "impossibility of understanding life in New York" called Life Underground by Tom Otterness (2001). It was like Fraggle Rock at 14th Street and 8th Ave. Hopefully these guys helped to ease the pains of a hard day for many New Yorkers as it did for us.

Washington Square Park

2009-09-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

A crowded and hot summer at Washington Square Park.

There's always great free jazz all over the city. We saw this red head bassist all over, mostly at subway stops.

Pizza Land

2009-09-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

You know you aint in New York anymore when you don't walk past a dozen pizza signs during a ten-minute walk.

Goodbye New York

2009-08-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

In less than three hours we leave New York City. We feel confident in saying that we did as much as any humans could possibly do in one year in this city. We're very sleep deprived right now so we'll hold off on writing about what made us fall in love with New York City this year for another post after we've caught up on some sleep and rest. We had the best time of our lives. This is not our final post (we have dozens and dozens of food and miscellaneous photos to share) so please continue to check in the next few months.

We'll see you soon!

Last Day

2009-08-30T22:17:00.000-07:00

We started off the day by turning in the keys to our apartment, a walk around our neighborhood and a stop at Chelsea Market, then our usual Sunday brunch. We spent the remainder of our day at Central Park, of course.

As we were making our way out of the park, we saw a group of 50 to 60-something-year-old dancing machines grooving away to techno music. Some of them were dancing on their roller blades. Most of them seemed like they were ex-Soul Train dancers or Studio 54 regulars back in their day and they were showing off their moves. It was a fun way to end the day.

The Moon and New York City

2009-08-30T20:54:00.000-07:00

We told you we're feeling sentimental, so of course we have to listen to one of the best New York songs Arthur's Theme by Christopher Cross.

Here is New York by E.B. White

2009-08-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

E.B. White wrote this essay during a hot summer of 1948. Everyone that has lived in New York should have a copy of this essay.

Some highlights from the essay:

There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born there, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size, its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter--the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. Of these trembling cities the greatest is the last--the city of final destination, the city that is a goal. It is this third city that accounts for New York’s high strung disposition, its poetical deportment, its dedication to the arts, and its incomparable achievements. Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers give it passion. And whether it is a farmer arriving from a small town in Mississippi to escape the indignity of being observed by her neighbors, or a boy arriving from the Corn Belt with a manuscript in his suitcase and a pain in his heart, it makes no difference: each embraces New York with the intense excitement of first love, each absorbs New York with the fresh eyes of an adventurer, each generates heat and light to dwarf the Consolidated Edison Company.

It is by all odds the loftiest of cities. It even managed to reach the highest point in the sky at the lowest moment of the depression.

Mass hysteria is a terrible force, yet New Yorkers seem always to escape it by some tiny margin: they sit in stalled subways without claustrophobia, they extricate themselves from panic situations by some lucky wisecrack, they meet confusion and congestion with patience and grit-a sort of perpetual muddling through. But the city makes up for its hazards and deficiencies by supplying its citizens with massive doses of a supplementary vitamin-the sense of belonging to something unique, cosmopolitan, mighty and unparalleled.

The oft-quoted thumbnail sketch of New York is, of course: "It's a wonderful place, but I'd hate to live there." I have an idea that people from villages and small towns, people accustomed to the convenience and the friendliness of the neighborhood over-the-fence living, are unaware that life in New York follows the neighborhood pattern. The city is literally a composite of tens of thousands of tiny neighborhood units. Each neighborhood is virtually self sufficient. Thus, no matter where you live in New York, you will find within a block or two a grocery store, a barber shop, a newsstand and shoeshine shack, an ice-coal-and-wood cellar (where you write your order on a pad outside as you walk by ), a dry cleaner, a laundry, a delicatessen (beer and sandwiches delivered at any hour to your door, a flower shop, an undertaker's parlor, a movie house, a radio-repair shop, a stationer, a haberdasher, a tailor, a drugstore, a garage, a tearoom, a saloon, a hardware store, a liquor store, a shoe-repair shop.

The city is like poetry: it compresses all life, all races and breeds, into a small island and adds music and the accompaniment of internal engines. The island of Manhattan is without any doubt the greatest human concentrate on earth, the poem whose magic is comprehensible to millions of permanent residents but whose full meaning will always remain elusive.

First New York Apartment

2009-08-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

Filmore Place, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Our first (temporary) New York apartment. This is where we lived out of a suitcase for about a month. It was such a nice apartment with brick walls, fireplace, two bedrooms, lots of windows and light. But it kind of ruined us during our apartment hunting period since it was all downhill from there.

Radio Days

2009-08-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

We'll miss turning on our radio and listening to our favorite radio station, NPR. We listened to NPR as we got ready in the morning, with our morning cup of coffee, with our afternoon wine, and pretty much every time we were home. Some of our favorite shows included Weekend Edition with Scott Simon, Studio 360 with Kurt Anderson, The Brian Lehrer Show, Morning Edition with Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne, music with Jonathan Schwartz, All Things Considered, and last but not least Car Talk with brothers Tom and Ray Maliozzi. We loved how the Car Talk brothers cracked themselves up and we, in turn, would crack up. It won't be quite the same hearing it online.

Another radio station on regular rotation has been 98.7 Kiss fm. We could do without some of the crappy R&B songs they play on heavy rotation, but we loved the mix of their old school songs that most other radio stations don't play. Thanks to Kiss fm, Saturdays from 7 to 9 pm was always fun time at our apartment.

New York Kids

2009-08-30T06:13:00.000-07:00

We were waiting to cross the street on the Upper East side near Central Park when we heard the following conversation take place:

A female child standing next to her mom says to another female child in her stroller (yes, a stroller), "I'll have my mom call your mom and we'll get something set up for a play date." And she said it like a sassy business woman. She'll probably get an iPhone when she turns six.

New York Books

2009-08-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow will be our last full day in New York City, so we're feeling a bit (lie, a lot) sentimental and weepy. New York nostalgia in the next few posts, starting with our New York books. I bought this Rough Guide to New York City years before we moved here. Despite some of the material being dated (like the Fulton Fish Market no longer existing), this book was still very helpful. We were also able to check off almost everything on their top to do list.

No Reservations has been one of our favorite television shows. We love Anthony Bourdain's dry sense of humor, sarcasm, and his love for food and all things meat. Before we knew we'd be moving to New York, we wanted so badly to visit Kebab Cafe in Astoria, Queens. But after we moved here, we heard what kind of crook the owner was and decided to pass. Too bad we didn't run into Bourdain on the street or at a restaurant, but we were able to try some of the restaurants he mentioned on his show and in his books, like Manganaro's, Prune, and Di Farra. We're looking forward to seeing the New York Outer Boroughs episode on September 7th, which includes his visit to Xi'an Famous Foods.

We bought this New York photo book published in 1977 at Housing Works, one of our favorite Chelsea thrift stores.

What's great about this book is photos like this.

This one's self explanatory.

The iconic photo.

We loved this polaroid photo of the iconic photo being taken on August 1974.

A walk through their (and our) favorite park, Central Park.

The Dakota.

Last but not least, a book we bought soon after we moved here. It's one of our favorite essays on New York, Here is New York by E.B. White. This deserves its own post.

On the Waterfront

2009-08-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

Last week we went for a ride on the Clipper City for a sunset sail across the New York Harbor. Departures take place at Pier 17 at South Street Seaport. The Clipper City is one of America's largest sailing boats still in commercial operation at 160 feet long, with masts rising 135 feet off the deck. It's a faithful replica of the clipper ships that sailed a century ago, rebuilt from the original plans borrowed from the National Archives.

This is the view from the boat near the pier. We were docked for 30 minutes too long and we were getting antsy that we were going to miss the sunset.

Finally, we started moving along but the sky's colors were rapidly changing.

The moment we were waiting for.

Everyone on the ship was silent at this point. Majestically stunning.

It was beautiful when the plane flew right above the final moments of the setting sun.

And just when we thought we couldn't see anything more beautiful than what we had just witnessed, we see the Statue of Liberty in the distance, and that faint view was simply poetic.

The always powerful symbol, Ellis Island.

This photo of the Statue of Liberty was our favorite photo we took that night. It was the most proper way to say goodbye since we last visited her almost a year ago.

The Staten Island Ferry.

There was also a bar on our boat. Unfortunately, there was a group of obnoxiously loud and drunk females that apparently mistook this for a booze cruise. It's a shame when people would rather get stupid drunk than take in the beautiful sights with sober eyes.

If you're ever in New York during the warm months, you absolutely have to take a boat ride. There's tons of other boat options that also depart from Pier 17, like the Circle Line Cruise, smaller (more expensive) sail boats, fancier large boats with dinner and music options, and the Shearwater. A short video clip of our return to the pier.

The pier area is a bit of a tourist trap so we skipped the unappetizing looking restaurants and touristy shops and headed toward our subway stop. But en route, we saw this and had to stop.

We knew there was an L&L in New York but we had no interest in searching for the place. But since we had stumbled upon it, we decided to go in to taste a New York chicken katsu.

"The REAL Hawaiian Mac Salad."

The biggest difference we saw when we walked in was there's a sushi counter at L&L here. People in Hawaii would be so confused if they walked into L&L and saw a sushi chef.

The other difference was that this New York L&L didn't have that horrible old oil smell that's prevalent at almost every L&L, especially the L&L in downtown Honolulu.

There were things like a surfboard, spam musubi photos, and Honolulu Star Bulletin articles on the walls. But this just made us crack up. The first person I naturally thought of when I saw these was Marie. She would have been so mortified standing next to me as I poorly attempted to pronounce the words. Luckily, no one in New York cares.

And here it is. It's been ages since we had a chicken katsu plate with three scoops of white rice. It tasted slightly different from what we remember the chicken Katsu in Hawaii to taste like but it was still good. Main difference - this plate cost us $10.

Roy Ayers at Blue Note

2009-08-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to see Roy Ayers at Blue Note. He and everyone in his band gave a spectacular performance; we enjoyed it so much that we stayed for two sets (we were there from 8 pm til almost midnight). We were also able to take some photos with him and have him sign a CD. Actress Jackee Harry (remember the 1980s sitcom 227?) was sitting behind us enjoying the music as well. A few video clips we shot below.

His saxophone player, back up singer, and drummer.

Sorry about the second sideway video, but hey the music's great.

Packing and Moving Sucks!

2009-08-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

We spent all day packing today. Aint nothing fun about that, especially when you had to do the same thing not too long ago. Trying to sell furniture also sucks. We were able to sell our uncomfortable couch and chairs via Craigslist. We also reluctantly sold our beautiful vintage dresser, which we wished we could have shipped. But time is running out and we really need to sell our bed and TV . . .

Billy Elliot

2009-08-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night we went to see Billy Elliot, our first Broadway show in New York. The Broadway production of Billy Elliot opened at the Imperial Theatre in New York City on November 13, 2008. There's a ton of Broadway show options in this city but even before we moved here, we knew we wanted to see this production since I fell in love with the movie nine years ago. Then few months before we moved to New York, we saw a fantastic PBS documentary on the casting of Billy Elliot. Needless to say, this was the only Broadway show option for us (since we only had the budget to see one show this year).

Billy Elliot was more than phenomenal!!! It was one of the best three hours we've spent in this city. We can't imagine any other Broadway show being better than this. It was three hours of non-stop entertainment. The dancing, the acting, and the singing were perfect. The show was so exhilarating, so mesmerizing, so downright fun, that it was hard to keep still in your seats. Quite frankly, we just wanted to get out of our seats and dance (well, at least one of us did).

Every cast member did a spectacular job. The Billy Elliot character is rotated among three boys and our Billy Elliot was such an incredibly, talented kid. We recognized him from the documentary as soon as he hit the stage. It's easy to forget that he's just a kid. The staging and prop movements, scene changes, and lighting were also excellent. We won't give the ending away, but even the closing of the show was perfect. It's a show that literally moves you.

Unfortunately, you're not allowed to record the show but we're sure you can find some clips online. We were, however, able to sneak in a few photos of the Imperial Theater before the show began.

After seeing the show, you understand why Billy Elliot recently won 10 Tony Awards, including best musical. Elton John did an incredible job with the music. We recommend everyone to see this show. Billy Elliot will next be opening in 2010 in Chicago and in Seoul, Korea.

Too bad we couldn't stick around for another year. It looks like some interesting shows will be debuting soon.

After Billy Elliot ended a little past 10 PM, we hopped across the street to try the Junior's famous cheesecake (a later post). New York, New York!!!

Dumplings, Noodles, and a Chinese Burger

2009-08-25T08:12:00.000-07:00

How much food can you by for $20 at Flushing? Enough to feed two people breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you read our last post on Flushing, Queens you can gather by now that we probably had the best Chinese food of our lives there (and before this visit, Chinese food was our least favorite cuisine). Flushing is definitely the best place to taste the local flavors of the different regions of China and to find dishes that won't be available anywhere else in New York, or perhaps most other U.S. states for that matter. Folks there don't cook to accommodate the Western palate. We spent a full day wandering around the following streets: Union Street, Main Street, and Roosevelt Avenue. We started off by having some Chrysanthemum Tea sold outside an herbalist's shop. The flavor was unique - lightly sweet and slightly medicinal.

Our main goal and first stop was to find Xi'an Famous Foods (1-28 Main Street, Basement #36). We had read enough positive articles about the place to wet our appetites. The challenge was in trying to locate the place. We literally walked up and down Main Street several times trying to locate the Golden Supermarket. When we finally found it, we realized we had unknowingly passed it twice. The fact that the location was described as a "Shopping Mall" really threw us off. This is clearly not a shopping mall.

The entrance to the lower level where Xi'an is located. At this point we didn't know what to expect.

Finally we found Xi'an Famous Foods! Since Xi'an had a website, we presumed this was a large restaurant. We were pleasantly surprised when we learned it was a tiny food stall.

The lady in the green shirt with her New York hat tipped to the side couldn't speak one word of English, which was just fine since they luckily had pictures on the wall you can just point to. A few of the most popular dishes were also numbered.

We had one order of the Liang Pi Cold spicy noodles. The noodles were absolutely wonderful - the texture, the springiness and firmness were just right. The noodles were mixed with cilantro, bean sprouts, vingegar, and what was described as wheat gluten chunks (which looked like some strange tofu sponge pieces).

And the red chili oil was made made this dish perfect. The spice creeps up on you with each bite, but it wasn't unbearable. A phenomenal deal for just $3.50.

We also ordered one lamb burger or zi ran chao yang rou jia mo. The lamb was sauteed in cumin and served in a bun. The hot peppers gave this burger the added spicy kick. It was incredibly tasty and we still can't believe they were only serving this for $2.50. If they served this at any restaurant in Manhattan, they could have easily charged $8.

We're absolutely not stalking Bourdain, although we like to follow his food footsteps. We read about Xi'an before we knew he had recently eaten at Xi'an.

Xi'an will be featured on the New york City Outer Boroughs episode of No Reservations on September 7th.

Directly across the street from the Goldne Supermakret is Sun Mary Bakery.

They were selling Chinese Bridal cakes, Taiwanese Peanut and Seaweed Rice Cookies, and Egg White & Dried Pork Cakes.

This would be the most excellent birthday cake. Can you imagine how great this would look if you put the candles on each spike?

Their pineapple cake was recommended in an article and described as a Chinese Fig Newton. I normally don't like pineapples or anything pineapple flavored but this was chewy, sweet goodness.

Our next stop was to eat dumplings at Flushing Mall. Although there were doznes of food options in the food court, we chose this food stall (M38) located on the upper level, completely separated from the food court.

The three Korean ladies hard at work making dumplings.

Ordering here was also somewhat of a challenge and luckily we ended up doing it right. We ordered a plate of their dumplings with a side of kimchi.

This plate of dumpling was more than enough to feed two people. We could not believe they only charged $6.50 for the large amont of dumplings and kimchi. The dumplings were one of the tastiest dumplings we've ever tried. The kimchi was sweet and was the perfect compliment to the dumplings. The sauce was also nice, not too spicy.

The outer texture was the perfect combination of firm and soft and the filling was moist.

At this point we were both in heaven (we just ate some damn good, cheap food) and hell (we were full beyond belief and could not stand up).

After we consumed the above listed foods, we were ready to call it quits because we didn't want to be on the 45-minute subway ride back home with sore stomachs and restroom issues. So we decided to walk a bit more around Union Street when we walked past this restaurant that caught our attention.

What made us stop at this restaurnat was that we had a feeling this could be the restaurant that was recommended to us about six months ago by a man that lives in Flushing but works at one of our local laundary places in Chelsea. One day when we took our clothes to get dry cleaned, I asked him and his boss (the owner) where we could go to get Za Za Men in New York since we hadn't seen one in Koreatown as well since they're Korean. The worker told us there was a good place in Koreatown, but the best place was on Union Street between Roosevelt Avenue and 41st Street in Flushing. So we walked in and asked the lady, "do you sell za za men?" and sure enough they did. Then we looked around and saw these two older Korean ladies scarfing down za za men. We had to stay and try it, especially since we had crossed Za Za Men off our food list because of lack of time.

The waiter brought the normal precursor to the Za Za Men dish and we knew we were in the right place.

We were excited to get this. We had been searching for this all year in New York it came down to the tailend of our trip here before our quest for Za Za Men in the city was over. Unfortunately, unlike what the man at the laundry place told us, this wasn't the best Za Za Men we had. The sauce was nice but the noodles tasted as though they were cooked too long. However, it was still pretty good, especially for $6, and we were just delighted to have the place.

Great food, great prices, and a great experience stepping off the train to what seemed like another country. Read more about the food offerings in Flushing in this New York Times article Finding Beijing in Flushing. They also have a great interactive map of food spots to try.

Smashing Apartment

2009-08-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

These are the kind of unique details on some of the apartment exteriors here that always make us stop and stare. It also reminded us of the Smashing Pumpkins Tonight, Tonight video.

Friday Nights at Rubin Museum of Art

2009-08-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

The Rubin Museum of Art (RMA) on West 17th Street showcases the art of the Himalayas and its surrounding regions (including Tibet, Burma, Nepal, Mongolia, Bhutan). RMA's impressive collection includes paintings, sculptures, textiles, ritual objects, and prints spanning a period from 2nd to 21st century.

The best time to visit RMA is on a Friday when they offer free admission from 7 to 10 pm. And unlike museums like the Whitney that say it's free admission but ask for a donation, RMA doesn't ask you for so much as a penny. Free means free. Three hours is more than ample time to enjoy the work of art on five floors at a slow pace.

No photography is allowed here; however, we snuck in just a few when we could without flash.

Another great thing about visiting the RMA on a Friday evening is that they offer two for the price of one drinks from 6 to 7 pm at their K2 Lounge located right next to their gift shop. They also have Cabaret Cinema on Fridays, which is free with a purchase of one cocktail. Recent films have included Labyrinth, The Shining, and Alice in Wonderland.

Blues and BBQ

2009-08-24T07:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Hudson River Park's Blues and BBQ at Pier 54. Free live blues music and ribs meant we were going to be there. It was a one day mini fest that took place from 2 to 9 pm. When we got there around 5 pm, it was crowded and the BBQ lines were monstrously long.

This was the same pier where we watched the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks last month.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que was one of the places we wanted to try months ago and we didn't think we were going to have enough time to go back to Harlem before we left New York, so we were excited to see they were one of the BBQ stands at the fest. Plus, after the Di Fara wait, waiting for top notch food doesn't seem so crazy anymore.

So we took our place at the end of the long line, excited about some of their famous ribs. But after waiting almost 30 minutes in line, we heard a murmur "no more ribs." What? It can't be possible to run out of ribs hours before the fest ends. A lady behind us checked with them, and sure enough the ribs were sold out.

Of course we were all pissed because how can you run out of ribs at a rib fest???? It's not like they ran out 30 minutes before closing time. Apparently they had over 1,500 pounds of ribs that they didn't anticipate would be gone in three hours. But we had already been in line for so long that we decided to stay for their pulled pork sandwich, which was still available.

The pulled pork getting its proper "massage." We were dying at this point.

We're so glad we stayed for their pulled pork sandwich ($7) because this was the best pulled pork sandwich we've ever tasted in our lives (since we've never visited the BBQ states). The meat was tender, lean, not too smoky, and perfectly proportioned. They absolutely didn't skimp on the meat (maybe to avoid a riot from pissed off rib seekers). Their BBQ sauce was perfect and was all over our faces (it didn't help that they also ran out of napkins). If we knew how good these were going to be, we would have ordered four.

Of course there was blues, which unfortunately we didn't have too much time to enjoy. At least we got to enjoy some of it while waiting in line. We also didn't have time to stand in the long Guinness line.

Although we wanted to watch the blues bands, our focus was on the meat! We were not about to leave here without trying some ribs so after pigging out on the large pulled pork sandwiches, we stood in another long line to get ribs from Brother Jimmy's BBQ.

We were getting nervous about them also running out of ribs, but as we approached closer to the tent we saw them bring out another batch and we knew we were in the clear. One problem - it began to rain, and they were not passing showers.

We got two orders (8 pieces total). There were four different sauces to choose from. We poured on Brother Jimmy's Original BBQ sauce and their sweet and tangy Carolina sauce. Both sauces were spectacular. But the stars were the ribs. They were so moist and tender, gentle smoky flavor, and they easily fell off the bones. We also got some pretty darn thick pieces. Although they were thick, they weren't disgustingly fatty pieces.

The part that sucked about our rib eating experience was that we were eating the Brother Jimmy's ribs in the pouring rain. There was absolutely no tent coverage or any place for shelter on the pier. Our BBQ sauces were diluted with rain water. But they still tasted damn good!

Two Sangria Summers

2009-08-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

We've always enjoyed Sangria, but back in our hometown, we usually had to make it at home since it was almost impossible to find a restaurant or bar that offered them (and when they did, it normally didn't taste very good). We've happily enjoyed two summers of Sangrias (and Margaritas) - nothing finer than drinking one of those fine beverages on a hot day after walking around the city. In fact, we started an unplanned tradition of drinking Sangria around 3 PM on weekends since we were always passing by one of these signs.

This wonderful $3 Sangria special is offered at Lusso in SoHo. Unlike many other Sangria specials, Lusso offers this all day and all night. Get happy indeed! For such a cheap price, we were pleasantly surprised that they didn't water it down. And that's a good day for us - sitting at the window in air conditioning, sheltered from the rain and heat, sipping on delicious, cheap Sangria while watching the always entertaining New York street theater.

The East Coast Cheese Puff

2009-08-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

You know you've reached cheez doodles obsession when you're having it for breakfast with your morning cup of black coffee. This stuff is so good that we can't stand the thought that it might not be available to us at any desired moment as it is now (sold at our mini market just a few steps away from our apartment). It's like cheetos but way better since it's got a BBQ flavor and a honey sweetness comparable to honeycombs. We need to live close to this stuff.

Streets of Summer

2009-08-23T19:11:00.000-07:00

We LOATHE the August heat in New York City. Even the waterproof/sweatproof SPF 75 sunblock on your face and body begins to drip into small white pools on the concrete after only 15 minutes of stepping out the door.

BUT then again, there's some good things about the summer too, like how people in New York love to hang outside despite the heat. Everyone's picnicking (you should see how crowded the lawns are of pretty much every park), there's a parade for every group imaginable (Gay, Dominican, Chinese, to name a few), there's boat rides, there's more bicyclists and joggers than we've ever seen in our hometown, and street fairs. Dare we say that in many respects New Yorkers are more "outdoorsy" than folks living in states that are warm all year?

New Yorkers are hell of a lot nicer during the stupidly hot summer months, and it's pretty damn refreshing.

New York Blogging

2009-08-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

We originally intended to post every piece of photo that we wanted to share with you before we left New York on August 31st, which is why we've been rushing to get as much postings out as possible. However, with time ticking, packing, selling furniture, and more importantly trying to spend more of our time off the computer and in and around the city, we've decided to continue to do our postings through September (and possibly October). We'll still continue to post as much as we can (although at a bit of a frantic pace). We've got so much to share!

Flushing, Queens

2009-08-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

Flushing, Queens is the epitome of cultural diversity. It's home to immigrants from all over the world, but contains the largest Chinese and Korean populations in New York. Since it's one of the largest boroughs, there was no way we could have covered the entire territory during our short year here. So we focused our attention on the following areas: Main Street, Union Street, Roosevelt Avenue, and the surrounding areas which make up the largest Chinatown in New York. Flushing is where you go to for the affordable food cooked by people who know how to do it best as they did in their place of origin. We'll share with you some of the foods we tried in the next post in more detail.

To get to the heart of Flushing's Chinatown, you catch the 7 train from Times Square to the very end of the Queens line. It takes about 45 minutes to get there, but the train ride is actually fun since you're not underground. It's a great ride as you pass the different areas of Queens and you're able to clearly see which section of Queens is the Korean neighborhood, which is the Indian area, which is the Hispanic area simply by seeing the changes in the signs, banks, grocery stores, and restaurants. If you're ever on this ride deep into Queens, make sure to get your face out of the book and look outside.

The last stop is at the Main Street station. As soon as you exit to the street, you feel like you've taken the train to another country, especially when you notice that most of the signs aren't written in English. The area is extremeley crowded, chaotic, and noisy. It makes Manhattan seem like a calm walk in the country in comparison. And the Chinatown in Manhattan is like a baby sibling compared to Flushing's Chinatown. Really, you'l feel like an outsider that's not in New York or in America anymore.

You'll need to get used to airplanes constantly flying overhead (and uncomfortably low) as they make their way to the nearby LaGuardia Airport.

Flushing Mall (133-31 39th Ave, at Prince St) is probably the weirdest "mall" you'll step foot in. The main reason you go here is to sample cheap, delicious and authentic Chinese food at its Food Court. Most of the stores at the mall were downright tacky and cheapy (but not cheap); however, there were some stores that were interesting as well.

So here's a section of the food court with over a dozen vendors.

Before we came here, we did some research, as we normally do, and most of the reviewers said that it's always best to bring someone who can speak and read Cantonese, and by looking at the signs below, you can see why.

Massively lost in translation.

This shop that sold unique combs and mirrors was one of the few shops worth the visit.

And of course the small food stores are always fun places to find uncommon snacks, sauces, and drinks.

After spending the whole day in Flushing, we felt a little beat up. Actually, it felt like our most tiring day in New York thanks to walking up and down overcrowded streets and trying to find the restaurants we were looking for (next post). Nonetheless, it was a great experience and something every visitor to New York should do. If we had more time, we would have stopped at every few subway train stops to explore the other areas of Flushing, notably the Hispanic and Indian areas.

Let's go Mets. Catching a baseball game is another thing we didn't have time to do. We'll save that for our next visit (or hopefully "return").

Another thing we noticed about Queens - more graffiti on buildings than any other neighborhood we've seen (then again, we haven't made our way to the Bronx yet).

Misc Manhattan Photos

2009-08-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

A few misc photos. The New York Times will always live, at least online.

As magazines keep dying, we hope the New Yorker and its witty cartoons will always remain.

We didn't know post offices could look so regal.

Lincoln Center

2009-08-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

One of the things we weren't able to do this year was to see at least one Metropolitan Opera show. Hopefully we'll be back during opera season one of these years.

The MET fountain. Remember the scene in Moonstruck? We need an opera night like theirs (minus the running into your parent having a marital affair part).

We also missed New York City Ballet.

The Juilliard School.

A photo taken months ago when part of the Alice Tully Hall wing of the Lincoln Center was being constructed.

We missed opera, we missed ballet, but we're looking forward to catching Broadway next week.

Painting We Want

2009-08-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

Painting we saw at a cafe in Woodstock, New York.

Indian Delivery

2009-08-20T13:47:00.000-07:00

Cheap Indian food delivered to your door quick and free. A sauce person's party.

More Farmer's Market

2009-08-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

We hope the next city we move to has a Farmer's Market like you.

The Sabich Pita Sandwich

2009-08-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

We normally get the Falafel platter from Taim, but we decided to finally try their Sabich, a popular Israeli fast food (brought to Israel from Iraqi Jews).

The pita is stuffed with sliced hard boiled egg, fried eggplant, hummus, Israeli salad, marinated cabbage, tahini, and amba (mango pickle). A substantially large and delicious sandwich for $6.25. The flavor combination is unique and it's unlike any sandwich we've tried.

The perfect companion to this sandwich is Taim's homemade crispy fries, which come with a mayonnaise-mustard type sauce. The sauce actually tastes the best when mixed with Ketcup.