Looks like we’ll have four days to wonder along the East Coast in early September before flying home from NYC. Where to go? Vermont? New Hampshire? Western Mass? Boston? Maine? Too many choices. Any suggestions out there. (Perhaps from the Detroit bagel fan?)
Category Archives: New York City
Brooklyn hotspots
No matter how many times I visit my brother and sister-in-law in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope, I can’t quite figure out where I am in relation to other neighborhoods of the borough – or when those other neighborhoods begin and Park Slope ends. But a story in The London Times Magazine that a friend sent me from England offers some suggestions of things to do in Brooklyn in general that makes me want to explore and figure out the terrain more. Here they are:
– Brooklyn Fare, a small restaurant where the chef prepares 20 tasting plates for 18 customers per night. I’ve heard of this…and that it’s hard to get a seat, not surprisingly.
– Brooklyn Flea – huge flea market at 176 Lafayette STreet
– Escape guesthouse – a B&B on a street I’m pretty sure my brother lived on years ago, elsewhere in Brooklyn. escapeguesthouse.com
– Brooklyn Social – old-fashioned Italian cocktail bar at 335 Smith Street
Filed under New York City
From chilly nyc (and missing cobra at the Bronz zoo) back to snowy Iowa
Didn’t expect snow when we landed at 10 this morning in Des Moines. Hope it melts soon. I got up at 3:45 a.m. for a 6 a.m. flight from LaGuardia.
Yesterday we braved the Bronx Zoo – and my friend who had the idea conveniently neglected to tell us that an Egyptian cobra had gone missing from the Reptile House. No joke. Which may explain why the place was so empty. I thought it was the cold weather and a March Monday. The good part is we had the place almost to ourselves – and we did not chance upon any cobras (although we did see some snakes, safely behind glass enclosures.)
I wandered around the charming narrow backstreets of the Meatpacking District, passing by various foodie havens included The Spotted Pig (restaurant) and Murray’s (cheese shop) for a few hours before meeting my brother and his lovely wife at Barbuto – a fashionable restaurant on Washington and 12th Streets. The crowd was a little too self-consciously fashionable for me and the ambiance a little too stark (post car-garage interior) but the food, by bigname chef Jonathan Waxman – was terrific. And the company, the best! My brother loved the roasted chicken, which had skin that was crispy without appearing breaded or battered or even fried. I had pot roast atop creamy white polenta that I initially mistook for mashed potatoes. Delicious. The side order of potatoes appeared to be prepared similarly to the chicken – very crispy but also not greasy and served with fresh dusting of Parmesan and sprigs of Rosemary. Yum.
Filed under DINING, New York City, Uncategorized
Brunch on the west side, the Jewish Museum on the east side
Warmer today and just as sunny – we had a very nice brunch at Henry’s, on Broadway near 107th Street. Good service, good food (bacon! eggs! french toast et.al.) and no wait for a table on a Sunday midday. Then to the Jewish Museum on 92nd Street and Fifth Avenue which I’ve never been to and thoroughly enjoyed (sometimes it’s good to be among my own….) The Maira Kalman show was a lot of fun – thoroughly enjoyed. Also liked the gift shop a lot which had fun Passover items, good books, etc. Since we were in the neighborhood, we checked on the 92nd Street Y on Lexington which I’ve long heard about but never been to. Great bastion of culture – a concert and dance performance were going on during our visit.
We walked south along Madison Avenue windowshopping, admiring the lovely formal children’s clothing, the housewares (my friend bought beautiful shower curtain material at a French shop, Madera), the designer boutiques, chocolate shops. We bumped, literally, into large colorfully dressed crowd that had performed in what was apparently a parade celebrating all things Greek. Further south, we dropped in at The Plaza Hotel and walked through the new (or new to me) fancy food court in the basement, tried to get tea in the Palm Court (it was 5 p.m. too late), and paid a visit to the Eloise portrait (a sentimental favorite.) Then taxied back to 108th and Riverside Drive. Nice New York day!
Filed under DINING, museum exhibit, New York City
the maps for foodies – MAPPETITE
Cool idea that I heard about on NPR’s “The Splendid Table” – MAPPETITE, which offers maps of – to date, London, NYC and San Francisco – that highlight good restaurants in various neighborhoods. My brother could easily do the NYC map – I have long depended on him to find me a restaurant at a minute’s notice and he’s never failed (Case in point: Last Thanksgiving, when I texted him from MOMA saying “need cheap, good, place to eat near Moma” and he found us “La Bonne Soupe” around the block!) Anyway, check out MAPPETITE’s website for more details.
Filed under DINING, London, New York City
NYC recommendations from a friend
A friend just returned from a trip to NYC and reports enjoying: “Bloody, Bloody, Andrew Jackson”, the Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand exhibit at the Met and Upright Citizen’s Brigade.
Filed under New York City
Inexpensive restaurants in NYC
The NYTimes ran a list of the best new inexpensive restaurants in NYC this week so here are a few for future reference. (A list of non-inexpensive restaurants also ran but I’m assuming they’re not in my budget.) I skipped most of the ones beyond Manhattan:
BAOHAUS … bun (the bao) brimming with Niman Ranch pork belly, glossy with fat and topped with the classic Taiwanese condiments: sweet pulverized peanuts, pickled mustard greens and cilantro. 137 Rivington Street (Norfolk Street), Lower East Side; (646) 684-3835, baohausnyc.com.
CAFE ‘AT YOUR MOTHER-IN-LAW’ two blocks from the boardwalk; Eastern European, Korean and Uzbek dishes from Russian-speaking ethnic Koreans hailing from Tashkent. 3071 Brighton Fourth Street (Brighton Beach Avenue), Brighton Beach, Brooklyn; (718) 942-4088. (HAS to be better than the awful place we went to in Brighton Beach in 2009.
CAMPO DE’ FIORI pizza and more in my brother’s neighborhood…. 187 Fifth Avenue (Berkeley Place), Park Slope, Brooklyn; (347) 763-0933, pizzacampodefiori.com.
DOS TOROS ….fresh, quick and cheap eating akin to that found at Mexican joints in the San Francisco Bay Area. (Oliver Strand) 137 Fourth Avenue (13th Street); (212) 677-7300, dostorosnyc.com.
HECHO EN DUMBO big flavors of Mexico City stripped down…short-rib tacos 354 Bowery (East Fourth Street), East Village; (212) 937-4245, hechoendumbo.com.
HILL COUNTRY CHICKEN fried chicken and other Southern dishes. 1123 Broadway (25th Street); (212) 257-6446, hillcountrychicken.com.
KUTI’S Tmarries West African and Middle Eastern flavors from Ivory Coast, and insinuates a few French techniques in dishes like shrimp piri-piri, 355 West 116th Street (between Manhattan and Morningside Avenues); (212) 222-1127.
THE NORTHERN SPY FOOD COMPAN Greenmarket-driven restaurant 511 East 12th Street (Avenue A), East Village; (212) 228-5100, northernspyfoodco.com.
Filed under DINING, New York City, Uncategorized
West Village, “Eataly” and H&H
Just back from NYC with very clogged ear and stuffy nose after a cold developed just as I was getting on the plane home. Thought my ears were going to explode as we made the long descent onto a landing strip at the Milwaukee airport and bumpy connecting flight on a small plane to Des Moines didn’t help.
But hey, I’d do it all again because our NYC trip was so much fun. Yesterday L and I met my cousin J in the always charming West Village for lunch at Westville on 10th street (between 4th and Bleeker – I can never remember where it is and apparently there’s now a second one in Chelsea somewhere). Good food – fairly reasonable. Had fresh tomato basil soup and shared a plate of four vegetables (broccoli, snow peas, brussel sprouts and mushrooms all prepared so fresh, crisp with light seasoning.) Walked north to Eataly – the huge Italian market/restaurant recently opened on 23rd and 5th Avenue in the shadow of the Flatiron building. Pretty amazing place and if I wasn’t full from lunch and dragging a bit from my advancing cold, would have been tempted to eat a thing or two. Next time.
Met my brother briefly for coffee near Times Square where his office is – had a cappuccino at a too-loud Belgian place (frites looked good but waiter pissy when we just wanted coffee…hey it was 2:30 p.m.) called BXL Cafe (although awning says Duval) on 43rd. st. Managed to squeeze in a quick stop at H&H bagels on the upper west side (broadway, 81st?) to get some of NYC’s finest to bring back to Iowa and this morning, was glad I did!
Filed under DINING, New York City
The Hamptons and NYC
Beautiful day yesterday in the Hamptons – the wind died down and left a light breeze. Not as cold as the day before either so a perfect morning to walk on the beach with my cousins in front of their waterfront house in Southampton. We gave ourselves 2 hours to drive back to the car rental at LaGuardia and all went smoothly with little traffic, amen. Enterprise Rental worked well. Convenient location, very pleasant staff, good rates, free upgrade et. al.
Had dinner with my dear friend M at Nice Matin, good french bistro on 79th and Amsterdam. They had a good three course prix fix menu for $35. I had the grilled sardines, roast chicken and chocolate pot au creme. All very good and the place was quiet, as were many restaurants on the sunday after thanksgiving so we were able to linger and catch up for hours.
Filed under DINING, New York City
Greetings from Watermill (NY)
It’s beautiful out here this time of year and a little less crowded. But there is still lots of traffic in the Hamptons and turning left on two-lane Highway 27 still requires lots of time and patience. As a good Midwesterner, I try to practice random acts of kindness by letting other cars that want to turn into the lane, with the hope that they will do the same for me. Alas, that hasn’t panned out.
I did find out that the Carvel we used to go to to get my son’s b’day cake has closed. (the one in Southampton) but not to worry, we went to the one in Bridgehampton. Also found that the bookstore (Book Hampton) in Southampton has shrunk, sadly, but the one in Sag Harbor is hanging in there. Hard to leave this mansion we’re staying at – it is the most spectacular house I’ve ever stayed in. Or seen.
Filed under New York, New York City
TakeBetsywithyou 