My friend C. Is opening an art gallery on the lower east side of NYC so we went to get a sneak peek. great old former industrial space, with exposed brick walls and lots of light and wonderful selection of art work (more on the William Holman gallery in a later post) we went on the Irish outsider tour at the tenement museum. I liked the tour I took several years ago there where we got a look at all the floors /cultures in the building, (Jewish , German catholic, etc) but it was interesting to get a more in depth look the Irish . We had a drink next door at a hipster place called Dudley’s, walked around the lower east side dropping in at Economy candy, Russ and daughters, katz’s deli, pok pok (which was more of a hole in the wall than expected but seems worth a try.)
Category Archives: New York
Exploring park slope by stroller
I fit right in during my Park Slope visit yesterday because I was pushing a stroller. Some might even have mistaken me for a mother since this is the kind of place where 50 something mothers are not unheard of. My four month old niece was in the stroller and once I got over my apprehension about handling the stroller (which is a bit different than the ones I had with my kids 20 years ago) we had a grand time. We sTrollered around prospect park on a gorgeous afternoon and sat on a bench at the edge of a green lawn and people watched. Then we walked along 7th avenue window shopping. All the while it was a smile fest, my niece and I i smiling at each other. (except when she slept.) bliss. We stopped at a bagel shop near union street, where I had some good apple cider and rugelah. Earlier I ate an excellent lunch at Miriam’s on fifth with my brother. A israeli-inspired place …the scrambled eggs on some sort of crispy slightly sweet fry bread served with fiery Harissa was delicious. Went to a good resale shop near y, spotted a tv actor (Derrick from”smash”), got carry out from a middle eastern place called zeitoin, and sadly said goodbye for now.
Filed under New York City
Delta, Eric Kayser, AG kitchen in NYC
I was not optimistic about making my connecting flight from the start yesterday because I had only a 37 minute connection in Detroit and sure enough I almost missed it. At 9:45 I was stuck in the plane in the rain on the runway in Detroit thinking there is no way I will make my 10 am flight to NYC. I was in the last row of the plane and I had to collect my luggage on the jet bridge before getting the next flight. And my arrival gate was on the opposite end of the airport. I had also called delta twice and was told the NYC flight was leaving on time. But I had to give it a shot. So when we finally got to the gate I leapt out of my seat and made it about to mid plane. Then I quickly spotted my luggage among the bags piled on the jet bridge (one advantage of having a shocking pink bag) and I ran. And ran from gate c30. By the time I got to gate a27 the plane was boarding. I had to bend down with my hands on my knees and catch my breath. And I developed a cough. But I got on that damn plane. Moral of the story: it’s worth trying. But would have been nice if delta could have told me the flight was delayed 25 min.
At laguardia I ended up taking the airport bus to grand central. Never done before and it did take longer than a taxi but price was right – $12.50 plus tip for driver and it was comfortable.
I went to lunch with my aunt S. at a lively French boulangerie on third ave in the 70’s. The place was packed at 2 p.m. Good salads, sandwiches, pastries. Later I met my friend m at AG Kitchen on columbus and 73rd. Fun place with latin-influenced comfort food – roast chicken, smashed potatoes, guacamole, lobster spinach balls. Gorgeous weather and great time to be in NYC.
Filed under New York City
where to find the New York (food) classics in NYC
Katz’s on the Lower East Side, home to hand-sliced New York pastrami and hot dogs.
Talk about news we can use. Or I can use. The NYTimes has a story with suggestions on where in NYC (generally) to find the best New York classic foods – we’re talking pastrami, bagels, cheesecake, pizza et.al. I was pleased to see Russ and Daughters mentioned – and that my brother’s Park Slope neighborhood is best for bagels. (Also was intrigued by the suggestion in the story that H&H bagels may be reopening. Must investigate that.)
Here’s the list:
If all of this leaves you thirsty, forget bottled water labeled “New York.” Just turn on the tap and let it run cold. It really doesn’t get any better than that.
AQUAGRILL 210 Spring Street (Avenue of the Americas), (212) 274-0505. (Manhattan Clam chowder)
BAGEL HOLE 400 Seventh Avenue (12th Street), Brooklyn, (718) 788-4014. (mini-bagels sold at Russ and Daughters)
FAMOUS ROIO’S PIZZA 465 Avenue of the Americas (West 11th Street), (212) 243-2253.
JOHN’S OF BLEECKER STREET 278 Bleecker Street (Seventh Avenue), (212) 243-1680.
JUNIOR’S 386 Flatbush Avenue (Sterling Place), Brooklyn, (718) 852-5257. CHEESECAKE!
KATZ’S DELICATESSEN 205 East Houston Street (Ludlow Street), (212) 754-2246. HOTDOGS and PASTRAMI
KOSSAR’S BIALYS 367 Grand Street (Essex Street), (212) 473-4810.
NATHAN’S FAMOUS 1310 Surf Avenue (Stillwell Avenue), Brooklyn, (718) 946-2202.
PASTRAMI QUEEN 1125 Lexington Avenue (78th Street), (212) 734-1500.
ORWASHER’S BAKERY 308 East 78th Street, (212) 288-6569. (Rye bread – sold at Citarella and Dean and Deluca)
RANDAZZO’S CLAM BAR AND RESTAURANT 2017 Emmons Avenue (East 21st Street), Brooklyn, (718) 615-0010. CLAM CHOWDER (Manhattan style of course)
RUSS & DAUGHTERS 179 East Houston Street (Allen Street), (212) 475-4888.
ROCK HILL BAKEHOUSE 19 Exchange Street, Glens Falls, N.Y., (518) 615-0777. (Rye bread – sold at Union Square Greenmarket on Saturdays)
S & S CHEESECAKE 222 West 238th Street (Broadway), Bronx, (718) 549-3888. (sold at zabars and dean & deluca)
Filed under New York City
Restaurants to try in NYC, San Fran, New Orleans and Chicago
On my flight home from DC this week, I found these restaurant recommendations in the Delta inflight mag, all looked good and all are in places I will be going soon (or have gone recently). They are:
New Orleans – Gautreau’s in the Uptown neighborhood (near where we’re staying in October.) Word has it reservations are a must. The place is dinky. The hot new chef there, Sue Zemanick is 25. Known for dishes with local fresh seafood – citrus-poached gulf shrimp, wild mushroom perogies.
Chicago – Grace, opening in September in the West Loop. Chef Curtis Duffy worked for Charlie Trotter AND Grant Achatz.
NYC and San Francisco – Mission Chinese (154 Orchard Street in NYC; 2234 Mission Street in San Fran) – unusual Cantonese fare by a Korean-born, Oklahoma-raised chef including “kung pao pastrami.”
Filed under Chicago, New Orleans, New York City, San Francisco
Goodbye Nora/Highlights of DSM Civic Center’s next season
Ephron in New York City, 2010
– War Horse, which won the 2011 Tony Award for best play, runs from Dec. 11-16, 2012.
– The Book of Mormon, which won nine Tonys in 2011 including best musical, runs from January 24-Feb. 3, 2013
Filed under Des Moines, New York City, theater
For future reference: the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn
I do my best to avoid staying at a hotel when I’m in New York, and have been successful at that thanks to various friends and relatives with spare beds there. But should I have to book a hotel, The new Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn’s Williamburg are ,( my brother lives in Park Slope) looks like an interesting and surprisingly affordable option – starting at $179 a night according to a recent NYTimes T magazine spotlight story – the mini-bar, word has it, stocks house-made ice cream. Can’t beat that. And it’s farm-to-table restaurant Reynards has a “staff butcher” who apparently butchers “locally raised animals.” How Brooklyn is that? The hotel partners include the operator of the “hipster (Brooklyn) canteens Marlow & Sons, Roman’s and Diner.”
Filed under New York City
Pok Pok and Barbuto in NYC; Frontera Grill in Chicago
Thought of recent dining adventures in NYC, Chicago, and Portland, Oregon, the other day when I read a NYTimes story about where top chefs go on the rare occasion when they don’t eat at their own restaurant. Chef Daniel Boulud goes to Barbuto for Chef Jonathan Waxman’s roasted chicken, which my brother also has discovered. I had a good meal there with my brother and his wife in 2011. 
Also on the dining front, is Pok Pok NY in Brooklyn and Pok Pok Wing (see photo above of Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings) on the Lower East Side. My husband and I ate at the original Pok Pok in Portland in 2010. (The chef Andy Ricker was named the Northwest’s best by the James Beard Foundation in 2011 so I bet it’s even harder to get a reservation now.) I see from the NYTimes that the two NYC-based Pok Poks have since opened. (Alas, we didn’t have the chicken wings when we went to Pok Pok in Portland. They look incredible! But it was very good Thai food by a non-Thai guy, which was the gist of the Times story. It also mentioned Rick Bayless and Frontera Grill/Xoco et. al. in Chicago which I’ve been to many times over the years.)
Filed under Chicago, New York City, Portland
Not quite as easy taking train back to Newark airport from manhattan
Not surprisingly, it was a little trickier finding the train back to Newark Airport from Manhattan because you have to figure out grubby subterranean Penn Station, which is one of my least favorite places in NYC (unlike the elegant airy Grand Central Station which is among my favorites.) When I got off the subway at 34th street and wandered into the station I had to figure out where the NJ Transit trains and then which ones go to the airport. I knew enough not to go to the LIRR (Long Island Railroad) which I’ve taken to the Hamptons many a time but wasn’t clear on whether my airport train was Amtrak or NJ Transit (fortunately I checked ahead on-line.) I ended up going to the ticket booth for NJ Transit to make sure I bought a ticket for the right train – then waited briefly with a clump of commuters staring at the departure screen to find out the gate for my train. It wasn’t that big a deal – once I found the right place to find the right train. There was no line at the ticket booth and the gate popped up quickly on the departure screen – it just wasn’t as obvious or easy as when you leave Newark Airport and take the internal airport monorail, the AirTrain, right to the station platform for the train to Manhattan. The trip including the subway from the upper upper west side took about 1.15 tops. I also appreciated the announcement that airport passengers should NOT get off the train at the Newark Penn Station stop (which is one stop before the airport stop – and not to be confused with New York City’s Penn station.) And one tip: hold onto your NJtransit ticket after the train ride when you arrive at the AirTrain, where you’re supposed to use it to get onto the AirTrain. (I couldn’t find mine but a nice guy at the tollbooth waved me through – and of course a few minutes later I did find the ticket which I forgot I’d jammed in a pocket of my purse.) I’d definitely fly into Newark again – especially given the fantastic direct flight from Des Moines.
Filed under New York City
The Met’s Madame X, nearby Mad Men fav – William Greenberg Bakery (schnecken!) in NYC
What better place to spend a cold overcast day in New York City than the Metropolitan Museum of Art? I wasn’t the only one with this brilliant idea – the museum was packed last Tuesday, which is part of the fun of going to the museum (I spend as much time looking at the people as I do looking at the art.) I started in the revamped Arab Lands exhibit where I saw the new courtyard installed by artisans from the Middle East and admired the illustrated pages of the Qur’an, then just wandered through one exotic land after another thinking about my favorite book as a kid, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsberg, where two kids ran away from home and lived in the Met, having a grand old time. I ended up in the American wing – after a brief wander through the Modern Art area and the Medieval art area – and happily toured the historic rooms full of period decorative art from the Shakers through to Frank Lloyd Wright. I was particularly captivated this time by the Tiffany windows and blown glass bowls and vases. (Next time I’ll try to follow the tour in sequence so I can see the “progression” of style more clearly.) Also enjoyed the room full of John Singer Sargent portraits including the one of the captivating Madame X portrait. And I also happened upon Washington Crossing the Delaware.
John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925)
Oil on canvas
I ate a light lunch downstairs in the basement cafeteria, where I ended up talking with a woman from “rural” Long Island (Orient Point, which we passed through last summer when we took the ferry from Connecticut to Long Island) who “LOVES” Iowa and specifically Iowa City where she attended a U of Iowa Writers Workshop seminar. (She even loved it after being evacuated from the campus – she was there during the horrific 2008 flood.)
After the museum, I wandered on Madison Avenue until I found William Greenberg Desserts ( 1100 Madison Avenue.
btw 82nd and 83 Street ), a famous Jewish bakery with a delicacy from my childhood: schnecken, (featured in the photo above!) a sticky bun that’s sort of the Jewish version of a cinnamon role but crispier and with more cinnamon, pecans, and raisins. Fun Fact: on a recent episode of Mad Men, Don’s new wife Megan gives Trudy a red tin full of Greenberg brownies as a hostess gift before an awkward dinner party in Cos Cob. Trudy is most impressed!(“Our special sour cream yeast dough, rolled up with raisins, pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon. Our customers’ favorite for 50 years!” reports the handy Greenberg website where you can order gift tins – hint, hint family!) The bakery is also famous for its black and white cookies and rugalah.
Less impressive was the too-hard, too-expensive raisin and nut roll I picked up at E.A.T.
Filed under museum exhibit, New York City
TakeBetsywithyou 