Category Archives: New York

November 22, 2011 · 1:17 pm

NYC here we come

We leave for NYC on this rainy morning in DM and as always, excited to see friends and family but dreading some of the hassle involved in navigating the airports and the city during the Thanksgiving holiday. On tap:

– dinner tonight at Il Corso in midtown with family and friends

– lunch tomorrow with an old friend from London at Fireside in midtown; drink in early eve with old college friend at Doc Watson’s on upper east side; dinner with family at Scaletta’s on upper west side (first I have to figure out if I can get a cross town bus, given the parade set up right – including the balloons that are blown up on 77th, right outside the restaurant.)

– Parade party at my cousin’s apt on Central Park West (I’ll be walking across the park and hope to arrive when the parade has just passed by – so I can cross the street….), Thanksgiving dinner at other relatives down the street.

And so on….Happy holidays!

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September 12, 2011 · 2:08 am

Tips from the Hamptons

My brother has mastered the art of finding inexpensive or relatively  inexpensive ways to vacation in the Hamptons. Staying with incredibly generous relatives certainly is a great start. Beyond that, he found a great book sale that operates on Saturday mornings from the public library in Southampton. He brought me along last Saturday and I was like the proverbial kid in a candy store. I couldn’t believe how many great novels and nonfiction books and kids books, you name it, – many only a year or so old – were there and how cheap they were (most $2-$4). We both left with big bags of books – I got maybe 12 books, many of them hardcover, for the price of one hardcover ($30). The next trick will be getting them home in my carryon luggage – fortunately I gave some away as gifts.

We also walked on the beach today in Southampton on one of those days when the weather is somewhere between summer and fall – and we had the beach largely to ourselves. Which is a rare treat. (In contrast to the main drag, 27, which was chock-a-block with cars much of the weekend, especially on Saturday morning.) Home to Iowa tomorrow  – and hoping we won’t encounter too much traffic in the morning en route to LaGuardia.

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September 9, 2011 · 10:54 pm

From Vermont to Water Mill NY just like that

As a midwesterner – this is what I love about the east coast. Within four hours we went from rural Vermont to the beach in the Hamptons. I woke up this morning in an 19th century inn in Grafton Vermont, with a few streets lined with pristine white wood houses, a white church with a huge white steeple and red dahlias abloom, a country pond lined with field stones. Now, at sunset, I am looking out across a lush green lawn rimmed with flora and fauna, beyond it the blue still waters of Mecox Bay. Beyond that a spit of land with big homes and then the Atlantic Ocean.

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September 4, 2011 · 12:11 pm

Zabar’s-Fairway Mkt-Central Park-Upper West Side

We were supposed to be in Connecticut yesterday but because our friends in Trumbull STILL DO NOT HAVE POWER a week after Tropical Storm Irene blew by, they drove down to the Upper West Side to hang out with us. It was still sunny but muggier yesterday – I did a quick tour of Upper West Side foodie havens, picking up bagels at Zabars (since H&H is no longer open) and fruit and veggies at Fairway Market (and coffee at Starbucks since I can’t figure out the cappuccino machine here at my relatives’ apartment). Our friends arrived and we went for lunch at the Shake Shack on 77th and Columbus Ave. At 2 p.m. on a Saturday there was a line out the door and a short ways down 77th but it moved quickly and we even managed to find a table in the basement. My second visit there and I continue to be impressed. My cheeseburger was pink and juicy – impressive for a fast food joint. The chocolate milk shake was rich and the chocolate tasted different, less American and milk chocolate, maybe more European or dark chocolate?

Central Park was the afternoon’s activity – we sat in the Sheep Meadow watching the world go by – a big family who appeared to be from an Eastern European country (Poland?) spread out next to us with their cute funny kids, intense volleyball players grunted and punched behind us, the occasional character passed by – a guy wearing short blue furry shorts and matching boots, a woman in a hoop shirt from another era, etc. For dinner we tried Swagat an Indian restaurant on 79th and Amsterdam. Very good – and almost empty as was much of the Upper West Side at the start of Labor Day weekend which was to be honest very pleasant. We stopped at Pinkberry on Columbus Avenue on the way back to the apartment. On to Connecticut power or no power today.

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September 3, 2011 · 2:19 pm

Brooklyn Bridge – Dumbo – World trade Center site – Tribeca – east Village

The view from the Brooklyn Bridge was partly obscured by construction scaffolding but still stunning and a glorious walk on a sunny September morning. Wished I had more time to wander around Brooklyn Heights, didn’t find that much of interest in Dumbo, so I carried on across the bridge (bit tricky to find the pedestrian entrance) and onto Zucker Bagels for bagel-lox-cream cheese (excellent), then went to the old church by the World Trade Center site which has a touching display to mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The church was a refuge for first responders and it’s  hard not to get choked up looking at the photos and remnants from that time. On to Tribeca where  I found the lovely little pocket park on  Duane Street – stopped in at the patisserie (of the same name) for lemonade and some cookies to bring to a friend’s kids (with proceeds of cookies going to 9/11 stuff), cute shop with lots of British stuff  called Working Class, cool furniture store using reclaimed this and than called Lucca. Dropped of fatigue on a very comfortable bench by Battery Park (I think) with great river view and perfect breeze. Dinner at Motorino Pizza on E. 12 near 1st in East Village (best bets: meatball appetizer, any pizzas with red sauce, tiramisu. )

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September 3, 2011 · 2:34 am

New section of the High Line – Central Park – Madison Ave

What a spectacular day in New York City with perfect weather – warm but not hot, sunshine but breezy. I could have walked forever (if my feet would permit.) One upside of all the rain NYC has gotten this summer (and I know there are major downsides) is that everything is so green and lush – which is very refreshing coming from the parched and browning Midwest. Central Park looked like Ireland this morning as I walked across it at around 72nd street. Took a stroll up Madison Avenue to early 80s to check out the latest completely unaffordable fall fashions, then had lunch w/a dear friend at Bella Blue (great artichoke salad!). We took the subway to 14th and 8th avenue then a short walk to the High Line. It was not only longer than my last visit (thanks to the recent opening of the second section) but the vegetation was higher and dense – sometimes blocking views of the river but still one of the great things to do in this city – great views you’d never see otherwise and fun people watching. Not so sure about the Pineapple-Jalapeno ice bar I ate – good at the time but Jalapeno is not sitting that well with me.

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June 24, 2011 · 7:18 pm

Where to wander on the east coast – suggestions please

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?)

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May 14, 2011 · 9:13 pm

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

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March 29, 2011 · 10:13 pm

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.

 

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March 28, 2011 · 2:14 pm

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!

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