Category Archives: 2) Frequent Destinations

December 2, 2011 · 2:26 am

Japanese restaurants in New York City

Tying up some loose ends from our trip last week to New York City, here are two Japanese restaurants for future reference:

– Menchanko 55 on W. 55th street – an inexpensive Japanese noodle house with good soup, vegetable appetizers, rice balls. No sushi.  I had the soup with brown broth, pork slices, veggies, noodles. Yum.

– IchiUmi – a Japanese seafood restaurant my friend Merida recommends, located at 6 E. 32nd street. It’s website promises: “The best sushi and seafood buffet in NYC at a very affordable price.”

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November 29, 2011 · 3:15 am

Bad luck with Delta Airlines but good corned beef with dad in Detroit

arrgh…On both my departing and return flights between Des Moines and NYC, there were mechanical problems that caused delays and/or heart palpitations. En route, during the Detroit to LaGuardia leg, as we were trying to land in a cloudy rainy New York City, the pilot suddenly reversed course and went back up into the clouds. “You may have noticed we tried to land,” he explained over the intercom. “But we decided not to as a result of an anomaly in the braking system.”

WHAT???

He then told us he’d be trying to land again in 10 minutes and there shouldn’t be any further problems.

GULP.

After what seemed like a very long 20 minutes, he did successfully land the plane on what appeared to be an exceedingly long runway. (good idea) and as the wheels touched down and the pilot pumped the brakes, we passengers clapped. And eagerly deplaned.

Then today, we get in the plane at LaGuardia on a beautiful sunny day, taxi out to the runway for an ON TIME departure, only to return to the gate because some water is leaking in the bathroom. An hour and a half later, we are airborne and our chances of making our connecting flights (having lost our original one-hour layover) are slim. I did call from the stalled plane and was told my daughter – who was going onto Cedar Rapids – wouldn’t be able to go on the 4 p.m. flight to CR if she missed the 12:20 one – but there was one seat left on the 7:51 p.m. flight. Feeling like a contestant on Lets Make a Deal, I had to choose between door #1 or #2. And decided to book the 7:51 and try to go standby on the 12:20 should we arrive in time. So we arrive in Detroit at 12 and of course the connecting flight is miles away in another concourse but I run and run and get to the gate just as the door is closing and I BEG the already harried-looking desk person to let Lily get on standby. She balks at first but I look pathetic enough that she gives me the ONE SEAT left on the whole damn plane. And away Lily goes. And of course I’ve now missed my 12:24 p.m. flight to Des Moines (in yet another concourse) and the 4:35 p.m.  is unavailable but, earlier, when the plane was stalled at LaGuardia, I grabbed a seat on  the 7:30 p.m. flight.

Best of all, I call my dad in suburban Detroit and he picks me up and we have a very nice unexpected afternoon together starting with a delicious corned beef sandwich at a little deli on Woodward Avenue (Deli Unique in the Ramada hotel of all places.) So all ends well….and I’m finally home in Des Moines.

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November 26, 2011 · 2:52 pm

New York City – Japanese noodles, a Fireside chat, drink at doc’s

During our annual whirlwind tour of NYC during thanksgiving we have:

– eaten very good japanese noodle soup at a restaurant that begins with an M on West 55th Street. (I’ll dig up that name when I can.)

– Strolled past the cool Lady Gaga holiday windows at Barney’s on Madison Avenue

– Had a long leisurely lunch with an old friend from London in the “casual elegant” Fireside restaurant of the Omni Berkshire hotel in midtown

– Met an old college friend for a beer at Doc Watson’s on 2nd Avenue between E. 77th and 78th

– Dodged the crowds watching the parade balloons being inflated on the upper west side by ducking into Scaletta for dinner (good bolognese!)

– Dodged the crowds watching the parade on Thanksgiving Day (at one point, I simply joined the tail end of the parade after the crowds along the sidewalks got to large and scary). I was the irritated looking woman in civilian clothes walking along side cheerful yellow and red costumed paraders holding up the Macy’s inflated stars. My expression: don’t dare to stop me.

– Cut through the crowds of people about ready to Occupy Best Buy on the upper west side after Thanksgiving dinner

– Took a glorious late night walk on Thanksgiving from central park west to central park south and then up Lexington Ave. to E. 69th where we stayed

– Joined 10 other relatives at a chaotic Penn Station to take the train to Southampton.

– Bought some last-minute gifts in Southampton – a novel at Book Hampton, an ice cream b’day cake at Carvel, some knickknacks at Home and Nature

 

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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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October 27, 2011 · 11:42 pm

Pilgrimage to new FLWright hotspot in Mason City

Just back from a tour of the Historic Park Inn Hotel in Mason City, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Fantastic$18 million renovation of the 101 year old hotel and bank buildings (now a lovely hotel with 27 rooms.) And the FLWright aficionados have discovered the place – both tours offered today were full of people, some almost as knowledgeable as the docents giving the tours. Next time, I’ll have to book a room and stay for the night. Also found a good place to eat – new spot about two blocks west of the hotel call Chop with very affordable salads, sandwiches, egg dishes served in stylish room with FLWright overtones (same ochre colored, scallop patterned plaster walls etc.)/ Lovely day.

Did I mention this is the only hotel designed by FLW that remains? (I think there’s a hotel in Oklahoma that’s in a FLWright building but it wasn’t originally designed as a hotel. Must doublecheck that.)

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October 24, 2011 · 6:11 pm

One coffee with a raw egg please? At Susie’s Kitchen in Stanton Iowa!

I waited with baited breath the other day to hear which Iowa cafe the foodies Jane and Michael Stern (of roadfood.com fame) would recommend after hearing a plug for their segment on the NPR show The Splendid Table. And the winner is….Susie’s Kitchen in the southwestern Iowa town of Stanton, famous for all things Swedish including apparently Swedish coffee made with a raw egg. I went there years ago – and of course remember the distinctive water tower shaped like a Swedish coffee pot (there’s also a coffee or tea cup water tower now, I gather.)

Apparently this isn’t fancy-schmancy barrista coffee – this is  a more watery, lighter Iowa cafe coffee that townies spend hours drinking (sometimes using their own cup hung in the cafe), and the secret, we’re told, is that Suzy (0r whomever) mixes ground coffee with a raw egg and then boils it  “to clarify the brew”…  (see http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/listings/111015/ to hear the Sterns’ description.)

Doesn’t really make me want to jump in a car and drive two hours from DM to Stanton but Susie’s pie does, especially her Fruit of the Forest pie, described by the Sterns as: “a multi-fruit extravaganza of apple, rhubarb, strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry heaped into a golden, lard-rich crust that is light, flaky, and flavorful.”  Susie’s is at 404 Broad Ave (712) 829-2947

By the by, Stanton is also the home of the actress (Virginia Kraft) who played Mrs. Olson in ye old Folger’s coffee TV commercials. During my visit years ago in late April, I  found myself walking around the small town with a strolling group of men singing in Swedish and stopping at neighbors homes to drink…what else…coffee.  It’s the town’s Swedish tradition of welcoming May by singing “Skona Maj” or “Beautiful May.”
Here’s water tower photos!

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October 11, 2011 · 10:41 pm

Zingerman’s and other Ann Arbor Highlights

Nice 36 Hours story in the NYTimes last Sunday on the penultimate college town, Ann Arbor, Mi. (Go Blue!) Zingerman’s deli gets a nod, as well it should. Other highlights and things to explore when next passing through:

Nickel’s Arcade for upscale shopping and coffee at Comet Coffee

Hill Auditorium for visiting top-notch theater, dance and classical music concerts

Mark’s Carts – ethnic food carts in a courtyard on Washington Street between first and Ashley streets.

Angelo’s – for breakfast, then off to the Farmer’s market.

The Ark – famous folk house now known for world music too apparently.

Pacific rim  for pan-Asian food

Logan for wild boar Bolognese (hmmm)

Frita Batidos for cuban food

Cafe Zola for french, italian and turkish food

 

–

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October 10, 2011 · 11:40 pm

now for a little self-promotion…hot off the press: The New York Times, 36 Hours: 150 Weekends

A New Yorker cartoon recently summed up the typical contents of a blog that it’s: 1/3 how to sew, knit, cook, whatever, 1/3 kvetching of one variety or another and 1/3 self-promotion. Or some such.

With this blog, I’ve tried not to do much of any of that. But hey, what’s wrong with a little self- promotion – especially when, sadly, I won’t earn anything else  from the re-publication of two of my stories for the NYTimes  in an upcoming 774- page coffee table travel book.

So be on the look out for  The New York Times, 36 hours: 150 weekends in the USA and Canada which should be available in November I’m told and includes my stories on Oak Park (Illinois) and on Iowa’s Coast (yes, coast – along the Mississippi).  They’ve been updated since they ran several years ago – but not entirely by me.

Here’s some promo material:

The 740-page book includes the Times’ top 150 travel destinations, from cities and towns to natural wonders across America. Practical recommendations for the over 600 restaurants and 450 hotels is inside with color-coded tabs and ribbons to bookmark favorite cities in each region. Nearly 1,000 photos, most of them from The New York Times archive made it in, making it small enough to throw in your suitcase but big enough to enjoy from your favorite reading chair. The new illustrations by Times illustrator Olimpia Zagnoli of Milan, Italy look fantastic, and includes easy-to-reference indexes and detailed city-by-city maps,.  This will be TASCHEN America’s top title of the year.
 

The New York Times, 36 Hours: 150 Weekends in the USA & Canada
Hardcover, 16.8 x 24 cm (6.6 x 9.4 in.), 744 pages
EUR 29.99 | USD 39.99 | GBP 24.99 | JPY 5900.00

The best of the USA & Canada: The highly acclaimed New York Times travel feature finally available in one updated volume

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October 4, 2011 · 10:37 pm

Daring to ride a bicycle on Iowa’s county roads – Chichaqua Trail east of Des Moines

You can get very spoiled riding bikes on Iowa’s trails – no cars to worry about except at infrequent intersections with usually pokey gravel roads. But yesterday – in part because one of our favorite trails, the (unpronounceable) 20-mile Chichaqua Valley Trail from Bondurant to Baxter, east of Des Moines,  is partially closed – we decided to try riding on a few county roads paralleling the trail.

It helped that the roads we were (S52 and F24)  were chosen by the Iowa Bike Coalition as good – and included as part of a recommended loop on their new biking map that I recently picked up for $2.50 at a bike shop in Des Moines.  On a gorgeous fall Sunday, the two-lane roads were mostly quiet – but every once in awhile a car or truck would come up from behind and scare the be-Jesus out of us. My husband was particularly worried about combines and grain trucks – since it’s harvest time.

The roads were very hilly – so a challenge to ride from that standpoint too – with visibility limited. When I could banish my fear of approaching cars, riding the country roads was fun – you get a really different feel for the countryside than on the trails where you are more insulated and your view more restricted. You’re riding in the middle of the corn field rather than on the edge of it, if that makes sense.

Anyway, by the time we got to the small town of Mingo on county roads we were very ready to return to the safety of a trail – and we gladly hopped on the Chichaqua Trail, riding  south to Valeria, where the trail was closed thru to Bondurant, due to damage caused by flooding last year.  We had the trail from Valeria to Baxter (via Mingo and Ira) almost to ourselves – about a 10 mile stretch – because, I’m guessing, 1)  people think the trail is completely closed and 2) the High Trestle Trail has become so popular that it’s siphoning off riders on the the Chichaqua Trail.

The weather was a balmy 75 degrees or so and the trees and light were in their autumnal glory – we rode through tunnels of trees changing color, our tires crunching on fallen leaves, the sun making shadows that dappled the path, gliding past fields of browning corn and golding soybeans, past the occasional combine harvesting away or tractor in the distance making hay bales. Iowa in its glory.

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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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