I was going to post tonight, but I was looking at the pictures I took today that I'm in and I look really, really tired. And I am, too. Really awesome two days, but I'm pretty fatigued! So I am going to sleep instead. Also, its supposed to snow like 8 inches tonight, so I get to go out tomorrow and see the city in snow! Glad it's just my last day, tho. It's supposed to stop well before my flight starts, so hopefully it wont be delayed too much...
(also, the timestamps it puts on my posts are very very wrong.... I'm not going to bed at 7pm, I swear!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Day 5- Greenwich Village,The Met, Bar Boulud
Look carefully for picture links, I have them hyperlinked on words, this time.
I started the day with a breakfast from "Cafeteria." I suppose it is named this because it is open 24 hours a day. However, it is not your typical nyc buffet- it is an actual restaurant in chelsea, and a very trendy one at that, with creative food. With only a few tables, yelpers bemoan the long waits. Well, they should try going at 9:30am on Wednesday, because it's half-empty, then! I had some awesome blueberry lemonaide and croissant french toast, which had apple slices inside of it.
These sound and look a bit better than they actually are. The lemonaide was great at first but the finish is extremely sweet, and as you drink it it just gets sweeter. The french toast is novel, but not especially yummy. Creative ideas that need fine tuning, in my opinion. Still, pretty good meal, and not too expensive.
Next it was time for the greenwich village walking food tour! Much eating, much history of the willage, but very little walking in actuality. We stayed in the west village and stayed within about 6 blocks! So, I don't really feel like it gives a picture of the whole village, but you did learn a lot about that part of it. And the food was pretty good.
Italian rice ball with a fancy name I don't remember. Yummy.
Mac and cheese in a cup from a cool restaurant where they have heat lamps so you can sit outdoors. Very good!
A chocolates store with a cat who often sits in the window.
Asian Fusion (what was this doing here?)
The least wide house in new york! Note its width in relation to the car.
and much more...
It was a very cool tour and we must have gone into or talked about a good 15 sites. It's a very cool neighborhood; it feels very different from any other part of manhattan. And people pay to be there. One example: Old tenamants built decades ago for the poorest of the poor, 8 stories up, no elevator, 1 bathroom per floor, 200 sqaure feet... $1600 rent!!! Meanwhile, people actually own very small homes here, that go for millions of dollars. So... it's a fun place to visit, not live!
I bolted as soon as it was over, subwayed north, walked through central park (very very cool place, especially when it isn't pouring), and arrived at the Met!
Bill Bryson plays a game sometimes when he goes museuming: Imagining that the museum staff adores him and wants to reward his oustanding character, he pretends that he is allowed to take one piece home with him after his visit, and spends his time selecting it. It turns out, this is kind of the best thing to do in a museum, ever. My selection from the met: a 19th century amoire depicting the defeat of Atila the Hun. Ummm, awesome.
Runner-ups: An oceanic flute you play with your nose, or a full set of mounted armor. Honorable mention: Dog with hilarious expression.
I definitely enjoyed the met more than I thought I would. I took a pretty ridiculously fast route through, but I think I managed to hit every room. Not a very thourough inspection, depth-wise, but very impressive breadth :) It closes at 5:30 so I didn't have time for much else.
Subwayed back to the hotel, stopping for a real 24-hour cafeteria style nyc deli. Take what you want from the trays, pay by weight, and eat upstairs. Something I wanted to do, just to see what it's like. My dinner reservation wasn't till 9:15 so I had to get food to tide me over.
(Interjection: I think by this point I know the manhattan subway better than chicago's. For crying outloud, It still takes me five tries in chicago to even get my card into the machine. But that's because the design in chicago is utterly moronic. Even in London I did it right on my second try, but in Chicago everytime I use the subway I have to look like an idiot for five tries each time....)
I digress.
There are a lot of great french chefs in NYC and Daniel Boulud is one of them. I was going to get a reservation at Daniel Boulud's most impressive restaurant, but chickened out because its hard to eat at those kinds of places alone. Instead I settled on Bar Boulud, a "casual" eatery on Broadway. I made the reservation yesterday, online, and was thrilled that I could get a reservation at all, nevermind that it was for 9:15pm. I looked over the menu a lot today and nothing jumped out at me, so I was glad to be handed a Prix Fixe menu when I was seated. Three courses, set price, with 3 choices each course. Excellent. Makes it easier.
I have to say, overall, I was not impressed with the design of the place. I was about five rows of tables away from the door, but everytime it was opened we all froze a little bit. I guess this week is especially windy- everyone is commenting on it- but it doesn't seem that bad to me (oy- hold the windy city puns...). So, this was extremely unimpressive. Furthermore the lighting was uneven and my table was pretty dark, and was right next to the computer the waiters use to place orders. Ech. Still, reservation one day before coming in, I'll take what I can get. Excuse the picture quality tho... my camera helped a lot with the colors but the focusing is bad because I couldn't see very well.
I totally ordered the wrong appetizer by accidant. Should have gotten the squash soup but ordered the salad. Yeesh. OK, course-by-course!
Menu
Bread
Amuse- Bread with light cheese throughout the center. The ones I had at Spiaggia were much better. The flavor in these was so subtle you wonder, "what's the point?" Of course, I may have just missed a the point, I don't know...
Course 1: Salade Mesclun- Baby Field Greens, Vegetable Crudite, Lemon Vinaigrette. It was a very good salad, it had a variety of textures and good flavor. But.. it was just a salad. My fault for ordering badly.
Course 2:Pate Fraiche- Housemade tagliatelle pasta, berkshire pork bolognese taggiasca olives, omato confit, parmesan. Good. Maybe, very good. But it lacked pizazz. It didn't wow me. And it didn't feel very french to me, tho it might be... I need more food education.
Course 3:Ile Jal Mahal- Floating Island, Buddha Hand Confit, Masala Anglaise. Best dish easily, great flavor, very tasty, loved the sweet sauce it was "floating" in. Very light. Delicious.
Overall? It was a good meal but not great. Pretty forgettable. Maybe I should have gone to Restaurant Daniel instead, maybe I should have ordered a meal that was more French, if that's what I wanted, but nonetheless, I don't feel I found what I was looking for. Hopefully next time I am here I will not be alone and will go someplace nicer. However, one nice thing, the meal was very affordable!
Tomorrow: Scott's Pizza Tour (I am so excited for this!), Museum of Natural History (for real this time, I swear!), Convivio restaurant (from time out new york magazine, they have awesome looking potatoes), West Side Story.
I started the day with a breakfast from "Cafeteria." I suppose it is named this because it is open 24 hours a day. However, it is not your typical nyc buffet- it is an actual restaurant in chelsea, and a very trendy one at that, with creative food. With only a few tables, yelpers bemoan the long waits. Well, they should try going at 9:30am on Wednesday, because it's half-empty, then! I had some awesome blueberry lemonaide and croissant french toast, which had apple slices inside of it.
These sound and look a bit better than they actually are. The lemonaide was great at first but the finish is extremely sweet, and as you drink it it just gets sweeter. The french toast is novel, but not especially yummy. Creative ideas that need fine tuning, in my opinion. Still, pretty good meal, and not too expensive.
Next it was time for the greenwich village walking food tour! Much eating, much history of the willage, but very little walking in actuality. We stayed in the west village and stayed within about 6 blocks! So, I don't really feel like it gives a picture of the whole village, but you did learn a lot about that part of it. And the food was pretty good.
Italian rice ball with a fancy name I don't remember. Yummy.
Mac and cheese in a cup from a cool restaurant where they have heat lamps so you can sit outdoors. Very good!
A chocolates store with a cat who often sits in the window.
Asian Fusion (what was this doing here?)
The least wide house in new york! Note its width in relation to the car.
and much more...
It was a very cool tour and we must have gone into or talked about a good 15 sites. It's a very cool neighborhood; it feels very different from any other part of manhattan. And people pay to be there. One example: Old tenamants built decades ago for the poorest of the poor, 8 stories up, no elevator, 1 bathroom per floor, 200 sqaure feet... $1600 rent!!! Meanwhile, people actually own very small homes here, that go for millions of dollars. So... it's a fun place to visit, not live!
I bolted as soon as it was over, subwayed north, walked through central park (very very cool place, especially when it isn't pouring), and arrived at the Met!
Bill Bryson plays a game sometimes when he goes museuming: Imagining that the museum staff adores him and wants to reward his oustanding character, he pretends that he is allowed to take one piece home with him after his visit, and spends his time selecting it. It turns out, this is kind of the best thing to do in a museum, ever. My selection from the met: a 19th century amoire depicting the defeat of Atila the Hun. Ummm, awesome.
Runner-ups: An oceanic flute you play with your nose, or a full set of mounted armor. Honorable mention: Dog with hilarious expression.
I definitely enjoyed the met more than I thought I would. I took a pretty ridiculously fast route through, but I think I managed to hit every room. Not a very thourough inspection, depth-wise, but very impressive breadth :) It closes at 5:30 so I didn't have time for much else.
Subwayed back to the hotel, stopping for a real 24-hour cafeteria style nyc deli. Take what you want from the trays, pay by weight, and eat upstairs. Something I wanted to do, just to see what it's like. My dinner reservation wasn't till 9:15 so I had to get food to tide me over.
(Interjection: I think by this point I know the manhattan subway better than chicago's. For crying outloud, It still takes me five tries in chicago to even get my card into the machine. But that's because the design in chicago is utterly moronic. Even in London I did it right on my second try, but in Chicago everytime I use the subway I have to look like an idiot for five tries each time....)
I digress.
There are a lot of great french chefs in NYC and Daniel Boulud is one of them. I was going to get a reservation at Daniel Boulud's most impressive restaurant, but chickened out because its hard to eat at those kinds of places alone. Instead I settled on Bar Boulud, a "casual" eatery on Broadway. I made the reservation yesterday, online, and was thrilled that I could get a reservation at all, nevermind that it was for 9:15pm. I looked over the menu a lot today and nothing jumped out at me, so I was glad to be handed a Prix Fixe menu when I was seated. Three courses, set price, with 3 choices each course. Excellent. Makes it easier.
I have to say, overall, I was not impressed with the design of the place. I was about five rows of tables away from the door, but everytime it was opened we all froze a little bit. I guess this week is especially windy- everyone is commenting on it- but it doesn't seem that bad to me (oy- hold the windy city puns...). So, this was extremely unimpressive. Furthermore the lighting was uneven and my table was pretty dark, and was right next to the computer the waiters use to place orders. Ech. Still, reservation one day before coming in, I'll take what I can get. Excuse the picture quality tho... my camera helped a lot with the colors but the focusing is bad because I couldn't see very well.
I totally ordered the wrong appetizer by accidant. Should have gotten the squash soup but ordered the salad. Yeesh. OK, course-by-course!
Menu
Bread
Amuse- Bread with light cheese throughout the center. The ones I had at Spiaggia were much better. The flavor in these was so subtle you wonder, "what's the point?" Of course, I may have just missed a the point, I don't know...
Course 1: Salade Mesclun- Baby Field Greens, Vegetable Crudite, Lemon Vinaigrette. It was a very good salad, it had a variety of textures and good flavor. But.. it was just a salad. My fault for ordering badly.
Course 2:Pate Fraiche- Housemade tagliatelle pasta, berkshire pork bolognese taggiasca olives, omato confit, parmesan. Good. Maybe, very good. But it lacked pizazz. It didn't wow me. And it didn't feel very french to me, tho it might be... I need more food education.
Course 3:Ile Jal Mahal- Floating Island, Buddha Hand Confit, Masala Anglaise. Best dish easily, great flavor, very tasty, loved the sweet sauce it was "floating" in. Very light. Delicious.
Overall? It was a good meal but not great. Pretty forgettable. Maybe I should have gone to Restaurant Daniel instead, maybe I should have ordered a meal that was more French, if that's what I wanted, but nonetheless, I don't feel I found what I was looking for. Hopefully next time I am here I will not be alone and will go someplace nicer. However, one nice thing, the meal was very affordable!
Tomorrow: Scott's Pizza Tour (I am so excited for this!), Museum of Natural History (for real this time, I swear!), Convivio restaurant (from time out new york magazine, they have awesome looking potatoes), West Side Story.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
NYC 09 Day 4- Jew Day, Tourist Day
Woke up, blogged, and hit the road for some bagels. I used yelp and happily discovered that one of the top-rated bagel places, Ess-a-Bagel, is only about 20 streets north of my hotel. Hurray! A quick walk later and I was in bagel heaven. Id estimate 90% of the staff was Jewish and at least 50% of the customers. You wait in line to get to two bagel-making stations, where a 60-year old Jew labors over your bagels. He takes his time, wraps up the product, and illegibly scrawls the price on the top. You take your bagels over to the cashier, who can't read what the bagel-maker wrote, and asks you to repeat your order. Definitely a laid-back place. Best conversation overheard was the guy two spots ahead of me in line.
Customer, after waiting 40 seconds: Can you hurry it up, I have a table waiting.
Bagel-maker: Oy! So she's sitting over there and I have to deal with you and your ugly face.
Customer: That's right.
Bagel-maker: See if I care! I'll just pretend it's halloween.
Customer: Hey it's no picnic for me either, I have to look in the mirror every morning.
The bagel maker laughs, and they move on to smoother chit-chat. Two minutes later they wish eachother happy chanukkah and the guy takes his bagels and leaves. 100% real dialogue.
Awesome.
I got an onion bagel with regular creamcheese and a sesame bagel with apple cinnamon creamcheese. Here's a picture of the former. http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0714.jpg Definitely good, fluffy bagels you aren't going to find from dunkin donuts or whatever, but not insanely crazy good. Sometime if I'm up early enough I can maybe come in early and get one of the first batch of the day, still warm. That, I'm sure, is ridiculous. The second bagel with the apple cinnamon creamcheese I saved for later in the day, and it was very, very good.
Well, I was all the way on the east side of Manhattan, pretty much at it's widest width, so I took the subway alll the way over to the other side for my boat ride around manhattan. Even in december the boat had 300 people, easy. It was a fun tour for about the first 90 minutes, but tapered off a lot, after that. The northern coastline of the island? Not that interesting. I should have elected for a shorter tour. Still, I learned a lot and it's definitely a cool thing to do. I have some pretty rocksolid Manhattan knowledge, at this point. I gave subway advice to an english woman today and gave directions to time square to someone from the south. Pretty crazy. I took numerous shockingly amateurish photos on the boat, here are a few of the standouts:
Statue of liberty: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0737.jpg
Ellis Island: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0732.jpg
Downtown: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0730.jpg
Empire State Building & Chrysler building: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0726.jpg
It's definitely a city that makes you proud to be an American when you see it. The statue of liberty is extremely awe-inspiring, as was the pride of our tour-guide when discussing the city. In particular our tour guide made many reverent references to the now missing twin towers. We all remember that day, but I think the the loss of life and of steel from Sept 11 is a wound that many new yorkers feel even more acutely. I didn't really have enough time to do a museum visit justice anyway, so I took the E-train all the way downtown to see Ground Zero.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0774.jpg
Most people walk right on past, completely used to the giant hole in the sky, but often enough you hear where-were-you-when conversations. The small museum was very striking. They made excellent use of video and voice-over interviews to convey the emotion of the situation. It felt very personal. I'm glad I went, I feel more connected, now.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0775.jpg
Afterwards I had dinner at Carnegie Deli. The sheer volume of food that comes out of this place is either amazing or sickening. Mostly, sickening. I misunderstood the menu and got the below "Reuben." If you don't have a steady stomache, don't click on this link: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0776.jpg
Yeah, you regret clicking it, don't you? I know I do. It tastes almost as bad as it looks. They used about half an onion and it's just terrible. I ate a very small part of it, asked for the rest to be boxed, and then threw out the box a block away. I still feel yucky because of it. They have a huge menu, so should they be judged on one dish? When the dish is this bad, absolutely. No customer should have to pay for this. It was so horrible you almost wonder if it was malicious. The amusing elderly jewish waitress did not make up for it!
On my way back to the hotel I got a fallafel sandwich that was much, much better. I guess Zagat reviews are no substitute for taste! http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0780.jpg
Tomorrow: Greenwich Village Walking tour, Museum of Natural History, Bar Boulud.
Customer, after waiting 40 seconds: Can you hurry it up, I have a table waiting.
Bagel-maker: Oy! So she's sitting over there and I have to deal with you and your ugly face.
Customer: That's right.
Bagel-maker: See if I care! I'll just pretend it's halloween.
Customer: Hey it's no picnic for me either, I have to look in the mirror every morning.
The bagel maker laughs, and they move on to smoother chit-chat. Two minutes later they wish eachother happy chanukkah and the guy takes his bagels and leaves. 100% real dialogue.
Awesome.
I got an onion bagel with regular creamcheese and a sesame bagel with apple cinnamon creamcheese. Here's a picture of the former. http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0714.jpg Definitely good, fluffy bagels you aren't going to find from dunkin donuts or whatever, but not insanely crazy good. Sometime if I'm up early enough I can maybe come in early and get one of the first batch of the day, still warm. That, I'm sure, is ridiculous. The second bagel with the apple cinnamon creamcheese I saved for later in the day, and it was very, very good.
Well, I was all the way on the east side of Manhattan, pretty much at it's widest width, so I took the subway alll the way over to the other side for my boat ride around manhattan. Even in december the boat had 300 people, easy. It was a fun tour for about the first 90 minutes, but tapered off a lot, after that. The northern coastline of the island? Not that interesting. I should have elected for a shorter tour. Still, I learned a lot and it's definitely a cool thing to do. I have some pretty rocksolid Manhattan knowledge, at this point. I gave subway advice to an english woman today and gave directions to time square to someone from the south. Pretty crazy. I took numerous shockingly amateurish photos on the boat, here are a few of the standouts:
Statue of liberty: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0737.jpg
Ellis Island: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0732.jpg
Downtown: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0730.jpg
Empire State Building & Chrysler building: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0726.jpg
It's definitely a city that makes you proud to be an American when you see it. The statue of liberty is extremely awe-inspiring, as was the pride of our tour-guide when discussing the city. In particular our tour guide made many reverent references to the now missing twin towers. We all remember that day, but I think the the loss of life and of steel from Sept 11 is a wound that many new yorkers feel even more acutely. I didn't really have enough time to do a museum visit justice anyway, so I took the E-train all the way downtown to see Ground Zero.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0774.jpg
Most people walk right on past, completely used to the giant hole in the sky, but often enough you hear where-were-you-when conversations. The small museum was very striking. They made excellent use of video and voice-over interviews to convey the emotion of the situation. It felt very personal. I'm glad I went, I feel more connected, now.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0775.jpg
Afterwards I had dinner at Carnegie Deli. The sheer volume of food that comes out of this place is either amazing or sickening. Mostly, sickening. I misunderstood the menu and got the below "Reuben." If you don't have a steady stomache, don't click on this link: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0776.jpg
Yeah, you regret clicking it, don't you? I know I do. It tastes almost as bad as it looks. They used about half an onion and it's just terrible. I ate a very small part of it, asked for the rest to be boxed, and then threw out the box a block away. I still feel yucky because of it. They have a huge menu, so should they be judged on one dish? When the dish is this bad, absolutely. No customer should have to pay for this. It was so horrible you almost wonder if it was malicious. The amusing elderly jewish waitress did not make up for it!
On my way back to the hotel I got a fallafel sandwich that was much, much better. I guess Zagat reviews are no substitute for taste! http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0780.jpg
Tomorrow: Greenwich Village Walking tour, Museum of Natural History, Bar Boulud.
NYC 09 Days 1-3: Whirlwind Manhattan in 3 days!
Sorry it's been so long with no blog post- with Becky here I just haven't had the time, but she is back in Chicago now so here is a recap of my first three days!
Note- At some time I'd like to get pictures dicrectly onto this blog for this post, but it just takes too long. Im posting links... please click! Pictures are good :)
Day 1- China Town, Little Italy, Soho, NoHo, Greenwich, Broadway:
I was impressed a few weeks ago when Becky and I made it from the loop back up to Irving Park Road. This, my friends, is nothing.
We started the day with our first and only subway ride, down to China Town down south. Shopping on Canal Street insued. The place is pretty crazy. Every $6 scarf you can imagine (or $4-$5 if you are someone like Becky), knock-off rolex, and cologne in the universe must be here. It's a bit of a zoo. Lots of tourists. But good prices on knicknacks and knock-offs, if that's what you want.
Park: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0667.jpg
We then walked through a part of Little Italy, which seemed to be mostly residential over restaurants. I will return here and take many more pictures when I do my Pizza Tour of NY on Thursday :)
More walking, More walking, More walking! We walked a lot on this day, and it didn't much catch up to me until yesterday (day3). We've walked through little neighborhoods, past gigantic skyscrapers, and underneath the stoops of countless bakeries, shops, and restaurants. It's a good thing I have my boy scout bakground though, I think, or I might not be able to keep up with my girlfriend-- how embarassing! (OK, no secrets between you and I, dear reader, she could leave me in the dust if she desired...)
Eventually it was time for Rice to Riches, an amazing Rice Pudding place with hilarious writings on the walls extolling the greatness that is Rice Pudding. And there's no doubt about it, this was pretty great. (Picture is terrible, booo.)
Pudding: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0670.jpg
More walking around Soho/Noho/Greenwich area. We went to a shop that makes their own candy and had sampes, went to Strand Bookstore (pictured), and went for what Becky swears is the best Hot Chocolate in the city. And much, more....
Strand Bookstore: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0681.jpg and http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0682.jpg
Eventually it was time for my first broadway play, Next to Normal. It was extremely good, even though the Tony-winning lead actress was out that night.
Day 2- New York Wet, Central Park, Cookies, CRAFT!
The next morning the forecast was light rain in the 40s. We went to brunch at Sarabeth's, an iconic brunch place, at their location at Central Park. It was good for sure, loved the ambiance of the place and large amounts of people it can hold, but my favorite brunch will remain Orange, in chicago...
Brunch: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG00018-20091213-1151.jpg
We had hoped the rain might be mostly done after we got out, but sadly it had gotten worse. We sloshed through central park, which is AWESOME and beautiful, even in the rain. I will definitely return when it is lighter out.
Uptown, west of the park, we had what are probably the world's best cookies. They were so good that some carelessness on my part sparked some momentary tension between us... these were some effing good cookies.
Cookie: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG00020-20091213-1437.jpg
It should be mentioned that Becky has a thing for goods sold in tents. We stopped at many such places, but one of the most interesting was a rain-or-shine sunday fair that is held outside of and inside of a highschool we passed. Lots of jewelry as always, but this one also had antique maps and prints, which I looked through a lot. Cool stuff.
The rain was cruddy so we thought we might go to MoMa together, but so did zillions of other people and just stepping through the doors was enough to convince me that sunday during rain was not the right day to do it. Plus Becky was sooooo soaked. So we headed back to the hotel to prepare for Craft.
Craft is Tom Colicchio's restaurant, so as huge top chef fans we had to make an appearance. Seasonal new american cooking. Simple but gooooooooood. Pictures to follow. Large and excellent waitstaff took good care of us, even giving us a complimentary dish since they were out of Gnocci.
Amuse, tuna and cracker: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0689.jpg
Sweetbreads (First bite good, texture got to be a bit much by the end of the dish): http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0690.jpg
Pumpkin Fantasy (GOOOOOD): http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0693.jpg
Wagyu Carpachio (If it was top chef, this chef would be packing their knives): http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0695.jpg
Monkfish wrapped in Proscutto (My continued attempts to push my boundaries. And I'm glad I did. This was soooo good! So warm, with great texture, and the wrapping just made it perfect): http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0696.jpg
Risotto (top), Mushrooms (bottom) (Both incredibly good, thanks Becky for picking these!!): http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0698.jpg
Complimentary Greens, forget what they are...: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0699.jpg
Gift for the next morning, apple muffin (yum): http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0701.jpg
Day 3 - East Village, Bryant Park, Rockefeller Plaza, Minetta's Tavern, Phantom of the Opera!
Becky and I walked down all the way to Houston to get brunch at a very little place that had a 40 minute wait even on a Monday morning! But that just means that it's good, right? And we did more walking during the wait.
Berry Blast Drink, gooood http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0704.jpg
Eggs http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0705.jpg
Other Eggs http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0706.jpg
We passed Bryant park and went in for some very good booths of shopping.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0707.jpg
We wanted to see Rockefeller center together before Becky had to leave, so we started walking that way. I was getting pretty tired at this point and required some breaks. We're talking about below 1st street all the way up to 47th street, here... no wonder!
The building itself is fantastic and I can't wait to go to the top of it some other time. Next to the height of the building the tree looks less impressive, but there's no doubt about it: that's one big tree. It escaped photography, I was definitely very tired! The iceskating I thought was pretty funny, since its like 60 people skating being watched by 1000+ people. Must be very very creepy.
At this point we went back to the hotel and Becky had to go. Sad, but at least now I get to use subways and busses... ;)
I subwayed down to Minetta Tavern, home to Time Out New York magazine's #1 food attration- The $26 black label burger. I had this with a $14 tom collins, yowza! No doubt about it tho, it was an excellent excellent meal. I sat at the bar, since this place is so hyped that you cant possibly get a decent reservation in less than a week. The bar was really something. The bartenders know the regulars, and are unfailingly polite. They have mastered the art of moving slowly and gracefully yet efficiently even though they have 20 people they are taking care of at one time. It was fascinating in of itself. I was inclined to tip generously. The burger... mmmmmmmm. Goooood, for sure! What impressed me most was the deliciousness and warmth of it, and the size of it, and yet, it held together well, not making a mess when you bit into it. And the flavor... mmmmm. Goooood. Right behind me two italian guys with accents right out of the godfather were drinking in suits, conversing loudly and emphatically. This is New York!
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0710.jpg
I subwayed up to Rockefeller plaza and walked to Times Square. Getting off the subway I'm always disoriented, not knowing which way is north and often walking the right way. No chance this will happen when you you are walking from 48th stree to Times Square at night... just look up! Is the sky DISTINCTLY whiter, and the streets below it look almost like daylight? That way is times square! I had been there the day before but today I did a more nuanced tour of it. They have chairs you can sit in and watch the people go by. I did this for the sake of my feet and soaked it in. I went in the M&Ms store and the Toys R Us, which have some pretty ridiculous merchandise. Finally I made my way to Phantom of the Opera.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0712.jpg
To like Phantom, I think you have to like operatic singing. I went to this production because I've played countless medleys of the music, which always have great horn parts and just give me chills. Well-- all those great horn solos in the band arrangements-- it turns out that those are the vocal lines, in the real thing. It didn't really do it for me. I didn't love the story either, even being slightly bored at times. Still, it was a really fantastic show and I'm glad I went. Who stole the show for me was the Ballet Instructor, Madame Giry. Really well acted.
Whoo! Now it's day4. I'm going to get me some fresh bagels, take a boat ride around manhattan, see the Met, eat Carnegie Deli!
New york miscellaneous:
-Thanks to Becky I can now pass for a new yorker on the crosswalks. Red means look both ways; not wait! People do it right in front of police officers.
-Everything you've heard about Manhattan tap water is true: delicious!
-Becky looks great in a skirt.
Sorry it's been so long with no blog post- with Becky here I just haven't had the time, but she is back in Chicago now so here is a recap of my first three days!
Note- At some time I'd like to get pictures dicrectly onto this blog for this post, but it just takes too long. Im posting links... please click! Pictures are good :)
Day 1- China Town, Little Italy, Soho, NoHo, Greenwich, Broadway:
I was impressed a few weeks ago when Becky and I made it from the loop back up to Irving Park Road. This, my friends, is nothing.
We started the day with our first and only subway ride, down to China Town down south. Shopping on Canal Street insued. The place is pretty crazy. Every $6 scarf you can imagine (or $4-$5 if you are someone like Becky), knock-off rolex, and cologne in the universe must be here. It's a bit of a zoo. Lots of tourists. But good prices on knicknacks and knock-offs, if that's what you want.
Canal Street: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0664.jpg
We next dove into the more sane parts of chinatown. Really really cool place- citibank signs in chinese, and stores devoted to selling chopsticks. We were the only white people in a little bakery we stopped at- always a good sign. For something like $6 we purchased a small feast of buns stuffed with meats. I may have to subway down one of these remaining mornings just for these... mmmmm. (But not today- today is bagels!) We ate them at a beautiful park. There were large clusters of men around little tables smoking cigars while playing some kind of game. Awesome!
Park: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0667.jpg
We then walked through a part of Little Italy, which seemed to be mostly residential over restaurants. I will return here and take many more pictures when I do my Pizza Tour of NY on Thursday :)
More walking, More walking, More walking! We walked a lot on this day, and it didn't much catch up to me until yesterday (day3). We've walked through little neighborhoods, past gigantic skyscrapers, and underneath the stoops of countless bakeries, shops, and restaurants. It's a good thing I have my boy scout bakground though, I think, or I might not be able to keep up with my girlfriend-- how embarassing! (OK, no secrets between you and I, dear reader, she could leave me in the dust if she desired...)
Eventually it was time for Rice to Riches, an amazing Rice Pudding place with hilarious writings on the walls extolling the greatness that is Rice Pudding. And there's no doubt about it, this was pretty great. (Picture is terrible, booo.)
Pudding: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0670.jpg
More walking around Soho/Noho/Greenwich area. We went to a shop that makes their own candy and had sampes, went to Strand Bookstore (pictured), and went for what Becky swears is the best Hot Chocolate in the city. And much, more....
Strand Bookstore: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0681.jpg and http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0682.jpg
Eventually it was time for my first broadway play, Next to Normal. It was extremely good, even though the Tony-winning lead actress was out that night.
Day 2- New York Wet, Central Park, Cookies, CRAFT!
The next morning the forecast was light rain in the 40s. We went to brunch at Sarabeth's, an iconic brunch place, at their location at Central Park. It was good for sure, loved the ambiance of the place and large amounts of people it can hold, but my favorite brunch will remain Orange, in chicago...
Brunch: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG00018-20091213-1151.jpg
We had hoped the rain might be mostly done after we got out, but sadly it had gotten worse. We sloshed through central park, which is AWESOME and beautiful, even in the rain. I will definitely return when it is lighter out.
Uptown, west of the park, we had what are probably the world's best cookies. They were so good that some carelessness on my part sparked some momentary tension between us... these were some effing good cookies.
Cookie: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG00020-20091213-1437.jpg
It should be mentioned that Becky has a thing for goods sold in tents. We stopped at many such places, but one of the most interesting was a rain-or-shine sunday fair that is held outside of and inside of a highschool we passed. Lots of jewelry as always, but this one also had antique maps and prints, which I looked through a lot. Cool stuff.
The rain was cruddy so we thought we might go to MoMa together, but so did zillions of other people and just stepping through the doors was enough to convince me that sunday during rain was not the right day to do it. Plus Becky was sooooo soaked. So we headed back to the hotel to prepare for Craft.
Craft is Tom Colicchio's restaurant, so as huge top chef fans we had to make an appearance. Seasonal new american cooking. Simple but gooooooooood. Pictures to follow. Large and excellent waitstaff took good care of us, even giving us a complimentary dish since they were out of Gnocci.
Amuse, tuna and cracker: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0689.jpg
Sweetbreads (First bite good, texture got to be a bit much by the end of the dish): http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0690.jpg
Pumpkin Fantasy (GOOOOOD): http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0693.jpg
Wagyu Carpachio (If it was top chef, this chef would be packing their knives): http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0695.jpg
Monkfish wrapped in Proscutto (My continued attempts to push my boundaries. And I'm glad I did. This was soooo good! So warm, with great texture, and the wrapping just made it perfect): http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0696.jpg
Risotto (top), Mushrooms (bottom) (Both incredibly good, thanks Becky for picking these!!): http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0698.jpg
Complimentary Greens, forget what they are...: http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0699.jpg
Gift for the next morning, apple muffin (yum): http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0701.jpg
Day 3 - East Village, Bryant Park, Rockefeller Plaza, Minetta's Tavern, Phantom of the Opera!
Becky and I walked down all the way to Houston to get brunch at a very little place that had a 40 minute wait even on a Monday morning! But that just means that it's good, right? And we did more walking during the wait.
Berry Blast Drink, gooood http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0704.jpg
Eggs http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0705.jpg
Other Eggs http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0706.jpg
We passed Bryant park and went in for some very good booths of shopping.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0707.jpg
We wanted to see Rockefeller center together before Becky had to leave, so we started walking that way. I was getting pretty tired at this point and required some breaks. We're talking about below 1st street all the way up to 47th street, here... no wonder!
The building itself is fantastic and I can't wait to go to the top of it some other time. Next to the height of the building the tree looks less impressive, but there's no doubt about it: that's one big tree. It escaped photography, I was definitely very tired! The iceskating I thought was pretty funny, since its like 60 people skating being watched by 1000+ people. Must be very very creepy.
At this point we went back to the hotel and Becky had to go. Sad, but at least now I get to use subways and busses... ;)
I subwayed down to Minetta Tavern, home to Time Out New York magazine's #1 food attration- The $26 black label burger. I had this with a $14 tom collins, yowza! No doubt about it tho, it was an excellent excellent meal. I sat at the bar, since this place is so hyped that you cant possibly get a decent reservation in less than a week. The bar was really something. The bartenders know the regulars, and are unfailingly polite. They have mastered the art of moving slowly and gracefully yet efficiently even though they have 20 people they are taking care of at one time. It was fascinating in of itself. I was inclined to tip generously. The burger... mmmmmmmm. Goooood, for sure! What impressed me most was the deliciousness and warmth of it, and the size of it, and yet, it held together well, not making a mess when you bit into it. And the flavor... mmmmm. Goooood. Right behind me two italian guys with accents right out of the godfather were drinking in suits, conversing loudly and emphatically. This is New York!
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0710.jpg
I subwayed up to Rockefeller plaza and walked to Times Square. Getting off the subway I'm always disoriented, not knowing which way is north and often walking the right way. No chance this will happen when you you are walking from 48th stree to Times Square at night... just look up! Is the sky DISTINCTLY whiter, and the streets below it look almost like daylight? That way is times square! I had been there the day before but today I did a more nuanced tour of it. They have chairs you can sit in and watch the people go by. I did this for the sake of my feet and soaked it in. I went in the M&Ms store and the Toys R Us, which have some pretty ridiculous merchandise. Finally I made my way to Phantom of the Opera.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f291/abrottman/NYC%2009/IMG_0712.jpg
To like Phantom, I think you have to like operatic singing. I went to this production because I've played countless medleys of the music, which always have great horn parts and just give me chills. Well-- all those great horn solos in the band arrangements-- it turns out that those are the vocal lines, in the real thing. It didn't really do it for me. I didn't love the story either, even being slightly bored at times. Still, it was a really fantastic show and I'm glad I went. Who stole the show for me was the Ballet Instructor, Madame Giry. Really well acted.
Whoo! Now it's day4. I'm going to get me some fresh bagels, take a boat ride around manhattan, see the Met, eat Carnegie Deli!
New york miscellaneous:
-Thanks to Becky I can now pass for a new yorker on the crosswalks. Red means look both ways; not wait! People do it right in front of police officers.
-Everything you've heard about Manhattan tap water is true: delicious!
-Becky looks great in a skirt.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Arrived safely
Manhattan from the air is extremely awe inspiring. Chicago from the air over the lake is very beautiful, but NYC is strong and imposing- in a good way. The hotel is very pleasant. More to come later!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
NYC '09 Itinerary
Why New York City? There are a lot of reasons. I've never really visited the place, despite reading an awful lot about it, and seeing it on numerous sitcoms, as well as Top Chef, episodes of travel shows, etc. There is a ton of interesting thigns to see and do (and eat!!), and it's awfully easy to plan a domestic vacation. In fact, it's so easy that I've been doing a lot of procrastinating. I plan to keep a running blog during the trip, just as I have in the past.
One nice thing about it is that I can afford to be much less strict in the Itinerary. If an interesting NYC groupon offer gets emailed to me, not only can I recieve it instantly on my fully-functioning phone, I can easily choose to go do that later in the week. I can also just wake up randomly in the morning and decide to find something unique to go and do via yelp. In other words, I can use all the same tools I use in Chicago in New York. This itinerary isn't inclusive of everything I'm going to hit-- but it is the things I'm doing for sure.
---
Flight Info:
December 11, American Airlines Flight 336, departing 8:40p O'Hare, arriving 11:45 LGA New York
December 19, American Airlines Flight 365, departing 7:45p LGA, arriving 9:25p O'Hare
Hotel Info:
Affinia Shelburne, 303 Lexington Avenue, 212.689.5200.
Best Contact Method:
Cell-phone or email
---
Dec 12, Sa
Walk around town with Becky (chinatown, and then walking north through soho, little italy, washington square park, union square, rockefeller, etc... all the way back up to times square to see the show)
Next to Normal on Broadway
Dec 13, Su
Walk around town with Becky, cont'd
Craft Restaurant, 8:30pm
Dec 14, M
Walk around town with Becky, cont'd
Phantom of the Opera on broadway, 8pm
Dec 15, T
Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise around Manhattan, 12.30p
Museum of Natural History
Carnegie Deli
Dec 16, W
Greenwich Village Food and Walking Tour, 11am
The Met
Bar Daniel?
Dec 17, R
Scott's Pizza Tour, 11am
West Side Story on broadway, 8pm
Dec 18, F
United Nations
MoMa if I can stand more art (it's a big if)
Dec 19, Sa
other things I decide I want to see... Show Matinee?
One nice thing about it is that I can afford to be much less strict in the Itinerary. If an interesting NYC groupon offer gets emailed to me, not only can I recieve it instantly on my fully-functioning phone, I can easily choose to go do that later in the week. I can also just wake up randomly in the morning and decide to find something unique to go and do via yelp. In other words, I can use all the same tools I use in Chicago in New York. This itinerary isn't inclusive of everything I'm going to hit-- but it is the things I'm doing for sure.
---
Flight Info:
December 11, American Airlines Flight 336, departing 8:40p O'Hare, arriving 11:45 LGA New York
December 19, American Airlines Flight 365, departing 7:45p LGA, arriving 9:25p O'Hare
Hotel Info:
Affinia Shelburne, 303 Lexington Avenue, 212.689.5200.
Best Contact Method:
Cell-phone or email
---
Dec 12, Sa
Walk around town with Becky (chinatown, and then walking north through soho, little italy, washington square park, union square, rockefeller, etc... all the way back up to times square to see the show)
Next to Normal on Broadway
Dec 13, Su
Walk around town with Becky, cont'd
Craft Restaurant, 8:30pm
Dec 14, M
Walk around town with Becky, cont'd
Phantom of the Opera on broadway, 8pm
Dec 15, T
Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise around Manhattan, 12.30p
Museum of Natural History
Carnegie Deli
Dec 16, W
Greenwich Village Food and Walking Tour, 11am
The Met
Bar Daniel?
Dec 17, R
Scott's Pizza Tour, 11am
West Side Story on broadway, 8pm
Dec 18, F
United Nations
MoMa if I can stand more art (it's a big if)
Dec 19, Sa
other things I decide I want to see... Show Matinee?
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Welcome!
I have what I consider to be a rather sub-standard memory, so I created this blog to document the planning and execution of my travels. It's worked out pretty well so far. I enjoy updating from the road, and this way everyone can get lots of information about the trips. I've also begun documenting my eating experiences in Chicago. Enjoy your stay!
New York, New York 2009
Itinerary
Italy 2009
Itinerary
Rome
Rome pt2, Siena
Siena pt2, Cinque Terre
Venice
Venice pt2
Conclusionary Post
Photos
Chicago Eating
Schwa
Spiaggia
New York, New York 2009
Itinerary
Italy 2009
Itinerary
Rome
Rome pt2, Siena
Siena pt2, Cinque Terre
Venice
Venice pt2
Conclusionary Post
Photos
Chicago Eating
Schwa
Spiaggia
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