NYC Girl Uninterrupted

And now, a change of scenery...

2011-10-22T18:34:00.004-04:00

So I've moved myself to London. Yes, London as in England. After living in New York for 15 years, it was time for a new adventure. It's been a week so far and I'm doing quite well...when I'm not comparing everything in London to NY. It's like what they tell you: now that you live here, you can't do the exchange rate conversion for everything or you'll never spend another dime (or 6.2p as it were) on anything. But it's hard not to!

And so I will, make comparisons all over the place. And observations too, and rants and raves about my life as a new Londoner. Oh, and don't you worry, there will be plenty of eating and drinking and traveling to provide inspiration. Watch this space for more.

Guest Blogging on Tribeca Citizen

2011-01-16T16:00:00.003-05:00

It's been over a year since my last blog entry...I've been suffering from laziness, writer's block, you name it. I haven't stopped eating and drinking around the world, but just haven't really felt like writing anything longer than a series of 140-character tweets. Recently, I was inspired enough to do a write up for Tribeca Citizen, the definitive online guide for my neighborhood (get their e-newsletter, it rocks). Take a look at my choices for places worthy of a field trip from our Triangle Below Canal.

How to Make My Mother's Awesome Pork Sauce Noodles

2009-12-24T15:59:00.006-05:00

My new year's resolution is to learn how to cook better Chinese food, especially the dishes that I remember fondly as a child. My recent visit to Baozi Inn in London inspired my first lesson: Zha Jiang Mian, or fried pork sauce noodles. These noodles are a staple of Northern Chinese cuisine which is more noodle focused than the South. If my memory serves me, I had these almost everyday as my first snack at home after a long day at school. My grandmother use to tell me Marco Polo brought this dish back to Italy and it became the inspiration for spaghett bolognese. Here's my mother's creation and her recipe below.

Chinese style dried noodles (thin spaghetti type)
Minced garlic
Minced scallions
Ground pork
Tian Mian Jiang (sweet bean sauce)
Dou Ban Jiang (soya bean sauce)

Cucumbers, bean sprouts, carrots or other crunchy vegetables as garnish

Stir fry the ground pork in vegetable oil (medium heat) until just browned. Empty into a bowl and put aside. Stir fry the minced garlic and scallions together in more vegetable oil, until cooked and soft. Then add the ground pork with the garlic and scallions and mix well, ensuring everything is cooked together. Lower the heat and stir in the sweet bean sauce (2 parts) + soya bean sauce (1 part), adding just enough sauce to coat the whole pan of pork. The consistency should be like spaghetti bolognese so add water if too thick. Add salt to taste. Separately, boil the dry noodles per instructions on the package. Usually it's a quick boil, again similar to spaghetti. Combine sauce and noodles. Devour.

You can serve this with raw cucumbers or carrots julienned or bean sprouts flash boiled. The crunchiness of the vegetables will give the dish a nice texture and a balance with the rich sauce. Some people also like to put some raw minced garlic and scallions on top too and I used to have some chopped up scrambled eggs mixed in. Try anything, to your own liking!

Chinese Street Food in London: Baozi Inn

2009-12-24T08:22:00.000-05:00

Chinese food in Chinatowns around the world can be hit or miss. More often than not, especially in large cities, the restaurants in Chinatowns cater more to tourists and Western palates. But there are some gems in the sea of General Tso's Chicken and Sweet and Sour Pork and I found one at Baozi Inn in London.

Tucked on a side street that is literally a hop, skip and a jump away from the famous grand entrance gate that marks London's Chinatown, Baozi Inn is famous for its reasonably priced Northern Chinese street food. Baozi is the chinese word for pork bun and the menu is filled with an assortment of dumplings and buns, steamed and fried. There are also the noodle and rice dishes and small plates like poached peanuts and pickled vegetables...all familiar dishes from my childhood. The decor is faux plebeian Maoist China...old black and white photographs on the walls, wooden stools and tables. Reminds me of a modernized version of a Chinese inn set in an old Jackie Chan movie, only no one's there to start a kung fu fight.

Even though we wanted to try everything on the menu, we really only had the stomach for two dishes. The first was a lunch special of spicy tofu with ground pork over rice (below). I can tell this one was fiery right when they dropped the plate off in front of us and indeed it was. Delicate tofu lit on fire with chili oil and paste. We were sweating profusely (in a good way) with every bite but couldn't put our spoons down.

The second dish was what I was really looking forward to: Zha Jiang Mian which was noodles with a stir friend ground pork sauce on top. This is one of my mother's signature dishes so I had to see whose was better. The Baozi Inn version (below) had a slightly sweeter sauce than I prefer but the raw garlic on top was a genius move. Overall, a very very good execution of a dish that I grew up eating almost everyday.

Chinatowns in the US up until now, are made up mostly of restaurants serving cuisine from Southern China since that's where the early immigrants came from. Nowadays there is definitely more and more variety of Chinese regional cuisine in New York and hopefully London is also seeing this trend. In 2010, I'm gonna try to learn more about the different regional flavors of China through eating and cooking. If you live in London, check out Baozi Inn and then start with my mother's recipe for Zha Jiang Mian. And decide for yourself which is better!

Modern Italian in London: L'Anima

2009-12-02T22:33:00.009-05:00

When I travel, I usually like to focus just on the cuisine of the country I visit. On this recent trip to London, I decided to forgo the myriad of gastropubs and Indian restaurants and try something different. Afterall, London is a mega metropolis like New York City, filled with top notch cuisine from all corners of the world. This something different was L'Anima, a much reviewed, highly buzzed about Italian restaurant on a quiet side street in Central London.

First impressions when I entered the place: there's a lot of glass in here. L'Anima's large modern space was split into two sections: a spacious bar area near the entrance and the main dining room to the left separated by a thin glass wall. We were seated at a table in front of the floor to ceiling windows that had an unobstructed view onto the streets of The City, all the while facing a kitchen that was semi open with porthole like windows peering into the chaos within. I felt like both a voyeur and a voyee.

The menu: organized, long and educational. It contained definitions of Italian phrases that those of us who are linguistically challenged were very thankful for. Great selections of cold and warm starters, pastas and risottos, entrees and grilled proteins, sides and salads. This is not a good place for someone who can be paralyzed by an abundance of options.

We decided to start with 2 appies: crab, avocado and Sardinian flatbread (pictured above) and wood roasted aubergine with burrata (below). Both dishes were very straighforward and clean, probably made with no more than 5 ingredients. While the crab and avocado was a good dish, it wasn't that inspired and I've had better avocado at hole in the wall Mexican joints in CA and NYC. The aubergine and burrata on the other hand: magnifico. The burrata, creamy. The aubergine, softly roasted to perfection. Mix them together and we were devouring the dish by the spoonful. A great start.

First entree was a well executed veal fillet in sage and butter sauce with pancetta and pumpkin. A bit salty for my taste but the meat was done perfectly.

What we were really looking forward to were the pastas. All the pastas were homemade of course and our first choice was the tonnarelli with crab (yes, more crab), chili and garlic. Fresh and just the right amount of spicy.

Second choice was mushroom fettucine with black truffle. The truffle was disappointingly tasteless, perhaps the reason we got so much of it. But the mushroom sauce and handmade fettucine were to die for. Brought me back to Tuscany for just a nano second, though in Tuscany the truffle was unparalleled.

Maybe I am too jaded from my eating adventures around the world or maybe there are just too many good Italian restaurants in NYC but I do think L'Anima is a bit over-hyped. The number of glowing posts about this place was overwhelming. Can any restaurant live up to buzz like that? Still, L'Anima is a solid restaurant that I very much enjoyed as my farewell meal and would return to for some cocktails at the bar or more of that aubergine and burrata. Maybe next time the truffle will taste like truffles should.

Upscale Indian in London: Veeraswamy

2009-12-02T22:17:00.005-05:00

One of the things I'm always told I must do when in London is eat some top notch South Asian food. The last time I was there, I did the tourist stroll on Brick Lane and had some good but not great North Indian food at Preem. This time, I wanted to try something a bit more upscale and stumbled upon Veeraswamy, supposedly one of the oldest Indian restaurants in London. Located right off Regent Street near the hustle and bustle of Picadilly, Veeraswamy is part of the Masala World group, an Indian restaurant conglomerate that includes a chain called Masala Zone as well as Chutney Mary and Amaya in Chelsea, the latter frequently reviewed as one of the best high end Indian restaurants in London.

The association with this well regarded group and some decent buzz on food blogs set my somewhat high expectations for this place and my first impression of Veeraswamy was very positive. Friendly staff, a gorgeous dining room (highlight was the row of colorful turbans on the wall) and a very convenient location with a nice view of Regent Street. The prices were high but we were able to take advantage of the 2-course lunch prix fixe for less than £15.

For starters we tried a Raj Kapori which is large crispy puri (like an Indian taco shell) filled with lentils, tamarind chutney and yogurt sauce. I didn't expect it to be a cold dish but the flavors were great. This was my favorite dish of the whole meal, and beautifully presented as you can see below.

The second starter was a potato pancake of sorts topped with the same sauces and flavors as the raj kapori. Again, tasty, but we should have ordered something else that wasn't as similar as our first dish. And there were too much pomengranate for me.

For our main courses, I had a craving for curry so we ordered a Chicken Makhani which is essentially chicken tikka in a tomato-based type curry sauce. Very salty but hit the spot for me, especially when eaten with the excellent nan. The other dish was a vegetable based curry which was under seasoned and very spicy and had a special type of eggplant that was bitter. It was not our favorite but somehow we still managed to devour it.

All in all, we left satisfied. The service was really excellent. Our waitress was friendly and knowledgeable, and most importantly let an annoying American tourist snap photos throughout the meal (some places hate us bloggers taking photos, rightfully so I would say). I liked the colorful and rich decor, made the place feel refined and upscale (good for romantic special occasions). And the food was solid, though I think it would have been better if we had better ideas of what to order. Still, I think some of the best Indian/South Asian food can be had in holes in the wall dives in East London and that's what I will be seeking out next time I am in town. Tayyabs anyone?

Pubbing in London: Fox & Anchor, Clerkenwell

2009-11-24T16:08:00.011-05:00

Everytime I am in London I try to check out another pub I haven't been to. On this trip, my friend MC and I stopped in at Cadogan Arms in Chelsea for some damn good bloody mary. But we didn't get a chance to eat so there isn't anything for me to report besides: I will be back.

Instead, for my pub crawl this trip, we headed east to Fox and Anchor in Clerkenwell on another night to check out how EC1 stacks up to SW1. Described as a gastropub (what ISN'T called that nowadays?) Fox and Anchor also has 6 rooms upstairs with modern, comfortable furnishings, full baths, luxury toiletries. I liked the spot immediately when we walked in: dark mahogany wood all around the bar, wooden floors, good looking guys (ha). A hallway in the back of the bar leads to a back room with comfortable though smaller tables in nooks and crannies and even more back rooms that are good for groups of friends to settle into (one had a door and was called Fox Lair).

The drinks menu offers a variety of beers and cask ales, mixed drinks and liquor and a pretty long wine list that's categorized according to cheeky personality descriptions. For example, bubblies are "For Rappers, Starlets and Elegants" and fuller bodied reds are "For Bishops, Vixens and Rolling Stones". Our drinks of choice: a lager and a cask ale, with some bread and butter. The cask ale was authentically British, which meant in this case, warm. Ick. One point for SW1. The butter was unlike any butter I've had before...so rich and creamy and flavorful but not too salty. Who knew I would swoon over butter? One point for EC1.

The food menu is an elegant list of British staples: oysters, meat pies and main courses such as roasts and fish cheeks. We started with prawns thinking it would be shrimp cocktail but it was actually shell-on shrimp that were flavorless and TINY (though extremely fresh). So far, EC 1 is not doing great, though some points for "rustic" presentation below.

Our main courses save the day for EC1 and Fox and Anchor. The fish and chips (cod in beer batter) with pushy peas and chips were expertly fried and the portion just right.

The braised beef pie with ale and mushrooms was another winner. The pastry crust buttery, the beef stew highly flavorful and the big surpise was a bone marrow "chimney" sticking out of the pie. My only complaint was the beef was a tad tough but the flavors were all there.

Final course: MC's favorite sticky toffee pudding. Warm and gooey, not too sweet but hit the spot. After a meal like this, I almost wished the weather were a lot cooler...we ate enough to hibernate through the winter!

Final verdict: this one's a keeper. Good food, good service, fun, young crowd, great atmosphere. SW1 needs to step up if it's gonna beat Fox & Anchor as my favorite pub in London so far!

Cafe de Flore, Paris

2009-11-24T15:16:00.005-05:00

So I had the most expensive Croque Madame ever, recently in Paris, at Cafe de Flore. On a major intersection in Saint-Germain-des-Pres in the very popular 6th Arrondissement, Cafe de Flore and Les Deux Magots are two of the top tourist traps in the neighborhood. Both claim to be frequented by the intellectual elite living in Paris after World World II, literary giants such as Ernest Hemingway and Albert Camus as well artists such as Pablo Picasso. Cafe de Flore in particular was a frequent place where Simone de Beauvoir and Jean Paul Sartre met to talk shop over drinks and cigarettes. Or so they say.

Intelligentsia aside, this is definitely one of the top people watching spots in the city. Sit yourself at one of the outdoor cafe tables with your paper, cigarettes, coffee and croissant and you'll watch all of Paris and its tourists walk by. The menu is filled with items that are recognizable to tourists around the world as French cafe food: sandwiches, onion soup, omelettes, salads. And lots of wine and coffee too. I splurged on a Croque Madame, a salad and a glass of St. Emilion as my final meal on a recent trip to Paris. Sure it's touristy, but it's still an institution. And it was very close to my hotel. And I had very little time to eat before rushing to Gare du Nord for the Eurostar back to London. Cafe de Flore was it.

The Croque Madame was classically made with a crusty layer of melted gruyere. The sunny side egg was a perfect sauce for an otherwise dry sandwich. The salad was simple, dressed with a lovely mustard based vinaigrette that reminded me of Ina Garten's recipes. And washing it down with a St. Emilion while watching Paris go by...c'est magnifique.

So the Croque Madame was $23. So what? It was worth it. Afterall, eating is a sort of existential nourishment isn't it, Mr. Sartre?

Sunday Roast in London: Hix

2009-11-24T14:12:00.004-05:00

For a proper Sunday roast, I recently chose to check out HIX Soho in London, the newest restaurant in the expanding empire of chef Mark Hix. Hix is a well known chef in the UK who came from the Caprice Holdings lineage of chefs (The Ivy being one of the renowned places) and who specializes in modernized versions of traditional British food. He owns 2 other name-sake restaurants, one in the Farringdon area of London and the other in Dorset, on the coast. HIX Soho was not only well reviewed in the mainstream media but also buzzed about by some local bloggers. So it is with great anticipation that I braved the crowd in Picadilly Circus and turned off a quiet side street to arrive at HIX's modern, bright, open venue.

A Sunday roast is normally eaten as a late lunch, consists of a roasted meat, potatoes, yorkshire pudding, vegetables and gravy. The HIX version, pictured above, is one of roast beef (rib of Hereford to be exact) with yorkshire pudding and potatoes, for two or more. We weren't asked how we'd like the meat but it came perfectly medium rare, which I guess is the way it's done around here. The roast was extremely tasty, the way I pictured a Sunday roast ought to be. The roasted potatoes were also excellent, perfectly crisped on the outside but mushy and steamy on the inside. I decided I just don't like yorkshire pudding, no matter how well executed it is. It tastes to me like a poor man's popover with little taste to speak of. Even the side of thick flavorful gravy didn't give it flavor.

In addition to the gravy there was also a trio of various mustard and horseradish based sauces. All were great. Still didn't help the bland yorkshire pudding but did add a kick to the roast beef.

And just for kicks we also got some chips or fries. Good but nothing to write home about.

The rest of the menu was chock full of Brit staples like blood sausage, oysters, bone marrow, fish and chips, sprinkled in with very inventive sounding dishes like purple sprouting broccoli with fried egg and capers and cod's tongue. And to show you just how fresh everything is, the bottom of the menu actually said "Game may contain shot". Seriously.

I wasn't blown away, but it might not be Mark Hix's fault, it might just be the material he had to work with. British "cuisine" has opportunities for greatness but it's pretty few and far between.

Pizza East, Shoreditch, London

2009-11-20T10:26:00.005-05:00

Pizza is not exactly my top food choice when visiting London, especially since I live in NYC where pizzerias rank as some of the top culinary institutions. But Pizza East, a brand new restaurant on a busy corner in East London's Shoreditch neighborhood, turned out not to be half bad. The large, warehouse like space is situated in the Tea Building and on the first floor of the Shoreditch House which is the East London branch of the famed membership club Soho House. The design is pretty cool: industrial themed, with an open kitchen, a large wrap around bar and wooden tables and chairs strewn throughout the room. The menu reflects the rustic modernist feel of the restaurant: cold, warm and fried antipasti and a dozen or so pizza choices complemented by simple salads. There is also a list of small bites for "counter seating" and wood oven items such as baked lasagna. All looked very appetizing and very fitting with the surroundings.

Our first pizza: spicy sausage, mozzarella, fresh garlic and sprouting broccoli. The crust was sufficiently crispy with a chewy center, though not as good as Co. Pizza in NYC. The sausage was indeed spicy and the saltiness balanced with the bitter sprouting broccoli which tasted like a cross between a broccolini and broccoli rabe.

Our second pizza was apparently their signature dish: clams with tomato, oregano, garlic, chili flakes, pecorino. Unlike the clam pizzas in NYC, here the clams kept their shells on which actually added a briny flavor that was nice. The chili flakes were a nice touch too, giving the pizza a kick at the end, in the back of your throat. It just needed a bit more something...maybe some sauce or more cheese to give it more flavor and substance beyond just the bready crust.

Dessert was cinnamon sugar doughnuts with a valrhona chocolate dip. The chocolate was too bitter and didn't melt right and the doughnut was undercooked and gooey in the wrong way. Not the best way to end a meal.

I liked Pizza East. But I wouldn't come back or recommend the place to visitors...there are too many other things to eat in London. Now, if eating at Pizza East is a ticket to get you into Shoreditch or Soho House, that's a different story all together.

L'As du Fallafel, Paris

2009-11-17T13:09:00.005-05:00

Le Marais is one of the most colorful neighborhoods in Paris. People come here for the shopping, the winding streets, the history. This is also where the old Jewish quarter is and the neighborhood is dotted with bakeries selling challah bread and rugelach and fallafel and shwarma shops. I stopped into L'As du Fallafel for their fallafel special which has been touted as one of the best in the area.

The sandwich comes loaded with so much vegetables it almost makes you feel momentarily like you are eating something healthy: tomatoes, cabbage, radicchio, onions, cucumbers, eggplants. But once you bite into the sandwich, the fried chickpea patties, which are moist and flavorful, bring you right back to reality. And what a delicious reality it is!

This is a messy affair, mind you, but once I started I didn't want to stop eating and felt overwhelmingly sad when it was all gone. I don't think I've ever loved a fallafel this much and I know I probably won't reach fallafel nirvana again, at least not in NYC. Just as well. The heartburn that lingered afterwards was not something I want to live through again. Still, this one's a must try when you are in Paris. Just remember to bring the pepto-bismal.

Lunch at Le Comptoir, Paris

2009-11-17T12:32:00.007-05:00

My first meal in Paris during a recent trip was a casual lunch at Le Comptoir. Foodie friends recommended this tiny (20 seats tops) "gastro-bistro" thanks to the reputation of its chef Yves Camdeborde who built a mini empire of sorts in the L'Odeon area near St. Germain de Pres. Besides Le Comptoir, he owns the hotel that the restaurant is situated in as well as a small creperie and food store next door.

I read that dinners at Le Comptoir are reasonably priced and rivals any of the Michelin star establishments but reservations are impossible to get. Everyone dines on the same prix fixe menu each night, with the innovative menu changing daily. Without a reservation, I decided to try my luck for a late lunch and had no trouble getting in. Tiny is an understatement...I was elbow to elbow with my fellow diners and we kept saying "pardon" to each other throughout the meal.

But in this case, size didn't matter, the food more than made up for it. The escargot was excellent...garlic level was just right and the sauce was contained enough within the shells that I basically slurped each escargot down my throat like an oyster. No sopping with bread necessary.

The oxtail croque monsieur didn't look like a croque monsieur (see below). But with each bite you can taste every element of a traditional croque monsieur and the oxtail was so tender you imagine it was probably braising in the pot all morning. And the size of the dish was perfect for lunch....I didn't feel like I needed a nap afterwards.

Judging from the blogger buzz this place gets, the lunch menu and my own meal here, dinner is probably out of this world. If you're looking for a different type of French bistro experience, more modern takes on classics, this looks like it's a good spot to check out. Let me know if you get a reservation...

Experiencing Joel Robuchon in Paris

2009-11-16T18:54:00.019-05:00

When I was planning my Paris trip, I decided I wanted to eat at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon. You might wonder, why not try something that I can't get in New York City?And why not try something that I haven't already tried before (my first Robuchon experience was at the more refined and upscale location in Las Vegas)? But this is Paris, where Mr. Robuchon started his career. And this is the original spot where he opened his first location in 2003. So those are reasons enough to "use up" one of my few meals in Paris, right?

Well, the answer turned out to be: sort of.

What I liked: the concept. A small restaurant with bar seating around an open kitchen where diners can watch the meticulous preparation and cooking process that made Robuchon one of the top chefs in the world. This also allowed the wait staff to interact with the customers and answer any questions they have. Our waiter, for example, told us that Robuchon just opened a new location in Taipei, Taiwan and is looking to open two more locations in the US: Miami and Philadelphia. He also told us that the staff works only 3 days a week but very very long hours, and that many people end up quitting for that reason. We also got a great bottle of burgundy after chatting with our sommelier, who looked like he was ten years old.

What I didn't like: my own outsized expectations. I came thinking it would be a life changing experience. I walked away satisfied by a good, expensive meal, but was not blown away. The menu was a mix of a la carte "plats petites", regular sized entrees of meat and seafood, a handful of specials de jour, plus a 9 course "decouverte" prix fixe menu for 150 Euros. Not wanting to stuff our faces too much, we went for a la carte, and I will let the food speak for itself below.

The Crab Royale, crab salad sandwiched between thinly sliced radishes.

Beautifully presented but tasted like something you can get

at any seafood restaurant in NYC. Nothing too interesting about it.

The expertly made foie gras was so delicate it

melted in our mouths. The best item of the evening.

The langoustine ravioli was tasty, but covered in

so much sauce and truffles you could barely taste

the langoustine. The pasta was extremely well made, however.

The suckling pig special du jour. Again, lots of sauce but this time

it works. Very very tender meat, more undercooked than

I am used to but very tasty. Not life changing, however,

like the pig we had in Pienza, Italy. Needed more crackling!

The suckling pig came with a side of the creamiest potatoes I've ever tasted.

Second best item of the evening. We watched the guy

whip this up in the kitchen all night and wondered when he

would get to rest. This is hard work! No wonder people don't make it..

Dessert was a perfectly made souffle, one of the hardest

things to do right. The waiter opened the middle and slid

a scoop of pistachio ice cream into the center.

Tres bien!

Now you might say, how could a meal like the above disappoint? It didn't. It just didn't match my outsized expectations. Or we ordered the wrong things. To me, some of the best foods in the world can be eaten out of food trucks and holes in the wall. Call me crazy, but if I am to pay top dollars nowadays, I better get a life changing experience. And I just didn't get that at L'Atelier. Sorry Mr. Robuchon, it looks like even you cannot live up to the expectations you've trained your customers to have.

Fall is for Stuffing and Bread Pudding

2009-10-21T23:02:00.007-04:00

Despite what you may think, I DON'T eat out every night and I DO love to cook a nice meal at home or try out a new recipe once in a while. A couple of weeks ago, it was Rick Bayless' 7 hour mole. Last week, it's Ina Garten's shrimp bisque recipe, frozen in individual portions, ready to bring to work for lunch. Tonight, it's time for two different fall stuffing recipes from Bon Appetit magazine for a work potluck lunch. Both are extremely easy to make, very tasty, and appropriate for any Thanksgiving and Christmas meals you may be planning. Try it yourself!

Butternut Squash and Cheddar Bread Pudding

Cornbread Stuffing with Andouille, Fennel and Bell Peppers

Garlic is Good For Your Health

2009-10-20T21:14:00.005-04:00

One of my favorite neighborhood haunts is a small unassuming bistro on West Broadway and Duane called Edward's. In the summer, tables line the sidewalk with weekend brunch goers. In the fall/winter, diners linger indoors with glasses of wine and the Sunday New York Times. Me, I love it for its friendly service and the fact that there is always a seat available at the bar (great for dining alone). I also love it for the reliable grub, a menu mixed with french bistro staples like moules frites, french onion soup and all american cheeseburgers. But most of all, I love it for something that I can eat morning, noon and night: the frisee salad with lardon, blue cheese, mustard vinaigrette and poached egg. The best part of the dish: the generous portions of roasted garlic, clove after clove of creamy goodness that you can spread on the french bread croutons that come with the salad. I wouldn't call the food at Edward's earth shattering but it's nice to have a place where everybody knows your name. And nobody minds when you have severe garlic breath.

Low Country Dining at Jestine's Kitchen

2009-10-19T21:10:00.007-04:00

After checking out Hominy Grill in Charleston SC for some of its world famous shrimp and grits, I set my sights on another southern tradition: fried chicken. The recommendation came from an unexpected source: my friend's airport shuttle driver who doubled as a tour guide as she drove weary passengers into town. Her pick: Jestine's Kitchen. Located on Meeting Street near the heart of downtown Charleston, Jestine's even comes with a back story, and it goes something like this.

Jestine Matthews was a half Native American half African American woman who worked as a housekeeper for the Allison family in Charleston in the 1930's. Over the years members of the Allison family decided to honor the special bond they had with her and share with the world her home cooked recipes. Jestine died at the age of 112 in 1997 and the place is still owned and run by one of the members of the Allison family.

The menu was promising...comfort food staples like corn bread, collard greens, glazed ham, meatloaf. There's even something called Blue Collar Special: peanut butter and banana sandwich with potato chips. And southern whiting, which is a type of fried white fish. First things first though: traditional southern sweet tea, also known as Jestine's table wine and a small plate of pickles. Thirst quenching. Next, the starter: fried oysters over greens. I read that the oysters in Charleston were plump and juicy and perfect for frying. They were right. I can imagine these oysters in a Po Boy sandwich that would rival any in New Orleans.

And last but not least, the fried chicken. I will say after having some pretty good fried chicken in NYC such as the one at The Redhead, I was excited to try real southern fried chicken. With a side of fried okra, no less. Alas, my expectations were probably set too high. Don't get me wrong, one part of the chicken was great: crispy skin that is well flavored, not loaded up with batter so you can actually taste the skin. But the meat was a whole different story: dry and needed salt. And fried okra is not my thing...mushy and tasteless, nothing to write home about.

Still, I left pretty fulfilled, having beat the crowd (by noon the line was around the corner) and tasted a bit of Charleston history and home cooking. I had no room for dessert, but probably would have had a piece of Jestine's famous coca cola cake. With food like this, it's a wonder that everybody in Charleston isn't 500 lbs!

A Southern Brunch at Hominy Grill

2009-10-19T19:53:00.007-04:00

Before I even started researching food adventures for my weekend in Charleston, all I heard from anyone who knew about my trip was "you gotta go to Hominy Grill and get their shrimp and grits!" And when I started my research, all I read about the Charleston food scene was "you gotta go to Hominy Grill and get their shrimp and grits!" It's not often that you hear reviews this unanimous and consistent, so there was no way I was going to miss this one.

Hominy Grill is situated in a residential neighborhood, off the beaten path away from the tourist areas of Charleston. It's housed apparently in a converted old barbershop, a wooden shingle structure with some garden seating to the side of the house. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner Mon-Sat and brunch on Sundays. Luckily the shrimp and grits are on the menu everyday every meal so we made the pilgrimage early on Saturday morning for brunch. A 10:30AM arrival still led to a 30 minute wait...some people waited before the place opened at 9 to score a table. Fan devotion, good sign.

The brunch menu was a good mix of breakfast fare with southern specialties like BBQ chicken, she crab soup (a crab based bisque with a shot of sherry on top) and corn bread. My friend and I sampled both categories, starting with fried green tomatoes washed down by a mimosa and bloody mary (okra instead of celery). The tomatoes were tart in taste and unripe in texture but I guess that is the point. The breading looked like any other breading but somehow ended up super crunchy and flavorful in the mouth.

The whole thing was swimming in a ranch dressing type sauce. But somehow, for a fried green tomato virgin like me, it just worked. I know in the south, everything is fried so this may be no big deal, but we don't fry things like this in NYC. You can tell this is a skilled frying job, not a McDonald's-esque mass produced beeping timers frying job.

Entrees were just as delicious and well executed. The cinnamon french toast with pecan butter and apple maple sauce was light and fluffy and not overwhelmingly sweet despite the description. And despite the potential negative impact to my weight and health, I wanna know where I can buy the pecan butter (seen melting over the toasts below) so I can eat it by the spoonful right out the container.

And the shrimp and grits...oh, the shrimp and grits. They did not disappoint. Perfectly sauteed shrimp with scallions, muchrooms and bacon over cheese grits. That's it! I have no idea how they do it but, again, flavors out of seemingly nowhere. And I am not sure there was even cheese on the grits...not needed, there were enough tasty treats already without it. I gotta get the cookbook and try this for myself one of these days.

The dessert selection was a cornucopia of southern faves: sweet potato pie, candied ginger pecan pie, homemade ice cream, pineapple upside down cake and an unexpected Guinness float with homemade vanilla and chocolate ice cream. Knowing the desserts would also be phenomenal given the pure execution genius of the other menu items, we ordered a slice of red velvet cake (how much more southern can that be)....to go. My stomach was telling me to stop but my mouth wanted a side of shrimp and grits to go too. Next time I am in town, I will be eating all three meals here.

A Hearty Breakfast in the Heartland: Southport Grocery and Cafe

2009-10-14T06:21:00.010-04:00

On a recent very short visit to Chicago, I wasn't able to hit all the food spots I wanted to. But I did manage to squeeze in an early morning meal at Southport Grocery and Cafe in a neighborhood called Lakeview which was very close to Wrigley Field. According to Time Out and a few other food blogs, this is one of the best breakfast places in Chicago. Famous for its vanilla cupcakes, Southport is a restaurant within a cafe within a bakery/specialty grocery. Worried about lines a la New York City's weekend brunch mobs, I took the subway very early from my hotel in Downtown Chicago to find, happily, an empty cozy neighborhood cafe without a tourist in sight (except me).

The menu had something for everyone. The Grown Up Pop Tart (homemade with berry preserves and mascarpone), Cupcake Pancakes (made with their famous cupcake batter) and Stuffed French Toast (apples, cream cheese, bourbon apple butter) would satisfy the sweet tooth in anyone. And if you want savory options, you got Steak and Eggs, Brisket and Gravy and an assortment of omelets (no making your own) to choose from. There is also a kid's menu that gives parents simple options like scrambled eggs or buttered noodles, gourmet style of course.

In typical Girl Uninterrupted fashion, I order both a sweet and savory: Bread Pudding Pancakes as a taste portion, e.g. one pancake (perfect idea for people like me) and the Sausage, Mozzarella and Pesto Omelet. The omelet was perfectly cooked, with fresh cheese and pesto and chunks of sausage oozing from the inside as you cut into it. But the star of the dish was the red potato mash on the side. This is mash potato at its purest. No herbs, dressing, other fancy things. Just the creamiest, fluffiest, most potato-y mash potatoes I have ever had.

And what can I say about the Bread Pudding Pancakes? Heavenly. The gooey center, the cinnamon-sugar butter melting on top and the homemade vanilla custard sauce that I wanted to drink out of the ramekin. I asked for seconds on the pancakes which means, yup, I had breakfast for two.

In the end, I also couldn't resist taking out a few of their vanilla cupcakes for my friends who ran the marathon. They were very good and reminded me of Magnolia Bakery's cupcakes in New York City, but less fussy. You can order them online and in fact you can order the Bread Pudding Pancake Mix online as well. Cinnamon-sugar butter and vanilla sugar sauce not included unfortunately. My already fat ass is thankful for that.

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Live Music in NYC

2009-10-04T09:50:00.008-04:00

Over the past year I was lucky to have seen many fun shows in New York, a city filled with great venues for live shows. I love checking out up and coming, no name (yet) bands at small spaces on the Lower East Side like Mercury Lounge, Arlene's Grocery, or Pianos. Or intimate but spacious local venues like Williamsburg Hall of Music, Bowery Ballroom or Highline Ballroom (one of my new favorite spaces). Once in a while, I don't mind a big name show at the club like surroundings of Terminal 5, Webster Hall, Irving Plaza, Roseland or Hammerstein Ballroom. But I try to avoid the big stadium shows at places like Madison Square Garden (unless we're talking front row seats for free or it's a band I really want to see). As I sorted through my iPhoto files recently, I realized that I actually saw some pretty cool shows in the past year. Here are some of the highlights.

Phoenix at Rumsey Playfield

Lupe Fiasco at SOBs

Lady Sovereign at Highline Ballroom

Franz Ferdinand at Roseland

Vampire Weekend at Terminal 5

Gym Class Heros at Roseland

Estelle at Roseland

Weezer at Madison Square Garden

Britney Spears

Pussycat Dolls

Simple Pleasures: The Little Owl

2009-09-29T23:13:00.013-04:00

I've only eaten dinner before 6PM twice in my life. Both times were at The Little Owl. Why? Well, first of all, everyone deserves a 9-5 workday once in a while. Second, eating dinner early is supposed to be good for you and help you stay trim. Third, and most importantly, a meal at The Little Owl is well worth the early bird meal time in exchange for a table. The London Observer recently anointed the bacon cheeseburger here one of the 50 best things to eat in the world. Yes, IN THE WORLD. I haven't had the burger myself (available for lunch only) and I don't know about in the world, but I know this place is definitely one of the best in NYC.

A small cozy restaurant on a quiet corner in the West Village, The Little Owl is one of the toughest tables to get in NYC due to its size and first come first serve policy. The cooking is simple and tastes like what home cooked meal should. The menu changes depending on the seasonal ingredients and there is never more than 10-15 items to pick from. But that doesn't make your decision any easier. There are fresh seafood items like scallops, halibut and roasted branzino. There is a juicy thick cut pork chop, aptly named THE porkchop, with sauteed butter beans. There's the crispy chicken with asparagus hash which will convert anyone who doesn't eat skin or chicken on the bone. And the dessert menu is filled with choices like rootbeer float and cookies that remind you how the simplest things in life can be so pleasurable. As you can see from the below, the only thing a girl can do when presented with these options is to...order everything. In the case of the Little Owl, over eating and over ordering are encouraged and frankly the only way to go.

Crispy Chicken with Asparagus Homefries

The Porkchop

Roasted Branzino with Zucchini Risotto

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Milk and Cookies. Enough Said.

2009-09-27T12:11:00.008-04:00

Need a snack while you're walking around Greenwich Village? Check out Milk and Cookies on Commerce street, just off the hustle and bustle of 7th Avenue near Bleecker Street. This place is the Magnolia Bakery of cookies, only way better and with no lines. It does cookies right, using the finest ingredients and concocting the most interesting flavors like Dark Chocolate Toffee and Chocolate Mint. Old standbys like Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Raisin are especially delicious, moist and soft (I like my cookies this way). They aren't stingy with the ingredients here so you won't have a hard time finding a chip or raisin in every bite. And the perfect beverage? An ice cold glass of Ronnybrook Farms organic milk of course. Even better, you can get ice cream sandwiches here year round, made with their own fresh baked cookies and gelato from Il Laboratorio Del Gelato. You can design your own from a variety of flavors or pick from a list of their creations. Last time I went, I got a Sweetheart: Chocolate Chip Cookies with Strawberry Ice Cream and my friend chose the Grasshopper: Chocolate Mint Cookies with Mint Ice cream (both below).

You can order dozens to go for parties, get them delivered, order them online. There are also cakes, brownies and other specialty cookies. Yeah, baking cookies with friends and family in the comforts of your own home can be fun and satisfying. But sometimes, it's good to leave it all to someone else.

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Music is More Fun with a French Accent!

2009-09-26T19:53:00.004-04:00

I was lucky recently to have seen Phoenix at a sold out show at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park on a beautiful fall evening. The French pop alternative rock band rose to fame recently in the US thanks to college radio, Gossip Girl, appearances on Saturday Night Live and David Letterman and a Cadillac Commercial (no joke). Not all bands sound good live or are good performers but Phoenix hit both marks, with an exceptionally energetic showing from the very talented drummer Thomas Hedlund. Great weather, great venue, great friends, great band, a great kickoff to NY's fall concert season!

Fresh Ingredients and Inspiration at the Greenmarket

2009-09-26T18:11:00.006-04:00

One of my favorite things to do on a gorgeous morning in NYC is food shopping at the Union Square Greenmarket. And when I say morning, I mean early. Assuming your Friday night was not a sloppy drunken mess, the best thing to do is to get to the market around 8:30, which takes over Union Square on Saturdays year round. The market is also open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays so go on a weekday if you can to avoid the crowd and mingle with real NYC chefs shopping for their restaurants.

There are many Greenmarkets throughout the 5 boroughs, but Union Square is the biggest and most famous one in New York. Unlike other famous markets such as Borough Market in London, Mercat de la Boqueria in Barcelona or the Ferry Building Farmers Market in San Francisco, Union Square is known more for fresh produce, seafood, meats, cheeses than for prepared food vendors. So don't go on an empty stomach. Go instead with an open mind about what you are going to bring home to your kitchen. Don't get me wrong, it's fine to go with your grocery list and the recipes you have in mind. But I have the most fun when I go with a blank sheet and let the best looking local ingredients of the day inspire me. You're going to see things you won't get at your neighborhood grocery store: purple cauliflower, tuscan kale, striped eggplant, yellow carrots, thai basil. Not to mention fresh seafood, local cheeses and organic meats like bison, duck, chicken. This is also where I stock up on fresh herbs and flowers for the week. The best thing is everything is CHEAP. Massive bunches of basil and rosemary for less than $2. Huge heads of broccoli and cauliflower for $4. Enough flowers to fit 3-4 vases for $6. Beats Whole Foods any day.

This weekend, after an hour of shopping and piecing together recipes in my head, I brought home leeks, kale, cauliflower, sage, thyme, lemon basil, rosemary, chives, green beans, parsley, shallots. I used some shallots and parsley to make myself Scallops Provencal (right) for lunch right after I got home. The rest of the shallots will be used for roasting the green beans tomorrow.

I used the leeks for soup: Shrimp Bisque (below) to start and tomorrow, Creamy Artichoke. Perfect for freezing into individual portions and bringing to work for lunch. Some of the other recipes I am thinking about include Lemon Thyme Bars, Rosemary Chicken, Lemon Basil Salmon, Mushroom Sage Polenta, Sage Fontina stuffed Chicken, Oven Roasted Cauliflower and Portuguese Chorizo Kale Soup. Looks like it's going to be a busy weekend of cooking and eating!

Brooklyn Flea: A Cornucopia of Good Eats

2009-09-06T14:22:00.013-04:00

Brooklyn Flea is an outdoor flea market that sets up in Brooklyn every weekend, Fort Greene on Saturdays and Brooklyn Bridge on Sundays. Besides the usual wares you would find at any flea market (old paintings and books, antique chairs and suitcases, tinted glasses), Brooklyn Flea is known for hosting some of the best food stands around.

On my Sunday Brooklyn Bridge visit recently, I cured my lunchtime hunger shakes first with the infamous Red Hook Lobster Pound lobster roll. There were two types: hot butter sauteed lobster with scallions (Connecticut Roll) and a cold lobster salad also with scallions (Maine Roll). Both were served on a toasted buttered bun. Yeah, lots of butter everywhere and that is a good thing! I took one bite out of the Maine Roll and decided it was the best lobster roll I've had in NY (including the Hamptons) and one of the best ever anywhere (including Cape Cod). The big chunks (and I mean chunks, as it whole claws in tact) of lobster meat was extremely fresh and perfectly seasoned with a light coating of creamy dressing and scallions, not the gobs of mayo + celery most other places have. And the generously buttered bun that was toasted on the skillet...perfection. At $13 a pop it was on the smaller side size wise, but definitely worth the trip.

Before I even finished the last bite of my lobster roll, I ordered the papusas platter from Soler Dominican, a famous Red Hook ballfield vendor that was a finalist in 2008. Two perfectly grilled papusas which are corn based flat bread tortillas stuffed with the filling of your choice: beef, chicken, cheese, vegetables or beans. I went with one chicken and one cheese, both had great flavors and reminded me of a thicker, more satisfying quesadilla. The pickled cabbage as a side added a great tangy taste and crunchy texture and the tomato sauce + sour cream and jalapenos gave it some punch. I am now resolved to check out all the Red Hook vendors before the summer is over.

Not deterred by my already full stomach, I then went for a Chonchos fish taco. The taco had a very large piece of cod, perfectly deep fried fresh on the spot with red onions, guacamole, red cabbage and creamy sauce with some salsa verde. I could have used a bit more sauce, a bit of salt and a little less batter, but the fish was very fresh and flaky. Certainly no match for the fish tacos of the West Coast but a good contender for best fish tacos on the East Coast. Quite pricey at $5 a pop but I guess that's NYC for ya.

Finally, dessert. I've read a lot about People's Pops, a greenmarket hand made popsicle stand that features creative flavors like Blueberry/Roasted Apricot and Watermelon Basil as well as shaved ice (literally hand shaved on the spot). My choice: Cantaloupe Tarragon. It was a great tasty treat for a full stomach...not too heavy, but refreshing and oddly thirst quencing at the same time. The flecks of tarragon are visible in the popsicle and went surprisingly well with the fragrant sweetness of the cantaloupe. I need to figure out how and when to try all the other flavors now...maybe they will deliver in bulk?

There were other food vendors there that I wanted to try but had no stomach room for including Moto Pizza and Blue Marble Ice Cream. Next time: Fort Greene and I'm bringing a friend to share the meals with so we can try more varieties.

The best part about the Brooklyn Bridge Flea on Sundays is that on a nice day like today, you can walk off all the calories you ate and get back to the Manhattan side via the Brooklyn Bridge walkway. Check out the views of the southern tip of the island and read about the trials and tribulations of those who built this landmark. These are the things that make NYC great: food and cultural adventures combined into one!

The Perfect Afternoon Snack in Soho

2009-09-06T13:45:00.007-04:00

I live walking distance from Soho and often enjoy a weekend afternoon of shopping and strolling in that very popular neighborhood. But the w0rld class shopping is only secondary to world class dining at Balthazar, one of the most consistent and beloved french bistros in New York City. It is always packed and while dinners there have always been fond memories, a morning or lunctime meal there really can't be beat.

I could write tomes about Balthazar, but here's the bottom line: for me, there is nothing better than an afternoon snack of a classic Manhattan with the Balthazar chicken liver and foie gras mousse. Perfectly grilled bread accompany a smooth pate of goodness with some simply dressed frisee. What more does a girl need after that?

OK, maybe some Prada shoes and a Chanel dress...belly full, it's onwards to more shopping!

When a Newbie Gets it Right: Joseph Leonard

2009-09-01T23:17:00.008-04:00

In my opinion, a new restaurant needs about 6 months to find its groove and settle into greatness. So it was with trepidation that I suggested Joseph Leonard as the meeting spot for a quick dinner with a friend. Only about a month old, the place has gotten tons of buzz thanks to its association with Market Table and Little Owl (manager) and Bouchon Bakery (chef) which can sometimes kill a place with unrealistic expectations. Nevertheless, I liked the place as soon as I stepped into its very small, corner spot on Waverly. It screamed "antique farmhouse charm" with its black and white "ancestral" portraits, old clocks and wooden chairs and bars. The open kitchen added to the home-y feel and cramped though we were at the bar, it all worked.

Everything on the menu was straightforward and simple, including the cocktails. Rye Tea was just that...Rittenhouse rye + ice tea with a lemon. The Cherry Lane was a blend of sweet vermouth, dry vermouth, brandied cherry topped with a rose champagne floater. Simple and elegant. The food selection was just right, with a good balance of meat, fish, starters, entrees. The duck rillette in a tiny mason jar sounded interesting but was a bit dry...the grilled bread upstaged the duck itself. The peach and arugula salad with almonds was an excellent way to showcase the in season fruit. For entrees we couldn't resist the crispy braised pork hock, which essentially was a hunk of pork shank, slow cooked till it's about the fall off the bone, and flash fried to create the crispy skin. The seared arctic char was cooked just right with wax beans. The dessert selections were disappointing on paper, with a bland array of basics like carrot cake (looked dry) and cookie plate. So we went with the special of the night: salted caramel pudding and we hit the jackpot...silky smooth and not too sweet, it's one I hope they choose to keep on the menu as a permanent item. It's the same way I felt about the guinness chocolate mousse at Alias on the Lower East Side: a very good excuse to return for another meal.

The one word that really came to mind as I finished the meal at this value add new addition to the West Village is this: unfussy. These days, having a simple, good meal with friendly unrushed service is really a rare pleasure in NYC. This one's a keeper.

Mayahuel: Tequila Done Right

2009-08-24T22:30:00.012-04:00

Mention tequila and for many of us it conjures up memories of doing shots of the cheap stuff at late night college dorm room parties. And with it, memories of the epic hangover the next day. Lately however, tequila has been anointed THE star of the Manhattan mixologist set, along with its close cousins of the whole mezcal family. Mayahuel, a new bar in the East Village has taken this trend to the next level. Its cocktail menu runs several pages long and each drink sounds more inventive than the next. The selection of mezcals and tequilas rivals any top notch wine lists in the city. The bar serves food too, focusing on small mexican bites such as tacos, rellenos, quesadillas.

My friend and I, already a bit tipsy from drinks at dinner, decided to go two rounds. First round, the Selena Fizz (left in below photo) and Smoked Palomino (bigger glass on the right with a straw). The SF is made with blanco tequila, elderflower, grapefruit, lime, egg white, soda and a splash of orange bitters. Just the right tartness with a refreshing frothy finish. The SM tastes as it's named: smokey. The drink is made with Amontillado sherry, crema de mezcal, grapefruit, lime and a salted rim. A surprising taste that grew on me with every sip but definitely takes a bit of getting used to.

Second round, Sunset Park (left below) and R' Cobbler (right below). The SP is almost like a Manhattan made with tequila, with reposado tequila, dry vermouth and marschino. A solid, pure, no fuss drink that allows the tequila to shine. The RC combines blanco tequila with campari and mole bitters which had a very distinct taste. Both excellent.

Considering we only tried about 1/50th of the tome that is Mayahuel's impressive menu of options (not to mention any off menu items or bespoke drinks from the bartender...I mean mixologist) I am already scheming my next visit. And having experienced what can actually be achieved with this complex liquor when used in the right way, I have a new appreciation for tequila and mezcal. Let's just say I am so over margaritas.

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What All Bars Should Grow Up To Be: The Redhead

2009-08-23T22:28:00.014-04:00

When I first heard about The Redhead, a neighborhood bar-restaurant in the East Village that opened nearly 2 years ago, I was less than interested for 2 reasons. First, my ex-boyfriend was a redhead. 'Nuff said. Second, how can a BAR possibly serve good food? But then the tidal wave of buzz and the fact that Frank Bruni chose it as his final review for the New York Times piqued my interest. So I decided to check it out one Friday night. This was a risky move given the first come first serve policy but thankfully the wait was short and sweet. Gotta love summer weekends in the city, no one is in town.

Some pre-dinner cocktails later (very dry gin martini and a well done sazerac) we were seated and ready for the down home American menu. First things first: an order of the bacon peanut brittles to start: a bowl of peanuts coated with sugary bacon goodness that I can eat all day long. Then it's on to some shrimp and grits with andouille sausage which was just the right level of creamy. And of course their infamous buttermilk fried chicken which was a perfect balance of crunchy crispy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside.

All in all, an excellent meal, a great neighborhood joint with no 'tude, no drama. In addition to the food, the wine list was an unexpected delight: solid American pinots, zins and cabs mixed with european whites and new world reds. I am a convert. Can't wait to get back there to sample more grub, like the one-eyed caesar salad, roasted pork chops, burger and housemade waffle chips and desserts such as caramel banana pudding and choco peanut butter sundae. I even got to take a souvenir with me: a doggy bag of the bacon peanut brittle, perfect for snacking at anytime. Let's just say I made a homeless dude very happy that night.

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Viva La Hamptons Circuit!

2009-08-09T22:44:00.013-04:00

Recently, a friend of a friend used the phrase "see you on the circuit" as a Hamptons version of "see ya later" and it got me wondering...what IS the circuit? The Urban Dictionary definition for "circuit" is a party with abundant drug usage, dancing and hooking up, especially a series of such gatherings which move from place to place. And the word used in a sentence: "Stay away from that one, he's a circuit boy and is nothing but trouble." Hmmmm....

Here's my interpretation, based on the activities of the crew I hang with. Please note the below itinerary does not apply to everyone but even those who claim to be "better than" this vicious cycle can be found at one of the below stops if not all.

Friday

4:45 Leave office to catch Jitney, pick up rental car or bum ride off friends
6:15 Drive past Le Frak City (housing project) and Ali Baba (gaudy restaurant) on LIE
6:15-9:00 Get stuck on LIE for hours on end, bitch at NY drivers, try to hold it in until exit 70
9:30 Pull into Meeting House on Amagansett Square, brave mob scene for bar space
9:30-12:00 Drink pinot noir, tequila on da rocks, air kiss dozens of people you don't really know
12:00-12:30 Debate whether to hit Stalkhouse (The Stephen Talkhouse) or not
12:30 Brave line at Stalkhouse, pay $25 and expect the worse
12:30-? Have tequila shots and red bull, boogie on the dance floor to mediocre but fun band, make out with stranger, eat hot dog sold by Asian lady out front

Saturday

7:45 Wake up for a run on the beach (if you did not go to Stalkhouse); Walk home on the beach dressed the same as night before (if you did end up at Stalkhouse)
8:00-1:00 Individual activities (nap, lounge, drink, bike, yoga, jog, drive, shopping)
1:00-2:00 Lunch at La Fondita, Clam Bar or Hideaway OR consume tons of chips and cheese and crackers
2:00-5:00 Beach time
5:00-7:00 Go to Cyril's and have rum topped banana baileys "milkshakes" in a big parking lot or get ready for Surf Lodge
7:00-9:00 Check out the scene at Surf Lodge, complain about the cheesy crowd
9:00-9:30 Debate where to go next, complain more about the cheesy crowd
9:30-? Pick your own adventure: Stalkhouse, Meeting House, beach bonfire, home, stranger's home

Sunday

10:45 Wake up late-ish from exhaustion whether you went to the Stalkhouse or not
10:50-12:00 Yoga/Spinning/Jog OR wait on long lines at Mary's Marvelous or Farmer's Market to spend $6.50 on a plain croissant
12:00-5:00 Debate when to return to city or stay the night, lament the monotony of the Hamptons party scene, plan to do totally different things next weekend
5:00-9:00 Surf Lodge redux or cook a big dinner at home/friend's house
9:30-next Friday morning: Sleep, wake up, work...the week's a blur

Return to Top and Repeat...

Amagansett Dining: The Meeting House

2009-08-09T21:10:00.015-04:00

The Meeting House is one of those places where you can show up any summer weekend alone and by the end of the evening have seen every single one of your friends including your long lost high school BFF. It's a ridiculously popular spot for the Amagansett-Montauk 20-30 somethings (especially in the summer) and a great American bistro with a nice selection of wines and consistently good food. Some of the crowd favorites include a generously portioned chicken milanese, seared scallops with polenta squares, mac and cheese and my personal must have, sphaghetti bolognese. These classic American dishes sit comfortably next to Asian fusion dishes like thai curry mussels and asian rice noodle salad. For dessert, try the banana pudding...it's smooth and silky and the perfect size after an inevitably large multi-course meal. And if you're there during the summer months, try an Aperol Spritzer, an ice filled glass of Aperol topped with prosecco and club soda. Then after a nice long meal with the 10-12 friends you didn't show up with but ended up running into, you can hop across the street to Stephen Talkhouse for some live music and work off your food coma with the rest of the Hamptons crowd.

Lunch at The Fish Farm

2009-08-09T19:55:00.007-04:00

Down the back roads of Amagansett (Cranberry Hole Road) on the way out towards Montauk sits a strange little "restaurant" called The Fish Farm at Multi Aquaculture Systems Inc (yes, this is the real name of the place). Well, it's not really just a restaurant. It's a dog pound, lobster processing factory, geese park, abandoned dock, food shop, seafood shack and working fish farm all wrapped in one. Rusted barns serve as your backdrop as you walk down a dirt path towards napeague bay. The food is ordered from a small shack across from a dozen gigantic barrels that make up the fish farm itself.

The standard menu is typical Hamptons (steamers, lobster roll and fish and chips or grilled local fish) with a french flair (grilled tuna nicoise, pissaladiere), courtesy of the chef-shop owner's own heritage. Everything is prepared with simple basic but fresh ingredients. BOYB, sit and eat around sunset and you'll soon be charmed by this off the beaten path gem and it's bizarre but unique surroundings. Make sure you don't piss off the geese though.

When the Soundtrack Makes the Movie

2009-08-09T15:24:00.010-04:00

When I heard John Hughes passed away recently, I felt a wave of nostalgia for my youth and watched some of his masterpieces for the first time in a long time. For many people who came of age in the 80's, movies like Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Some Kind of Wonderful set the tone for how high school either was or should have been. One thing I noticed while I indulged in my John Hughes marathon this past week is the killer soundtrack on all his movies. Even for non-Brat Pack films like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off or Home Alone, the soundtrack added so much to the movie itself and in some cases became as much of a classic as the film.

Pretty in Pink was definitely a stand out for me. The sound track includes The Smiths (Please, Please Please Let Me Get What I Want), Echo and the Bunnymen (Bring on the Dancing Horses), The Jesus and Mary Chain (The Hardest Walk) and of course the title song from The Psychedelic Furs. Here are some non-John Hughes movies whose soundtracks really made a difference in my book (not in any particular order).

1. 50 First Dates

2. Rushmore

3. About a Boy

4. Down With Love

5. Juno

6. 500 Days of Summer

7. Garden State

8. Bend It Like Beckham

9. Slumdog Millionaire

10. Not Another Teen Movie

11. Stand By Me

12. St. Elmo's Fire

13. Pulp Fiction

14. Amelie

15. Life is Beautiful

Taco Nirvana in SFO

2009-08-03T23:47:00.009-04:00

I was determined on a recent trip to San Francisco to find out how good the tacos are. I found out at La Taqueria in the Mission and I gotta tell you, it was taco nirvana. An out of this world experience. Just check out the photo above: 3 gigantic tacos made to perfection (pollo, carne asada, carnita, I had to try all three), with unbelievably fresh guacamole, tons of sour cream and cheese, and the best homemade corn tortillas I have ever had. Ask me if I am ever going to pay for another anemic taco at La Esquina again. I am now on a mission (no pun intended) to find taco nirvana somewhere in NYC. Maybe Pinche Taqueria in Nolita or the Red Hook food vendors? Suggestions welcomed!

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I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

2009-08-03T22:48:00.006-04:00

So I've been obsessed with ice cream lately, thanks to the new ice cream maker I got for my 10 year anniversary slaving away in Corporate America. I started with your basic vanilla but then moved on to "level 2" flavors like fresh strawberries and cream and dark chocolate. My latest concoctions included Bourbon Vanilla Peaches and Cream and Triple Cream Berry. So it's no wonder that I ventured out on the town this weekend in search of new inspiration. I found it in two of the top temples of America's favorite frozen dessert: Van Leeuwen ice cream truck and Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.

Van Leeuwen is an elusive truck that normally hides somewhere on the streets of Soho. You can wing it or follow them on twitter to see daily location updates. For those less adventurous, they also sell basic flavor pints in Whole Foods. Anyway I stumbled upon them accidentally in the Highline area one afternoon and didn't think twice about getting on the long line to get a taste of the popular currants and cream and giandujia flavors. Alas, no luck for me as both were sold out so I went for basic vanilla and strawberry. Verdict: good but not worth the $6 for 2 small scoops. For that price I better be having Madagascar vanilla hand picked and shipped to NY on Paul Allen's yacht.

Only at a place like Chinatown Ice Cream Factory will flavors like black sesame and durian be listed under regular flavors and mint chip and coffee be listed under exotic flavors. I went in search of one of their newest flavors: cupcake. Rich vanilla ice cream with big chunks of yellow cake cupcake and bits of rainbow colored sprinkles. And half the price of Van Leeuwen for twice the scoop size. In this new recession driven economy, what's not to love?

With all these new ideas I am now ready to invent some new recipes of my own. Bacon Maple Pancake Swirl, anyone?

Afternoon Cocktails at DBGB: A Perfect Manhattan

2009-08-03T21:14:00.007-04:00

Rainy Sunday, best time for some afternoon cocktails with friends. I chose DGBG, Daniel Boulud's latest shrine for lovers of beer + sausage and burgers + a side of brown liquor (see additional review from RestauranTours). Being a brown liquor lover myself, I ordered a Manhattan, up with extra cherries. Not the best drink for a muggy cloudy summer day, but thoroughly enjoyable especially when paired with some duck meatballs and fries. My favorite recipe involves Italian vermouth (1 part) and rye (2 parts) plus dashes of bitters. If you want a "mixologist" title vs "bartender", try using something fancier than maraschino cherries like wine pickled cherries from scratch. If you ask me, maraschino works fine, minus the snobbery.

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Brunching in Brooklyn: The General Greene

2009-04-19T10:31:00.007-04:00

Tucked on a corner in Fort Greene in Brooklyn, The General Greene is the sort of neighborhood joint that evokes the comfort of a hot cup of cocoa on a cold day. As with many of the "New American" places in NYC and especially in Brooklyn, it's got the familiar wooden tables in a sparse semi-industrial backdrop with simple, warm colors and lots of wine bottles on the wall (in this case near the bar). On a sunny spring Saturday, the sunlight brings the "where everyone knows your name" friendly feel to a whole different level. Love it.

The brunch menu was short and simple with 4 sections: Sandwiches, Skillet (variations of the 3 baked skillet eggs), Sides and Sweets. On the other side of the menu there is a basic wine, beer and brunch cocktail list. For starters, we tried the Bloody Mary: generously portioned (good), very spicy (good), a bit thin on the tomato juice (bad).

Sandwich selections included choices like roast beef, chicken salad, burger (a staple for any respectable New American restaurant) all dressed up with farmhouse ingredients like arugula, herb aioli, tomato jam. We went with a smoked trout melt which was dressed up with creme fraiche, red onions accompanied with gruyere all grilled to perfection on 7-grain bread. The smokeyness of the trout was just right and it was an interesting twist to a tuna melt.

The other sandwich was the roast pork with ham, pickles and gruyere with arugula on a crunchy baguette. There was a bit too much ham and too little roast pork, which resembled baco-bits sprinkled on top of the ham. Need a bit meatier hunks of pork!

The skillet selection included chicken confit with creamed spinach, chorizo and zucchini, blood sausage and apple amongst other variations. We went with the Hair of the Dog which had 3 baked eggs over bacon grits with red gravy poured on top of the whole thing. A very hearty breakfast option.

All in all, a solid laid back option in the neighborhood. Next time, I am going to try more of the skillet options and also come back for dinner one night, where the menu includes meatballs, lamb sausage, ham and gruyere bread pudding and other home-y comfort food.

The Best Pizza in NYC

2009-03-28T00:31:00.005-04:00

So after kicking off the first two Best Of series: Best Dumplings and Best Noodle Soups, I got hooked on the idea of taste testing through the city to find the best examples of the simplest foods. So, here's one for everyone's favorite: Pizza.

Co. (Company) (A) There was so much hype that came along with the opening of this new pizzeria in Chelsea that I was initially turned off. Reports of long lines put me off even more. But curiosity got the better of me and I woke up early on a Sunday morning to arrive right at opening time. A blood orange mimosa and bottle of pinot blanc later, we had downed 4 pies (they are smaller in size than most pizzerias in NYC): a red sauce based sausage and mushrooms spicy pizza, a green olives and anchovies number, a 3 cheese spinach and garlic pie (picture above) and my favorite, bechamel, parmesan, mozzarella, caramelized onions and lardon. The crust lives up to the Sullivan Street Bakery legacy (Jim Lahey is the baker there) and the service was nice and friendly. One of the best in the city for sure!

Franny's (B+) A cozy little pizzeria in Park Slope, Franny’s was actually not on my radar screen until a friend who lives in Brooklyn pointed out my oversight. There is a great wine list (try the lambrusco: dry and refreshing) and a variety of non-pizza starters (like the excellent Marinated Cabbage with Walnuts and Pecorino Rossellino) and pasta selections (like a simple but flavorful bucatini with tomato and parmesan). The star was the pizza: excellent crunchy + chewy crust with wood oven burns to show off, interesting toppings. The clam pie (picture above) with parsley and chillies was garlicky with just the right amount of grease. If only they would put a little more clams and slice the pie for us (all pies come unsliced, not sure why). Worth an excursion to Brooklyn.

Artichoke Basille's Pizza and Brewery (A-). The name gives a false impression of a large pizza parlor. In actuality this is a tiny storefront on 14th Street near 1st Avenue with no seating to speak of but an inviting aroma that makes your mouth water. The menu is small, only 4 types to choose from: the namesake Artichoke pizza, a basic Margherita slice, a thick crusted Sicilian slide and a crab pizza which frankly I would stay away from. The artichoke pizza is amazing, a salty cheesy slice that has a special artichoke/spinach paste. The Sicilian was also excellent, with the perfectly crunchy thick greasy crust and a tangy and simple tomato basil sauce. An excellent take out option for lunch at a friend's apartment!

Farinella Italian Bakery (B+). This new pizza joint in Tribeca specializes in Roman style square pizza, very thin and crispy. The pizzas are made in long rectangles and cut into slides priced at $3-$4 a slice. The big kahuna there is not the chef from a triple decker specialized pizza oven imported from Italy which apparently control the temp. I ordered a slice of zucchini and mushroom white pizza and an eggplant tomato sauce pizza. The white pizza slice was great, very thinly sliced mushrooms and zucchini and a clean simple fresh cheesy flavor. The tomato sauce on the eggplant pizza was clearly home made, much more flavorful than your regular pizza sauce. The pony-tailed chef-owner was very friendly, greeting each customer with a smile and Italian lessons. Hopefully they will start delivering soon.

Lombardi's (C) One of the most famous pizzeria’s in NYC, frequented by tourists and NYers alike, Lombardi’s is an institution, one of the old guards in the pizza wars. The Soho location has expanded and the wait is less harrowing. But the pizza seems to have lost its luster. The sampling was a large pie (18”) with pepperoni, mushrooms, ricotta and fresh garlic. Should be pretty straight forward, right? The crust was soggy, the tomato sauce was flavorless and the whole pie was pretty watery. With opening of new haute pizzerias all over town, Lombardi’s needs to get back in shape if it wants to stay in the game!

Dinnertime in London: Tom's Kitchen

2009-02-18T20:42:00.009-05:00

Tucked on a quiet street in Chelsea is Tom’s Kitchen, the casual but chic restaurant from celebrity English chef Tom Aikens. Aikens is one of the youngest star chefs in the London food scene to earn a Michelin Star nod for his namesake restaurant Tom Aikens, also in Chelsea. Tom’s Kitchen is a much more casual and cozy joint and at a more recession appropriate price point. The place is lit with a warm glow of yellow lighting, with wooden tables and a large open kitchen, all to evoke a friendly and low key feel.

The menu is small with a rustic and locavore-esque theme and a nod to traditional British cooking as evidenced in the braised lamb or slow cooked pork belly. My friend MC and I had 2 different starters, 1 heavy (seared scallops over a bed of parmesan risotto) and 1 lighter (fennel and arugula/rocket salad with oranges and walnuts).

The salad was delightful, very fresh produce was used. The scallops were seared perfectly but the risotto was a bit greasy and salty. The portions were generous, in line with the comfort food/homey theme.

We selected a bottle of 2005 La Montessa Rioja for our entree: Beef Wellington for 2 with a side of mashed potato and roasted carrots. The beef wellington was perfectly cooked, with a crust that was buttery and flaky.

The mashed potato was the silkiest, smoothest I’ve ever had and the roasted carrots were enhanced with a little bit of balsamic syrup. This was a Sunday roast at its best!

The desserts were surprisingly good. A prune and armagnac bread pudding sounded suspect but was unbelievably buttery and delicious (I am now a convert to bread pudding). The raspberry tart with vanilla ice cream had just the right level of sweetness.

Too often when a chef opens a “more casual” eatery after the success of a fancy Michelin Star restaurant, the companion eatery suffers from either lack of an identity or schizophrenia. In this case, Tom’s Kitchen was the right balance between comfort food and refined cuisine and the atmosphere was just right as well. Oh, and it helps that the chef is really cute!

NYC Girl in London Day 3: Borough Market, East London, Shoreditch nightlife

2009-02-17T20:05:00.001-05:00

For our third day in London, we decided to stay in the East End. The east end until fairly recently had a reputation synonymous with poverty and crime. When the population of London boomed in the 19th century, most of the poor and new immigrants lived in the east side of town where the city's expansion sprawled to. Throughout history, this area suffered through hardship, including a disproportionate amount of plague and other epidemics due to the lower living standards and crimes waves (the famous Jack the Ripper performed his deeds here) and proliferation of gangs (the Kray Brothers operated here). Nowadays, the areas has enjoyed a boom in development, including the Canary Wharf area and the upcoming Olympic Park for the 2012 Games in London. In addition, many of the neighborhoods such as Shoreditch, Angel, Islington and others are bustling with young artistic hipster types who either live there or frequent the area's nightlife.

Our first stop was, of course, food related: Borough Market which is south east London, across the Thames from the City which is the financial center of London. Read my writeup about our adventures there and the amount of food we ate or wanted to eat. After a great food adventure and full bellies, we decided to walk along the water on the Southwark side towards Tower Bridge.

Along the way we checked out London Bridge (and it does not appear to be falling down) and the very modern looking new City Hall where the controversial and outspoken Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, comes to work everyday. From across the Thames we can clearly see a large oval shaped building, known as the Gherkin or Swiss Re Tower. Famous for its unique shape, the building is location in the City and is the UK HQ for a Swiss reinsurance giant.

Walking across the Tower Bridge, the view was phenonmenal and thankfully we didn't get caught up in the bridge lifting for a passing ship so got across safely and quickly (below is a photo of the middle "seam" of the bridge).

All the walking around and crossing of the bridge got me hungry so we walked (a long way) from Tower of London to Brick Lane for some world famous (albeit touristy) Indian food. Brick Lane is a bit like East 6th Street in NYC but bigger and is filled with Indian/Bangaldeshi food markets, restaurants and general stores. Lots of street vendors as well, selling touristy schlock. We figured everything will be pretty much the same so settled on a place called Preem and proceeded to order everything under the sun: Onion bhajee, chicken korma, lamb vindaloo, chicken tandoori. The food was good but next time in London I need to try a more authentic off the beaten path place or a high end quality place. Or both...

After our late afternoon meal, we walked through Bricklane, past the Shoreditch and Bethnal Green neighborhoods where lots of trendy kids hung around hipster looking shops and bars and back towards MC's apartment in the Old Street area. We stopped at a store called Waitrose (where I wanted to take home all sorts of cool British groceries but thankfully realized the insanity of that) for some wine and breads for our Neal's Yard cheese for our little pre-night out soiree at the flat. A couple of bottles later, we headed out towards the Shoreditch area, abandoning bars in the Hoxton Square area because of the long lines, stopping for a drink at a gay bar/pub/club/pool hall called Joiners Arms and finally settling into a non-descript pub where I proceeded to have 3 Jamesons neat. Maybe it was because it was Saturday night but the scene was unbelievable, the bars and streets were FILLED with drunk rowdy sometimes rude people, we saw a guy sitting on the sidewalk disoriented (and it was only 11PM) and the women drank as much if not more than the men. After a couple of hours of solid, sane conversations with MC and friends, we hightailed it out of there towards home.

After a day spent in the East End, I decided it is definitely a cooler, more colorful, more diverse area than Central London. And while it's got more of a rundown and edgy feel than the clean, sterile feel of Mayfair, it's certainly not lacking in poshness, as we walked past the Classic Car Club where younger hipster types choose to go to rent their Bentleys...and Porsches and Aston Martins. Ahhhh, gentrification, it's everywhere you want to be!

Lunching in London: Borough Market

2009-02-17T20:04:00.004-05:00

I love visiting food shops and markets, especially when I travel. It's always a great way to taste and explore local foods and cultures and get a glimpse of the bustling day to day lives of the people who live in that city. New York has its own Union Square Greenmarket, Los Angeles has the Farmer's Market at 3rd and Fairfax (near The Grove). And last year I visited Mercat de la Boqueria in Barcelona which was one of the best (and tastiest) experiences on my entire Spain trip. So I entered Borough Market on a Saturday afternoon with high anticipation and an empty belly, eager to participate in another food market experience for the ages.

The market was more like La Boqueria than Union Square, in that it's in an large warehouse like structure that still feels very open and airy. It was the weekend so was packed with throngs of people who were all just as hungry as I was. Luckily I found my first meal before even entering the market, a chorizo sandwich stand with a long but fast moving line in a corner outside the main market area. The sandwich was simple: chorizo, rocket (arugula), roasted peppers and a drizzle of olive oil. The chorizos were plump and juicy and just the right level of spicy and the arugula and peppers were fresh and perfect companions for the meat. An excellent start to my gorge fest.

Next stop, Maria's Market Cafe where they apparently have the best bacon sandwiches and breakfast offerings. This place had a few small tables clustered around a small kitchen and ordering counter. Again, a long line but I persevered, studying the menu while I waited, finally deciding on the egg, bacon and chips AND the bacon, bubble and cheese both on baps. A bap is a square roll and chips and bubble & squeak are, fried and mashed potatoes respectively. Yes, the potatoes go INSIDE the sandwich itself, not on the side! The bacon was the star indeed, it's not the fried up crispy skinny bacon we get in the US but larger slabs of juicy pork, more like a ham steak but thinner. Perfect breakfast of champions and now I am so starched/carbed up I can run the NYC Marathon twice over.

After that, it was all a gastro-blur to me. We had mulled wine and I walked past vendor after vendor of delicious meat pies, olives, breads, pastries. It was a never ending maze of unbelievable looking food. The best food vendors sold Thai seafood curry, wild boar sausage, fish and chips. I will let the pictures say the thousand words.

We loved Borough Market so much that we had to take some of its essence home. And what's more Borough Market than Neal's Yard cheese? Some cheddar and stilton hunks in tow, we toasted the market goodbye with a beer at a pub called The Rake and then headed off to our day's adventure, bellies full and satisfied!

NYC Girl in London Day 2: The Meaning of Posh, the Queen and Harry Potter

2009-02-16T20:02:00.019-05:00

My 2nd day in London can be described with one word: POSH. This is not a word commonly used in the US and according to the Webster dictionary means "typical of or intended for the upper classes". In the UK, upper class means pretty much old money, people with stature in society, titles, history. You are born into it, you cannot buy your way in and the upper class in the UK are not necessarily the wealthiest. Let's just put it this way, Paris Hilton will NEVER be considered upper class in England.

Anyway, the day got off to a great start when I woke up to unseasonably warm and sunny spring like weather. We celebrated this rareity with an early lunch at The Wolseley, which is a London "twin" of NYC's Balthazar but really much more posh. Belly full of gin & tonics and french bistro food, we then strolled from St. James to Buckingham Palace through the very pretty and posh St. James Park.
We passed along a row of beautiful residential and commercial town homes, all looking like miniature versions of Jane Austen countryside mansions. Buckingham Palace itself was grand as expected with its guilded gates and . Apparently there are over 700 rooms in the palace and is mostly used for official royal functions. We missed the changing of the guard ceremony which happens every morning around 11AM but did learn that the Queen was indeed at home since the flag was flying atop the palace and there were 4 guards on duty. I wonder if HRH Prince Harry is there with her nursing his broken heart after breaking up with his girlfriend...

After grabbing some fun touristy gag gifts for friends at the official Buckingham Palace gift shop, my friend MC and I walked along Park Lane to the very posh (that word again) Mayfair neighborhood. Park Lane is a very wide street that reminded me a bit of Park Avenue in NYC. This is definitely a upper class type of neighborhood. The parking lot of The Dorchester hotel, one of the fanciest in town, says it all: Aston Martins, Bentleys, Rolls Royces all lined up next to each other ready to take its guest to posh functions (likely at the palace). We turned off Park Lane to weave and bob through what can only be described as, well, posh. The town homes were immaculately built, impeccably fashionably dressed people strolled about (mostly on the older side), drivers were waiting in Bentleys outside building entrances, beefy guys who looked like bodyguards stood outside homes with scarier stares than the door guys at the hardest to get into NYC velvet rope clubs. This is not your typical, average neighborhood for sure.

We walked by Claridge's (high end hotel), Brown's (high end shoe shop) and managed to find The Punch Bowl which was a pub co-owned by Guy Ritchie, Madonna's ex. The pub was very nice and cozy, with a fireplace dividing the long bar and wooden tables and benches in the front and a more formal dining room in the back. The patrons were young and old, all either very good looking (which made me wonder if they were actually celebrities) or very rich and important looking (mostly older guys in 3 piece suits reading the Financial Times). The price was higher than other places, which we expected given it's location. Oh, and of course there was Sting (yes, THE Sting) who walked past our table after clearly enjoying a pint or two. We followed him out shortly, finding our way to the much less posh Oxford Street chaos and taking the bus, also known as the commoner's Bentley, home to get ready for our evening adventure in Oxford.

The University of Oxford is as many know one of the most famous universities in the world, (no, not made famous by Rob Lowe's 1984 movie Oxford Blues) and is about a hours train ride northwest of London. A college friend SF who I had not seen in at least 10 years, was there attending the Said Business School and promised an evening of posh fun, Oxford style. Afterall, Oxford is synonymous with the upper class. Our evening started with supper at the Christ Church College dining hall. There are 37 other "colleges" and each serve as the focal point for admitting, housing, feeding, entertaining the students. The overall University seem to do very little quite frankly. Anyway, walking up to the dining hall, I recognized the same stone staircase where Harry Potter and friends were told in the first movie they had to be "sorted" into different houses. The dining hall itself is the same one in the Harry Potter movies, except sans candles floating mid air. There were three long tables in the rectangular room, all for students to sit and eat. The teachers sat at a table perpendicular to the student tables, at the end, up on a stage of sorts. Exactly as it looks in Harry Potter. The walls were filled with the portraits of past deans and famous grads of the college, including one of a man whose gaze oddly follows you wherever you walk (seriously). It was quite the grand setting to be dining in and I was glad I dressed up appropriately for it.

We were surrounded by posh (yep, noticing a theme here?) undergrads who were all dolled up: cute young lads with floppy long hair looking Strokes-stylish in skinny pants and ties, long haired girls in mini dresses and sky high heels. The male students, grad or undergrad, must wear their college robes in the dining hall and the way their wear their robes have special meaning (sleeves mean special honors, sleeveless mean, I guess, that you are not as smart or something). Apparently people dress up to dining in the hall every night which is very different from the sweatshirts and jeans set you normally see in university cafeterias in the US. The food was just about the worse food I have ever had but the point wasn't the food, was it? It was the rare experience of dining in this very famous location. Let's just say the food is NOTHING like the feasts and spreads that Harry Potter and his friends enjoyed. Oh, and it's BYOB so we managed to polish off 2 bottles of nice red wine between us.

After dinner, it's off to the infamous "Einstein Room" for a quick gin & tonic. This room is used as the party room for the Christ Church grad student social club. Picture the common room in your college dorm but add a bit of history to it (Einstein stayed in this room when he lectured here in the 1930s) and throw in some extremely intellectual Oxford grad students playing Guitar Hero over some gin & tonics and you have a good picture of what this is like. There's even a piano where the students keep their bottles of booze. One g&t later, we were off to our next destination, a student organized dance party known as a "bop". Bops are essentially school dances held in the a common area or space in the colleges where grads, undergrad mingle and party to cheap booze and bad pop music. There's usually a theme for each bop and the one we went to was the "Dutch Bop" so people dressed up as windmills or just wore orange. Drinks of choice at these bops include beer (usually free), g&t and vodka and lemonade (usually dirt cheap). It actually was loads of juvenile fun, brought me back to my high school cafeteria dance days. We had so much fun we missed our train back to London so had to take the ghetto bus at 2AM with some trampy teenage girls dressed to the nines and drunk drugged out youngsters, no doubt all having had too much vodka lemonade at one of the bops on campus.

All in all a fun-filled day peppered with posh adventures. I wonder what is in store tomorrow...HRH Harry perhaps?

Lunching in London: The Wolseley

2009-02-16T19:29:00.017-05:00

I really should have been a member of the Ladies Who Lunch club because I truly enjoy a good, long midday meal, preferably one with some alcoholic beverages. A friend recommended The Wolseley for just such a lunch in London. The way he described it was that it was like Balthazar in NYC's Soho, only more "posh". Having seldom used the word "posh" to describe anything, I was very curious to see what this Balthazar of London had to offer so booked a boozy lunch with MC for my 2nd day in London.

First impression was not great...I made a rezzie from their online booking system and got an email confirmation back that said I was confirmed for the noon time slot I asked for but then "the table is required for another party at 13:30." As if! An hour and a half is certainly not enough time for a real boozy brunch/lunch! But I was too curious and heard great things from even others plus read great reviews so decided to keep the rezzies.

Walking out of the Green Park tube station, I was immediately struck by how "posh" St. James was as a neighborhood. The Ritz hotel was right next door, with its uniformed and white gloved porters who greeted even passersby on the street. The big name couture shops are all here, Gucci, Burberry, Valentino, you name it, it's got one. The streets were clean, the buildings in white marble. It all felt very proper and very English upper class.

The Wolseley certainly fit its surroundings very well. We opened the door to a high ceiling, very open dining space with large impressive chandeliers. Lots of wood paneling and mirrors and windows created a light and airy yet refined feel. The diners were a mixed bag, many business types hushing over deals of some sort, young professionals and couples having an intimate lunch. Not real tourists except us and given that it's noon on a Friday, not many people in general. There is a bar to the right hand side when you are facing the main entrance (which was more packe than the dining room. Gotta love the Brits and their drinking) and a smaller cafe to the left.

One look at the menu and I realized why this is compared to Balthazar: a french bistro theme and even the typeface on the menu looked similar. The usual suspects were there, like oysters, onion soup, steak frites, skate. There were a few British touches like fish and chips, fish stew, kedgeree. A very wide selection for a lunch menu.

Over glasses of champagne we decided to get the avocado vinaigrette and a chopped salad to start. The avocado was perfectly ripened and the vinaigrette subtle. Chopped salad was good but fairly uneventful. What truly was eventful however, were the gin and tonics. I don't usually drink G&T (reminds me of old people frankly and I hate tonic water) but I figured when in Rome...we were not disappointed. There isn't usual after taste of tonic and whatever gin they used was smooth and fragrant and the lime touch made it even more refreshing. The best part of our meal so far.

For entrees, MC and I ordered the steak au poivre and the roast chicken. I made the mistake of ordering medium for the temperature of the meat and got...well, medium. I was used to NYC where medium actually came out medium rare. The meat was too well done for my taste but the au poivre and the sauce were just right. I think it would have been great if I had ordered it right, medium rare. MC's roast chicken on the other hand was just amazing. Skin on, bone in, very tender and juicy and full of flavor. I guess they were not joking when they said that the Brits make roast chicken taste like foie gras.

For dessert, I got the bitter chocolate mousses which was just heaven. It came on the plate like a scoop of ice cream and tasted like the orgasmic smooth silky dark hot chocolate that I had once in Barcelona. MC's rhubarb and apple crumble was less stellar. There was too little crumble to offset the tart mush filling. Even the waitress who witnesses him devouring my chocolate and leaving his filling untouched said the same thing. At least she was honest.

All in all, I really liked the Wolseley and would recommend it for a nice lunch/dinner or maybe just some snacks at the bar area. The food was a bit overpriced but you are somewhat paying for the atmosphere for sure. It's not going to be a fun rowdy type of place but more for a quiet, intellectual conversation or maybe a romantic rendezvous.

PS: The funny thing was they were very anal and would not allow me to take a photo of the dining room from the front entrance but I still managed to take shots of it from our table and also shots of our food. Proper English manners and protocol trumped once again by ingenius, resourceful American tourist cunning!

NYC Girl in London Day 1: Topshop, Billy Elliot and Cheese-arama

2009-02-16T04:56:00.016-05:00

After a fairly short flight from Newark International Airport to Heathrow, my Continental flight lands safely Thursday morning around 8:30AM. Touchdown in London town! Then, in lightning speed, about 1.5 hours later (gate-customs-baggage-Heathrow Express-Paddington-Old Street Tube) I was unpacking at my friend MC's phat flat and getting ready to grab some lunch and hit the town.

MC lives in east London (EC1) in the Shoreditch - Barbican - Clerkenwell area, right near the Old Street tube station. Apparently this whole area is the grittier but hipper area of town, kind of like East Village/Lower East Side in NYC. Lunch was at a new restaurant close by called Albion at The Boundary Project (read about my meal there by clicking the link) which was housed in a trendy new hotel/bakery/food shop on a deserted street in Shoreditch. The more deserted the hipper it is, right?

After lunch, we took a bus to Oxford Street where I wanted to check out the world famous Topshop flagship store. Not unlike some of the mega branches of H&M and others in NYC, this place, a largest retail space in the UK (or is it the world) was completely overwhelming, with multiple floors of clothing, shoes, accessories for men, women, girls, boys, pets. Between the jetlag, the food coma from lunch and the chaos, I was not my usual shopaholic self so made it in and out the store in 10 minutes flat. I think I will continue to shop at Topshop's online store instead or wait until the first location hits NYC Soho in the spring.

My first night out in London was to Victoria Palace Theatre to see Billy Elliot the musical based on the 2000 film with the same name. Elton John wrote the music and in 2005 the show won Best New Musical at the Laurence Olivier Awards (the UK's equivalent of the Tonys) before opening on Broadway. The show as you all know is about a talented young lad living in a mining town in northeastern England during the mid 80's when things were pretty tough and how he persevered and got accepted to the Royal Ballet School in London. I had a hard time understanding the accent at times and wondered if they had to change some of the lyrics for Broadway to make sure an American audience can understand it. Regardless, it was a a bit of a tear jerker and a good overall show. The young actors were all very talented and the 13 year old kid playing Billy the night we saw it was actually from Nebraska. The best part about seeing the theatre in London is they let you bring drinks to your seat (in plastic cups but still awesome) and you can even pre-order your drinks at the start of the show so they will be ready for you during the interval (intermission). Broadway should take note!

I was pretty exhausted but MC insisted we grab ONE drink. We wandered around Victoria a bit but nothing was really opened (it's more of a business district) so we cabbed it to Piccadilly Circus to find the cheesiest bar we can find. We did not have to look very hard and found what we envisioned at Tiger Tiger, a bar/lounge/club/restaurant. A 5 quid cover got us into meat market heaven. Guys in suits drinking beers and chatting up fellow female colleagues. Cougar types dressed like drag queens with too much makeup luring floppy haired young lads with promise of free shots. Tourists looking to have a good time in what they believed was a classy establishment because Fodor's recommended it. Despite the red alert level of cheese factor, I had tons of fun observing the sexual rituals of the Brits and noticed that the women were quite aggressive AND that ultimately everyone just gets totally sloshed and slobbers on each other on the dance floor. I also noticed that the men dance...they may not be great dancers, but they dance like they are truly enjoying themselves and with no hint of insecurity.

Leave it to my friend MC to be the one gay guy getting picked up at the straightest cheesiest joint in town. While the boys who were eyeing him were cute (and one of them danced the whole Beyonce Single Ladies routine perfectly right in the middle of the bar) and friendly and fun, I took that as our cue to call it a night. Afterall, it was only night 1, I had 5 more to go and had to pace myself!

Lunching in London: Albion at the Boundary Project

2009-02-15T06:22:00.008-05:00

My first meal in London turned out to be a lesson in British "cuisine". My friend MC, who lives near the Shoreditch area in east central London, took me to this lunch at this new place called Albion at The Boundary Project. The Boundary Project is essentially a refurbished building in a pretty run down looking but trendy neighborhood in London which holds 2 restaurants, a food and bakery shop and a small hotel. It was the creation of Terence Conran who is a well known British restaurateur and designer. Albion where we ate is the more casual of the two restaurants and focuses on a nostaligic, retro British menu which apparently is the hot food trend in town.

The design of the place felt very light and open. You walk into the food shop and bakery first and are welcomed by mounds of pastries, breads, cookies and cakes and a small produce section. Already you are starving and you haven't even seen the dining area. Walk past the temptation and you will arrive in a fairly plain rectangular room with a massive open kitchen to the right. Actually feels very much like a cafeteria and indeed this place is referred to as a British "caff". Service was quite delightful and friendly and I didn't realize until later that this is a actually a rare thing in London.

Anyway, we sat down, starved, expecting to know very quickly exactly what we wanted to order. But we were not at all familiar with British "cuisine" so found ourselves reading an all-English menu but not understanding anything written on it. MC who just moved here from NYC has only been in London for 2 months. So we did what any modern day jet setter/ex pat would do: we pulled out our iPhone/Blackberry and started googling items on the menu. A Welsh Rabbit or Rarebit is a brown cheesy sauce served over toasted bread. A Gammon, Eggs and Chips is a pork chop or ham steak with a sunny side egg on top and fries on the side. A Kedgeree is a Scottish fried rice of sorts, with flaked smoked white fish, eggs, butter and rice. There were the usual suspects like Fish and Chips, Shepherd Pie, Beef Stew. Lots of savory pies overall. We mulled over the menu with a Bloody Mary each and then decided to go for Chicken Pie, Mushy Peas, Cauliflower Cheese, Chips (with beef drippings, duly noted in the menu) and a Walnut, Stilton, Celery Salad. The mains I thought were OK. The Chicken Pie had a tasty crust and succulent tender chicken, but was too watery. The Salad had great Stilton but they were a bit stingy and gave me only a few crumbles. The vinaigrette was very nice and subtle but the walnuts were not even toasted. Maybe this is the way it in more traditionally. I should have gotten the Fish and Chips, which I was eyeing on the table next to us. The sides were great, the Mushy Peas perfectly mushy and well seasoned, the Chip very much benefited from the beef drippings (and the large amounts of HP sauce I slathered on them) and the cauliflower cheese was perfectly cooked and just cheesy enough (not like in the US where it would have been coated in velveeta). Didn't have room for dessert but the bakery looked amazing so next time my friend MC knows where to get some sweet snacks for himself.

Overall, a great little place, great service, simple basic food. And I got to add some new food vocabulary to my repertoire. Next time, I won't ask the waiter if the Welsh Rabbit is with or without bone.

Love this Trend: South Asian Music Fusion

2009-02-06T00:29:00.005-05:00

I saw Slumdog Millionaire recently and really loved the movie. It was a creatively narrated, heartbreakingly honest look at life for the poor in India. Incredibly, some of the most beautiful panoramic scenes were of impossibly massive piles of garbage on which children slept and played. Just amazing. But even better was the soundtrack, a mix of well known South Asian-fusion tracks like M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" with upbeat Indian pop dance tunes. In the last few years, I, like the rest of the world have slowly been introduced to this new sound of fusing South Asian dance and folk music with hip hop, electronica and alt-rock. I do not claim to be any sort of expert at all but am sharing here with you some of my favorites.

M.I.A

Sri Lankan born British music genius who burst onto the scene in 2004. Both her CDs Arular and Kala are excellent. Her sound is a really unique, socially conscious mix of rap, electronica, Bollywood. Some of my favorite tunes are "Jimmy", "Galang", "10 Dollar" and of course "Paper Planes".

Cornershop

British based multi-culti band that burst onto the scene back in the late 1990's with the extremely catchy song "Brimful of Asha". Their first CD When I Was Born for the 7th Time was a perfect blend of Indian music and alterna-pop. Then they came out with another CD in 2002 called Handcream for a Generation but then disappeared from the music scene after that, supposedly after a feud with Morrissey (everyone knows not to mess with the King of Sappy Whiny Indie Pop). I wish they had stayed around a bit longer.

DJ Rekha

Probably one of the pioneers of fusing Indian dance music with hip hop, DJ Rekha runs one of the more fun, successful party in NYC nightlife called Basement Bhangra. She didn't come out with her debut release until recently but it's perfect for those who loved the Punjabi MC mashup with Jay-Z in early 2000's. Check out her Basement Bhangra Anthem and you'll know what I mean.

Bend It Like Beckham Movie Soundtrack: One of my favorite movies and soundtracks. It's got Indian version covers of "Hot, Hot, Hot"...what's not to love!

Finally, the perfect Mexican cantina: Cabrito

2009-02-05T06:38:00.010-05:00

I am always in search of good Mexican food in New York. For a great foodie town like NYC, it's actually rare and hard to find. I tend to prefer the more laid back cantina type of places versus the glamorous more expensive sit down places like Rosa Mexicano. I am a fan of the taco stand upstairs at La Esquina especially late nights and lunch after shopping in Soho. There are also two excellent places in the Hamptons believe it or not: La Fondita in Amagansett and the Hideaway in Montauk.

So it was with a lot of anticipation that I stepped into Cabrito for dinner with a few friends. It's a newish Mexican restaurant in the West Village, at 50 Carmine Street right next to Market Table and marked by a pink goat sitting atop the front door. The owner is Zac Pelaccio of Fatty Crab fame and chef David Schuttenberg is also from the Fatty Crab family. No surprisingly, they get the whole "street vendor" feel of the place right, just like at Fatty Crab. The place is not that big, maybe 20 tables tops plus an area in the back that has 2 high tables with bar stool type seating. We chose to eat at the long bar, where they stock 40 types of tequila. I started out with a Partida which they recommended as a good sipping tequila and it was indeed quite smooth. The bartender whose name was Drew decided to kick us off with a round of tequila shots (Sauza Hornito) and we subsequently ordered a few jalapeno margaritas to go with our meals. Strong cocktail menu and mixologists overall....a good start.

The meal was equally enjoyable. We chose jalapeno rellenos to start and it was quite a fiery but tasty way to jolt awake my appetite. Then we moved onto the rajas con crema which frankly sounded a bit gross but tasted so rich, creamy and delicious that we were won over. By now we were 2 margaritas (and 1 sipping tequila for me) into the evening and chatting with the bartender about his Sapporo drinking marathon experience (long story). We tried 3 types of tacos: lengua (beef tongue), pork belly and al-carbon (steak). The portions were just satisfyingly right and while all were excellent, I thought the lengua was the winner. For entrees we shared the house-made chorizo huaraches, the red chili short ribs and the namesake dish cabrito, a baby goat roasted with some spices and garlic. My favorite dish of the whole evening was the chorizo huaraches: a large open faced tortilla piled high with tasty chorizo sausages and lettuce and sour cream. Simple and filling. I liked the cabrito and was surprised by how tender it was but agreed with my foodie friend GF that the flavor was too mild, not enough spices or kick. The short ribs were swimming in a delicious red sauce and served in a bowl as a result. Loved the tenderness of the meat and the rich taste of the sauce but there was too much bone for my taste. I had to use a magnifying glass to find the meat.

Overall, I really liked Cabrito. The services was nice and friendly, the bartenders were skilled and yet entertaining (unlike the super serious/cocky bartenders at Milk & Honey type places like Tailor and Death & Co) and the food really hit the right mark. The whole rock and roll vibe and neighborhoody atmosphere was spot on and matched the food and drinks perfectly. I am ready to go back and taste the other 39 types of tequila.

Gastropubbin' and Man-Whorin: Wilfie & Nell

2009-01-27T00:28:00.003-05:00

Gastropubs have been a bit of the rage lately in NYC and a friend and I recently visited a brand new one called Wilfie & Nell in the West Village, on West 4th near Seventh Avenue. It's close to some of the more touristy places on Seventh but we were pleasantly surprised by how rustic it felt inside. Wood everywhere, industrial lamps emitting soft yellow lighting giving it a warm glow. The bartenders were well versed in traditional cocktails. I had two excellent brown liquor based drinks: an Old Fashioned and a Manhattan. A good selection of beers were on tap and the bar had a small but solid wine list (my friend GF gave the Cotes du Rhone a thumbs up despite the oh-so hip stemless glass). On the Saturday we went, despite temperatures in the low teens, a mini line had formed outside the bar by around 10PM. Thankfully it was not because of door drama, simply because the place was packed to the hilt with a mix of good looking, friendly 30-somethings, NYU grad students, Brooklyn B&T. I would recommend this place for a laid back gathering of good friends, but next time we're going on a weeknight and we're going to sample the supposedly top notch grub. Shepherd's pie, scotch eggs and vinegar fries here I come!

The Best Noodle Soups in NYC

2009-01-25T23:07:00.011-05:00

After the outpouring of fan mail and reaction from my Best Dumpling of NYC post (yes a grand total of 1 comment), I decided to start another one of these and make it a "series" so that I can rationalize my eating marathon through the Big Apple. I guess bulking up for the winter could have been a good enough excuse/reason on its own but it just sounds plain pathetic. Anywaym this time, the focus is on Chinese noodle or wonton soups. Japanese ramen seems to be all the rage in NYC these days but Chinese noodle soups are different: the focus is less on the broth and more on the noodles and the protein of choice that goes into it. These soups are also not as aesthetically pleasing as top notch ramen is...the Japanese have always been known to package things very nicely. But the best ones are unbelievably tasty and delicate, not to mention comforting in frigid winters like this one so far. Take a look at my soon to grow list and see if you have additional ones to add to it!

Food Sing 88

2 East Broadway (near Bowery)

This place specializes in "hand pulled" Lan Chao style noodles which are thinner and chewier than ramen. There was a variety of proteins to go with the noodles, including roast duck

(my favorite), beef tendons, short ribs, pork chop, beef tribe. You name it, they have it. They also had decent pan friend dumplings but it's not as good as the places featured in my Best Dumplings in NYC post. Oh and try someone on the menu called Special Eight Noodles or Ja Jiang Mein. It's a Chinese style bolognese made with mince pork belly. This places makes it well but my mom's is the best one still!

When Hunger Strikes And All You Want Is A Hot Dog

2009-01-24T00:02:00.006-05:00

Skip the multitude of Gray's Papayas around the city and head to Crif Dogs. This is the famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask) hot dog joint in the East Village that attracts a mass of fans because of several reasons: a) they cook their dogs by deep drying them (yes, unbreaded, deep fried) b) they decorated their small space with retro video games like Galaga and Centipeded and c) they opened a basement speakeasy called PDT (Please Don't Tell) and made it harder for people to get into than for Saddam Hussein to get into heaven. But the bar and video games are beside the point. Let's talk about the hot dogs. They have a large, creative menu including things like BLT Dog (wrapped tightly in bacon), Philly Cheesesteak Dog and a Mexican style dog again with bacon, avocado and salsa. And even more creative are collaborations with top chefs in the neighborhood who are fans: last year saw the Chang Dog and the Wylie Dog, both of which are genius creations. Plus, they stay open till 4AM which makes it perfect late night munchies spot post bar hopping. But go during weekend lunch hours or weeknight dinners and you'll get the same great food minus the drunken youngsters who are clamoring for a dog or trying to password and bribe their way into the cocktail den below.

Where to go in 2009?

2009-01-10T22:05:00.002-05:00

In 2008, I made travel a major theme for myself and set a goal of a trip a month. And I am happy to say I achieved that goal. So where to go in 2009, especially amidst this global recession? Conde Nast Traveler posted a 2009 It List and the New York Times just posted their 44 Place to Go in 2009. So many places, so little time and money. But I am determined this year to continue my adventurous spirit and travel despite the recession and the potential that I may be laid off at any given moment. Life's too short! So here's my list, in no particular order. It may grow throughout the year but there's always 2010!

1. The Galapagos

2. Berlin

3. Japan

4. Southern France

5. Scotland

6. South Africa

7. Australia

8. New Zealand

9. Grand Canyon

10. Montana

11. Oregon wine country

12. Morocco

13. Hong Kong

14. Ireland

15. Brazil

16. Colombia

17. Jose Ignacio, Uruguay

18. Chicago

19 New Mexico

20. The Madives

21. Tanzania

Gossip Girl Season Premier: In the Realm of Basses

2009-01-10T11:08:00.005-05:00

Thank god Aaron is gone. But I am sick of Serena and Dan. And Bluck and Chair too. Still, gotta love the finger puppets.

Another Greenwich Village Eatery or Residence of British PM?

2009-01-06T21:45:00.010-05:00

I recently went to the new restaurant 10 Downing Street in Greenwich Village @ 10 Downing (duh) off 6th Avenue for a late night dinner with friends after visiting another new place City Winery. I liked the atmosphere of the place: a cozy candlelit dining room with big windows looking out on the street, filled with very cool artwork all over the walls (including a black and white head shot photo series lined up along a beam near the ceiling). Even at 11PM the service was good, unfussy but attentive. We were a bit tipsy (understatement) from the wine we had earlier and probably a bit on the loud side, but they were still very nice to us (kudos to our waiter who put up with our drunken asses).

The food has been hyped in the media a lot since this place opened (Adam Platt's Where to Eat 2009, Gael Greene's positive review, a crush of foodie blogs' buzz & love) and I thought most everything lived up to the hype but others could use a bit of tweaking in the coming months to make them really good dishes. The starters we got were all great: a roasted baby beets salad with grapefruit, blue cheese and beet green vinaigrette and roasted brussel sprouts dish that had anchovy vinaigrette, soft boiled egg and parmesan.

The main courses were a bit more inconsistent: homemade Potato Gnocchi with braised porcini, butternut squash and sardinian sheep's cheese sounds great on paper, but was rubbery and cold when we got it. Bison Hanger Steak with papas bravas, romesco grilled leeks and salsa verde and the duck breast special were solid. The squid ink agnolotti with peekytoe crab, dill, tomato confit & lemon butter tasted a bit too crabby (see all photos below).

All in all, a solid meal and might be even better if given a bit more time. I don't know what the British Prime Minister eats while at home, but I bet it's not as tasty as this namesake restaurant in Manhattan! Check it out!

The Best Dumplings in NYC

2009-01-03T14:32:00.009-05:00

In 2009, I have made it a goal of mine to find the best dumplings in NYC. I am not talking about "haute" dumplings at the likes of Momofuku or Chinatown Brasserie. I am talking about authentic, hand made gems at hole in the wall establishments. I am starting a ranked list below and will add to it throughout the year. Enjoy!

1. Prosperity Dumpling @ 46 Eldridge

$1 for 5 pan fried chive & pork dumplings

$8 for a bag of 50 frozen ones to take home

Juiciest filling, thinnest wrapper. 9 out of 10!

2. Vanessa's Dumpling House @ 118 Eldridge

$1 for 4 pan fried chive & pork dumplings

$1 for 4 pan fried cabbage & pork dumplings

$9 for 50 frozen dumplings to take home

Wrapper is thicker but the cabbage & pork dumplings are very tasty. Also has a large menu of other things like bubble tea and sesame pancakes with various fillings. A much larger space than Prosperity, with seating that you can wait for.

3. Fried Dumpling @ 99 Allen

$1 for 5 pan fried pork & chive dumplings

$1 for 4 pan fried pork buns (yum)

Good filling but smaller than the others.

Ramen Noodles for the Soul

2008-12-27T14:46:00.010-05:00

A great way to warm up during the cold winter nights (besides cuddling up to your significant other) is to get some steamin' hot ramen noodles in ya. One of the best places I tried recently is none other than Ippudo which is a ramen noodle chain from Japan. "A chain", you say? "No way am I Mr./Mrs. Foodie NYC going to some CHAIN." Ahhh, well, unlike say Applebees or Chili's, this is a chain that actually cooks the food instead of microwave it. The ramen was perfectly cooked and the 3 different broths I tried each had a unique taste, with the Akamaru "Modern" being the best. It's the traditional Shiromaru "Classic" ramen dressed up with fatty melts in your mouth pork belly and the super secret special sauce. But really you can't go wrong with either one and if you like things a bit saltier, try the "spicy" ramen. It's noodles floating in a red red broth and just hot enough to give it a kick.

Oh, and while the ramen noodles are the star, don't be stingy with the appetizers...the deep fried tofu and crispy chicken wings were both superb. Why, after a meal like this, you'll never want winter to end!

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Two New Must Have Albums to End The Year With

2008-12-25T21:33:00.006-05:00

In the last few weeks, both Fall Out Boy and The All-American Rejects released their new CDs.I highly recommend you download both and add some coolness to your iPod playlists.

Fall Out Boy's Folie A Deux is a collection of rockin' pop tunes that make them worthy of the star status they currently enjoy (and not just because Pete Wentz is married to a Simpson). My faves were "The (Shipped) Gold Standard", "Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes" and the Starship Cobra Remix of "I Don't Care." In addition download "What A Catch, Donnie" which is not on the CD but a stand-alone single released around the same time...a great ballad to change it up a bit!

The All-American Reject's When The World Comes Down is the follow-up to Move Along and I predict it will produce as many hits as that hugely successful CD. "Gives You Hell" is the first single of this new one and it's typically catchy with a funny video to go along with it. And check out the title song "When The World Comes Down"...a moving call to action for the youth of today:

Here's another pity

There's another chance

You tried to learn a lesson

But you can't

If we could burn a city

And the future's burning fast

Without a change our lives will never last

We're going fast

You can sit beside me when the world comes down

If it doesn't matter then just turn around

We don't need our bags and we can just leave town

You can sit beside me when the world comes down

Style Icon: Gwyneth Paltrow

2008-12-25T21:10:00.005-05:00

Name: Gwyneth Paltrow

Occupation: Oscar winning actress-mom, wife of emo-god Chris Martin, best pretend British accent, Madonna BFF

Style: MILF status worthy sex bomb dresses, Euro glam meets all-american casual

Signature Pieces: Super short mini dresses, gladiator stiletto-platforms

My Favorite Karaoke Song

2008-12-21T20:30:00.004-05:00

I like to sing...in public, in private, serenading my imaginary boyfriend, booze karaoking (and making a fool of myself) in front of a large crowd. And without fail, everytime I sing I Want It That Way by The Backstreet Boys, not only do I feel like the winner of American Idol, I always end up getting everyone around me to sing along. Seems that this is the one song that everyone denies liking but yet knows every word to. So in case you don't know the words, here it is in all its pop glory (and a video to go along with it).

You are my fire

The one desire

Believe when I say

I want it that way

But we are two worlds apart

Can't reach to your heart

When you say

That I want it that way

(Chorus)

Tell me why

Ain't nothin' but a heartache

Tell me why

Ain't nothin' but a mistake

Tell me why

I never wanna hear you say

I want it that way

Am I your fire

Your one desire

Yes I know it's too late

But I want it that way

(Chorus)

Now I can see that we're fallin' apart

From the way that it used to be

No matter the distance

I want you to know

That deep down inside of me

You are my fire

The one desire

You are, you are, you are, you are

Don't wanna hear you say

Ain't nothin' but a heartache

Ain't nothin' but a mistake

I never wanna hear you say

I want it that way

(Chorus)

When Hunger Strikes and You're Craving The Suckling Pig You Had in Tuscany...

2008-12-21T19:59:00.010-05:00

When I was in Italy this fall, I had a life changing plate of suckling pig at a restaurant in Pienza. The skin was amazingly crispy, the meat was so tender it melted off the bone. I have not found anything like that here in NYC yet, but the pig at Porchetta came pretty close. The tiny sliver of a restaurant is on East 7th between Avenue A and 1st Avenue, north side of the street. There are only 7 things on the menu (and 6 seats...it's mostly a take out place) and the name sake porchetta dish comes in a platter (veggies and no bread) or a sandwich. Biting into the sandwich, the skin is perfectly crispy and tender roasted hog meat melted in my mouth (OK this is not a porn blog so stop thinking dirty thoughts). At $9 a pop it's a great deal. I only wish they had given me more of the crispy skin! And by the way, the Porchetta sandwich ranked #1 on Time Out NY's 100 Best Foods of 2008!

Italian Night in the West Village

2008-12-16T23:58:00.022-05:00

I walked into L'Artusi on West 10th between Bleecker and Hudson with a low expectations. The place was just 2 weeks old and even the best of the best (in this case, the team behind dell'anima, another popular West Village Italian restaurant) need to work out kinks in the beginning.

First impression: so-so. stark white, Ikea feel was a minus but the long bar and open kitchen were pluses.

Service: Hostesses were nice but made us feel like we were bothering them for wanting to have dinner at the bar. It was 7:30 and the place was empty for crying out loud. Bartender Tommy was great, made us a few of his favorite cocktails.

Crowd/Ambience: A good mix of gay/straight, suits/creatives, hot/not, hipster/posers. A few d-bags with some faux blonde, faux breasted blonds but overall a B+ at least. By 8:30 it was a hoppin' scene at the bar and we gawked and winked at some good looking men (including Mr. Lance Bass' uber tanned ex-boyfriend AND a tall guy we nick named Meaty McSweet Ass)

Cocktails: When we sat down in the front bar and took one look at the wine and cocktail list, we knew were in for a good drinking night. The wine list had a good variety and was reasonably priced. I ordered the Vermentino which was crisp and light, a perfect beginning. We also had a few cocktails throughout the night. LL had one that was sparkling wine based called "Jester" and I had a campari infused margarita. We finished the evening strong: a whiskey based twist on a Manhattan and an egg and nutmeg Bailey's look alike that is way better than it sounds (the bartender was insulted when I compared it to an Irish car bomb without the guinness).

Food: Menu looked great, full of homey, basic Italian choices. We shared the spaghetti and meatballs to start...the pasta was perfectly al dente and the meatballs flavorful though a tad bit dry. LL had the skate with olives and potatoes that was tasty despite the proliferation of fish wing bones. I had the seared monkfish with crispy prosciutto and a celery puree...never thought mushed up celery could be so yummy.

Overall: One thumb up! Give it a bit of time and it might be two thumbs up. Next time I will sit at the back raw/crudo bar near the open kitchen and try the other 5 cocktails on the menu. One advice for the place...move the bathrooms to the upstairs or the back....it's weird to have it RIGHT near the front door!

December in Chicago

2008-12-16T22:05:00.004-05:00

After a slight fight delay out of Newark and being uncomfortably surrounded by middle aged suits in cattle class, I landed in surprisingly sunny Chicago for a 2 day business trip. The sunshine and blue skies misled me to believe that it was warmer than it actually was…Chicago isn't called the Windy City for no reason and you have not felt cold if you've only spent winters in New York City and Washington DC. I began to wonder if I brought enough cold weather gear…

First order or business after getting to my hotel which was right off Michigan Avenue…lunch. When in Chicago, my thought is eat real American food and just pig out. So my travel companions and I headed to a local joint for some fatten you up food. We were not disappointed: buffalo wings the size of my fist, mozzarella sticks piled high in a basket, burgers that are large enough to feed a small village. In typical fashion, I devoured all of it and felt ill all afternoon. But it was worth it. After lunch, took a stroll around up and down Michigan Avenue…the decorations for the holidays are out and made everything very festive. But after 4 blocks, frostbite started to set into my feet so I headed back to the hotel.

First evening's dinner was Chicago deep dish from Giordano's. We enjoyed it in dark rooms while watching a focus group of people discuss our business ideas. We way over ordered: spinach and parmesan and sausage, onions, mushroom. The crust was perfectly crusty and chewy and so thick that we only each had one slice and took the rest home for breakfast. Nothing like cold pizza in the morning...

Second day was all about working but we managed to get out for lunch at some steaks at Gibsons. This is a well known old school steak joint right off the north end of Michigan Avenue. We ordered a variety of meat types: 10 oz filet mignons, medium rare. NY strip 10 oz which was the small size, rare. Starters included Bookbinders Soup which is a delicious tomato based soup with white fish and vegatables. Highlight besides the tasty steaks was spotting Bill Rancic from the very first Apprentice having a nice business lunch with a few folks.

Dinner for our last night at the focus groups was Chicago style dogs from Portillo's. For those who are not well versed, a Chicago Style Hot Dog is a steamed all beef Hot Dog topped with yellow mustard, bright green relish, onions, tomato wedges, pickle spear or slice, sport peppers and a dash of celery salt served in the all-important steamed poppyseed bun. Yes, heartburn city. After trying it the verdict is in: I like the New York style hot dog better: mustard, plain and simple!

Style Icon: Anne Hathaway

2008-12-15T21:40:00.011-05:00

Name: Anne Hathaway

Occupation: Actress, former girlfriend of corrupt Italian financier, widest smile since Julia Roberts

Style: Girlie-Glam-Prep, Retro Young Hollywood

Signature pieces: ruffle-y dresses, oversized sunglasses, leather jackets, killer heels

Chair and Bluck

2008-12-15T19:02:00.003-05:00

Gossip Girl finale for 2008, as re-enacted by finger puppets. I really hate Aaron, I hope he is off the show in 2009. He is NOT EVEN cute.

Style Icon: Alexa Chung

2008-12-15T01:22:00.010-05:00

Name: Alexa Chung
Occupation: 20-something British TV presenter/personality, model, sometime DJ, girlfriend of Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner
Style: Laid back chic, trend forward accessorizing, hipster schoolgirl
Signature pieces: flats, cropped tuxedo jackets, stripe shirts

November in Buenos Aires

2008-12-14T21:42:00.030-05:00

Just as cold weather started to invade NYC in late November, my friend KS and I jetted to Argentina and spent our Thanksgiving in the Paris of the South: Buenos Aires. It took us 11 hours and a lost luggage (don't get me started) to get there. And it was well worth it. We stayed at Faena + Universe, a hip (though out of the way) hotel in the Puerto Madera area. It was all about the pool scene (see pic below) at this modern hotel frequented by rockers, models and celebrities from all over the world. Loved it...a great place to relax especially given the summer weather.

We spent our first afternoon by the pool polishing off a bottle of champagne (complaining about American Airlines accidentally routing my bag to Rio) and then the evening having dinner at Gran Bar Danzon where we had some great Argentinian Malbec and gawked at the beautiful people. Everyone is gorgeous in BA, and I mean GORGEOUS. The girls all look like Adrianna Lima from Victoria's Secret (though the guys complain that they all look the same) and the guys are tall, dark and handsome and very flirty. After dinner we headed for drinks at Million. I loved the place...a historical mansion turned watering hole with a beautiful outdoor garden lounge area. Felt like Eva Peron herself was going to walk in any minute with her entourage. All around great first night in the city.

Though I did not see Evita at Million, I did pay my respects at her resting place (see pic above) in La Recoleta Cemetery, located in Recoleta, a quite posh neighborhood. All of Argentina's famous people are buried here, many in elaborate marble mausoleums. It was broad daylight when I visited but still a bit creepy, with many of the older mausoleums in disrepair and coffins out in the open for all to see. I said a prayer for all the souls buried there and rounded off the afternoon with some shopping in Palermo Soho. Remember, at this point, I still did not have my luggage (it was en route from Rio to Miami supposedly) so had to buy some bikinis, dresses, outfits for a summer evening out.

Second night, met up with some friends of friends (KCB and crew) in Palermo Viejo for some parrilla action. Ended up at a neighborhood place called La Dorita and fell in love with the chorizos, provoleta (grilled cheese with herbs) the steaks of course and had the best mollejas (sweetbread) I've ever had in my life. Oh, and bottles upon bottles of very good, very cheap cabernet and malbec. Topped off the evening with some drinking at a local bar called Congo. Good times (and LATE nights...people don't eat dinner until 10PM and bars don't get going until 1AM...thank God I live in NYC and am used to late nights sort of).

Third day, KS and I decided to walk around town and check out the Recoleta neighborhood and do some more shopping. By now we had already had so much to eat and so many late nights that I spent most of the afternoon napping after shopping. The evening was spent in our hotel restaurant El Bistro and at the hotel bar where we danced to an Argentinian rock band covering lame American songs and were chatted up by a fun gay couple from the Midwest, a very old Irish man who has clearly seen better days and a not so attractive young Brit named Percy (how very Harry Potter-esque). Not our best night in town but after 2 nights of fun, I was ready to accept a lame one. Besides, I was STILL without my luggage (which was en route from Miami to god knows where).

Last day, were were supposed to go to a polo match but instead hired a driver to show us around town. Turned out to be a great idea since Buenos Aires is a very spread out city. We checked out La Boca which is like a more run down but more colorful Lower East Side of BA. There was a football game at La Boca stadium (see below) so we got to witness some hooligan football chanting. Fun.

Also checked out San Telmo which was our favorite neighborhood, with cobblestone streets, lots of antique shops and a West Village atmosphere to it.

We took some souvenir shots in front of the balcony (below pic) where Evita sang "Don't Cry For Me Argentina"...well OK, not really that but where she resigned the Vice Presidency after she found out she had cancer. She was only in her mid 30's when she died!

That evening, we met up again with our now friend (no longer friend of friend) KCB for some final cocktails at Congo and took stock of how wonderful the trip had been despite the fact that my bags showed up 24 hours before we came back to NYC. I would definitely go back to Buenos Aires again. Next time, I will stay a bit longer, not fly American Airlines again, and have even more meat, wine and late nights and maybe venture out to see the rest of Argentina. May 2010 is the bicentennial celebration of Argentina's revolution against Spain and just might be the perfect time for a repeat visit!

Holiday Party Fashion: Cocktail Attire

2008-12-14T20:52:00.008-05:00

It's holiday party season in NYC and despite the fact that we are in a recession, a girl can never have too many cocktail dresses. Short dresses, long gowns. Hot numbers from top designers like Jill Stuart, Herve Leger or Diane Von Furstenburg. Cool, hip and wallet friendly numbers from Forever 21, Topshop or H&M. This year, the look for guys young and old is what I call The Chuck Bass. Bow ties in colors other than black, plaid man scarves over the tux. And if you can get a fop-ish hipster hairdo, sport a moody scowling look on your face and speak in a breathless tone with a faux prep school UES accent, you're all set. No tie is a close second and the darling of past seasons, the skinny black tie rocker look was no where to be found. For women, the short cocktail dress is still the way to go and the shinier the material the better. Sequins used to be more of an old woman look frankly but this year, the number of shiny mini dresses on 21 year olds was eye opening. I like shiny as much as the next fashionista but this year for me, it's all about ruffles. Ruffle-y shoes, dresses, tops, bags. And stilettos. The funkier the color, the better. The higher the heels, the sexier. Dressing up is such fun!

When Hunger Strikes But You're Hung Over and Cannot Get Up Off the Couch...

2008-12-13T12:36:00.008-05:00

I was supposed to meet my friend LL today for brunch at Cookshop. Cookshop, one of the best restaurants in NYC serving a variety of fresh, locavore dishes like grass-fed beef brisket, white cheddar grits, caramelized cauliflower fritata. Delicious. But I didn't make it. Why? Because I was hung over and could not get out of bed. So instead of catching up with a good friend who I have not seen in a while and enjoying an award winning brunch, I logged onto Seamless Web and got french fries and caesar salad delivered from a diner in the neighborhood. French fries and caesar salad don't even go together. While Seamless Web is a god send for New Yorkers who have small kitchens and no time to cook and for irresponsible (and hungry) people like me who drink too much on a Friday night and miss brunch with a friend, I have nothing to say to myself but this: PATHETIC.

Door Drama in Tribeca?!?!?!

2008-12-12T13:59:00.014-05:00

I live and work in Tribeca/Financial District and my friends and I always complain about the lack of good, cool places for after work drinks in the neighborhood. There are many top notch restaurants (Bouley's whole empire is mostly located below canal) and hip late night bars, but nothing really in between. So we welcomed the arrival of Macao Trading Company with open arms and scheduled a group happy hour there this week. We heard this place is a marriage between the Employee Only team and the Chanterelle crew and so had high hopes for the food, the cocktails and the atmosphere. The location is at Church and Walker and since it's the same folks as my fave bar Smith and Mills, I knew to look for a non descript, warehouse looking door with no signs. I know this sound totally pretentious but I like it when I can't find a place...it speaks to it's hipness. Once you walk in, the place evokes a colonial Asia style, with a large bar up front and a bi-level dining room towards the back. While I didn't eat anything, my friends who did said the food was great (small and big bites divided into Portuguese style and Chinese style...afterall, this is meant to be Macao circa 1940). I did try a few from the cocktail menu and liked the Blood Peach Belini (never heard of blood peaches but it was yummy) and Yellow Fever (not the best name for a drink but it's a bourbon based drink so enough said). Didn't like the Kaffir Jimlet but can't deny it's creativity (and popularity...it ended up being the drink of choice for the evening for most of my friends). So all sounds good right? My favorite friends gathered together in my hood enjoying an evening out at a cool new downtown destination? Ummm...not really actually. They had to go and ruin it by creating door drama for us. Basically, according to the doorman, starting at 8PM the place only lets in people with dinner reservations and enough people up to capacity for the bar area. Come on, we all know this is just code for "we are pretentious posers and will only let in hot chicks after a certain time." There isn't anything inherently wrong with that except...WE ARE IN TRIBECA. This is not the East Village OR the West Village. We are no where near the Lower East Packing District or the Meatpacking District. It's Tribeca where people are much older and wiser and richer. Give it a break and get real.

So, in closing, here's my report card for Macao Trading Company

Atmosphere: A-
Food: Supposedly A-
Cocktails: A
Door Drama and Attitude: F--

Now, you ask, what is the likelihood I will return? Ummm...probably medium to high. Yes, I am a sucker/sell-out but I am also a realist. There just isn't anywhere else to go in Tribeca.

Zac Posen Is Only 28 Years Old!

2008-12-09T23:55:00.007-05:00

I just bought a Zac Posen bag on Gilt Group. My first "designer" bag. A black leather bag with pleats details, a deconstructed bow and a faux chain strap. I know it sounds more like the description of a special edition S&M barbie but trust me, it's a super cool bag. I DO feel semi guilty about it because even though the price was great, there IS a recession out there. But I really wanted something Zac Posen. Ever since I saw his spring collection at New York Fashion Week a few months ago, I've been coveting his long flowy gowns and short girly dresses. Apparently Natalie Portman is a muse of his as is Claire Danes. Ahhh, to be young, hot and famous. I may not be 28 anymore or famous yet, but damn it I WILL look hot in my new Zac Posen bag. PS: It's actually better than the Marc by Marc Jacobs Fishbag from the Chatham Resort Collection!

The Coolest Little Bar in Tribeca

2008-12-09T14:36:00.004-05:00

My favorite watering hole in Tribeca (my 'hood) is Smith and Mills at 71 North Moore (between Hudson and Greenwich). It's a smaller and I think hipper version of the Employees Only genre. So hip in fact it's a bit hard to find...look for an unmarked non-descript looking wooden carriage house door that is on the north side of the block and closer to Greenwich. The bartenders there are very nice by NYC standards and they look like 40's gangsters/emo rock band lead singers (one of them is quite cute and looks like the lead singer of Panic at the Disco). It's primarily a bar but they do have a small menu of decent grub like Fennel Mac and Cheese and Trout Salad. Their cocktail menu is pretty ecclectic too and includes new-fangled versions of old school cocktails plus a small but solid selection of wine and beer. My favorites are the Old Fashioned and a classic gin (Hendricks of course) martini that will blow Bond away. The atmosphere is pretty laid back for a hipstaurant and it's never really annoyingly packed. The clientele is what I call Hipbecasters ("hipsters below canal")...primarily Tribeca loft-owners who used to have a high coolness quotient but then they turned 30-something, got married and started working in the financial industry. My only complaint about the place is it's cash only...

Michelle Obama's Toughest Decision: What to Wear to the Inaugural Ball!

2008-12-06T10:57:00.002-05:00

So Women's Wear Daily has asked a slew of top designers to sketch their design for inauguration gowns and outfits for Michelle Obama. We're talking the TOP designers in the world. What would I have to do (besides become first lady) to get them to sketch outfits for me? I need outfits for walking aimlessly around Soho, for presentations at work to the old, white males who run the company, for happy hours with my friends in midtown, for beach parties in the Hamptons, for jetsetting in economy class to Buenos Aires...Michelle Obama I bet doesn't have as many needs for outfits as I do!

Anyway, here are a few of my favorites (DVF, Carolina Herrera, Marc Jacobs, Monique Lhullier, Peter Som, Michael Kors) but check out the whole slide show on WWD. Personally, I think she should pick an up and coming young designer like Peter Som or Philip Lim or Thakoon instead of the obvious choices of Kors, Donna Karan and the like. It will make her even cooler than she is.

When That Late Night Hunger Strikes...

2008-12-06T10:14:00.002-05:00

And you're in the East Village, check out Black Iron Burger Shop. The Black Iron Burger comes with double patties, fried onions, cheddar and HORSERADISH. It was a perfect way to end the evening. Oh and get some fries and onion rings with that too. And a shake and beer. If you're gonna pig out at two in the morning, you might as well make it a full meal. In addition to the great food, the design of the place is great too. A small space but well laid out with many seats and tables. And they had these cool antique-y light fixtures and a very cool ceiling fan contraption that my friend MK coveted. Both looked like they were from the 1920's or something, which was appropriate given that last night (Dec. 5th) marked the repeal of Prohibition (1920-33) with the ratification of the 21st Amendment...

Lead Singer Crushes?

2008-12-04T19:55:00.001-05:00

I am an avid music fan that spends way too much dough on iTunes each week and like to check out live shows often in and around NYC. Last night, I went to see The Teenagers and Vampire Weekend, two indie pop favorites of the modern preppie hipster youth.

The Teenagers is a French synth-pop band that sounds like a bad imitation of Devo with a French accent and they look a bit like the dorky guys in Sixteen Candles who forked over their allowance to check out Molly Ringwald's panties. Would not recommend them at all, really terrible sound.

On the other hand, Vampire Weekend another "of the moment" band with an 80's sound, rocked the house (pictured above). They sound like a cross between The Police and Talking Heads and look like the guys depicted in The Official Preppy Handbook circa 1983. Check our their debut self titled album...some good tunes on there including Walcott, A-Punk and Oxford Comma. Ezra Koenig, the lead singer who I think is only in his early 20's (the whole audience was quite young... as my friend GF said, it's weirdly exhilarating and humiliating at the same time to see a show where we were old enough to be everyone's mother) is kinda cute in a nerdy dorky New England kinda way. So it got me thinking...who are some of the other nerdy dorky lead singers that are cute amongst the crop of today's popular, emo, alternative, pop rock bands?

Here's my initial list, not in any particular order:

Brandon Flowers of The Killers

Brendon Urie of Panic at the Disco

Tyson Ritter of All American Rejects

Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys and Last Shadow Puppets

2008: A Year in Review Part 2

2008-12-02T22:20:00.001-05:00

OK, more "best of"s and "most"s for the year...this time focusing a bit more on TV and entertainment:

Best South Park episode: "About Last Night"

Those of you who know me know I LOVE South Park. This episode aired the night after the election and pondered this question: what if the whole election was just a scam? And that instead of fighting to be the leader of the free world, Obama and McCain were just 2 diamond thieves who ran for President in order to steal the world's biggest diamond from the Natural History Museum? Makes you wonder, right?

Guilty Pleasure of the Year: Gossip Girl on the CW

I am addicted and I know you are too. You just have to admit it, come to terms with it, embrace it. Is it so wrong that I want to be a rich New York City high school teenager who wears the best clothes, go to the best parties and sleep with the hottest guys (who are also rich high school teenagers)? OK maybe that last bit makes me a "cougar". But is it so wrong that I want my own Chuck Bass? And my prom dress to be designed by Jenny Humphrey? And my ex-boyfriend to be a sensitive, smart "poor" chap who lives in an amazing loft in Brooklyn and whose father was the John Mayer of his time (how cool)? If this isn't the ultimate escape from life as a single 30-something gal in Manhattan, I don't know what is (besides drugs and alcohol and the Hamptons of course). Oh, and check out the hilarious Gossip Girl Finger Puppet Parodies...they are genius.

Worst Case of Hair Envy: Me Coveting Blake Lively's Hairdo

It's not the blonde thing I covet. It's the long, waviness that just looks so natural. I even bought hair "tools" to try to make my very straight long hair look like this. Hair tools! We're talking curling iron, hot rollers, hairspray, the works. This is me, the girl who used to only shampoo her hair, and with hand soap no less. Now I have more hair products than Frederic Fekkai's flag ship salon on Fifth Avenue. Minus Frederic Fekkai's hair styling talent of course. It's so frustrating I actually considered getting a perm. Yes, this is how obsessed I am.

Oh and this hair looks a bit like Brad Pitt as Achilles in the movie Troy. I loved him in that movie.

Worst Case of Dance Envy: Beyonce's Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

This is a very recent phenomenon. I love Beyonce already and this video is just brilliant. Nothing but Beyonce and two Beyonce look a likes doing an awesome Fosse-esque dance routine. In black and white. Like a modern day Supremes. She looks amazing and the song is very fun ("if you like it then you should have put a ring on it..."). I myself and a multitude of others who have zero dance background (and below zero natural dance talent) are trying to learn the whole routine. I think I am getting about half a frame/half a move a day. At this rate, I should be able to master it in time to audition for the "So You Think You Can Dance" 2009 season. Don't hold your breath.

Hottest Detective on the CSI/Law and Order Series: Eddie Cahill (Don Flack) on CSI: NY

This changes with each new spin off. I thought Gary Dourdan (Warrick Brown) was pretty hot from the regular CSI and then his character got killed this year. Adam Rodriguez (Eric Delko) on CSI: Miami was another candidate. The Law and Order series had Chris Noth there for a while and Jesse L. Martin (Ed Green) who left last year. The new ADA Michael Cutter played by British actor Linus Roache is pretty cute I think in a very waspy conservative kind of way. But nobody comes CLOSE to my man Eddie. Just look at him. Need I say more? Watch CSI: NY...he has a love interest this year and it's all rather exciting!

OK, enough for now. I know you guys must think I have no life, drooling after fictional TV characters. Wait till you see what I have on the list for Part 3! Till next time...

2008: A Year in Review Part 1

2008-12-02T20:24:00.001-05:00

With December comes a strange fascination that our society has with rank ordering stuff into "tops" and "mosts" of the year. Time Magazine's Person of the Year (yup, it's going to be Obama this year). Blackwell's Worst Dressed Celebrities of the Year (so OK he's dead but whoever is taking over, I think Rachel Zoe deserves to be on that list). The Vatican's Top Ten Hottest Priests of Rome (ummm, I am not joking on this one...have a calendar to prove it).

So what were my own "tops" and "mosts" of 2008? I think it's going to take the whole month of December to list them out but here's where I will start. Travel was a key theme for me this year so many of my picks reflect that. Feel free to share your own if you h

Most Out of This World Dining Experience (so far in my life): Dinner @ Akelarre in San Sebastian, Spain

I can't even describe how amazing this meal was. The restaurant is perched on top of a hill overlooking the brilliant ocean views of San Sebastian, a beach resort town on the northwest cost of Spain (a real foodie heaven...Arzak is here as well but we could not get a reservation). Each of the courses was an experience in itself, before you even take a bite of it anything on the plate. It was better than...no, not sex, but better than most other things in life. Seriously.

Most Addictive Time Suck of the Year: Facebook

'Nuff said.

The Hardest and Longest I've Laughed in Nearly a Decade and We're Talking Bent Over Belly Aching Laughed: Cape Cod Labor Day Weekend

Going to Cape Cod (or as we called it, Cape Code) with 3 of my best gay boyfriends turned out not just to be a genius idea, but THE genius idea. We stayed at one of the guy's family home in Chatham and proceeded to stock the fridge with all sorts of booze (see left). The Three Stooges (L, M and M) showed me P-town in all its glory, pantomimed and karaoked their unique club version of Be Without You by Mary J. Blige ("And I can't sleep without you baby..."), tried their best to be my wingmen at The Chatham Squire (but failed miserably as they were gawking at guys for themselves) and got me front row tickets to the Marc by Marc Jacobs runway show where the Fishbag was debuted in the Chatham Resort Collection (see right). I laughed till I cried pretty much from morning till...well, next morning (we stayed up late) and I think extended my life by at least 5 years. So thanks boys. XOXO.

OK, enough for one day. Stay tuned...

March in Jackson Hole, Wyoming

2008-03-28T19:29:00.004-04:00

Day 1: My friend and I land in Jackson from NYC after an easy connecting flight in Atlanta. We quickly changed into snow worthy gear for some snowshoeing action at the Grand Teton National Park, 15 minutes from the airport and home of the Teton Range that includes peaks over 12,000 feet high. We strapped on rented snowshoes and did a quick hike up the easy trail for some novice level action. The landscape was amazingly pristine, with snow covered pine trees and mountains all around us as far as the eye could see. An hour later the altitude got to us so we hiked back and looked for some après snowshoe happy hours. Cadillac Grille in the town of Jackson was the perfect place and we took full advantage of their drink specials, opting for 2 for 1 local beers. Now sufficiently happy, we checked into the Snake River Lodge, a posh but rustic resort at the foot of the Teton Village ski slopes 20 minutes outside of town. After a quick shower, the evening ended with dinner at the Rendezvous Bistro, where we enjoyed some wine and venison and then hit the sack.

Day 2: The next morning, Heart Six tour company picked us up at 7AM to head to their ranch for a day of snowmobiling fun. We headed to the Continental Divide which is known for some as the best snowmobile “playgrounds” in the world! After a hearty breakfast, our guide Keith took us out to tear it up and down slopes of powdery snow at its best.

We rode on all sorts of terrain: groomed trails, up and down bunker-like hillsides, speeding on wide flat plains of deep snow. It didn’t take long before we started doing jumps and showed off a few scrapes and crashes along the way. Lunch of mostly fried food did its best to reenergize us in the afternoon but the nearly 6 hours of riding was a workout. Exhausted and thirsty, we headed for the Silver Dollar Bar and Grill which is connected to the Wort Hotel, a landmark lodge in town. A couple of Jameson shots later, we taxied back to our hotel on the early side. You’d think riding on snow in a motored sled requires no energy at all, but we were beat.

Day 3: Talk of morning skiing quickly changed to sleeping in, as I woke up feeling sore in every inch of my body. We took our time getting out of bed, instead enjoying the hotel room amenities: fireplace, room service, cable TV. At around noon, we got up and walked around the Teton Village resort area where there were 3 ski lifts up to a wide array of ski slopes. My head said try skiing but my stomach and muscles said grab food and rest. So we did the latter and headed to Planet Palate, a great vegetarian/health food cafe to balance out the red meat and fried foods from the previous days. The coconut water and “goddess” salad were just what I needed and we felt rejuvenated enough to head to town for some shopping. The thing to buy in Jackson: T-shirts and sweatshirts featuring decals of rodeo cowboys or moose. I bought a few for my friends back home and then stopped at Snow King Mountain to watch the World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb, where riders from all over the world race up 1,500 vertical feet on the steepest slope face.

All the extreme sports-spectating got us hungry and thirsty again so we headed to the Snake River Brewery for a sampling of local award winning beers (try the Zonker Stout). After a couple of beers we partied all around town for a few hours before dragging ourselves home.

Day 4: Before heading back to NYC, I booked a massage at the Snake River Lodge spa which had amazing service and facilities. There were lots of activities we didn’t get to do like dog sledding, wild life tours, and oh right skiing. But as we headed to the airport for our flight, I am already scheming my return trip.