Rachel: Photo Diary
Today I decided there was more to explore at Mad. Sq. Eats. I checked out Calexico’s tacos and their chipotle pork quesadilla. That sauce was worth writing home about.
I got a lot of work done at the apartment before joining Mr. T and his crew at Room Service. Room Service is a Thai restaurant conveniently located near Mr. T’s workplace (one of his teammates is in her last two weeks of pregnancy and it’s uncomfortable for her to walk much farther). I’ll say this: on the menu, I ordered the Pad Noh Mai, something I’d never had before — a dish they proclaimed as truly Thai spicy. The description said, “Very spicy. This plate won’t be adjusted to suit American tastes.” I felt like a bad-ass since I thought it tasted normally spiced. (Maybe the mango mojito was just that refreshing?) The food was very good. Seattle has this genre covered well already, so while I wouldn’t have normally selected this place, it was a happy dinner.
The party broke up as we entered the magic hour and I suggested to Mr. T and the Young G that we check out The High Line.
We got even more ambitious — since Young G wanted to see it, we headed to Lower Manhattan for the WTC site and Wall Street.
We came across the Irish Famine Memorial. On the top side of that complex, it is remarkably like rural Ireland — a patch of dirt and scraggy bushes with a winding path to a viewpoint, right in the shadow of office towers.
But these are probably my favorite images of Lower Manhattan that evening, taken by Mr. T:
Halfway to a ~hundred floors, the new WTC
The Jersey Shore, from the Irish Famine Memorial
The Bull and the Taxi
Times Square on a Monday Night
In the Chelsea apartment this time, we had this great view of 7th Avenue. Sure, our situation was a little noisier than our last visit, but I realized the spacious room setup enabled me to feel apart of the bustling city while I worked away at the desk. I could look out briefly for people-watching opportunities.
At lunch, I checked out the nearby Madison Square Eats food truck congregation. I picked up some Ginger Syrup from the P&H Soda Co. to carry back to Seattle, some Hibiscus Tea from Spices and Tease, a feta and olive pretzel from Sigmund’s Pretzel Shop for mid-afternoon, and The Bee Sting from Roberta’s for lunch. Oh, and maybe some Crack Pie from Momofuku Milk Bar’s outpost found its way into my bag.
Early afternoon, the housekeeper stopped by. She saw me starting the spicy soppressata and honey pizza and said she could come back later, when I was “done eating.” Obviously, she doesn’t know me well yet, because I couldn’t see that happening for the remainder of the week.
When Mr. T & his coworker (G) arrived back at the building after their day, we went to Momofuku Ssäm Bar. I’ve been meaning to get to this place for YEARS. It lives up to the hype. We had pork belly buns, straight up pork on a plate with espresso flavored mustard, braised oxtail dumplings, and chili soft shell crab with sour plum, lemon confit, and green garlic. Everyone had their fill. We skipped dessert at the restaurant to check out Momofuku Milk Bar (LES) where I bought a compost cookie and Grasshopper Pie with a Candy Bar Pie to keep it company.
benton’s smoky mountain ham
We finished our day at the Breslin next to the Ace Hotel, after taking the Young G to see Times Square for the first time.
Mr. T & I arrived at JFK in NY mid-afternoon. After the longest wait at the cabbie stand, followed by a traffic-filled journey, we arrived to the familiar apartment building in Chelsea. Comforting to return after six months and recognize the same doormen, though the name has changed and the building is undergoing a serious upgrade.
We wasted no time in our dinner search and bee-lined to The Spotted Pig. They warned of an hour wait, so I consulted the Google map I created for the trip. Employees Only was merely blocks away! A perfect place for refreshment, where we could while away the hour. I had the Ginger Smash (Ginger Smash Muddled Ginger Root & Fresh Kumquats shaken with Pueblo Viejo Blanco Tequila, Rhum Clement Creole Shrubb & Fresh Lime Juice, served over ice) and he had the Ruby Tuesday (Wild Turkey Rye shaken with Benedictine, Fresh Lemon Juice & pureed Black Cherries). Perfect start to New York.
Back at the Spotted Pig, we ordered the pot of pickles (of course), the char-grilled burger (delicious, as friends advertised), and sheep’s milk ricotta gnudi with brown butter & sage. I’m a sucker for browned butter!
Should you need a studio for a pet portrait, I’ve got a lead in the West Village:
M’s family suggested we head out to the countryside today to visit Krivoklat Castle. We took the tour but ended up on a Czech one while we toured the inside. Hence, I have few details to relay. We learned a bit more later from Vladimir, M’s uncle, who worked here as a tour guide over 20 years ago. (He is now in tech, working in Eastern European operations of companies you may have heard about.)
Afterward, we retired to the country home’s gazebo for cake and tea. The cake was thoughtfully sent along with us to Krivoklat from Prague, by Vladimir’s sweet mother.
Country homes were a big deal during the communist era. People weren’t allowed to leave the confines of the borders, so every weekend they journeyed to the countryside. Those with more status had homes closer to Prague. (He added that treks began every Friday for all the workers at noon.)
Later in the evening, while M and her family held a gathering at their apartment for family members, J, Mr. T, and I went to check out a recommendation we received from my local contact for U Modre Kachnicky (The Blue Duckling). Dinner lived up to reputation, but the flaming dessert and the talented pianist will stick with my memory far longer.
We walked home past that ever-evolving John Lennon Wall.
We began our sightseeing today at the Strahov Monastery and Library, after a satisfying lunch at Pivovar Strahov, the onsite brewery.
From there, we walked back down into the main city through the Castle Grounds. En route we went past St. Vitus Cathedral.
We entered the cathedral at the perfect time of day. For all the churches I’ve seen in Europe, this is the first time, I’ve timed it so well to see all the colors reflected.
We walked downhill into old town.
The Museum of Communism is now upstairs from McDonald’s.
Our plans for the night included Aida at the State Opera.
Opera-watching’s hard work. We rewarded ourselves at the EuroFood in Wenceslas Square, a la Bourdain.
A business meeting on the west side of the Vltava motivated me across town on a sleepy, partly cloudy morning. After attending to that, and lunch at the Cafe Savoy, Mr. T and I wandered the Mala Strana.
We soon found the Lennon wall, a constant work in progress.
Nearby, we found another remnant of Euro youth pop culture: the love locks.
A Prague visit would be incomplete without anything obviously surreal:
Soon, we needed to wrap our wanderings up, for the evening book launch party being held in conjunction with the opening art exhibition. We took the opposite of a shortcut to the apartment to make sure we paid homage to the local Gehry installation.
Seattle was robbed with that EMP blob.
We headed back to the Castle for the evening book launch party. The book’s publication was held in conjunction with the exhibition, and tonight featured speeches by descendants of the Futurists. Family stories were shared, and many family members from around the world met each other for the first time before and after the main presentations.
When the after-party finally ended, our gang of 6 made our way to Malostranska Beseda, for another typico Czech dinner. Mr. T ordered yet another pork leg, and the beer drinkers had their toast!
While others slept, I found myself wide awake this morning at 5:30. The sun was just rising as I packed up my gear and started walking through the Old Town.
It would be hours before anyone else in our gang was awake.
But, once everyone was up, we headed across the Charles Bridge for lunch at riverside Kampa Park.
Um, not my gang, but the most interesting picture of the early afternoon.
Post-Kampa, we had several social engagements for the day.
The main motivation for our Prague trip was to join our close friends for an opening art exhibition, honoring my good friend’s great-grandmother. My friend’s g-grandmother was the artist Růžena Zátková, the only Czech in the Futurist school. Ruzena was truly living in the future, and her short life was a grand adventure. She was born in Southern Bohemia, married a Russian diplomat in Italy young, lived with him at the Spanish Steps in Rome in splendor, mingled with Stravinsky and Diagheliv, ran off to Mallorca to draw and paint with a Latin American artist colony, and designed costumes for the emerging Russian Ballet. She was bold and thoroughly modern. She died too young at 38, of consumption, while convalescing in the Swiss Alps.
Recently, the president of the country learned she was the sole Czech Futurist, and as a point of national pride, they are honoring her this year with an exhibition at the Prague Castle.
Before the crowds arrived for the evening opening gala, we joined our friends on their family tour.
Ruzena’s portrait of the Czech Futurist, Marinetti
Ruzena on Mallorca
We spent time wandering the exhibit, absorbing it all, while M documented everything. Eventually we had to speed back to our apartment to prepare for the Gala.
The opening gala was held in the Prague Castle. Presentations were given in English and Czech, to a packed ballroom where the people-watching provided hours of entertainment. At the time, I appreciated how beautiful our ballroom was and how stately the castle, but I did not yet know that public access to the castle is only allowed one day a year. Later in the week when we learned this, I felt even more lucky and honored we’d made it there.
It’s funny where life takes you, when you make it a point time and again, to show up.
We walked leisurely home from the Castle, past St. Vitus Cathedral on the grounds, stopping at Villa Richter at St. Wenceslas Vineyard for a late dinner.
Right after noon, we arrived in Prague to meet our friends M & J near the baggage claim. We sailed through customs to meet our driver, who took us to our apartment near Male Namesti Square (apartments at U Kapra highly recommended).
After a quick unpacking session, we wandered the city to find ATMs, meet M’s parents, buy groceries, and generally acquaint ourselves with the area.
The Astronomical Clock, at the Old Town Hall is currently under repairs. I was okay with this – I find the hourly displays overrated, though they make for interesting people-watching (and photo snapping).
I realized we’d found ourselves in Prague at a great time — the start of Easter celebrations. These painted eggs were everywhere.
Later, we’d learn about these Easter switches, called Pomlázka. They’re made of pussywillow branches, tied with ribbons, to use on women. Not kidding! According to Czech tradition, boys use these to “gently swat” girls on Easter Monday. Supposed to guarantee beauty and health for the upcoming year. Girls reward the boys for this “treat” by giving back brightly colored painted eggs.
When our first day errands were done, M, J, Mr. T, and I settled into our first pub dinner at U Provaznice, aka The Rope Maker’s Wife.
We thought other illustrations inside the menu were remarkably Angelina Jolie-like. There’s also a legend the place is haunted.
If you’ve see the Bourdain episode where he goes to Prague, you’ll recognize the massive portions of meat. This place had the perfect comfort food for the end of a long travel day.
And interesting menu options:
Despite our curiosity about the Smelly Fingers of Ugly Joe, we did not order them. We did notice in the French menu that the name was a French tongue-twister, with no mention of a Joe.
Full of dumplings and pork, we ended the day with our first walk of the Charles Bridge.
This was taken shortly before midnight Seattle time, covering today’s theme for picture of the day: air travel. Taken during our layover at CDG, in Paris.
The Muffin Top Trio reunited for their first excursion to Vancouver BC since August 2010.
Soon, my pretties — soon, we are returning to Vancouver BC for a Greatest Hits Tour.
Sorry for such long delays, dear readers. Turns out, this new thing I’m doing takes up a whole lotta daytime hours. I have high hopes to get all caught up…I still take pictures everyday.
So. Where were we? Oh, yes, NYC.
This morning, Kate, Mr. T & I arose with hot plans to revisit my favorite new NY establishment — Russ & Daughter’s. Mr. T became a convert.
My beloved pastrami smoked salmon with The Works.
Then, we 3 walked through the Lower East Side to the East Village to SoHo to the West Village & Greenwich over to the High Line before heading back to the apartment. I think we clocked somewhere around five miles in the sunshine and 70 degrees.
Oh, and we saw puppies in Greenwich Village. Always a bonus.
For a brief hour there as we were thwarted through bridge closures and rough traffic, it nearly appeared we’d become overnight refugees in the city. But, we made it to JFK just in time for sunset and our departure home to Seattle.
Patriotism in the L.E.S.
Amelia & Leit met me in Chelsea for breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien. Once upon a time, I traveled with Amelia to Uruguay after meeting up in Buenos Aires. It was good to catch up with all that’s happened since — back then, she’d only just met the person who later became her husband!
How many smurfs had to die so I could wear this blue hat at C21? Photo by Kate
Next, I tracked down Kate & Colleague at Century 21 in Lower Manhattan. They were spending time shopping ’til their flights mid-afternoon, so I joined them. I have to say, nothing restores your faith in America & capitalism quite like seeing what goes in there, across the street from the WTC site.
We trekked over to Soho & the L.E.S., ending up at Russ & Daughters, masters of salmon, and a few shops down — Yonah Shimmel, purveyor of knish. Russ & Daughter’s pastrami smoked salmon on a flagel with the works was not unlike a religious experience for me. This shiksa was in love.
Time had slipped away from us & my two companions now needed to get on the road. I was sad to say good-bye and joked that if something happened to their travel plans, we have a couch!
Now solo, I decided it was time to get some culcha at the Tenement Musuem, but I was gonna incorporate this with finishing an L.E.S. food tour I found on Chow.com (I’d already covered Yonah and Russ & D). I went off official itinerary quickly, as the first thing I found was the Doughnut Plant — long ago recommended by Frank. I bought goodies for later, where I’d decide these are THE BEST ANYWHERE. A sample of flavors:
Next stop: Kossar’s Bialys. I still prefer bagels, but I wanted to get these at the source to judge my opinion. As I was exiting, I turned to see: The Pickle Guys. Now those who really know my food preferences (hi, Mom!) know that at this point, I probably heard angels singing. I might have a bit of a problem but it started way back in preschool. I love them. I buy a lot of pickles, like most foodies buy kinds of mustard. But it usually feels like every week, the recycling bin gets fresh empty jars from me, so it’s not like I save the good ones for someday. Part of a healthy diet, at only 5 calories each! Let’s not talk about the sodium. Who cares about sodium when all those other grams and food stats are hard enough to keep track of??? Anyhow, I selected a representative sampling of their offerings, and they totally threw in more for free.
Ok, back on track. I reached the Tenement Museum and realized they were going to require a few hours of my time for the official tour. I decided…next time, and started walking north with a vague idea of catching the subway or preferably, a cab, to the MOMA. Before that, I wanted to try a chocolate egg cream and went in this little recommended place. It was weird, but hey, I’d just had pickles.
And so I kept moving up 2nd, hoping for a cab but we’d entered that Friday afternoon hour in NYC where none of those cabbies would pull over and if they did, shook their heads when I said, “55th?” Exhausted, I continued to Union Square to catch a train to MOMA. I made it, but a glance into the museum confirmed today was not my museum day. I was tuckered out and knew I’d just hate humanity if I battled the crowds. Plus I had reservations at Sushi Gari in only 2 hours (recommended by Kate after her Wednesday dinner), so maybe heading home was my best bet.
When I consulted my phone to recalculate directions, I realized there was a missed call while I was in the subway! The Delta agents at JFK were complete asshats to Kate and wouldn’t let her get on a flight. At JFK, it turns out, you must check in your bags at 60 minutes and she was at 56, after battling traffic all across NYC. Time for a houseguest!!! I know she was frustrated to not get on that flight, but I was so excited we had her with us for one more day. The only issue was getting her a key — but Mr. T went to our building security, added her to our account, and got her clearance as she made her way back to Manhattan. We raced north to our reservations at Sushi of Gari 46.
So: I shy away from declaring a place the best, because things change so quickly and can be so dependent on the chef, but Sushi of Gari 46 is the best sushi I have ever had in my life! We sat at the bar for omakase and I took notes. 21 rounds of notes. I knew 2 rounds in that this was the pinnacle, and brushed aside any notions of moderation. The cost of abandoning moderation was high, but you only live once. P.S. Mr. T told the chef “uncle” a couple of rounds before me. My DimSumCouver training was coming in handy!
Afterward, we met with Kate and took her to one of our favorite finds from before her arrival: The Breslin at The Ace Hotel, mentioned last week. This would put us all in the right frame of mind to polish off the doughnuts found at the Plant earlier today.
I went to sleep very happy, after one of my best days in NYC — as evidenced by all the exclamations in this post.
Restaurants from today:
Today was very New Yorkish. I:
-got caught up in Veteran’s parade-watching crowds
-had lunch with a good friend, a native New Yorker who’s returned since finishing her grad school at UW
-walked through Central Park to take in the foliage
-spied Spiderman
-watched Bubble-man
-took the train up to the Bronx, where I got lost after taking the wrong exit to get to The Cloisters
-took an impromptu walking tour of Washington Heights
-wandered the grounds of Fort Tryon Park, the Heather Garden & The Cloisters
-found the unicorn that was missing, maybe?
-had dinner of remarkable black garlic ramen at Hide Chen
-visited Kate in her fancy Scandinavian-themed place near the north-eastern edges of midtown
-walked all the way home via 5th Avenue to Flatiron/Chelsea
I wasn’t getting anywhere trying to talk Mr. T into catching any Broadway shows, so I decided early to plan to hit a matinee midweek. Today, I saw Elling. Turns out, it was all Hollywood: Brendan Fraser, Denis O’Hare, and Jennifer Cooper (‘memba her from Legally Blonde? Or Best In Show?). It was a pleasant mid-afternoon diversion, though I discovered later why the storyline seemed familiar when Mr. T reminded me we’d watched the Norwegian film years ago. P.S. I relearned during intermission Fraser attended Cornish back in the day. Go Seattle!
When the play let out, I walked for a while to The High Line which is getting tons of well-deserved 2010 press. I later learned those who did the High Line won the bid for Seattle’s waterfront. I’m taking this as spectacular news.
I watched the sun set over Jersey. And plotted for dinner late that evening at Artichoke Basille, another NY pizza place.
Post-dinner, Kate & Colleague were available to join us at Death & Company where the drinks were divine.
Should you find yourself here someday, try their Slap ‘N Pickle — with Aquavit, muddled cucumber, lime & grenadine. It was a surprise hit & a group favorite.
Encouraged by a friend‘s good experience at Eleven Madison Park on Monday, I followed suit today. Everything about the three-hour experience was on point. One can select either four or five ingredients from the menu — I chose four. Four courses turned into more and I wished I’d remembered the advice to forgo breakfast. Thank goodness my friend takes marvelous pictures and catalogs them so well — I was able to gather images of the dishes we had in common into a gallery that you can view on Flickr here. If you want to see more of his work, he’s got a great FoodPr0n 2010 set, amongst others.
As I was bursting at the seams and more full than I could ever remember, I laced up my running shoes and hit the road for a bit. Six miles to be exact. I charted a course from Chelsea to the South Street Seaport’s TKTS booth where I could pick up a solo ticket to a Wednesday Broadway matinee. I didn’t time the run so well. By the time I reached lower Manhattan, I felt like a salmon running upstream against all the bankers after the closing bell. At the ticket booth, I settled on a show called Elling. The seller told me these were my best choice — a single seat at only 8 rows back from stage. I also liked that the story was set in Norway, where one side of Mr. T’s family originated.
I ran back & got ready for dinner with Mr. T at Rye House. I’d found my selection based on a sandwich guide I’d read before I’d even gone to lunch today — the Pittsburgh. When it arrived on my plate, I realized what I’d gotten myself into: andouille sausage on rye with coleslaw and french fries INSIDE the sandwich. I took a picture to submit to “This is Why You’re Fat.” It was delicious & too much after the lunch I’d had, but I squirreled most away for a Wednesday morning brekkie. We also checked out some of their other Rye offerings.
Then, my friend Kate arrived in town with her colleagues! We met up with them at an izakaya called Sake Bar Hagi near Times Square. I had zero interest in eating, but from what I saw, it’s a place I’d recommend and return to on future visits.
I ended up working so much today that I didn’t eat until 3PM. What? Fortunately, our apartment was a few blocks west of the over-publicized Shake Shack. As a Burger of the Month Club devotay, I had to check it out. I ordered a regular cheeseburger, and picked up a Pumpkin Concrete for Mr. T. It was basically pumpkin pie mixed up with ice cream. Burger was very good. To reward my diligent work, I also picked up a Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate thing they had going on. Then, I worked some more.
Once Mr. T finished with his work, we decided to check out a local pizza place, recommended by a New Yorker friend as a solid neighborhood chain. We ordered pizza with pepperoni and their Insalata Siciliana. I don’t think Mr. T was as impressed with it as I was, but I liked how much I felt like we were off the beaten traveler path…almost the opposite of exotic: comfortable.
Then we walked home through Chelsea.
Essentially, we began our day by walking to the Bowery for DBGB Kitchen and Bar. For all my plans of having brunch, I went with a fancy hot dog called the DGBG Dog (from their sausage menu). I dunno, it just felt right. The sausage was made at DBGB and came with their “299″ relish. Good. It even showed up on a porcelain hot dog tray. Mr. T went a traditional route with Oeuf Forestiere — “two eggs “en cocotte” with wild mushrooms, gruyere & fines herbes.”
We walked a few miles back to our place, pausing briefly before walking north through Times Square to spectate at the NYC Marathon finish line.
Being in Central Park had us in the right location to check out H&H, a NYC institution of the kind Mr. T missed on prior visits: bagels in situ. Total honesty here — between the indifferent staff and an average-tasting bagel, they didn’t seem to have much worth writing home about. It was much like our underwhelming pizza experience here in 2005. It just didn’t happen. I preferred comparing & contrasting potato vs. sweet potato knish at Zabar’s more. (Fortunately, better bagels appeared later in the week.)
We kept walking to regain some sort of appetite before walking MORE to Locanda Verde, in Tribeca. And at this point, I’ll yield on commentary to point you in the direction of the blog post written by my friend, The Gastrognome, who recommended LV to us. We really enjoyed it, as she did.
Then, we cabbed it home. I say we deserved that after logging over 10 miles for the day.
Mr. T & I flew to NYC this morning, landing mid-day. First stop: the massive & impressive new Eataly, Batali’s new Italian food emporium. It was only two blocks from our place in Chelsea and held us over for a few hours.
For dinner, we visited The Breslin, a new establishment next to the Ace Hotel & Stumptown Coffee. (Pacific Northwest REPRESENT!) We were drawn in by the spectacular Garden Tonic, but that Lamb Burger is worth making room & time for in any visit to the city. Our window seat had a view of the Empire State Building, from the south side. The Breslin’s on West 29th, not far from Broadway.
We took the super long way home, heading north by 20 blocks to see what Times Square is up to these days.
I’ve been to San Francisco several times, but somehow Alcatraz never worked into my plans. Today, I changed that by visiting with another friend who’s lived in Berkeley for 3 years but never made it herself. It was a a classically foggy San Francisco Day.
A set, here:
Afterward, D headed home & I met up with Kate at Rickhouse, an exceptional cocktail place near Union Square.
We followed that with Smuggler’s Cove, a rum tiki bar (in honor of Rocky) where we synced up with Mr. T before running to our Cafe Zuni reservations. Roasted chicken with bread salad: WORTH THE HYPE. And the 45 minute minimum wait. Note: I tried calling ahead to order this, but they were no go on this. You must be seated to order. There were a few service delays and it was hard to wrangle our check.
This delay became an annoyance only because we arrived late at our next destination: Bourbon & Branch. 8 minutes and we heard about it from the front door man. Well, okay, our bad. Otherwise, service at the bar was also top-notch. And now I know why the Tenderloin district has its reputation, so that was educational.
It was a long way back to Silicon Valley.
