Back in NYC, Part II

Ahh, SB's photos transported me back to the many other fine foods I ate in NYC. So finally here's part deux.

Peels – Started the day off right with breakfast from Peels. I had the "Ironsides" which is cheese grits, greens and two eggs cooked in a little cast iron dish. As I remember, SB had the succotash with poached eggs. Both were awesome. And good coffee.


Sugiyama – This hit the holy trinity of a great meal: great company, great atmosphere, great food. We both got the Chef's choice 6-course kaiseki dinner which "beautifully presents the finest seasonal ingredients to emphasize the elements of color, shape, flavor and texture. Each dish of this multicourse meal is carefully chosen and arranged to enhance your dining pleasure." I can't deside if I should try to list everything we ate. Maybe that would just be annoying. The style of dining seems fairly formal, but the waitstaff and the general atmosphere were really relaxed and fun. Homerun.


This 'n' That Vintage Jewelry – OK, not food, but worth stopping in. They advertise a little bit of everything, but the whole front of the store is stuffed with great vintage jewelry and that's the reason to go. Here's the Bakelite bracelet case. Drool.

Back In NYC

I recently travled to NYC for some business, but I also had to include some eating as well. Luckily, SB was more than willing to join me and show me some great new places. Hopefully, he'll add some pics because I was way too busy chewing.

Russ & Daughters – The holy grail of smoked fish. So hard to decide which one, but we both tried the Pastrami Cured Salmon on a bagel with a schmear of scallion cream cheese. Heaven. I could have stopped here and been quite happy. But noooo.

Yakitori Taisho – Super happy fun food and best menus ever. Monkfish liver is always a highlight. Also the fried frog. There was something else but now I can't remember. Lastly, you get a small cup of flavored sugar with your check. It's for the self-serve cotton candy machine out front. Yep.

Black Hound NY – Lots of good looking sweets, but we stocked up on the cookies. Specifically the anise bones (like a dog treat for people). And they did not last long.

Momofuku Milk Bar – Had to try the Cereal Milk soft serve. Yes, it tastes just like you ate Frosted Flakes and then turned the resultant milk into ice cream.

I think that covers Day 1. More tomorrow. By the way, the image is from MOMA's show, "The Original Copy: Photography of Sculpture 1839 to Today."

No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn – Day 3

Breakfast – Chinatown, and what's better for breakfast than jerky? Ling Kee in Chinatown offers pork, beef and chicken jerky. We got the sweet pork rather than the hot. It's hard to stop eating, although it's not like the carne seca you find out west. This is a moister version of jerky and looks to be made from ground meat that's been pressed into shape.

Lunch – Dim Sum at HSF. I really like the pace of eating dim sum. You sit and eat and point to what you want and there's the anticipation of seeing what comes around the corner next. No hurry, a cart comes around every couple minutes. Eat until you're full. This was also my first duck foot as you can see above. It sounds really exotic, but it's a lot like eating a chicken wing. There's not much meat, but it's really about sucking the skin/sauce and soft yummy fat off the bones.

Snack – Eileen's Special Cheesecake. And, yes, it is special.

Dinner – Bacchus – an outdoor patio, lovely charcuterie, bread, glass of wine – I miss France.

Dessert – OK, technically this is dessert #2 if you counting, but I know you're not. Blue Marble Ice Cream is made in small batches on a farm in the Hudson Valley by a 4th generation ice cream maker. I tried the Cultured Real Frozen Yogurt which was nice and tart.

We did a lot on Sunday. Starting with a great show, "Paper City" at Mixed Greens Gallery. Everything is made of paper including those cinder blocks. Went to the South Street Seaport Museum (tourist alert!) to see a scrimshaw exhibition. Part of the museum is Brown & Co. Stationers, 211 Water Street, where we found a working letterpress shop run by about the nicest people ever. Sunday afternoons they offer "Make & Take" where they come up with a small craft project and you can play with all their supplies, but mostly you get to revert to childhood playing in paper, glue and scissors. Lastly, we went to David Byrne's project "Playing the Building", where he hooks up an antique organ to parts of an abandoned room in the Battery Maritime Building. This video shows professional musicians who were invited to play, but when we went anybody could line up to "play" the space.

No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn – Day 2

Ah, Saturday. We stayed exclusively in Brooklyn. First stop was a little zen and a bonsai exhibit at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.

Lunch – Miriam's Park Slope. I hadn't had my quota of salmon/cream cheese for the month, so I had the Smoked Salmon Sandwich with dill, red onion, cream cheese, home fries and salad. Then, it was on to Element Beauty Lounge for a very thorough facial. A bit painful, and the aesthetician texted (is that normal?) during my facial, but my skin looked really, really good.

Dessert #1 – Conveniently, The Chocolate Room is right across the street from the spa. I had the Boylan's (made with cane sugar, not corn syrup) root beer float. Hmmm, dessert cafes seem to be a theme on this trip. I'm not complaining.

Dinner – At Blue Ribbon Sushi I had the lobster, shiso and black caviar roll. Delicious. Also fun was the horse mackerel shown above. They cut it for you sashimi style, and when you're finished they take the skeleton/head and fry it for you. It's entirely edible, and crispy fish fin is vastly underrated.

Dessert #2 – Yes, that's right, two desserts. Hope you saved room. This one's at One Girl Cookies. I kinda wussed out and had the black plum sorbet and ricotta gelato, although I was not disappointed. My partners-in-dessert went all the way with the three-course dessert tasting.

Brooklyn is rife with people who hand make things and therefore stores that sell such wares. What a great problem to have. But a special favorite for well curated items was Cog & Pearl. Whereupon I ran across this book based on this blog, another well curated collection of vintage visual ephemera from across the inter web. Next stop – Chinatown.

No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn – Day 1

So, I needed a vacation from work, and nuprinboy and ms. marie were kind enough to host me for a few days of eating and fun from their home base in Brooklyn. So here we go.

Breakfast – At La Bergamote they have the sugar brioche I fell in love with in Provence. Also, sandwiches like pheasant-cognac rillette with pickles on about the best baguette ever.

Lunch – I had been thinking about Momofuku noodle bar for weeks, and it didn't disappoint. We got to sit at the bar and watch the kitchen which was fun. Started with the steamed pork (belly) buns and the smoked chicken wings. Pictured is my bibim gooksu, which is a cold somen noodle. At this point in the day, I was pretty relaxed and happy. Thoughts of start-up meetings and client revisions begin to dim.

Dinner – Out to Queens for Thai food at SriPraPhai. Delicious, real Thai food. Not some Thai/Chinese hybrid that happens around here. I think I was still full from lunch, so I didn't eat my best. But next time.

Dessert – The fourth meal of the day at Kyotofu. They offer Japanese desserts featuring housemade tofu and soy ice creams. I had the peanut butter soy ice cream sundae with blackberry compote, some kind of whipped cream, mochi and chocolate covered barley nuggets. They also have an extensive selection of sake and recommended pairings for you dessert. I recommend that.

Occasionally, we did stop eating to do other things. One cool find was Fabulous Fanny's, a vintage store specializing in eyewear. I picked up some sweet frames. And Printed Matter where I ended up with an Olaf Nicolai book. Lastly, Chisholm Larsson vintage posters. Drool.