Spreadin' the News

Just got back. Happy to report that New York City is still there. Not only is it still there, its hotter and humider (no, that's not a word. Until NOW!) than ever. I was melting 10 of the 14 days I was in the city, and it was pretty gross. We moved forward, though, and good times were still had. Recognizing that you, the reader, probably don't want a play-by-play of a fourteen-day trip, let's just hit the highlights, shall we?

1. Friends: I adore Mariah and her fiancee, Ryan. So much fun to chat and hang out with them. I also got to spend an afternoon with Jake G. He showed me around the Wall Street/Trinity Church area--and we had yummy Afghan food for lunch! And then Gregory B. came into town for the last week and I had another chum to join in NYC playtime. Good stuff!

2. Broadway: We saw Tony Award Winner, Douglas Hodge in the matinee of La Cage Aux Folles. Brilliant! He was wonderful and the show was a riot. I loved so much about it!! "If he loved me, he'd vacuum!" So great. That night we had box seats to a major Tony winner--Billy Elliot. I can't say enough how much I loved this show! Great music, amazing acting and dancing, wonderful story--maybe the perfect show. Love love love.

3. Breakfast: I had at least two A-Mazing breakfasts in the city. Community Food & Juice provided one of the best things I have ever eaten in a 7-Grain Waffle served with Lemon/Raspberry Cream sauce. I wanted to weep with joy when I was eating it, and that's not exaggerating by much. The next week we ventured to Greenwich for Creme Brulee French Toast at a place called Jane. Yum, Yum, and some more YUM.

4. Coney Island: I love this place. Shelling out $8 for the crazy wild roller coaster, Cyclone, was just the beginning of the happiness. A hotdog from Nathan's and a jaunt on the boardwalk were also wonderful. But nothing tops the pure delicious glee I found in watching the Side Show. A Contortionist, the Seal Boy, a well-endowed Sword swallower/Flame-eater, and of course--our host--a Carnie who literally hammered a nail into his own head. WOWZA!! Love love love.

5. Bakeries: Any followers of my Facebook status updates should be aware that I made a major effort to visit a plethora of bakeries in Manhattan. First prize goes to Levain on 74th and Amsterdam for the most luscious cookie EVER. Second prize goes to Amy's Bread for the best carrot cake I have ever eaten in my life. Also a good sticky bun. And butter cookie. Third prize to Jacques Torres for another brilliant chocolate-chip cookie. Honorable Mentions go to Crumbs (because you gotta love a huge Crumbs cupcake!!), Fat Witch Bakery, Magnolia (good brownie!!), and Bombolini. The final entry providing not only tasty Italian donuts, but tasty Italian eye candy as well. I should note--no pictures from the bakeries. I always intended to, but the goodies seemed to disappear into my belly too fast for me to remember the need for a photo shoot. Oh well!

6. Sights o' the City: I've done a lot of the "touristy" things before, but still managed to take in some awesome spots in the Big Apple. I especially loved the American Museum of Natural History (though their charge for special exhibits is ridiculous) and the big model blue whale. There were some great exhibits at the Met. And I really loved walking along Highline Park with a yummy coconut-almond ice cream shake from the Chelsea Markets.

So...there was a lot more that happened in my 14-day adventure to New York City, and a lot more amazing foods I got to eat. Heck, I didn't really say anything here about the Gilder Lehrman seminar at Columbia University that got me out to the city in the first place!! If you want to hear more about adventures, Reconstruction seminars, and/or great NYC food, feel free to ask*. I Love New York!!

*Obviously, I like to talk--especially about food.

When Life Gets You Down...

...I guess its time to count your blessings!!

And now I'm gushing

Sometimes I wonder if its silly to visit the same place over and over again. I always think I've done all I'd want to do in a city, and then I come to New York again and the city proves me wrong all over again. Today, in particular, was amazing. Everything today was new and everything today was worth gushing about. Over and over again...

We started off trying to win tickets to the matinee of Wicked and met some delightful Canadians attempting the same thing. No dice on the tickets, but the friends from Toronto gave us directions to the nearest Crumbs bakery where I partook of the most amazing cupcake--ever. It was the Artie Lang cupcake--yellow sponge cake with chocolate frosting inside and covered with a chocolate ganache and sprinkles. YUMMMMMMM!!! It might not be the breakfast a nutritionist would prescribe but it was certainly delish.

May I gush for a moment about Lincoln Center and South Pacific? We saw this incredible production in one of the best theaters I've ever been in and I loved every minute of it. The man playing Emile had one of the greatest voices I've ever heard and only Lt. Cable's character had anything lacking. He reminded us of a mix between a young Kronk and Buzz Lightyear, all wrapped up in a soap opera star's persona. "Sexy lieutenant!"

I think I should also gush about the sushi we had for dinner. The place is called Tenzan--located on the Upper Westside. And the sushi was fatty {in a totally good way} and delicious and the miso soup was super good too. *sigh* I haven't had sushi in so long and this was the perfect way to break that inadvertent fast.

After you eat sushi, the most obvious thing to do next is to eat frozen yogurt and New York has the most perfect frozen yogurt shop on the planet. I may be gushing, but 16 Handles makes me so so so happy! You take a bowl. You fill it up with your choice of frozen yogurt (choices range from your basic vanilla to cookies 'n cream and pistachio) and then add as many toppings as you'd like. The price is based on weight so make it as small or big as you'd like!! I want to go back right now...

And since we were in the area, we decides to stop at Westville--an East Village restaurant with A-Mazing sides. Yes, this did make 3 different eating establishments in about 3 hours. Welcome to New York. We split a platter of four sides: sweet potato fries, pesto mashed potatoes, roasted beets and parmesan artichoke hearts. Tasty food makes me so Happy!

Our final stop for the night was this brilliant music hall called Rockwood. We saw 3 sets and all 3 were fabulous. There's no cover charge--you just have to buy a few drinks and who doesn't love that? The last band, in particular, was delightful. Their piano player was cracking me up--moving between despondency when he wasn't playing and hardcore "into it" moments when he did get to sing and play. SO fun.

And the rain held off until we headed home.

Happy Saturday night in New York!

Dancing in Brooklyn

I got in to New York early yesterday morning. I hate the Red Eye, but I still felt worse for the teenage boy stuck in the middle seat. I could at least lean againt the window, though I didn't have a pillow because Jetblue charges you $7 for a pillow. Seriously?! Boo. I would happily give up my personal TV that didn't work half the time in order to have a soft place to lay my head...without paying extra. *sigh*

I maneuvered the subway with ease and class (I like to think) and ended up getting to Carroll Gardens WAY before Mariah. Luckily a nice man gave me a free newspaper and I finally learned how to do a Sudoku puzzle. Thanks New York!

Mariah and I spent the day in Brooklyn with her nannying charge, Alexander who is just ADORABLE. And very drooly. We had lunch at Ted & Honey's. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge (YAY!) and visited Trader Joe's. For dinner we split a pot of tea, Welsh Rarebit, and the most sinfully delicious bread pudding EVER at Sweet Melissa's. I love Sweet Melissa's not only for the cake but also their willingness to let me show up 30 minutes after we'd exited the restaurant to request the use of their facilities in a true EMERGENCY moment. You see, after dinner we went to a local park in Brooklyn and danced the night away with some fabulous blues singer who was putting on a totally hoppin' show. But then I had to pee. Thanks Sweet Melissa's!!

And then we came to Mariah's lovely apartment in the Heights. We watched the Tivo'd episodes of So You Think You Can Dance, and ate hummus and chocolate Twizzlers, and bemoaned the fact that Kupono is a poor man's {last season} Mark, and reveled in our shared love of Glee (its been renewed for a second season already! YAY!!) and finally went to bed late late late. And I fell asleep to the lovely sounds of the city and thought, "This is what vacation is all about."