So I was trying to be secretive about my whereabouts and blog as usual, but I've actually been up in the big apple since Sunday. I've been doing a bit of job searching/making contacts and also hanging out with Kim & Natty, Laura, and John. But the 9-5 has me mostly hanging out around the apartment during the day with the occasional venture out around the village.
Quick wrap-up:
-You make good lasagna once, you're lucky. Make it twice, and you're Giada De Laurentiis. Hah! But seriously, after the attempted Rachael Ray 30-minute meal that no one will let me forget (or maybe it's me who is still haunted by it), it seems I've redeemed myself, at least with this lasagna. I first made it for Auddie's birthday, complete with a side of Caesar's salad and some deliciously fresh, over-garlicked bread...mmm. And the other night I thought I'd try my hand at it again to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Not to toot my own horn, but Kim, Nathaniel, and John all confirmed that indeed twasn't, and it was again a tasty meal. Ok, I'm taking far too much credit for being able to read ingredients off a box. But I will add that I altered the recipe a bit to my personal taste, and perfecting the salty taste of the lasagna is the key. Mmm, definitely one of my favorite meals.
-Kim & I enjoyed a fun scavenger hunt for our dinner last night. After deciding I had a craving for Mary's Fish Camp (their Lobster roll is perfect), I headed over hoping to put my name down. But I couldn't even get into the doorway to do so, as there were already at least a dozen people waiting to squeeze into the already tiny restaurant. We decided to pass on the hour wait, so I hopped in a cab and met Kim in the East village at Momofuku, a noodle bar where they served soft shell crab on sticky buns (a la Banh Bao). Well, this place might have been even smaller than Mary's-- literally a long bar in a very narrow space, with people sitting elbow to elbow. We decided to order the crab buns to go rather than wait for a seat, and this ended up being a good idea, as they were decent, but nothing to die for, and definitely not worth an extended wait.
Next we headed a couple blocks down to Caracas, yet another tiny NYC joint (you know, 5 tables or so, gotta love it). Luckily we were seated quickly and enjoyed some delicious arepas & empanadas. The highlight for me was the appetizer selection: tequenos. These were basically a South American version of what we know as the mozzarella stick, but far tastier, and much less likely to make you choke (the cheese wasn't as stringy). The outside covering is not breaded, but rather made with a wheat flour dough for a nice breaded, but still crisp shell. As we were leaving, Kim & I spotted (with 99% certainty) Nikki Hilton sitting down at the bar for some arepas. After all, no trip up here is complete without a celeb sighting, right?
The last stop on our meal-hopping night was to Milk & Cookies, an adorable little shop right around the corner from the apartment. You might think, milk & cookies?..Who cares, I can make that myself at home. And in fact, that's the very appeal! Who would think to open a shop devoted to such comfortable, homey delights? The chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter chocolate, and PB&J (peanut butter & cranberry) cookies-- accompanied by a cold glass of milk-- were a perfect end to the night.
-On a somewhat related note (to the Nikki Hilton comment), I have to admit, I feel very cool as I'm walking into the front door of Kim & Natty's building and there's a group of over 30 tourists across the street snapping photos and staring in awe. (For those of you who don't know, their building is directly next to the "Friends" building that they used for the outside shot of Monica & Rachel's apartment.) And this morning on my way back from the gym, I saw some model/actress doing a photo shoot on the corner. She was posing on an antique car. Also kinda cool. There's always something exciting going on up here.
Oh, and this is why I love this city. Always bustling and always packed with people, no matter what hour of the day. I love that you can walk down any ol' random street and see restaurant after restaurant packed with people sitting outside, meeting, greeting, socializing. It's great. It's too bad I'm back to the VA tomorrow! Hopefully will be back up again soon... tis been yet another great visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment