bagels, bbq & brooklyn

the last supper... & breakfast, lunch, snacks etc!

2009-06-13T13:35:00.001-07:00

We have borrowed bikes from our friends Monica and Katrina (they're in Seattle for the weekend) and wow it has been great - and fast! - to get around on two wheels instead of two feel.

I am leaving NYC tonight - D is here for a couple more weeks; I come back from the UK for just two nights. And I find myself not able to deal with it. Denial is the only sensible route, and as a psychologist, I can verify it as a very sensible course of action... Another sensible course of action is eating, so this weekend, i've been trying to re-eat my way around the city - not all the faves, but definitely some of them:

Yesterday's eating (in order):
- Fresh mango (from the Park Slope Food Coop)
- a spiced pumpkin whoopie pie from the delightful One Girl Cookies, in Cobble Hill
- sweet and salty brownie, cream soda, and vanilla marshmellow from Baked in Red Hook. The marshmellow was not as good as that from One Girl, but the brownie is moist and dense.
- bean and corn tamale from the famous Red Hook Ballfields Pupusa vendor.
- Barbacoa huarache, chorizo taco and cemita taco from Guerrero Food Centre, Sunset Park
- Apple (the least exciting option of the day)
- Dinner was the highlight of eating in NYC, and a highlight of eating anywhere, actually. everything was superb, a taste sensation that I, a 'naturally' fast eater, couldn't help but linger slowly over... The place was Falai. peruse the menu! mmmm with the free little offerings they brought between courses and with the bill, we had 7 courses! small, it must be said! One of the best meals I have ever eaten. and perfectly salted, which is often not the case in this city (too little, surprisingly)!

Today has been a massive bike, interspersed with more favourite eats:
- a spectacular fruit salad (fruit from the Park Slope Food Coop) made by David
- Olive cake from Cafe Pedlar in Cobble Hill
- A vanilla creme bomboloni and potato / mushroom / zuchini pizza slices from Sullivan St Bakery in Manhattan (eaten by Harlem Meer in Central Park)
- Fresh cherries from the Park Slope Food Coop
- Grilled corn from Habana Outpost
- A roast beef sandwich and, best of all, salt caramel icecream, from The General Greene, in Fort Green.
- A salt-caramel chocolate from Nunu Chocolates, in Boerum Hill.
- A salt-caramel chocolate-dipped marshmellow from Vosges, in Soho.

There'll probably be more before I fly out of JFK @ 11.30pm tonight, bound for London, but for now, that's all folks. And so ends bagels, bbq and brooklyn

:-(

john turturro, david byrne and other adventures

2009-05-31T18:47:00.000-07:00

Well, we were sitting on the stoop (aka front steps) the other day (memorial day, a public holiday to remember the war dead), waiting for a car service (aka taxi) to come to take us to a memorial day bbq we'd been invited to, and who should walk past, with (presumably) partner and kid, but the fabulous actor John Turturro, having just been shopping at the wonderful Union Market, just below our house. Well I didn't stare (although I did subtly signal to D to have a look - he did notice my small gesture!), and he seems to be one of those actors who look better in real life than they do in films... Clive Owen, who I walked past in SoHo (London) last year is another. Can't be said for everyone.

D's parents visited for two weeks from May 20, and life was all action stations. We wore them out with a full tourist itinerary, and it was great! Them being here gave David, in particular, a chance to do lots of touristy things he hadn't done in NY (I mostly worked over those times, having done most before), but we just also took them to neighbourhoods and places they would never go if they were here by themselves as travellers.

On one of their last evenings in New York, they got serenaded in the subway, by a guy with a guitar and a wonderful voice - and he wasn't even looking for money. He chose a song, quite coincidentally (or not?), which was personally meaningful to them. It was really lovely. We also went to see Joe Turner's Come and Gone, a play written as part of a series of plays dealing with black experience in different decades. it was fab, and the play Barack and Michelle Obama went to see on their Broadway date. Good taste, us! quite presidential...

With that visit, they are practically NYC natives. But we did a 5 day road trip as well, as part of their visit (in a bright red Dodge Charger - my grandfather had a charger in the 80s, though it wasn't red and was only 2-door). We set out up the Hudson valley; first stop DIA: Beacon for the most wonderful fabulous art experience. Situated on the edge of the Hudson in a 120,000 square foot ex-box factory, the space and building were incredible; the art was also exceptional. After many hours there, we set off again and stopped for a late lunch at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America - where the 'top chefs' in this country are apparently trained). Set in the most ornate grounds, it was an experience... We weren't able to eat at the restaurants ('country club casual attire at a minimum, no jeans and sneakers thanks - well that took D & me out!), but the cafe was great. We completed the day with dinner in Woodstock - where hippie residue remains (although the festival didn't actually happen there), but is kinda quaint and cute!

We ended the day in the state capital, Albany, and slept in a cheap motel opposite SUNY-Albany, a campus with integrated architectural design that looks somewhat Islamic. Really stunningly beautiful!
We didn't spend much time in Albany, only enough to wander around the Rockefeller Empire State Plaza, a really quite stunning plaza integrating water, art and a range of buildings, which seems despised as much as I loved it. They have an 'egg' performance art space, but overwhelmingly it is dominated by (apparently) brutalist architecture, and has the feel of the grand communist architecture...
I loved it completely, although D's dad, the engineer, inspected one of the buildings and decided it had cancer. oops! Randomly, I happened upon an Aussie colleague there - weird!

We then went to the Adirondacks, the largest state park in the US. On the way, we visited a small (tourist) town which happened to have an Elvis impersonator event on... there were crowds... and fans!
That sure is some dedication! We didn't dawdle, however, as hoards and hoards of bikers were arriving for a week-long motorbike festival starting a few days later. We stayed in a really cute B&B with a very knowledgeable host, in a region called Indian Lake. The supposed Moose capital of the state/region, and it certainly was moose-terrain... but still, no moose were seen (Bill, our B&B host, had only ever seen 2!). The closest we got to Moose were signs,
and Moose heads on the wall at a lodge we ate in one night near Indian Lake (they sure love shooting and stuffing things up there), and dinner in the Moosewood restaurant (yes, that moosewood!) in Ithaca a night later, In fact, the natural wildlife was remarkably absent in all the up-state rurality... While we most of the time drove through forests, nada on the animal front. Crazy. We saw a few deer (in towns) and one fox on the side of the road (and a few dead porcupine on the road), but that was it. Even the birds were underwhelming. Not impressed. More wildlife is seen regularly in Prospect Park. And there we have found animals cuter than squirrels! What could possibly be, you may ask, and the answer would be: Chipmunks! oh my god they are so cute:
David and I climbed Blue Mountain in the Adirondacks, but they're not really proper mountains (3700+ feet, and wooded), that was fun... we completed the road trip with a night in Ithaca, home of Cornell University all old stone buildings as befits its Ivy League status, and then a wonderful IM Pei designed art gallery. quite stunning...
So, the trip with Di's parents was wonderful, and then back to NYC, and life resumes normality... It's been hot hot hot, but other days, bloody cold! And May 31 - it snowed! not once, but twice! (admittedly this was in the Adirondacks, but we were only about 1000ft above sea level). Who would have thought the puffer jacket would be out again, after we were sweltering in 30+C temps the week before.

We've been starting to (sadly) prepare for our trip home, but routines continue. This morning on our weekly dog-oggle (ie visit to prospect park when the pooches are off the leash before 9am, weekends) there were literally 100s and 100s.
craziness. best viewing: a Rastafarian man with 3 dreaded dogs (same breed) - long dreads, it actually looked cruel, with all the weight they must be carrying. Quite the image, nonetheless.

Anyway, to end on a 'high note' - last night we went to a free David Byrne concert in Prospect Park, as the first event in the summer 'celebrate Brooklyn' festival. It really was fantastic. Of course, there are loads of clips on youtube - here's one from one of their three encores... And today we visited two events that simply require superlatives... the first, the opening of 'the highline', the start of an elevated garden/walkway/park that weaves up the west coast of lower Manhattan. It's an old abandoned railway that has been restored... and it's spectacular - we walked the first half mile. the second, a show called 'anthropodino' - a sensory interactional art experience. The pictures do it justice, but you miss the smells from the suspended bulbs of spices. my favourite was the ginger, I wanted to immediately make and eat ginger crunch! But I satisfied myself with 'to die for' salt caramels from Nunu chocolates. They're a small local Brooklyn chocolatier, and boy are they good. The other eating experience of note were arepas from Caracas Arepa Bar, a tiny Venezuelan place in the East Village. Corn pockets filled with deliciousness. On that note, I'll have to stop raving about the food...

rolling-over and out!

live long, and prosper...

2009-05-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

Well the crazy mix of weather continues here - hot some days, cold the next. A range of flowers. The blossoms of the cherry trees fell as quickly as they arrived - it was all pink snow for a while (far nicer than yellow snow, that's for sure!)
and within mere minutes, it seemed, the vast green of spring arrived, and the city is transformed... In the spirit of all this nature, last weekend D and I set out early as intrepid explorers, off up the Hudson River to a place called Cold Creek to go and hike (aka tramp) a place called 'breakneck ridge'. we left home early, on the Q (the best subway line when working properly, home to central park in just over 1/2 hour!)
Well it wasn't that early (7.30 or something), and it wasn't as deserted as this. But we had on hiking boots, backpacks etc... all kitted up for our BIG DAY OUT. Except when crossing the Manhattan bridge, we looked out the window and saw the reality of the day:
(Nb this view isn't from the Manhattan Bridge!) At that point I suggested we abandon, and so we opted for an urban hike instead - getting off at Canal St, and hiking home, first stopping for Doughnut plant sustenance, over the splendid Manhattan Bridge, and all through Brooklyn. The bridge afforded some wonderful views of the local flora and fauna:
and great views across the city. Now, NYC is not exactly a city without diversity. In fact, it's easily one of the most diverse places I've ever been. And in terms of style, you see anything and everything, from the most conservative to the most 'out there' you can imagine! But despite this, we got more than a handful of 'looks' at our get-up on our 3 hr hike.

We made the most of change of plans by attending a 'block party' - put on by Habana Outpost, a great little 'eco eatery' place (Cuban, of course) I've blogged about before - that afternoon. Think grilled corn and fresh coconut juice... mmmm! DJs and a large crowd bursting out onto the street, all presided over by a stylish and fabulous NYC cop - called Hippolyte:
And the day finished perfectly, with the STAR TREK movie. fab!

Sunday we visited the absolutely wonderful Nogouchi Museum, a museum displaying the artist's work in his former studio space. It's right by the East River in Queens, and is wonderful and restful. We then went to a outdoor sculpture park, Socrates, where a new exhibition (State Fair) was opening, that David had worked on. Freezing! The Nogouchi is definitely worth a visit for anyone interested in sculpture!

Anyway, that was our art and hiking weekend, and the week itself was a blur of work... until Friday, which was tramping take 2... we set off at 6.30am, caught the Q to the wonder that is Grand Central Station, and then the Metro North train up the Hudson (fantastic views of the river, West Point Military Academy, the Indian Point nuclear power station) to the quaint historic 'town' of Cold Spring. Desperate for a loo (the town's public one's being shut!), we popped into the first cafe we saw, and the very friendly waitress convinced us to try some 'breakfast' (for us it was to be a second - aka hobbit' breakfast. D decided he wanted 'french toast' and she said 'share it, it's big... and it was:
It turned out to be the best breakfast we have had in the US (and probably the cheapest!), five thick slabs of 'Italian' bread, soaked and fried, oodles of fruit, and 'maple syrup (probably high fructose corn syrup)... and even between us we couldn't finish it! Laden down by that, we set off up 'main street' for what turned out to be a nearly 6-hour hike, through stunning forest, with wonderful views when we broke out into the odd ridge/peak:
It was hot and humid as hell, and we spent any bit of the tramp that involved an uphill slope absolutely drenched... glistening, one might say. As we were close to finishing, we crossed a little creek, and both of us used it as a time to splash and refresh. Walking on about 100m further, we realised we'd lost the track markers, and although there was an obvious track, it wasn't clear, so we backtracked to the last marker we could find... this was just over the other side of the creek. I was walking ahead of D, and just as we came to the creek I looked down to where I was about to step, and, suddenly, in very unlike me behaviour, screamed and jumped backwards... now why such crazy behaviour, you may ask!? Only the thing I have feared the most... continue to fear the most... a SNAKE!!! right there, barely inches away from my booted foot... black and slithery, about 4-5 foot long. It freaked me out, I was a shaking mess for about 20 minutes, resolved only by chocolate consumption!

D, on the other hand, was more excited than is humanly sensible. He'd spent the whole of our Arizona trip hoping to see a snake, and so instead of paying attention to my psychological trauma, grabbed the camera and spent 20 minutes photographing the thing... which crossed the creek: and continued on its merry way. Here's a close-up of the horrid thing.With a bit of research, I ascertained that it's probably a black rat snake, which is a constrictor. So I was probably never in mortal danger, but I can't even look at the photos without shivering.

Back to NY on the train, we stupidly chose a carriage without air-con, and boy was it ghastly...

Some great meals with friends on Friday and Saturday nights, and a good walk through Green-Wood cemetery today, about 25 blocks south of us. When it was first opened, it was the largest park in NYC, and the inspiration to create Central Park in Manhattan, apparently. It's home to the highest point in Brooklyn (220 ft above sea level, this not being a mountainous region), which was the site of the 'battle of Brooklyn' - the first battle between the 'united colonies' and the British, in what would be come the battle for independence. The British, with 20,000 seasoned troops roundly routed the (to become) 9000 unseasoned United Statesians (a more politically-on term than Americans, given that this whole continent, north and south, is 'America'!) led by one soon to be very famous George Washington. Apparently it's a bit of forgotten military history (as they said, probably because the US lost!). Great views of Manhattan. The cemetery is apparently also a (one hopes former!) site of Mafia killings, given that it's always very quiet. Luckily none were in progress today, or certainly none where I was walking. phew! Home after an absolutely scrumptious barbacoa huarache at the Guerrero Food Centre. Now that's one I'm going to have to go and enjoy a few more times before I leave.

On that note, my flights to the UK have been booked, and it means that the cold hard truth of leaving NYC has hit me. less than 4 weeks and I'll be bidding this fine city farewell. D, on the other hand, gets two weeks longer. To say I am envious doesn't half describe it.

with that note, since it's now Monday morning, sleep has to take priority. Even in the city which never sleeps. textbooks to not write themselves on no sleep, unfortunately. So, for now, live long and prosper!

ramps...

2009-05-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

a ps to the last entry... I discovered an entirely new food on Friday night. Ramps! Most popular in West Virginia, they are a wild leek native to the north east of the US, and taste like a cross between onions and strong garlic, so 'they' say. We tried some pickled at Motorino - delicious - but didn't get the dish they came in. When we asked locals, they were met with such enthusiasm, that when we found them at the co-op we had to buy a handful. Quite the most expensive vegetable in the place, at US$9.95/LB (that's about NZ$40/kilo!), we went for a small sample. quickly pan-fried with a sprinkling of salt, pepper, lemon and chili, they were delicious! when you cook the leaves they puff up and look like they're alive. freaky!
definitely some seeds to smuggle back into NZ
(kidding!! before you reel in horror and tell me off)

viva!

2009-05-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

Well, the so-called swine flu epidemic/panic seems to be happening in another universe. Soccer was cancelled this afternoon - not because of an ostensible flu pandemic, but because it's been raining all day, and so, to defy the rumours we heard that people are eating less Mexican, we went this afternoon to Sunset Park (kinda the suburb of Brooklyn south of Park Slope where we live), which is a very Mexican neighbourhood. We ate some delicious tacos and tamales at a place called Tacos Matamoros; particularly delightful were the tamales, which I suspect I am quite now addicted to - this wasn't my first encounter! I'm even pondering where I can get the dried corn husks and meal at home to make them-quite seriously. Never fear, the love of bagels, BBQ, burritos (and pizza) has not disappeared, but another food 'group' has been added to the repertoire.
Speaking of pizza, had some damn fine specimens at a newish place in Williamsburg called Motorino, which won TimeOutNY's 2009 Food Award for 'best new artisanal pie' (pie in their crazy lingo here being a pizza - as opposed to a slice!) . Boy were they good. (Surprisingly, being in NYC is learning me that I have a bad case of potty mouth, gosh and darn and BEEP... so am attempting to adapt to their clean-cut ways! Maybe all those beep-outs of swear words really do have an effect!?)
We also discovered a really great new cafe/bar this morning on an early walk (exercise and breakfast, what a perfect combination!), a place called Prime Meats, by the same people who do the great Cafe Pedlar, visited last weekend. It uses apparently the best coffee beans in NYC (Stumptown, roasted in Portland, OR), and is delightful because the inside is decorated much as it would have been quite a few decades prior. Great mags, no art on the walls, and delicious Olive Oil Cake and Stout Cake for breakfast - an all-round top notch cafe experience!
But it's not all about food. The spring continues to delight... this is a couple of blocks from our place:
And the tulips in this city really are spectacular. Here's some from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which is about 15 minute's walk from here.
Apparently the Dutch donated something like a million tulips to NYC after Sept 11. They certainly have a connection to this city (you see it so often in the names: Harlem [and Harlem Meer], Amsterdam Ave, Spuyten Duyvil, which is also a very nice bar in Williamsburg), and even nicknamed one of the tulips the Manhattan. The parks are full of them, and so many varieties. Spectacular.
This week has also seen the pivotal moment in the blossoming of the cherry trees. I went on Tuesday and read data under one in the Botanic Garden. Simply quite spectacular.
Unfortunately a million other people had had the same thought, but there you go. You're not allowed blankets/rugs/anything to sit on, because it kills the grass. I got told off - they have 'guards' walking around for just such rebels! In 1912, Japan donated 1000s of cherry trees to NYC. The botanic gardens this weekend celebrated Sakura Matsuri (the rite of spring) with a big festival we didn't get to. But we did get to the Brooklyn Museum, finally! Right by the botanic garden, we hadn't got there either. Last night we went to an 'First Saturdays' evening. Each month, they open on the first Saturday from 5-11pm and have music, talks, shows, movies, and a 'dance party' in this huge central atrium space, from 9-11. We didn't stay that long, but saw a great Brooklyn Latin-ish band, Pistolera, and wandered around the shows. One thing they have on permanent display is Judy Chicago's 'the dinner party'. A hugely influential (and not un-criticised) piece of feminist art that featured in both my PhD, and my teaching since, it was amazing to see it 'in the flesh'. The enormity of it as a piece of art/politics, as a piece of research, and as a piece of craft is quite outstanding. I wondered what other 100s of people viewing it thought! It's part of a feminist art collection the Museum has.
Other than that, we're planning a slight change to our trip home - a visit to Marfa, Texas, instead of LA, but will still be home at the same time (Sunday morning, in time to have a break and then enjoy Sunday afternoon soccer!)
That's enough for me - pesto to make, books to read, that sort of thing...
adios!

the food monologues

2009-04-23T08:21:00.001-07:00

mmm, pizza!
dough
toppings
what's not to love? (unless perhaps you have wheat or dairy allergies. course you might still love it, but it might not be your best friend). Anyway, it has been 'scientifically' proven that NY Pizza is the best in the USA.. In a controlled taste-test with 4 NY judges, the pizza made with NYC water beat the others made with Chicago or LA water. Of course, what this really proves is that New Yorkers like NY Pizza best! I'm determined to test this to the full.

So we've have mostly food-based adventures... not really, but food is featuring a lot (you'll hear more about it). We went to a gig at Jalopy Thursday night which was Irish and American music, meaning banjos and things like that. very pleasant indeed. tried a pumpernickel bagel from Murray's bagels in Chelsea. Nice contrasting texture between exterior and interior (very chewy exterior), but the overall flavour somewhat disappointing... still, I'm not complaining. perhaps it's in the water, too.

We got up early on Saturday for a full day of adventuring, starting with a run in the park which wasn't very successfully accomplished, as the dogs were out in full force, and you can't but stop and stare, filled with intense envy at the pleasure of having a dog in such madness. The pure mass of caninity (the dog version of humanity) is unbelievable. Off home and out the door to walk to the fabulous Brooklyn Flea market in Fort Greene, about 25 minutes from home, for the 10am start.... The market has a blog, and each week they list a few items which are 'free' if you happen to find them. This week I checked it out, and sure enough, I found one of them! A cute little antique tartan suitcase... you can see me and my winnings on the blog. Hoorah for free stuff! And we made a rule that we could only buy things that would fit in the suitcase, so we bought 3 fantastic old postcards, two old eggbeaters, a t-shirt (for me), an old bottle, and an enamel spoon. All fab things. And I tried my hand at some economic-downturn bargaining too...

Anyway, the weekend of food began at the market, with many samples, and a delicious fresh watermelon juice. It was hot(!) (the day, not the juice), in the high 20s or even 30, and relentless, so we adjourned to the just re-opened for the summer Habana Outpost, this cute 'eco-eatery' - one of the outdoor shades as solar panels! And their paper napkins are printed with "save trees, use your sleeve" on them. They have a bicycle powered blender for smoothies - if you make your own, you save a buck. And if you think that all sounds too hippie, it's not at all, and they had a DJ playing African beats into the sunshine. We ate delicious grilled corn, and could have stayed all afternoon, except we had to head off to eat banh mi ('Vietnamese sandwich') - yum! - and then get coffee (for d) and spelt banana cake at a cute new cafe in Cobble Hill, cafe pedlar.

From there we raced across to Manhattan for some hours of shopping around a very very crowded Broadway, with the heat just about melting us into the pavement... honestly, it has been crazy hot. In the space of two days we went from about 10C, and wearining a winter coat and scarf, to the hottest day ever recorded in April in Central Park with about 34C or something like that. It's a bit of a shock to the system, sitting here sweating indoors at 10.15pm.

Shopping successfully accomplished, dinner was a few pizza slices at Farinella, a new(ish) pizza place opened (apparently) by a former hip hop star from Rome. Anyway, quite yum, but not the best I've eaten here... From there we went to a gig that was a random selection: a 40th anniversary concert to celebrate the release of Nashville Skyline by Bob Dylan. It was featuring various artists, including (former) members of Ween, Violent Femmes, and King Missile... seeing them made me feel 'old' (they were 'old'!). It was at an interesting space, le Poisson Rouge, and was fun (despite it not being an album either of us knew). It was so nice and warm out, that we wandered around the Village for a bit, before ending the night sitting on benches on the sidewalk eating icecream from Sundaes and Cones at 11pm (it was hot, did I mention that!?) Mmmm, lychee; mmm ginger. Hooray for hot nights and icecream.

More foodie adventures followed, as we wandered around Soho on Sunday (cos it's always good to be in the middle of the concrete jungle on the really hot days!), trying chocolates at Vosges, where they do the most incredible flavours imaginable (the bacon chocolate was pretty delicious... mmm), canoli in Little Italy, and steamed buns in Chinatown. Saw two very interesting pieces of art, that are on permanent display, but only viewable for about 3 months each year (by DIA center for the arts), and have been since the 1970s... the earth room (a large space filled with about 2 ft of earth), and the broken kilometer (500 solid brass rods, all 2m long, displayed in a massive space), both by artist Walter de Maria. Great stuff (and fantastic solitary respite from the hustling masses outside!). We finished the day with some great soccer (no serious injuries to speak of, hoorah!), and so another week begins. Today I did a seminar at Columbia and it went well, so that's good.

Anyway, given that it was earth day recently (I went to a very good but depressing talk by James Hanson who is the director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, NASA, on Earth Day, about 'climate threat to the planet'), I thought I'd finish this with a rail against one of the most (un)shocking/depressing things here: the waste that is associated with 'normal' daily life: even in cafes where you 'eat in' they often serve the drink/food on completely disposable materials. It's dreadful! So let's take our Saturday, to illustrate this waste...
1. watermelon juice @ the market: 2 plastic cups, 2 plastic lids, and 2 straws.
2. grilled corn@Habana Outpost: 2 napkins and 2 cardboard 'plates' (this is the ecocafe after all)
3. banh mi @ Hancos: paper bag and paper plate (phew!)
4. coffee/cafe @pedlar: coffee in a real cup (rare, often has to be asked for!), cake on a real plate. hoorah for them! we'll be back.
5. pizza @ Farinella: 3 paper plates, 2 plastic knives, 2 plastic spoons... napkins. The plastic utensils were actually too useless to cut/eat the pizza, but they were 'used' and so thrown away.
6. three drinks @Le Poisson Rouge: 3 plastic cups, 2 straws (lucky for the planet we're such massive drinkers!)
7. icecream: 6 plastic spoons (tasting a couple of flavours, they don't recycle these), 1 waxed paper cup. two plastic spoons thrown away, the other 4 brought home for lunch use.
And that's just one day, and more than usual for us. But it's really really horrendous. The lack of real crockery and cutlery in cafes is entirely depressing, and also detracts from the experience too... oh well.
well, on that note, enjoy your non-take-away coffee cups in New Zealand, and over and out for me...

The brunch bitch

2009-04-19T08:36:00.000-07:00

[ok, here's a slightly edited version with the errant partial sentence which migrated into a completely different paragraph now back in the right place!]

Now, you might wonder, with a title like that, whether or not the love affair is over... But the answer is most definitely not. I'm still infatuated with this city, and living here remains a joy. So much so that the realisation that I only have 2 more months here (I have to go to England for a bit before returning home) is filling me with a sense of impending despair. Like being in a relationship which is going to end before you're ready for it (and you know when it'll happen), the pleasure of here is now slightly bittersweet. Frequent moments of realising "I may never do this again"... and a constant wonder of how I can manage to live without sleep (and without drugs...P not really being the answer). So it's mostly pleasure tinged with (only) slight pain. I'm not sure if D is feeling it as acutely, but it hurts.

Not that I expect you to feel too sorry for me, at all. It's not like we haven't had (and continue to have) a wonderful time here. So don't all start crying into your keyboards in empathy, and destroying your hardware...

So the title... Last weekend we went out to brunch, with some friends, and it was fun. We've done 'brunch' only a couple of times, here, and the experiences just does not compare to back home. Here's how it seems to work: Most places to seem to have a 'price fixe' menu for brunch (it varies between about $11 and $15US around our neighbourhood, plus tax and tip) and in that you may get a drink, or not... there are a range of options (shorter or longer) within that price. Andwhen you get to the place, and inevitably have to wait in a line (queue), and then your whole party has to be there before the consider seating you, and then order and get your food (don't go too hungry, or go early!). But what you get doesn't seem to be 'quite right' - it's either absolutely huge (and I still haven't got beyond the eating equivalent of the protestant work ethic, where I feel I must eat everything on the plate; quite a problem with US portion sizes), or just somehow missing something vital, like flavour or concept. D and I have been discussing how NZ cafe breakfasts would fare here, and we just don't know. interesting to reflect on how 'tastes' are locally produced.

So cafes here in general have been a bit of a less than 100% satisfactory affair, but there are some great ones. but don't get me (us) started on the 'free wifi' and the culture it creates... you walk into what would otherwise be a great cafe, to be greeted by a sea of vertical mac notebook tops, with people utterly engrossed in them. people don't seem to go to cafes together, they go with their laptops, and spend hours there. it doesn't create a great atmosphere. A few places have (hooray) 'no laptop' policies... including 'cafe grumpy' in Chelsea (which D pointed out, is sited right next door to 'Harmony House'... ha), also one of the few places here that does a 'flat white', which is quite nice, but very heavily male in its clientele.

We have had a wonderful week - marred only slightly by my now being somewhat under the weather - D was earlier in the week. We've made new soccer friends and hung out with them at a gallery opening/dinner in Chelsea earlier in the week, before heading over to Williamsburg for a gig - an unknown band - the Albertans - so we had aguess at what it would be like... it was ok. Still great to be out among the 'kids' and seeing more live music. Raced home just in time to get D signed in for the last soccer spot this Sunday (you have to sign in because it's a limited number; men can sign in from 12.01am on a friday, and all spots fill within 5 minutes!). D has got some work assisting an artist which is great (a few days), started Friday. Yesterday we visited the Brooklyn Flea which has opened again outdoors for the season, in a school playground about 20 minutes walk from us. Got some good scores, but by and large second hand here is very expensive... so we've cancelled the container to bring goods home in. And it was hot yesterday... sunny and about 26C. joy! We had dinner out with friends last night, and sat outside in a courtyard - with no heating! Yummy sushi. mmmmm.

The highpoint of this week has for me been a work one - I gave a public lecture at apexart, a non-profit gallery in TriBeCa, as part of a plastic surgery show they have on at the moment (if anyone wants to have a listen, it's online; email me and I can send you a link). I was as nervous as hell, having no idea how the audience my react to my rather critical talk, and having seen that it had been included as the 'picks of the week' on the Feminist Art Blog from the Brooklyn Museum (Brooklyn Museum has a large 'feminist art' collection). But I need not have feared. It went really well, full audience and good questions. Allure magazine included comment about it on their website the next day... so the audience was clearly quite mixed. A high point for me was that after the talk, a young guy came up to talk to me, and he had under his arm a book by an artist, Heide Hatry, which I'd seen a few weeks earlier and been fascinated by (it's very disturbing). I noted this, and how great it was, and he said he was her assistant, and she hadn't been able to make the talk, but had wanted to, so sent him, with the book, to give me. Stoked! So I'm going to get in touch with her soon. The other highpoint was dinner afterwards with the gallery owner and others involved in various ways, an incredible mix of arty/intellectual people for the ultimate NYC evening experience: great conversation and great food. We loved it! That all came about as a result of the gallery connection which D got from Ani O'Niell...

Anyway, the city continues to burst into life - the botanical variety, of course, for starters. The view out my window as I type this is of two different types of blossom, which will soon block the brownstone across the road:

The yellow one - I have no idea what it is; the white is dogwood and it's all over this city, gorgeous in every way. 5th Ave, just a block down from us, is really the most stunningly beautiful street in NYC at the moment (that's not a scientifically-determined 'fact') - it is lined with dogwoods and is just an avenue of white:
But as well as the botanical bursting forth of life, there's also been the humanoid variety too... There seem to be a lot more people living Park Slope than there were in winter - or they've come out of hibernation. And I'm kinda traumatised by the fact that "my" park - aka Central Park to others - which was basically mine alone through the depths of winter, my playground, my wonderland, has suddenly been invaded by the hoards (including many unable to walk of their own accord, being pushed in strollers by nannies or the occasional mother/father), who seem to think that they also have the right to be there... Central Park has become a frenzied mass of activity, which kinda detracts somewhat from the experience of 'getting away from the city' in the park, if you know what I mean. And I've only seen it in the afternoons on week days. I live in fear of it on the weekend:

The famous as well as the mere 'normal' folks were also out in Central Park - I walked past the actor Michael Hall (of 6 Feet Under and now Dexter fame) on friday. Along with the masses, there are less squirrels, too, but it's hard to tell if it's more influenced by the season or the numbers of humans (and dogs!). Here's a very impressive tail (slightly blurry, it was moving fast!):

We met the 17-dog man (mentioned in an earlier blog) in prospect park the other morning on the way home from our 7.30am soccer game. We had a good chat to him; he has 18 dogs! Drives around in a van, collecting them, then taking them to the park. He does about 3 'runs' a day, with mostly different dogs. Control is maintained with food. We had a good play with the dogs, gave out some treats, and got smeared with slobber and blood. Great way to start the day.

Tonight we're off to another Steve Abel gig - at the house of a musician in Bushwick. Should be fun. So don't feel too sorry for us and our limited time left here!

over and out...

arid-zone-a

2009-04-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos/Amigas

We’re back in the big apple after a week in the big desert (rather than dessert, though perhaps would be more in keeping with the ‘food’ theme). We had what can only be described as a hell trip – it took ALL day, and involved a walk, 2 buses, a subway, and airtrain (2 hrs to the airport), 2 planes and, finally, a hire car. I just about died (figuratively, not literally) on the flight from JFK to Phoenix (flight #1) when just after we pushed back from the gate they announced that ‘there’s a problem starting engine 1, we’re going to have to go back to the gate to get the technicians to check it out’. I was sure my number was finally up, and when we eventually took off some 1 ½ hours later, I was even more nervous than usual – poor D. tears were had, but all was good. Most other passengers just seemed happy to be able to turn their cell phones on for a bit.

So, Arizona, or Arid – zone – a as I came to think of it. The thrill of walking (aka driving our rather large vehicle) out of the airport into hot sunshine was closely matched by our first sighting of a saguaro cactus… and another. And another… We drove through Tucson (a flat city of massive highways, surrounded by (some) mountains, and up the interstate (I-10) to our first destination – Ironwood Forest National Monument.

A slow meander on an unsealed road as the cacti ‘forest’ got denser and denser, made slower as I made d stop at ever other turn for an even better cactus/mountain shot… Completely isolated, we were passed by only 2 other vehicles, one of which was US Border Patrol (we were to see many more).

The desert itself was a mix of the giant saguaro and spiky spiny ocotillo, in flower with bursts of red at the end of each ‘stem’, with the odd prickly pear and (teddy-bear) cholla thrown into the mix for good measure. Here’s one of many:

I had planned this 30 mile loop back to the I-10, and about 25 miles in, as the sun was about to set, this was foiled by the road turning into a huge pool a water. A local sitting there in a ute said ‘no, 4WD only…’ so back we went, luckily escaping just before the hoards of marauding penetrating Mexicans descending… Seriously, the rhetoric around the border is intense, and what one should do it one encounters illegal border crossers begging for water (nothing; notify the authorities). There are 100s and 100s of deaths on this desert border each year, partly a result of US border policies which closed down the borders in the cities, meaning the permeable bits are wild (hot, snake infested) desert – which equals more deaths…

Anyway, stayed that night in a motorway services cheap motel 6, collapsing after a delicious Mexican meal, and waking to classic views of cowboys in pickup trucks, and a ghastly diner breakfast…

the reality of food in the US was soon brought into stark relief as we drove past massive cattle foodlots, brown, dusty, and over-burdened with cattle, on the way to Gila Bend. here's a close-up of a small section:

Truly a terrifying thing, we felt well-informed about them having just watched the doco King Corn.

Gila Bend had some ancient wildlife:

We had our first desert hike in the Sonora Desert National Monument (fab) and saw some 'painted rock' petroglyphs - 1000s of years old, and now 'protected' (you're requested to 'stay on the paths'):

Around Gila Bend, a region that used to be fertile until the river was stopped, irrigated fields were almost painfully green against the desert brown:

We then drove south to a town called Ajo, where we stayed on route to our next destination, Organ Pipe National Monument. We passed through a border patrol checkpoint, but they didn’t stop us as we were heading towards Mexico… it’s all about direction! Ajo was very cute – formerly much more populated that it now is, full of cute churches and great signage:

The main industry of the town seems now to be selling ‘Mexico Insurance’ (except they were all shut!), and water, a necessity in the desert climate (they recommend carrying a gallon of water per person for a day’s hiking!):

It is home to a now closed copper mine, the New Cornelia mine, which was the apparently the second biggest open-cast mine in the world. And according to Wikipedia, produced over 6 billion pounds of copper! Blimey! You seem to drive beside the tailings for at least 10 minutes as you leave town, staggering. There’s no way to photograph it which captures the scale (you can see a panorama shot though).

Organ Pipe was our key destination. here's an 'organ pipe cactus (the busy one in the middle of the pic):
The park runs along the Mexican border, and unfortunately most of it is currently closed for “security concerns”. Damn! We did three hikes, up valleys and up into the mountains for two. The first was damn spectacular, a hike up a canyon, with views of a 90 foot rock arch high to the right, then a cairned scramble up to just above and behind the arch. Spectacular views across miles and miles of desert, into Mexico and beyond.

The absolute highpoint was seeing a hummingbird!! Both of us associated hummingbirds with jungles, but no, they’re common in Arizona (we saw quite a few more). Here’s a pic of a different one:

We also saw millions of lizards, birds of a various stripes, including the massive and impressive turkey vultures, and my personal faves, the rock squirrels(!).

AND luckily no snakes. Very very happy about that! D was rather disappointed. You learn to live with such disappointments. But hiking among cacti is not without risk:

Much of the desert was in bloom, being 'spring', so it was pretty special...

After a full day of hiking we set off back to Tucson as the sun turned the desert into a glowing thing of beauty:

We passed through the spectacularly named towns of Gunsight and, best of all, Why

We got stopped by Border Patrol. We’d be warned out the seriousness of them, so that when I was asked where we’d been, I completely panicked and forgot the name… duh! Luckily we were the right colour, and after checking our passports, we were wished a good night and off we drove. The road passes for probably close to 100 miles through the Tohono O’odham Nation (‘reservation’). Starving at about 9pm we stopped at a roadside place in the one town on the road, hoping for some ‘local’ food options, only to be greeted with burgers and chilli-cheese-fries (which won on the night)! While waiting we ‘gringos’ (seems appropriate, given it once was Mexico) entertained the little kids by our mere presence. Another ghastly cheap motel on the edge of Tucson, then a visit to the really quite fab Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum, a bit more like a zoo/museum, where we got to enjoy all the animals trough the safety of glass… those snakes are damned small; in my imagination, they were far bigger… glad I’d seen them at that late point in the trip. The high point for both of us was the hummingbird enclosure; I could have stayed for hours. Heaps were nesting. The low-point: Oh so many loud Americans and their even louder offspring…

Our farewell to desert hiking was a switchback ridge climb in the West Tucson mountain part of the Saguaro National Park.

The next day we got up early and drove the spectacular road (designated a national scenic byway) up to Mt Lemmon, a road which ascends from about 1000 ft above sea level (Tucson) to close to 10,000ft over 27 miles.

Part of the Coronado National Forest, we got high enough to encounter big green and brown things (aka trees, conifer etc!), and even SNOW! A ski-field in winter, we hiked up to the top, for stunning views of the mountains and drop back down to the Tucson plains.

Both sides of the mountain had been decimated by fire earlier this decade, and regrowth was really slow. The burned out trees were, however, stunning

Running late for getting our hire car back, we thought we’d jump on the chairlift back down the mountain… but NO! you had to buy a ticket at the bottom. And when we asked whether we could buy it down there, well no, because you have to sign a waiver that you won’t sue if you managed to hurt yourself! Honestly! So we raced back down the mountain, and it was worth it for some very cute Abert’s squirrels with these super tufty ears. (I geekily bought a National Audibon Society Field Guide to the Southwestern States, so we know all the names of what we saw now. Fab!)

Sun, heat, and even more heat was a treat to break the slow start to spring. Conference was great for me, but it was good to be heading back to NYC too… The desert was amazing, but I could not live in that environment: too harsh, too prickly, and far far too dry (not to mention deathly hot in summer).

We caught a ghastly ‘red-eye’ flight back to NYC from Phoenix (9.30pm dep, 4.30am arrival, less than 4 hours in the air!) and come to a city where spring had arrived. Glorious day, trees bursting into blossom, it was wonderful (if still rather cold!). Now it’s colder (about 7°C today), and wet… gotta love that water though! The return was rounded off perfectly by a lovely neighbourhood wander in bright sunshine (we passed little Matilda Ledger/Williams[?] - her presence indicated by the 6 paparazzi busy photographing her mundane childish climbing of a fence!), some fabulous 4pm Sunday soccer and post-soccer pub action; and then a gig by Steve Abel who’s visiting NYC, and was playing at this totally cool little venue, Jalopy, about ½ an hour’s walk from us; definitely a venue to return to…

Now it’s back to work – and trying to figure out how this country doesn’t do a public holiday around Easter/Passover at all. Possibly going to a Passover Seder this weekend, which should be an experience. Enjoy your long Easter weekends, in those countries that do!

Adios

spring... and a lack of adventures...

2009-03-28T07:21:00.001-07:00

Well, 'in like a lion out like lamb' started out accurately for March, with the snowstorm of the season, but so far the lamb bit has been pretty slow coming! but now a few of the spring flowers have pushed on up. here's a couple of pics from central park, taken not for their artistic quality, but to illustrate the season:

The buds on the trees are starting to appear:

It is refreshing to know there's life under all the brown and grey - and soon it will be glorious, I'm sure. we've even had a couple of warm days, but there are still plenty of sub-zero ones to counter-balance it. Central park is starting to pack out, and on the weekends if you're not in early, Prospect park is a bustling highway of runners, walkers and cyclists all doing the exercise thing...

I played soccer again this week - first time since the cracked rib - in this new game, at 7.30 in the morning! fab, great way to start the day. it's an 'intermediate' level with some of the same people from the weekend game, but much faster. no pain or re-damage to the rib, so all is good. hurrah.

We decided we' re not going to do the Brooklyn half marathon - it feels a shame, but we realised how much time we were going to have to put into training, and felt that it wasn't worth it, when there's so much else good here to do... so we'll do one in NZ sometime instead.

No great adventures to report, but we ate the famous magnolia cupcakes with Simon:

And good they were, too, though I'm not enough of a connoisseur to tell the difference between many bakeries in terms of quality. The red velvet cupcake concept (on the left) is pretty delicious, as I think I've mentioned before; that day, however, we opted for the hummingbird (on the right), which was more like a cake, and oh so yum. Oh and we went and ate a huge pastrami sandwich at the Carnegie Deli (v classic, and v expensive!), or rather D and Simon shared one (and I stole bits), and I had a matzoh ball soup. absolutely delicious. but in all my imaginings of this classic Jewish dish, which I had never had before, and had to try in NYC, I had never thought the 'balls' would be as enormous as they were... We also took Simon to Doughnut Plant and the creme brulee doughnut got the big thumbs up!

A rather low key week recovering from Simon's visit... but we saw a sweet film - Sunshine Cleaning, directed by 'our' very own Christine Jeffs... thoroughly enjoyable, and made even more special for us by the fact that the main character (Amy Adams) drove (wait... you better believe it) a tercel, and one exactly the same colour as our old blue-grey one... actually, there's a tercel in the neighbourhood here, but it's gold (how tasteless!), and pretty beat up. Still, it's still a rare car to sight.

Oh, and of course I have to mention that I got proposed to - yesterday - by a homeless man in Greenwich Village. I am walking to the subway to go to work after collecting my camera, and this guy is coming in the other direction, and as he approaches says something along the lines of 'why cain't [pronounces like that] I marry you girl?' at which point I neither point out that a) I haven't said he can't or b) give him a sociopolitical critique of the institution of marriage... I just keep walking, but he makes me smile (he keeps walking, too, and talking away about this marriage), and that is worth something (I wasn't smiling after my $250 camera bill...)

We're off to Arizona tomorrow to try and have some fun - I've got a conference at the end of the week, so we're holidaying for a few days beforehand. Avoiding the 8 types of poisonous snakes (ugh!!), scorpions, spiders and cougars in the Sonora Desert is my main aim! Some days of hiking and holidaying are just what the doctor ordered. and the temperatures. It will still be cold at night, but mid-high 20s and low 30s in the day. Hooray. My adventures this week have been costly preparations for the trip - buying some new hiking books, and getting my camera fixed - US$250! bloody hell, take me back to the film age please, my old SLRs never played up like this digital one. grrr. But the silver lining, if there is one, is that the NZ$ has rallied some against the US$, so it ain't all as bad as it would have been 2 weeks ago. long may it last!

For those of you in the southern hemisphere, enjoy the last summerly days of summer, as we start to feel that we can even dream of it here!

ciao.

when does a squirrel become a rat?

2009-03-25T06:05:00.000-07:00

squirrel? rat?

newport RI

2009-03-22T09:42:00.001-07:00

I'm back in Brooklyn after another sojourn, this time to Newport, Rhode Island, for a conference... Rhode Island is one of the smallest states, and it was great to be on an island! We drove into Newport over a fab bridge - America does do bridges well, it has to be said (view from my hotel room)!

Newport was the home of the America's Cup, and so the Marriott (situated on America's Cup Ave), where the conference was, was quite nautical in its theme. the rooms had delightful rope-on-water carpet...

That's enough to give any girl nightmares... I managed to escape the conference at various points and explore the place. Newport was founded in 1639 - 201 years before the signing of the treaty of waitangi! - and has the oldest synagogue in the US - dating from 1659. One of the attractions of the is the 'cliff walk' - 3 1/2 miles along the coastline of the next bay. Quite scenic but the warning sign certainly overstates the risk... even for someone like me who has in the past proved quite skilled at falling off or down things...

It was gloriously sunny and bitterly cold - back into the minuses... not that you'd know from the picture.

I have to say, I am a fan of the sunny winter! and it was wonderful to be back by the sea... I've been feeling quite ocean/sea deprived here, even though I see water pretty much every day, it doesn't feel like the ocean is right by. There, you couldn't miss it.

The other thing about Newport which you really start to appreciate on the cliff walk is that it was the summer playground of the uber-wealthy in the 'gilded age' of America. So all who wanted to see and be seen built incredibly OTT mansions along the 'cliff top', so the Astors, the Vanderbilts, everyone who had, and wanted to display, incredible wealth:

No detail was spared. I liked the pelican gate markers from one:

Architecturally they seemed to hark back far more to Britain/Europe than the US, in contrast to the rest of the town which seemed very 'US'. But what was nice about it for me - gave me a pang of homesickness - was all the weatherboard houses... different designs, but the basic concept was familiar. Someone else at the conference from Auckland remarked that it reminded her of Devonport, and it did have a sense of that.

I enjoyed two particular features: an open-air petrol 'station' at the intersection of 5 roads:

and what I think has to be safest ATM in America - perhaps the world? In the very same building as the police! you'd just be asking for it, trying to mug someone at that machine...

Speaking of mugging... I think I walked past someone being mugged the other day... I was completely absorbed in thought, not paying attention, and as I walked past these three guys, on a quiet street, at dusk, i half noticed that one had his arms up, and the others were talking at him, and standing very close. Of course I had passed by the the time I processed it, and didn't want to look back (alone on the street), but it was freaky.

No such actions in Rhode Island, it has to be said... in contrast to this city, where people assiduously avoid all eye contact, and no-one says 'hello' when out walking or running, there everyone said 'hello', even in the most unlikely of circumstances. very friendly.

It was sleepy and quiet, for the most part. I can imagine it's heavingly busy in summer, and probably quite awful. We were there the weekend before St Patrick's day, and there was a huge parade on the saturday, and that was bad enough. It's quite a tradition, apparently. At least they didn't dye the harbour green (as they do with rivers in other cities). The morning after the harbour was grey/blue, and perfectly still (with very small patches frozen) - quite stunning without boats at the moorings:

One of my favourite moments on that morning walk was seeing a seagull try to wrestle a starfish... I don't know how the great battle between the gull and the echinoderm ended. While the starfish was adept at escape, the gull was persistent in recapturing it. Clearly, the answer to one of life's great questions will have to remain a mystery.

Back to NYC - yay! Only here for a bit before the next trip, to Arizona (another conference). Arizona is going to be hot and sunny and I'm taking togs! But here spring is almost upon us, which is very exciting! I have seen the odd daffodil out already, and there are sprinklings of crocuses throughout central park. I can't wait! I'm officially over winter, even if it is sunny. Humans were surely not meant to live in such conditions for extended periods.That said the excitement of spring was tempered somewhat this week. Simon came to visit for a few days from London, and on the first morning he was here is snowed all morning. so much for the end of winter.

We've filled the days of his visit with much exploring and eating... it's been exciting having him here, not least because his enthusiasm for the city has made me realise how quickly it had become 'familiar' and 'normal', and that the initial rush of crazed excitement (the city crush, if you will) had been tempered by time. So it's nice to have it back, by proxy, and re-find it...

On that note, gotta head out to meet S & D at MOMA, before heading up to the top of Manhattan to visit Inwood Park, which has original manhattan forest apparently, and then down to the bottom to catch the Staten island ferry for sunset. gotta love this town!

But gin, in case you thought i was neglecting such things, never fear... this one's for you! a black one, in central park... They're extra delightful at the moment, and moving extra fast with 'spring fever'!

over and out...

Lincoln and more

2009-03-05T18:44:00.001-08:00

In NYC, so the saying goes, March comes 'in like a lion' and goes 'out like a lamb'... Sunday (March 1) was forecast to have horrendous snow - the biggest storm and snowfall to hit NYC this winter... We woke early to a light fall of snow, and so I dragged poor d halfway across NYC to the upper west side, to first and foremost, sample a bagel from H&H bagels - who are, apparently, in fierce competition with Ess-a-Bagel for the crown of 'best bagel in NYC'. Well, to be honest, we didn't rate them at all, either in texture, or flavour... and the cost. holy hell, $1.40 for a bagel with nothing! not even a schmear of cream-cheese, or even a slab of butter (and no, that's not a typo, do they lay it on thick, or what!?). I have to say my day-old half-price terrace bagels from the Park Slope Food Coop (29c each) are a much better deal - and nicer. Won't be going back there!

After a brief foray into the wonderful Zabar's Deli (mmm, free samples) we walked across to central park, in the light snow, and had a wonderful almost full circuit of the park. most of the squirrels were safely tucked away out of the snow, sadly... but the kids were out in full regalia playing ice-hockey, which we watched for a bit.

i was thinking perhaps to get some of their padded gear for soccer playing, it'd be just the thing to stop me hurting myself. on that note, i'll digress to moan about my cracked rib. bloody sore! but the good news is that I have managed to avoid sneezing for an entire week! not a one. several close calls but.

Anyway, the walk also took us past the Jackie O Reservoir, full of billions of gallons of water that supplies NYC - just looking at it makes you thirsty...

Mmmm, rubbish. But it does give spectacular views of manhattan, and a walk around it is definitely recommended for anyone visiting this fine town.

After a great walk it was back to Brooklyn to a cafe that seemed to get highly rated on the 'Brunch' front - the Brooklyn Beast. Now, this was ours first foray into 'brunch' in NY, and to be honest, they do it weirdly here... for a start, lots of places seem to have a set price menu for brunch - and then a range of menu options, which for the most part don't seem spectacularly interesting. But I thought to try this place out, as it had been reviewed well and was popular (we had to wait for a table. but to be honest, while it was nice enough, it was far from spectacular, and (weird in the US) actually quite small in size - Auckland does a lot better, and a lot more informatively. As you can see, i'm a true 'scientist' and basing such a generalisation on a sample of 1. brunch won't be a frequently recurring event...

Then we walked to DUMBO, the area of Brooklyn under the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge overpasses (hence the name - they love such 'names' in this town: NoHo [North of Houston], SoHo [South of Houston], TriBeCa [Triangle below Canal], BoCoCa [Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens - in Brooklyn]), and went to the great Brooklyn Flea Market - indoors at this time of year. Lots of delicious free food samples. I read a story this week of a woman who lived for a week of free samples. genius. it would take time and concerted effort, though. and you'd possibly lack a balanced diet.

Anyway, the impending storm to be hadn't arrived, but they sure were hyping it, with constant reference to the weather, and warnings of flights cancelled and delayed, not to mention emails to me from locals saying 'it'll be a miracle if you get to Nebraska tomorrow'. by the time we went to bed, it had started lightly snowing... and I awoke to: a world transformed! Masses of snow, everywhere... the biggest snowstorm of the season. A 'lion' for sure! here is our 'stoop':
my morning flight to Lincoln, Nebraska (via Minneapolis/St Paul) was still scheduled to leave (miraculously), but I got in time for a quick wander up to Prospect Park before schlepping the luggage through the piles of snow to the airport. it was beautiful!

I love the serenity of snow... it masks the world. except for the incessant engine revving of cars that are stuck trying to get out of it... but in the park, none of that. few dogs, but boy were they happy dogs. there could perhaps have been far more than we saw, but is the micro 'dogs' would have been buried in snow drifts...

So, heading out to JFK not knowing if I'm going or staying, but the weather managed to delay both the subway and the air-train: the air-train because the doors at one station seemed to be iced-open, and had to be forced shut before we could leave. with icicles like this, on the outside of the train, you get the picture...

The flight did indeed leave: here's my plane at the gate:

Now, being somewhat of a 'nervous' flier, these conditions didn't exactly arm me with a new-found confidence - quite the opposite. but I had a new experience: plane de-icing... we rolled back from the gate, and they sprayed the entire plane with this slimy pink gunk, and then I think a green gunk. it really was like something from Aliens... but hey, it worked, and eventually I got to Lincoln, Nebraska.

here's the man himself:

A very strange place. My first foray into the mid-west, which I think it is... it's kinda central though, so maybe it's just mid... anyway, it's prairie land. it has a fab deco capital building (it's the state capital):

And some really great modernist and other architecture. I really liked this building (foreground):

But other than that, it's a strange place. It felt like the recession/depression was hitting home there a bit:

But I still couldn't work out what was strange about it. Then it struck me... two things that made it odd - to an outsider.

1. it is a town of banks. I have never seen so many banks! you could barely walk a short block within the centre of town without passing 1, 2, or even 3 banks. I think 1 intersection had 3 banks on it. My favourite bank name: the bankers bank of the west... creativity exemplified. But they don't only just have banks, they also have drive through banks...

gotta love the US and their love of their cars... 'park, and walk, to a bank? Are you kidding me!?'

2. I realised that there are no shops! well no apparent shops. Walking through the city centre, it's just banks... (perhaps they are the ultimate saving town - they save, instead of spending). But then I noticed all these big buildings are connected by 'sky' walkways so perhaps the shops are all inside, and you just don't see them. perhaps they're even drive-in shops! Anyway, it makes for a very odd feel to a town, when the key thing you associate with a town (shops and commerce) are just not there.

But the trip was good, and it was even better to be home - did I mention I'm loving NYC? :-) Walking in to work the next morning, central park was still stunning in the glorious sunshine and still-snowy frozen splendour:

In the interim, I've managed to eat bagels from another 'highly rated' place - Bagel Hole, just close to us... These were much nicer than H&H in my opinion - small and dense, not at all super-sized. and they gave the jaw a serious workout... Bagels seem to be taken very seriously here, and I'm just trying to do my bit and fit in with the rest of NYC... obsessed :-)

So that's an update... and just in case you were feeling somewhat deprived on squirrel action, here's one that got away... evil genius.

churros, chocolate and chelsea

2009-02-22T05:02:00.000-08:00

well... it's been a while, and lots has happened... life is a mix of the mundane and the spectacular (which is not to suggest these are mutually-exclusive categories.

the weather has been spectacular, with these bright sunny days meaning vitamin d depletion is not so much of a concern (unlike the UK), but also spectacularly variable: from so mild I was walking through central park in just a long-sleeved t-shirt and t-shirt (weds), to so cold you think your nose will drop, frozen, off your face (thurs). crazy. walking through central park continues to be a delight; it's stunning...

and there's so much to discover, and the squirrels, did I mention how cute they are? There are 100s of them, everywhere. and they're well, just so cute.

one of the amazing things in central park are these really old tiles, in the arcade in the Bethesda terrace.

unfortunately some disaffected yoof took it upon themselves to tag the tiles... and they did so in an entirely uncreative fashion. unfortunately their 'life of crime' was cut short by being caught red-handed so to speak (more like purple if the paint got on their hands), and the latest story I heard was that the city was seeking to prosecute them as a 'felony' rather than as a 'misdemeanour' meaning they'd get a prison sentence. now that seemed pretty ridiculous to me; I thought a better punishment might be a 3 month intensive art programme, to get them to appreciate what they had tagged and perhaps develop some creative inspirations of their own. well, I can't see that being taken up as a suggestion, so i've withheld from emailing the city about it.

chocolate has also been spectacular. Finally made it to a new local chocolate outfit, nunu, who do this delicious burnt soft caramel covered with dark chocolate and salt. mmmmm. Not much to report on the bagel front, though we've eaten some very yummy pizza... from a place called artichoke, which the food critics can't seem to decide whether they love it or not. There was quite the queue, and we were crammed into a tiny space with a load of other plebs... but we loved it, even though it was very rich. and had our first bialys. and red velvet (cup)cake, which seems to be quite the thing, somehow the mixture's different to normal cupcakes, as it tastes as if it has baking soda in it. Certainly also good for the vampire-mouth look. And churros on the side of the street. what's not to like about deep-fried dough!?

tonight we went to the highly (over?)rated Momofuku Milk Bar... perhaps we were grumpy, or perhaps we just ate far too much sweet stuff (and got a grumpy post-sugar rush), but it was very loud and crammed and while the pie (I had the crack pie; D had the brownie pie) was incredible, it was just far too rich. but that's a small point. perhaps we should have gone for the savouries.

but perhaps since not everyone in the world is as obsessed with food as I am (i'm actually starting to get a little bit worried that I'm too obsessed; reading the reviews with great regularity), I should actually talk about other things we've done. Well, last weekend, after a fab game of soccer, we wandered around chelsea. or should i say hobbled, as d had hurt himself in the last minute of the game, twisting his ankle as he scored a goal. still, he scored. Incredible it wasn't me (but wait... in my wednesday 7.30am game(!), i think i cracked a rib... but that's another story. needless to say, laughing isn't much fun these days - i prefer grumpy instead).

anyway, I schlepped poor d around various galleries in chelsea, ignoring his agony, and it's one of those places which, every time I go, is truly mind-boggling... you just have to ask, is there too much art in the world!? Not that we saw much that was crap - instead, some truly spectacular shows, two faves were simon evans island time at james cohen gallery and itamar jobani wounded topographies at andrea meislin gallery. we also loved this building:

later in the week we went to MAD on the 'pay as much as you want' night - gotta love those nights - and saw some spectacular work on display, and a most fabulous building.

and i'm branching out from academia and joining the art world... i've talked to a gallery that d has made connections with (through NZ contacts), and their upcoming show is on plastic/cosmetic surgery. I'm doing a talk associated with the show. That's in April, and will be interesting.

i've got a crazy month of travel... on monday I head to Nebraska for 3 days, to do talks. i've never been to landlocked parts of the USA, it's kinda scary... Then the next week I head up to a waterlocked part, Rhode Island, for a conference. And not much more than a week later, during which time Simon comes to visit, I am off to Arizona for a conference. D's gonna come too, and we're gonna go hiking in the desert national parks. cannot wait. Wilderness!

before I sign off, one more addition to my earlier comments about dogs: the monumental dog walker of prospect park... well, that's what I'm calling him. d saw him one morning with 17 dogs! a few days later, we both encountered him, with 16. So many that they kinda pull him along on a half jog half walk until they get to their 'off the leash' spot. apparently they all know the drill (a fixed routine it seems), but blimey, that's a lotta poo to pick up! here he is:

that's all from me for now

ciao

2009-02-15T19:07:00.000-08:00

A whirlwind weekend...

highpoints:
- sunshine (lots and lots of it!)
- soccer. we play on astroturf which is apparently carcinogenic, the homeless people apparently piss on it, and the 'blades' of the turf coat everything you're wearing. our fab new soccer ball (chrissy pressent from my bro) is now black instead of white. but we're not complaining, it's so good to be playing again, even though on 1/4 size fields.
- free stuff: free chocolates being given out yesterday (they go SO mental for 'valentines day' here, we heard yesterday morning that the average person was planning to spend US$105 each on valentines day. recession!?!?!); free samples at the very 'nice' (and far too expensive for us) foodmarket close to us; free onitsuka tiger sneakers in my size (white with blue and red detailing) on the side of the road (you can put anything out on the side of the road, except fridges unless the doors are removed);
- free entry to museums on friday nights - this week, the Guggenheim. Last week, MOMA. A few weeks back, the Whitney (though others having also discovered it means they are crowded!).
- The Queens Museum of Art - we went today for a fantastic survey of contemporary queens artists, and they have the most incredible massive 3d model of the 5 boroughs of NY, to scale, with every building represented (planes even fly in and out of La Guardia). it's in the centre of the museum and you walk around the outside. incredible. I could see my office building; we could nearly see our house! the QMA is on the site of the 1939 and 1964 New York World Fairs and some of the amazing structures they built then are still there...
- A really fantastic show of contemporary Indian and Pakistani art at the Phillips de Pury Gallery & Auction House.
- Clap your hands and say yeah at BAM (though the support act was somewhat muddled, discordant, immature and tryhard - ow we're harsh!)
- and to show life's not all fun and games that we wouldn't have back home, watching a few episodes of 'The Wire' which we totally missed previously.

lowpoints:
- works on the subway lines, meaning they don't run - but this hopefully becomes a highpoint in the future, when they run even better than usual...
- pain after soccer (ow!)
- not enough hours in the day

Anyway, since this blog has thus far been pictureless, here are a few snaps of NYC:

First up, prospect park lake, frozen solid in the first big freeze:

Prosepct park after the big snow dumping a week or so back:

Oh and look, more prospect park, in the snow. You might get the idea that we actually like the place...

Oh those dastardly squirrels move fast when you're trying to photograph them (believe it or not, this one is actually in central park):

Oh and this one has neither snow, nor ice, not animals (except there are squirrels in the huts.). No, this is not the latest in temporary housing for those former traders at Lehman Brothers, it's an art installation in Madison Square Park:

right, that's all for now

over and out...

reasons to heart NYC, version 1

2009-02-12T18:42:00.001-08:00

ok, so we're utterly loving this crazy town... so here's a random list, kinda organised, as to things we're loving at the moment:

first up, urban wildlife

squirrels. god they're cute, and so entertaining. i know they exist elsewhere, but they look remarkably healthy here, and there are black and grey ones. and there's so many of them. and they're still out and about in winter (perhaps they have central heating too). the other day we watched about 7 racing around, chasing each other through the trees in the gardens behind our apartment.
raccoons. we saw our first one today, as we were running around the fab Prospect Park this morning... it squeezed itself into a tiny hole but we saw the glint of its mad eye (actually we loved it most because it was a good excuse to have a break in the run!).
all things dogs... how many dogs are there in this town? lots! one calculation suggested 283,000 in Manhattan alone (for those whose NYC geographical knowledge is limited, the city is made up of 5 boroughs on 3 islands and the mainland: Manhattan (the island, central), the Bronx (to the north, mainland), Queens (to the east, on Long Island), Brooklyn (to the south east, also on Long Island), and Staten Island (to the south). For the savvy among you, to the west is New Jersey.). Anyway, there are dogs everywhere! Prospect Park bleeds them from every corner; Central Park is awash with them; dog walking is a time-honoured profession, mingling dogs of all shapes and sizes. and the 'breeds'. last night we met a 'schnoodle' (a cross between a schauzer and a poodle). cuter than the 'labradoodle' but who chooses the names? why not pauzer? or poodador? and since when did a mix of two breeds suddenly get to be its own breed? and this glut of dogs naturally breeds a wild diversity of doggie accessories - of special mention, the doggie winter coat. This season's stylish pooch naturally comes with 'legs' and a cat-fur collar (kidding about that of course).

next up, food

portions so big you can share a meal (good for people being paid in NZ$, as the currency continues to hover around the 1:2 rate).
bagels... god they're good. i'm doing my bit to try all the 'best' ones, but can't really go past the pumpernickel flavour. I should, in the interest of spreading the love, but I feel a true scientist should hold some factor consistent (the variety) while varying another (the producer). So I've been chowing down on pumpernickel bagels from some of most highly rated places all over this town. so far I haven't had a single one I haven't liked, which suggests I'm not much of a connoisseur. One place, Ess-a-bagel seems to produce a cult following: we met a New Yorker working in the fab Goorin hat shop in San Francisco, and he said told us that when coming home to NYC for Christmas, he was going first to Ess-a-bagel and then to visit his brother and newly born first child... priorities. it was bloody good though. d is more in favour of the poppyseed, so we're not entirely shunning the rest of the bagel range.
pizza. pizza by the slice. well we haven't been very picky here, haven't visited the places that get the raves, but still there have been some delights. like the delicious ricotta & tomato slice from the pizza place just out of our local subway stop.
pretzels... smokey bready goodness in a (salty - not so keen on that) knot. what's not to love.
artisanal bakeries, creating all kind of sweet delights - it's not Paris, but oh boy they are good. we haven't yet been tempted by the famous NY cupcake (they're so crowded with iceing) but i'm loving what i'll call 'pumpkin kisses' (think ginger kisses but with a pumpkin spiced cookie...), but which they apparently call 'whoopie pies' (as Rove would say, what the...?). Anyway, delightful from one girl cookies - see them featured on their homepage. and their homemade marshmallow is to die for, too.
and the sweet note continues for the last but very definitely not least food item: doughnut plant, creating heaven in a yeasty bun... my fave: creme brulee doughnut (small round bun, filled with thick vanilla 'cream' and a crisp caramelised sugar crust on top). NOT one to be shared, as they're on the small side (unfortunately).

finally, today, winter

snow! no more need be said. but preferably dry and powdery and all over the parks.
sunshine - delightful clear crisp cold winter days with sky so blue it almost hurts.
central heating & double glazing. i know i should be hating the winter (who hasn't me moan about being cold, like, all the time!), cos it's so cold here, but this is the best winter I have ever experienced... i'm just so, well, warm!! really. the central heating and double glazing here are incredible. i know it's probably destroying the planet, and do feel somewhat guilty, but and it creates an inner core of warmth that persists for ages when venturing outside, and makes all the difference.

so those a few of the things we're loving... there are far more to come. of course there's the odd thing that isn't great - there will be some on that in the future, i'm sure. but all in all, well, what's not to love?

We're off tonight to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at BAM (the Brooklyn Academy of Music); when we were about to leave NZ, d said this would be the one band he really wanted to see in NY, and here they are, playing at a local venue, at a price we can afford, as part of a week long 'sounds like Brooklyn' festival. affordability can't be said for all the music! The Killers were playing earlier in the year at Madison Square Gardens and the cheapest tickets were over $200US!! Needless to say, we didn't go. Next week we're going to see A Winter's Tale, also at BAM, directed by Sam Mendes, in a US-UK co-production, with Ethan Hawke and Rebecca Hall (recently seen in Frost/Nixon and Vicky Christina Barcelona) among others...

We're making up for missing summer!

the bbq bit...

2009-02-04T19:55:00.001-08:00

or, not one for the vegetarians or vegans among you! Consider yourselves forewarned, this is a bit of a homage to eating meat.

so even from blog 1 the bagel bit is pretty obvious, as is brooklyn , but 'bbq'...? I can see the furrowed brows from here... I know you're dying of curiosity!

Apart from the pure pleasure an instance of alliteration can bring, 'bbq' signals both my general interest in all the gastronomic pleasures to be found in this fine city (well the ones I can afford), and invokes the true delights of the bbq meal - as embodied in the most marvelous bbq place we've discovered... fette sau (http://www.fettesaubbq.com/)! mmmmm.

situated in the still-so-hip williamsburg, fette sau is one of those places you wish for in your own home town - we'll miss it when we come home. a bar and an eating joint, on any given night they serve about 6 different kinds of bbqed pork and beef - all organic. you order by weight and type, they slice it up off the slabs kept hot under lights in a glass counter, weigh it, slap it on a paper sheet on a tray, add whatever sides you've ordered (e.g., potato salad), and the complimentary bread buns that appear identical to, and taste as truly bland and awful as, a KFC bun (weirdly out of place among the quality of the meat) and away you go. off to find your seat on the long wooden picnic style tables.

The interior is fantastic - think renovated urban-industrial, illustrated on one wall with cuts of meat, in that old-fashioned butchers chart kind of style. the bar stools are old metal tractor seats; the handles to pull the beers are long knives and meat tenderisers, blades and all. one sees the potential for a nasty accident after one pint too many, but given this is 'the land of the sue', i'm sure all safety angles have been covered. beer is served in jam jars - this isn't 'haute cuisine' here, or silver service. it's warm, loud and social, and a fab night out.

The only downside? unfortunately there is one, but it might be particular to me... so you arrive and join the cue to order, having decided, based on previous experience, that, 'we'll get a 1/2 lb of X and a 1/4 lb of Y, and one side' , which should more than easily fill two people... but then you get to the glass counter, see the options, have a truly libran 'i can't decide and i want to taste it all' moment, and all common sense flies right out the window... you end up ordering a 1/2 lb of this, a 1/4 lb of that, another 1/4 lb of that, two-three sides, and probably more, and before you know it, you've eaten so much you can barely move. there are, of course, worse downsides, and it's nothing that a good hour of walking around williamsburg won't fix, after all. However, this option's not so fun at -6 with the pavements covered in ice. slipping and sliding around williamsburg, complaining of the cold is perhaps a more accurate account.

so there's the bbq...

snow, and then some

2009-02-03T18:27:00.000-08:00

hello

so we moved to brooklyn a month or so ago, leaving the start of what has turned out to be a stonking summer, to immerse ourselves in the depths of nyc's winter. and then we left for 3 1/2 weeks in england (holland, for d) and germany. we're exhausted but very happy to be 'home,' despite a great trip. it's snowed all day, and there's more due tomorrow - the world is white again, and I am very happy. I improved my long subway ride to work by getting out at 57th st and walking the length of central park - this is going to be a regular feature of my commute. it takes about 45 minutes at a quite leisurely pace. The few other souls crazy enough to be out there this morning emerged from the whiteness occasionally, but the park was mostly populated by the squirrels, clearly mad for the snow! like me, really, but somewhat more adapted to it, what with the fur 'n all. so cute! the lakes and reservoir in the park are frozen, and the new snow was collecting across the ice, covering water as well as land. I read this morning that there are 58 miles of walking tracks in central park, and i aim to walk as many of those miles as possible before we leave.

the flight back from germany was on a very cramped lufthansa 747, with a pilot who must, i think, have a somewhat macabre sense of humour: as we're about to depart, when the captain does their little introductory speech, ours announced that the flight is bound for 'the hudson river'. given that we were actually heading to JFK, which is not on the hudson, I could only hope he didn't intend to emulate the incredible feat of the pilot of US Airways flight 1549! Fortunately the air traffic controllers had other ideas, and we landed safely at JFK, getting home after a leg of the journey that involved 3 trains, 1 flight, 1 airtrain, 1 subway, and 1 unfortunately rather long walk with heavy packs - winter travel does not invite travelling light, for those of us who struggle with the concept to begin with!

anyway, back to brooklyn, and back to bagels. hooray. today's bagel consumption: a pumpernickel bagel from terrace bagels (http://www.yelp.com/biz/terrace-bagels-brooklyn), with a boiled egg. absolutely delightful!

over and out...