2018 Winter adventure day in NYC

On the final day of 2018, I took my cousins on a full day adventure in NYC. Below is a recap for future reference. I was surprised we managed to fit so much into one day!

stop0: jersey city

We started our day by taking a leisure stroll to Jersey City waterfront. The sun was out so we managed to enjoy the view of lower Manhattan skyline and the ferries. After some sightseeing, we took the Path train from Exchange Place to World Trade Center. Don't forget to load up on subway cards (can be used for both PATH train and NY subway trains).  Info on path: https://www.panynj.gov/path/maps-schedules.html and subway https://new.mta.info/

stop1: downtown

We walked through Brookfield winter garden to see the LED lights. It was relaxing and fun! C. wanted to see the Ground Zero memorial fountains so we skipped the inside of the Oculus hub. At Fulton Center C. introduced me to a bubble tea chain called Gong Cha. I've never been a huge fan of bubble tea but decided to try white pearl (it's interesting). After the fountains we walked to City hall and took some pics of the entrance to Brooklyn Bridge. Surprisingly busy on a cold day.

stop2: chinatown

We took a MTA bus from City hall to Chinatown. This was a request by cousins as I don't typically walk around Chinatown unless I'm meeting friends for food. We didn't get any food and it was getting close to lunch time so made our way to St. Marks for lunch.

stop 3: lunch

Given it's lunch time, St. Marks was kind of dead. No yakitori place was open. Some of the other places I had in mind didn't work out given they didn't have non-gluten options. We ended up getting lunch specials at a place (forgot the name) which was okay. Hopefully in the future we can try
okonomiyaki at Otarfuku and/or udon west.

Stop 4: midtown

We took the subway to Grand Central to browse Kinokuniya bookstore. Sadly didn't have time for NYC library or exhibition, but we were sort of in a hurry to head to karaoke before it got too late.

Stop 5: karaoke

Karaoke duet near 35th st, opens at 2pm https://www.karaokeduet.com/
We made it to karaoke and managed to sing for an hour before heading home to NJ on the 33rd St Path train.

Post NYC

After our multi-stop NYC tour we relaxed with some anime.
My pick: Tsurune (show about archery club, very well animated and very relaxing for a sports genre)
D's pick: Zombieland Saga (zombie idol show with a very wacky cast)

New Year's eve dinner can be pretty packed depending on the place and time. It was raining pretty hard and still relatively early, so we took my aunt/uncle and cousins to a local beer garden called Zepplin Hall.

It's always fun having visitors who want to explore NYC so I look forward to our future adventures too.

Crisp Autumn Notes

I am sure everyone has those moments when one is too busy having fun to write about how much fun they are having. Just came back from an active vacation in Colorado followed by a non stop weekend.

In any case, instead of staring at my list of backlog, I am going to try a weekend recap. (Pardon errors as I am using the ipad and needs to do more editing when back to computer.)

The Rise at Old Westbury Garden features 5000+ pumpkins carved into various jack o latern or pop culture icons. The event attracted people of all age groups. http://www.therise.org/site/index

My favorites below:

The show also featured a soundtrack that fit the mood in the garden. the ghost walk path was probably more romantic than scary (only path without a huge crowd). As estimated on their site, we spent about 40 min walking through it, with some photo ops.

Oyster Bay oyster festival http://www.theoysterfestival.org/

W. and I surveyed the ever growing selection of food and decided to stick to basics. We braved the line for 15 raw oysters (expert tip: each LIRR oyster fest package comes with oyster vouchers. And bring food / drinks while waiting for oysters or have friends bring food from other food stands). We also ate pupusas, Manhattan chowder (they ran out of New England style 1 hour into fest), and soft-shell crab. J. gave us his extra oyster ticket and also offered some hot funnel cakes (the best, just be prepared to be sacrifice your clothes to powdered sugar). After browsing pirates, fire boat, and art/food vendors, we grabbed hot chocolate and headed to LIRR home.

NYRO concert - nyro.org

community orchestra concert set at very beautiful church in midtown. Suggested $10 tix totally worth the impressive program for every concert. Be sure to save the dates. the latest concert reminded me how much I liked Brahms yet how little of his work I know. Should also look into Virgil Thompson Louisiana Story. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Story

NY flute club concert - http://nyfluteclub.org/concerts-events-and-more/2015-2016-concert-season

I need to start a list of flute musicians and composer I hear at these concerts so I could follow their tours and listen more! Always more Bach esp for flutes (also need to play more Bach too). need to look more into Julius Baker and legacy. And wooden flute headjoint sported by Bart Feller. Look up Mimi Stillman in Philly.

Winter in New York City

We have had our share of cold and snow in New York this winter, but not enough to stop some recent visitors from enjoying the city. While my previous NYC guides and tips have been more summer and warmer weather focused, I thought I'd summarize some winter outing tips for future reference.

Top 5 picks for non-holiday season winter months in NYC (in no particular order):

• Museum: Metropolitan museum of art, (or other museums such as Natural history museum, Guggenheim museum, MoMa)
• Music: jazz bars in the village, or whatever type of music suits your mood. 
• City watching: pick any food and coffee place with a nice window and watch the snow fall. people watching is awesome too.
• Ice skating: Bryant Park, Prospect Park, Central Park, Rockefeller, etc. Tip: wear stretchy pants and finger less gloves! take a break with hot chocolate and marshmallows.
• Bookstores/Comic Shops: Strand is great for browsing/reading/buying. For comics I usually go to Midtown comics but Forbidden Planet is just a few doors down from Strand so good for a combination visit. Here's my bookstore list (which seriously needs to be updated. sigh)

Misc Tips

• weather tip: dress warmly and wear warm comfortable boots. if the weather is below 10, may be easier to plan your day around one neighborhood (food/drinks/music/fun) as to avoid too many cold subway transfers or walking.
• host tip: make sure to stock up on hot chocolate. my favorite is Godiva's hot chocolate (dark chocolate). I make it with hot water and add cinnamon/nutmeg. then add a bit of milk. You can also make this with hot milk (a min or two in the microwave). 

Q's visit notes

Q is a friend I met in Shanghai years ago. Despite the number of years that has passed, I'm glad we are still able to chat and catch up and hang out together. It was her first time in NYC. NYCGO has a nice list of top attractions here http://www.nycgo.com/must-see-nyc/

Fri - Jazz at Met museum (this was a special event organized by Jazz and Colors), starbucks under Rockefeller Center (the worst starbucks service I've seen in the city, but it is indoors and has seating and good for a chat), Q and her classment went to Top of Rock and Times Square afterwards.

Sat - Financial District - Charging bull, Battery Park sights, Wall street, New York Stock Exchange, Stone St for lunch at Ulysses burger and coffee. Excellent Statue of Liberty photo op on board the free Staten island ferry. Quick mid-afternoon snack break at Underground pizza. Another break afterwards for hot chocolate.
Artsy spiral building and ceiling photo shoot at Guggenheim (looks prettier during the day though). They have free Sat evening admission so we also looked through exhibits (mostly under construction though).
Metropolitan Museum visit to see more exhibits. Luckily they open late on Friday and Saturdays. Egyptian temple, armor wing, american wing. persian, islamic, chinese art exhibits (peking opera face paints). bus downtown then ramen break. Zinc Bar jazz concert (Monika Oliveira and the Brazilians. great flute and sax parts and of course singing).
we ordered birth of cool and A-train cocktails.

Sun - french toast with apricot/chocolate and genmaicha tea
Brooklyn Bridge. Seaport stationery shop and park for views of BWM (Brooklyn, Williamsburg, and Manhattan) bridges
grocery store challah adventures.
sesame bagel with veggie cream cheese

E's visit notes

E and I met in middle school and were penpals (yes real letters and stamped envelopes) when I moved out of state. We managed to stay in touch and I'm glad I got to visit her in SF a few times and soon in Philly too. 

Sat
Japonica - good tuna sashimi, Japanese pickles and green tea. we watched snow fall outside. it's very relaxing to watch snow.
origami meetup at Cosi- butterflies, modular origami
flamengo jazz guitar Andreas Arnold - Cornelia Cafe. For cocktails I ordered a madison manhattan and E ordered a sneaky ginger.
Rasa - Malaysian curry.
Dessert at Amorino. I had a gelato (cafe and hazelnut). E. and R. ordered very thick looking Italian hot chocolate.
We wandered through Strand bookstore until closing.

Sun
French toast brunch
brunch part two: Open door gastropub Caribbean wings and virgin bloody mary (tomato juice and hot sauce)
E went to catch a broadway show with family, I had flute ensemble practice followed by a flute concert.

Governor's Island and Typewriters

Screenshot

Reference
Governor's Island (open until Sept 28,2014)
http://www.govisland.com/html/visit/directions.shtml

Down Under Bakery Pies
http://www.dubpies.com/

Blue Marble Ice Cream
http://www.bluemarbleicecream.com/

Hanx writer app

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hanx-writer/id868326899?mt=8

Smithsonian typewriters

http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/scitech/carbons/typewriters.html

Top 5 NYC

The good thing about living in NYC is that I don't have to worry about going to the 'top 10 must see attractions' in a day. I can take my time working through them and discover a bunch of other interesting things along the way. I realize that some of my friends do not have this luxury so I listed some of my favorites below. Instead of thinking too hard about this, I wrote down a bunch of ideas and then picked my top 5 from the list. For a future project, I may consider a mapped out route, a photo postcard collection, and an audio walking tour. Although getting lost is half the fun so maybe I won't do any of the above. If the weather is good, I would suggest wandering/exploring downtown NYC (unnumbered streets). Leave yelp and google maps behind and see where you end up with.

My top 5 as of 8/11/2014 (in no particular order):

-Walk down west side hudson river parks and pier / walk through park along east river. NYC has beautiful waterfronts and many access points. I personally like the east side since there are several bridges in view.

-NY Public Library (the one with lions) at Bryant park. Good for architecture, reading, and interesting exhibits.

-Mets game or stadium tour at Citifield. I personally love the stadium and encourage everyone to check out Shea bridge and the museum with shiny world series trophies and Mets history. Oh and the food and game atmosphere are great too.

-Metropolitan museum of art. Donate a couple of dollars (all admission prices are suggested, not mandatory), get a badge/sticker, and wander around this maze / art haven. My favorite areas of the Met are the American Wing open courtyard and the armor room.

-Central Park Bethesda fountain / conservatory garden / any walking tour given by the Central Park conservancy. I'm sure central park is on everyone's list and it is great for all seasons. 

Pic below shows bridges on the east side. If you look north of seaport, you will see the Brooklyn bridge, the Manhattan bridge, and the Williamsburg bridge. if you look south (not in picture), you will see the Verrazano. 

Rough brainstorm list below, loosely categorized.

//food and drink 

People watching at R&R coffee

Jack's Stir Brew at the south st seaport / take your coffee to go and enjoy the waterfront view!

Cornelia cafe for food and/or show

Italian bakeries - Bruno or Ferrara

Japanese food / sake near St Marks / Yakitori / omonomiyaki stand, tea house, soba, odecibel bar

Zabars bagel and lox

Shake shack burger and shake / or just go to the shorter line for custard

//outdoor active stuff

Walking around LES / finding good eats / beer/ concerts

Juggling in Bryant Park

Central Park Bethesda fountain / conservatory garden / walking tour

Union Sq green market / farmer's market

Governors island / biking / view of skyline

Brooklyn botanical garden

Mets game at Citifield / Shea bridge

Brooklyn Promenade 

People watching in Washington Square, Union Square, and on the 6 train.

Walking down piers on west side / park on east river

//Books and arts

Strand Book store 

Forbidden Planet comic store

NY Public Library - Bryant park

NY transit store and exhibition in Grand Central and main transit museum in Brooklyn

Neue Galerie and book store - featuring German and other languages

Moma Gallery and store

Metropolitan museum of art

Moon and street lights (black/white night photos work everywhere in NYC)

Long Weekend Boogie

Memorial Day weekend is the official start of summer fun. J. and I spent most of it exploring the city and trying different food places. It's pretty amazing how much the city has to offer besides the normal BBQ and beach activities (not that there's anything wrong with those, gotta love both). A sampling below:

Lincoln Center / NYPL 

Besides the wonderful NY Philharmonic concert with Szymanowski Violin Concerto No. 1 and Prokofiev Selections from Cinderella, we also walked around the area and checked out fountains and sculptures. For library and music lovers, the NY public library performing arts library is also just across the plaza. I'm always impressed by their sheet music section and of course the expected large collection of music recordings on various forms of media.

Passport to Taiwan Event 

A few weeks ago I attended a Japanese culture event in Central Park [see blog entry]. This past Sunday was the Passport to Taiwan event in Union Square. The event featured a number of yummy food stands, fun arts/crafts tables, and of course a stage area. Next year I hope to try out the "bamboo tamales" and "stir fried vermicelli" booths. There were also a number of public art that are good photo ops (see below) and poster boards with relevant stats of Taiwan. I didn't stay for all the performance but I think the band I saw near the beginning of the festival is Takao Run (打狗亂歌團). Facebook page here. I enjoyed their acoustic style songs. Check them out on this youtube playlist. 

Governor's Island

Opening day was Saturday and this year the ferry ride is free on Sat/Sun mornings and cost $2 on all rides week days and afternoon weekends. If you plan on going there often, $20 for a season pass (until end of Sept) helps you avoid lines etc. You can check more info on official site. 

J. and I rented a tandem bike which was hilarious as always. Food truck-wise, I enjoyed the pork belly and chicken buns at Momo and Buns. J. found a vendor (forgot name) that sold flaky pastry covered Shepard's pie. I'm also happy to see that Veronica's Kitchen is back this year, even though they changed location to a newly developed food area, close to the strange fire hydrant and telephone sculptures.

BBG various 

Brooklyn Botanical Garden had more blooms this time of year. While some people prefer High Line and Central Park, I like that BBG crowds is a bit more manageable (except during the annual Sakura Festival). Lunch offering is pretty good too.

Learn more about field of bluebells here on the garden site. 

field of bluebells

snowballs

lily flowers

Sweets on and around Halloween

Ever since I moved to New York, I've always attended the Village Halloween Parade and watched from various intersections. Whether my group watches the actually parade or not, we always managed to catch some creative costumes around the area. For some reason, my fear of people and crowds goes away around Halloween. Apparently weird clothed people put me more at ease. Zombies, storm troopers and furry animals are totally harmless!

This year I went to the parade with Wes and Ryan, two friends I met through origami. I made a newbie mistake of getting off the train on the west side of the parade when we agreed to meet on the east side.

Tip number one, figure out how to get on the same side of the parade because crossing 6th Ave is nearly impossible. I think this was never a problem in the past because I usually met my group near the end of the parade (above union sq). It took a while to figure out but we ended up watching the parade on the east side of 6th Ave, near Prince/Spring st. It's good to watch the parade start since that's where all the floats/puppets are. Wes suggested that we sign up for volunteering with the puppets next year. 

After watching for about an hour and a half, Wes and I took to the streets to find dinner. For people curious about the food situation on Halloween, I never had any trouble finding food despite the sheer number of people out and about that night. Lobster Smack caught our eye and we split a large lobster roll with fries (they offer old bay seasoning). Definitely will skip the cole slaw next time. I didn't take a picture of the decor but the walls had sea creatures roaming about with projectors that casted colorful green/blue lights with an ocean pattern.  

Around the block from Lobster Smack is a really cute bakery. I still can't figure out how to say the name properly but let's just say we took more than 5 minutes to finishing gawking at the wide range of colorful sweets through the clear display cases. Try Pasticceria Bruno http://www.pasticceriabruno.com/ next time you happen to be roaming around the village. I'm sure most people know about it, but I guess I was too spoiled by Ferrara's to ever look elsewhere. That's ok though, never too late to find new places (even though Bruno's has been around for a long time too). Wes was diligent enough to take a pic but not before I took a giant bite of the Italian cheese cake. I also tried Baba rum for the first time (delicious spongy pastry surrounding a sweet custard and soaked in rum).

top to bottom: Italian cheesecake with shaved white chocolate.
espresso. baba rum. pine nut tart, chocolate/peanut butter tart. tea.

If people watching is not your thing around Halloween, there is also a puppy Halloween parade in Tompkins Square Park. I dragged Jason to the actual event this year (after years of gawking at the online photos). Since I don't have a dog, I think attending in person didn't add to the experience. I'm sure if you have a dog and a costume, it's more exciting to meet other people with cute dogs and costumes. Thanks Gothamist for always having highlights pics!

After the dog parade, Jason and I grabbed food at Sharaku (Nabeyaki Udon: shrimp tempura and chicken noodles) and ice cream from Big Gay Ice Cream  (Salty Pimp for me, Apple Gobbler for him). I have to thank Linda for introducing me to the shop (for the longest time I thought it was still just an ice cream truck), although I made the mistake of picking something that's not Salty Pimp on my first visit. For those of you who like coconut and curry, Cococone is for you, but really it can't compare to the delicious chocolate dip, salted caramel goodness vanilla that is Salty Pimp. I also don't understand why everyone wants to take a "open mouth" pic next to the pretty unicorn. Spare us the weirdness, just eat your cone.

Some other favorite sweets around Halloween are peeps (pumpkin or ghosts), chocolate/marshmallow pumpkins, spooky kit-kats (bars have spooky designs!). While I like the candy corn designs and color scheme, I don't particularly like the taste or texture of candy corns.

Next fun holiday to look forward to: Thanksgiving+Hannukah! Can't wait to see what kind of yummy food we will cook up.

Outdoor summer concerts NYC

Pics from Prospect Park in Brooklyn, Central Park, and Citifield in Queens. Happy I got around to those concerts with friends. Extra shout out to Sok for the delicious picnic baskets pre-concerts in the two parks. And Tracy for making Citifield happen.

Slavic Soul Party - bringing brass into popularity again. All bands should have some brass (instead of just guitars).

Wordless Orchestra played the score for the movie Beast of the Southern Wild.

What a movie... The heroine probably wins as the strongest heroine in a feature (honestly can't think of another one recently).

Bobby McFerrin had amazing energy. I loved the part where he joined the crowd and asked people to participate. 

Third Eye Blind is coming out with a new album soon. They gave a concert after a Mets game in Citifield. 

NYC Autumn/Winter Guide 2012– Preliminary Listing

Seems I haven’t updated my city guides in a few years. Looking back (link to 2009, 2010), I really did take advantage of all the events NYC had to offer. Now that I live in New York, NY proper, should look into more events that I missed in the past while living in Queens. With the retirement of awesome NewYorkology site which listed tons of daily activities, I will have to do a bit more research. To be fair, my 2009-2010 events listings were pulled from various sources as well. This winter reason, I hope to write up some of the activities, instead of just providing a straight up listing. I will take these favorites and them to my guestbook and also my NYC welcome corner. Think of it as my NYC picks for winter (to be followed by the other seasons!)

Updated Nov 2012. (continuously updated throughout winter)

Winter/Holiday Outings
//Bryant Park Ice Skating Rink [link] until march 3, 2013
Free ice skating (if you bring your own skates and a lock) in the middle of the city surrounded by skyscrapers. You can also juggle with BPJugglers on Tuesday evenings and daily during lunch. A few things had changed about the Pond since I last wrote about it. For one, they opened up a chic lounge called Celsius (it’s only exotic to us Americas since we only use F while the rest of the world is on C). The place is conveniently located near the rink so you can relax and have a drink. While the holiday shops more or less stayed the same (I love the Star Wars one, every year), I noticed they have included more food/drink options (including food truck stars). Makes perfect sense to me!

//Radio City Christmas Show [link] until dec 30, 2012
Sadly, after 6 years of living in New York, I still haven’t seen this show. Everyone I know still recommends it so I’m going to keep it on my guide.

//Nutcracker at Lincoln Center [link] until dec 30, 2012
Ditto.

//Holiday Trains at Grand Central Terminal

//Even more Trains at NYBG in Bronx

//Stroll on the High Line

Various Trees and Lightings 2012
//Rockefeller Center: W Nov 28. The biggest tree in NYC. More lights than tree. If you haven’t followed @30rocktree on twitter, go read him now! Other favorites in the area are Saks snowflake show. Personally I’ve never skated there due to crowds.

//Bryant Park: Tu Nov 27. They always have great ice shows and ornaments on this tree.

//Natural History Museum: Famous origami tree. While you are at it, take some origami classes or join an origami meetup! (disclaimer: I’ve been to the class and meetup before)

//Metropolitan Museum of Art: medieval tree. like angels? you’ll love this. If you’re at the Met for any of their exhibits this season, do make your way to this tree.

//Christmas Stars at Columbus Circle

Indoor Happenings
//B&N Readings (Union Square Listing)
Great authors. I just saw Tony Bennett today and was inspired to update this winter activity list. Fired up Spotify to check out his new duets album Viva Duets as well. If you like Rachel Ray, looks like she’s coming Dec 4. Check out the holiday shops in Union Sq. before the book events too!

//Strand Books Readings (Calendar)
Even if you don’t make it to the readings, just walk around the bookstore and browse five areas that you wouldn’t ordinarily read. There’s a big world of books out there. I also like their cards selection the best, if you still like sending out cards with stamps (yea, old school).

//Jazzy events at Lincoln Center
http://jalc.org/multimedia
I can’t find the listening parties that I’ve attended in the past but the online live-cast and media archive is great for a cold day when you just want to get some music at home with a cup of hot chocolate.

//karaoke 
http://www.karaokeduet.com/

Other interesting stuff
http://bkbazaar.com/
http://www.bigonion.com/
http://www.theskint.com/
http://www.walkingoffthebigapple.com/

NYC A-Z (Summer '12 Edition)

Air conditioners
Bagels and bourbon
Cookies
Dark Knight Rises
Espresso from Financier
Five Guys
Good stuff diner
Hale and Hearty - Mac n cheese
Ice cream at Duane Reade
Juggling in Bryant Park
Korean dinner in Ktown
Lobster roll
Mets and the Met
Night skyline from Brooklyn Bridge
One percent
Potbelly's chicken salad
Queens by subway
Roosevelt Island
Staten Island Ferry
Trucks (of the food variety)
Umbrellas
Village
Walking Summer Streets
X - Lexington line (4/5/6)
Yes, we rock!
Zeytuna's

---

About this entry:

I wrote the above on my iphone on the plane back from west coast while fighting insomnia (gotta love those late night rides from west to east). Most of the letters came to me quite easily, while others took a bit more time. I kept the original version although there had been multiple attempts to edit and replace letters/words. That’s when I realize I just need to post it. I wanted to put some photos from the summer along the way but most of the good shots have been posted in the previous entry [link here]. My other thought was to have links to all of the letters but that seemed too busy and cluttered. Even writing this paragraph is destroying the minimalistic entry I set out to do.

When I first came up with the A-Z project a year or so ago, I was inspired by children's’ books, especially ones that came with colorful pictures. How cool would it be to do my own NYC book with my own photos? The project was stuck in draft form when I agonized each letter and whether or not I would be able to take a photo of the associated objects. Would I have Mets (baseball) or the Met (museum) for the letter M? Do I do a tourist version and include major landmarks? Do I do a park version and focus on park and outdoor sightings? Are branded landmarks excluded (i.e. iconic cube Apple store?)

In any case, while my A-Z photobook project is still underway, I do like how the Summer ‘12 edition came out. It’s a time capsule of sorts, just waiting to be forgotten, uncovered, remembered, and treasured for summers to come.

Broadway on a Friday

The winter weather has not been typical this year. After a small snow fall last weekend, we've had rain and some days with high in the 60s. Needless to say, made me want to stay out longer.

The original plan was to catch an early evening movie and then go home. The only show that fit the timing criteria and was somewhat interesting in content was the Marilyn movie. And it was only playing at time square theater. I took the subway there just to find out the local high school already lined around the corner due to some better movie coming out. Instead of dealing with the crowd I roamed around Time Square for other ideas.

I've always wondered about Mary Poppins on Broadway. I've enjoyed the stories and most of the songs from the Disney movie. The ticket booth in front of the theater was selling tickets so I got a show that starts in 2 hours. In the next two hours I looked up all kinds of toys in the time square toys r us (best lego section ever?). For food, as luck would have it, there was a empanada stand in the middle of time square. I got the 3 empanada special. Two savory (spicy chicken, mushroom) and a sweet one (apple cranberry) for dessert. The evening was cool but leaning against the outdoor table with the time square lights around me was quite nice.

Most New Yorkers don't like Time Square due to the tourist and crowd factor, but you can't help but feel happy for the tourists when you are there. They find everything fascinating. Not far from the theater there is also a three story Walgreens. I can't remember if this is a new addition to the neighborhood but I decided to check it out.

They have fruit and sandwiches on the first floor, cosmetics on the second, and souvenirs on the third (including a photo booth). I was amused to find the coke freestyle machine there although nobody seemed to be lining up for it. Maybe people weren't looking for iced drinks on a winter evening?

Mary Poppins was playing at the New Amsterdam Theater. Prior to checking out the gorgeous theater and decor, I had no idea this place was landmarked. Anyway, the show was awesome, especially the set where they show different levels of the house, and the scene with all the dancing.

A listing of all my shows (not a long list…I usually save my broadway shows for visitors):
42nd street
Shrek
Memphis
Les Miserables
Miss Saigon
Kiss Me Kate
Phantom of the Opera
Avenue Q
Mamma Mia
Mary Poppins

All over NYC

Midtown
Kati Roll Company
http://www.thekatirollcompany.com/
//unda beef, shami kabab. if you haven’t tried Kati rolls yet, next time you find yourself in the Bryant Park area, trek a couple of streets down to 39th and check it out. I like how spicy and flavorful everything is. definitely take them up on the 2 roll deal and split with a friend so you can try more than one flavor!

Uptown
The Met
http://www.metmuseum.org/
//Egypt (they’ve figured out fashionable beads, sandals, and eyeliners while you’re trying to figure out hieroglyphics), Chinese Garden (relaxing), and Goddess in Indian painting, Summer/Spring in Japan. they introduced a touchscreen system for many of the period rooms so you could browse the various objects inside the room. most impressive one was the hot water urn (kept warm by a piece of hot iron). that’s how they do tea service…

Downtown
MacBar
http://www.macbar.net/
If you want seating, you should go next door to the restaurant. but if you just want a quick bite, order at the counter here.
//I ordered the primavera which was good but I think the artichoke hearts were somewhat overwhelming. J. had the chicken diablo (mayan chipotle) which was just as good as they advertised. may try the duck one or the cheeseburger one next time.

Art for a Saturday

Being in NYC is a privilege that I often forget. Recently I volunteered at a corporate sponsored arts mentoring event that made appreciate just how lucky we all are.

My work place has corporate membership for various arts institutions in NYC, the Met, Guggenheim, Whitney, Natural History, you name it. Yet how does one single employee really contribute to arts by simply walking around the exhibits? Sure, I’ve enriched my knowledge of different styles/eras/history, but I haven’t quite impacted the world too much with my knowledge. Through the volunteer/mentoring event, I was able to see the impact of my contributions.

The organization that put together the event is Free Arts NYC (http://www.freeartsnyc.org/). Our particular event was one day only, where the volunteers get paired with a child (1:1) and guide them through arts and crafts projects. At the end of the day, the child will bring home his/her creations. No cell phones, no negativity, just encouragement, art, and a lot of fun. The event was extremely rewarding.

10 Memories:

1. picking colors and materials for all the projects. the number of items was overwhelming
2. my buddy named one of her creations after me (a pink stuffed octopus…)
3. a kid asked me if he could bring back an extra box of raisins for his baby sister back home. he is 3, she is 2. 
4. my buddy showing the fun photo to all her friends (separate from the arts/crafts projects, they’ve set up a photo area where volunteer and kid can play dress up with hats and props. then the photo is printed and given to the kid as a souvenir)
5. creating purple out of red and blue clay. beautiful color magic.
6. sitting on glitter by mistake and flipping out…
7. marching arm in arm to find my buddy’s group leader at the end of the day (hard to say good bye)
8. helping clean up after projects are completed. (I was never this helpful when I was younger…clearly I was spoiled rotten)
9. realizing that I was better at speaking/hanging out with kids than I had expected.
10. apple juice, the kids’ drink of choice. who said I couldn’t survive without coffee?

NYC in Winter

How do you enjoy NYC in the winter? It's too cold to walk up and down long avenues. It's too cold to shop outdoors. It's too cold to even wait for the subway underground. After staying out of the city for most of the holiday season, J. and I finally got a chance to venture outside.

We started out with a trip to the Natural History Museum which is always packed but fun. I'm not sure when they put up the space center because I don't remember it at all. It's the first section we stumbled upon after entering the museum from the subway. One of the fun features that we got a kick out of was the "weight yourself on __". Apparently we're incredibly heavy on Jupiter but super light on the Halley Comet! J. says he doesn't remember the whale room. I've always liked that ocean room so he clearly missed that section when he was younger. The museum is incredibly big and most kids probably only remember the dinosaur room (my favorite!).

Some of my favorites at the museum are:
gem and minerals hall - dazzling rocks and gemstones. I've always loved the star sapphire there.
meteorites - one of the few museums that lets people get a hands-on experience on meteorites
north american forests - look for the giant tree trunk cross section.
ocean hall (whale room) - almost as good as an aquarium. impressive displays.
fossils (top floor, dinos) - stegosaurus (see pic)

Not sure where everyone else goes for food after the museum, we decided not to go for dino-nuggets (even though we were both very fond of them when we were younger) at the museum food court (do they still have them?) If you walk west you can find the Upper West Side Shake Shack (all indoors). If you walk west and north you can find plenty of diners (very crowded for weekend brunch as expected) and other eats. Note to self, there is a Hale & Hearty's nearby if I crave soup one of these days. J. and I went to Arties and ordered a pastrami and corn beef sandwich each. Also enjoyed the potato pancakes with apple sauce immensely. Their pickles were as good as I remembered but the pickled tomato wasn't as impressive. We really wanted to split a huge poppy hamentashen for dessert but they only had prune flavor that day. Have to wait for Purim...

After the last snow storm that came through midweek, most of NYC already melted and cleared up. Luckily Central Park still stayed cold enough to keep its beautiful winter scene. We walked along a path on the west side and saw a bunch of kids with sleds. Apparently the park offers some nice slops. If the path got icy, I would go on the main road (along with runners/bikers etc) which had been cleared much better. Most people probably visit the park during summer (great concerts) and autumn (famous orange leaves), we actually have seen the park in winter for the past two years. When there's snow on the branches and ice over the lakes, it's very easy to forget that we're in the middle of the city. 

When we reached Columbus Circle to catch a subway downtown, I found the best booth in the park: Ferrara! Who knew they had a outpost in the park? A chocolate cover cannoli was a real treat after walking in the cold. If I wasn't freezing my fingers off eating the cannoli, I would have gotten a latte or something warm too. 

Go out and enjoy the sunny and icy winter!

Hale&Hearty

Various locations throughout Manhattan.
http://www.haleandhearty.com/

If you work in Manhattan you probably have tried Hale&Hearty at some point for lunch. Their soups and sandwiches are tasty and the variety keeps things interesting.

Some of my favorite soups:
-7 Herb Bistro Chicken Soup
-Potato Italian Sausage
-Curry Chicken
-Eggplant Tomato
-Ten Vegetable
-Gazpacho (summer)

Some favorite sandwiches:
-Chicken with Sundried Tomato
-Roast Beef

NYC Tourist for Half a Day

How to tour Midtown NYC in 12 hours. After a fun day yesterday, I wanted to jot down this itinerary for future reference. As NYCers we always make fun of the tourists, but in reality, they have been to more places and seen more shows than we can even imagine. Just talk to the people before and after you next time you go to TKTS booth. Time is of the essence and wear comfortable shoes! Keep in mind this is June, depending on weather you would have to adjust for things (esp. Christmas crowd etc)

Stop 1: [noon]
5th Ave, Central Park South.
photo ops:
//Golden Statue by Central Park: With the sun shining and trees flowing, you can't get better "man-made nature" than this. Afterwards, I looked up the statue and apparently it is Gen. Sherman. Kind of violent if you think about it.
//The Plaza Hotel: right next to Central Park south, you can't miss it.
//Horse-drawn carriages: You can either go on this (we didn't) or sneak a photo next to it.
//Apple Store (giant clear cube is a hit with tourists, makes for nice photos too)
//Various Designer Stores (Louis Vitton, Gucci, Coach, Bergdorf Goodman, etc). As you walk down 5th Ave to Rockefeller Center, be sure to check out window displays of your favorite designers! I particularly liked the colorful Coach displays.


Stop 2: [12:30pm]
Rockefeller Center. 49th-51th St, 5th Ave.
photo ops:
//Atlas with globe: A classic that is on many postcards.
//St. Patricks' Cathedral (across from the center. at 51st)
//Rockefeller Center flags: well, this area has ice skating and the tree during Christmas holidays. during summer they have lots of food/bars/tents.
//Nintendo Store: 10 Rockefeller Plaza. we didn't go here but this is usually a stop when I'm in the area. Kiddies will love all the merchandise here.
//NBC Studio Shops/tour: Another option in the area.

Lunch Break: [1pm]
Dean & Deluca Cafe
1 Rockefeller Plaza (Between 5th and 6th Ave.)
//They have cold sandwiches, soups, pastries, designer waters, and more. Check out upstairs for more seating. I really loved their fresh lemonade and roast beef sandwich. The cuban sandwich was good but I prefer my cuban sandwiches heated.


Stop 3: [2pm]
Top of the Rock [link]Entrance is on 50th Street btw 5th and 6th Ave. Closes at midnight. We actually bought tickets at a ticket booth in Rockefeller Center so we didn't have to wait at all. Maybe it's a summer thing though. If you want to save your money for the Empire State Building, consider this: where do you go to see the Empire State Building? (hint: not from the Empire State Building itself!). By the way, there was practically no line when we went. Sweet!
photo ops from top:
//The Empire State Building: in its full glory.
//Central Park: How big is it? Look north, that huge green span of land is Central Park
//Met Life Building: this is the reason why you can't see the Chrysler Building. Oh well.

Stop 4: [3pm]
MoMA [link]53rd St between 5th and 6th Ave.
//We got a combo ticket from Top of Rock booth. Checked out some famous French impressionistic paintings as well as Andy Wharhol pop art. Tons of Picasso too. The sculpture garden makes for fun outdoor photos.
Stop 5: [4:30pm]
Times Square TKTS booth [link]47th St, Broadway.
//Get in line for discount broadway tickets here! The booth opened at 3pm but we lined up around 4:30pm and still bought tickets within 20 minutes. Make sure to bring a list in case they don't have your first choice.
//Check out Times Square during the day! Take tons of photos!
Dinner Break: [5:30pm]
Tony's Restaurant [link]
212.221.0100
43rd St Btw Broadway and 6th St
//Watch out for the huge portions (one pasta dish is enough for 3-4 people) and make reservations if you can! I love the seafood linguini and some people love their stuffed mushrooms.


Stop 6: [6:45pm]
Toys R UsTime Square
//Huge 4 story toy store with an indoor ferris wheel featuring cars with theme characters such as Toys Story, Mr. Monopoly, Barbie, ET, and more. Also check out the LEGO statue of liberty and empire state building on the top floor. People not into toy stores can check out other Times Square shops before wandering over to the 8pm show.

Stop 7: [8pm]
Majectic Theatre44th St btw 7th and 8th Ave
//We saw Phantom of Opera here. You will go to the theatre where you are watching your broadway show. Alternatively, you should check out the AMC Theater in Times Sq. (42nd St btw 7th and 8th Ave) since they have now added IMAX. The non-IMAX screens have beautiful stadium seating too. Quite an experience!

Stop 8: [10:30pm]
Times SquareWhy not checkout NYC by night! While night shots are hard to do on camera, you can videotape your party or the bright billboards.

Stop 9: [11:15pm]
Empire State Building [link]Want to see the famous NYC night lights? This is a great place to go as it closes at 2am. There was no line in sight when we got there at 11pm. The Chrysler Building is no longer blocked, so take out your cameras! We just went to 86th Floor not 105th. The souvenior shops are packed with ESB items so be sure to take a look if you want some stuff for friends back home.
*note: I joined my party later in the day, but they had started early by touring financial district (wall st., the bull, stock exchange, etc). I've written down estimated times of arrival for the different stops, obviously you can adjust them as needed. We've mostly walked everywhere and I suggest you do the same. When we tried to take a cab from MOMA to Times Sq. we ended up stuck in traffic for a quite a while.

*thoughts: I probably should have included Grand Central, Bryant Park, and the NY Public Library too. Maybe I can include it between MoMA and Times Square since it's not too far.

Pipa

38 E 19th St
connected to ABC Carpet in Union Sq
212.677.2233
website

A few weeks ago I went to this restaurant with S. and W. before watching Sex & the City (great movie by the way). A few co-workers recommend the place long ago.

food
//chicken fennel salad. actually it's been a while and I'm not sure if this is indeed the salad I got. S. and W. had sandwiches that were tasty enough. I may try one next time.
//side of chorizo because I was still hungry after the salad.

//update: On a recent visit I ordered the serrano ham sandwich. Loved the spread they used (some kind of sweet butter) and the side salad was tasty as well.

//update: we had baby chorizos this time and I think it was quite good but T. thought it wasn't salty enough. They were soaked in some kind of sauce. Their menu online says sherry and olives and chiles.

drinks
//I was threatening to get cosmos in order of the movie but they wouldn't drink with me. I'm not usually a fan of noontime drinking either so it's ok. Next time if I go for dinner I'll get something off of their drinks menu.

decor
//chandeliers all over the place, with price tags to boot. probably an extension of ABC Carpets

Food Roundups Oct/Nov Edition

For the places where I picked up business cards from but didn't have to a chance to review, I've listed their vital info below. Ordered from uptown (more like mid) to downtown.

//Hell's Kitchen Area//
Delphinium Home (home decor, not food related)
653 Ninth Ave NYC
212.333.3213.

Kyotofu (Japanese tea house and sweets, tofu specialty)
705 Ninth Ave (btw 48th and 49th)
212.974.6012
website
notes: Loved their black sesame sweet tofu and tea. The chef's selection was a work of art. You have to try it to believe it. and I'm not even a vegan or anything. Just a curious foodie.


//Time Square//
Tony's Di Napolis (family style)
147 W 43rd St
212.221.0100
website
notes: make a reservation early! great place with huge portions for share. can't remember what I got but their calamari and pasta were superb. will take Bob here to see if the Italian restaurant meets our Italian restaurant expectations.

//Greenwich Village//
Varsano's Chocolate
172 W. 4th St
212.352.1171
website
Note: randomly ran into this place. As I was browsing, the owner handed me a chocolate dipped pretzel. Amaaaazing. I actually bought a small box of fish shaped milk-chocolates for Bob. He finished it in a few days and had only the best reviews. Just went the website, which was a bit on the casual side (with the flashing text and whatnot). But apparently they also take orders for delivery. Here's the number to call: 800.414.4718

Greenwich Letterpress
39 Christopher St
212.989.7464
website
Note: I found so much stationery and pretty stuff here that I swore I will go there more often. It came close to replacing Papyrus as my favorite stationery store, if not for the fact that Papyrus is everywhere. Definitely a fun place to explore and get unique gifts! Their website is more geared towards customizing as opposed to reflecting the store inventory.

//LES?//
Papabubble
380 Broome St
212.966.2599
website
With all the hype in the media, Gothamist, and Daily Candy, and one failed attempt to locate the store, I did not find this place all that amazing. Sure, the ready made candy is awesome since it's warm and still a bit soft. The other stuff is quite overpriced although pretty to look at. I eventually bought a small bag of the citrus mix because each individual candy looks like a cross section of orange/lemon/lime. Pretty neat. The website is beautiful. Maybe it will just take a while for the NYC shop to look chic like the other locations.

10th Anniversary Chocolate Show (NYC)

10th Chocolate Show (NYC)


NYC Chocolate Show
web

I found out about this event when I saw a girl using the brochure as a bookmark on the subway. I was curious and asked her if I could see the brochure. She gave it to me and I checked out the website for details. Basically, it was a chocolate lover's convention. The convention space would feature vendors, chefs, demos, and even activities for kids. I was sold. It took me some effort to convince T. to go with me. The line outside the door nearly turned us away but after stopping at the B&N for some coffee, we chatted and waited for the line to move. Luckily for us, we were admitted quickly. I had some issues with handing them a check to pay (I should use cash next time, or better yet, buy on ticketmaster so I can skip the line).

We first checked out the Chocolate fashion featuring some dresses (see below) made with chocolate pieces or even chocolate jewelry. Then we walked over to some booths featuring rockstar caricatures on chocolate (Cosmic Chocolate was the name of the company, I believe). Many of the booths offered free samples, much more than I had expected. Needless to say, we tried almost everything. In the chocolate lounge I did not find chocolate martinis or even Kahlua or Bailey based drinks. However, a sip of the Rhum Clement Creole Shrubb was refreshing. I almost bought a bottle there but the rep said I had to go to a nearby liquor store. Oh well.



Some honorable mentions (or business cards I actually took back)

//Chuao [web]
Best tasting spicy chocolate bar. Their Spicy Maya (with cayenne and chile) won out after I had literately 10+ different variations at the 70+ booths.

//Mary's Chocolatier
website in Japanese : link
Based in Tokyo, this booth not only had a white chocolate statue of liberty, they had generous samples too. I was skeptical about the green tea chocolate at first, but after a sampling I decided to buy a box for B. and I to try. Their catalogue was tantalizing but alas, I don't want to think about buying chocolates from Japan and paying for the international shipping charges! Perhaps I'll just pick up more of their stuff at next year's chocolate show.

//Gold Star
no website listed, only email info@goldstarusa.com
I tried the website but it didn't have the chocolate we bought. Just a general food site. This place was giving out samples outside the show, to people waiting in line. The rep then repeated the name and booth number for all to check out. T. and I loved the samples and did purchase some truffles at the booth. It's amazing in my opinion because we must have tried at least 20+ booths before we even found Gold Star. And when we had a second helping of the free sample there, we were still happy with what we tasted. That's when you know the chocolate is good I guess? According to the show program (lists all participants and websites), this company is new this year. Let's hope it's still here next year!

//Chez Pascal [web]
The chef Matt Gennuso gave a food demo at one of the stages. T. and I used the opportunity to sit down and relax a bit. We loved the sample they gave out for the recipe. It may sound strange to cook with chocolate but the chocolate black bean soup and the sausage in chile worked out really well. Needless to say, one of the stops we will make next time we visit Rhode Island.

//Modern Art Chocolates [web]
Christopher Norman Chocolates. White bricks and artistically done finishes. After looking at the map directions for their store, I realized the place was maybe two blocks from work...Clearly I need to get out more.






//Christina Stahr [web]

T. and I couldn't quite afford her art yet. But it's amazing what people could do with chocolate packaging. I really liked the pieces where she use music paper collaged with golden sheets used to wrap chocolates.

//Divalicious Chocolate Fountain Rentals [web]
The giant three or four layered fondue tower made quite a scene. They sold many fondue items at the show. T. and I loved the chocolate that they melted to create fondue. Sigh, if I can get people to shell out enough money for one...In the meantime I'll settle on going to their cafe on Broome St.

Other curiosities photographed: