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.

Food Update

Hiroko's Place 

write-up on NY Mag (spring and thompson)
order the omelette rice curry and ice coffee. place feels like going over to a friend's home for afternoon tea. so comfy and cute! Next time would like to try some of the pasta dishes.

Taco Shop

http://www.thetacoshopnyc.com/ (near Wash. Sq)
order the pork belly and fish tacos. don't miss this place. it's in the basement.

Empire Szechuan Chinese 

http://www.empiretogo.com/Welcome.tpl (UWS)
order the bok choy and string beans (both vegetarian friendly and bound to wow people who love simple veggies done right). The prawns and pork Szechuan style are tasty too.

Magnolia's Cupcakes

http://www.magnoliabakery.com/ (UWS location, multiple locations)
my regular: chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. Don't ask me how long I was in line. I don't get these cupcakes at ___ location unless the line is fewer than 5 people. This particular time I went to the UWS location. Most times I'm usually at the GCT one which is usually not too crazy. I know people will have endless debates over what's the best cupcake places in town and I've tried several (Billy's, Georgetown, Butterlane, Crumbs, Melissa, etc). I still like Magnolia's chocolate chocolate cupcake for the best tasting chocolate frosting. My other favorite is the Bloomingdale's location which has a Bloomingdale special cupcake. Otherwise I'm not too adventurous with my flavors.

Hide-Chan Ramen

Yelp entry (Midtown East)
everything here is good but I like to order regular style (less pork fat than traditional), soft noodle (instead of hard), and with bamboo shoots if not already in the ramen. I'm sure people who are ramen fanatics may rave about the right way to order and eat ramen but really, just pick your style and go with it.

Güllüoglu Baklava Cafe

Yelp entry (across the street from Hide-Chan, midtown east)
I like the extra pistachio baklava but there are plenty of other options to pick from.

El Aguila Mexican 

http://elaguilanewyorkrestaurant.com/web_eng/menu.html (103th st location, multiple locations)
order the tacos (any filling you like, I tried goat which was good), don't forget the sauce bar near the door. I think one of the sauces is tomatillo and another is jalapeno or habanero which is more spicy. I don't think I usually see pineapple pieces as an option. pretty cool. Also get some agua fresca if you want a refreshment. There are two large tubs of hibiscus tea and horchata (cinnamon and sugar iced milk, I'm hooked on this stuff). Next time I would like to try to tortas.

Kati Roll Company

http://www.thekatirollcompany.com/ (near Wash Sq. multiple locations)
Even though I've blogged about them before, I actually haven't been to this place in a while. I ordered the egg one (without other meats) and found it to be tasty too. May see if I can get it without onions in the future.

Pasticceria Bruno

http://www.pasticceriabruno.com/ (near Wash Sq. previous write-up)
Got the chocolate canoli and latte this time. My friend J. actually recommended another Italian place http://www.littleitalynyc.com/labellaferrara/ that I need to try at a future date.

Pepe Rosso Social

http://www.peperossosocial.com/ (little italy)
Order the polpettine (meatballs) and artichoke dip as starters. Then get the papardelle oxtail ragu. I got the shrimp risotto which was also delicious. V. found this with the help of Yelp before we went to see Pain of Being Pure in Heart at Bowery Ballroom.

Adrienne's Pizza

Write up in NY Mag (Stone St. Financial District)
There are many great places on Stone St on any given weekday/weekend. Get the old fashioned pizza (rectangle shaped) and try different toppings. I like basil, tomato, eggplant, pepperoni, mushrooms etc etc. Great place for a group of 4. If you're hungry, 2 people may be able to polish off most of the rectangle.

Sakagura

http://www.sakagura.com/ (Midtown East)
Can't remember the sake choice but it was recommended by the waiter and I enjoyed it.
Ordered the fresh tuna with natto, eggplant with three miso sauces (highly recommended for eggplant lovers. two sweet, one savory), cold udon with ume plum sauce/shiso, and grilled riceballs with mackeral (not sure if I want to order this again). J. had his usual cold soba with fried chicken. Mostly we go for lunch specials (which ends up being tuna + soba most times since I don't always like the special) so I don't write about those. Noting this only for reference for the dinner menu. Funny to compare notes and what we ordered previously [dinner blog entry].

Cool Haus Ice Cream

NY truck location via twitter @coolhausny
Maker's Manhattan ice cream sandwiches between chocolate cookies makes an awesome dessert. Personally my preference for ice cream to cookie ratio is a lot of ice cream to a little bit of cookie. So I'll probably just order ice cream only in the future or may split a cookie with a friend. J. tried the chocolate with salt which tasted good too. Other flavors include some strange ones with bacon or fried chicken.

Food Adventures in New Orleans

Also known as the Big Easy, Crescent City, NOLA, and New Awlins, New Orleans is not short on music, food, or the various nicknames. J. and I visited the beautiful city for a few days and I also got to experience the annual JazzFest (New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival). Full disclosure, this is my first trip to the city, so I don’t have any tips about Mardi Gras. Food in this post, jazzfest in separate post [link TBD], and attractions in yet another.

Jackson Brewery Bistro and Bar
http://jacksonbrewerybar.com/
Near street cars, Jackson Square, and Cathedral. You’ll see a building with JAX sign on top. To give you some context, J. and I arrived in New Orleans late at night so didn’t make it to French Quarters etc until midday next day. After stumbling upon the Old U.S. Mint, we wandered until we found this Brewery for a late lunch. Great first impression of the city since the food, drinks, and service were all superb. Would also come back for dinner/concert upstairs next time.

// southern pecan from lazy magnolia (MS), this beer is so good both J. and I loved it. nutty, sweet, rich, and awesome. (update: according to beermenus there’s none available near me in NY, bummer) http://lazymagnolia.com/
// abita amber. support the local brewery, try their beers when you’re in town. http://www.abita.com/
// crawfish etouffee: light and quite tasty, I got the small portion.
// boudin burger: tasty, although I still don’t know what kind of boudin it was.

Mothers Restaurant
http://www.mothersrestaurant.net/
Near Harrah’s casino, Riverwalk market, Magazine street galleries.
My colleague D. recommended this casual corner restaurant (it’s her fav in NOLA) that has a laid back look and feel. It just happened to be a close walk from our hotel so we took a look. Overwhelmed by the menu, I resorted to ordering their Ferdi special in an attempt to get a sampling of everything. Their sign upfront claims world’s best baked ham, which is no small claim. and they lived up to it. (Why can’t we get better ham in the northeast?) The space also has nice photos/local news/etc. I need to come back for breakfast/brunch.

// Ferdi: Ham and Roast Beef on bun with slaw. Below is a pic of the “smaller” portion. Very filling!

// Roast Beef: Same as above, without the ham.

Mandina’s
http://www.mandinasrestaurant.com/
One out of the many recommendations from my college buddy G. from a few years back when I first started to put together a trip plan for NOLA (glad I finally made it), one of his recommendations “Janita's” unfortunately closed down. I didn’t make it to Jacque Imo’s, so wanted to try this place Mandina’s because G. mentioned their fish selection is great. Located along the Canal St. streetcar line, a bit ways out from downtown. We caught the street car to and back, luckily they run frequently.
//  trout bayou style: this was a daily special. grilled trout topped with shrimp etouffee, with a side of baked potatoes and vegetables. superb fish and shrimp (quite a number of shrimp, by the way) in yummy sauce.
//veal parmesan with spaghetti – Italian food in New Orleans? sure, why not. I know J. loves veal so very happy see him enjoy this dish to his heart’s content.

Cafe du Monde
http://www.cafedumonde.com/
This cafe is on everyone’s top 10 so I had to include it in mine. Great for morning, afternoon, and late night people watching and taking a break from all the walking you’ll be doing. We ended up going there twice during our trip. Good stuff
// cafe au lait (hot): puts all other chain coffees to shame, if you’re not sure if you like chicory in your coffee, don’t worry, just do it! I contemplated buying a can of coffee there but realized I can never quite transport the charm of the shop and nearby streets of NOLA with me. Leave it for my future trips to enjoy and savor. Some things lose context once removed from their homes. 
// beignets (with liberal amount of powdered sugar): don’t even think about sharing one order (they come in threes). lovely with cafe au lait.
// cafe au lait (frozen): looking for a treat to cool off in the hot and humid weather? look no further, order a frozen cafe au lait and your energy level will go right up. I can almost eat it with a spoon!

Spirits Bar (inside Hilton Riverside Hotel)http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/MSYNHHH-Hilton-New-Orleans-Riverside-Louisiana/index.do
Nice place to chill and have a cocktail. Funny enough I got a Manhattan (a tad homesick?) and J. ordered a Tom Collins (there needs to be more gin-based drinks, you know?). They also serve pretty good food even late at night. I had their portabella and spinach sandwich which came with great sweet potato fries.

The Northwest Pt 1

My friend E. recently moved out to Seattle and put up wonderful photos of the city to encourage visitors. I had been looking for a destination for my Oct vacation so took up the offer.
While I took a week to write my first entry, I wanted to capture some highlights and make a list of "everything else" so I can come back and write part two.

Seattle Space Needle

Seattle, Washington
Pike Place Market:
You'll find fresh seafood here, $5 bouquests of flowers, fresh produce, a few eateries, and a ton of neat gift/specialty shops (paper, posters, jewelry, etc etc). We actually made dinner out of fresh king salmon and swordfish steak from here. Delicious.

If you dislike the smell at other seafood markets, I invite you visit here because I don't think I've been a cleaner market. No fishy smell at all. You'll also find the original Starbucks with lively musicians out front and a ton of fans looking at specialty coffee and merchandise inside. I was tempted to buy a mug but after thinking about the fragil transport I decided to pass on it. If you like City mugs from Starbucks, I have to say the Seattle one is the best (and I thought the NYC one was impressive).
http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/

Laser Dome:
Just next to the famous Space Needle (vintage world fair 1961), you'll find the Pacific Science Center which hosts a variety of science related exhibits and the very unique laser shows. If you go, check out the crowd's advice from Yelp (especially regarding what to bring, pillows and blankets!). Walking through downtown Seattle like we're going to a slumber party was quite a scene. Daft Punk's music is perfect for laser shows, as is Lady Gaga and Pink Floyd. Makes me wonder about other cities and whether they  have laser shows too. As an aside, the EMP not too far away also has great music exhibits and shows.
http://www.pacificsciencecenter.org/Laser-Dome/laserdome
http://www.empmuseum.org/index.asp

Blokus:
Since I was in Seattle for more than a couple of days, I was lucky enough to attend a house party (board games!) and met some wonderful people there. The one new game that I loved was blokus and I'm in the process of ordering a set myself for familiy and friends here. It's also on ipad so I may get that before I get the physical game. Another game I learned to play was Fluxx but I'm not sure if I ever got the hang of it...
http://blokus.com/
http://www.looneylabs.com/games/fluxx

Vancouver, Canada
MARKET by Jean Georges:
This was my vacation splurge. Beautiful space, attentive service, and amazing food. I ordered the lunch prix fixe which included a really cool rice cracker crusted tuna and snapper with nut and seed crust.
http://www.marketbyjgvancouver.com/

Trolley Tour:
Funny enough, I've never done a hop-on, hop-off tour anywhere and the first time I decided to try it is in Vancouver. Due to the wait time at each stop (45 min), I actually ended up not hopping off at all.


Canada Place

The route started at Canada Place, which was a block or two from my hotel, went through Stanley Park, Granville Island, and rest of downtown/Chinatown/Gastown. If I go next time, I'll have to plan enough time in Stanley Park's Lookout Place. http://www.vancouvertrolley.com/

Sun Yat-sen Garden:

Garden

This was my first stop in Vancouver after a quick lunch of shrimp wonton noodle soup in Chinatown. I also caught the tour guide's daily tour and learned some interesting things about the garden design and Chinese culture. If you go, you should take your time walking around.
http://www.vancouverchinesegarden.com/

Transportation logistics worked out well.  I went to Vancouver via Amtrak train from Seattle and returned via bus (dependent on schedule, you can take train or bus both ways). I barely used Canadian dollars in Vancouver even though I did exchange a small amount. Mastercard, even with foreign fees and exchange rate, came out a better deal for me.

Other topics for Pt 2
Reading, Pandora, and Entertainment Setup
Argosy Cruise and Port Knowledge
Seattle Underground Tour
Boeing Tour
Din Tai Fung Dumpling House
Various Coffee Shops (Caffe Vita, Roy Street Coffee and Teas, Waves Coffee House)
Iver's Fish and Chips
Hiking (Twin falls)
Vancouver Waterfront and Canada Place
Gastown and Water Street Cafe
Seattle Pagliacci Pizza Verde Primo

Annapolis, Maryland Guide

Over the Labor Day weekend I had a chance to visit the beautiful capital of Maryland with my family.

Some notable places and reviews below:

U.S. Naval Academy [website]: There’s a guest entrance area where they will check your ID prior to entering the grounds. If you go, be sure to check out two of my favorite landmarks there, the Chapel (green top, you can’t miss it, it’s grand) and Memorial Hall (gorgeous room with beautiful chandeliers). The grounds are also good for checking out.
 

Maryland State House [website]: This is the very building that is featured on the Maryland state quarter. The inside is lovely and you can read about some of the earlier days of the country here. Walking distance to naval academy and downtown circle.

Watermarks Boat Narrated Tour [website]: If you walk to the end of the dock from downtown circle, you can join a boat tour. We took the 40 min. one which talked about Naval Academy history as well as the Chesapeake Bay. I learned from this tour that oysters are also famous in Maryland, along with their crabs.

Buddy’s Crab and Ribs [website]: They have a very well priced brunch. Not only do they have regular brunch such as scrambled eggs and bacon, they also have yummy roast beef off the carving table and assorted seafood. If you like desserts, you can have your pick of the cakes, fruit, sweets, and more. We also came back for dinner because the group wanted whole crabs whereas some of the other downtown restaurants had more crab products (dip, cake, salad, etc). Their fries are seasoned with old bay, which is addictive once you have it.

A list of other downtown finds for future visits since we didn’t get to try them:

• Middleton Tavern [website] – This place was hopping all day. Nice location and beautiful storefront. The menu was promising too. I’m sure they have good nightly entertainment. A lot of oysters on the menu.
• Federal House Restaurant [website] – Another restaurant in the downtown circle area. I swear all of these places look amazing and you really can’t go wrong in any of them. Their surf n turf features crab cake and steak, definitely for next time to try on an empty stomach.
• McGarvey’s Bar [website] – For happy hour and the best bar food?
• Chick and Ruth’s Deli [website] – Our friendly cabdriver recommended this spot for lunch. He also told us it was made famous by Man Vs. Food tv show. Unfortunately I’m not a huge fan of that show and the 20 minute wait made us walk around for another location. Next time I will try it when it’s not too crowded. 
  

!Advise regarding Taxicabs!: If you drive down to Annapolis and stay in the outskirts, don’t take your car into town. They don’t seem to have many traffic lights downtown, basically cars have to yield to pedestrians at all intersections (and there are quite a number of intersections). Ask your hotel reception/concierge to call a cab for you if they don’t offer a downtown shuttle. Then remember to get the cab company’s number so you can have a ride back to the hotel in the evening. There is a taxi stand across the street from Buddy’s but when we got there, we didn’t see a taxi for more than 10 minutes or so! Ms. Julie was nice enough to give us a cab company’s number to call. The cab came rather quickly, and by the time it came, other cabs have gotten to the spot too. I’ll just include the company here for reference. Academy Cabs 410-969-2666. You can probably find others online.

Day two we went to visit St. Michaels and Eastern shore (about an hour away from Annapolis). It’s surprisingly how well the roads are built and how cozy the town was. The relaxing atmosphere reminded me of the virgin islands. I thought the crabs here were better.

St. Michaels Crab and Steak [website]: Amazing crabs, in my opinion. Also the best broiled crab cakes I’ve had (I think it’s in the secret spices or something). After all was said and done, I tried a slice of the key lime pie. Very good quality. I still miss a good key lime pie! Definitely worth the hour drive through rather small roads. After lunch you can take a look at the maritime museum nearby and the harbor. There are also some nice shops too in the area.

Boston City Guide

While I have been using Tumblr more often, I find its pace a bit too hectic for non-picture entries. I went to Boston for a few days and wanted to jot down some ideas for future visits and reference.

Sorted by area near subway stations for easy trip planning.

North Station Area:
Bulfinch Hotel: We stayed here, very convenient location since it’s close to several subway stations and walking distance to Boston Commons. Ethernet cable available in the room. Across the street from TD Garden for games and concerts. Close to Rite Aid/CVS/Whole Foods/Quiznos/Dunkin Donuts if you need to grab supplies/snacks/fruit/drinks.
Beer Works: Several locations around town. We went to the Canal St location. Great selection beer and big screens for sports fans. I had the Amber Hefeweizen and the 9 Alarm wings (tasty, not too spicy though). The jalapeno poppers weren’t too spicy but they were decent.

Park Street Area:
Cheers: Made popular by the show. Also a nice spot for a drink and a burger near the park. If you go, take a look at their souvenir shop which has many good items. I got a classy postcard there.
Public garden: Small but pretty garden near the park. When I went I saw a lot of roses blooming.
Esplanade: After dinner at Cheers, you can take a leisure stroll along the esplanade. During the summer they also have outdoor concerts.
Freedom Trail: It starts at Boston Commons, just follow the red line on the sidewalk to visit the different sites. I didn’t complete it but saw most of the sites near the beginning. If you don’t want to walk there are other tours in the area via trolley or duck tour etc.
Finangle a Bagel: Yes, I know I’m crazy. I tried a bagel outside the NYC area. I didn’t want burger king and the pubs were not open until noon on Sunday so I just grabbed a breakfast egg on bagel from here. Around town you will find many Dunkin Donuts (literately two on each street corner or more), Au Bon Pain (yay for soups?), and this bagel place (more than just bagels). I would recommend it for breakfast or lunch.    

Aquarium Area:
Quincy market/Faneuil Hall: A lot of food choices. I had a lobster roll/chowder combo from Walrus the Carpenter Oyster Bar (booth). Pretty tasty. Apparently there are many famous seafood booths there. Next time when I have more time I will do some more investigation. J. tried some Mac and Cheese from a booth and thought it was decent. Comfort food, I guess.
Emack & Bolio’s Ice Cream: There are tons of ice cream places near the harbor but this one caught my attention. I liked their “Deep Purple Cow” (raspberry with white chocolate and dark chocolate chips and blueberries) and “Heaven” (vanilla with marshmallows and white chocolate chips)
Aquarium: If you take the subway you’ll notice a lot of ads for the aquarium. Check out the penguins and jellyfish and giant fish tank in the middle. I listened to one of the aquarium talks near the tank which was really good. They spoke about the different fish in the tank and how they rescue various sea turtles in the area.
Harbor boat tour: Order your tickets by phone (no surcharge) if you plan to go. The first day we tried to get tickets they were sold out. We took the sunset tour which started at 7pm. Natural lighting near the harbor is great for photos. You get to see the islands, a little bit of Boston skyline, and the U.S.S. Constitution fire a cannon. Boston doesn’t have too many tall buildings though (unlike NYC or Chicago boat tour) but it’s good to enjoy the view and some wind after a hot day running around town.

Copley Area:
Public library: Gorgeous building, open air courtyard, and fun exhibits. I caught an exhibit on vintage travelling posters. Great stuff.
Copley Shops: If you like to browse a mall and cool off, this is a good one before taking the train back home.
Duck tours: Your car turns into a boat for the water portion of the tour! I took this tour last year when I was in Boston. Definitely touristy but fun for at least one time. The water portion was somewhat disappointing (not much to see around the river) but the land portion gives you a sense of the town architecture and history. You can also take the tour at several locations.

Outside downtown:
Revere beach (Revere Beach Stop): Around 15-20 min by subway from downtown. I caught a sand castle/sculpture contest which was tons of fun. They have many pavilions with benches set up around the beach so you can enjoy some shade and sea breeze.  
Fenway Park (Kenmore Stop): Take the stadium tour since Red Sox tickets are hard to get! Smaller stadium means sold out shows all the time! Alternatively, you can probably just visit a bar near there on game day and soak up the baseball air.
Hahvahd Tour (Harvard Stop): I found them on a brochure in the hotel lobby. Pretty funny tour with energetic student guides. Not for high school students looking at colleges but more for travelers looking for a fun way to get around Harvard campus and soak up some history and anecdotes.
Harvard Coop Bookstore: Beautiful bookstore with spiral staircase and gorgeous lobby, just outside the subway stop. Rest of Harvard Square is great for walking around, too. Lots of shops, food, and fun.

Travel Reference
Acela Express is actually affordable (not too much more than regular train, you can use AAA discount on weekend trains) and has Wi-Fi. If you take the Acela from New York, you can get off at Back Bay Station (near Copley and Back Bay subway stations) or South Station (closer to downtown). Sometimes trying different combinations (Newark/NY Penn and Back Bay/South Station) will give you different schedules and fare prices.
MTBA for all your local travel needs. The subway (or T) is easy to navigate around and most trips don’t take very long. Watch out for weekend station closures and you should be fine.
If you fly, Logan Airport is close to downtown as well, via subway.
There are also several buses but since I haven’t taken them I don’t have any recommendations.

News
Boston Globe: Local news. You can also follow their twitter to receive news while you’re visiting.
Calendar of Events: Check out fun ideas.
Also check out various magazines/brochures/maps in the hotel area or tourism offices. You never know what you’ll find! That’s how I heard about the Harbor tour, the Hahvahd tour, and the Sand Castle Contest at Revere Beach. My hotel room had a copy of the Where magazine for Boston. Nice listings.  

Misc
If you have a smartphone or Ipad look for many free Wi-Fi hotspots around the city. On top of my head, some locations include Copley Mall area, Harvard Square, Public Library, Faneuil. This was my first trip using a smartphone so I found it incredibly useful. Google maps overlay with transit lines was a lifesaver. After you get around town for a few hours, you’ll notice that many downtown stations are actually very close together. That doesn’t mean getting the subway card is a bad deal though. I got the weekly unlimited card for $15, definitely worth it since I used many trips during my stay there ($2 if you pay per ride, one day unlimited is $9).

Previous Blog entries on Boston here.

Lake Placid Dining Review

Fireside Steakhouse
229 Main Street
Lake Placid, NY‎
(518) 523-2682‎
This place is a short walk from our lodge and on the recommended list by our host at the lodge. My group ordered prime-rib there, excellent and hardy. I got the chicken/shrimp/sausage pasta which came in a huge plate. I barely finished 3/4 of it with the help of my companions. The decor in this place is fabulous, with a real fireplace that burns logs. I think most of the places in Lake Placid keep their Christmas lights and some decor throughout the ski season so it’s very festive. I had some nice warm apple cider which had a healthy dose of cinnamon. I can imagine the holidays must be really nice here. Beer selection was ok but I didn’t get one.

Lake Placid Pub and Brewery
813 Mirror Lake Drive
Lake Placid, NY‎
(518) 523-3813‎
http://www.ubuale.com/
Probably the bitterest IPA (Lake Placid IPA) I’ve tasted in my life. K. was adventurous and ordered a Fresh Powder Milk Stout. C and I got the 46er which was still quite heavy but at least not as bitter. Our friendly bartender poured us sample size shots of all the beers on tap and told us that the town has a pretty vibrant bar life that closes around 2 or 3am. Coming from NYC, we were all relieved after hearing that. Since the slopes close early (4:30pm, they don’t have night ski like most slopes in PA) we were worried that bars closed early too. Since we had dinner early, we didn’t catch too many people at the bar. We played a game of pool and some darts and headed out.

Great Adirondack Steak and Seafood
34 Main Street
Lake Placid, NY
(518) 523-1629‎
http://www.greatadirondacksteakandseafood.com/index.html
CL ordered a pasta dish. C. got a porterhouse (pretty good). K. got the rib eye (I wasn’t crazy about it). I got the surf n turf which included half a lobster and 14 oz prime rib (amazing!). Minor issue is the density of the mashed potatoes. I was expecting something more fluffy. For drinks I ordered a Ausable Wulff Red Ale and then did a bunch of refills of root beer made by the local brewery. K. got some coffee flavored beer which was rather unique. In the end everyone who’s ordered drinks can take home a souvenir glass (with various logos, such as ski, hockey, snowboard, snowshoeing). For dessert I tasted the port ice cream which is always a win. Overall probably the best meal I’ve had in Lake Placid. Will definitely come back next time I’m in Lake Placid.

Dining Resource
http://www.adirondackguide.com/ncdining/ncdining.html

Steamed Whole Fish

Cooking fish is always a big deal in my family when it comes to special occasions. There was no special occasion today. I just wanted some fresh fish. Luckily, I live close to a few markets with fresh fish. Now, this is kind of embarrassing, but I didn't know what kind of fish I bought until later. My fish vocabulary is very limited in both Chinese and English. After I cooked it, ate it, and decided to blog, I looked up the fish.

According to this site, I believe I had a trout. Update: apparently it was a sea bass. Anyhow, the method is mostly Chinese (video from this site), with one twist. One day I was in the cookbook aisle of the library and I just happened to find a book on cooking fish. In the book was a recipe that was either baking or steaming a whole fish. Anyway, they used lemon slices and various herbs. So today I wanted to use a bit of lemon too just to see what the result is.

Ingredients

-one fresh whole fish, around a pound, scaled and gutted (thankfully the fish cleaner does this for me). Always use fresh fish for steaming. If your fish isn't fresh try a different fish recipe (frying works on everything usually).

-salt

-pepper

-rice wine, or some other cooking wine

-scallion (one or two whole scallion and a bunch shredded)

-2 or 3 lemon (my own twist!, this is optional)

- ginger, some slices, some julienned

[below for oil topping]

-oil (optional, I skipped this step)

[below for sauce]

-soy sauce

-1/2 tbsp sugar (to taste)

-salt

-pepper

-a few tbsp water

Directions

1. Clean fish when you get home, scrape off any scales that the store person may have missed.

2. Cut 2 or 3 slits into both side of the fish, this helps flavor and steam process

3. Rub salt on both side of the fish, as well as inside. Repeat with pepper. Then repeat with a bit of rice wine. Let sit for a while.

4. Fill inside of fish with ginger slices, scallion pieces, and lemon slice halves.

5. Cut whole scallion in two, put a few of these halves on a large plate/dish (big enough for whole fish), then put the fish on top. The scallions will help fish steam since it gives a bit of space under the fish.

6. Get your steamer ready. I use a regular pan with a steamer layer. Fill bottom with water and turn on the heat. Put plate with fish inside steamer. Cover.

7. When water boils, turn heat to medium, steam around 6-7 minutes or more depending on thickness of fish.

- - -

Finishing and Presentation!

1. While the fish is steaming, mix ingredients for sauce.

2. After fish finishes steaming, take it out of the steamer. Top with shredded scallion and ginger.

3. (optional) Heat oil in a pan, pour on top of fish

4. Heat sauce in a pan, pour sauce all over fish

Note: So I discovered that while lemon slices didn't do too much for fish (except maybe neutralize odors for kitchen?), when it combined with the sauce later, the sauce took on a citrus flavor. Take it as a kind of hot and sour fish soup as you will. Delicious! The bottom side of fish got a bit of lemon on it, which is pretty cool.

Resources:

Guide to cooking live fish http://tipnut.com/cooking-fish/

ID edible fish http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/Fish/Types%20of%20Fish.htm

Steam fish recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ming-tsai/whole-steamed-fish-recipe/index.html

Boston Seafood

VOX
755 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116
617.424.8300
website

Atlantic Fish
761 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116
617.267.4000
website

Related post (link) was my previous trip to Boston and I had such a good time at Atlantic Fish that I wanted to take more people to the restaurant. It just happened that they were under renovation so we went next door to VOX which was great too.

Decor/Location
//how do you lose when you're across from the convention center? very nice inside. we were probably underdressed but hey...everyone loves tourists right? I didn't get a drink but they had a number of good beer on tap (now i regret not getting anything...beer in Boston is soooo good. well there's always my next trip I suppose.)

Starters
//clam chowder: while it's still better than the chowder I've had outside Boston, I think I liked the chowder from Atlantic Fish better. Or maybe it's hard to compare since I've had Atlantic Fish first. My travel companions really enjoyed it though.
//calamari: am I the only one surprised that this didn't come with marinara sauce? anyway, I did really like the pickled peppers that came with the dish though. Something really nice about sour flavors and seafood...kind of like how I really like salt n vinegar chips, or fish n chips with malt vinegar. I have had better calamari though...so it was slightly disappointing.
//crab cake: my travel buddies liked it but I wasn't too crazy about it. I wasn't even crazy about it when I was in the DC/MA area. So I don't claim to be a crab cake expert.


Entrees
//yellowfin tuna with cous cous: you can't go wrong with tuna. and the cous cous was one that i liked (usually not a fan)
//halibut: really flavorful. now that i re-read the menu i noticed it came with lobster potato and shitake mushroom (no wonder why it was so packed with flavor!)
//mussels: I miss my French style mussels...otherwise this was fine I guess.
//grilled salmon: possibly the most healthy thing on the menu. I usually don't like salmon unless it's smoked but this salmon was surprisingly tasty. It probably had to do with the way they cooked it.

Boston Wrap Up

Clearly I've been slacking on the updates...

Quick notes for one day when inspiration hits and I get organized with the contact info and so on.

NYC
GO (St. Mark's, awesome plum riceballs and vinegared sashimi)
Riceball Omusubi (near Grand Central, plum riceballs are good but not quite GO quality...or I'm just picky about my plum riceballs. they offer a punch card for riceballs...I have to go back!)
TONY's (yay for seafood linguini, nay for Italian beer, yay for passionfruit sorbet, still weird in Time Sq. and full of tourists though).
Suba (tasting menu is amazing, Spanish ham and "Napoleon" sherry are my two new loves, bring a lot of appetite. One of the desserts had ice cream with a sweet liquor. Another cool tapa was a bunch of wings stuffed with chorizo.)
Arties (pickled tomatoes and cucumbers for the win, also loved their chocolate shake. learned to eat potato pancakes with apple sauce, feels "cultured" now)

Boston
Avoid food court chowda even if you're starving. Avoid convention sushi, it'll probably kill you (unless you're trying to lose weight?)
Highlights:
Sam Adams Brewery Tour. After chewing roasted barley, smelling hops, and listening to the tour guide talk about beer, we got three different samples. I liked the Boston Ale and Boston Lager. Previous night had Winter (or was it white?) and thought it was ok. We also got free Sam Adams glasses to add to our glassware collection, pretty cool. The guide also told us the 5 steps of tasting a Sam Adams. Think wine tasting and you're not too far off. I like the idea of enjoying a fresh crisp beer slowly, as opposed to sucking down some cheap stuff. Anyway, totally worth it for the beer. We even went to a store they recommended to get a few variety packs. One thing I have to say though, Boston cards too much. We're not criminals or underage! geesh.

Blue Moon Winter Ale "Full Moon" on tap was amazing. As I wikied blue moon I realized that it's actually owned by Coors?! Now I feel dirty. It still tastes great though, no matter who owns it. I'd also like to try the other Blue Moon varieties such as spring and summer ale. Harpoon IPA was ok I think. Yay for reasonable priced beer on tap though in Boston though. This makes up the fact that so many places closes at 10pm and we had to go 2 or 3 places before finding food. and they didn't have jalapeño poppers...only a "spicy" wing which was "mild". sigh.

Atlantic Fish Seafood Restaurant was excellent. It made our Boston seafood experience rather memorable. Can't believe it took until lunch on our last day to figure out seafood.
Drinks: dry gin martini with lemon twist, Bellini, and Scotch. you figure out who had what.
Starters: oysters (some raspberry kind with sweet finish from PEI), ahi tuna (looked good, I didn't sample this), clam chowda (not too creamy like other places, which is great).
Food: Tuna (bah overcooked), Mahi Mahi (light), some kind of burger (maybe not really a dish at a seafood joint? how dare they give bad pickle and onion with it!? miss NYC burgers that are more like $10+ with "organic" pickles and lettuce and heirloom tomatoes or something)
Dessert: Chocolate cake, Apple Pie with ice cream. I of course combined a bit of chocolate with ice cream from the other plate. Just heavenly =)
p.s. we didn't leave this place until around 4pm which almost meant we were fined for parking too long at the hotel valet.

Pourhouse Steak Tips were nice. we liked their mashed potatoes too. My chicken sandwich was so so but since it was so cheap I didn't care that much. The place was so cold though since the door kept on opening and closing. Why doesn't everyone just get the temporary room thing outside their place like NYC? This way the cold wind/air stays in the temporary room and does not bother the inside.

Chinatown China Pearl was a pretty place for dim sum I thought. Loved their tripe and rice noodle beef things. And of course the coconut jelly.

I think that about rounds up the places I've eaten so I can look back on this list next time for reference. The convention was a tad crazy and the line for our badges took 3-4 hours. not sure if I want to come back, but may change my mind next year, who knows. I do love Boston though, even if we missed the touristy sightseeing (unless you count Sam Adams?) Back Bay is a pretty neighborhood. Next time I shall walk around more.

Seafood Week Entry Two - City Lobster

121 W 49th St (near 6th Ave)
Near NRW 49th St Station and BDFV 47-50th St Rockefeller Center Station
212.354.1717
website

I used to look forward to Restaurant Weeks but then I realized that NYC has a restaurant week almost every month. Basically, when a group of restaurants band together and put out a theme (or sometimes no theme), they call it a restaurant week. I'm not joking, you can probably find a Japanese restaurant week, a Lower East Side restaurant week, or whatever. The good thing about restaurant week is obviously the fact you get to have a complete meal, with appetizer, soup/salad, entree, and dessert at a more reasonable price (or if your regular price is sky-high,
a slightly discounted, but still ridiculous price).

Anyhow, to get to the review. T. looked up this place for us and set up the reservation (yay for other planners in the world). I went with the restaurant week special: a salad (only because it had pears in it), the steamed lobster entree, and a key lime pie.

Everything was good and I really look forward to more outings to try the regular menu items.

Spicy and Savory Shrimp

photo:
I made this quite a while ago but only today did I upload the photo.
Let's see if I can reconstruct the recipe.

ingredients
-shrimp
-thai peppers
-rice wine for cooking purposes
-salt
-pepper
-sugar (optional, but I like it)
-oil
-soy sauce

preparation
-shrimps are weird since you have to clean them with a toothpick. I actually found that it's not too bad. I figured it all out. All you need to do is to slide a toothpick through the top of the shrimp's back then pull. The black thread you're trying to get out will be teased out. I like to leave the heads on but of course you can remove them if you want.
-cut thai peppers into small pieces.

cooking
1. boil some water in a soup pot
2. cook shrimp in boiling water until they turn orange.
3. Heat oil in pan, put in thai peppers.
4. stir fry shrimps really quickly, just to get them oiled up.
5. put in a bit of the following: rice cooking wine, soy sauce.
6. add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.

notes:
I was very surprised with how they turned out. I didn't have leftovers at all. That's a record for me in terms of consuming shrimp!

3 Forty Grill and Rita's Ice in Hoboken

When I was thinking of what to write for this entry, I wondered if I should label all my entries with a location in the title for easy search in the future. Maybe I will one of these days.

3 Forty Grill
340 Sinatra Drive
Hoboken, NJ 07030
201-217-3406
Website
Genre: Seafood, Raw Bar, Martini Lounge
Location: Waterfront, north of PATH/NJTransit Station, close to Quay and Trinity.

Besides the obviously superb atmosphere (lounge, chill) and view (NY skyline and water) of the place, the food is amazing, too. I'll copy from the website menu what "Bob" and I had ordered.

Appetizer
Fritto Misto: crispy calamari, black cod and clam strips. house made tomato sauce $10
I liked the black cod pieces the best, although since the pieces are big, beware of burning your tongue. The calamari was ok. I wasn't actually too thrilled with the clam strips. Both sauces they provided were delicious. One was spicy and the other was more tomatoey. I recommend both!

Entree
Cilantro Pesto Center Cut Swordfish Steakblack: with quinoa, margarita shrimp tempura, champagne butter sauce $24
I couldn't for the longest time identy the black seeds. I wikied quinoa but it doesn't look like what I had in my plate. Bob and I suspect they are poppy seeds. The swordfish arrived in a round plate, with a shrimp tempura on a stick standing upright in the middle of the fish steak. The butter sauce and cilantro pesto were on and around the fish, creating a visually appealing effect. The black seeds were mixed with carrots, onions, peppers, among other things. The fish was light which was complemented by the seeds (grain?) which had a stronger flavor and texture.

Espresso Pork Chop (Chef Night Special): not on website. $24
I didn't taste the espresso but the pork was definitely soaked in some kind of wine since it smelled and tasted like it. Accompanied by carrots, green beans, and (gasp) mixture of mashed potatoes and mashed yams! I liked both the pork and the yams.

Dessert
Molten Lava Chocolate Cake: imported belgian chocolate,warm liquid center,tahitian vanilla gelato $10
Amazing, can't possibly describe it in words. Also came with strawberry slices and raspberry sauce. Beautiful and fantastic composition and taste. I will probably order this again next time.

Rita's Ice
Ok, since this is a chain, there's no need to record location and info.

I can't believe I have not visited one of these until today. Pretty sure there's one close to where my parents are, too. The woman who worked behind the counter was very helpful. She explained to me what Rita's had to offer. The various flavors of Italian Ice, Custard, and combinations that mixed Custard and Ice. I would have gone for a Gelati (mix custard and ice) if I hadn't had dessert at 3 Forty already. The custard sample she provided me was yummy, simple vanilla and chocolate twist.

I asked for a sampled of cherry Italian ice and then decided to go for a small of the same thing.
Besides dying my tongue red, the Cherry ice was a very refreshing snack. I imagine it's probably more popular in the summer. My hands started to freeze when I started to eat it. I even found some cherry bits inside. Apparently Rita's ices sometimes have fruit pieces mixed in.

Bubba Gump Shrimp

Website
Location: Times Square
Specialty: Drinks and shrimp!
Theme: Forrest Gump

Since the Hard Rock next door had an hour and half wait, we decided to hop into the land of Forrest Gump. For those of you who loved the movie, dedicate your visit in memory of Bubba. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, go buy it! It's only $10 on amazon.

I had a Peach Velvet, which involved Absolut vanilla, some kind of peach flavored alcohol, and frozen yogurt. Less thick than a smoothie but just as sweet. I felt like I was having dessert the whole time.

Appetizer was hush pups, which according to the waiting staff, is the best you'll ever have. I liked them but wish they gave more. The portion given was hardly enough for party of three. But I guess appetizers are just that, enough to make you want more. The hush pups came in a Bubba Gump shrimp bucket lined with what looked like newspaper printed. All news relating to the time period covered by the movie.

I ordered Accidental Shrimp, a dish with mahi mahi, shrimp, and rice with a sauce that was a bit tart probably because of the lime juice. In any case, I liked it better than the bucket of shrimp that I ordered last time I visited the restaurant. As much as I love shrimp, I always need a little bit of variety in my dinner.

My favorite part of the table setting is the sign that had two parts: Run Forrest Run, Stop Forrest Stop. You flip it to the second when you want some attention from the waiting staff. I'm not a huge fan of the gift shop because the shrimp mascot is a bit creepy. Some of the drinks on the menu do come with glasses, so that's cool.

On a random note, I thought I had walked an avenue block in New York without spotting a Starbucks (or two or three). I was proven wrong when I finally saw the green sign outside one of the places on the block. I haven't been to one in a few months, actually.