The Chelsea Market

Last week it was cold enough to be an inside kind of weekend.  I hadn't been to the Chelsea Market in ages and ages, and it was still a great place to while away and afternoon.  It is now the home of the Food Network, so I guess you run the risk of seeing a celebrity or two ... we didn't .. though I would have loved to see Batalli or Flay!

The Chelsea Market is composed of 18 buildings that were once the home of the National Biscuit Company.  The first building you enter from 9th Ave was built in the 1890's.  The other buildings were added until the 1930's and included cast iron, terracotta and even Art Deco elements.  In these buildings were baked everything from Saltines to Oreos.  The history in detail is here, I am only hitting the highlights.  This is a fascinating place.   

Bread is still being baked here, and you can watch the process from the central hallway.  Amy's Bread gets made here and it is great looking..

Last but not least is the waterfall from an old pipe right in the middle of the walkway.  We ate at the Cleaver Company.  Their chicken pot pies are well worth the trip.  There is also a nice vegetable market, a fish market and Bowery Kitchen Supplies where I still didn't find a bread dough storage container, alas.

Last but not least, the cupcakes at Eleni's are half price near closing ...yum and I should have taken pictures, shouldn't I?  But I was busy eating one.....JUST ONE!

Lots of other places to visit, next time it is really cold on the weekend you will find me there again getting a lobster roll, oh my.

Lunch at the Modern

Went to MOMA to try to see the Van Gogh exhibit last weekend.  After deciphering the 7 or 8 lines in the lobby, all full of people asking each other if they were in/on the correct line, it seemed there was not any access to the Van Gogh and we left.   RE: the in/on thing.  If you are from mostly anywhere except New York City in the US, you wait in line.  If you are from New York City you wait ON line.  Why I do not know.  If anyone does, please enlighten me. 

SO, since we couldn't see that show we went to the American Folk Art Museum down the street. They have a show called The Seduction of  Light: Ammi Phillips/Mark Rothko Compositions in Pink Green and Red.

I don't know what inspired the show other than availability of the included paintings.  I LOVE Rothko.  I go out of my way to see his paintings whenever I can, but the ones here were generally not stellar, though they were in the selected color range.   The Ammi Phillips paintings were, though not totally new to me, fun to really see close up and personal.  That is one of the nice things about this slightly wacky museum.  You really can see things because it is generally nearly empty, even when MOMA is so packed that it is not worth the effort to get in because you know you won't be able to get close enough to see anything.   That said, the Phillips paintings in the Rothko color range?  That is a little like saying that Gilbert Stuart is like Degas because they both use paint!

The Phillips paintings, with their odd perspective and strange inclusions were great fun.  The little boy standing there dressed in his better than Sunday Best (He looks a little bit like an escapee from Picasso's circus performers) stands in front of a shelf on which sits a peach!  I ask you.... how much fun is that to look at?  Lots of fun in my estimation.  Anyway, all of that was the prelude to an early dinner/late lunch at the Modern   the Danny Meyer restaurant that is housed in MOMA.  Danny Meyer is the brains behind Union Square Cafe, Eleven Madison, Tabla, Gramercy Tavern etc etc etc.  Union Square has for as long as I have lived in NY been my absolute favorite restaurant.  The Modern is another sweetheart of a restaurant, as you can see from the dessert menu above.  Everything we had was really well perpared and full of interesting flavors.  We had fun, despite missing the Van Gogh show.

I have to learn to not let them all drift but to go in the middle of the run.  sigh.

City Island

A while ago the NY Times ran an article about the Islands right around NYC. The first one in the list was City Island, and on Friday a Photography Friend and I set out to see what there was to see. First you take the Number 6 subway all the way out to where it ends.

Then you take the bus for a while through some pretty nice parkland and you are on the Island. If you are like us you take the bus all the way to the end of the Island, intending to walk back.

Of course we chose the hottest day so far this year, not a cloud in the sky and the temp up around 100. It is a long way out there, and, when you get there, it is pretty quiet out there.

These boys weren't interested in moving. They KNEW better.

Some took flight when a man threw the end of his hot dog. (HOT DOG!!! when surrounded by the ocean and fish food joints...only in New York) They went for it. Seagulls are NOT picky.

This was Sammy's. We decided that a beer and something light to eat was in order since we were all the way out at the end of the island and it was a long walk back. We were going to look for things to shoot as we went.
Before we had a chance to order, this arrived. It was complementary! It was good, but we were a little surprised. All we added was a shrimp cocktail.... also good and fresh ... and a beer. That is a whole loaf of bread, and behind it is a half a pan of cornbread!
This was mostly what we saw. It was picturesque, and now I have been there, done that, and didn't bother with the tee shirt.

On the way home, there was this sign in the subway car.

Maybe Staten Island is next?

I saw Gypsy with Patti Lupone on Friday

I really loved it more than I thought I would. I have always loved that musical, but this production and cast were wonderful. I was never a huge Patti Lupone fan, but after seeing her in Sweeney Todd I became a convert, and this sealed the deal. She was born for this role.

I know that I live here, and can wander down to 44th street any time I want, but I forget sometimes that getting there is sometimes at least half the fun.

There is also always this:

Walking down the street on the way to the theatre, I can't imagine that this feeling of WOW is to be had anywhere else in the world...

Broadway show posters are always changing,

I love New York. I thought about moving away at one point and realized that there was no place I could be happier. This is part of why.

Oh, we also ate at Molyvos, and had the incredible Grilled Baby Octopus. Go. It is worth the trip just for that. However, when you go to the website, leave them a note telling them to ditch the muzak.

And just so you know

that my whole life is not jaunting around the universe to see the Yarn Harlot at the Time Warner Center. This was what my refrigerator looked like yesterday. You are NOT, I repeat NOT supposed to be able to see the frost on the coils of a frost free refrigerator. All the cold was trapped in there somewhere, and none of it was getting out to keep the milk from going all icky, so there was also this...







The vitamin waters were delivered by accident from Fresh Direct and they told me to just keep them... But they are a million calories each, so all they do is help me to keep the rest of the refrigerator cold......or not, as you can see. The wine is another story. That one is all mine and as soon as it gets cold again I am going to drink it!






As a final piece of entertainment, this was my darlin' Clementine when she was a baby. She liked it in there and I had to drag her out whenever she found an entry.

We have a long and tortured relationship with refrigerators in this family.

Jesse's Place Hudson Heights

Dinner last night was at Jesse's Place. The first time I ate here I looked around and ordered safely ... a cheeseburger. It was quite good, and I was happy with it. However, the next time I ate here I found the little pizzas. Really good little pizzas, so after the beer, came two pizzas, so we could split. One barbecued chicken.....don't croak, it is REALLY good...

and one portbello mushroom with goat cheese...yum. Half and half - so you have to have someone to share with = they are perfect.

of course there is also the drink of choice. Seems this place has an active bar scene, at least on Sunday night.

not much of nothin'

That was what was left after another meal at YuII, our local sushi restaurant.

This was dessert, I again forgot to whip out the camera when the hamachi kama appeared or when the sushi arrived...... sigh......

I still need a blogger alert to go off when the food arrives, or when something else blog-worthy happens. SO.... maybe the next YuII meal will be captured before it is devoured. I guess it depends on how hungry I am.

and then we...

First, Romeo has decided that the crate in which Sienna has spent many of her formative years is really his. This has happened since it is generally vacant in the day and he just moves in as soon as she leaves it in the morning.





All well and good, but tonight I went out to eat dinner and mentioned to Sienna that it was crate time. She thought that was fine, but Romeo had decided not to move. So there they sat, the two of them, sharing the crate. I couldn't shut him up in there with her, and when I tried to prod him out he whined! I finally got him to move and shut her up, but I forsee trouble ahead. Or 2 crates..

Then we went to YUII for dinner. I forgot to take a picture til after we had devoured a lot of it but it was REALLY good tonight.

and after we got home and Sienna went out for her walk, Romeo got back in the crate.
the end///

Dinner at the Red Cat

Dinner last night at the Red Cat on 10th Avenue.
It is worth it to follow the link just to hear Willie Nelson singing Midnight Rider. I usually don't play music from sites, but this one sent me over to ITunes to buy it.

We go there because every couple of months we get a craving for the Tempura Greenbeans with Wasabi dipping sauce... be still my heart! These are among the best tastes in the city. We get them as an appetizer and won't let them take them away until we finally have to admit that we can't quite finish them. That usually happens about the time we are discussing dessert. BIG sigh.

At the bar before we ate.. I was of course LATE, thank you NYC MTA. The A train was yet again not running so there was the wait for the shuttle bus and then the wait at 165th Street for the A train, the trip to 42nd, the transfer to the C and the trip to 23rd street. It is like going to Atlanta without involving the airplane!

But this drink, whatever it was, was just what I needed. Maybe Nicki can add a comment and say what was in it besides something sparkling.

I can never remember the name of the liqueur that is in it. There are also French Radishes and salt on the bar. And of course the cookbook. I think it has the recipe for the green beans in it, but I just wouldn't have the patience.
The special was Red Snapper on a "stew" of couscous with Greek seasonings and scrambled eggs and I would have licked the plate if I would not have been a little embarassed.

For the cheese plate picture.. it is worth it.. you have to go here.

We actually decided against the desserts for the cheese, and were glad we had. It was exactly what we wanted.

Today is an add listings to Etsy or else day. By 8 tonight or so, probably not before... I have stuff halfway there, nothing really finished, but I like what is on the table and the wind is REALLY blowing out there, so a trip to the dogpark is unlikely.

Union Square Cafe

On a very cold January night. Good food, good friends, great fun

There were 2 steaks, so only one picture.

The star of the show, polenta with gorgonzola and walnuts. We all wanted this again for breakfast this morning.

great night.