May 29, 2006
Memorial Day Weekend Trip
Lyndhurst mansion
We went to a B&B in Rhinebeck, in the Hudson Valley this weekend. More info to follow, but here are some photos. |
Wave Hill Photos
May 23, 2006
Six Years
This Saturday was our sixth anniversary. To celebrate, we started the day with treats from our favorite bakery and then went to the Grand Army plaza greenmarket, where we discovered lots of spring produce that wasn't in the week before, including the season's first strawberries!
After the greenmarket, we headed into Grand Central where we caught the Metro North train to Wave Hill, a beautiful 19th century estate and gardens on the Hudson river in the northern end of the Bronx. We ate lunch on the terrace and walked around the idyllic paradise taking in the beautiful day that had emerged after a day and night of storms. (Pictures to come later)
The final element to a wonderful day was dinner at Tabla. The service is amazing there. After being seated in a window seat on the second floor, overlooking Madison Square Park, we were brought a Prosecco toast (they had asked if it was a special occasion when I booked), which I think is so much better than champagne. Usually the little items brought out to the table aren't worth mentioning, but they were so good I have to tell: papadums with a sweet tomato chutney that I wished I could have bought a jar of, rosemary naan with a creamy green sauce (tasted like sweet cream and fresh peas), and an amuse bouche mini-cup of mushroom soup. We opted for the 3 course prix fixe menu. I had Fricasée of Artichokes & Fava Beans with Upma Polenta, Coconut Milk and Ramps, Shiitake & Eggplant-Stuffed Braised Vidalia Onion with Pickled Onions, Jicama, Cumin-Black Pepper Curry, and Tahitian Vanilla Bean Kulfi with Blood Oranges, Rosemary-Rosewater Syrup & Pistachio Tuile. Patrick had Warm Salad of Flash-Seared Calamari with Sugar Snap Peas, Pickled Mango, Green Papaya & Coconut, Vermont Spring Baby Lamb with Baby Vegetables, Caramelized Onion-Coconut Jus, and Apple & Golden Raisin Strudel with Walnut Cream, Ginger Toffee Sauce, Cinnamon Clove Ice Cream. Everything was so amazing and the atmosphere was so great, it's definitely a place I'd love to eat at again. Maybe next I'll try their less decadent Bread Bar. |
After the greenmarket, we headed into Grand Central where we caught the Metro North train to Wave Hill, a beautiful 19th century estate and gardens on the Hudson river in the northern end of the Bronx. We ate lunch on the terrace and walked around the idyllic paradise taking in the beautiful day that had emerged after a day and night of storms. (Pictures to come later)
The final element to a wonderful day was dinner at Tabla. The service is amazing there. After being seated in a window seat on the second floor, overlooking Madison Square Park, we were brought a Prosecco toast (they had asked if it was a special occasion when I booked), which I think is so much better than champagne. Usually the little items brought out to the table aren't worth mentioning, but they were so good I have to tell: papadums with a sweet tomato chutney that I wished I could have bought a jar of, rosemary naan with a creamy green sauce (tasted like sweet cream and fresh peas), and an amuse bouche mini-cup of mushroom soup. We opted for the 3 course prix fixe menu. I had Fricasée of Artichokes & Fava Beans with Upma Polenta, Coconut Milk and Ramps, Shiitake & Eggplant-Stuffed Braised Vidalia Onion with Pickled Onions, Jicama, Cumin-Black Pepper Curry, and Tahitian Vanilla Bean Kulfi with Blood Oranges, Rosemary-Rosewater Syrup & Pistachio Tuile. Patrick had Warm Salad of Flash-Seared Calamari with Sugar Snap Peas, Pickled Mango, Green Papaya & Coconut, Vermont Spring Baby Lamb with Baby Vegetables, Caramelized Onion-Coconut Jus, and Apple & Golden Raisin Strudel with Walnut Cream, Ginger Toffee Sauce, Cinnamon Clove Ice Cream. Everything was so amazing and the atmosphere was so great, it's definitely a place I'd love to eat at again. Maybe next I'll try their less decadent Bread Bar. |
May 3, 2006
Initiations
I just bought lunch from a cart on the street - I feel like a real New Yorker now. I walked out my door, intending to go to one of the many sandwich shops to get something to go with the salad I packed, but then I saw Moshe's Felafel. A small cart crammed with 5 guys (including an old Hasidic man I assume must be Moshe) serving 2 customers at a time with amazing efficiency. I got a large felafel pita for $3.75, and while it wasn't the best felafel I've ever had (that would be the stand at the West Side Market in Cleveland) it was really good, though very messy.
In other New York story news, we had our first celebrity sighting in Central Park this weekend. Well - Patrick did at least. My first thought at seeing guys in expensive suits with bodyguards was "oh shit - it's the mafia - just keep walking", but Patrick actually looked at the park bench and informed me "It's the Governator!" |
In other New York story news, we had our first celebrity sighting in Central Park this weekend. Well - Patrick did at least. My first thought at seeing guys in expensive suits with bodyguards was "oh shit - it's the mafia - just keep walking", but Patrick actually looked at the park bench and informed me "It's the Governator!" |