Tag Archives: New York City

Not new, but new to me!

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One cool thing about getting older is that things I’d have been blasé about in my twenties

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…are instead fresh and exciting to me now. Case in point: new (to me!) bars and restaurants.

I had a date recently* and we had drinks first at Back Room and then at Apothéke.

The Back Room has been open since 2005 and yet still: NEW TO ME. Good enough. One of the bartenders there is hilariously obsessed with this Mew song. He played it repeatedly until the DJ took control.

While I didn’t like Back Room’s sidecar as much as Palena‘s, it was good. Then again, Palena’s sidecars are my gold standard.

Our second stop, Apothéke, is located in the heart of Chinatown. The real Chinatown as opposed to the blocks that have encroached upon Little Italy. Tiny Doyers Street, off lower Bowery, could easily have been an alley in Barcelona (if not, of course, for the Chinese signs everywhere).

Via YourLittleBlackBook.me

At this point in my drinking night, I found Apothéke’s cocktail menu overwhelming and went with a classic Manhattan. It was tasty, but did not feature the delicious cherries it would at Bowery Hotel. I missed them. Boo.

How was your weekend?

*More on him if he either becomes my boyfriend OR does something really horrible/hilarious that must be recounted here.

The best thing I did NOT eat this weekend

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Silly me.

City Bakery

I popped into The City Bakery after a good workout at the gym and running errands. When I used to go there during NYC 1.0, City Bakery sold little coins of shortbread that I loved. No sign of them these days, unfortunately.

Instead I left with a single dark chocolate cookie with white chocolate chips. It was incredible…but I can’t stop thinking about the caramelized French toast.

Want to go there with me next weekend?

Rice to Riches

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I thought I hated rice pudding. Actually I did hate it.

My first taste of rice pudding was probably at the Charl-Mont, a now-shuttered department store restaurant I dined at hundreds of times in my childhood and where I had later worked as a [terrible waitress]. I remember a milky pudding with random grains of rice.

Disgusted, I couldn’t understand how my mother could like rice pudding. Blech. I avoided it for year.

When I moved back to NYC, I heard about Rice to Riches. In spite of my distaste for the gloppy dessert, I always planned to take my mother there.

Instead, we’d go to Pellegrino’s, planning to save room for dessert and make a stop at RtR.

Pellegrinos

 

Take note: there’s no escaping Pellegrino’s with any stomach space remaining.

Finally, I made a solo stop at Rice to Riches on my way to a midday meal at Pellegrino’s with Mom and some of her friends. 

I don’t know what I expected but…wow! All of the flavor choices and toppings at Rice to Riches made my head spin. And that’s what got me to taste for myself and not just pick flavors I thought Mom would like.

rice to riches

Guess what? I loved the rice puddings. The texture was more like oatmeal, which I love, than the nasty soupy product I sampled years ago.

I bought rum raisin and butterscotch rice pudding for Mom with a side of cherries. And a small caramel flavored rice pudding for myself!

Further proof that a set-in-her-ways picky eater can learn to appreciate new tastes.

PS while Rice to Riches is generous with samples, I do not recommend going in with this mindset.

29 Things That Enrage New Yorkers

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This post made me say growl YESSSSS.

For example, #12.

L trainIt’s not just the waiting. It’s the heat (often) and the lack of cell service or wifi (always). The lack of available seating (sometimes) and the not-afraid of humans rats, particularly at First Avenue (far too often).

I would add:

24. Subway escalators that are broken more often than functioning. Especially at Grand Central. You’re walking up to them thinking “why so slow, people?” only to get to the escalator and realize it’s not moving and you just have shiny, uneven steps instead.

25. Subway elevators that, when they exist, always smell bad and register temps in the 90-100 degree range.

26. Subway stations without escalators OR elevators such as Bedford’s L station. That way I feel like a jerk for not helping someone traveling solo with a baby stroller. But do you remember how clumsy I am?

27. Apartments with nasty kitchens including those old timey stoves/ovens.

28. Restaurant menus littering my apartment building hallways.

29. That hour or so each afternoon when there are no taxis, anywhere. (Uber was made for this)

New Yorkers, what drives you mad about our mostly-awesome city?

My weekend was…

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Fun and exciting!

TR

It’s Fashion Week here in NYC. Thanks to a friend, I was invited to Tracy Reese’s show. We got a peek at the gorgeous Spring collection.

I also had good meals with friends including D.O.C. here and Williamsburg and Woodwork in Prospect Heights I had snack bacon with @amandarykoff, @katiestars and @norunsupport. Before that, though, I accidentally walked into the unmarked Weather Up first–oops!

How was your weekend?