brooklyn, brooklyn take me in

the 'plan' was to start at BAM and their silent auction and play it by ear from there. the silent auction was fun. there was some good art, some bad art, and free booze so we couldn't complain. please note that the following pieces of art all started at $800.

then we got on our free ride to the city. i'm on a bus!

we got off the bus not really knowing where we were headed so a.s. thought we should stop in at the bowery hotel but accidentally took a wrong turn and instead, ended up at freeman's for a yummy drink at their back bar. it's kinda hard to find since it's down this long alley but it's definitely worth looking for.

we still found the bowery hotel but basically just took a short tour, got some vegan friendly food at tahini, bought some peacock earrings along saint mark's street, then found ourselves at china one for a shakespearean impromptu play.

then we hit verlaine, pianos, schiller's, and the rusty knot. after the yummy frozen mojitos at the rusty knot, we were ready to head back to our hood so we went to our usual hang, woodwork. i.r., t.w., v.p, and k.k. met up with us there and we felt much more at home. 

vietnamese food spot # whatever, nicky's sandwiches. the pho was pretty good but the classic viet sammy had ground pork it in. weird. will not have the sammy again. ok, i'm tired and going to earn my gold medal for sleeping. again.

xoxo,

p.

yummy yummy in my tummy

we've had some semi cold days lately so for me, cold = soup. i popped into rickshaw dumpling bar for the rickshaw regular. i chose the peking duck dumplings with the chili-soy noodle soup.

i've been to waldy's wood-fired pizza before and had the clam w/ garlic, crumbs, and ricotta white pizza and the sweet & hot sausage, roasted peppers pizza. this time i tried the arugula, garlic, and sunny side egg pizza. j.m. and d.c. thought i was crazy. j.m.'s actual reaction was 'EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW' and when i asked if he wanted to give it a try, his response was, 'what part of EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW didn't you understand?'. d.c. tried it and he actually said it was better than he thought but he probably still wouldn't order it. i thought it was good and would order it again.

i went to seven bar & grill and totally didn't take pics of anything i ate but let's just say the dinner consisted of ravioli, sliders and roasted scallops with very good wine.  you can just imagine it if you check out their menu.

last but not least, i met up w/ s. at wichcraft for a yummy sammy. this place is owned by tom colicchio of top chef and of course, many delicious restaurants in ny. all the sandwiches sounded good but i went for the goat cheese, avocado, celery, walnut pesto, & watercress on multigrain bread. it's definitely not mandola's multigrain but it was a damn (expensive) good sammy.

i don't just eat in ny. i promise. other activities include bowling and gstaad. ok, so that's not much more but my plan is to start working out again, hit the brooklyn museum, climb, and BAM before sunday. but ya know, i'll still be eatin' too.


xoxo,
p.

i'm at a loss. can you give me directions to your heart? chinling?

s.c. and n.p. just left back to texas after spending about 4 days in ny with me. it was an awesome visit and the weather was just about perfect. there was no plans except for a couple of shows so we pretty much went with the flow (and our stomachs) on what we were going to do next. they got here wednesday and after they got settled, we headed into the city to go shopping, in particular, to hit all the h&m's we came across. after buying purses, scarves, clothes and some jewelry, we worked up a small appetite so we went to shake shack for a burger, chicago dog and fries. shake shack is pretty insane. it's at madison square park and there's always a line. always. it gets so long that they actually have a 'shake cam' so you can check the line before you go. the first time i was there, i was in line for 40 mins but the food is definitely worth it, especially with the shake sauce. they also have custards and shakes but i haven't tried any of those...yet. 


so after our snack, we made our way to the h&m at 59th and lex but passed by grand central station along the way. 

as you can imagine, this place is pretty insane. there's so many people walking in and out of here. to watch it is pretty surreal. like s.c. said, it's like parts are moving in fast forward and others are in slow motion. hopefully you can see what she means in this video. like our commentary? we also tried to get a drink at the campbell apartment but it was way too busy at 5 in the afternoon so we opted to keep shopping. more bags, clothes, and accessories make for hungry girls so we headed to the meatpacking district and went to pastis. does this place sound familiar? the girls in sex and the city were here! or maybe they just talked about it. either way, it made me feel more like a new yorker. 

cheeeeeeeeeeese. 

another obsession of mine, along with many others, is ramen. i had the best ramen in l.a. with s.c. at daikokuya. one of my assignments has been to find the best in ny. i've had it had ippudo and momofuku but it still wasn't as good. so we thought we'd give minca a try. it was good and i'd definitely go back but i'm still looking for a good ramen and rice place.

we shopped some more and got some beautiful dresses at yumi kim, more h&m, and topshop. one of the many reasons we get along is because we seem to always be hungry and want food at the same time.  so we ate pizza, pasta and salad at otto where n.p. used to work. it was awesome having an insider there so we didn't have to even look at the menu and we left very satisfied. s.c. and i had tickets to present laughter at the american airlines theater so we parted ways w/ n.p. and headed to the show which was really funny. you don't think the dad from alias could be funny but he actually was great. 

i'm already so verbose and there's still 2 more days to share so here it is: fried oreos and fried cream puff from led zeppole.

and yes, after these delicious things, we still managed to go to chinatown for some dumplings at new wonton garden. we. are. awesome. we will go out of our way for good food. we spent 1 1/2 hours on the train on friday to make out way to arthur avenue in the bronx for some real, amazing italian and we found exactly what we wanted with a little pit stop for raw oysters along the way. we even found the cafe where bobby flay at an eggplant parm throw down. it was fantastic!

and then we head back, take a nap, and go out for french food. seriously.

mussels and frites

pork w/ pea puree at canaille. super cute and super good (except for dessert)

i was told my a friend that the cloisters was an amazing place to see and be. we tried to speak medievally but it didn't work out very well. it just sounded like out horrible british accents. there's a lot to see here but i won't go into it. i'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

i know you know the next part. we went to west 3rd common for brunch and had unlimited mimosas. which was great for the shopping to be done at the young designers market. i love one of a kind pieces of jewelry so this place was perfect. i got me a necklace and a present for a good friend but i'm definitely going back for some stuff in the future. there were some jewelers making stuff right on the spot!

hungry. again. joe's ginger for soup dumplings and more.

we left chinatown and walked the manhattan bridge back over to brooklyn since it was such a lovely night and a beautiful sunset.

last night with my dearest kindred. we had a ton of laughs and pickle backs, applewood smoked bacon and whipped ricotta. i miss her already.

xoxo,

p. (aka chinling)

r.o.u.s.

geez. things have been a little crazy around here. i don't even know where to begin. first off, the weather here has been totally amazing. and when the sun is out, so are the new yorkers. you can't find an empty bench or spot in the grass to read a book.

still on my quest to find good vietnamese, i went to baoguette and thao noodle to test out the vermicelli bowl. it was pretty good but i feel like they've adapted it to american taste buds by adding more sugar to everything. the lemongrass chicken was way too sweet. i might go back to try their pho but if that's not good, i'm giving up.

i like to support 'my people' only when i think they'll be successful (i kid!) so i headed out to ocean 8 to watch the manny pacquiao fight. the guy he fought lives in the bronx so i thought it would be fun to catch it with some new yorkers. a.s. walked by the place early in the day and thought it was pretty cool. well, it's a totally different scene at night. we got frisked! ok, not really, we just got scanned but saying frisked is a lot more fun. we were a little hesitant to stay since we thought it might get a little more raucous than just some friendly banter but it was the only place we could find that was showing the fight so we stayed the course. 

there was a little verbal fight that broke out behind us when the fight started but the guys were on it so it dissipated pretty quickly. after the fight was over, we hit up soda bar. it was my first time here and a.s. was sure i would like it and i did. we went to weather up and woodwork too but y'all have already heard about those places.

did i mention that one of my favorite things about woodwork is that they give us cornichons and nuts? and the nuts have cayenne and cumin on them? yum!

last but not least, i met up with m.r. in the west village and hung out at blind tiger and daddy-o. blind tiger is known for their beer selection. they had a damn good grilled cheese too. too bad there was a roach that ended up showing its ugly face that led to us talking about giant rats and r.o.u.s.'s. yuck.


xoxo,
p.

(not) an opinion piece

i've been sick lately. had a 101 fever and cough. nothing feels more lonely in a new city than being sick and feeling like there's no one around to take care of me. not that i took my friends or family up on it when they said, 'let me know if you need anything,' but it was just knowing that i had that option. the closest option i have now is calling the chinese delivery guy for some hot & sour soup. woe. is. me.


i did, however, make it to a happy hour i coordinated with 5 of my newest friends in ny. we all met up at jo's for $1 oysters. e.a., e.g., and i were the first ones there and we scarfed down 5 dozen within an hour. t.b., e.w., and j.b., came a little later and apparently, we ate most of their inventory so the last 3 people had to share 20 oysters. i felt so badly...but not that bad. you snooze you lose suckas! i kid! next time, i'll make sure to ask how many they have on hand and try to ration them properly. 


there's a few things that have come up lately that have made me nod my head and say, 'only in new york'. the first article was on cnn.com about babies in bars. i've never thought about this because this just doesn't happen in texas. there was only one time before i moved, i wanted to see s.a. and her adorable baby, pabst (not his real name), and i just happen to be at a wine bar. i asked the owner if it would be ok if my friend brought in her 7 month old son and he said, 'i guess so but you know, this is a bar. as long as he doesn't cry, it should be fine.' luckily, pabst was a perfect baby and never made a sound but s.a. will probably never do that again and i felt a little uncomfortable too. so here in brooklyn, the moms and dads just love to take their kids to the bar and hang out. i understand that these parents need a little vodka soda at the end of the day and really, i don't mind, but once that baby starts crying, they need to leave. like immediately. i don't want my jameson with a side of tears unless they're mine. i'm just surprised that there is such an uproar with the parents when a restaurant or bar puts up a sign that says 'no kids under 21 allowed'. the 'breeders' threaten to not frequent such places and the 'non-breeders' totally support it. this would not happen in austin although now that i'm here, i'm surprised it hasn't happened in such places like hyde park, tarrytown, or crestview. i guess austin parents don't need a drink as much as brooklyn ones do.


the other article in the new york times led me to this blog entry. basically, a famous pastry went to the breslin restaurant with 3 lunch companions. their bill was about $110 for lunch. she just happen to bring 2 pieces of cake that she made for everyone to share, even the restaurant's pastry chef and server. when she asked the server for forks and plates for the cake, they were charged a $25 'forkage fee'. now there's other details i'm leaving out but, again, this never happens in austin. my very good friend, a.y., loves to make cakes for all her friends' birthdays and in turn, i sometimes make her birthday cake. anyway, we've never thought twice about bringing it to a restaurant and using their plates and forks. there's always plenty of cake left and we share it with the wait staff and kitchen and tip well, so a 'forkage fee' was never a consideration.  i would be shocked if this was ever brought up. i guess it's like a corking fee but this guy was literally just bringing out forks (he didn't even bring out plates).  oh and some restaurants in ny charge to cut your cake! $1 / cut!!! this just boggles my mind. only in new york.


xoxo,
p.

FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM (imagine mel gibson in braveheart)

warning: i get a little sentimental here so skip to the middle if you want the usual stuff. 


most days, i take the q train to work and back. it's a little further but i like the exercise and, with days like we've been having in new york, i want to spend the extra time outside. the q is only 5 stops to union square so it's very convenient to take if you work or play in the city. anyway, one of my favorite parts of my morning commute is that between dekalb and canal streets, we go over the manhattan bridge and if i happen to be facing south, which i often try to do, i can see the manhattan skyline and, most importantly, the statue of liberty. almost every time i see lady liberty, i get a little teary eyed. as most people know, i was born in the u.s. so i've always known the luxuries of living here. the rest of my family came from vietnam back in the 70s, right after the war, so they had a dose of living in a 3rd world country and living in the greatest country. i went to vietnam a few years ago and had a tiny glimpse of what it may have been like if my parents didn't have the american dream. anyway, not to get too gushy with you all but every time i see the statue, it reminds me just how lucky i am to be here, living this life and living this adventure. really, how many other people can say that?


ok, back to the nitty gritty. i joined my company's bowling team and guess what our team name is. ok, forget it. it's rollin' with the homies and yes, i always have to sing it and do the hand motion from clueless. we actually have 2 teams but my team is the one that matters. we bowl at leisure time in port authority right by times square. this place is huge and pretty crazy. the girls have to wear these little black dresses that i wouldn't even wear if i was going out to da club. it's always a centimeter away from seeing arse. part of the enticement is their beer towers. yes, i said TOWER. i'm not even sure how much these TOWERS hold (and forgot to ask) but it's pretty intimidating. when i saw it, i immediately wished l.l., r.c., r.c., s.h., k.h., b.m., c.m. and of course s.c. were there to partake in the TOWER. they're really the only ones i know that heart beer plus i know they could appreciate the novelty of it.

i actually bowled decently: 2 games and broke 100 each game even though my snowboarding injury from a few weeks ago hindered my 2nd game. not too bad for someone that hasn't bowled in a few years. 


i saw jamie cullum play at town hall.

i was a tiny bit disappointed. i saw jamie in austin and it was such an amazing show. i still talk about the length (close to 2.5 hours) and how energetic and entertaining he was so i expected the same with this tour. he only played for about 1.5 hours and didn't even do an encore. DIDN'T DO AN ENCORE. besides local shows or festivals, when does that ever happen? when i voiced this out loud, the girls in front of me said they saw him at carnegie hall and cheered for 30 minutes after the last song and he never came back out. weird but still super fun. he has a habit of jumping in the crowd too.

new york magazine came out with a best of issue a few months ago. in it, it had a best noodles section and they said that pho bang had the best pho in ny. so i finally found time to make it there and test it out. it was definitely better than the first bowl of pho i had here but still not as good as most of the ones in tx. the broth was just lacking. it was decent enough for me to go back but not to write home about. oh wait, what am i doing right now? anyway, you get the point. if i have a craving, i wouldn't mind eating here but i'm still on the lookout for others.


the weather here has been amazing and perfect the last few days. i made it out to prospect park and had a grand time. so many people and kids and dogs out, flying kites, playing soccer, throwing the frisbee, having picnics... you get the picture. it made me feel much more at home...almost as much as these punkins.

yes, that's a tiger print snuggie. what of it????


xoxo,
p.


p.s. take a look back at the post where i talk about utah johnny's. you can't see the bull but you longhorns will be proud.