the year of firsts

6 months

2010-07-05T17:08:00.004-04:00

what sorts of things can you find on a typical night in brooklyn? well, i happen to find myself at a screening of wah do dem recently w/ some of the cast and filmmakers including sean bones and norah jones. i recommend seeing the movie because it was both interesting and funny. it was my first movie experience in nyc if you can believe that since it's one of my favorite things to do but with so many options, this was the first chance to go. after the movie, a.s. and i headed to no. 7 for a tuna burger, cucumbers and sparkling red wine. we ended up with a bit more wine than we intended after chatting up the owner who was very generous and funny.

a few days later, i found myself getting a members only invitation to opening of the andy warhol exhibit at brooklyn museum.

the suckers were having their cd release party at music hall of williamsburg so a.s. and i met up at the lovin' cup for some yummy cocktails and good but bad food. at about 1am, we headed to the manhattan inn til about 4am for the after party. i'm way too old for this shite but the show was pretty awesome.

there's this HUGE mermaid parade in coney island once a year so of course we had to ride the 7 miles to see what it was all about. it was super hot and super crowded and i witnessed some child abuse so in a nutshell, it was not a good day. but the ride out there was SO awesome and i can add some things to the first list so definitely not a waste. i wanted a famous nathan's hot dog but the parade was in the way so i had to be ok w/ a cheese slice and it was definitely good. they had these funny cut up mango-on-a-stick thing that i've never seen before but wanted. very, very clever.

we headed back for some sangria and guac at cafe enduro.

my old friend and colleague, r.l, was in town for a ton of family events so i met her at the south street seaport for a beer and catching up. it was SO great seeing and talking to an old friend. i felt the need to be very animated about how happy i am here since r.l. feels a tiny bit responsible for me since she made me see living here was possible...perhaps some of my friends and family curse her though. none of it was faked, i definitely like it a lot here. let's just see if i end up loving it.

denitia odigie was in town on the sessions tour at googies. she sounded absolutely amazing and it was so good to see my new friend again. j.k., n.c., and j.l. came out to support too so i was glad some other new friends were able to make it. n.c., j.l. and i headed to verlaine after for some strong cocktails from oscar, the chilean bartender.

i finally made it out to governor's island after one attempt for the veuve clicquot polo classic which prince harry was attending. it was SO hot but fun to watch a polo match. we then rode around the island a few times to see and feel the coolness of it all. it was a hard ferry ride back so we hit hanco's for some banh mi's before getting back on the bike.

i felt like i must be on a gossip girl shoot.

the prince

i met up with a new friend at bua in the east village for a few tins, beer with hot sauce and lime juice. it sounds a lot like a micheladas but micheladas are definitely better. across the street is crif dogs which houses a phone booth. in that tiny booth is a phone that you pick up that may lead you to pdt (please don't tell) depending on the host's mood to let you in or not. the person i was with had a hard time getting in pdt in the past but of course, i used my southern charms and we were immediately allowed in. man, those drinks were strong but good. it's a speakeasy type place that makes you feel like you're back in the prohibition era.

i literally had to run back to brooklyn after those drinks to volunteer at the prospect park bandshell setting out chairs for the next concert. yes, you might think i was just being a great brooklyn citizen but alas, i had ulterior motives. the volunteer coordinator guaranteed tickets within the first 6 rows or the sound stage to any show this season for helping out after the concert so with the swell season coming at the end of july, i couldn't pass up this opportunity. glen and mar will definitely be worth it.

with the sorta nice weather lately, i have found myself walking around prospect park a lot and mostly with the dogs. i'm talking about at least 2 hours each time i go. it's so nice for the dogs to get out and so nice for me to explore other parts of the park. i really do love living in brooklyn.

so this is going to sound a little crazy but recently, some dude posted on the brooklynian blog that he was looking to start a brooklyn cooking clubi'm a stranger coming to your apartment to eat dinner...and i brought wine! it could, of course, been disasterous but it was so much fun. the food was great and the company was hilarious. our next club meeting will hopefully be in august. i volunteered for the fall so that people weren't melting when they walked in to my apartment. i wonder if i'll pull out one of my oldies or if i'll try something new...

i used to work w/ s.p. in austin before she decided to teach english in japan for 3 years. after coming back to the states, she decided to make a new home in nyc and brooklyn too. after a month and a half of trying to get together, we finally met up at stecchino in hell's kitchen for brunch. we had the waffle w/ whipped nutella and bananas and the caesar salad and about 16 mimosas and 3 beers in 5 hours. yep, that's how we roll. s.p. went straight home but i had to stop at nicky's to pick up 2 orders of pho - one for immediate consumption and one for my miracle cure the next day.

for the 4th of july, i went over to d.l. and j.l.'s place for a good old fashioned bbq. i attempted sangria the first time and it was the first thing to be completely consumed. man, i rock. we then munched on guac, chips, quinoa, salad, potatoes, squash, sausages, and grilled fruit. again, it's SO nice to have neighbors nearby for such events.

i finally went to my neighborhood coffee shop, k dog, today. i literally walk by this place everyday to get to work and have never stopped by. and guess what. they have my favorite muffins! i think i'll have to re-evaluate my budget.

we need one of these in austin.

xoxo,

a list to catch you up (for c.w.)

2010-06-14T20:48:00.094-04:00

so one day, i showed up to work with all these trucks full of gear and trees that weren't there few days ago and cars that i've never seen in person and a few oddly dress people. after i asked rich, our door guy, what's up with that, he tells me they've been filming the re-make of mildred pierce w/ kate winslet and guy pearce outside my work building all weekend. i never actually got a clear shot of kate or guy but just knowing she was there was sorta enough. i hung out mid-morning to watch them set up a scene and it took FOREVER. i was standing behind the director's tent and listened to film speak and got a little bored. so glad i just watch the movies and don't have to watch them set up 1 minute scenes for over an hour.

from my floor

old car. i wanted to jump in and drive off.

the paparazzi. seriously.

cast

since it's starting to get pretty hot in new york, i had to work on the circulation in my apartment. first up: fans. bed, bath, and beyond wraps any large packages or bags with string and attach a handle since most people will have to walk with them. snazzy!

look at me! i have a box fan purse!

the only problem is that my apartment gets a TON of light so one fan would not do (i already have 2) so i had to go back to get another and add thermaweave curtains that are suppose to block out 99% of the light. you think i'm a little crazy, huh? blocking out sunlight? well, in the winter, it's wonderful cause my apartment is nice and cozy. but when it's 80+ degrees in new york, it's just disgusting. and the dogs are home all day so i have to make sure the little sweet, sweet babies aren't going to have heat stroke.

speaking of 80+ degree days, i have a little bone to pick w/ ny. in texas, the 80s are a lovely spring day since you can go outside, do your thing then jump in your car w/ ac, roll down the windows and have a nice breeze, then go home where there's central air. in new york, this is not the case, at least not for me. the buildings are so high that you really don't get a breeze. there's no central air and window units use up a TON of energy and cost a bazillion to run all the time. and there's not pools to jump in and cool off. i remember thursday night ride socials where we'd meet up near town lake, ride around, then jump into barton springs. oh the days! now, i just sweat and stand next to sweaty people then sweat walking home and take cold showers. nice image huh?

so my friends t.h and a.a. added me to a dinner group called the plate lickers. i went to my first outing w/ them at nomad. very nice food (had octopus, snails, and fish tajine). i got an alright vietnamese sammy at home in park slope (da slope from here on out) then occupied several seats at flatbush farm's outdoor area for yummy cocktails, duck confit, oysters, sparkling red wine, and roasted chicken (not all in the same night).

another awesome thing about new york is that you can see a show with really, really famous people in it such as the behanding of spokane w/ christopher walken and sam rockwell. the story wasn't great but it's christopher walken! you really can't go wrong with that!

one of my colleague's is married to bertilla baker so he invited us all to hear her sing at an old church in brooklyn heights. she was amazing, very smooth, jazzy voice. my other coworkers and i went to grand canyon after the concert for late night burger.

even though celebrating cinco de mayo is NOT the same in texas, i still made the most of it in new york. i met up w/a few friends and coworkers for pitchers of margaritas at rodeo bar. the drinks were great but the queso was gritty, like powder cheese. i met up w/ a fair weather friend at 4th avenue pub then we headed to peperoncino for wine, fish, and tiramisu.

there's a coffee house only 2 stops away from me called breukelen coffee house and it's super cute and fun. they have quarterly or semi-annual parties and at their most recent one, they made it a tea party. fun! fun! next door is franklin park where we were introduced to the loveliness of petron xo cafe.

t.b. had an 80s themed bday party at melody lanes. i didn't really dress up but i bowled like i did in the 80s which was not so great.

part of the new york cool kids lifestyle, at least to me, is riding your bike to get from place to place. riding is almost always faster than catching a subway. i've always wanted to do this back in texas but since i was doing century rides and stuff, i figured it would be ok if i skipped the 'i wanna be cool and save the earth by not driving my car 2 blocks'. but lo and behold, i have definitely taken to it here. when in new york, do like the new yorkers i say. so let me introduce you to trixie, the fixie (with brakes!). i already love her so, super easy to ride and super cute! i get compliments on it all the time. too bad it's probably stolen but at least i bought it. i just hope nothing happens to her because i think she's in a very happy home.

so my first ride w/ trixie was to the franklin st immersion in greenpoint. we had to ride about 6 miles to get there but it was an easy 6 with it being mostly uphill the way there. luckily i live in an area with a ton of bike lanes and a lot of other people on bikes so i didn't feel too worried. i am a big dork though (duh) cause i'm also almost the only one wearing a bike helmet. hey man, vanity does not win over cracking my noggin on this one. i met up w/ a.s., a.s, and j.k. after the immersion at black iris for some yummy hummus, fatoosh and wine after my long ride.

i joined several meetup groups in new york to meet new people and try new things. however, i've only attended one, my neighborhood group, prospect lefferts garden (plg). we recently had our first one (i think) at lincoln park tavern which is my closest bar or at least the only bar i would go to right now. we had a lot of fun and i've already made some friends through it. it's definitely nice having friends nearby. one couple just had a bbq in their backyard where they grilled pizzas with different ingredients from their amazing garden and eggs from their 2 hens. it only took me 5 minutes to walk to their house!

there's a race here called the amazing race nyc and a few friends and i did it. SO fun! basically, we had a list of things we had to do and things we could do for extra points. along the way, we had to take pictures of our activities, with the whole team in the pictures, to take back to the village pourhouse where we would show the judges how much we kick arse. well, that was the plan anyway. we had to do stuff like take a picture with: a man and a toddler, a musician, with a kissing couple, someone w/ a subway map, and our most favorite one, with a taxi driver (gay boys did not have to be included). i got to do a lot of the touristy things on my to do list so it was great and team white noise worked very well together.

met up w/ another new person at pace gallery for art opening (david byrne was there!!) then to room service for some yummy thai food and the best lychee sangria.

i'm so used to having a lot of green space around me and living and working around brooklyn and new york doesn't afford me that luxury as much as i'd like. so for my birthday, i wanted to get the hell outta dodge and head to the hudson valley. luckily, my friend a.s.'s bday was exactly a week after so we decided to do this together. we stayed at audrey's farmhouse bed & breakfast because they allowed dogs, ate at the brunyswick inn (literally 2 minute walk from the b&b but the owner had to drive us back cause we had a few birthday shots), and had a.s.'s bday dinner at the village tearoom. we were known as the 'party girls' all weekend and the owner wanted to adopt us. that's just how we roll, baby.

the village tearoom

my 2nd bike ride was with r.b. and we headed out to red hook (best way to get there is by bike cause transit doesn't really go there) for a nice wine tasting and ate some robecelli's cupcakes.

the elvis. yes! that's candied bacon!

tres leches

my taste buds have recently matured a bit according to b.m. and e.h. and now i'm a little obsessed with:

with the weather becoming nicer by the day, i've found myself having more and more picnics at prospect park. it's semi close and has a lot of space for people to spread out. i love living in brooklyn.

the vanderbilt is owned by one a michelin starred chef so i've had every intention of going to try out the food...but alas, all i've had was a bloody mary but dang, it was super fresh and delightful.

our intention was to head to governor's island for the opening and yeasayer concert however it didn't quite work out that way. so instead, we ended up on a little boat ride from brooklyn (pier 6) to manhattan (pier 17) then on the train back to brooklyn to make something else of our night.

i'm on a boat!

habana outpost has refreshing drinks and shows movies outside on sunday nights in the summer!

being that a.s. is vegan, we really have to be selective on where we eat but luckily, she's not TOO crazy about it and also luckily, i love fruits and veggies. so we went to zaytoons for yummy olives, pepperocinis, fatoosh, and hummus. there's this new bar called branded in da hood so we went for some cold beers (they serve lone star!) and met their resident dj, spencer. isn't that a funny name for a dj? i think he needs to change it to dj spency spence or something catchy.

met up w/ someone new for japanese ramen at zuzu and drinks at sheep station in brooklyn. the ramen was great and the bar played ray lamontagne so you know that was bonus points for me.

a.y. came to visit from austin and brought me a bike pump, chips and salsa made in texas and one of the best things ever: jalapeno creamy dip from chuy's. i ate that shite up! while she was staying w/ another friend in the city, we met up one night for franny's where we had pork belly w/ marinated greens, tomato, buffalo mozzarella and basil pizza, and penne w/ pork sausage, broccoli, and provolone piccante. she wanted cake but the best i could do on a cold and rainy night was brooklyn crepe for nutella, banana, strawberries and whip creme crepe. delectable. someone told me that if i wanted the best pizza in new york, i just had to go to di fara's pizza. it's famous because an old, 82 year old, italian man makes each pizza to order. he literally cuts the basil w/ scissors right before you're handed the pie. best. pizza. ever. a.y. could not stop talking about it. so worth the wait and travel. we also used my groupon at bussaco for brunch and i had gorilla coffee for the first time. i think i still like blue sky bakery's coffee (and muffins) so much better.

ok, i think that's it for now. man, this was a lot of work. i really should try to keep this updated so it doesn't take so long to think back. my memory is definitely going. i have dementia. hang w/ me now before i forget your face. but i'll leave you with actual images of the best dogs in the world. btw, calvin is doing SO well here now that there's no snow. it's like he's reversing the aging process. he's the benjamin button of dogs. we went for a 6 mile walk and he was able to keep up the whole time. what other 15 year old dog do you know can do that?

fin.

xoxo,
p.

whirlwind

2010-04-18T20:47:00.000-04:00

i can't seem to find the motivation to write and i've been really bad about taking pictures as i go. boo on me, i know.

i joined zipcar which allows me to rent a car when i need to go to target, ikea, trader joe's all in one day (actually, within 2.5 hours) or when i need to run around town to buy air conditioners off craigslist. i didn't think i would miss driving as much as i have. the first thing i did was put the radio on npr hoping that car talk would be on. oh the days of driving up and down i-35.

met up w/ some friends at parkside lounge before seeing david garza at mercury lounge then headed to the bell house for apollo run. man, that was a fun night. i've been a fan of david's since was 15.

brunch at cornelius w/ a.s. and j.m. followed by a stroll around park slope. dinner at seoul garden w/ a few climbers from chelsea piers.

ray prim was in town on his east coast tour and stayed w/ me for a few days. somehow d.w. was able to convince me to cook for them (it helped that ray does NOT like to go out to eat) so i had a small dinner party. i miss my dinner parties in austin. can't wait to move to prospect heights so getting to my place will be a little easier so i can continue cooking for peeps.

ray wanted to play at an open mic at caffe vivaldi in greenwich village/west village. since we got there way too early, we took a little tour of the area. we hit magnolia bakery for a famous cupcake, bleeker street pizza for a mushroom slice, and papaya dog for some hotdogs and a corndog. ray remembers this place from a movie so he just had to eat there (twice). we also met up with denitia odigie who is also a super talented musician and is on tour now so check her out if you can!

ray was playing at googies above living room and, again, we got to the area super early so we hit verlaine for some chicken wings and lychee martinis. everyone that came out headed to epstein's after for some 2 for 1 drinks. by the way, denitia saw this awesome thing in the bathroom at googies. it was meant for me.

on ray's last day, we hit the streets trying to find him some glasses. but of course, food first. ray went to papaya dog and i stopped in at vanessa's dumplings for some...dumplings.

we hung out at union square and chinatown (where he found some frames) then headed to ground zero. i went into st. paul's chapel and the 9/11 memorial and museum. i got a little choked up at some of the items they had on display. highly recommend visiting the chapel.

i'm growing my hair out so it's in that weird in between period. i just needed a cleanup and someone at work recommended astor place hairstylist. this place is funny. there's probably about 30 people working at any one time and it seems like it's more for men. i'm so used to getting pampered since i used to go to jr salon in austin and this was quite a different experience. oh well, it was cheap but i don't know that i'd go back.

r.l. told me about republic restaurant before i left austin and i finally went last week. this is their version of a bento box. it was good.

hung out w/ d.l. and k.l. for some 80s dancing at pyramid club. fun! fun! fun! ok, i'm tired of thinking.

xoxo,

thank you, 8 lbs 6 oz sweet, sweet baby jesus. it's spring time!!!

2010-04-05T20:23:00.001-04:00

i know the weather affects my mood but i didn't realize just how much until this past week. the weather has been close to perfect and i've been able to get out a lot more than usual since it's still light out when i get home from work.

yet another first to add to the list: climbing. i went to brooklyn boulders w/ d.w. and had a fabulous albeit painful time. i have the blister on my hand to prove it. i went up the top rope wall twice.

and the boulder wall twice.

i needed a beer and some food after so we went to pacific standard for some good beer and ordered some sushi from jpan for some good eats.

i walk around madison square park a lot and there's been a new addition to a corner along w/ a few buildings. there's these new statues everywhere of a naked man. it's actually sculptures of antony gormley and they're apparently true to form. you can read a little bit more about it. i was only able to get a good picture of the back and but in the front, he's definitely uncircumcised.

i've wanted to hit the brooklyn flea market for a while now since i read about it and i finally got my chance recently. this is definitely not the flea market i'm used to. there was no tejano music. no fruit or vegetable tables and definitely no dogs for sale. this is the brooklyn flea.

it was super fun and i would definitely go again since i got some jewelry that i've already received compliments on. gotta love that!

there's also a new brooklyn bridge park that everyone is making a big deal about so i made my way then walked across the brooklyn bridge to manhattan.

from there, i made my way to union square for the new york pillow fight day.

and since i was in union square, of course i had to hit the farmers market. i got some yummy cookies.

so far, spring time in nyc is pretty awesome.

xoxo,

brooklyn, brooklyn take me in

2010-03-29T20:32:00.000-04:00

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,

yummy yummy in my tummy

2010-03-25T21:41:00.000-04:00

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?

2010-03-21T15:05:00.000-04:00

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.

2010-03-21T13:38:00.001-04:00

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

2010-03-11T20:21:00.000-05:00

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)

2010-03-08T23:24:00.004-05:00

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.

bond st, utah johnny's, woodwork, & weather up

2010-03-01T20:53:00.001-05:00

whew! the weekend felt like a whirlwind of activities. we got 2 feet of snow on friday so i was suppose to work from home but somehow made my way to the city only to be turned around for home. this gave me a chance to take sf to the park and we had a grand time. she's now much more familiar with the snow so she's a lot more willing to get into it without me. i totally forgot my phone and camera so i don't have any evidence but sf was chasing after snow balls! she slept for 48 hours straight after we got home from all the fun w/ the snow. even when we walk, she likes to lick and eat it.

this past weekend was also the last weekend of winter restaurant week so r.b. and i hit bond st for some sushi. this is the first time i made a 10:30pm reservation. ever. only in ny. i think my friends in texas would have eaten their left arm if they had to wait until 10:30 to eat. heck, i almost ate my left arm! but it was so wort it because i had a very nice, leisurely, delicious dinner with some great company.

i also celebrated texas independence day along w/ the ny texas exes at utah johnny's. as you can see from their website, they have a mechanical bull right smack in the middle of the restaurant/bar. i think this may have been the place that the girls from sex and the city went to where miranda stripped off her shirt. i think it may have been every girl's goal to simulate what it would look like to have sex with them when they were on the bull. it was hilarious. i had such a great time w/ my new friends and laughed so much. it's a talent to be great story teller and i've been very lucky in my life to be surrounded by a few of them.

i left there to meet up w/ a.s to see some show in brooklyn, but alas, the show we tried to get to at market hotel was sold out. so we headed back to prospect heights to do some bar hopping closer to our hood. we hit woodwork first because a.s. wanted to scope it out for future soccer games (d.g.! you would be so proud). the guys behind the bar were very attentive so we had some good wine and snacks while we were there. very good prices too. the next and last bar we hit was weather up. this place is owned by the same guy that owns milk + honey and the varnish, the bar s.c. and i went to in l.a. ever since i had their vodka bramble, i've wanted it again so it's awesome that i can find it so close and cheaper too! can't beat that!

xoxo,
p.

p.s. i haven't watched the bachelor since this season started yet i can't tear myself away from the finale. sad, i know.

blue sky muffins and chickpea

2010-02-22T20:36:00.000-05:00

my coworker told me about these amazing muffins from blue sky bakery and of course, i had to try it. he brought me a zucchini, raspberry, and chocolate to try and it lived up to the hype. it was just moist enough and just yummy enough for me to stuff it all in mouth in about 2.5 minutes. must have again!

i discovered another lunch spot that is so good and so worth the money. chickpea would so really well in austin so if anyone has some extra money around to franchise this place, i would highly recommend it! i got the chicken kebab w/ pinenut and basil hummus and a salad for less than $10 and i had leftovers.

i'm already starting to get lazy, i admit, about taking pictures everywhere i go. i've eaten at aj maxell's for restaurant week since we were all craving a steak. it was ok but i don't think i'll be back. i've also gone to the mermaid inn for $1 oysters during happy hour with some coworkers which was really fun. i saw the play, equivocation, which was an amazing production. when i read the actors list, i didn't recognize any of the names, but once it started, there were a few famous people in it! john pankow, michael countryman, and david furr. ok, he's not famous but he's hot in person! oh and i also went snowboarding for the first time! my bum and my arms, and my legs still hurt but it was worth it. i had SO much fun and will definitely ride again. i made it down the mountain twice without falling! i was pumping my fists in the air like the jersey shore kids.

xoxo,
p.

the lovin' cup and the suckers

2010-02-15T19:28:00.000-05:00

after spending the weekend in philly w/ my brother and his family, i came back to see the suckers at cameo gallery. the front of the show space is called the lovin' cup which is another speakeasy type bar but a little cheaper than the others i've been to. my first drink was a lemon song (fig infused vodka with lemon and basil) and my second was a blueberry mojito. they were both too delicious that i had to have one or two more.

the suckers are from brooklyn and already have a huge following. they've opened up for mgmt a few times and have played acl and sxsw. they are definitely a band to watch out for.

xoxo,
p.

i miss...

2010-02-12T22:49:00.000-05:00

in no particular order:

my friends
my family
tam's (my absolute favorite vietnamese place) & sunflower
pho van (pho in general)
maudie's (strait plate!)
trudy's (insalada grande and mexican martinis)
watching ray prim play almost every other week
heb
mandola's
galaxy cafe
barton springs (even though i wouldn't be going there right now)
queso
upper crust bakery
frankie at jr salon
THE WEATHER
the space, storage, and location of my last place
town lake/zilker park/deep eddy pool
dinner parties
free dog sitting
marley, jack, tucker, callie, zella, charlie, snappy
san francisco deli and bakery
elysium
strut
imperia's happy hour
el patio
blue dahlia
east austin
being in a car singing my heart out with the windows down
kathy
turkey creek
and most importantly, breakfast tacos

xoxo,
p.

snow day!!!

2010-02-10T13:03:00.000-05:00

we're suppose to get 10-18 inches of snow today. it started early this morning and stopped but is suppose to start up again later today and cause a raucous.

and of course, the only thing you should eat in this weather is some good ole (delivered) matzo ball soup (and salad).

xoxo,
p.

the magician, shang, and verlaine

2010-02-06T21:00:00.000-05:00

the 3rd place for restaurant week was shang. it's on the lower east side so i had to go to the magician first to have some super cheap drinks. by the way, their happy hour is from 5-7:55. don't piss off the bartender by trying to get hh prices after 7:55. you won't get it. she told me a story about how this girl was following her around showing her the time on her phone and she was not having it.

from the restaurant week menu, we had the hot & sour soup, assorted dim sum, marinated skirt steak, cantonese wok fried pearl noodes, roasted scottish salmon and the mango panna cotta. it was pretty good. i don't think i would go back just because i can get so much better food in chinatown for 1/2 the price. but i was a fun experience and the main room is impressive.

we didn't want to end the night, so b.l. took us to verlaine for some after dinner drinks. when she told us that hh was until 10pm, we didn't even need to think about it. this place is pretty cool!

their hh is $5 lychee martinis, sangria, and bloody marys. verlaine had me at lychee martini of which i had 2. visitors, be prepared to frequent this place because of the prices and the deliciousness.

xoxo,

as you like it

2010-02-06T20:42:00.001-05:00

if ever you want to get a dose of shakespeare, new york is a great place to be. it seems like there's always a shakespeare play readily available to be attended. as you like it at bam is directed by sam mendes so of course i had to go, hoping of course kate winslet would be there too.

it was a bit long (3 hours) but highly entertaining. the set was pretty amazing considering the space is pretty small but they were able to make a lot out of a little. i wasn't sure what 'as you like it' was about and didn't know what to expect and i enjoyed every minute of it. it was funny, sad, dramatic, and beautiful. there was not a lot of music but the little bits stayed with me. i was singing it all the way home.

xoxo,
p.

the importance of being earnest & cafe 28

2010-02-06T20:30:00.000-05:00

i've always loved oscar wilde's the importance of being earnest so i took the chance to see the musical version, earnest in love, at the irish repertory theater this past week. i had dinner at cosi first (just a soup and salad combo) then went to the theater. it's small and they're still making renovations but it's a great place to see a show. not a bad seat in the house. the actors were so funny and cute. i highly recommend it if it's playing in your town!

another lunch spot i've recently learned about is cafe 28. this place is pretty insane and kinda overwhelming. when a coworker mentioned it, i asked what they had and he replied, "they have everything" and he was right.

let me first say that new york delis are not like the ones back home. delis are, to me, a soup, salad, sandwich kinda place that i normally go to for lunch. new york delis (or bodegas) are a one stop shop for groceries too. it's usually more expensive but if you're in a crunch, you can usually find your sugar or a can of tomatoes here without a problem. so cafe 28 has those household items and so much more. you walk in and there's a small bakery area, then you go a little way and there's udon bar (which of course is what i had), 2 buffet areas with salad stuff, bbq, sweet and sour chicken, roast chicken, etc., pizza bar, sandwich bar, all types of drinks, and some asian foods spread about. so basically, if you have no idea what you want but you want to go to a place that has a little bit of everything, i would highly recommend cafe 28.

xoxo,
p.

one month

2010-01-31T20:05:00.000-05:00

i can't believe it's been 31 days since i started this adventure in new york. at first, it seemed like time went by so slowly and i didn't believe in the 'new york minute' and in a way, i still don't but i still can't believe i've been here a whole month. now that i look back, it feels like longer only because i'm kinda already comfortable here. i've read that the adjustment period for new york can be anywhere from 3 months to a year. did i skip something? am i doing something wrong? yes, i'm still experiencing something new all the time but i'm also not as scared or apprehensive as i was. i'm only double checking my directions now instead of triple checking. i can adjust to subway changes when i have to. i've gone grocery shopping. i walk everywhere. i'm making new friends. don't get me wrong, i miss my family, friends, and austin dearly but i really haven't felt homesick. i think i've felt more homesickness going on a 10 day vacation than i have with this move. maybe it's just the mindset that this is permanent. i don't know. whatever it is, i already feel like this is my norm.

i'm super excited because s.c. and n.p. have booked their tickets and will be here in 6.5 weeks! i can't wait. hopefully the time will fly. n.p. used to live here so i'm looking forward to her sharing some of her nyc secrets and tips with me.

xoxo,
p.

p.s. i get so giddy when i see new people are following me on this experience. you can do so very easily on the left with pretty much any email account!

antipop consortium & rain machine

2010-01-31T18:21:00.000-05:00

a.s. had an extra ticket to see antipop consortium and rain machine at the brooklyn academy of music (BAM). BAM is the equivalent to the paramount in austin although BAM is a lot bigger and much more updated.

they have plays, concerts, theaters for new movies, a cafe where they also have rock shows, and i'm sure much, much more. it's pretty close by so i plan to see a lot more events here when i can.

we had amazing tickets. i think we were 5-6 rows back so i was able to see everything which is not the norm being that i'm a hobbit. the first group, apc, were pretty entertaining although after about 3 songs, i was ready to hit the lobby for another glass of wine. there was a hot one, flava flav look alike, a nerd, and the dj.

the headliner, rain machine, is kyp malone's (from tv on the radio) solo project. before a.s. told me about the show, i'd never heard of them and didn't know what to expect. they totally blew me away. the talent, the energy and the music was moving. i was sad to see them end the show but they only have one album so i look forward to seeing what else they're going to dish out.

xoxo,

sophie's and allegretti

2010-01-30T17:03:00.000-05:00

i think it's going to take more than a year to try out all the places around my work where i can eat lunch. a friend has been eating at sophie's every week, and sometimes twice a week, for the last few weeks so i finally went w/ her and another coworker recently. you can either go through a line kinda like luby's, pick what you want, and take it to go. but there is a small area in the back with table service. since i like to take my full hour of lunch, we chose this option. it was crowded but we were seated very quickly. they have lunch specials not on the menu from $6-$8 bucks but their menu is definitely pretty reasonable too. it was SO good! i had the 2 empanada special w/ chicken and potato soup and a soda for only $6.50. my coworker, who is of latin descent, raved about the food and said he was looking for a place to get some home cooking. he and my friend had the seafood in cuban sauce with rice and fried plantains. it has squid, mussels, shrimp and some other seafood. they said it was amazing. my coworker tore it up and finished before either us were half way through we our meals. this is definitely going to be staple because of the quality and price.

it was going to be hard to top lunch but i tried by going to another place for restaurant week. allegretti is a 14 table french restaurant in the flatiron area. it's fancy and nice. a great deal for dinner w/ this special but apparently they have the same stuff all year around on their prix fixe menu. the bartender was pretty hot w/ his french accent and the maitre d', james, was so friendly and warm. we started off w/ some cocktails and then switched to a bottle of cotes du rhone. i had the red cabbage and pomegranate with sheep's milk ricotta cheese to start. the cheese was silky smooth.

then the roasted chicken breast w/ carrots fondant and potato gratin, crispy bacon, and chicken jus. we also added on a side of brussel sprouts. i forgot to take a pic before we dug in. the chicken was cooked perfectly.

b.l. had the pan seared salmon with tomato and zucchini provecale with mariniere sauce. it was lovely.

we ended with the pear and dark chocolate clafoutis and the flourless chocolate cake.

the clafoutis was served warm so when i cut into it, the chocolate oozed out of the 'cake' and melted in my mouth. the combo of pear and dark chocolate was perfect. i wanted more.

we had a great time in a great restaurant. i will definitely be back! we then rolled ourselves to the train and to williamsburg in the freezing cold to 3rd ward for the opening of an exhibit of photographs by linda gastaldello. we didn't stay long since the exhibit was small and we were too late for the wine.

xoxo,
p.

baoguette and breakfast

2010-01-28T19:58:00.001-05:00

apparently, there's no good vietnamese food in nyc. i've been asking anyone that will tolerate me and hardly anyone has any suggestions. food mecca with no viet? this makes me very sad. when i visit austin, i'll have to get my fill of tex-mex and viet??? crazy! well, one of coworkers told me about baoguette, where i could at least get a descent banh mi.

what's nice is that you can order online (yes, a viet place that not only has a website but also has online ordering) and you can also order it spicy or mild for you spice freaks. i was in an daring mood so i had the spicy classic baoguette. i would go back because it was pretty good and close but i've definitely had better.

you know how you can get anything on a biscuit in tx? well, here, it's a roll.

xoxo,
p.

5 ninth

2010-01-28T19:49:00.000-05:00

new york restaurant week has begun! i love doing this in austin but, my goodness, there's over 250 restaurants to choose from the nyc list! what is a girl to do?? so i left it to my friend, b.l., to choose and the first one was 5 ninth in the meatpacking district.

this place is super cute! it's was snug, warm, and inviting. their menu was simple and delicious. i started w/ the arugula salad, pork cheeks, and the crumble. my dining companions, b.l., d.l, and k.l, had the pig tails, haddock, chocolate cake, and coconut panna cotta and of course, we all sampled each other's dishes. i would definitely go back to 5 ninth but probably for happy hour.

sorry, i forgot to take a picture of the food. the company and the food were that good.

xoxo,
p

my toothesses

2010-01-28T19:38:00.000-05:00

i'm really good about going to the dentist every 6 months for a cleaning so i made an appointment w/ a recommended dentist near my office. he was very nice and totally gay...and so was almost everyone else in the office. his assistant, steven, was totally precious. during my cleaning, they talked about printers (for about 38 mins), nancy kerrigan's father dying (and the brother that may or may not arrested because of it) which led to celebrity boxing (specifically when tonya harding fought paula jones and kicked her ass), and a reality tv show which i can remember off the top of my head right now. does your dentist office look anything like this?

i almost walked out w/ the little paper bib they clasp around your neck. steven came over w/ a little napkin to wipe my mouth of the polish and helped me take it off. he said, "you might start a trend, girl. it's chelsea after all."

xoxo,
p.

pho gone wrong

2010-01-24T18:13:00.002-05:00

i had a mad craving for pho before i went to see a play called dark rapture. i went to new saigon since it was near the theater hoping for a nice yummy bowl of noodles. i was wrong but at least now i know. it was funny and full of vegetables.

i also had a chance to have drinks w/ some new friends at still bar, which was a dive-y and had some pretty good grub food. now i know where to get some good spinach artichoke dip.

xoxo,
p.