3 on Thursday

Yay for short weeks!  I have lots to get done so this four-day weekend is just what I need.  Having more time should hopefully mean even more fun than this past weekend which included all of the following:

A couple friends are in the process of doing something big: starting a business that will hopefully fill a niche that's looking for a little love.  While keeping their day jobs, they have followed every step in the book toward building their empire.  It's all quite impressive, though I can't give you much detail now other than that the centerpiece will be a great website.  Over the weekend they shot their promotional video and asked if I would help out.  I firmly believe this acting debut will propel me to my deserved level of fame, but in case it doesn't, I walked away a great gift.  As a thank you for helping out, Emily and Rachel gave me this adorable ribbon bracelet.  It's nautical and green - my two favorite things.

Last weekend was gorgeous and Central Park was littered with sunbathers.  Once I felt myself getting nice and pink I headed home and passed this painter on my way out.  He was just there, doin his thing.

One of the biggest projects I had to accomplish before moving out of my old apartment was painting the bedroom and bathroom back to white.  Matt and Karina came over and we made a little Painting Party out of it.  They provided the helping hands and I provided champagne, pizza, and banana pudding from Magnolia.  I don't like cupcakes, but Magnolia is always on my radar because of this banana pudding.  I don't really want to put this in writing because in my family it is an offense punishable by death, but I think it might be better than Mildred's.  I've never said that about anything before and I'm sure I'll never say it about anything else, but this stuff is gooooood.

Split Pea Soup

It may sound shocking, but I had never tried split pea soup until last night.  My mother loves the stuff, but I always associate it with institutional cafeteria slop and would never let the spoon touch my lips.  Last night, however, I found a new appreciation for the soup after trying Matt's version.

For Jen's big 30th birthday Mark and Allison gave her and Matt an evening of dinner, drinks, and a movie at Brooklyn's hip Nitehawk Cinema.  However, with a baby in the mix, the only way they can enjoy date night is if they have someone to watch Avery.  My services as babysitter were the perfect contribution for poor me who can hardly afford a real gift and helped bring the whole present together.

I don't know how I wound up with a gift on Jen's birthday, but I arrived to find a huge pot of split pea soup, courtesy of Matt.  This looked nothing like the pureed green slop of cafeteria days.  The split peas reminded me of lentils and were mashed, not blended, alongside all sorts of goodies like carrots, sweet potatoes, and ham hock.  This was easily one of the most filling soups I've ever had.  I would even go as far as to call it a stew.  I can also say it restored my faith in split pea soup.  I'll still probably steer clear of it in cafeterias, but I will no longer immediately turn my nose up at it.

Vic's Bagel Bar

The best part about living in a new neighborhood is getting to explore the new neighborhood.  On Saturday afternoon when I was bored and couldn't find anyone to play with I walked out my front door and just wandered down 3rd Avenue.  Suddenly, I found myself 30 blocks south in the East Village.  I then turned around and walked all the way back up 2nd Avenue.  After 60 blocks I got in a little exercise and saw what my new hood has to offer.

As wonderful as that was, I did my walk before lunchtime which means I didn't get to sample the food options.  If you know me, you know I think the food scene is the most important quality of a neighborhood so I decided to start this week with a bagel from Vic's Bagel Bar across the street.  Vic's is a nouveau bagel place that uses the Cold Stone method of mix-ins with the cream cheese.  Warning: this is not your typical New York Jewish bagel.  The mix-ins are diverse and include fruit, nuts, veggies, pesto, wasabi, potato chips, and sprinkles.

A couple other things set Vic's apart: unlike most down-and-dirty bagel places who have vats of coffee (which, don't get me wrong, I love) they serve Stumptown, my favorite.  They also have beer pong tournaments at night where they serve pizza bagels.  I haven't checked that out yet, but it doesn't sound bad and good for them for capitalizing on the fratty Murray Hill crowd.

I ordered cream cheese mixed with chopped lox, cucumber, and green peppers. I was hoping to get some dill mixed in there, but they were all out.  It's probably good they were short on dill because my bagel had already reached the staggering price of nearly $7.  Sure, my cream cheese tasted great and I got enough of it for two to three bagels, but that's super expensive.  I think I'll go back for Stumptown when I want a treat of a coffee but I'll have to get my bagels at one of the two old-school bagel places that happen to be next door.

3 on Thursday

Still running at full speed with no signs of slowing down.  Overwhelming?  You betcha.  Will I crack soon?  Most likely.

I really liked this floor lamp at Blue Water Grill.  I'm not sure whether to think of it as a chandelier on a stick or an overgrown candelabra.  Either way, it's a serious floor lamp.

My new NikeIDs just came in!  When designing them in the store, I told the associate my favorite color was green and he helped me make these bright show stoppers.  The fun color scheme gives me extra motivation to work out, as do the custom tongues - the right says "sic" and the left says "em".  Now, whenever I'm hitting the gym, I'm inspired to "finish the drill" just like my Dawgs.

BIG news.  I bought an apartment.  Read that part again.  I (and not my parents) bought (not rented ) an apartment in Manhattan.  This is a relatively huge deal, one you'll likely be hearing a lot about as I settle in, decorate, and renovate.  Yesterday was moving day, which means last night was my first sleeping there and I have to tell you, it was a little weird.  I'm not used to having elevators or a doorman and now I have two of the nicest men who hold the door open for me and love hearing about my day.  It's so nice, but until I get used to these cushy accommodations I'll feel like a guest.  It was extra exciting to arrive yesterday and find my mailbox already had my name on it.  In all four years at my last apartment, my name never made it onto the mailbox, but now I live in a real community.  I can't explain how great that feels. 

Smorgasburg 2012

Smorgasburg is back and better than ever!  I have written about this food fair here and here, but I'm writing again because it's just so good and there are new booths to discover this Summer.  Gone are the traditional flea vendors and all spots have been filled with food.  Since Jill was visiting from Boston we had to make sure to hit up enough booths to last her all the way back to Massachusetts.

We started with sliders from Dumont Burger.  It was a great little slider.  Simple and nicely cooked, but I'm not sure it was something we could have gotten elsewhere.  It was a good entree into the fair.  Next we had my favorite of the day: hash browns from Egg.  They start with really good, fresh hash browns and you get to pick your mix-ins.  I went with pulled pork, pimento cheese, and a dash of hot sauce.  The smokiness of the pork pervaded the entire dish.  I could eat this everyday.  Next was the monster cemita sandwich.  I don't even know what each layer to this sandwich was, but the cheese was like a Mexican mozzarella, the chicken patty was thick and juicy, and all the spreads were strategically placed so as not to sog-ify the bun.  Our final savory course came from the Japanese taco stand.  We ordered one whitefish and one short rib.  Japanese and Mexican seem like a weird fusion, but this worked, especially the white fish.  After all that food, it was time to cool down with some sweet treats from People's Pops so we grabbed a blueberry apricot popsicle and a red plum shaved ice.

I think it's safe to say we took the improved Smorgasburg by storm.  I didn't even know there was room for improvement over last year, but they have outdone themselves in 2012.  There are still so many stalls to try, so hopefully this will not be the last post of the season.

DBGB

For her birthday, Lindsay wanted to cross a restaurant off her bucket list, which means I got to do the same.  Chef Daniel Boulud is known for his ultra high end restaurants - the kind that I can't even dream of going to til I get a new job in finance.  However, his latest venture, DBGB, is a more reasonably priced gastropub so Boulud's cooking is now accessible to all most.

We started with a round of apps.  Lindsay got steak tartare that she said was wonderful, especially the pickled ramps - a nice seasonal touch to a traditional year-round dish.  Rachel ordered the fried egg and asparagus with smoked duck and violet mustard.  When I saw the egg was not the regular diner-style over easy fried egg but a whole egg, deep fried, I had to have a bite.  The crispy layer was thin and the yolk was just less than firm.  I've started seeing prosciutto, asparagus, and poached egg in Italian restaurants and this was a nice twist to that dish.  I ordered a creamy and delicious romanesco cauliflower soup.  At the bottom of my bowl I found a mussel - what a little treat!  Another goodie: laying atop the bowl was a crostini of saffron aioli, shaved cauliflower, and another mussel.  The soup may seem more like a Fall dish, but I would eat it any time of the year.

Lindsay and I split two sausages for our entree.  I'm not sure whether I preferred the espagnole or the tunisienne - both were the type of sausages you usually have to go to Europe to find.  The only downside was the extra pricy drink menu.  The cocktails were smaller than normal and not cheap.  You can get a wonderful meal for $25-$35, but you'll spend at least that much on alcohol and you won't get drunk.  Not a problem, I'm just as happy stuffing my face with the food.

  

Katagiri

Earlier in the week I had taken some Trader Joe's Korean spiced beef out of the freezer.  Sure, it would be nice over rice, but with a few extra ingredients, I knew I could make something special.  I already had lettuce in the fridge, so I stopped at Katagiri on my way home.  Katagiri is a small Japanese grocery store near my apartment that sells some of the more unique Asian ingredients that won't be found in your typical bodega.  Yes, I know Japanese is not Korean, but I was able to get what I wanted.  

I picked up some bean sprouts, green onion, shrimp shumai, ramen, and a pastry - all for $8.50.  Some of my purchases were saved for future use, but a couple of the goods got their time to shine right when I got home.  I stuffed a lettuce wrap with rice and beef and then topped with the bean sprouts, green onion, and sriracha.  Just a few extra [simple] ingredients and my meal was jacked up.

For dessert I ate a sweet bun filled with red bean paste.  When you hear the word bean and then see the starchy food, sweet is the last thing on your mind so it messes with your taste buds a bit.  I welcome the confusion.