More Food In New York

  Wellll...

  Today I couldn't decide where to go...Paris, Napa, Venice, Panicale... tough decision, for sure. But since I'm hungry, I choose more food in New York. Why not get the stomach righteously growling? Why not lust once more after those amazing flash fried mushrooms? 

  We were only in the city for two nights, so we really packed it in on that last evening. Since we hadn't had much of a lunch, or breakfast, for that matter, we were really ready to chow down by late afternoon... We had stopped for a small bite while visiting MOMA, but that was hours ago. Back in our hotel room, we freshened up and headed out for a glass of wine and some tapas. It was a nice evening, with lots of people milling about... we stayed in the West Village, so there were plenty of places to check out. 

  I was looking for this tapas place again, but we just couldn't find the one I wanted. What we did find, was this great little pizza by the slice place on Bleeker Street. Johnny almost started crying when we peeked in the window. This is his idea of heaven on earth. He is a man who loves his flatbread. Pizza, foccacia, bruschetta... Johnny can't get enough. So the sight of this awesome array of thin pizzas, topped with various goodies, and available by the slice..., well, we had to stop in. I was plenty willing, knowing this would be an appetizer stop, with dinner still to come later on. I told you, we were going for it.

  

It reminded us of places we love in Italy.

 We were greeted by a delightful young woman, who gave us the rundown... we each picked what we wanted to share, along with a couple of glasses of the decent house red. We were the only customers, since it was between lunch and dinner time, so we had the place to ourselves. I don't like to "take-out" much, so we grabbed a small table in the tiny garden area in back. It was small, but sweet, and I imagined it after dark, with all the little lights on. As we found our way out back, we enjoyed seeing the small dining rooms....

Small, and really kind of cool...Garden to the left...

   The waitress who had taken our order brought us our wine, and we were able to chat a little with her. She is from Rome, and we chatted about our favorite spot,  Pizzeria Remo, which she knew of, of course. Then off to heat up our slices...
  Johnny ordered a cacio and pepe slice, while I went for potato and rosemary:

Warm and melty, just the way we like it!

   The thing that just rocks this pizza, is that the crust is super thin and slightly over done, so it's crunchy when you bite into it. It's gooey and not too hot... oh, yum. Also, the slices are cut into 3 pieces, so it makes it so easy to share. I loved that it was served just on parchment paper.

Potato and rosemary, raise your hands!

I mean, really. This isn't even fair. Cacio cheese and almost too much black pepper.
 And melty.

  Please, will someone open a place just like this in my neighborhood? Inexpensive, tasty, lots of veg options, and good wines by the glass. There was a regular menu, too, but for a grab and go, or just a tasty little bite, this was perfect. When in the area, We say go, man, go!

  So after our mini pizza break, we walked around for some time, checking out the halloween decorations that were everywhere, since it was just a day or two away. We enjoyed window shopping, stopped for another glass of wine, and had a grand time, as we looked for somewhere to have dinner. Eventually, we stumbled across a restaurant we had eaten at back in 2007, when we were last in New York. We loved it then, and decided to go for it again.
  I know what you're thinking. "Janelle. You are in freaking NYC! There are zillions of great restaurants to try! Why go back to someplace you have already been to?!? And, oh, what about that whole 'food truck' thing you wanted to check out?" Oh, I had big plans, let me tell you. But it was getting late, and dark, and we were hungry... so. Call me a weeny, I don't care.

   Sant Ambroeus has a few locations, and they are known for pastries and gelato, among other Milanese sweet treats. We like that it was walking distance, and had a small area to dine outdoors. It's on a corner, with seating all along the sidewalk, so we had fun watching West Village life go on all around us. Shocking that we had a lovely meal outside, and two days later, the whole city was cremated by an early freak snow storm. But at 9pm on the night we were there, it was really nice.
  After deciding on wine, a Barbera D'Asti, we started with a "carciofi" salad- thin slices of artichoke heart, dressed simply with lemon/olive oil  and served with arugula and shards of parmesan. (Let me stop here for just a moment. I will order this type of salad every time I see it on a menu, hoping that someday I will get what I really want....  the salad we had with my Mom & Dad at the restaurant Edi Piu in Lastra A Signa, near Florence. Sigh... We must go back there some day.)

 Carciofi salad. Ok, but I can do this at home. 

  I won't make excuses... we both love pasta. Get over it. Wait, maybe I need to get over it, and quit feeling like I have to make excuses. I shout it from the rooftops... "WE LOVE PASTA!" So anyway- I ordered the luscious and wonderfully rich Ravioli Alla Zuccha. Here, they used pumpkin, and served it with crushed amoretti cookies in a browned butter/sage with balsamic reduction... ooooh. The slight tartness of the balsamic really worked with the sweetness of the pumpkin.

Silky richness....

  My lovely husband, god bless him, went for the Risotto Al Tartufo. As well as all flatbreads and pastas, Johnny does enjoy his risotto. He is fantastically predictable. Just give him carbohydrates and he is happy. Works for me, because there is always some other pasta-type dish I want to try on all the menus. The risotto was great, not too truffle-y.

Beautiful. Just a little parmesan, please.

   We really went for it and ordered two veggie sides, roasted brussel sprouts and asparagus. I do these at home all the time, but am always game to have them served to me. And may I say, they really won me over with the brussel sprouts. These were just hammered, the way I love them... almost too much, but no. We grew up eating them this way, cooked to within a breath of being burnt. If you know anyone who says they hate brussel sprouts, cook them just like this.
  They will be converts. Brussel Sprout converts. Hehehehehe.

Just like Mom makes.

Roasted asparagus...good, but nothing super special.

   It was an enchanting evening, with lots of people out and about, getting ready for Halloween, (not snow, poor bastards), and we really enjoyed our meal. I stand by our decision to eat here - again.

We may just go back next time, too.

  So, you want to know what we did next? I kid you not, we went back to I Tre Merli for another bowl of Flash Fried Mushrooms with Truffle Oil. Well, we really went for dessert, but who the hell were we kidding? We were lucky to get a table, and as soon as we looked at the menu, it was all over. I just looked at Johnny and said it.. "I really want those mushrooms again. Is that so wrong?" 

  I will never find them here, so what's a girl to do? Over the top? I think not. We are very good when we are at home, eating right, walking our multitudes of miles every freaking day, being careful with our pennies. Johnny was totally up for it. 

  Mushrooms it was, my friends.

  Let's just have a second look, shall we?

Crunchy, crunchy, salty, creamy, yummy, yummy, yummy. 

Seeing this makes me want to cry. I am dead serious.

   Yeah, it was sweet. And we actually did share a dessert. A chocolate thingy that was really good, and a perfect end to our culinary adventures in New York.

Dessert was all chocolate-y and warm.

  Until Panicale, we are trying very hard to watch our pocketbooks and waistlines, so we'll see what happens. In the meantime, I sure enjoy going back in time to relive some great meals, don't you?

New York 2011 2 (Me and Art 3)

  Let's see... do I go with food, art or walking around...Hmmm.... A little art, me thinks.
  As I have mentioned in previous writings, I am taken with minimalist art. Even the cliche stuff gets me. I just like that some artists come up with it.... and that it's taken very seriously. At MOMA, there is a room filled (sparsely,of course) with the "Biggies" in the world of minimalist Art.

A beautiful illuminated piece by Dan Flavin. I liked the subtle colors
it made on the wall. I want this in my house.

Donald Judd, a favorite of mine, on the left. On the right, "Primary Light Group, Red, Green, Blue" by Jo Baer...

I know, right? Lawrence Weiner just removes a piece of the wall to expose whatever is behind.
I love this....

  With the minimalist stuff, I don't think too hard. I don't have the formal art education to really have an "informed opinion". I just go from the gut. Either it appeals to me or it doesn't. These works, many which I have seen before, all appeal to me for whatever reason. I don't try to intellectualize it at all. Sometimes it's the idea, or the texture... or that it makes me laugh, or creeps me out...

Maybe it's because the artist's name is Blinky Palermo. Whatever, I like it.

Eva Hesse is a favorite of mine, too. I've always loved this piece, and wish I had it for my own.
19 forms made of fiberglass and resin.

Another from Eva Hesse. This was really interesting, all alone on the wall.

I will never forgive myself for not demanding to see the Joseph Beuys exhibit years ago in Paris.

 

  After spending a bunch of time viewing what we came to NY for, the de Kooning retrospective,(no photos allowed) we had a little bite to eat, and wandered around the rest of the galleries. MOMA has such a great buzz to it, with lots of people cruising around, and classes of kids sitting on the floor being taught the wonders of of it all. How lucky to be a student in NY, getting to have field trips to the Museums. Jeez.
  There was this great interactive piece on one floor that I just had to check out. It was a couple of stories high, all billowy and gorgeous. There are speakers hanging all through it, and they pump in bits of crowd noise, or whispered conversations, even the voices of a bunch of little kids laughing and screaming. We couldn't figure out where the noise was coming from, since you could here it all through the museum...then we came upon the piece.
  The idea is to walk through it, touch it, listen to the sounds. I loved just sitting outside and watching the ghost figures going through. I did go into it myself, of course. The artist is Carlito Carvalhosa, titled "Sum Of Days"

Huge blankets of gauzy, cloud -like fabric, hung from way up there. Dreamy from outside.

Walking inside the layers of cloud-ness.

  Then it was coffee time, and also time to visit the gardens outside in the courtyard. We really lucked out with the weather. The day we left a storm moved into the east with snow and everything. We had great fall weather....

I just enjoyed this flower arrangement so much in one of the MOMA cafes..

Looking out at the gardens of MOMA from an upper gallery.

In the garden. Where's Waldo?

A parting shot...Rachel Whiteread's amazing  resin water tower. Sigh.

  It's such a divine luxury to be able to take the time and have the ability to make a little trip like this. We feel lucky and grateful to enjoy this sometimes crazy, always overwhelming, and ultimately rewarding life in the arts that we share. 

  Go out and see art. If you can't make it to MOMA, take the time to visit whatever your local area has to offer. Visit your local museums and galleries. Go to local exhibits. Get inspired, don't be timid..or intimidated. Join local art associations and museums.. Do what you can to help support the arts in your town, no matter at what level... you can only benefit from it. Encourage kids in your life to be artful and creative. 

  My heart jumps at the possibilities of ART.

New York 2011 1

  Still totally exhausted, I have to share at least a little of our whirlwind jaunt to the Big Apple. This will be the first of a few posts on the trip. And, no, you won't see anything here on the Occupy Wall Street happenings. Sorry... this trip was all about getting away for a couple of days to see art and eat food.
  Having just flown in late late last night, it's all fresh in my sleep deprived mind..... Johnny had to see the DeKooning Retrospective that just opened at MOMA, so that was the excuse to play "jetsetters" and go all bi-coastal for a few days. Fly in, see art, eat food, fly out. Done. Two nights in Greenwich Village was not close to enough, but that's what we could get away with right now. A great reward for all the hard work we've been doing lately.
  One thing I was really interested in seeing was the High Line, a walking park that runs through the Chelsea District. Originally an elevated freight line that served the meatpacking district and warehouses of the West End, it is now a fantastic public green space (www.thehighline.org).
  We decided to walk off the overnight flight, and headed over first thing, after checking in early. The day was beautiful, and chock full of that magic light that only October can bring. Of course we got lost right off the bat, but everyone was nice and pointed us in the right direction. We headed up the Hudson River until we spied the end of the line at Gansevoort Plaza.

One end of The High Line

  Up the stairs, and WOW... There is a similar type park in Paris that we have had the pleasure of strolling through, the Promenade Plantee, and I can't help but think this marvel must have been inspired by that one. Both take full advantage of the surrounding views, and give the walker the feeling of being in a true green space, while in reality, you are on a walkway no more than about 30 feet wide. 

  As in Paris, this lovely park has several areas to sit and linger, pic-nic, lay in the sun...a nice diversion from the hustle and bustle of the big city just a few feet below and around you.

Really nice areas to sit, and all the plantings are so well thought out. 

  The water towers are so much a part of the New York skyline. I just can't get enough. Seems like they are everywhere, and there were several sightings along the High Line. I also appreciated that they included some wider, open spaces, with full on plantings and benches to lay or sit on. Nice.

An area to soak up the sun, with a nice wall for a windbreak. Good thinking!

  After The High Line, we checked out several galleries and grabbed a couple of fantastic falafal gyros from a street vender doing a brisk business. I had great plans to hit a bunch of food carts, but in reality, this was it. Except for water... ah well, next time... We did a run through at the Chelsea Market, mainly to find a public bathroom...it was ok, lots of people chowing down at the various food stands, and some fun Halloween decorations. Then off to find a subway to take us uptown to check out some more galleries. 

A cool building with reflections in Chelsea District....

   After hitting the galleries, we strolled to Central Park to relive a moment from our last trip to New York...we fell in love with the little boats that are available at the lake. Also, a glass of wine was a must... It was so beautiful, with the colors changing in the park. Also, it was getting to be that gorgeous time of the day when everything goes all nostalgic..

Johnny actually rented a little boat to float around...

  Johnny had fun remote controlling a sailboat around the lake. A couple of other kids had it out for him, though. He soon found himself in defense mode, put-putting his little boat away from danger as fast as it could go. It was all in fun, and they were really little kids. I guess all he really could control was the sail, and then it was up to the wind to get it to safety. The woman at the rental place got a big kick out of Johnny renting that boat.... Probably the only person over the age of 10 or so to do it.
  And that's one reason I adore my husband.
  Then a walk about the park, just to take in the freaking beauty of it at the golden hour.

Pretty.

I love this, and always think of  "Angels In America" when I see pictures of it..

  So, after we made it back to our hotel, we rested a little, cleaned up, and went out to find some place for dinner. I had wanted to find this little tapas bar we went to, just for a glass of wine and some munchies, but could not find it. 

   I can get a little grumpy about where I do and don't want to eat. Especially when we are in one of the great food cities. Johnny got a little fussy with me, because I didn't like this menu, or that place, or the looks of that other one...we get in little fights over it. Sometimes I'll give in, and be all pissy because I'm wasting money and calories on mediocre food. We actually sat down and were given menus in a place I totally did not want to eat at...and then I slapped myself and grew a pair. "Let's go, I don't want to eat here." God bless him, when I do speak up for myself, he'll back off and be ok about it. 

  Sure enough, just around the corner, we find I Tre Merli. (www.itremerlibistrony.com) This ends up being a fantastic find, and there are a couple of restaurants owned by this group. We went to the "bistro" at 183 W.10th. A tiny place with an amazing buzz to it. Great food, really nice service, and superb music being piped in, just loud enough to make you feel like you are cool.

   I was instantly attracted to the appetizer "Flash Fried Mushrooms w/Truffle Oil". Oh, man.... The best thing ever. Well, in the top 5. A nice big bowl of crunchy on the outside, succulent on the inside delightfulness. Not over the top with the truffle oil, which can be a problem, and just enough with the rosemary. I swear, I would, no I will fly back to NY, just for these mushrooms. 

Flash Fried Mushroom delights.

   

A close up,  just because. Will someone, PLEASE, try to add these to your menu, here in our town?
The perfect bar snack, by the way. Crunchiness heaven.

   I could have just ordered another bowl of shrooms, but thought better of it. I figured that if they were that good, the rest of the menu would rock. It did. I had the house made Paparadelle pasta with roasted tomatoes and cacciatti cheese. Perfectly made pasta, just al dente enough for me, and not too much "sauce"... just the juices of the tomatoes, maybe a little white wine, reduced.
  Johnny went for the porcini filled ravioli with truffles. Again, not too much truffle to overpower the lovely porcini filling. The filling was so rich and had a great texture. I was thinking it was porcini that had been sauteed down with some shallots, and just pureed. Very simple, pure flavor.
  What can I say, we are "Pasta-Centric".
  We had a nice bottle of wine, a Barbera from Piedmonte. The meal really called for a good red.
  Did I mention the mushrooms?

My yummy pasta Paparadelle

Thank god Johnny is the type of diner who likes to share. 

Creme Brulee, that didn't wow us. That's ok.

  We totally cleaned our plates. We actually ordered dessert, a creme brulee, which was only ok. We should have known better, but we are suckers for creme brulee.
  The place was hoping with patrons, and for good reason. It's small and noisy and fan-tas-tic. Basta. More food adventures tomorrow, if I get a chance to write again. For now, my body is crying "uncle" and we still have stuff to do tonight....Ciao!!