EMILY
Filed under: environment, food and drink, lifestyle, north shore, photography, recipes, travel | Tags: beer, bogie's, green meadows farm, ipswich ale, ipswich ale harvest fest, massachusetts, metal art, New York, north shore, recipe, snacktaxis, todd farm, turkeys
This weekend, Alex and I went home, and not as in going from the Lower East Side to our Brooklyn apartment. We went HOME to Massachusetts. I still feel like MA is home because I miss it very much, and I also feel like I’m still so new here in NYC. I’m still working on becoming a part of my work and neighborhood communities. I think I need to feel connections with the people around me before it feels like home.
Anyway, we arrived on the North Shore late on Friday night and went to bed (after sampling Alex’s mom’s latest sweet treat recipe – OF COURSE). We woke up to a rainy autumn Saturday with the sweet smell of strata (this is not the recipe we ate, but another very good one from Bon Appetit) rising from the kitchen. It occurs to me that I’ve never really described how fantastic it is to visit Alex’s parents. In short, we are fed SO well when we’re there. And now that we’re farther away, I think the level of tastiness has doubled. After strata, we rallied what troops we could to join us at the Ipswich Ale Harvest Festival at Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton, MA. You may remember some pictures I posted from last year, but here are a few new ones:
The epitome of FRESHLY HOPPED beer. Photo Credit: Jess G.
Other photos and much much more after the jump!!
Filed under: New York, brooklyn, food and drink, lifestyle, music, photography, video | Tags: andrew wk, double windsor, gonzales, high line, jamie lidell, joe's pub, piano battle, shake shack, videos, visitors
This weekend, Alex and I had some visitors. Chris and Katrina drove down to Brooklyn from Boston on Friday night, and we welcomed them quickly to our apartment before sweeping them off again to the midnight Gonzales show at Joe’s Pub.
I think it’s safe to say that this performance is on my short list of “BEST LIVE SHOWS EVER.” Gonzales put on a fantastic show by himself, but to top it off, he had a guest appearance by Jamie Lidell, singing “What Is It This Time?” (video here, WordPress doesn’t seem to want me to put a Vimeo video on my blog). It was phenomenal. I was a little sad that Jamie only stayed for one song, but Gonzales would only top it off, even more amazingly, with a piano battle vs. Andrew WK * I AM NOT JOKING * It was epic. The first video that follows is the gauntlet being thrown, and the following two videos (after the jump) detail most of the battle, in its glory (19 minutes total… get ready or just skim, you’ll get the idea):
Filed under: brooklyn, lifestyle | Tags: brooklyn, New York, public transporation, subway
Every weekday I commute about an hour to work and an hour home. I walk a total of approximately 9 blocks and I take three subway trains.
When I hold this in contrast to my former commute, driving 22 miles each way, it’s amazing how much has changed. The solitude of driving is so different from the crowdedness of public transit. It’s funny that when I would drive, I would feel so alone, listening to NPR in my station wagon. But as soon as I tuned back in to the highway I was on, I would see all the other drivers believing that they were alone in their sedans and SUVs and delivery trucks. As if you could isolate yourself just by keeping your windows up… Hello!? They are windows! Transparent!
In my current public transportation commute, there’s no denying the connection to everyone around me. Often, I am literally touching them. And I’ve started to notice the others whose patterns overlap with mine. I’ll just give you a glimpse of the morning:
Each day, I leave the house around 7am.
A woman and her son stand on the street corner waiting for his school bus.
A teenage girl who wears mismatching Converse All-Star high tops (I’ve deduced that she has at least 3 different pairs that she mixes, I will continue to look and see if there are more) walks very fast and focused to the train station.
In the train station waits another teenage girl with dark hair and a school uniform pleated skirt, she will also be on the train home on many days.
The man who I think works in an office and keeps his hair buzzed short is reading Darkly Dreaming Dexter (a book I just finished a week ago).
After getting off the second train, a man with a tall beanie (I assume it holds dreadlocks) will be walking nearby me in the sea of people that are making the same transfer. He has a construction helmet attached to his backpack, and I constantly wonder if he just puts it on top of his dreads in the hat, or if he lets them down at work.
There will be a woman on the third train, in the same car in which I usually ride, who gets off at the next stop in her security guard’s uniform.
I always fight to stay fully awake, as I ride uptown on the express train.
As I walk from the final train station stop to my place of work, I will see a pair of golden retrievers walking together with their people.
I will pass either mom or dad (never both) with her three teenage boys wearing brightly colored yarmuklas.
A certain doorman will wish me a good morning on the last block before I turn to get to work. And then another doorman will nod at me as I pass by.
These are the kinds of things I notice. Maybe you think it’s creepy, but it’s who I am. I studied anthropology! I’m interested in what people do. Each and every person is not there every day, but I like the consistency of it. I like the routine. It makes me feel much more connected to everyone around me.
If this entry had a picture, it would be of a local train passing an express train, from the inside of the express train. I love watching the local trains pass by. It’s amazing to see the world of the other train. Just like the world of other drivers on the highway.
Filed under: food and drink, lifestyle | Tags: design sponge, earl grey, tea, tea infuser
If it were possible to order it, I would spend the $43 (approx.) on this tea infuser that I saw on Design Sponge today.
Maybe I’m tea fanatic, but don’t you think this infuser is beautiful? I’d like to fill it with Rishi Earl Grey and sip myself cozy on a cool fall day.
Filed under: brooklyn, food and drink, lifestyle, photography, recipes | Tags: farmers market, grilling, home cooking, recipe
Everyone warned me that I would be eating out and ordering in all the time after moving to New York–isn’t it funny that I’m inclined to call it a warning? As if it’s a bad thing! I think eating out is a LOVELY and wonderful and delicious treat. Especially here! Where there are so many world renowned restaurants and chefs in such a concentrated area! Certainly I can’t quite afford (yet) the elaborate meals, but after saving some more, I plan to eat out most heartily!
It’s more the ordering in part that gets to me. First and foremost, the steps I’ve taken and skills I’ve honed as a home cook have only made me more critical about ordering in (and sadly, sometimes, eating out, too). If I can make something equally well (if not better) I wind up disappointed by the experience. And almost completely unrelated, I would rather walk to the store and cook for myself because it means spending less and I don’t have to tip anyone.
So regardless of my opinions and feelings, I’m happy to pronounce that we have cooked LOTS since moving to NYC! We’re fortunate to have ample kitchen space (thank you Brooklyn!) and a patio where we keep our grill. Moreover, we are SO lucky to be near such a wonderful resource in the Bartel Pritchard Square Greenmarket just around the corner. I believe ALL of the meals below featured ingredients from there.
