Posts tagged new york

One year ago…

I was walking the streets of and meeting friends in New York City. 

Flying domestic to Santa Fe to meet Helene Dujardin for the most awesome things I’ve ever done - food styling and photography class.

Where will I be, one year from now?

[Tape from Pugly Pixel.]

New York 2012

New York was somewhat planned for the fall of 2012 - for my birthday actually. I had great hopes and dreams and plans, new places to go, new things to try. Flights and accommodation have even been booked. I don’t know what’s going to happen with those tickets and perhaps I might not stay at the Sheraton by Central Park, but I’m hoping and planning to be in New York this September, to celebrate my birthday. It might be slightly different from what I envisioned but I’m determined to make it there.

I don’t know why, but I’ve always felt at home in New York. I never worried about getting lost and while I always had friends there, either living there or travelling through.

Dearest New York, one day I will wake up to your sunrises and jog along the East River. I will drink in bars on the Lower East Side and ice skate in Central Park. Dearest New York, I will work towards my dreams and one day they will come true.

Cupcakes New York City style

The cupcake craze began in New York I think and I read about Magnolia Bakery in my IDEO Eyes Open New York book that I bought mainly for the gorgeous photography. I didn’t make it there my first trip so it was on my priority list of to do’s the second trip, and I made it to both the West Village and Rockefeller branches. Of course, four cupcakes in 4 days was really too much for me so I shared.

Firstly, I have to say choosing only four cupcakes from dozens of different flavours is really hard, especially when (a) you’re alone and don’t have a friend to talk about the merits of one over the other, (b) you only have a finite amount of stomach space over 4 days and (c) the cupcakes are perishable and you should realistically only keep ‘em for 2 days and don’t have the luxury of time to keep going back every day for a new cupcake.

Then there’s also merchandise and I so really wanted a Magnoloa I [cupcake] NY tee-shirt. Or something.

The Magnolia cupcakes were good, but not absolutely great.

And then one day, I chanced upon… BabyCakes (248 Broome Street, between Orchard & Ludlow, NY 10002).

Until a tweet from a friend, I hadn’t even heard about BabyCakes. Vegan bakery? I didn’t know the difference between a vegan and a vegetarian. But since she mentioned, and since we were there, I had to go in.

The interior is kitschy, it looks like a home-run bakery. There is so much to take in and there’s so much happening.

I love, in particular, how the signages are hang drawn, even the “we accept these forms of payment” sign. I love that they discount day old goodies.

And I love my red velvet. This has got to be the yummiest red velvet I’ve ever had. Who’d think it’s vegan? It was so good that as soon as I got back to London, all I wanted was the BabyCakes cook book, which I have now, but have not made anything from yet because I haven’t read to understand the way vegan/gluten-free baking works.

The cupcake craze spread to London but I think that London tends to put a little too much icing sugar in the buttercream frosting. (In Singapore, that’d have to be the case too else it would just melt in the heat!) Singaporean bakers are also going cupcake crazy. I’d be really happy to buy a cupcake every once in a while (from BabyCakes) when the craving hit because baking (and eating) a lot of cupcakes would mean eating a lot of calories! :)

Grimaldi’s. Pizza.

Found Grimaldi’s when my friend, Pete, and I were out exploring Brooklyn one Saturday afternoon in September. We walked across the Manhattan Bridget thinking it was the nicer pedestrian bridge (which is of course the Brooklyn Bridge - duh) on the one day the sun decided t shine with all its might. Having only just arrived in New York, both of us had no idea what we were doing! After walking from the subway, and thinking that there was nothing around in Brooklyn, we finally found Dumbo and I remember him saying “I think I finally get Brooklyn now.” He searched his Yelp app and we found rave reviews of Grimaldi’s. They accept only cash, there are no reservations, and if you want a takeaway, you queue with the rest of them waiting in line for a table.

Pete and I didn’t end up actually eating at Grimaldi’s because the line was so long (on hindsight, it moved pretty quickly and we should have) but I vowed to return. And return I did! Twice.

Pizza and root beer, a great combination. On both occasions, I had a meaty pizza and root beer, because root beer is so uncommon in London.

I shall leave you to read others’ reviews of Grimaldi’s but in one word, it was good.

Grimaldi’s. Apparently Grimaldi’s has moved. It’s still in Dumbo but at Front Street and not Old Fulton Street anymore. Google for the background to the dispute. And definitely have some pizza when you’re in Brooklyn.

Fresh Salt

One of the things I love about New York City is how everything is online and how there’s a review of everything I’ve looked for. Can’t remember the name of a shop that I went to in Dumbo, Brooklyn - googled it and found the P.S. Bookstore (I only later noticed that there was a banner at the back with the name printed on it). Can’t remember where I had a meatloaf sandwich but remember getting lost around Pier 17 - googled “meatloaf sandwich Pier 17” and found Fresh Salt. Good thing their meatloaf sandwich is apparently “the best” so there were many hits on Yelp and other food review sites.

Fresh Salt is on 146 Beekman St (NY 10038). Small, pub like. I got lost trying to get their as there are two Beekman Streets or two (un-joined) parts of Beekman Street. I didn’t have GPS (roaming data was hugely expensive) and my tourist map wasn’t much of a help, neither were the multitudes of people I asked when I was on the other Beekman. And to top it off, the reception/speaker on the crappy Nokia disposable I had was so bad I couldn’t really hear the directions my friend Andrew on the other end was giving. I finally made it over to Pier 17 and wandered lost for ages till I was found.

I ordered the meatloaf sandwich coz it’s what they’re famous for. It tasted like a burger but I’ve never had meatloaf before (not after, actually) so I don’t know what to compare it to. And beers. Well, Kelly and I had white wines. Was a fun night before packing it in and me heading back to Andrew’s studio (he lent his apartment to me when I was there - thank you!!) and Kelly & him heading back over to Brooklyn.

Some other places that I (think I) didn’t get lost in around New York.

New York in Black & White

Washington Square Park

First Avenue

Wall Street

On a rainy, miserable day like today, in a tiny, boring miserable place like this is, I remember New York and how being there makes me feel alive. All I want is to be back there. And I will be. Soon. Not as soon as I hope, but sooner than what it feels, I think. I’m looking forward to it.

Serendipity 3

Serendipity has been one of my favourite movies since I first saw it absolute yonks ago. I loved the city. So when my friend said that Serendipity 3, which was where the cafe scene in the film was shot in, was just mere blocks away from his apartment, I knew I’d have to go. He said to go early too coz as soon as it hits lunch time, the queue gets pretty long.

The decor in Serendipity looks like a little girl’s life-sized fairy doll’s house with strings of pearls hanging from the ceiling, flowers and fairy lights everywhere. The waiters were larger than life characters dress in black and sang “happy birthday” to me!

Their signature trademarked drinks - the Frrrozen® Drinks.

They also do breakfasts and a light lunch menu.

And me being the crazy nutter I am about cookbooks, left with a cookbook in tow signed by  Stephen Bruce himself who happened to be at the cafe that day.

I wonder where I’ll be this next birthday in 2012?

More on New York.