This year, there hasn't been any plane travel since August, and the most exotic food I've eaten has been from street carts in NYC. Obviously, I'm hoping to change that soon...that travel bug is biting pretty ferociously, but in the interim, I'm taking advantage of living in close enough proximity to head into the city (a foodie capitol) for Saturday brunch and dinner.
For those of you with access to Food Network, you may have seen Bobby Flay's recent episode of Throwdown where he defeated NYC's best pancakes from Clinton Street Baking Company. I haven't tasted Bobby's pancakes, but I can't resist Clinton Street, even if it means trekking nearly 2 hours in cars and trains, walking through frigid temperatures, and then waiting nearly an hour for a table to pay $13 for a plate of 3 pancakes with no sides in an establishment that accepts only cash. Yup, they're that good. (It's all about the warm maple butter, which FYI, costs an additional $2 if you want a second ramekin, which I highly suggest for the banana walnut pancakes.)
post demolition pancakes
Not as impressive a display of gluttony as usual, but never fear, we brought the leftovers home for breakfast part 2 the next day.
Lower East Side Bingo
As crazy as it sounds, I'm even missing Bulgaria. But Bulgaria isn't the only place where one can capture photos of randomness. Just one of the many reasons I love NY! Walking back along Houston St. to the subway, freezing, we decided to occupy our minds by playing the NY version of Bulgarian Bingo. The star on our card was clearly the elephant rump:
Four weeks to the day after his accident, Greg is doing well. He still has a long recovery ahead, but he was discharged from the hospital and is resting at his parents' house with Swiss and the kitties, who, once again with Daddy home, think all is right in the world. That said, I know he'll take this photo in the spirit in which it is intended. This guy was another bingo star:
the bionic man - it's hard to see with the glare from the camera-phone pic, but he's got a fancy superhero band-aid on his face!
After some shopping at Lush, we made our way uptown for dinner at Pasha. I had to appease my travel bug somehow, and tonight it was all about satisfying that hankering for Turkish food. Dinner began with appetizers (you'll notice that as per usual, I forgot to take the photo till we were well into the eating):
Manti: Tender steamed dumplings filled with ground lamb and fresh mint, drizzled with a light garlic yogurt sauce.
(This is why we came here. You'd be surprised how many Turkish restaurants in NY don't serve manti!)
Yogurtlu kebab: Slices of grilled lamb, served on homemade pita and yogurt, and topped with tomato sauce.
YUM!
All in all, not as adventurous as accidentally getting lost in Asia with no money, but almost as tasty and with the added bonus of pancakes and NOT being woken up twice in the middle of the night having to stand outside in below freezing temps at border crossings. As semester break weekends go, NY is pretty great.
All in all, not as adventurous as accidentally getting lost in Asia with no money, but almost as tasty and with the added bonus of pancakes and NOT being woken up twice in the middle of the night having to stand outside in below freezing temps at border crossings. As semester break weekends go, NY is pretty great.
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