Gotham Gal

The Strip House

I admit, I am a carnivore. Always have been. I love a good juicy steak. My kids eat raw hamburger meat seasoned with soy sauce. Maybe it is in the genes?

We have been to The Strip House a numerous amount of times. This past weekend was fantastic. It was the perfect place for a freezing cold night. The place has a feeling of warmth the minute you enter the door. Everything is red and dark. There is a bar across from a small seating area if you just want to come in for drinks. The lighting is low and intimate. Just what the doctor ordered.

We had lobster and steaks. Oysters to start and a few round of salads kick off the meal. You basically can't go wrong. The creamed spinach as a side order is a must at any steakhouse. Red wine from Chateau Montelena doesn't hurt either. The desserts are a bit on the decadent side. The chocolate cake is huge. The people next to us ordered a piece of cheesecake and the comment when the waiter put the plate on the table was "holy shit". That should give you an indicator of the size of each piece. But, it tastes good going down. The glazed banana tart is awesome.

The steaks are top notch here. But, so is everything else on the menu. They have lamb, they have fish, they have lobster so if you are with someone who doesn't want steak, not a problem. Although, next to Peter Lugers, this is the place.

Mix, Alain Ducasse

I ate dinner at Mix last night. This is Alain Ducasse's new restaurant on West 58th between 5/6th. Architectually, the restaurant is beautiful. Very posh and modern. The walls are white brick. The seating is all off-white leather. Booths and tables. The plates are white with splashes of orange spots askewed to one side. All of the silverware, glassware and food accessories are new and clever. There is a nice vibe.

Unfortunately, the food is absolutely horrible! It is so upsetting to try out a new restaurant that looks fantastic (they obviously spent more money on the look than the food) and then have a bad meal. This is probably why I always return to my old haunts. I began with a she-crab soup. My husband had a raw tuna appetizer overlaced with citrus. The soup was not bad but they gave us some long dipping pieces that were hard to figure out exactly what they were. Maybe crab cakes remolded. I wasn't sure. I will say that the serving pieces are interesting and different. Each meal is served in a square clear plate with a top. Different. For dinner, we all had different things. I admit, I only tasted my husband's and not our friends. He had the duck. The flavor was too intense. There was nothing mouth watering or subtle about the dish. I had the cod which was marinated in yogurt and lemon and then served "atlantic style". It was inedible. I took one bite and that was it. Dessert wasn't too good either. I shared a bowl of ice cream with my friend. The chocolate was so burnt tasting that it wasn't worth eating. The vanilla was the only ice cream that I found good. The profiterolles were overdosed with sauce and chocolate which was so not sweet that it was also not worth eating. I think the best part was when you sit down they give you toasted breads with three small pots, one of butter, one of grape jelly and one of peanut butter. A bit whimsical but at least edible. They also pour a really stiff drink which is always a bonus.

If you are looking for a new restaurant that is good, do not go to Mix. If you want to see a really interesting architectual restaurant, go have a drink at the bar quick because I would find it hard to believe that this place will be open for much longer.

Jean Pagliuso

Last night, I went to the opening of Jean Pagliuso at Marlborough Galleries on 57th street. She named this body of work Fragile Remains. It is a work of photos on rice paper from Cambodia, India, New Mexico, Peru and Turkey. I know Jean and she has been traveling to these areas over the past few years. The work is so representative of her. The photos are beautiful, intense, layered and seem to have an old soul. You can see how she has really worked to capture the effects of each photo. She shot old places, ritual baths, decaying rock, and tombs just to name a few. The shadows and movement in each photo really stay with you. Each are printed on 1 - 2 pieces of rice paper that give the quality of a discovered photo from long ago. In some respects the photos actually look like old black and white drawings discovered in historical books.

Jean is an incredible person. I highly recommend a trip to see her work.

There was another artist being shown at Marlborough last night, Vincent Desiderio. His paintings also have an old quality to them. He has painted his observations of people. My favorite piece was called In Sleep. It was literally 24 feet long and 8 feet high. 12 nude figures, men and women, sleeping side by side. They are all separate yet intertwined. The soft colors, the movement of the bodies and how they played off each other has an effect. Worth taking a walk in back if you are there.
Also, there is a terrace in the back with some fantastic scultptures. It was soo cold out last night that I couldn't bear to walk outside but I have always been partial to sculpture and was taken with the dozen or so statues of bodies standing upright.

The next week is when all the galleries begin new shows. If you are looking at the uptown galleries, definitely stop into Marlborough and take a look.

Lies and the Lying Liars that Tell Them

The best part of a vacation is being able to read books. One of the books that we (my husband and I) read on vacation was "Lies and the Lying Liars that Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right" by Al Franken.

I had read Al's past book, Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot. It was hilarious. The latest book is a must read. Al Franken is such a clever writer. His musings of George Bush and the Conversative Media are so dead on that it makes you wonder what type of country are we living in? A scary one, as Al states. He goes after the conservative pundits who do not do any research, and rant on to the American public who actually believe everything that they tell them. Talking heads such as Bill Reilly and Sean Hannity.

Al takes his assistant down to the admissions office at Bob Jones University, posing as son and father, is frightening and hilarious at the same time. He writes about a possible 3 person play where a waitress is lamenting to the lawyer (her customer) about how excited she is about the Bush tax cuts. The lawyer explains the reality of the tax and that to get that tax cut she is actually looking thousands in other benefits, gives great insight into the misperception that most American have come to believe. It is brilliant.

The book is witty and entertaining yet gives incredible insight into the realities of the present administration. You want to stand up on a table and scream!

Perhaps Al Franken should consider running for President?

Granola

There are tons of granola's. We have tried a variety of them. The high end granolas are not cheap. So, I decided to make some from scratch. It has to be the easiest thing to make and much cheaper. It is also a great snack for kids. Personally, I am addicted to the stuff. A handful here, a handful there. By the end of the day, god knows what I have consumed. If you are inspired, here is a simple recipe.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

4 cups old-fashioned oats ( I bought mine at a health food store)
1 cup of rye oats (I got this at a health food store too)
3/4 c. pumpkin seeds
1 to 1 1/2 cups almonds chopped up

Put the top 4 ingredients into a large bowl and set aside. You can always add any other nuts that you like to this concoction.

1 cup apple juice, apple cider, orange juice or even grape juice. Your liking. I used orange juice because that is what was in the refrig.
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 t. kosher salt ( always use kosher salt )
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 cup. light brown sugar
3 T. canola oil

In a small sauce pan, boil the fruit juice down a bit. Maybe for about 3 minutes. Add in the rest of the ingredients above and combine thoroughly.
Remove from heat.

Take the liquid mixture and pour over the oats and mix thoroughly. Divide the mixture into separate into well oiled (extra canola oil here) baking pans. Bake until golden brown - about 40 minutes at 300 degrees. Stir every 15 minutes or so.

Transfer back into a large bowl and stir in dried fruits. I used cranberries, currants and sliced apricots. You could also use figs, toasted coconut, dried apples etc.

Put into a tupperware and this should last about 2 weeks or more.

Enjoy!

Traveling in Brazil

Just got back from a 2 week jaunt to Brazil. Wow! One of the best family vacations we have taken. We had such a different experience in each location which was really great.

We began in Bahia. Bahia is on the northern coastline of Brazil. This area is influenced by African/Creole roots. Our first stop was at Praia de Forte which is about one hour north of Salvador (the first capital of Brazil). We stayed at the Ecoresort of Praia de Forte. The resorts property is beautiful. The rooms were fine, nothing fancy. We spent 5 days in this area. We went snorkeling in an area that the coral is literally off the beach shore in natural water pools. You walk straight out into the snorkeling area during low tide. Other activities including parasailing, banana boating and sailing. My daughter and I did a class in capoeira which is a Brazilian dance. Woah! It was fantastic, my daughter and I literally couldn't walk for days afterwards. The food in the Bahian area is really good. The town of Praia de Forte is a quaint fishing village with restaurants and shopping. At the end of the town is Tamar which is a sea turtle project, which basically ensures that the turtles do not become extinct. They monitor the eggs where they are deposited in the evening (after sundown) on the beaches and are collected and brought back to the project. The turtles are huge! In town we had lunch where you can have an entire meal for 5 for less than $25. The big dish is moqueca which is a stew consisting of cococnut milk and fish. Excellent! The big drink throughout Brazil is caipirinha which consists of vodka, rum or cachacha (alcohol made from sugar cane) mixed with limes, sugar and crushed ice. One day, we went into Salvador which is a really old town. The streets are original in Pelourinho where the first slave markets were. The church there that we saw had more gold inside than I have ever seen before. There are over 350 churches in the town. The old market place had probably been around forever with people hocking their wares. Not a town I'd spend more than a portion of a day there but worth seeing.

Next stop, Rio. Loved Rio! We stayed at the Cococabana Palace in Rio. The rooms were huge and the people couldn't have been nicer. Unfortunately we only spent 2 plus days in Rio. Longer would have been fine. The first full day we took a jeep tour up to Tijuca and Corcovado. Tijuca is the largest urban reserve in the world. It is a tiny rainforest with a waterfall that is breathtaking. The views from Corcovado of the city are incredible. You get a panoramic view of the waters, the hotels, the favellos (slums), etc. It is truly amazing the diverse population living in Rio as well as the beauty of the topography in a city. That afternoon, we walked all around Impanena which is a section of Rio. Good restaurants, shopping etc. We actually came back to that section for dinner both times. We also did the tour of H. Stern which is one of the largest jewelers in the world. We tried to pack in as much as possible for the time we spent there. We always felt safe and comfortable there even though we did not speak the language. We walked, hailed taxis, went into stores, checked out different places. As long as you don't venture into unknown territory, like any other city, you are fine.

Last stop was Florianopolis which is on the island Santa Catarina. We stayed at the Costao do Santinho Resort. The resort was great for a family but unfortunately it was difficult to get involved with all the different kids activities because we do not speak portuguese. There was literally activities from 9am until 2am every day. Loads of pools - indoor and out. Surfing, spinning, yoga, tai chi, dune surfing etc. We decided to rent a car and really tour the island. We went into Lagoa which is another beach town on the island for lunch. We went for dinner one night in Santa Lisboa which is an old oyster fishing village. They literally pulled oysters out of the waters and shucked them for our meal. We stopped into a "summer shopping" mall which is open from 6 - midnight and packed with tiny stalls of shlock. Quite the experience. We drove 2 hours to Betta Carrera world which is supposedly the 5th biggest theme park in the world. Not! What a rundown place but definitely worth the experience. The views driving to each of these areas, one was more spectacular than the next. Our resort was right outside a beach town called Ingelese. We loved Inglese. It was similar to a big boardwalk.

As a whole, fantastic! The only barrier was truly the language but you got used to it. We decided next year we will have to go somewhere English speaking to break it up. But, we each read literally 5/6 books, we all got fantastic tans, the kids became excellent heart and rummy players, scrabble and boggle games were also a daily occurence, we all got to see a total different universe than what we experience daily and we are all relaxed. As they say in Brazil with their thumb up, balezza!