Gotham Gal

Blood, Bones & Butter

Gabrielle Hamilton rules.  Not only am I a huge fan of Prune from the day the restaurant opened...and have returned many times over the years, I just love her. Just a note that I have written three separate blog posts on Prune over the years. 

The book is about family and quite frankly the education of Gabrielle Hamilton.  She is a wonderful writer.  The words flow in Blood, Bones and Butter.  She is completely transparent about her rambling life that found her drawn to the kitchen no matter where she ended up. 

Hamilton is a tough cookie who grew up in NYC in the 80's like I did.  Traveled through Europe, married into an Italian family, had two kids, had a difficult relationship with her own childhood, got an education through all the drifting she had but through luck and timing Prune exists today.  Food is the epicenter of her existence.  She has lived life on her own terms.  Just a great memoir.  She is a serious badass. 

Setai Spa at 40 Broad Street

Yesterday was Emily's birthday.  To celebrate, the girls (Jessica and Emily) and I decided to have a day at the spa including lunch.  I was really excited about it and made the reservations way in advance.  There is nothing quite like the relaxation of a spa day.  Putting yourself first, putting down the phone and just chatting in between appointments with the girls.

I have no where else to seriously launch a complaint but for any of you thinking of booking a day at Setai Spa, don't.  A variety of conversations and they finally got the reservations right.  The services were ok not great.  The length of time was completely messed up.  The lunch which I told them we wanted light lunch of salads was booked downstairs at a fancy heavy restaurant.  If they had sent me the menu or engaged me with big customer service, I would have rethought the entire day. Poor communication on their part and possibly not enough research on mine but for the price they are charging they should have held my hand on everything.  Also, the location sucks.  That was my fault.  I so hate being down in the Wall Street area. 

Lesson learned but it really bummed me out.  Not a cheap day either.  Next time, a massage in the neighborhood and a long leisurely lunch.  I might be done with the day at the spa. 

Sleep No More, Interactive theater in Chelsea

I went to an event at The McKittrick Hotel this week for the latest production put on by Punchdrunk Theater called Sleep No More.  Not so sure that this kind of thing is for me but I will say it is interesting, brilliant and totally different all rolled up into one. 

It is interactive theater.  Think of a haunted house with Macbeth being acted throughout the house although you probably wouldn't realize it was Macbeth unless someone told you. At least I wouldn't of.

You walk into a very dark place and you are given a mask.  A mask must be worn at all times.  Then you are to wander through out the five floors.  Conceptually the idea is to follow one of the actors as they interact with the space and the other actors.  I admit, I did not do that.  I just wandered in as many rooms as possible including closets just to see what was there. 

The set design is incredible.  Apothecary shops, graveyards, childrens clothing hanging off the ceiling, blood stained beds, naked actors, lots of smoke and low lights, offices, bedrooms, etc.  Just wild.  At the end you find yourself at the bar where they are now serving punch ( liquor license coming ) with quite an amazing jazz band.  Not so sure people should be drinking and strolling here.

Bottom line, not for me but if it is your kind of thing, don't miss it.  BTW, picture above is a no-no but I couldn't help myself. 

Related articles

• 'Sleep No More' Finds Room in Chelsea (artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Punchdrunk NYC: Sleep No More (farisyakob.typepad.com)

Britta Riley, Environmental Entrepreneur

For me, the first time Britta's name popped up was when we were discussing the panelists for the Womens Entrepreneur Festival.  One of the panels was going to be on Green Tech and I believe Britta's name was the first one tossed in the ring.  We all liked what she was doing; creating window hydroponic farms for growing food in urban apartments. I liked her the second I met her.  There is a twinkle in her eye, she is open to ideas and conversation and has been focused on the environment from her beginnings.  Britta is like a sponge.  Someone who is interested in seeping up everything around her as she figures out how to use that information to create a better environment. 

Let's start with her beginnings.  Britta grew up on a ranch between Houston and Austin, her parents are both doctors.  Seven siblings.  Her Grandfather was a passionate environmentalist who was involved with many of the systems we use for farming today.  He felt that that design approach and philosphy of his generation of engineers built unchecking automated systems as a possible knee jerk reaction to manual labor had an unintentional end result of ostracizing people.  In the end this let the environment run rampid.  He told his grandchildren that the challenge of the next generation was to retool these systems for a more integrated human approach that would work for the environment.  He made a huge impact on Britta and a few of her siblings.  One brother is working on a grid scale for green energy infrastructure and the other is working on real estate financing for a conservative land trust.  The family affectionately calls this crew the treehuggers. 

She decided to go to college at St. Johns College in Sante Fe, New Mexico.  A classic institution based on reading and studying the works of the most important books in Western tradition.  A fascinating education. After graduating from St. Johns she came home soon to realize that her Mom who was an incredibly family physician was barely making ends meet.   Britta jumped in and went after claim adjusters and recooped $40k for her Mom and then pressed her to ditch all health care insurance and start Old Fashioned Doc.  Britta built the website and overtime she grew a financially stable business through offering small businesses plans with her by creating a service network and giving the companies what they needed.  It is a much longer story but what they accomplished together is impressive. 

Britta decided to go for a graduate degree at the ITP division of NYU.  Even there she started up a few businesses but it was with Rebecca Bray (who she met at ITP) who became her business partner in Britta's last two endeavors. 

After graduating from ITP, they were hired to build out the website for the Smithsonian.  It took some time but they finally convinced them that they should use open source software.  That was a huge leap for the Smithsonian.  By doing that they were able to push the National History Museum to create crowd sourcing and use their assets through web 2.0.  All the designers and tech people wrote a RFP to create their vision and then the economy tanked.   When the economy went sour the fundings for the museum dried up because there wasn't anymore grant money coming in. Although the project was complete it was impossible to move forward to the next stage.

They applied for an art residence at Eyebeam. It was there that Britta was able to see crowd sourcing in a completely different light.  Her creative peers at Eyebeam were practioneers who saw that the big picture wasn't just about web development it was about creating communities through crowd sourcing.  Rebecca went on to take one of the jobs at the Smithsonsian they wrote the RFP for but Britta went on to launch The Windowfarms Project.

She launched The Windowfarms Project in August 09.  She had already created the prototype of the Windowfarm and published the designs on how to make it. The original launch was small creating small meetings around their concept by putting it on a listserv and eventually launching in wordpress with a social network component on top.  It took about six months until she was people getting more involved. Tinkerer types from all over the world started to contribute to the design and the evolution of the site begun. Once she got a workable design she went to Kickstarter and raised $27K for the research and development on the windowfarm, and then the product was started to sell.

Within this community there was a variety of ideas and concepts coming out of it. Britta has secured the ip for the community with a creative commons like license and funds the community through sales. Community members are contributing ideas to an environmental cause and participating for the personal and sociable value of it.  There are many commercial applications that could come out of this creative vocal community. 

Britta has used tech to create a platform for environmentalists and then takes those ideas to market to in essence do exactly what her Grandfather pushed her to do.  Change the world going forward from the wrongs of the past.  Britta is a budding entrenrepeur in an area that we can all benefit from. 

What a week

What a week. 

I started off the week meeting with my bff friend for lunch and having a little down time.  That was the first and only down time of the week which is leading me to write this post. 

Monday night I had dinner with the Hot Bread Kitchen staff and board.  An incredible group of people work at HBK which is always the key to success in any organization but particularly a non-profit.  It was just great getting to know the crew better.  Since most of us know each other but really don't know each other we began the dinner (at Chinatown Brasserie) with everyone telling their name, their background, what they do besides working with HBK and the craziest thing that we had ever done.  It is actually a great thing to do at a dinner.  Gives you some interesting insight into each person.  Some jumped off planes, bunjie jumped off bridges, others hitchhiked across foreign countries with random people.  A really nice evening.  My crazy thing didn't compare to anyone elses.

Tuesday was loaded with seven different meetings and an evening activity including dinner with the kids.  Had a meeting with the Highline, a young woman from Yale University who plans on changing the world, the company at Techstars that I am mentoring, Michael from Skillshare who was a pleasure to meet and hear about what he is doing, a few phone calls with a women's group coming to NYC and my friend from LA who is launching a company and of course an app.  After dinner I made my way over to see the pitches at Startl.  I particularly liked Noodle.  Then I went home and crawled into bed.

Wednesday was a little lighter.  A work out in the morning and then I packed up all the ski equipment to send out West so it is there when we arrive on vacation.  Lunch with someone who said goodbye to corporate America and is doing an amazing job at balancing her life with a variety of freelance jobs...very impressive.  Talked to a woman in Ohio about her business via phone and then met with someone who is thinking about starting a new business.  What was amazing is I have had the exact same business idea on my brain so who knows where that will go.  Out for dinner to Fedora with my brother and sister (amazing meal) after feeding the kids.  Another evening where I crawled into bed and crash hard.

Thursday is when I had the moment where I thought I might need to chill a bit.  I forgot to put a breakfast in my calendar.  That so rarely happens and when it does, it not only upsets me, it freaks me out.  I went home and made a list for myself of all the different things I am involved with.  After looking at the list I decided it was time to take a deep breath and focus on those things and not add more to my pile.  Although I do love a good pile. Continued on with the day with a variety of meets and greets and out for a friends party and theater that evening. 

Friday was mellow.  A morning meeting, lunch with Jessica who is on school vacation and one more meeting in the late afternoon.  In between the week above there was also dealing with a renovation (don't ask), a new possible purchase (don't ask) and a hope that someone is interested in a book that I have been working on.  If it happens great, if it doesn't alas.  This week made me realize that I am so looking to going away for two weeks.  TIme to relax, time to read a few books and time to chill.  One more week in NYC and then off to vacation.  Yes!

Ben Kweller at Terminal 5

This past Friday night we went to see Ben Kweller play at Terminal 5.  I am a huge fan of Ben's.  We have been listening to his music from his first release.  A couple of years ago we met him and over the years have become friends.  On Friday night we did something that I have never done before, we sat stage left and watched the show.  Hung out with the band before the show and after the show.  I felt like a groupie and it was fantastic. 

After the show ended there was this incredible energy as everyone left the stage and went to the back room.  It was amazing to see.  Everyone was so pumped about the show.  Hugging and high-fiving was abundant.  Totally cool.  I imagine that is how performers feel after any show.  It is just a total rush. 

The show wasn't long enough.  I know Ben has a bunch of new songs that have yet to be released so this show was all his oldies and goodies.  He asked the audience what they wanted to hear for the last two songs. Ben has a big heart and he is a mensch.  Just a great night. 

Soups on?

My friend Bridget, who happens to be an excellent chef, brought me a bottle of Trotters Gear that she made.  You ask, what is Trotters Gear?  Trotters Gear is a gelatinous mixture that can be used as an ingredient to intensify the flavors of anything.  Think of it as an chicken broth taken to another level.  Brilliant concept by the fabulous Fergus Henderson. 

I had not figured out what to do with my jar yet but Bridget passed on a recipe that she whipped together and I took her lead.  Basically an Asian soup with anything from the refrigerator.  It was quite good but next time I will try using dry pasta instead of ramen.

2 quarts of water

1/2 cup of white miso paste

1/3 cup Trotters Gear

1/4 cup snow peas

1/4 cup snap peas

1/4 cup bean sprouts

8 ounces steak pre-cooked and sliced

1 sheet of dried seaweed

2 scallions thinly sliced

1/2 cup frozen corn

2 T. grated ginger

chili oil and kosher salt

In a large pot mix together the water, miso and Trotters Gear and bring to a boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes.  Strain and put it back in the pot.  Toss in the ginger and stir.  Salt for taste.

In another pot make the ramen noodles (I did not use the seasoning and next time I will use angel hair pasta or linguini) and then strain. 

Slice all the rest and put in a large bowl.  Pour in the warm broth over the top and serve.  Pretty damn easy and a nice change of pace.  Also, you can toss any thing in this.  Bridget used a sliced hard boiled egg too. 

 

Prune

Prune is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in NYC.  Always delicious.  There is something so intimate and European about the place that I always feel as if I just took a mini-trip to Paris.  We returned this past weekend for a dinner with two other couples.  I booked the semi-private room downstairs at the table that seats six.  It is like having your own dinner party.  This drawing above is on the wall of the room.

We ate a lot so I am going to breeze through it.  Prune has a small menu only dedicated to bar food and then a larger menu as well.  I have always loved the bar food menu.  Everything is small and packs a powerful punch.  This is Spanish goat cheese with buttered brown bread and salted thinly sliced red onions.  Honestly, how can you go wrong?  The combination is amazing.

Always have been a fan of the raw radishes with a little bit of salt and butter on the side. I generally opt out of the butter although if you are on the mood, slather it on and then dip in salt.

The giant frico is simple to make.  Shaved Parmesean baked into a crisp. Quite good.

 

Some people started with the octopus.  I think the octopus is roasted and then sliced and served with a touch of olive oil, chili flakes and shaved celery.  Quite good and classic.

I decided to opt for the appetizer of the night.  Grilled shad roe with a slice of bacon over the top.  Honestly not that good.  Conceptually out there but just too heavy and not so interesting.

Prune always does a fish of the day.  A whole fish grilled and stuffed with fennel.  This was the branzino and you can't go wrong here.

I had the veal poached in milk.  Really interesting and quite good.  The veal was a little bit dry in places but I liked the whole idea.  This was served over two pieces of roasted endive. 

Two sides.  One was leeks chopped with diced hard boiled eggs over the top and doused in a vinegarette.

The other is slices of potatoes cooked in a butter water. 

Dessert was definitely happening based on the amount of alcohol we had all consumed.  A calvados omelette.  I liked the concept but I like my eggs really soft and this was way too hard.

Butter pecan ice cream doused in maple syrup.  How bad can that be, right?

Deep fried ricotta fritters with a chocolate dipping sauce.  Really crispy on the outside and soft in the inside.

Last was a scoop of ice cream with espresso on the side which was poured over the top.

We snuck into the kitchen.  Super organized.  Here are all their pots and pans.

Here is the prep kitchen.  A really large space.  What is cool about Prune is that they prep downstairs and then everything is taken upstairs to this tiny kitchen that is open to the tiny room (maybe seats 30 people) and that is where everything is prepared.

I have been back to Prune countless times and I always go home happy.  Just a side note is that the chef Gabrielle Hamilton, just had her memoir, Blood Bones and Butter, come out this week.  It is next on my huge stack of books that seems to getting bigger not smaller. 

The Fifth Annual Golden Schmaltz Awards

Every year our temple, the New Shul, puts on a food contest.  Great for community and raising money.  I can tell you that food is always good and available when it comes to the Jews.  There was some serious competition. 

I entered my chocolate chip caramel salted cookies. 


To my right was ruggelah.

To my left was these decadent chocolate brownies with dulce de leche.

The judges took it all very seriously. 

In the end, I won for most sophisticated dessert.  Glad to have come with a trophy.  Lots of buzz around my cookies which made me happy.  I wish I had a small video camera to watch peoples reaction when they took a bite, particulary the kids, just funny. 

There was also a junior competition.  The winner was a teenage kid who made three nut toffee like crunch with just a hint of cayenne pepper.  Pretty damn good. 

 

International Women's Day

This is an incredibly powerful video.  For International Women's Day.