Gotham Gal

A day on Arthur Avenue

When the kids were young we used to go to the Bronx Zoo when the weather just started to get warm.  We also frequented the Botanical Gardens. Afterward we would go over to Arthur Avenue.  I have not been back in years so it was a real treat going back for a NY outing.

We started at Wave Hill.  What a magical place.  28 acres located in Riverdale sitting on the Hudson.  What is truly amazing is that without traffic you could be in midtown in 15 minutes.  The views are breathtaking.  The grounds are so clean that if you wanted to you could walk around barefoot.

This tree took me in.  As a kid I just loved climbing up as far as I could possibly go.

The flowers were in bloom everywhere. 

Great Performances has been the food vendor there for 20 years.  It would be fun to have Liz ( who is talking to the women in the truck ) to create a time line of all the different food served there over 20 years from lunch to weddings.  Had a killer lemonade to quench the thirst from the truck.

Our next stop was Arthur Avenue.  We began in the Arthur Avenue Retail Market.  Everyone appears to know each other there.  Peter's Meat Market is impressive.  Huge rolls of freshly made sausages.  Even across the way there was a huge vat of capers and sun dried tomatoes.

We strolled by Mikes Deli and although they had quite a list of sandwiches and an eggplant parm that looked pretty delicious we continued to walk over to Cafe Al Mercato for a slice of Sicilian pizza.  Roasted vegetable pizza.

The gourmet stores carry an endless supply of Italian products.  I picked up a few bags of dried pastas from companies that I have never seen or heard of before.  All of the shops carry a variety of treats too.  This was quite good and a perfect appetizer. 

We sat at the bar that sits in the middle of the market place and had a Bronx cider.  I am not sure I have really had a cider before.  Crispy bubbly alcoholic apple juice.

We wandered down the street to Cosenza's Fish Market.  Outside they have a stand for oysters and a stand for clams.  I had one oyster that was a serious treat.  Big briny and fresh.

Teitels is another market that carries fresh sausages, cheese and a variety of products.  This is the stand outside their shop.

Each place we went into carries salted anchovies.  Teitels had the biggest pile we saw.

Casa Della Mozzarella makes fresh mozzarella every day.  I also picked up this treat.

Continuing down the street to Tonys and Tinas pizza shop.  We wanted to get a burek at Giovannis but they only made them on the weekends.  Luckily Tony and Tinas had one.  The dough is more like a fillo dough stuffed with different things.  We had one with spinach.

Our last stop was on 187th street which is the other street with purveyors.  We had a lemon ice at Caffe Egidio that has been around since the 40's. 

I admit we got a little mixed up getting out of the Bronx but spent a fair amount of time driving down the Grand Concourse.  The streets are wide and some of the buildings are beautiful.  The Bronx has gone through many changes and you can not help but wonder what it was like there in the 40's. 

We had a really great day.  Getting out and exploring the different neighborhoods in and around NYC is a treat and a helluva lot easier than getting on a plane. 

Weekend in the Bahamas

Our friends bought a house down in the Bahamas a few years back and we finally got down there this past weekend.  We arrived on Friday afternoon and left Sunday morning.  Our batteries have been re-charged.  Besides the amazing company being in warm weather felt incredible.  It has been a helluva long winter and it still is not really spring in NYC.  You can walk the streets but you are not exactly warm.

Their house is in an area called Albany.  Pretty sweet view from the outdoor living room.  The water is warm and shallow.  Its amazing.

Because the Bahamas is an island everything has to be imported.  Our friends can speak more about it but shipping anything in is costly.  They do not really grow their own food so even the groceries are brought in.  The taxes on that are high. You get around on your own golf carts. 

You can rent homes on the property for the week.  It is awesome for families.  There is quite a spread down the beach from them where there are a few pools, water slides and cabanas.  Pretty sweet. 

We ate dinner out both nights.  One on the property and one outside the property.  The restaurant outside the property is called Mahogany House.  The owner is from Chicago and a serious wine aficionado.  You walked through this wine room before getting to the bar.

The bar is large and square for couples who just want to stop by and eat there.  We hung out a little to watch the end of the Wichita/Louisville game. 

The main room is inviting with the open kitchen that is set in the back.  The chef is from Philadelphia and trained at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America).  The food was really good.  Just a few pics below.

Roasted chicken

Steak.

Fish

Spaghetti

The pizza appetizers were really delicious too straight from the wood burning oven.  Most important we had a serious wine tasting both nights.  Lots of glasses poured about half way up as went from one to the other discussing them all.  It was lots of fun.  The desserts were pretty good too. 

I can hardly wait to go back next year!

more on 24 hours in Los Angeles

My brother and I went out for lunch at Superba.  Great name, defines the food.   There is an enclosed outdoor porch and an indoor area with a big open kitchen.  Very LA vibe.  We split three things.  Not a lot of food but trust me I will be back for a full on dinner.

Started with a hibiscus iced tea with mint.  Really refreshing. 

We began with the crispy brussels sprouts.  They had fried up the brussel sprouts and then put them in a dashi broth and laid in a poached egg with chopped scallions over the top.  Unbelievable.  I am definitely attempting to make this at home.  The intensity of the broth mixed together with crispy brussels mixed made messy with an egg and the bite of scallions was over the top good.

This was clever too but not as wow.  Crab melt.  Crab salad over a toasted slab of brioche dressed with a old bay aioli and jarlsberg melted over the top.  Homemade pickles on the side that had a serious bite of vinegar.

This pasta was so rich that I dare someone to eat the whole thing.  Wakame based spaghetti so house made.  The spaghetti itself was dense.  The spaghetti is mixed with uni, crab, miso butter & pickled jalapenos.  It is the miso butter that really gels the dish.  Killer.

Then we went back to the house before I took off to go back to Utah for vacation.  Ruby, my niece, was having her birthday party that night.  The theme was Breakfast At Tiffanys.  The table was set in the Tiffany color with blue and white m & ms.  The girls were having a dinner party, catered by my brother and sister-in-law and their friend Lucy.  After dinner the girls would watch Breakfast at Tiffanys and have a slumber party.  Dress up was part of the event.  My niece looked the part.

Looking forward to spending a lot more time out in Los Angeles. 

 

Kyoto, last day

Who knew this would have been our last day in Kyoto and our last day of vacation.  It was a culmination of things but leaving was the right thing to do.  We have had enough.  Everyone wanted to get back.  I just want to get back to my own bed and unfortunately we are going to spend more than a few more nights at a hotel in NYC but it is what it is.  

In the morning we moved our stuff to the Hyatt.  On the way there we went to Honke Owariya, a soba restaurant that has been around since the 1600's.  The noodles were just awesome.  Some of us had hot and others had cold.  Just stellar.

We then checked in and made the decision to leave.  After a few hours on the phone and some emails I was able to get us a flight out of Tokyo the next day.  We are missing Naoshima but life goes on.  

We returned to the Gion area for dinner.  We were early so jumped into the bar next door.  It was a really cool bar.  This small old building in the front and when you walk in it is like a small modern box.  Bar across one side of the room and seating across the other.  

Dinner was at Sushi Matsumoto.  It was the perfect end...and the sushi was fantastic.  Sushi is a little different in Kyoto than Tokyo.  The rice is a bit sour but it totally works.  We began with a sweet seaweed.

Then a mixture of sashimi octopus.

Marinated white fish with sesame seeds.

Our charming chef.

Mackarel

Tuna

More tuna

Clam.  Much sweeter than the other clams we had.

Tiger shrimp

Fatty hamachi

Eel

Tiny small scallops.  This was pretty awesome.

Different types of fish roe.  You can see the variations in color.  Outrageous!

Uni served over warm rice.

Grilled eel

Back to the hotel to spend the night and leave the next morning.  We got on the bullet train back to Tokyo in the morning and took it to the station before Tokyo then transferred to the Narita Express out to the airport.  We saw Mount Fuji on the way to Tokyo from the train.  Very cool.  We got on a flight back to JFK that was delayed around 545pm their time.  We landed in NYC around 3ish and got to our hotel in NYC around 530. A very long day.  Glad I am back.  

An interesting trip for a variety of reasons.  I am glad we went and I am glad we came back.  Glad we got to explore and see Japan.  The culture, the traditions, the pace, the toilets, the hot towels but no napkins, the bowing, no tipping, the food and everything else is something we can look back on.  As a family it ended up being a really positive experience which is the best part.  Certainly memorable.

Last and certainly not least is Tripbod.  Sally Broom introduced herself to me when I was visting Jessica in South Africa.  I ended up talking to her, eventually meeting her and then Jessica spent a summer in London working for Sally.  We used her service.  It was amazing.  She hooked us up with Martin who is a local tripbod in Tokyo.  He listened to who we were, what we wanted and how we wanted to take in Japan.  He got it.  The trip was seamless and that rarely happens.  I highly recommend using Tripbod for any trip at any level you want to experience a new place. 

Ifuki, Kyoto

Ifuki is located in the Gion section of Kyoto.  In my mind, this is what I thought Kyoto would look like.  Rambling streets and alley ways of old wooden homes.  It is like walking back in time.  We peeked into some of the places and although old outside some of them are modern inside.  It is a very cool area.

Ifuki is a Japanese grill restaurant owned by a husband and wife.  The meal was a mixture of different plates.  Really beautiful.  We started out with this crab dish.

Snails.

Miso soup with a small piece of silky tofu.  Really interesting and quite good.

Sashimi including a rich toro and blow fish.

Crab dumplings in a light broth.

This piece made the meal.  A warm roasted piece of white fish wrapped around warm sushi rice.  This melted in your mouth. This might have been one of the top things I ate in Japan. Amazing.

I also loved this plate.  A variety of roasted vegetables Japanese style.  Each piece was roasted (except for the lotus root chip) with just a little bit of salt.  So good.

A gelatinous soup with poached fish.  The combination of textures did nothing for me but Fred licked his bowl clean.

Kobi beef.

This was more of a mouth cleanse.  Orange and raw fish.

Rice with a leek chicken miso soup.

Dessert was a small piece of cake and a pear gelato over a piece of poached pear.  Nice ending.  Looking back what is most interesting is what is served first and last over the course of the meal.

Kyoto, Day Two

Seeing the view outside our window in the morning was pretty damn amazing.  It is so beautiful.  

They served us breakfast in our room.  Quite civilized.

We hopped on the boat after breakfast, got into a car and drove to Nara for the day.

Nara was the capital of Japan back in 764 AD (roughly).  Then the capital moved to Kyoto and then Tokyo.  Nara is infested with tame deer that come down from them mountains during the day and return at night.  It is definitely freaky considering deer have become such a major problem in many areas in the states.  

This particular deer decided he was going to go shopping.

Nara Park is filled with a few places worth seeing.  The park is really beautiful too.  This is the first building before heading thru to Todai-ji.  

You can see from these pillars how old this place is.

Here is Todai-ji built thousands and thousands of years ago.

Check out this buddha.  He is HUGE.  You can't really appreciate how enormous he is from this photo.

There are a few of these other statues on the otherside of the building.

It was a beautiful day outside and we walked over to the other shrines up the hill.  Kasuga Taisha.  Here are some people praying.  

We finally walked back down into the town for lunch.  Izasa is in a parking lot but has a big window that overlooks the park and shrine so the right place.  We had some sashimi.

Fried chicken with a sauce.  

A mixture of different items to taste; a deconstructed bento box. As usual, some good, some not so good.

We drove back into Kyoto and stopped at Cafe Independants for a coffee.

And an afternoon sweet.

The trip at this point was weighing on everyone.  Two days in Kyoto would have been plenty.  Also, the language barrier is exhausting.  Even the food, atlhough some amazing meals, starts to get old.  We were staying at Hoshinoya that night and going back there to hang was just not happening.  Too far and not that hangable.  We just walked around for awhile.  Could not imagine staying another two days here

Kyoto, Day One

We got up in the morning and took the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto.  It is pretty awesome.  Very civilized and of course quick.  The train station feels like controlled chaos.  When we got to Kyoto someone met us at the train.  Trust me, finding us was not difficult.  We jumped into a van and made our way to lunch. 

We went to Hirokawa.  The restaurant was the perfect place for lunch.  Kyoto is known for grilled eel.  We all had the exact same thing.  Medium dish of grilled eel over rice.  Amazing.

Check out this sink in the bathroom.  The first electronic pump on the right is the soap, the middle one is the water and the last is hot air to dry your hands.  You touch nothing.

After lunch we drove over to Ryoanji, a 15 century dry garden laid out by Soami.  Have to get rid of your
shoes and put on slippers to walk around.

15 rocks placed in this garden thousands of years ago.  Really serene and beautiful.  

Although this shrine is not used anymore the rooms are open for you to take a look at.  

Our next stop was Kinkaku-ji, Kyotos most elaborate Zen temple.  The Golden Temple was built as a retirement home for a 14th Century Shogun.  It is breathtaking.  You can see the fine golden leaf on the building when you get closer.  The small ground in the middle of the lake it sits on represents Japan. There are huge fish in those waters.

We had some time to kill so we stopped by the Nishiki-koji Market.  Glad we did because we never ended up going back.  Unfortunate because I really want to buy knives in this particular store but life goes on.  

They love the covered alleyways with tiny shops.  Here is a guy shucking oysters at the beginning of the market.

All the vegetables have been wrapped in plastic at every marketplace we have seen.

Rice dumplings.

Lots of different grilled eels.

Marinated eggplants.

A serious mound of miso.

Red octopus.

This is the knife store.  It is hundreds of years old.  They will actually engrave your name in the knife for you.  There were also beautiful bowls and trays.  

Fan store.

Vegetables that were each rubbed down with something different.

We walked back to the car and this door opened and we all gasped.  Inside was some serious gambling going on.  It was just wild.  Noisy and smoky.  


Our next stop was to a sake tasting.  Luckily we had someone with us who could translate because the sommelier at Okitsu-an, an exclusive private club built in 1835, spoke zero english.  The gardens were beautiful there too.  We learned a little bit.  Obviously it is all about the rice.

We checked into our hotel, Hoshinoya.  A ryokan.  We all slept in tatami rooms.  It is located on the outskirts of Kyoto.  You take a small boat down to the hotel.  It is really unique and beautiful.  One night is ample and we did two.  After we checked in we had a kaiseki dinner.  We wore the garb they gave us.  Here is Fred in his outfit.

I am here in mine.  Hat for warmth ( that is mine ).  We decided that I'd take no pictures that night and we would just enjoy it together.   A mixture of tiny bits of food.  Some good, some weird but a really nice experience.  

 

Last day in Tokyo

There is so much to do in Tokyo but I think that four days was just the right amount for a first time visit.  I am sure that there are plenty of other places we could have seen and some of them were on our list but in the end we did what we could do.  

We started the day off at the Mitsukoshi Department store.  This is amazing piece of sculpture is on the first floor.  We came to see the food halls.  To me, there is nothing quite like a great food hall.  Harrods did it first decades ago and it appears that since then everyone has got into the game.  This particular food hall was amazing.

What is so incredible is the detail to packaging and presentation.  We just walked around.  Here are some highlights.  Tempura.

Sushi sandwiches.

Make your own sushi packages.

Black bean sweets

Green tea desserts

Dumplings

Kimchi

Lotus root

Mountain of salmon roe

Had to taste a few dumplings.

We then went to Takishamaya which has a food hall in the basement too.  The store was totally disappointing.  Takishamaya in NYC was an incredible store.  Really well curated with items that you can not get anywhere else especially their jewelry department.  I was so sad when they closed.  The Takishamaya in Tokyo is like going to Macys.  Nothing unique at all.  Alas.

We had to go to the bathroom and I just had to take a photo of the Japanese style toilet.  They are very into their toilets here.  Most of them have heated seats.  They also have an entire menu of things you can do with your toilet seat including massage on the Western toilets.  

Next stop is Tokyu Hands.  There are a few around the city.  The pen section is insane and so are their stickers.  Pens are big here.

Muji was next.  This Muji is huge and is located on the 2nd floor of a building that has the store Loft in the ground floor.  Muji is an interesting store.  They have their own label on everything.  Lots of pens, food products, furniture and clothes.  

Lunch time.  We went to Sushi Kanesaka located in the basement of a building in the Ginza area.  We sat next to three Japanese business men.  Made me think of mid-town NYC.  Our chef was Shinji Kanesaka.  We began with a small salad of seaweed, thinly sliced shiso and I believe thinly sliced radishes with a soy based sauce.  It was the perfect way to start the meal.  Simple with clean flavors.

First piece was snapper.

Amber jack.  

Check out this piece of tuna.  

Getting ready for the flight of tuna.

Tuna.

Toro.

Abalone.

Tiger shrimp.

Mackarel.

Spanish Mackarel.

Small shrimp.

Salmon roe.

Gooey clam.

Uni.

Eel.

Dried sweet roll ( not sure what was in it ) and a piece of egg that was like eating custard.  Phenomenal meal.  The size of each piece was just perfect.  Each flavor just lingered in your mouth.  Wow.

Next stop was Tobin Ohashi Gallery.  All the galleries are closed at this time of the year so we have been getting private showings.  The two men who own the gallery couldn't be nicer.  One of them is from Boston and has been living in Tokyo for 25 years.  The other grew up in the south of Japan.  They are charming.  This is a wood sculpture with nails driven into it.  The artist is Yusuke Nishi.  I really like this piece.

This Chinese artist is Zhu Wei.  This silkscreen print is of a past dictator.

These pencil drawings are by Masumi Yoshida.  A young Japanese artist drawing people that represent modern Japan.  

Last stop of the day was Dover Street Market.  DSM is one of my favorite stores in London.  The one in Tokyo is similar.  Really well curated mixture of clothes and accessories.  I am a big fan and am looking forward to them opening in NYC in 12/13 on Lexington and 30th street.

Back to the hotel before dinner.

 

Tokyo, Day 3

How could we not come to Tokyo and see the Sumo wrestlers?  We took the train out to where they are located. The trains are very civilized.  Packed with people but there is an etiquette which is followed. People actually stand in line to go up the escalator vs cramming in with hopes to get up to the top first. The stations are clean too.

There is the top tier of sumo wrestlers that get paid and then there is a second tier that lives and works at the stables but do not get paid.  The lower tier waits on the top tier sumo wrestlers with the hopes of becoming one of them over time.  The whole sport is fascinating. Six events a year. The largest sumo wrestler ever weighed in at around 600 pounds.  The sport takes place inside a small ring.  You can not step outside the ring or fall down or you lose.  They are seriously strong big men.  Once you get over the shock of seeing them you just watch.  First they bow to each other.

Then they ram into each other in order for one of them to take the other one out.  They also do a lot of shuffling around and exercising watching and waiting for their turns.  The floor is dirt.

After a few hours they all stretch together.  It was wild.

We then went over to the oldest shrine in Tokyo called the Senso-Ji located in Asakusa.  In front of the temple is a long stretch of stores filled with food and gifts.  Kind of shlocky.  

In front of the shrine is a large square box filled with incense that people take in before they walk up to the shrine.   Behind the glass is a service going on.  

This is the view from the top of the stairs.  People put money in the box in the front of this photo.  

We then went over to Kappabashi-Dori which is a long street filled with kitchen supply stores.  If I had time I would have strolled for hours.  

This store carried all the signs you might want for your restaurant.  I should have brought this home.

Napkins?

Check out these knives.

Food too.

We then went over to the Ueno area where there is a street market.  I was looking for a particular stall but instead we just bought some of these sushi sandwiches.  Rice stuffed into a wrap of nori with a little fish on top or stuffed inside. 

We got a variety.  They are really good and inexpensive.

Our next stop was the Tokyo train station to have lunch.  We picked up some of these Hi-chews which are Japanese starbursts.  

Rokurinsha is the noodle shop we went to which is located in an area of the Tokyo train station called Ramen Way.  There was a line but it moves quickly.  

Once you get to the front of the line an attendant has you put your cash in this vending machine and choose what dish you want.  Then you get a ticket.  Once they sit you down you give your ticket to another attendant and they bring you your soup.  In essence no cash changes hands with anyone who works there.

Here is the shop.

The noodles were really good and seriously filling.  Thick noodles that you dip into a bowl of broth with pieces of pork and vegetables.  I got an added bonus of a rich deep yellow soft boiled egg.  

Here is a guy making noodles in one of the other shops.

Our next stop was the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art.  The building is fantastic.  No pictures allowed but I did get this one of Fred and Jessica sitting in these super comfy chairs.  There were a few exhibits and then of course the permanent collection.  They are pretty strict about which one you see first.  Very orderly.  The first exhibit was around the merging of music and art.  Each of the exhibits were so well curated.  You had to follow a certain path which made so much sense as the exhibit unfolds.  Really glad we went to this museum.  

Back to the hotel for a few hours of rest and relaxation which I had really yet not had.  Sorely needed.  

 

 

Birdland

Finding Birdland took some negotiations.  I thought it was one place and it wasn't.  Fred thought it was about two blocks away and it was but it wasn't.  Jessica finally figured it out.  It was down in the basement in the train station.  There is a theme going on here.  I just wonder if it only happens to tourists.  Birdland is a yakitori restaurant located next door to Jiro Sushi.  I can't decide what was more exciting finding the restaurant or finding out it was next door to Jiro Sushi.  If you have seen the movie Jiro Dreams of Sushi, you will understand that seeing Jiro was seriously a highlight.  I did not make reservations to eat there because since the movie the meal has gone up to an insanely high price for about a 30 minute meal.  This went under the heading, just because you can doesn't mean you should.  

Birdland has a square bar that wraps around the chefs in the middle who cook our dinner over a hibachi grill.  

Dinner was another omikase.  Three in one day is killing me.  We could only figure that much out by reading the menu and went with it.  The first plate was a little taste of chicken flavors.  Gizzard and a few pieces of some type of veggies.

A sweet chicken liver pate with slices of a baguette.

Simple grilled chicken with dots of wasabe on top.

Grilled chicken pieces with scallions in between the kabobs.

Grilled chicken livers.  

A stange thick tofu with an oil over the top with a roasted cherry tomato.  

Small grilled potatoes

Grilled teriyaki chicken pieces

Small bowl of micro greens

Chicken sausages

Pieces of a grilled chicken thigh

Grilled mushrooms

Grilled chicken pieces with scallions and leeks in between.  

Last course was a rice bowl with egg and chicken.  All and all the whole meal didn't do much for me.  I was seriously still stuffed from breakfast.  I picked.  It was a strange place.  Even the glasses of wine we ordered were so small in a regular sized big glass if was if they were holding us back.  The best part was seeing Jiro and his son bowing at their patrons on the way out the door.