nyc gastro recap

so, i basically ate my face off in nyc. for the most part, it was FANTASTIC.


monday night- masala bollywood

their claim to fame is playing bollywood movies and music videos on a large screen above the bar. that and tasty food. we had sosoSO much food. ugh i couldn't even do my share of the dosa. i got to that another night.

verdict: good times, nothing too spectacular, but an enjoyable place. the wait staff were a little slow, considering we were the ONLY people there for the first 3/4 of dinner.


tuesday lunch #1- some pita place

i had fries. they were tasty. not really worth going just to the place for fries.

verdict: obviously, not good enough to remember the name, it is ok to miss it.


tuesday lunch #2- penelope

ok, well a little mixed here. they were UBER busy and i could understand by. my grilled cheese with tomato was delicious! it had three cheeses and crusty sourdough bread and oh, tasty fries. generally, all things i fully enjoy. however, they said the wait would be 15 minutes and it was 30, meaning that karel literally had 13 minutes to eat her grilled cheese before sprinting back to the office. i understand that it can be hard to predict tables opening up, but if you are as busy as they guys, get better at it.

verdict: def go, but only if you schedule an extra 30 minutes or so for waiting. or more, if you are going during prime lunch time. we were there at 1:30p on a tuesday.


tuesday dinner- zaytoons

i LOVE this place. karel took me there this summer before we went to see knocked up, and even though that night had some tears in it, it certainly wasn't because of the food. it is middle eastern food and mm mm MM. you can get a combo plate with five small servings of salads and spreads and it is def the best deal there. i got hummus, fatoush, grapes leaves, tabouleh, and labnah. ah, labnah, how i love thee.

verdict: must go, must get combo plate. don't be detered by the slightly pushy wait staff. hey, if you are going before a movie, you won't have to worry about getting out on time!


wednesday lunch- quickly shabu shabu

karel first introduced me to shabu shabu on one of my first post-collegiate new york visits years ago and every time we come, i ask that it is included in our plans. it is a little like fondue- you cook veggies and thinly sliced meat in boiling broth and make your own sauces at a condiment bar. as it is asian (different sources cite different countries), you get fun veggies like straw mushrooms and taro (barf) and fun extras like crabstick and fish balls.

this trip to shabu shabu was pretty dramatic. the food was great- as i cooked it myself, i can take full credit. good sauce, me. hey, thanks tatiana! you're welcome, tats!

but oh my god, was the service SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOW. we sat down literally right in front of the serving bar and were there for a full 15 minutes before they asked us if we were ready. we had been ready for about 14.5 minutes. i was tempted to call the resturant on my cell and say 'hi! yes, we are sitting right in front of you and would like to order!' i hope i don't come off as a huge bitch with service, because believe me, with seven years of starbucks and other various cafes, i understand servers are human too. but. there were two other parties and they already had their food. and we just sat there and stared. the guy behind the counter just stared back. so, yeah, not the best service. and the check... ugh, yeah. another excerise in patience.

verdict: shabu shabu is great and this place does give you free bubble tea with your meal. a plus. but either be much chiller than me (most are) or more forceful in demanding your meats and broth. or go to another shabu shabu joint.


wednesday dinner- cafetasia

the single anon commenter, you are correct! we went pan-asian and i'm so glad we did. karel and i split three dishes- two from their medium menu and one from the large. the crispy duck and green apple salad was fantastic. there should really be more meat stuffs in salads. while i ussually don't go gaga over tamarind (my mom makes the juice from scratch and the floating seeds creep me out), the ribs drenched in a tamarind sauce were super tasty. and the beef and shitake fried rice was so tasty but i had to save my portion from filling up on duck and ribs. hmm, i seem to have a strong affinity for meat.

verdict: go! it was a little loud because of communal tables and music, but not entirelly unbearable. plus the floating candles make it look a little like hogwarts' great hall.


thursday breakfast- hudson news

in port authority, i got a diet coke plus, some smartpop white cheddar popcorn, cheese crackers, and some free soy joy bars.

verdict: actually, not bad. i didn't have to pay for the soy joy bars and i still have the crackers, so overall, not my worst traveling breakfast decision ever.

a few months away from spandex inserts

so, a lot of people having been coming up preggers lately. A LOT. and by people, i mean celebs. and by preggers, i mean rumors.

all that being said, there has been a great deal of preggo rummblings , more than normal. in the past few weeks, the following have been proven to be doing it.

- britney spears. rumor, though, come on, it is probably true
- jamie lynn spears. bad decisions seem to run in the family. as she is 16 and her long time live in boyfriend is 19, the sex that led to this child is technically illegal.
- lily allen. she's going to be wearing some really cute maternity wear.
- jessica alba. her baby bump is tres cute.
- fantasia. this is the reason that most people are giving for her missing a ton of shows of 'the color purple' on broadway.
- rielle hunter. yeah, i have no idea who she is either, but apparently, there were rumors earlier this year that she was having some extracurricular fun with presidential candidate, john edwards.

DAMN! i think it is all because of global warming. seriously.

see, with rising temperatures and summers getting longer and longer, people are taking more last minute vacays and making babies in cabanas.

that or celebs (and especially spearses) seem to think that they are impervious to conception.

or they loved the movie knocked up as much as i do.

congrats to all the new parents. now we just have to see what kind of crazy names these kids end up with.

be our guest, be our guest, put our service to the test!

karel and i just had a boston creme cupcake and a cider at crumbs and now we have time to kill, so while i have a KILLER blog fermenting in my mind, karel is going to wow you with her genius while i pick my butt.

hi tati's readers. this is actually much more high-pressured than it may seem, because as i have tati beat in blogging tenure (i'm proud to announce that i have been a blogger since roughly fall of 2001), her wit is far quicker than mine, and speaking of fermenting, that's what my blog has been doing for quite some time. what can i say? working for the man has effectively scattered a layer of cobweb over my once prolific brain.

we just came from seeing juno in indulgence of our (schoolgirl) love for jason bateman as well as our (slightly pedophilic) obsession with michael cera. we both cried. i didn't quite soak my shirt as much as tati did, but i can't exactly expect to compete with an expert. after all, my human emotions have only recently been excavated by the first legitimate boyfriend i've had... probably ever.

HOWEVER. I DIGRESS.

the movie was fantastic. i did emerge with several questions, none of which will spoil it for those of you who haven't seen it yet so no need to run screaming:

1. do 16 year olds really talk like that these days? no, really? maybe the 16 year olds i've encountered as of late have all been inner-city kids in brooklyn, and not suburban minnesotans.
2. are there really parents out there who would not even raise their voices as their acerbic 16-year-old daughter announces that she's pregnant? then again, i guess i shouldn't have expected orthodox behavior from a couple who named their younger daughter 'liberty bell.'
3. no, they really did, and she seemed mildly stupid.
4. will michael cera ever finish puberty?

now my brain has been overtaken with the question of what to have for dinner. we are conveniently located in a neighborhood with which i am very familiar, and the options are endless.

this is a somewhat useless poll because by the time anyone reads this we probably will have already eaten, but - lighten up ok. this is supposed to be fun.

KAREL AND TATI RETROACTIVE DINNER POLL:

---interruption:
tati: you know you can put an actual poll on the sidebar.
karel: um... i don't feel like it. i will comment on it later. oh what the hell. [goes to put italics in HTML]
tati: no you have to put it in HTML here.
karel: what the fuck. this is why i stopped blogging.
end interruption---

should we have:
a. pan-asian fusion
b. thai (though, i think, highly americanized)
c. gourmet sandwiches by tom colicchio
d. AWESOME though less gourmet sandwiches by... some guy?

WE WANT ANSWERS!

ok i think that is all. this is more than i've written in my blog, plus my secret blog that you're not supposed to know about and even if you did, it's password protected so HA IN YOUR FACE, in like... months. oh well.

it was a pleasure speaking to you all. that is, unless you don't answer the poll. in which case i may never guest blog again.

bye

i can do it!

nyc transit has always scared me. numbers AND letters! you've got to be kidding me! seriously, i'm terrified of getting lost on just about any public transportation, at least in the united states.


when i was staying with juliet at boston college for a week during my senior year, i was so paralyzed by fear that i refused- REFUSED- to go anywhere without her. to be fair, i didn't have a cell phone at the time. since she was still in class, this meant that i had a lot of time on my hands. so i watched every single episode of sex and the city. IN ORDER. because if i'm crazy enough to refuse to go anywhere, i'm obviously crazy enough to be orderly in my laze.


the odd thing is (yeah, the ONLY odd thing) when i was in melbourne, australia, i was all about getting around on trams and taxis. booking flights for the next day. renting cars with people i had just met. to drive along a road on the edge of an ocean. my first day of australia, i jumped onto the tram, despite having no idea what my stop looked like or how to get back. maybe it was the 16 hour time difference or the fact that i was in a foreign country, but i was completely comfortable just winging it. oh and i went to boston AFTER australia. so it obviously didn't stick.


i eventually warmed up to boston public transportation during the three years i lived there. but, new york remains a daunting task. i get really really uneasy at the prospect of not knowing where i'm going. so today was a test for me.


i'm visiting karel but she has to work all day today, so i decided to arrange a meeting with a friend from high school i haven't seen since graduation. SO I HAD TO TAKE A TRAIN BY MYSELF. TO THE FIRST LUNCH. THEN TO LUNCH WITH KAREL. THEN BACK.


and i did it! i know, most people probably wouldn't be as excited as i am, but honestly, the fact that i was able to transfer trains, use the right exits, and navigate different areas of new york is a huge deal for me.

so huge that i'm posting about it!

so, in summary.

nyc subway intimidates me. i conquered it today. go me.

i made a promise!

to bring you more hilarity into your life via youtube and i do not disappoint.




teehehe. 'i was literally laughing out loud and when you are doing that while talking to someone on the internet, you have to tell them.' true, very true.

i'm off to visit karel for a few days, leaving behind temperate and dry maryland for freezing, nasty new york. the things i do for love! i don't know how this trip will affect my posting schedule, as we have a pretty packed itinerary that basically revolves around fantastic food for each meal. so i might be too stuffed to sit upright and post anything. or i might have a ton of time on my hands and i will post like five thousand times a day.

it will be one of those two extremes.

party etiquette 101

so, last night, i went to a lovely party thrown by my lovely friends juliet and brett. i had a fan tab time chatting with old friends and new, but there were certain people there who obviously don't know how to behave like adults once they had some alcohol. so, i figured that everyone could do with a refresher course in some basic party etiquette.

1. be kind and bring something to the party so that the host isn't put into the awkward situation of sending out an email asking for people to do what every human knows what to do. don't go to a party without something!

examples of what you can bring.

2. party conversation: funny stories from childhood, connecting over favorite movies, dishing about the food and ambiance. NOT good party conversation: saying things like 'i don't believe in human rights'. um, could you please top off my wine so i can leave you and never talk to you again?

she believes in human rights. and so should you.

3. if you are clumsy and in your mid 20s, odds are that you know you are clumsy. that being said, don't drink red wine in a room with white carpets. or, do it in the kitchen. don't keep on drinking it once you've spilled it multiple times, forcing the host to get out oxy-clean in her party dress.
this should not be necessary during a holiday party.

4. if you are playing an awesome game, for example, catch phrase, and your team loses because the other team is just supremely AWESOME, don't throw a tantrum. you are not four. and, as part of your tantrum, really don't throw shit around. seriously, don't.

not to be tossed like a frisbee.

5. don't get so drunk that you fall over a table, spilling red wine all over the place. or if you do, know that it is then time to leave.
if you look like the alien, go home.

now, i know that i haven't always been the perfect party guest. i'm sure i've spilled dip onto a table cloth or sloshed beer out of my cup onto a table. but i was IN COLLEGE and since then, i think i've learned how to carry myself so that i don't cause harm to those people or things around me. i have also mastered the art of making small talk and it doesn't include saying things like 'i don't believe in human rights'.

despite tantrums and nihilists, the party really was fantastic and juliet and brett should be proud of throwing such a swanky affair. though next time, i may suggest posting this list in the bathroom.

weekly stumble...

human clock and calendar

two for one deal this week! i can't imagine how much time it took to amass all the photos necessary for this project, but i can imagine how much it was. everyone is so smiley!

as you may have guessed before even clicking the links, the human clock is website that tells the time through photos of people all over the world, holding up times of numbers found in the landscape. and of course, you can set it to your time.

human calendar is much the same, except that everyone is looking at today's date in the calendar, so the photos change every day!

you can get portable calendars for google homepage, websites, with widgets for mac dashboard coming soon. as soon as i figure out how to do something fancier that twitter, i'm putting the calendar on this baby.

it is also just fun to have the clock open in another tab and check the photos out every few minutes. you know, in case you have a short attention span and need distraction. not that i know anything about that.

***UPDATE***
so, it turns out that it is pretty simple to put things in the sidebar. enjoy the calendar :)

oh, that's passion

so, i haven't been able to actually watch project runway this season.

and that makes me very sad.

but because i still read project rungay, i am able to get the highlights from my most trusted pr commentators.

and honestly, their story is a dream. start a blog about a show that you love.

AND THE SHOW LOVES YOU BACK!

so, while i'm not super attached to anyone this season (except, perhaps, the little slip of a boy from maryland!), how can you not love this?



ps. i'm done with finals and i just couldn't wait to celebrate! what a feeling!

i promise that...

i will be done with finals in 27.5 hours and stop talking about it.

i will replace the happy curlsgiving graphic in the next few days.

my posts will go back to some sort of normalcy, just in time for the holidays to come in and mess them all up again.

i will keep my talk of advent calendars to a minimum.

i will continue to post things from youtube with increasing frequency. sorry if this makes your soul hurt.

i will get back to the whole best of and weekly stumble.

i will have stories to tell about my visit to nyc and karel.

i'll be announcing the return of a fav blog very very soon!

if i can chose sometime soon, i won't ever have to take pics like these ever again.






but i might want to.

who understands why

unlike this, which i watched multiple times, this song just jumped into my head and hasn't stopped hopping around despite my focus on the local preservation movement and saving the recent past.

though i guess you could argue that asia is part of the recent past that needs saving.