pile of sweets {justin richel}

I think artist, Justin Richel, was able to capture a dream that I probably often have. Going on with the theme of tasty food, above is his letterpress print of sugary sweets. Below is the artist in action for his larger collection of gouache paintings. The letterpress print and other prints of his paintings {like the bottom image, Precarious Print} are available at Little Paper Planes.

Reminds me, I should go run out to Momofuku Milk Bar and Bakery {that just opened} to grab some of their snickerdoodle cookies...mmm.

dogmatic dogs

Due to my recent projects, I find myself oftentimes in the 18th-22th St blocks on 5th Ave. Jumping between meetings I "need" to find quick grab-a-bite places and one of those moments brought me to Dogmatic Gourmet Sausage System. Apparently they were a street-food cart in the West Village...and due to their popularity, they opened up a mini-flagship location.
The food = a choice of a beef, pork, turkey, lamb sausages or asparagus + one sauce + a hollowed out toasted baguette = a nice little gourmet hot dog package {I had pork + truffle gruyere cheese = mmm}.
The space = approximately 500 sq ft (???...not very big} with a massive communal butcher block counter in the middle with ingeniously space-saving stools that pull out of the counter piece at an as-needed-basis.
The decor = fun illustrations of NYC drawn on subway tiles {same artist as their website} and hot dog "sculptures" set into the wall.
You can sense that the entire experience of the store was thoroughly designed - from the architecture/interior design down to the packaging/presentation of the hot dogs - which is something that I love to appreciate as a designer. And the food was great too, as it was made-to-order and had just as much of a thoughtful feeling to it. Thumbs up from me.

Dogmatic Gourmet Sausage System: E 17th St bet 5th & Union Sq West

fall harvest menu

With our bodies still adjusting to daylights savings {it gets so dark by 5pm!!!}, one way to embrace the coming of winter is FOOD. This weekend, I took a cooking class at the Institute of Culinary Education called Fall Harvest Feast taught by Chef Melanie Underwood. The amazing full menu consisted of: Butternut Squash Risotto; Roasted Garlic Soup {roasted garlics in the upper right}; Root Vegetable Soup; Mushroom-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin; Seared Duck Breast With Honey and Ginger Glaze {searing in action in lower left}; Beet Chutney; Brussels Sprouts With Bacon; Pumpkin Puree {fresh-out-of-the-oven roasted sugar pumpkins in upper left}; Cranberry Upside-Down Cake {sugar glaze and cranberries in lower right}; Roasted Spiced Pears; and Caramel Ice Cream. In a huge kitchen facility, we learned knife skills, prep tips, how we shouldn't measure or use a thermometer, and more...and resulted in a sit-down dinner together with our classmates. Between the pumpkin orange to the fuchsia beets to the golden garlics to the soft orange butternut squash to the red-brown meats - it was not only a feast to our bellies but the fall color palette was also a feast to the eye. I had true food coma at the end...but it was oh, so worth it.

papabubble

Found this cute, charming, welcoming candyshop called papabubble on the brink of Chinatown and Little Italy where sugar, water and glucose come together to form the most amazing little candy pieces of art. Based in Barcelona, Spain and spreading its sugary wings to NYC, papabubble whips up mounds of colorful AND flavorful treats daily. This artisinal shop creates candy of all colors of the rainbow, then twists and shapes them together to create patterns and motifs {fruits, words, bicycles, hearts, you name it...}, and then stretches it into a 1/2 inch-ish diameter rod, and then snip snip snips them into bite-size candies! Even the packaging is so perfect...what a great little gift. My favorite was an assorted mix of candies with the names of all 5 boroughs of NYC...oh my, papabubble, you have a new #1 fan.

delicious photos {hey cupcake}

Big photos of cupcakes - yum! These are the creations of Hey Cupcake Bakery and what a beautiful job of capturing the essence of their business by these styled shots. The power of the visual is something that I always try to convey to my clients. It's worth it to pay that professional (even semi-pro) photographer in the beginning to get the right images to represent your business or services. Beautiful (or in this case deliciously cute) imagery is priceless over wordy words, especially on the web where we are all victims of short attention spans. Don't these photos make you want to go to this *particular* bakery and get a dozen just for yourself? So for you business starters, it's not a bad idea to budget this as an expense - it will be worth it, for sure.
With more photos of yum cupcakes, have a wonderful weekend~

gather around the table

Last night I had dinner at Oriental Garden in Chinatown and had an absolute feast. I went with some regulars of this establishment, who have created their own custom menu of their favorite dishes. The double-digit course menu included the above pictured scallop with garlic, chicken feet and conch, massive oyster in the shell, and abalone + fish soup. As we sat around the large round table with a varying age group of people present, one older gentleman had interesting words to share: "I have one mouth and it is meant to talk and eat!" And that's just what we did. Sharing stories of travel, family, work, health, and more - we savored one of the best meals that our Chinatown has to offer. Cheers to enjoying good food with good people~

for those with a sweet tooth

Having a strong sweet tooth, I seem to have an inner radar that goes off when there is sugar nearby. And that radar is going strong lately, as I seem to stumble upon mobile trucks that offer sugary treats everywhere I walk. And these trucks are not about mass-produced black and white cookies, but rather, each truck has a little specialty market. First off (top row of photos) is Wafels & Dinges, that makes warm original Belgium waffles to order - I regularly find them in front of Trader Joe's on 14th St. Second (middle row) is The Treats Truck, where a Brooklyn baker/driver makes cookies, brownies, squares, etc and throw them onto her truck, named "Sugar" and "Dot," to sell to people like me. I've spotted them on 6th ave and 20th but here is their posted schedule. Third up (bottom row) is Dessert Truck, that has more "fancy"-esque desserts - such as molten chocolate cake, goat cheese cake, creme brulee (one of the owners was a sous-chef at Le Cirque...ooh lala) - for spontaneous pick-me-up consumption. Their regular spot is in Cooper Square on 4th Ave and 8th St/St Marks right outside of the Astor subway stop.
Each truck has a unique and distinguishable look to them that fits the products they sell. With NY real estate being so $$, I love the idea of these mobile trucks bringing their specialties to different neighborhoods. And nothing beats the feeling of destined "oh, look what I happened to find" when strolling around. Happy eating NYers~!

matilda & alphabet city

This weekend I had a re-discovery of alphabet city! Firstly, I went to a cute Italian/Mexican restaurant called Matilda on E 11th St. between Ave B and C. The owners are a couple (wife is Tuscan and husband is Mexican) and they named their restaurant after their half and half daughter. The food is an interesting mix of both cuisines - quesadilla with prosciutto and mozarella...guacamole with chips and focaccia...mojito of prosecco and tequila and fresh fruits...and such. And the decor is this spunky little space with Italian and Spanish words written across the space in tiles. A definite recommendation.
As I walked to and from the restaurant, all I can notice are these adorable brownstones mixed with new modern buildings. And the ground level is filled with little bars and shops and boutiques that each have their own unique look - that creates a great neighborhood feel all together. As someone who misses living in Brooklyn (but still visits!), the revamped and developing alphabet city is a a great sister neighborhood. So take that L train or F train and walk your way around and discover some new favorites for yourself =)....

tokyo bar {by kashiwa sato}

I tried out Tokyo Bar, a little restaurant that specializes in Japanese-style Western food (which means, having things like omu-rice, karaage, taroko pasta, etc on their menu). I went because I am a big fan of Kashiwa Sato - the man who led the concept design of UNIQLO Soho, among other things. This guy has unstoppable vision in creating a look for a brand. [ Check out his website and you'll see what I mean... ] As if a groupie, I went to Tokyo Bar, where he was responsible with the identity. An actual visit led to discovering that this shop is an entire collaboration of various artists, including Sato, and is quite interesting. As you walk in, the walls and ceiling are covered in manga illustrations magnified in scale. Add a little neon lights, a DJ with disco ball, art installations, bedazzled bathroom signs, a full bar, a~nd we have Tokyo Bar. If you're in the Tribeca area, it's a fun visit.

smitten kitchen

I love to eat. I love to cook. Have been really taking in the importance of eating healthy, too. Easy - if you know where to look. For example, how could you not want to eat this green bean and cherry tomato salad? Like me, may you be inspired by Smitten Kitchen, a lovely food blog with mouth-watering photos. Learn some new recipes, new techniques, or even new ways to photograph food like a pro~ Bon apetit!

local winery visit

This week is starting off with rain rain and more rain. So let's just remind ourselves of the nice weather from the weekend =). And this past weekend brought a visit to the wineries in the North Folk area of Long Island. Doesn't quite reach the level of the west coast vineyards but for being only an hour and a half away, it's a nice little r+r opportunity. My favorite was Macari Vineyards, where we were welcomed by a warm staff and got to try a variety of nice whites and reds. We even sat on their patio with some cheese to soak in the fresh air. Visiting over a half dozen wineries can cause quite a *buzz* so we sobered up over some food by the waterfront and gelato at D'Latte (hi to Frank and Marcos!) in Greenport.
Helpful reviews and map for your visit >>

french cooking class

I hope everyone had a nice weekend~ There was definitely a welcoming of spring air as the sidewalks seemed to be a little more crowded and I didn't feel the need to get bundled up before heading out and about.

One of the things I headed out to was a French cooking class taught by acclaimed Chef Isokazu Mizuno (photo above left). Working in NYC as a chef specializing in French cuisine for nearly 30 years, he was formerly the executive chef at the New York Athletic Club and is currently chef de cuisine at the Waldorf-Astoria. He guided us through the making of Gratin de Coquille St Jacques (gratin of sea scallops), Seared Tuna with Sesame Dressing, Bouillabaisse (fish soup - photo above), Poulet Provençal aux Poivrons (Provence-style chicken with bell peppers), and Soufflé au Grand Marnier avec Crème Anglaise (photo above). Then, we got to sit down, eat, and enjoy this tastes-bud-exploding restaurant-quality full menu. It was SO amazing and I hope to be able to repeat this at my own home. It's another moment that I feel so fortunate having the access points to people who have so much talent in their field/industry.

una pizza napoletana

In my neighborhood, there's a really special pizza place called Una Pizza Napoletana. Whenever I go, I wonder why I'm not there WAY more often...and so this thought crossed my mind again this weekend when I went with some friends. It's a tiny cozy place that is only open from Thursday to Sunday from 5pm until whenever they run out of pizza dough. And they only have 4 items on their menu. For a laid back kind of place, there are lots of rules - only cash, limited hours, limited menu, no exceptions. But with their southern Italian style pizza made of the freshest basic ingredients (my favorite is the Filetti - top right), they not only can get away with it, but they also get a big line going out the door. There is something admirable about a business that has perfected the basic core of their product and sticks to serving just that as their niche offering. It's an East Village pick. link to Una Pizza's info

clinton street bakery + chinese new year

I had lunch with my friend at Clinton Street Baking Company. February is pancake month (left image is their menu of special pancakes) and they are serving all sorts of sweet creations. I didn't have the blood orange glaze pancake that was the special for this week, but I did get some fish tacos (lower right), fries, and a chocolate cupcake to top it all off! It's tough to get a seat here during prime hours but it's a total recommendation...

It's also Chinese New Year~ I walked over to Chinatown afterwards and there were confetti bits all over the street as I think I just missed the Firecracker Ceremony. The stores were overflowing with red and gold lanterns and paper decorations. This weekend is the full New Year Parade. Cheers to a ratty year =)