Thoughts & Reflections

Author: karen

Lunch at Egg Shop

One nice thing about being free on a weekday is the ability to visit popular restaurants when they are not as busy (especially during weekend brunch). After discovering our original meeting place would not open until later in the day, my friend Q and I ended up walking over to Egg Shop. The last time we tried to visit Egg Shop was at the height of brunch time and meant a one-hour wait.

Not so this time. We arrived shortly before noon and found a restaurant partially full, with plenty of empty tables to choose from. Instead of sitting near the door and open windows, we opted for a seat in the back, away from the noise of active construction across the street.

Egg Shop is aptly named since it specializes in egg-based dishes. The menu comprises mostly of sandwiches or bowls. I ended up ordering the El Camino: a bowl of pulled pork, tomato, avocado, poached egg and fried tortilla strips. Q ended up with a custom sandwich: a sunny side up egg, homemade sausage, tomato jam, Gruyère on a biscuit. Her sandwich looked so good when it arrived, with egg yolk spilling out across the plate. My bowl was delicious too, though it was better when drizzled with some (possibly homemade) hot sauce available.

So that’s another restaurant I can finally cross off my list. And no long waiting queues this time, which was a definitely plus.

July 27, 2015
Summer at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

It’s been a very long time since I last visited the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, probably over a year. These days, I’ve been spending my time in the much larger New York Botanic Garden in the Bronx, since I’ve spent plenty of time in the Brooklyn gardens over the years.

On Tuesday, I revisited the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Without membership, one can visit the Garden for free either on Saturday mornings or on Tuesdays. Sometimes, it’s hard to make it down there first thing on a weekend, especially when there is subway construction. Visiting mid-week, I was also hoping to deal with smaller crowds though there were plenty of schoolchildren and strollers wandering about the grounds.

For me, one pleasant surprise I encountered were the roses. Rose season is past peak but there were still plenty of flowers to be found in the Rose Garden. This is the first time I’ve ever visited when the roses were in bloom so I spent a lot of time leisurely strolling up and down the aisles to admire the flowers.

Something else in bloom this time of year are the water lilies. There were plenty of people taking photos at the Lily Pool Terrace, particularly the really large lotus flowers that rise out from the pool.

The day was warm and humid. Fortunately, the sun was hidden behind the clouds so it kept the temperatures a little cooler in the morning and early afternoon; that made spending time outdoors a bit more enjoyable. And the rain (which wasn’t predicted for that day) held off until afternoon, so I remained mostly dry despite wandering down paths were sprinklers were watering the lawns and plants.

It was really nice to see so many of the great features and fixtures without the crowds. And the best part was being surrounded by peace and quiet, especially on many of the more secluded paths. It was definitely the best way to really enjoy and appreciate Nature.

July 23, 2015
Touring the Hermione

In 1780, the Marquis de Lafayette crossed the Atlantic again to aid the Americans in the Revolutionary War. On his second voyage, he arrived on the French frigate Hermione and arrived in Boston at the end of April. Two hundred and thirty five years later, a group of people decided to reconstruct the entire ship and bring it to life once more and retraced Lafayette’s crossing.

The Hermione has been sailing along the East Coast for the past month and it stopped in New York during the Fourth of July weekend. While it was docked at the South Street Seaport, the frigate was open to public tours so I headed down to see it for myself.

It was a very hot day when I went and the line was pretty long; I checked my watch and noted that it took two hours for me to get to the front of the queue and that was earlier in the day. Fortunately, a hat, a bottle of water and sunscreen kept me hydrated and protected from the glaring sun.

Touring the boat itself did not take very long; it’s actually a pretty small space once a person arrives on deck. We were only allowed to tour the forecastle and quarterdeck; the main deck was off-limits unless one was a VIP of some sort.

One thing I love about tall ships is the intricate rigging above one’s head. All those long, thick ropes and cables swinging out from the masthead all along the sides of the ships. Modern boats are so much more streamlined and not as fussy to deal with, so it’s nice to see a bit of rigging and imagine pirates swinging off them. And speaking of pirates, I saw one aboard the ship that day:

Overall, it was pretty fun to tour. There were so many people aboard at any given moment it made it hard to really appreciate being on the boat but at least I did get a chance to visit. Climbing up and down the gangplank was a little tricky, particularly for elderly visitors, but there were people of all ages who wanted to come check it out. After that, I went back to the pier and looked at the little village stands that were set up to educate people at the ship and what life was like back in the 1700s.

There were also people dressed up in period clothes, portraying (French and American) soldiers and peasants.

There was one other tall ship docked at the seaport, a Spanish galleon aptly named El Galeón. It wasn’t open for tours the day I went but unlike the Hermione, one had to pay admission to board as well. From the view I had of El Galeón from the pier, it was no less spectacular. It’s going to be in town through mid-August, so I may check it out at some point this summer.

July 14, 2015
Bonjour Brussels

One thing I envy those living in Europe is how easy it is to hop on a plane or train for a few short hours and quickly end up in another country. In the brief time we were in France, P and I set aside one day for a quick trip to Brussels. It’s a 90-minute ride from Paris to Brussels and since our hotel was right near the Gare du Nord, it was a walk to the train station from our hotel on a mostly quiet Monday morning.

We arrived at Brussels-Midi station and then took a tram to the town center, which seems to be the only part of town that was busy. Like in France, the Monday we were there was a public holiday (coincidentally the same day as Memorial Day) so most stores and businesses were closed for the day. This at least made our itinerary pretty short and we were able to see the things we wanted to see in the few hours we were there.

The Grand Place dominates the medieval heart of the city, with all the gilded and ornate buildings surrounding the square. Again, there were cobblestones everywhere so yet another day for more aching feet (and alas, no change of shoes all day) but we managed to keep going. We walked along the side streets surrounding the square first, just to see what shops there were and to decide where to spend our Euros later in the day.

I was enamored with the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert with its wonderful glass-covered arcades and all the sweet shops inside. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve seen so many patisseries clustered together in one place ever. In general, there were so many delicious sweets on display both in the arcade and in the shops all around the main square.

But first, we needed lunch. P had visited Brussels before and was leading the way to a good restaurant she had dined at on a previous trip so we made our way there. We arrived only to find it wasn’t open that day. Oops. Fortunately, that street was lined with many restaurants so there were plenty of other options and we ended up at L’Huîtrière. Many restaurants had outdoor seating and we were seated in a white tent on Place Sainte-Catherine.

The menu offered a lunch set consisting of a starter, entrée and dessert and we went with that.

We both ordered the mussels as a starter (the other choices were a fish soup or shrimp and cheese croquettes). The Moules St Catherine is a plate of mussels gratin covered in tomato sauce and served with a herb and garlic sauce in the middle. It was pretty tasty, despite the cheese (fortunately, it was easy to scrape to the side) and I really loved the herb sauce; I kept dipping slices of bread into it.

For the entrée, I went with the cod (served with a white butter sauce and chive) while P chose the steak (with a pepper cream sauce). The fish wasn’t bad but I wasn’t a fan of the creamy sauce (that’s just me). P’s entrée came with a side of frites which was nice and honestly, her steak looked to be the better dish. And there was only one dessert available as part of the lunch set, which was the chocolate mousse. The mousse was delicious, but P and I had some trouble identifying the edible decoration on top. Definitely not a cherry but I think we concluded that it was a tomato of some sort. (Note – Dec 11): Many months after I wrote this up, I learned that the fruit is actually a cape gooseberry.)

Lunch done, we stopped to admire St. Catherine’s Church at the end of the plaza before making our way back to Grand Place. There were a few shops that were definitely on to-visit list, mainly because P came with a shopping list. One place we had to visit was Maison Dandoy, a bakery that’s over a century old. They sell prepacked boxes of biscuits as well as several varieties in loose form (sold by the gram). I bought a box of speculoos cookies and some ginger and Earl Grey biscuits.

The other place on our to-visit list was De Biertempel, which one can deduce from its name sells beer. P had to buy certain bottles for her husband; since I don’t drink, I ended up purchasing an inexpensive Trappist beer for my sister.

After most of our shopping was done, we made our way to one of the more famous landmarks in Brussels.

The infamous Manneken Pis. It’s tucked into a corner just off the Grand Place but there’s always a crowd in front of the fountain so it’s a bit hard to miss; I had to squeeze through the horde of people to get a decent photo. On the day we were there, the statue was shown in all its nude glory but at times, the boy will be wearing some very interesting costumes.

Once I took enough pictures of the fountain, it was time to sample one last Belgian specialty: the Belgian waffle. Mussels, chocolate (in mousse form), beer were already scratched off the list but we saved the waffle for last. One of the streets that lead to the fountain is lined with shops that sell waffles. We bought from a shop that was right near the fountain and had a high turnover. P bought a plain waffle, which costs €1 at all of the shops while I went with a strawberry and confectioners sugar topping. Hot and toasty, one can’t beat a waffle fresh off the grill.

After finishing the delicious snack, we returned to the Grand Place and started to make our way back to the train station. I think we had about an hour’s wait before boarding and we spent much of the time standing around and watching the departures board along with everyone else to see where to go. The trip back to Paris wasn’t too bad though there was an incident involving the two women who sat behind us (one spent too much time talking on the phone and annoyed the person who sat next to her) but for the most part, it wasn’t too bad. At least we could give our feet a rest.

July 12, 2015
Visiting Versailles

A visit to Paris is never complete without a visit to Versailles as well. Mindful of the crowds, we made the palace our first stop on our first full day in France. After a little hassle buying our train tickets (coin-only vending machines are so not our friends) and figuring out which train would get us there, we boarded an early train that arrived just as the château was opening for the day.

As we approached the gates, we could see the long queues for the security check and I walked very quickly to the ticket hall knowing we’d have a long wait ahead of us. There were signs everywhere cautioning the presence of pickpockets and sure enough, there was a commotion at the head of the line that involved a thief, an Asian tour group and a fight. Thankfully the guards came quickly though the line was stalled as they sorted things out.

There were plenty of people wandering inside the Palace by the time we made it inside. It was a slow moving procession at first but we squeezed through the larger groups and there was a bit more breathing room once we got past the Royal Chapel. Versailles is a lot like other grand palaces open to the public; it reminded me a lot of Schönbrunn Palace, where we just walked from room to room admiring all the grand furniture, richly decorated walls and large portraits of royalty hung in every room.

I think I liked the larger halls better since there was a lot more space and not as dimly lit as some of the royal apartments were. The Hall of Mirrors was spectacular, especially by daylight with the sun reflecting off all the mirrored panels, gilded decorations and on the sparkling chandeliers. I also liked The Battles Gallery, not only for the grand paintings of famous battles involving France but also for the beautiful glass ceiling above our heads.

We exited the palace from the back which led to the great gardens that formed Louis XIV’s backyard. The grounds are huge, spreading out literally as far as the eye could see. Sculptured lawns, broad allées and plenty of water features to catch one’s eye. The most prominent thing to see from the steps of the palace is the Grand Canal as it stretched further and further back. At the end closest to the palace, rowboats are docked along the side, available as rentals to traverse the canal.

There are several admission tiers to the Palace of Versailles. P and I bought the Passport, which includes the main Palace as well as two smaller ones some distance away. A tram runs between all three palaces but it costs extra. We opted to just stroll through the gardens but the map does not reveal just how extensive the grounds really are when traveling on foot; in hindsight, the price of the tram would have been well worth the cost because we were exhausted by the time we reach the Grand and Petit Trianon.

Unfortunately for us, we had arrived too early. After the grueling hike to get there, we found out that both the Grand and Petit Trianon would not open until noon, which left many people (us included) wandering around the nearby gardens to kill time. I suppose that was a good thing after all since our sore feet deserved a much needed rest.

We ended up visiting the Petit Trianon first since it was slightly closer to where we sat waiting for the palaces to open. There was a lovely and tiny courtyard through which we passed to get into the Petit Trianon and once inside, we saw it was really petit, when compared with the main palace. It’s much more comparable to the large mansions of modern day.

Petite as it may be, there are some lovely and large (by modern standards) gardens around the Petit Trianon. Winding paths around the back run parallel to a small lake that eventually leads to a sculpture of Cupid in the Temple of Love in the English Garden. Taking another route would bring a visitor to the French Garden. The garden connects the Grand Trianon to the Petit Trianon and we were hoping to use it as shortcut but alas, it wasn’t opened that day.

We ended up retracing our steps from earlier that morning and entered the Grand Trianon by its main entrance. After seeing so many elaborate rooms, they nearly all looked the same after a point. There were fancy rooms, more paintings but also a lovely peristyle that connected the different wings and provided easy access to the gardens out back. We didn’t stroll through the grounds this time, having seen enough trees and landscaped shrubbery.

After five hours at Versailles, I think we covered about 85% of the entire estate. Our feet really were too tired to do any more walking; there were plenty of cobblestones in the courtyard and the grounds weren’t always level so we did walk uphill at some points. My only regret is that we skipped out on the Hamlet near the Petit Trianon. It would have been interesting to walk through but I do think it would have to be on another visit.

July 2, 2015
Three Meals a Day in Paris, Part 2

I hope I didn’t make people too hungry with the previous post—I have a tendency to do that with food posts on every blog I’ve created in the past.

I had my first crêpe in Paris at Crêperie Suzette in the Marais district. It was lunchtime and tempting as it was to go sweet, I opted for a savory galette instead. Since I am anti-fromage, I ended up with the only one that did not include cheese (mine came with topped with spinach, cream tomato coulis and basil). And of course, I cannot say no to a pot of (Darjeeling) tea. P went for something different and ordered the colorful Niçoise salad.

For the second night in a row, we stuck to dinner near the hotel and it was more Middle Eastern food. This time, we went to Zarame, a Lebanese restaurant. The two of us ordered shawarma plates; I think P had the chicken and I went with a mixed plate of beef and chicken. The platters were huge: slices of marinated and roasted meats with sides of potatoes, hummus, baba ghanoush, and salad. There was also a basket of warm fluffy pita bread for dipping into those delicious mezzes. And I washed it down with a pot of mint tea.

We were gifted a free dessert: Katayef, a Lebanese crêpe with a cream or custard filling, sitting in a pool of orange blossom syrup. It was a very nice and thoughtful way to end the meal. The staff was very friendly and the food was good (and healthy too).

Sunday is traditionally a day when most businesses (food and retail) are closed; that somewhat limited our choices of where to eat from the (incomplete because I left the other pages at the office) list I brought with me. I definitely wanted to check out Poilâne and with multiple locations in Paris, at least one of them was open on Sunday so that’s where we went for lunch.

The Le Marais location of Poilâne offers meal sets for different times of the day. The lunch set includes a soup or salad as a starter, a tartine or a salad entrée, a drink (wine or water) and coffee or tea. One can order à la carte as well but the lunch set was a a good deal for €14,50. I opted for the starter salad and the tartine sardines (sardines, butter, horseradish, wine vinegar, and herbs on sourdough); I was tempted to go for the tartine ecrevisses (crayfish tartine) but the sardine one appealed to me more and it was different, interesting and delicious. I finished off with a pot of green tea while P (who chose the tartine poulet) had a cup of coffee; our drinks were served with a little spoon-shaped biscuit on the side.

We did have Asian food one night in Paris, and of course it simply had to be Vietnamese. Fortunately, Time Out recently published a list of recommendations and after narrowing it down, we ended up going to L’Indochine. We were handed the French version of the menu (they did have English versions but we didn’t know that until another party came in well after us) but it wasn’t too difficult to read even with lapsed lessons in French. I ordered the Pho Dac Biet, which has beef served in various formats, including beef balls. P had the Pho Tai, which is more what I’m used to ordering at home. The bowls came in two sizes and we both chose the small. There were the usual accompaniments but what I liked was inclusion of shacha sauce, which is not an option at my usual Vietnamese places. The only disappointment was the lack of tripe in our bowls, but we got over it quickly enough.

Hot bowls of pho were perfect for the cool evening weather and we washed it down with limeade (me) and a mango milkshake. And I left room for dessert too. From the menu, I went with the Che Khoai Mon: a bowl of tapioca pearls with taro, pandan leaves and coconut milk. It’s definitely not something I’ve seen in New York Vietnamese restaurants (most of them don’t offer desserts). The Che Khoai Mon was different and tasty.

The last dinner (if one wants to call it that) in Paris was so plain compared to all others. We ended up walking from our hotel towards the Metro station and discovered a tiny Halal crêperie inside/next to an electronics shop. For all our walking along that street every day for a week, it was the first time we actually saw the shop, probably because we were walking on the other side of the street for once. Like La Varangue, the crêperie was a one-man operation. There were savory and sweet crêpes available but I wasn’t terribly hungry and went with a simple sugar crêpe. I wish I was more hungry though; the chicken tandoori crêpe sounded most intriguing and I wanted to try it too.

But that wasn’t the very last meal I had in France. This was:

Breakfast at the airport: a cup of tea and a vanilla whole milk yogurt from Paul, and a day-old (but still tasty) croissant from a bakery near the hotel. The yogurt was delicious and came in a black terracotta cup that I considered keeping but couldn’t come up with any good use for it (and there was no resealable cover). Actually, all the yogurt I had in Paris was good and that’s why I’ve been craving it since I returned, though I have yet to find one at home just as good.

June 22, 2015
Three Meals a Day in Paris, Part 1

After five days in Paris, I returned home and refused to eat croissants, baguettes, other Viennoiserie and French desserts for about a week. It’s not that our local patisseries and bakeries churn out inferior goods, but I just had too many sweet things far too often during my trip so I needed a short break from them all. (Though, I did end up craving strawberries and yogurt once I was home because I ate a lot of those things and did not have enough.)

With the exception of breakfast (included with our hotel booking, so the first meal of the day was ever constant), pretty much every meal we ate was something slightly different. From the tiny French restaurant for dinner on our first night to the hole-in-the-wall crêperie on our last, the food was pretty delicious no matter what type of meal it was.

Here’s a look at our main meals in Paris.

Our very first meal in the City of Lights was dinner at La Varangue. My guidebook referred to it as a ‘one man shop’, though Philippe, the owner/chef did have a young assistant the night we ate there. Tiny restaurant, simple but good food, and very reasonable prices. P started off with an appetizer of cassolette d’escargots which was fine but really, I don’t get the hype about eating snails—it’s totally not my thing. Entrées were confit de carnad (duck leg) for P and I had the filet de poulet (a moist chicken breast with potatoes and rosemary sauce). And we finished off with a slice of gâteau au chocolat, though it was hard to choose between that and the crème brûlée. The chocolate cake was delicious and not too sweet. I normally can’t eat much the first night I’m abroad but this time, it worked out well and we didn’t overdo things on our first day.

We paid for breakfast at the hotel so that’s what we ate every day; I would have liked to have gone out to eat but with our crazy morning schedule, it made more sense to grab food downstairs and then head out to our first destination of the day. Each morning was a variation of eggs, meat (bacon, sausage or the charcuterie plate), beans, bread (mini baguette, croissants, or slices from rustic loaves), some veggies (tomatoes, cucumbers), fruit, and yogurt. And always a cup of tea and a glass of juice (orange or grapefruit). And this was why I avoided eating English or continental style breakfasts for at least a week after I returned home.

Lunch and dinner were slightly more interesting during the next several days.

A very late lunch at Fauchon on our second day meant there wasn’t as much variety left in the takeaway area of the café. I made do with a sandwich (smoked salmon with a yogurt dressing and mint), a green juice and a fruit cup that looked like a parfait of jewels. I was fascinated by the sandwich packaging; all of the sandwiches were stored in cute resealable bags ready to grab and go for an afternoon picnic.

The fancy takeaway lunch was followed by a very casual takeaway dinner. There are plenty of restaurants near our hotel and we ended up wandering down a street that had many eateries. Because of the late lunch, I wasn’t too hungry for dinner and ended up ordering a chicken sandwich (more of a wrap) at a Middle Eastern fast food place called Nassim. The sandwich was part of a set meal that also included fries and a soda; the mojito-flavored 7-Up tasted nothing like a mojito but a very sweet fizzy limeade. Maybe I should’ve grabbed the tropical flavored 7-Up instead.

Trying to cover all our meals in one post was a bit much so more food posts will be coming up, but I think we ate well enough on our first two days in France.

June 17, 2015
A Walk on the High Bridge

Many years ago, during one of the earliest Open House NY weekends, I traveled uptown to tour the High Bridge Water Tower. The views from the top of the Tower were wonderful and one thing I saw that caught my eye was the old High Bridge. The bridge had been closed for several decades and I had hoped the city would reopen it one day—and that day finally arrived last week.

High Bridge is the oldest in the city, dating back to 1848. It used to carry water from the Croton Aqueduct into the city; the design of the bridge was to mimic old Roman aqueducts and it must have looked grand in its heyday. About a third of the original stone arches were demolished (sigh) back in the 1920s so boats could navigate the Harlem River more easily so we’re left with clashing architectural features; I suppose it could have been worse and at least some of the stonework remain intact.

I traveled to Highbridge Park on Saturday and then made my way to the stairs that lead down to the bridge. The descent is pretty steep with lots of steps and I was already dreading the climb back up when I was ready to leave. There is a slightly easier access via another road in the park but it went further south than I needed to be.

Currently, a thank you sign greets visitors at the base of the stairs, and people have added their names and their thanks to all the organizations that have helped to reopen the bridge. From there, make a left and soon the bridge comes in sight. To be honest, the Manhattan side of the bridge itself isn’t much fun to look at; most of the original stone arches are located on Bronx side.

The day was really nice and the views up and down the Harlem River weren’t shabby. On the north side were views of more bridges while the south side offered glimpses of downtown and midtown skyscrapers depending on where one stood.

The bricks on the walkway have been replaced but the original layout was kept; I noticed that the design changed where I presumed was the midpoint of the bridge.

All along the walkway were metal plaques embedded into the brickwork. Each one showed a different facts about the bridge, such as when it opened and how it was constructed. Some of the illustrations on the plaques were really nice; I liked the scene depicting visitors who came to see the bridge on a day trip.

I walked all the way to the Bronx side and admired the view from there, with the Water Tower dominating the landscape. It would have made sense to just take a subway from there downtown but the train I needed to take was back on the Manhattan side and I didn’t mind crossing the river again. And once I finally caught my breath after ascending those dreaded stairs, I snapped a parting shot of the Water Tower.

June 15, 2015
A Long Holiday Weekend in Paris

One comment I often get when discussing potential travel plans with others is, “Oh, you should go to Paris”. I don’t disagree but somehow I always end up somewhere else when I visit Europe. If the decision was mine alone, I would usually choose London since it’s one of my favorite cities in the world though I also want to visit other parts of the UK as well (Edinburgh, Oxbridge and Brighton are still on my to-visit list).

But now, I can finally cross the City of Lights off my list. I spent a very long (for me, that is) Memorial Day weekend in France and Belgium, traveling with my friend P. She wanted to take a trip this year and I happily agreed to be her traveling companion; it was a new experience since I’ve known her longer than most of my friends (she and my sister went to school together) but this was the first time we traveled together. P made all the arrangements and we set off for Paris on her birthday.

While this was my first trip to Paris, P had been there before some years ago but she didn’t mind revisiting the famous and heavily trafficked landmarks. Of course, there were visits to the Louvre (Mona Lisa, check. Venus de Milo, done. The Winged Victory of Samothrace, ditto.), the Place de la Concorde, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Champs Elysées.

There was a stroll along the Seine on our first afternoon, crossing the river at Pont Neuf and browsing the famous book stalls on the Left Bank. We were lucky to see the Pont des Arts with love locks intact; Paris officials finally removed them last week and I can’t say I disagree with that choice. A few days later, we hopped on a boat for a one-hour cruise on the Seine, starting at the Eiffel Tower and heading west to the tip of Île Saint-Louis before turning back. And all along the river were Parisians sitting by the banks, chatting the night away with food, drinks and their friends.

We saw both the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe up close but did not climb to the top of either; the lines were insane for the former (even during late evenings) and we arrived too early for the latter to be open. One nice thing about visiting Paris this time of year is the long daylight; sunset began around 9:30pm and it was very hard to want to return to the hotel when there was still a lot of natural light outside. We made the most of it by wandering around the streets of Paris until it grew dark; even then, there were still plenty of people picnicking on the Champ de Mars or having a late (for me) dinner at the bistros.

People have asked me what my favorite part of the trip was and honestly, I don’t think there was any particularly outstanding moment in my mind. Because we were there for such a short time, we crammed as much as we could in the first few days and a lot of it went by almost in a blur. It also didn’t help that the weekend we were there happened to be a public holiday in France so while stores were normally closed on Sundays, many shops and restaurants did not open on Monday either so that meant all our shopping had to be done in between all of the cultural visits.

Even so, I think it was amazing how much we did see in such a short time though our feet were so sore every evening by the time we returned to the hotel. One thing I now have a temporary aversion to are cobblestone streets; walking on uneven, unpaved surfaces were brutal, no matter which pair of shoes I wore nor how often we changed them during the day. Stone streets are lovely to look at but not for ideal for walking hours on.

Stay tuned for more about my trip (and of course, the food).

June 8, 2015
Dominique Ansel Kitchen

Have Cronuts become passé yet? I’ve given up trying to snag one without having to get up at a godforsaken hour and standing in line and decided it’s really not worth it. There are always lines at Dominique Ansel’s Soho bakery for either Cronuts in the morning or the Cookie Shots in the afternoon. And after a visit to his new bakery in the West Village, I think I never need to go to his original location again.

There had been a lot of press about Dominique Ansel Kitchen even before it opened; I read some of the reviews but kept my expectations low knowing how things ran at the Bakery. It’s been open for a while now but I finally went on Sunday with my friend Queenie. It was to be lunch for her and an afternoon tea break for me since I had lunch a few hours earlier. The premise for Kitchen is to serve a lot more made-to-order dishes (both savory and sweet) though there were still many things that can be ordered to go easily.

I had my eye on a Fraisier in the refrigerated counter but decided it was probably time to eat something that did not contain strawberries for once, given my recent berry cravings. Instead, I opted for the matcha beignets and the whole vanilla bean ice cream. And this is what they looked like when the waitress brought both to our outdoor table.

The beignets were light and airy, and the matcha flavor was very subtle that I could barely taste it when it’s mixed with confectioner’s sugar. It was good that I was wearing a green skirt that day too since I ended up getting sugar all over the table and in my lap. The ice cream was really delicious as well, creamy and smooth and a good vanilla flavor.

Queenie had ordered both savory sweet items. Her lunch was the Spring Vegetable en Papillote with Farro: vegetables and a softly cooked egg baked in parchment. It looked really good and would probably be something I would order if I wanted a healthy meal. As for the something sweet, it was the very popular (there were other tables besides ours that ordered it) Extra Fluff Mille Feuille.

I dubbed it as the leaning tower of custard and flaky pastry; it really was leaning and Queenie had to nudge it to keep it standing straight before she finally ate it. Each layer of pastry was at least an inch high. I didn’t try any of it as I had enough desserts in front of me but definitely something to keep in mind on a future visit… unless there’s something else new and tasty that would catch my attention.

June 3, 2015