Saturday, June 2nd

An alternative to the Union Square greenmarket is the Chelsea market on 9th
Ave. between 15th and 16th Sts.

 It began as the National Biscuit Co. and now it is a long, interior of food stores, restaurants, bookstore,
and an artificial waterfall. Exiting the 10th Ave. side, walk south one block, and it leads you to the elevator to the High Line- a public park built on an historic freight rail line, elevated above the streets on Manhattan's West Side. It offers open green space for picnicking sunbathing,views of the Hudson River, and so much more.

On to dinner at Redhead; a favorite of mine, at 1st Ave. and 13th St. It's very casual with very good food at moderate prices. Originally a pub, the chef made dinner for her friends one night a week, who urged her to open a restaurant. 

Her fiends pitched in to paint the place and donate mix-matched furniture.  It is extremely successful. The only drawback is no reservations, so you must get there early to be seated. 

I ordered what they choose to call a starter, since I have a small capacity to eat a lot. Stuffed quail with
cornbread, market greens, and fig-mustard glaze.  Lovely. I paired it with a red Tempranillo Rioja.

Sunday, June 3rd

Without any knowledge of the film, except for a nice review,  I saw A Cat in Paris.

I knew it wasn't what I expected when I saw many children attending. How could this be? The movie was in French except for cerain showings. Anyhow, this hand-drawn animated film has humor, action  and harks back to film noir.  The cat, Dino, lead a double life, assisting a burglar in the alleyways of Paris.

 I enjoyed it. 

I think I went overboard in my descriptions, so I'll take leave until next weekend.

bobby

Sat. May26

Let me write about YOU this holiday week-end.It's the unofficial start of summer, so, will it be the beach, a picnic, a short sightseeing trip, or will you just sleep late, and lounge around?  It all sounds good.

 I am sticking to my routine- market in the morning and out to dinner. Someone has to batten down your households. 

Dinner was excellent at Ciano - an upper class Italian restaurant on East 22St. and Park Ave. South.  I ate papperdelle with duck ragout and pecorino. The red wine from Umbria went well with the dish. The bread
foccaccia ( I'm too lazy to check my spelling) and a roll made from pizza dough. Yummy.

Sun. May 27.

I love these holidays when everyone gets out of town, and the streets are deserted. I can walk freely without any impediment, except for the streets that have to be repaved. 

I saw the movie Moonrise Kingdom, and I loved it.  Big cast, well acted, lovely strory, poignant and funny.
My gym pal, Tom who does repair work for museums, mansions ,churches, etc. (he is a well respected worker on Tiffany pieces) designed the many-colored painting on the wall of the girl's house.

I hope you enjoyed your extended week-end as I did.

bobby

   Sat.19th 

Began as usual with a trip to the greenmarket and other errands. No mystery surrounding me. I'm a creature of habit. 

Skipping right to dinner:

My choice involved a yen for BBQ ribs, which I had at Blue Smoke - a Danny Meyer restaurant located on East 27th St. between Lexington and Park.  The ribs were yummy, but the noise level was deafening.Buy hey, one has to sacrifice sometimes.

 Sun, 20th 

 I had great plans to visit the New York botanical gardens. The weather was perfect for an outing. There is a special exhibit of Monet's flower garden at Givrney, where he spent his last years. The garden used the same flowers and arrangements as Monet created.

Alas, I spent the morning on the web and phone trying to get directions using public transportation.  It was not to be.The first set of directions called for 3 buses.  It became wearisome and frustrating, so I opted for a movie in the neighborhood.  A total cop-out. Not having planned anything to see, I wound up taking a cab, instead of a nice
walk to the theater. 

Time was short, so I saw "Dark Shadows" starring Johnny Depp, directed by Tim Burton. There was a wonderful exhibit of Tim Burton last year at MOMA,and that's what drew me. I don't usually go to Goth themed movies - not the right word, but the other (vampire-I just remembered) description went out of my head. 

I was totally unprepared but there were some very funny bits.Fans of this genre will enjoy. I followed with a lovely brunch of stuffed French toast, with a glass of white wine.  Finally, I walked home to catch up with the NY Times,  and a lovely dinner of leftover ribs.

There you have it, but not in a nutshell.   

 bobby

Mom's New York Weekend

Saturday -A.M

Off to the market to get- all together now....my priorities.....Kevin knows the answer. Yes, biscotti and pretzels. 

This doesn't mean that I neglect other items like pure apple juice, a varied selection of greens, on and on. When the biscotti vendor hs not brought them,  they hang their heads when they see me coming. I'm tough, all 90 lbs. of me.

A restful afternoon, then out for dinner at  Gravy (E.21st,betweenPark Ave.S..and Broadway,The FlatIron section of N.Y.

 I ordered the roasted Long Island duck with green tomato relish, confit of Yukon hash, and a coddled egg, which didn't belong. Otherwise it was a good choice.The food is Southern and Soul, with a bit of tweaking.

Sunday -2 P.M

I went to see The Columnist" with John Lithgow starring as Joseph Alsop,  the most powerful and most feared journalist in the country. He was feared by the Washington political world, even as far as influencing several presidentsVery fixed with his ideas and unrelenting to see the other side. While Lithgow gave a wonderful performance, I found that all that blustering 

too much noise for me. For those who don't mind, go see it.

Happy Mother's Day.

bobby

Hooray! It's Saturday morning and I don't need anything at
the market. Does that stop me from going? NO! It gives me an opportunity to get outside, and also to take a walk, which I
love doing, and the market is so colorful that that is an added joy.

After my mid-morning snack at Pret a Manger (coffe and a lemon pistachio biscotti which I just bought at the market, unashamed, I wend my way home.

A quiet afternoon spent reading and catching up on some chores. Then I'm off again to dinner at Ponty's Bistro on 3rd Ave between 18th and 19th St.They serve food that is Mediterranean, French and African.
 It was especially good because I discovered BluePlate
Special.com  on the web which entitled me to a 30% discount off the bill. Most discounts are for 2 people , which I find unfair since I am one. 

Digressing a bit....making a reservation, date, time and for one person, the reponse is Just one? I ask them if they ever say "just two?" 

Dinner was excellent as usual. I ordered the chicken tagine -a Berber dish from North Africa -chicken, babby veggies and couscous.Hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as I.

bobby

This Weekend in New York City

Hey friends...It's Bobby....


Hooray! It's the weekend.So, how did I spend it? 


Saturday takes me to Union Square, where I spend the morning at the outdoor market. In addition to the wonderful fruits and veggies, I satisfy my addictions to Martin's pretzels and to Rockhill Bakery's biscotti. 


Then on to Pret a Manger for midmorning coffee.Time to go home to read the N.Y. Times.

Dinner takes me to Aldea, a Portuguese, Mediterranean, seafood restaurant, on W. 17th St.

I had the arroz de pato (duck confit, chorizo,olives and orange),with a glass of Portuguese red wine from the Duero area.

Enough about food, though you can guess, I am obsessed with food, despite my thin body. 

Sunday is movie time, unless there is nothing to attract me, in which case I go to a museum or some other activity. This week I saw a movie made in Quebec called "Monsieur Lazhar".


It focuses on a classroom  and their teacher. I found it exremely moving and sad, although there are some light moments. 


I enjoyed it very much.

I chose the Angelica movie house in Soho because I love the area, the movie played at the right time, and it was close to a favorite place for lunch,Tarralucci et Vino on 1st Ave. and 10th St.
Lots of paninis to choose from. Finally back home,I can indulge in the Sunday N.Y.Times

See you next weekend.  


Bobby