PASSOVER & PIZZA

Artichoke Pizza

 We'll start with the pizza... well, because it's pizza.  Melty, cheesy, doughy pizza.  it was a pizza week and if you had a look at me recently, you could definitely tell that true story.  Artichoke pizza after work on the way to meet some friends for a drink on 14th St. and 2nd.  This is a white-style pizza with artichoke and spinach.  There is always a line outside of Artichoke pizza but I didn't have to wait that long as it wasn't the drunken hour or a weekend.  It was tasty, creamy and thick-crusted but very very greasy.  I could see how this could be absolutely incredible at 3am.

Justino's Margarita

This next pizza was brought to me by my awesome Producer* at work from a lil joint called "Justino's"on 57th & 10th Ave.  It's the most delicious non famous by new yorkers' pizza.  You can taste all the fresh ingredients in the tomato sauce, basil and salt, and garlic yes garlic!  It looked to me like how the pizza in Naples, Italy was made right before our eyes in a little cafe next to Pompeii.  Dollops of fresh mozzarella speckled the pie and expand as they melt into the sauce.  Mmmmmm.

 This mushroom garlic delight also from Justino's for one friday lunch was incredible.  I loved these mushrooms... A week later our boss ordered a whole mushroom pie from said pizzeria, late one night upon my request, and they used just regular boring white mushrooms that shriveled up in the oven.  So, I believe, this is a walk-in specialty.
 

South Brooklyn Gramma

Then, my final piece late one night was from South Brooklyn Pizza, same place i've written about before, around the corner from my apt on St. Marks & 1st.  They have only 2 available slices at any given time.  Usually a Gramma's pie, square in shape, with mixed ingredients including some delicious sausagy thing or pancetta, and a traditional margarita pizza slice.  It is damn good and fresh.  Although i had to go back inside to have them heat my slice up bc the lazy kid who works there only put my slice in the oven for all of 20 seconds.  There's a big wheel of cheese in the window of the store front and they grate fresh chez on top of every warm slice.  Also, there's fresh roasted garlic spread on the counter.

Lasagna Pie -dollops of ricotta, what!!?

  

Who found the afikomen?

On the Saturday of Passover I woke up excited for events to come!  I jogged (or rather bolted bc of course i was running late) to the Soho Yogaworks studio to do something with my damn self!  It was beautiful!  I may have to join yogaworks in LA when i get home bc now i'm spoiled.  The class was hard but great and I weaved through the streets of soho & nolita to make my way back home to the EV.  On my walk I discovered D'Espana Foods, an authentic spanish meat and cheese and tapas market & eatery.  Salted Cod spread on toast with melted cheese on top... ahh reminded me of the best part of Spain.  Did I mention they have multiple spanish sausage, jamon & cheese samples throughout the store? 

The Brothers Schwartzberg 2 & 3.

Brother 1 (Michael) with Kaiya

Dave's adorable niece Kaiya

Pickles and manischevitz, wowzas!

I got home and Dave said we had to leave in like an hour to make the North train up to Westchester, NY.  So I quickly showered, took off my chipped-away nail polish & headed to Grand Central Station with Dave and brother Dan.  It was Passover with the Schwartzbergs!  And best of all, I get to meet Kaiya, Dave's adorable niece.  Dave's oldest brother looks just like Dave but with darker brown hair... All the damn Schwartzberg men look alike, even Pops.  The nuclear family all got together in Larchmont and drove to Scarsdale to meet the extended family.  Say it with me, "Scaaaaarrrrsssdale"  Uncles, aunts, & cousins... I could interchange them for any other jewish family, we're all so similar, innately neurotic and loud!  No songs (minus Dayenu) with this bunch but I didn't miss it too much as I get to sing with my own extended family of crazies every year.  After the delicious dinner and slightly more hebrew-involved Haggadah, the patriarch of the house, Dave's uncle, proceeded to turn the attention over to me, the lucky guest.  So..."whats your story pretty lady?"  "Well, your awesome nephew married my husband and I in California"  "Are you insane?... Are you sure you're really married?  I would double-check that certificate to make sure"  Half the family gathered over to my end of the table to question me about a million other things, it was pretty entertaining.  I survived this passover adventure!

...needless to say, I didn't keep kosh for passover this time :-)

*shout-out Mr. Drew Seltzer, stepped up and came to.

CULTURE AND FOOD, clearly

It all started with my first street hot dog...  I worked through lunch and decided to finally try the vendor parked outside my office building.  $1.50 ma'am.  It probably helped that it was 4pm and I was starving, but this NY hotdog loaded up with everything really hit the spot!  Yum... I'd totally get one again.  The halal cart food that is all the rage nowadays hurt my stomach, so I was extra pleased with my traditional hot dog.

It was Benny Schaefer's birthday party on Friday night at The Gutter, a multi-purpose bowling alley, bar and venue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  I took the whole Brooklyn-themed evening by storm and ventured out to meet my old friend Meryl and her roommates at a bar near her house in Prospect Heights.  I was deep in a strange world when i emerged from the subway but luckily I figured out the right direction to walk on Washington St and I found the bar they were at.  After a few g and t's I wrangled the ladies to the party.  I was very excited to be bringing a gaggle of girls to the party since it's all dudes in my group.  We got there around 1130 and didn't even bowl until after 1am!  Who bowls at 130am???
I loved this bowling alley!  It was very old school, only about 10 lanes, very intimate and cozy... Quite the experience.

Most delicious soft shell crab ever at Upstate

Prawns!

The next day was a wash for me because in so many words I was extremely hungover... and I ruined my Saturday.  I was so disappointed with myself for wasting a perfectly awesome weekend day that I vowed to be super productive on Sunday, and I did, but not before indulging in some oysters and softshell crab with Dave...

The next morning I woke up with a plan! I feel like my weekends are dwindling down and I need to get a move on!  It was raining, so the orange raincoat was in play.  I walked about 13 blocks north to Ess-a-bagel, the first bagel place I went to in NY about 5 weeks prior, where I had the best bagel of my life.  Last time it was a thursday morning, a little different than a Sunday morning.  The line was ridiculous!  It snaked three times inside the tiny bagel shop, but it was moving so I went for it.  Most people would have said, 'forget it' and moved on, but not this soloman-3000.  This time I tried their salmon salad on an everything bagel and cream cheese... So worth it!  I didn't finish the other half, thank the lord, so I gave it to a bum and he was very happy about it.  Everybody loves bagels!

Trump Tower

Central Park & 5th Ave

After figuring out where and what train to take, I walked west on 23rd St about 6 avenues to Madison Sq Park and took the train to Central Park area.  After snapping a few photos on 5th Ave I made it to MOMA, the museum of modern art.  Molly was the one who reminding me what a great museum it was, so I seized the day.  

The Plaza Hotel

The Peninsula Hotel

I only planned on hitting up 2 floors of some of my favorite styles, impressionism & surrealism, but I decided to take a quick glance through today's art gallery.  It was mostly installations and films.  Then I stumbled upon a printmaking exhibit and finally a special Diego Rivera exhibit.  It was staged the exact same way his 1930s exhibit at MOMA looked, which I thought was pretty sweet.  I love him!  My favorite is the Indian Warrior.  

Rivera's Indian Warrior, much more powerful in person!

 

A couple hours later I left the museum and continued on my productive Sunday.  I strolled passed Radio City Music Hall & 30 Rockefeller Center… it was hard not to imagine Liz Lemon bursting out through the bronze doors.  I guess I walked past Magnolia Bakery and snapped a photo of pie making in progress!   

 

Pickles at the counter of Katz Delicatessen

I hopped on the subway and met Dave back in our neighborhood, this time at KATZ Deli!  Finally I was going to try this sucker out!  It was the perfect late lunch.  I opted for a half pastrami and a cup of Matzah ball soup.  Dave went corned beef reuben.  They were stellar sandwiches!  In order to walk it off we cruised down into the little streets of the lower east side, where I fell in love with all of it’s charm!; little boutiques, darling restaurants and dive-y bars.  I can’t wait to come back here at night.  We came across a totally random shoe store owned by a religious jew, they had some nice looking shoes outside so I forced Dave to stop in and he found some classy looking blue shoes.  He was on the verge of purchase when he noticed several Walt Clyde Fraizer from the Knicks' signed photos all over the store and it was a done deal!                                      I found myself a boutique and did a little clothes shopping of my own.  Great finish to a productive new york rainy day!

Katz deliciousness

Raincoat Sunday

CITY SCENES

Chinatown backdrops

Running south at dusk

Just a few blocks away from the east side trash obscenely piled up on sidewalks you can find moments of beauty... Natural and architectural.  When it's clear, the east river at sunset flows under the impressive bridges...  The southern skyscrapers in uniform shades of grey tower over a mismatched Chinatown... Like a scene out of an Ayn Rand Novel... Buildings so old and so high.  Day to day we look left and right but not up... If i look up too long while en route I'll crash into someone or fall into a trapdoor.  So I stop constantly and look up.

Street steam at Houston & 1st Ave

Sunset on Williamsburg bridge

Apples at Lincoln Center

Famous shot on Led Zepplin's "Physical Graffiti" Album cover (also across the street from my APT!!!!)

Alphabet City River

THE WEEKEND OF JAY

Jay, Kyle, me and Julie San

Friday night I met Jay, Ms. Julie Duffield, Ms. Kyle Silveri AND Mr. Doug Busch in Carroll Gardens, BK!  That is Kyle and Doug's neighborhood.  It was adorable!  Quieter with stoops, that's how I'd describe it... but still a fun strip of bars and restaurants to gallivant to.  We couldn't get into the restaurant we planned on (1hr 1/2 wait... like woah) but we did come across a nice lil gem with german sauasage specialities, pizza and a BOOT.  Kyle and Jay may have decided to take on a whole boot of beer near the end of our meal, good times had by all!

Boot down!

Kyle and Doug are hilarious and ridiculous, see below, and it was so so nice to see Julie!!  She's a serious teacher-type so my late night work and drinking schedule don't always match up with hers... more hang-outs to come!!  Also her amazing sister Sara just had her second baby boy a few days before this meet up so we got to hear all about Finley!  Hope I get to meet the lil tike when I go down to Jersey!

A picture tells a thousand words...

Saturday morning we woke up excited for Lisa Kanfer to come into town!!  I dragged Jay across town to a museum before she got here... but not just any museum, the Natural History Museum!  Jay was delighted that it wasn't art and we ran through it.  Earth sciences, marine biology and dinosaurs... you can't go lose.  The big blue whale was awesome, Jay was going nuts in the fish rooms (he knows every species of fish, obvi) and with 15 minutes left we found the dinosaurs (my fave).  What's your favorite dinosaur??  Stegosaurus!! 

Chelsea Market

We took the subway back downtown to the Chelsea Market and met Lisa and her in-laws.  I was pretty impressed with this so-called market.  I've heard about it and seen it on the food network, but it was a little too crowded to enjoy... Jay was especially impressed with the lobster place and everyone eating straight lobsters on a plate.  We noshed on some lunch, jay pasta and me gourmet grilled cheese.  We cabbed it back to my apartment and lounged for a little while until it was time to hit the town.

Jay, wearing Marin's signature SU shade

The three of us met my friends at The Ainsworth, a classy sports bar in Gramercy/Chelsea area.  I loved it because there was space to move around, unlike the sports bars in the village... stupid NYU kids.  Anyways, it was a little bittersweet bc Syracuse got knocked out of the tourney that night... but we drowned our sorrows in drafts and Dave had to stop Jay from beating up a drunk guy bc he kept drunkenly stumbling into us ladies.  good times.  


It was also Julia, Lisa's good good friends dirty thirty bday party, so we met them at a swanky Soho establishment called Merc Bar.  It was a little too clean and snooty for da boys so they didn't stay very long, especially since the promise of a large harem didn't really come to fruition.  But Jay, Benny, Dave and I stayed and boogied with Lisa and old old friends from high school, Emily Abrams and Lauren Kunick!  It was nice to be reacquainted with the BH ladies.

---->  Julia (HB 30!!!) & Lisa

Yuca Bar/Cafe

Sunday morning Lisa, Jay and I wandered around the hood for a brunch spot.  The cold front came in and none of us were quite prepared... luckily the Yuca Cafe's menu around the corner looked tasty so we warmed up quick.... the mimosas helped me too.  I had the yuca benedict which consisted of a fried yuca cake as the english muffin and guacamole which wasn't half bad for not being in California, you'll find i'm slightly biased about our avocados.  I would totally go back to this place, it was lively and delicious.  We parted ways with Lisa after brunch and went back to the pad.  I only had another hour or so with Jay until he had to leave for the airport.  This time, our separation felt so real and I felt sad.  Sadder than i've been in the past 3 weeks without him... It's because I've been riding so high on my NYC adventure that I didn't have time to miss my husband, but now that he's come and spent time with me, it awakened the reality that I don't see him everyday... and as soon as he got in the cab and I came back up into my single apartment and turned the lock, I started to cry.  It'll probably be almost 5 weeks until I see him again.  I know time flies here in NY, at least for me it does, but it's still daunting to know he's gone and I miss him so.

THE WEEK OF JAY

 My baby came to visit!!!  He came in Monday night and was waiting for me in my apartment when I got home from work!  I was so excited to see him and show him around, pro-new yorker style.  1st order of business, pizza!  I discovered this tiny joint around the corner from me on 1st ave. with no sign.  I walked by it for 2 weeks without noticing it.  One night I saw a couple hipster looking dudes outside the store shoving pizza in their mouths and as I leaned in to see the source of this scrumptious looking delight the hipster mumbled, "this is the best freakin pizza in town, no joke!"  I was baffled, "what, the best pizza is here, around the corner from me!"  Get out!  I noticed the giant wheels of cheese in the store window, ran inside, asked how late they were open and the obvious response was, "till 5am, 7 days a week"...as if that was actually a normal response.... NYC is cray cray!  A few days later I realized that this $4 a slice pizza is really delicious!  It's called South Brooklyn Pizza and they have several locations.

Gramma's Pie, South Brooklyn Pizza

 So, we munched on some slices and started walking the East Village blocks... He was just as excited about all the eye candy as I've been, my neighborhood is cool!  We met Dave at a bar, Sophie's I believe and knocked a few down.  P.s. I'm not so sure about the current facial hair do he's rocking but he wears it well!  I guess that's what happens when wifey leaves for 3 months; hubbie buys a ton of electronics and toys, experiments with facial hair patterns and lets the head hair grow out of control.  He can do whatever though, as he's taking good care of my babies, Max and Mona, all by his lonesome!  apparently he's letting all kinds of illegal 100 lb dog action up on the bed while I'm gone too!  but that's another story :-)

Oh and we may have had a late night sammie from this delicious eatery called This Little Piggy... had roast beef.  It's like 5 kinds of roast beef sandwiches, made with gravy or wiz or other things I still have to try, Jay loved it!

Creating his tuna tartar taco!

 So... I believe the next day while I was at work Jay walked something like 15 miles around lower Manhattan, to and fro the brooklyn bridge and then some.  Wild man!  I forced him to take the subway by himself (he made it!) and meet me in the Meat Packing district for a fancy dinner.  We went to Abe & Arthurs.  After a slew of restaurant recommendations from friends I decided to go with the one that had good food (not michilin star, but still good reviews) and cool atmosphere.  We saw Furio from the Sopranos (if you catch my drift)...ha!  We dined on oysters and tuna tartare, scallops and ny strip steak.  It was delightful.  Then we strolled through the west village and dropped in an italian bar where we shared a crisp light ale outside on the terrace.  It could have been a summer night, it was so warm.  We zig-zagged through Washington Square Park and back home to the East Village... as if he didn't do enough walking that day.

Pouring the unknown Italian beer in the west village

 Jay went home to visit his parents in So Jersey the next day, spent the night, and came back into town on Thursday evening, just as Syracuse was getting medieval at the Tourney... he met a lot of old college friends at the Village Pour House which was filled to the brim with patrons.  I didn't enjoy that part of it... I'm too old to get pushed around by people trying to pass through to the bathroom every 3 seconds...  but I digress.