seattle brunching

We’ve had a great spring in Seattle this year – I mean, sure, we’ve had our gray and rain – but we’ve had some really fortunate sunny weekend days too that we don’t always get. These types of days tends to make Seattleites restless and frisky – and they come out of the woodwork, happy.  For us this means playing outside a bit more – but randomly, it appears it has also meant more brunching.  While brunch food isn’t always the most photogenic, our outings have been such good ones, I feel the need to report on them here.

St. Dames – I had heard some very good things about this season-focused vegetarian restaurant and bar in Columbia City/Ranier Valley, and if brunch is any indicator – it is spectacular.  My ‘daily omelette’ was  fritata-like (top right), and had a good balance of herbs and a smoky cheese, with a well-dressed spinach salad on the side.  Their drink menu will also change per the seasons – I happened to have a Santa Sangre, whose color and flavor was heightened with beet juice and complemented with herbal goodness (top right).  I realize as I type this it sounds odd, but trust me, it was yummy – and felt healthy, even if it included alcohol.

The Wandering Goose – has a southern edge to it, so of course I was intrigued.  It is a tiny wedge of a place on 15th on Capitol Hill, and while the tables might be hard to come by, they are fun with poems and quotes burned into them (above, bottom right). I went with the veggie hash – a yummy concoction served in a small cast iron pan of seasonal veggies, potatoes & poached eggs – which was excellent and the biscuits were happy-making as well.

Fiddlehead – While I have a mission to check out all the southern-themed spots, Shawn’s item of focus is biscuits and gravy.  Our friend Stephanie had been talking up the biscuits and gravy at Fiddlehead in West Seattle for some time, so we had to give it a whirl.  Much discussion was had about the unique sausage and greens gravy, which Shawn declared some of the best in the city – the biscuits themselves weren’t quite flaky enough for his taste, but all in all a very successful find (top left).  My breakfast caused no debate – the salmon potato cakes with spinach and poached eggs were just hands down good.

Ma’ono Fried Chicken & Whiskey – formerly Spring Hill (but same chef and owner), also in West Seattle – the name of this establishment leads you to believe their menu is singularly focused, but don’t overlook breakfast. Highlights of the table at a recent birthday brunch were chicken and waffles (bottom right) and eggs Benedict (bottom left), but even my straight-up sunny-side-up was accompanied by the most perfect crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside potatoes.  Yum!

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washington dc – part 2

Like many cities, some of the best stuff is beyond the ‘idea’ of the city and the main tourist spots – and this is true in DC too, especially when it comes to food.  Here were a few of our favorites from our recent trip along with some good wanderings to do between meals.

Georgetown

Dumbarton Oaks Garden – (above, top row) One of my favorite spots of the trip!  Designed and implemented over 30 years beginning in the 1920’s, this is an amazing series of outdoor rooms – formality interspersed with more naturalistic elements.  So many great spots to contemplate – my favorite was the Fountain Terrace (above, top right).

Pizza Paradiso – there are a few locations of this restaurant in DC, but we happened to be in need of a lunch after our wanderings when we found our way to the Georgetown outpost.  A lovely arugula salad (above, bottom left) hit the spot for me after a string of a few rich meals, but a Panini Grosso made a certain fella at my table pretty happy.

The C & O Canal – I was fascinated with this engineering feat of the 18th century – the Chesapeake & Ohio River Canal system.  This transportation system was what moved coal and agriculture down to market from points north and west.  Its story of competing with other transportation modes changed the landscape and towns of the Potomac upriver dramatically.  A stroll along the canal tells a bit of the story – but is also a nice spot of removal in the city (above, bottom middle left).

Baked and Wired – a lot of attention seems to be paid to Georgetown Cupcakes due to an apparent TV show following said business, but Brian and Becky swear by Baked and Wired instead – and they did not steer us wrong.  We tried the Tessita (above, bottom middle right) – vanilla cake with dulce de leche filling and chocolate-hazelnut icing – dang!

Northeast Neighborhoods

Toki Underground was another favorite of the trip. This noodle house is on H Street and offers giant bowls of ramen (I went with the kimchi version – yum!) and a variety of dumplings.  I found the few subtle southern nods charming  – pulled pork instead of pork belly and collard greens instead of seaweed – but otherwise this was all Japanese in a great hideaway space.  Good list of sakes as well.

Zaytinyna –  a celebration of Turkish, Greek and Lebanese by Jose Andres – this Chinatown restaurant offers tapas style plates (above, left).  I love going to these types of spots so that I can try 10 different things and really get a sense of the restaurant.  Everything was perfectly prepared – this was an incredible meal on our last night in the city.

Proof – a lovely spot for a break and a beverage when wandering – across from the National Portrait Gallery.

Northwest Neighborhoods 

Taylor Gourmet – there are a few outposts of this superior sandwich shop around town – we happened to go to the Dupont Circle location (above, top left).  Incredible sandwiches – ours was a Pattison Avenue with roasted pork and broccoli rabe and provolone (above, top middle left).  Share a sandwich and a side of risotto balls – and a Boylan fountain soda will complete a great lunch.

Amsterdam Falafel – This Adams Morgan (neighborhood street scene – above, top right)  spot happened to be a perfect late night snack during my visit. Crispy and delicious made-to-order falafel balls are handed to you in a pita. Don’t forget to ‘crush your balls’ so you can maximize your choices from the multitude of toppings and sauces that you can add to your heart’s content.

Etete – when I was prepping for this trip and asking folks about their favorites in DC, many people said “eat Ethiopian – DC has some of the best”.  Brian and Becky have a few that they debated but decided on Etete on U Street as the spot for us to gather around several platters of many tasty things scooped up with spongy injera bread.  Washed down with Ethiopian Tej wine and beer – a lovely event food evening.

American Ice Bar – After our meal at Etete, we strolled over to this nearby spot (above, bottom right) for some outside beer garden sitting, a great place for sipping a bourbon drink from a mason jar.  Steps away from the iconic Ben’s Chilli Bowl (above, bottom middle) that we unfortunately will have to save for our next visit.

Two Amy’s  – Brian said it is his favorite pizza in the US – and I am not arguing – the Norcia (tomato, salami, grilled peppers, fresh mozzarella, grana – above, bottom right) was so incredibly good, we ordered another one mid-way through the meal.  No surprise that this has the official certified Neopolitan Pizza status.

After all that eating and drinking, we definitely needed the counterpoint of lots of walking.  The best places for that – and for an amazingly quick and close bit of nature was Rock Creek Park.  Amazing trails that feel far in the woods right in the midst of the city (above, middle left).  There are also a few great spots of history in the park – like Pierce Mill, built-in the 1820’s, but recently refurbished and in limited operation.  The guys had a very thorough tour from one of the docents there (above, middle right).    The National Zoo is also adjacent to Rock Creek, and the entrance was just a few steps from Brian and Becky’s place.  Seeing animals always makes me happy – the frolicking otters were so dang cute (above, left) and it was great to see the National pandas (above, left).

All of this (and part 1)  in just a week!  It was a great trip and visit with our buddies – thanks so much to Brian and Becky!

washington dc- part 1

Shawn and I had a great Washington, D.C. trip in the early fall to visit our buddies, Brian & Becky.  While we had some great focused time with them, we also saw so much good stuff that it has been somewhat daunting to gather and distill the info for this blog!  But, I am getting back up on the bloggin’ horse and getting at least “Part 1” of what I would recommend up here of museums, memorials and things related to democracy (“Part 2” willl be more neighborhood recommendations. And there is even talk of having a DC-based guest writer for a follow-up – so stay tuned.)

While Shawn had been to DC before, I missed out on that class trip that a lot of East Coast kids seem to do around Grade 5 – they cancelled it at my school the year before it was my turn – and then I never seemed to be able to get myself there ever since.  Despite that (or perhaps because of that) I’ve always been fascinated with the city – its power, its symbolism, its adherence to the grand city plan, its social dichotomies, its museums!  I have to admit, I felt pretty dang nerdy-excited about it in a “Bray goes to Washington” sort of way.

Democracy
Frustrations with our current political infighting system aside (that we were particularly steeped in during this trip), it is still quite fascinating, and humbling to be in the places that have been so pivotal to our nation’s history.  A few highlights for me:
Library of Congress – The main hall and reading room are just stunning – transcendent – especially in contrast to walking into the main hall (above left) from the Capitol Visitor Center tunnel, and a series of compressed rooms.  There are a few exhibits too – my favorite was the original Jefferson collection. His library formed the foundation of the library when it was rebuilt after an 18th C. fire destroyed everything prior.

The Capitol – While our senators and representatives were not in session, it was still great to get a glimpse of where it all goes down.  The Rotunda is beautiful (above, second from right), and full of so many stories of our history within the sculptures and paintings.

National Archives – The Constitution and Bill of Rights live here – reading their components, in their original form, is quite a powerful thing.

White House – It is still somewhat hard to get into The White House for a tour, but the gift shop allows you to ‘take over’ the Oval Office for a few minutes (above, right).  I was happy to be able to see the Victory Garden and the beekeeping boxes through the south gate.

Memorials
There are literally thousands of memorials in DC, and we only touched the surface.  There are several I would really like to see next time that we missed (Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Jefferson – along with Arlington National Cemetery), but the ones of special note for me this trip were:

I was genuinely moved as I walked up the steps and into the portico of the Lincoln Memorial, and I haven’t fully been able to get at exactly why – the setting is the epitome of grand with Lincoln holding the powerful position on the primary axis of the mall.  As the great unifier, he was such a pivotal character in our countries history, and he is rendered and lit beautifully (above left), in a space that is a perfect cube (perhaps taking me back to the perfect sphere and cube of the Pantheon a bit?).  We arrived at dusk (which I would highly recommend). MLK’s “I have a Dream” engraved stone on the steps where he gave that infamous speech can easily go unseen, but don’t miss that subtle thing, midway up the steps.

The Vietnam Memorial was just as stunning, but as a counterpoint to Lincoln’s grand symbolism, its power is in its starkness.  So many thoughtful details – the way the names begin and end at the center, the way you see yourself in the memorial (above, bottom center), the references back to the axes of the mall, the carving of the earth – all contained in such a simple form was beautiful.  Seeing the park ranger help folks find and do rubbings of their loved ones was quite moving as well (above, top middle).

Martin Luther King Jr’s Memorial is the newest on the mall – and while the verdict still seems to be out amongst the critics, overall, I liked it.  While I found the scale of the ‘mountains’ to be a little off, he is beautifully sculpted within them (above, top right).  This memorial is quote heavy, but that seems appropriate for the master orator that he was.

We arrived at the Korean War Memorial at night, which gave this grouping of statues of soldiers in a field that much more resonance to me (above, bottom right) – it makes you feel like you are in the jungle with them.

Museums
Ever since I heard about the Smithsonian as a kid, I fantasized about spending weeks pouring through every drawer of random collection after collection, and taking breaks amongst the art.  While I think we covered tremendous ground, I know we still have a lifetime of trips to see it all.  What an incredible national resource!

Hirschhorn Museum – Emerging and cutting-edge artists are displayed in a cylindrical building (above, bottom left).  An Ai Wei Wei exhibit was being installed as we were there – what we were able to get a glimpse of looked great!

Dubbed “America’s Attic” the Museum of American History is chock full of all sorts of memorabilia – our purpose there, and one of my most favorite exhibits, was seeing Julia Child’s recreated Cambridge kitchen (above, top right) that she lived, worked and filmed in.  Utilitarian and chock-full – but yet a great insight into the mind and life of a master.

Air & Space Museum – this is apparently the most visited museum on the mall.  We spent most of our time there in the room devoted to the Wright Brothers – incredible details about the meticulous research, model building, and reworking that they went through to be the first in flight.  Shawn was so engrossed, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he came home and built a plane.

Museum of the American Indian – (above, top right)  I’ve heard mixed reviews about this one all along, but had a deep desire to see this museum – for the Cherokee in my family.  I too had mixed review from a design perspective – I loved the grand entry and hall, but it is so large that it meant that the displays of each tribe are relegated to tucked-away spots that seem to only scratch the surface of the multitude of tribes native to this land.  And while I completely get behind the idea of the circle as a very appropriate symbol of native cultures, it was relentless in the design – to a point that finding your way through the displays is almost dizzying.  Despite all of that – the cafe is hands-down the most interesting and tasty in the whole mall area, with several sub-kitchens cooking the regional native specialties.

Natural History – I will definitely be going back to this museum to pour over things again, since we really only scratched the surface seeing the dinosaur rooms.  The ancient sea turtle (above, bottom middle)  was my favorite in there.

National Portrait Gallery – the internal courtyard (above, bottom right) was a great place to sit a spell and rest from all the art consumption under the modern structure covering the courtyard (designed by Norman Foster).   While its main collection is of portraits of our presidents and other important visionaries of our country, we found that they have an impressive collection of contemporary and modern art – and travel exhibits as well that are worth a look as well.

A few that are not a part of the Smithsonian, but are also a part of our national treasure (and free):  The National Building Museum –  some great ongoing and temporary exhibits about architecture, engineering and design.  There is a great history of US housing history, and we saw some beautiful over-sized photos of Detroit as things have decayed over time.  (Side note – this is where I learned that I have a “ruins fetish” – apparently the decay of Detroit has become a fascination of so many that they’ve named it).  The National Gallery of Art  is an incredible collection we spent most of our time in the East Building (designed by I.M. Pei).  Another main highlight of the trip for me was the Calder Room there (above, middle right) – many of his mobiles and wire sculptures on display, lit beautifully and casting wonderful shadows.

And last but definitely not least, the Newseum – I loved this place!  It is one of the few that you pay to get into (the other is the Spy Museum, which we will have to check out next visit), but definitely worth it.  Many notable moments in news history are housed here – everything from pieces of the Berlin Wall (above, middle left) and the radio tower from the World Trade Center building to Ted Kazinski’s cabin and the door that was central to the Watergate scandal.  My favorite was a room full of hydraulic sliding drawers with thousands of front pages highlighting moments – such as the ending of World Wars, John Lennon being shot – from the entirety of newspaper history.  Also of note was the Pulitzer Prize photos – every one of them is moving, and this room if full of hundreds of them, which is an emotional experience for sure.

Art and Gardens of The Mall
Many of the spaces in between the museums on the mall are sculpture gardens with some amazing work.  The Hirschhorn has both a sunken garden at the building itself full of great pieces from artists such as Juan Muñoz (above, left) and Kenneth Snelson (above, second from right), as well as a separate garden across the main path of the mall with greats like Rodin.  The sculpture garden of the National Gallery had many of the same pieces that we have at the Seattle Art Museum sculpture park – still a great collection.  I particularly loved the little cafe pavilion in this garden (above, right).

Food
I think I will save most of my food entries for “DC – Part 2” since a lot of our favorites are in the neighborhoods of DC that I will talk about next.  But I will leave you with a teaser of sorts in the meantime (appropriately named for this post’s context and near The Mall in Foggy Bottom):  Founding Fathers is a unique Farm to Table type restaurant in that it is owned by a collective of family farmers.  Vaguely southern in food style, it did not disappoint from the beginning (the libations, above left) through the cornbread appetizer to the entrees (mine was a lovely take on shrimp and grits, above, middle right) and warm cookies for dessert.

Part 2 coming soon….

a few choice beverages

I’ve had a few exceptional beverages recently – and felt the need to share:

Essex – owned by the next door Delancey, this is the perfect spot for a drink while you wait for you table next door – or in my case recently, a late afternoon libation with a girlfriend to catch up.  They have several cocktails on tap (my Americano for example, above, left), and they make all sorts of tinctures, bitters and such to make very artful cocktails.

Milstead & Co. – a newish coffee spot n Fremont that takes its coffee seriously. They serve Intelligencia and Stumptown coffees, and pull a beautiful shot, with great milk art (with lots of alternative milks for you non-dairy folks).  They will also do regional varietial single-brew pots as well as spot-on cold-brewed iced-coffee.

Sambar – there is only one week left at tiny jewel of a bar in an off-the-beaten-path part of Ballard.  While I had some mixed feelings about the institution of a restaurant that Sambar is attached to – I still find it sad that they both have (or are about to) close.  I love the little side yard, and the incredible mixologist.  So, if you’ve never been and have a moment to get there before the end of the month,  I highly recommend it!

a new turn in the south

I vowed to have a summer of ‘not busy’ after the busy-ness of the first half of my year.  Instead, I’ve been spending more time outside, playing in the woods, catching up with friends, as well as on reading, live music, and wandering the city.  My favorite part, and maybe Shawn’s too, is the time I’ve been spending lingering in the kitchen.  We got some great cookbooks as wedding gifts, so I’ve had all sorts of new fun inspiration.

My current favorite is A New Turn in the South by Hugh Acheson – the chef behind 5 & 10, The National (both in Athens, GA) and Empire State South in Atlanta.  My stepmother may have given me this cookbook with a hint of irony (“there is nothing wrong with Southern cooking as is!”) but I like it exactly for the combination of seasonal fresh ingredients mixed with a fresh take on Southern-sourced recipes.  Everything I’ve tried thus far has been spot on – and holds up even when a few ingredient swaps have happened.  My favorites has been the Southern Cabanara – a twist on the Italian fave with the addition of collard greens.  Special note – it was officially my first cooking of meat! (Okay, so, cooking with cured meats – prosciutto – isn’t really getting into it too far – but a big step for a 24-year vegetarian).  The simple but lovely salmon with marinated veggies and salmoriglio sauce felt a tad bit more of the northwest, but a great quick and healthy weeknight recipe.  The key was the sauce – dressing up the dish with the lemon, anchovies and herbed olive oil.

Two other front runners from my cookbook stack has been Eat Good Food – from Bi-Rite in San Francisco and Ad Hoc at Home from Thomas Keller but no specific recipes to report quite yet.

And I will sign off with a favorite of the summer that came from Bon Appetit (which I just keep loving that magazine more and more these days!) – the Oregano Chile Chimchurri sauce in the August issue article about Uruguay.  I’ve put this parsley-olive oil based sauce on everything from pasta to grilled potatoes to veggie tacos at a campsite dinner (dinner above next to the Entiat River).  Here’s to more cooking!

tacos

This summer has been a fairly low-key one after all the goings-on – a lot more time at home, and a lot less spending after the festivities of spring.  But I still can’t help but want to explore new food spots, and that is where the taco comes in.  Inexpensive but filling, there are so many varieties in the city these days – from traditional to experimental.  Here are a few of the new-to-me spots we’ve tried:

Marination Station is a brick and mortar version of the popular Marination Mobile trucks that serve all sorts of beautiful Hawaiian-Korean flavors meeting Mexican dishes – their marinated meats (specifically the pork) being their specialty.  Kim chee fried rice and quesadillas are close on the pork’s heels – and all were exceptionally good.  While you can find their mobile trucks all over town, the Station stays put on Capitol Hill, above the QFC on Broadway.  With the permanent location you can add a beer or wine to meal too.

Off the Rez is another new mobile favorite.  The owner, a Blackfoot Native American, teamed up with his classically-trained chef childhood friend to bring authentic fry bread to Seattle.  I have a soft spot for fry bread – taking me back to the summers building strawbale buildings on the N. Cheyenne Reservation – but, dare I say it, these smaller, crisper versions are even better!  A great vehicle for sweet toppings but I would say go for their tacos.  All that we’ve tasted are good, but the 10-hour pulled pork is the standout winner with the cabbage slaw.  The quinoa succotash is a great hearty side as well.

Pecado Beuno is not mobile, but with it’s large porch and decent cheap eats it seemed worth a mention.  We’ve tried a variety of items – the tortas, potato taquitos and the butternut squash tacos have been the standouts thus far – nothing fancy, but definitely solid. Friendly staff and $3 margaritas help for sure – and a spot for the dog to sit with us after a stroll has made it a good neighborhood haunt this summer.

holy cannoli

I have a thing about desserts where crispy and creamy collide, so I decided to check out (for research purposes, of course) Holy Cannoli – a ‘Detroit-style’ cannoli-focused bakery in Belltown.  Detroit-style refers to the filling primarily – i.e. custard-filled instead of NY-style ricotta-filled (which the owner says – and these might be fighting words, “ricotta is lazy. Your not cooking a custard, you are just putting an ingredient in a bowl”).  A small storefront bakery (in the base of Mosler Lofts for you current and former Mithunees), Holy Cannoli has many freshly prepared cream flavors to choose from – all delivered in a perfectly crispy pastry shell. They are small so you don’t feel too guilty trying one for an afternoon sweet craving – or sampling a couple together as a dessert.  I tried a couple (again, research) – Traditional and Lemoncello.  They both were lovely little creamy crispy bites, but the Traditional made me happiest with that little bit of chocolate as the perfect additional element.  Whether you are tried and true NY-style cannoli person or not – there aren’t many folks in Seattle who make a decent cannoli any style – these are lovely, and it is definitely worth giving them a try.  You never know – you may never go back once you’ve had “Detroit-style”.

ballard pizza company

Ballard Pizza Company is the newest outpost of the Ethan Stowell empire, serving NYC style pies and slices.  While it is a more pedestrian price point than his other spots, it is with the same care in food prep and ingredients choice.  On a recent stroll to Old Ballard from work one day, I decided to pop in and take advantage of “Flour Hour” (a steal at $2 a slice, 3-5p & 10-11p M-Th).  Slices are normally $3-3.50 which isn’t bad either, especially given that one slice is big enough for a lot of folks.  I tried the special that day which was ricotta, spring onion and kale – a spot-on trio that made me happy.  While the focus is on the pies, there are a few salads, starters and desserts along with a few choice libations to wash it down.  Open late too, this straightforward spot with a friendly staff is a good go-to in the neighborhood!

brooklyn wanderings

There are all sorts of great things going on in the food, art and craft communities of Brooklyn, so on our recent trip to New York, we wanted to spend at least a few days strolling around, checking all of that stuff out and getting a sense of the different neighborhoods of that borough.  A great place to start seemed to be the Brooklyn Flea – a vintage flea market, meets craft uprising, meets some amazing food vendors every Saturday in Fort Greene.  We found a great sampling of all of the above! While we didn’t walk away with any art from this particular market, we were overwhelmed with a lot of great, affordable, hand-your-cash-right-to-the-artist options.  Shawn’s Lone Star Empire brisket sandwich was the main event of our time there (above, right), perfectly smoked meats from two Texas expats; while my lobster sandwich was a close second – all washed down by a yummy grapefruit soda by Brooklyn Soda Works.  Blueberry apricot pops from People’s Pop for dessert on a warm day were perfect too.  (I seem to report on popsicles quite a bit here on this blog – I wish my city was hotter so it could sustain an inventive, local ingredient palletta/popsicle company!)

We strolled from there over to and through the lovely Prospect Park (Brooklyn’s Central Park – also designed by Olmsted) to make our way to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.  A classical oasis that seems like a great getaway in the city.  The bonsai exhibit was my favorite (above, bottom left), and I was impressed by how many of the plants are labelled so that you are never left wondering.  The new visitor center wasn’t quite open (above, top left), which we had hoped to see (designed by Weiss/Manfredi, who did Seattle’s sculpture park), but looks like it fit into and opened up to the landscape beautifully.  All that wandering called for what was next –  some soaking and sauna-ing for a late afternoon at Body by Brooklyn spa.

We ended that particular day at Grimaldi’s – arguably the best NY pizza – that my friend Karen introduced us to years back.  The coal-fired oven (hottest out there!) seems to be the trick, and there are only a few of those out there.  Ownership apparently changed hands since I was there the last time and it moved a few doors away into a larger space – but the olive, mushroom, mozzarella pie still made us very happy!  Down the street, we checked out the new (to us) Brooklyn Bridge Park afterward to walk it off.  Apparently outdoor movies and concerts happen there in the warmer months – with downtown Manhattan as a backdrop – would love to go back for that!

 

 

There are all sorts of great shops, eateries, galleries and architectural projects to wander through in Williamsburg (we focused on the area around Grand and Berry streets).  Of specific note from our stroll that day were the Brooklyn Art Library – home of the Sketchbook Project, (above, right) where you can ‘check out’ any of the sketchbooks folks have submitted from all over the world and get a glimpse of their year in the project.  We had seen it out in Seattle when they were touring the project – fun to see it in its home.  Also, Mast Brothers – the uber-crafted, sustainable chocolate makers (above, left).   They approach chocolate making with incredible craft and reverence for the process and the growers, and each bar is hand-wrapped in ornamental papers. They’ve even employed sail boats to deliver their cacao beans, making it as sustainable as possible.  Their chocolates have wonderful flavors and each bar tells a story. 

A couple of days wasn’t nearly enough to check out Brooklyn – we will most certainly need to head back again soon!

manhattan wanderings

While we enjoyed being Lower East Side-ers during our recent trip, it was also a great launching point for wandering the rest of Manhattan too.  Some of our favorites from this trip included:

A stroll through Union Square’s Farmer’s Market, the oldest and flagship Greenmarket of NYC, to pick up a few picnic items, including cheeses and perfectly dry and effervescent cider from Eve’s Cidery.  And then over to Chelsea Market (above, middle) for a lobster roll from The Lobster Place (above, left) a simple but perfect grilled cheese with fig from Lucy’s Whey, and an fun elderflower soda.  With that, we headed to one of the highlights of our trip…

the High Line!  We hadn’t been to New York since the ‘aerial greenway’ park (above) was finished, and the architects in us were excited to see it.  It did not disappoint!  Some great design moves, and an incredible public space along a mile-long stretch of re-purposed elevated railway.  Great spot for a stroll, with a unique perspective of the west side of the city, and a few different spots for picnicking and people watching.

After the High Line, we spent the afternoon at MOMA (courtyard above, middle) perusing the Cindy Sherman exhibit – wonderful and creepy all at once – as well as featured pieces of Diego Rivera, Elsworth Kelly and a printmaking show.  Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream – was an unexpected thought-provoking exhibit as well.

Also in the art realm, we spent an evening at the Whitney Biennial – honestly, a lot of the visual art left us a little underwhelmed, however getting to see Alexander Caulder’s Circus was a highlight of the trip for me – I had always loved the little movie he made with this menagerie.  And the time spent listening to Esperanza Spaulding along with her standup base was a lovely and captivating surprise too.

A late night snack was in order after all of that, and we had heard great things about Danny Meyer’s fresh, quality, food-for-the-masses endeavor, Shake Shack.  There happened to be one a few blocks from the Whitney, where we ordered several things to try (in the spirit of reporting, of course).  The burger was the highlight (even for this predominantly veggie person) – and the shake was close on its heels (above, left).

As a displaced-southerner, my interest is always piqued when a southern-style spot is getting a lot of attention.  I had come across mention of Tipsy Parson in Chelsea several times with high accolades.  It was a perfect afternoon reprieve spot to sit a spell with snacks and libations (above, right) that gave me a touch of home, right there in the big ol’ city.  On a hot day, don’t miss the frozen mint juleps!

Another favorite afternoon respite was found at Bouchon Bakery and Cafe, the Thomas Keller bakery at the Time Warner Center.  Most people come to Bouchon for the baked goods, but I say sit down for a spell for a late lunch too.  Shawn had the perfect quiche, and my salmon rillettes (above, left) with its delicate smokiness, and my arugula potato salad made me very happy too.  Of course we had to get some sweets to take away too – macarons of course, but also some Keller takes on classics like:  peanut butter cups, peppermint patties, and Shawn’s fave, ho-hos.

Our last night in the city, we went to Spice Market, the Jean-Georges Asian food-cart inspired restaurant in the Meat Packing District.  With the tasting menu you get a 9-course sampling SE Asian inspired dishes, and with the wine pairings all flavor highlights are hit within the meal (samplings, above, middle). All the dishes were good, but I was most impressed by the simplest of dishes – the  ginger-fried rice.  The space definitely sets the scene as well (above, right).

A great night was spent at the Comedy Cellar (above, left) – a veteran comedy club in Greenwich Village where on any given night you can see the famous and the up-and-comers honing their sets, up close and personal.  We happened to see Colin Quinn, David Norto and our favorite that night, Ryan Hamilton.

As our last morning was a bit rainy and Seattle-like, it seemed fitting to find Ace Hotel, check out the Seattle-based company’s hip-designed Manhattan space, and drink some Stumptown Coffee to mentally prepare for our trek to the airport and home.

Next up – our time in Brooklyn…