I Want To Eat This Everyday

The US team is playing Montengro at water polo in the background.  I really cannot get enough of the Olympics right now.

Brig and I have been wanting to eat Thai food at Pok Pok since it opened.  It's unfortuante that we went the same week that it was reviewed favorably in the NY Times and New York Mag.  We got there very early  so that we wouldn't have to wait in the sometimes very long line.  We were sat right down and got right into the reason for us being there - food.

The restaurant is in the back of where we initially lined up.  We walked into this big tent which was barely cooled by fans.  Welcome to Thailand.  I just missed the toilet paper on the tables to use to wipe our fingers.

I checked out the menu before we  arrived and knew I wanted som tum or what is called pok pok by the restaurant.  It's delicious and exactly how I like it.  I ordered it without the dried shrimp as I never liked this even when in Thailand.  We each had our own sticky rice.

This dish won for best of the night though.  I never ate anything like it in Thailand but I wish I had.  It's called Kaeng Hung Leh and it's made with pork belly and pork shoulder with ginger, palm sugar, turmeric, tamarind,  curry powder and pickled garlic.  We were both using our sticky rice in the end to eat the sauce.

I ordered the tamarind vinegar and Brig had the apple.  I wish I would have had these in Thailand.  They are the perfect sweetness to cut some of the spice.

The meal was rounded out with naam tok and laab.  Neither of us liked the laab all that much but the naam tok had great cuts of steak in it.

I left the restaurant so content and happy.  Thai food really is my favorite as long as it is made like the actual food in Thailand. 

The line outside of the restaurant as we were leaving.

We were in the mood for ice cream so I put in the search for ice cream in google maps.  We walked to the nearest place and found these trucks.  This is where ice cream comes from.

We walked on a little further and stopped at Brooklyn Farmacy.  It's not my favorite place but I decided to give it another try.

The soda jerk convinced me to try the Mr Potato Head sundae with peanut butter, caramel and potato chips.  This place still isn't one of my favorites but I do love the actual venue.

Update:  US won 8 - 7.  It was a nail biter.

French Fries, French Dressing, French Bread, and Perrier

I wish this post was about Better Off Dead.  I can never see it enough.  This line from the movie popped in my head when I was thinking about French food.

Lauri and I went to Picholine for a little French food.  I had never heard of this restaurant until Adam Platt included it in his list of 101 best restaurants in NYC.  I was already in the UWS so we decided to plan a meal around the location.

I feel like we were seated in the less fancy room but we had a great view from the back corner of what was going on the restaurant. We had a lovely view of a couple where the man was touped out.  We also had a group of 3 women near us who used their camera flashes all night.  The service was nice but the back room reminded us of a bad hotel dining room.  We walked through the front room on the way out and felt like we missed something special. 

Lauri started to take pictures with a flash so I followed her lead.  The food really does look better with the extra light.

I started with the House Made Burrata with heirloom tomatoes, compressed watermelon, and anchoiade.  I seek the opportunity to eat watermelon whenever possible.  The burrata was nice and I liked it with the fresh ingredients.

Lauri ate the Vegetable Salad with parmesan textures and a herbal bath.  She wanted something healthy before digging into the Four Story Hills Farm Suckling Pig with kale, cipollini aigre-doux and black garlic coulis.  Her pork was amazing. . It was very rich but incredibly tender.  I was more impressed with the pork than with my dish - the halibut.

The Halibut "en croute" with peas "a la Francaise," onion, and rhubarb-mint jus.  I ordered this purely for the jus.  I really wanted to taste the rhubarb and it was a nice settle accompaniment to the fish.  I could have even used a more sour jus to push the limits a little more.

We split our two desserts but I forgot to take a picture of the Apricot Tart Tatin with blueberry meringue, basil ice cream and almond snow.  The basil ice cream with the tart was incredible.  It was my favorite dessert by far because the flavors were perfect for a summer night.  We chose the Chocolate Textures dessert with milk chocolate flan, bittersweet chocolate mousse, and confiture de lait because we love chocolate.  It was good but not revelatory like the apricot tart.

We Cannot Escape Time

I first read about The Clock in a New Yorker article in May and I knew this was something I really wanted to see.  The artist Christian Marclay created a 24 hour video of clips from film and tv throughout history, each featuring an exact time on a clock, on a watch, or in the dialogue.  The video is watched in sync with the time of the day. 

It's currently playing in the Lincoln Center Festival but only until August 1.  Entrance is free and it is a first come, first served basis. 

I stood in line for close to 90 minutes to catch 30 minutes of the film.  If I had time, I would have stayed for hours.  There was a joy in seeing and recognizing clips from Rushmore, Macgyver, ER, The Godfather, but it was incredible to realize how many films I had never seen before.  I was hyper aware of the time in the film because I had to leave at a specific time.  I would have liked to have not been in a rush and just watched it out of enjoyment.  I have heard of people watching it for 24 hours and you can do it at this viewing but be there early in the day to get in.

I found this clip of about 3 minutes of the video.

United Nations

I love the idea of the United Nations.  I know a lot can be said for what the organization doesn't do but I still love the idea.

The UN is undergoing a major renovation but you can still see most of the important parts of the building, including this room where 193 member states sit during the General Assembly every September.

A gift from Italy to the UN.  The UN is full of gifts from different countries.

It's powerful to see all of the flags in front of the UN.  They are in alphabetical order.

A gift from Luxembourg.  

Walked past Grand Central and realized I have never walked toward it from the East.

Pre-Party Prepping

This last Saturday was full of small adventures.  The first involved waking up early to get in line to see The Dark Knight Rises.  Thank goodness for these wonderful people who got there earlier so that I had a perfect seat. 

Can you feel our excitement?  I loved the movie.  I didn't once wonder when it would finally end (um...Lord of the Rings) or question too much the constructs of the story.  I know there are problems with it but I don't care and I probably won't see it again because I don't want to change the fact that I loved it.

On my walk after the film, I saw this woman with this umbrella.  It made me that much happier.

I walked up to Zabar's from the Lincoln Center theater because it's one of those places I hear about all the time but haven't yet visited.

It was exactly like I thought it would be.  And I love the clientele that I caught on film.  The cinnamon rugelach is amazing here.   

I walked over to the NY Historical Society Museum & Library for a quick tour inside.  I saw some fun stuff but I really liked the Lincoln statue outside the entrance.

A Personal Delivery

How happy was I to finally receive my Chuck Butler socks?  Especially wrapped up in this box.

Jeff brought them to me personally during the dance party.  If you don't live in NYC, I recommend ordering them here. 

Save the Last Dance

Last night was the last dance party ever at this home in NYC.  Alpha wanted to have one more before I moved so she orchestrated the event and the overall theme was dirty dancing.

This man took a lot of thought as to what dirty dancing sounds like and gave us an appropriate soundtrack.

This girl sent out the invites and brought the otter pops and gum.

I did my part by providing this.

And let the dancing begin.

Or maybe talking.

But Pearl and Brig started the dancing off.

Many congrats to this couple on their engagement.  Alpha knew where she wasn't wanted.

I don't have a scanner but I wanted to post these today.  I do what I can with what I have.  Jeff is looking very politician-like.  He should since he's running for a congressional seat in Brooklyn.

The three amigos or roommates - Jeff, Tommy and Cole

The dancers moved too fast for me to take any pics of any actual dirty dancing but it was there.

The night ended as it began - Alpha, Brig and myself dancing to the music.

I thought of those who couldn't make it last night maybe because they had other plans or maybe because they live outside of NYC.  Casey, Chateau, Jendar, Francesco, Evelyn, Amber, Jared, Colin, Jess, Dave, and many others - you were all missed.