It's An American Weekend

Happy President's Day!  In honor of the day, I visited The Metropolitan Museum's new American Wing.  The wing was expanded and reconceived and is absolutely beautiful.  I took lots of pictures and unfortunately don't have detailed descriptions (or any) of many of them.  Look through the pictures and plan to visit very soon.

This is the Charles Engelhard Court and it reminds me of areas in the Lourve.  The sculptures are gorgeous and I appreciated the idea that all of the works of art in this wing are done by Americans.  I understand that it's called the American Wing for this reason but I was inspired by the history and beauty of American artists.  We are a relatively new country.

The Mourning Victory from the Melvin Memorial by Daniel Chester French.  I'm amazed by how fluid and alive the marble looks. 

Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii by Randolph Rogers was the most popular American sculpture of the nineteenth century.

 

I then moved into what looked like the entrance of a house to begin the tour of actual interiors of homes from the eighteenth century to the twentieth century.  The pictures are in the order of earliest to more contemporary.  I focused on the fireplaces as they really are the center of the parlors.

 

The detail on the staircase is beautiful.  

A room designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.  Followed by one of his stained glass windows.  His work has become so familiar now that I've toured through some of his homes.

The art galleries were gorgeous. I did not take pictures of many of the paintings but there were a couple that I had to take.  I did not take any of the gallery of John Singer Sargent's portraits as they are so beautiful and must be seen in person.

 I bought a postcard of this painting when I was in college and have always been enamoured of it which may be because it's titled Repose. 

A very dignified President Lincoln.

Mullets on the boys and the girls.  It's a perfect mulleted family.

 A beautiful winter day in NYC.

pj harvey

PJ Harvey's music is the soundtrack to me walking down the street in NYC.  I have as close as a strut as possible when she comes on my iPhone.  I think I just want to emulate one of the coolest musicians ever.

Every song on her last album "Let England Shake" is good.  But not a tepid-kind of good.  It's more like a mind waking up good.

I recommend watching In The Dark Places or All & Everyone.

I recommend even more listening to it on your headphones while walking anywhere in New York City.

Bondir

Boston.  Unusually mild weather so I didn't mind walking a fair distance to Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art on the waterfront.  I think the best part of the museum was the building and the views from the building.

The museum is right by Louis Boston which moved a couple of years ago from Back Bay.  It's a very expensive store that I like to walk through and admire.

Cameras were not allowed in the museum and I was the only one walking through it at the time.  It was always me and a security officer in every room.  I felt very watched.  But I was able to take a picture of the view from the museum.  It was a beautiful clear day.

View of downtown Boston walking to the T line to get to the next place.

Remember this post and also this one where I talked about the Bon Appetit's Best New Restaurants in America 2011 list?  I finally ate at number 10 on the list which is Bondir in Boston.  I got a 5:30 reservation and Meliss met up with me. 

It is a small restaurant with only 28 seats.  I felt like it had been specially decorated just for V Day since we were there the day after but I think pink is always in the decor.  The ceiling is beautiful.

Bondir changes the menu daily and I especially love it because it offers 1/2 portions of all of the dishes.  I think all restaurants should do this.  It was the perfect amount to try two main dishes and split a dessert.  Our bread choices - 9 Grain, The Sea (with bits of shrimp in it), and White Corn with Duck Cracklings.  The White Corn bread was my favorite.

I immediately knew I wanted this dish - Fresh Spaghetti with Duck Confit, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Oregon Mushrooms, Garlic Chives, Fresh Ricotta - and it was delicious and the plating was beautiful as well.

The restaurant used mismatched china and it fit well with the decor.

I honestly did not know what to order for my 2nd dish but I knew I did not want the Beef Tartar or the Scallops.  The server told me to order the Rouen Duck with White Flint Cornmeal Cake, Fresh Onion, Kumi Kumi Squash, Black Lentils.  The cornmeal cake was so unexpected and just a perfect compliment to the duck and black lentils.  I was well pleased with the dish.

Bondir is receiving high praise for its desserts as well.  We ordered the Tangerine Dream which is Genoise, Vermouth-Infused Tangerine, Thyme Buttermilk Ice Cream, Meringue Brulee.  I could eat the Brulee alone and be perfectly content.  The dessert was made up of delicious layers and it wasn't until the sixth bite that you tasted it as a whole.  The whole wasn't better than each layer but just a different dessert.

Third Trip to Brooklyn for Food in One Weekend

I love it when Phor visits because we eat a lot and she is always willing to travel for this food.  It's sad that she lives in DC and is willing to travel to Brooklyn but certain friends that live in Manhattan won't travel to Brooklyn.

Sunday morning brunch at The Farm on Adderly.  We arrived pretty close to opening time and got a table within 30 minutes.

Waiting for a table gave me the opportunity to check out the ceiling which is often seen in NYC and I continue to like.

One of my favorite eating partners.  We always share our food which is the best way to dine.  

A combination of the French Toast with Apples and the Chocolate Brioche with Sea Salt and Butter.  We ran out of plates for the eggs.

1/2 a portion of the Farmer's Breakfast - scrambled eggs over swiss chard, brioche, parmesan and home fries.

We had to order a side of bacon when we saw the table next to ours get it.

I can't wait for Phor to return in the Spring for more food adventures.  She's my favorite type of visitor.  But maybe next time we'll have time to make it to the museum.

Clear Eyes, Full Stomachs

Saturday morning.  Brooklyn.  Goal to eat at Mile End Delicatessen.

We put our names on the list and they offered to call us when a table was available.  We walked back to Brooklyn Fare which we had passed on our way to Mile End.  I want to get a reservation there so much but it's impossible.  Calling at 10:30 am on Monday morning for a finite set of reservations 6 weeks in advance is frustration.  The restaurant is attached to a wonderful market and Phor bought two chocolate croissants that were the best I've had in NYC yet.

Mile End serves smoked meat and it is delicious.  Please go for this alone.

The very friendly chefs.  We had the best seats looking right into the kitchen.

I remembered to take a picture before we started eating.  This is the Smoked Meat Hash with two eggs, brisket, potato and onion.  One of the top 3 things we ate over the weekend (the chicken biscuit at Pies N Thighs was another one.)  The brisket was perfect.

I love breakfast sandwiches and this one was special.  First,  it is served on a Montreal bagel which is different from a NYC bagel.  It's smaller and I like the taste.  Second, the bacon is probably some of the best I've ever had.  It is made in the kitchen and it is smoky sweet bacon.  Third, the Quebec Cheddar was a great cheese.

This was our view and we couldn't resist ordering a Cheese Bagelach to finish the meal.

This pastry is only served at brunch and maybe breakfast (not sure) but it is delicious.

Just some beautiful flowers in the store next to Mile End.

We left Brooklyn and headed to Fabulous Fanny's in the East Village where both of us bought sunglasses.  I found two pairs of Christian Dior vintage glasses.  They remind me of Faye Dunaway in The Thomas Crown Affair.  I want to always look like Faye Dunaway in The Thomas Crown Affair.

Dinner that night came way too early but Tertulia is one of those restaurants that are way too popular and does not take reservations.  I'm glad we went but I was ill with food by the end of the day.

I could see the meat cooking in the wood oven.

The pictures are dark but this is the Coles de Bruselas - brussels sprouts, pork belly, mojo picon.  I first ate brussels sprouts three years ago and now I will always order them if they are on the menu.  And I'll most likely always order anything with dates and duck as well.  And of course anything with pork belly is delicious.  Momofuku taught me well.

Ensalada de Invierno - winter salad of squash, kale, mushrooms, Idiazabel cheese, mushroom vinaigrette.

Suquet - monkfish, shrimp, root vegetables, almond picada, saffron all ioli.

And our weekend of eating was still not finished.

I Need To Eat Here More Often

Pies N Thighs in Williamsburg

 Brussels Sprouts with bacon

The perfect chicken biscuit with honey butter and hot sauce.

The cherry pie was eaten before any pictures could be taken.

Chocolate & Cheese At Its Best

I have been wanting to take a class at Murray's Cheese Shop for months and I knew that I had to go to the Cheese & Chocolate Pairing class when I saw it advertised.  Phor felt similarly and came up from DC for the class on Friday evening.  The shop alone is a place that everyone should visit.

I had 7 cheeses in front me with 6 chocolate pieces chosen specially for each type of cheese.

It was a lovely setting with unlimited wine/water, nuts, bread, and dried fruit to eat with the chocolate and cheese.

The instructors took us through each pairing starting with the chocolate.  We would smell it, feel it and then break it in half before tasting it.  The cheese was then described in a similar manner by sight, smell, touch and then taste.  We would then taste the chocolate, letting it melt in our mouth before eating a piece of the cheese.  I didn't love all of the combinations but the ones I did love are very good.

Also, the chocolate is all Madecasse Chocolate made in Madagascar with some very interesting flavors.

The first pairing was Nettle Meadow Kunik which is a triple creme from the South Adirondacks.  It's perfectly creamy and it was paired with the Sea Salt & Nib chocolate.  The cheese balanced out the saltiness of the chocolate.

We ate the cocoa bean before even starting the tasting to get an idea of where chocolate comes from.  It was very acidic.

The cheese was so creamy and the rind added a pleasant taste to the cheese.

The second pairing was Westfield Capri, a fresh chevre (yes I want to taste this with honey) from Hubbardston, MA.  This was my favorite pairing with the Pink Pepper and Citrus chocolate.  The citrus is from a Madagascar lime and it almost tastes like a Thai curry.

Phor's notes - she found it Amazing! as well.  We bought the chocolate in the store after the class.  Our only sadness was that the larger chocolate bars in this flavor were not available.

The third pairing was Salva Cremasco which to Phor smelled like old shoes.  It tasted much better than it smelled and I really loved the combination with Arabica Coffee chocolate.  It's a milk chocolate with chunks of Arabica coffee and sea salt.  The coffee does not overpower the chocolate.

The fourth pairing was Scharfe Maxx from the Swiss Alps.  It tastes like garlic and has a major funk.  I was chastised by the instructor because I said it smelled horrible.  Apparently I need to be more descriptive in why I think it's horrible.  It was paired with the 70% chocolate which is lovely because it has a nice cherry/red berry taste in it.  I finished the chocolate but let Phor eat the cheese.

The fifth cheese is Ossau-Iraty Vieille, a raw sheep cheese from the French Pyrenees.  It's paired with the Cinnamon Sakay chocolate.  I liked this pairing.  Very strong but the chocolate was so layered.  The instructor recommended taking 10 seconds to taste it from beginning to end.

The sixth pairing was with two different cheeses.  If you know me, you know my feelings on blue cheese and I was very happy to have an alternate tasting option.  The cheeses were Roquefort and Roomano which is similar to Gouda but has a lower butterfat.  The chocolate was the 80%.  I thought the pairing was a cop out - the strongest cheese with the strongest chocolate. 

Murray's has multiple cheese class options.  I'm game if you ever one to take one.