James Murphy Always Does Right

LCD Soundsystem is one of my top 5 bands easy.  And because they broke up and we have all of the music that they will ever create, I know that it is all very good.

I know today is Oscar Day but the films are kind of boring so no comment. 

I first saw LCD at the Virgin Festival in Baltimore 2007.  I saw them on the side stage and thought they were the best band at the festival.  I didn't own any of their music at this point but that was soon corrected.  My first taste had also been seeing them live and that is the best way to see them.

Next show May 21, 2010 at Terminal 5 which is my least favorite venue in the city.  But Brigham got there early and secured us a great area where we got to see things like -

Until Casey moves back to NYC, probably the only time he'll show up in the blog and that is Brigham.

I'm pretty sure Brig was holding up all 10 fingers to show that the concert was a 10.  You can see his thoughts on the show here.  It remains to be one of my favorite concerts.

Just a few months later and now in Chicago at the Pitchfork Music Festival Jess, Jendar and I danced for a few hours to LCD.  We could not but dance.

One of my favorite scenes ever.  The pink is a give away it's a girl.

We were far from the stage but the volume was way up.

And the last time I saw LCD was at MSG on April 2, 2011. This was also LCD's final concert as they broke up at the end of the show. Thank goodness Phor was able to get us tickets.

I promise that is James Murphy on the stage.

So I am waiting in anticipation for Shut Up and Play the Hits the documentary made about the last concert.  See the trailer here.  It played at Sundance to a good reception but journalists commented that people did not dance during the movie.  I will be dancing when I see it in the theater.  There is no way not to dance to this music.

Some of my favorite songs -

Disco Infiltrator 
Daft Punk Is Playing At My House
Dance Yrself Clean (with the Muppets)

Galentine's Day

Happy Galentine's Day!  According to Parks and Recreation the day should really be celebrated the day before Valentine's Day but I begin my own traditions.  I also think Easter candy is much better than Valentine's candy so I'm happy that it's celebrated later in February.

How do I celebrate Galentine's Day?  I invite amazing women over for brunch.  We eat delicious food, talk for hours, listen to Etta James and Sam Cooke, and discuss the amazing state of Indiana.

I had fun deciding what to serve for brunch and at first it was a menu of far too much food.  My mom reminded me that girls don't eat that much.  I'm glad I listened to her.  

I baked a Sour Cream Coffee Cake from a Barefoot Contessa cookbook.   I've made this recipe a few times and each time it's an absolute success.  I also baked Date Scones from the Rose Bakery cookbook (my favorite cafe in Paris and I can't believe I forgot to mention it in my Food in Paris post).  It's the first restaurant I loved so much that I bought the cookbook. 

Trish brought the bagels and cream cheese.  It's kind of a law that bagels must be at every New York City brunch.  They are right next to powdered donut holes I couldn't resist from Trader Joe's.

A close up of the Sour Cream Coffee Cake.   I like how the right bundt pan can make a cake look extra fancy.

The best kind of fruit salad with pineapple and berries from Carly.

And the main dish was a Potato Frittata with Prosciutto and Gruyere that I found in the Food & Wine Annual Cookbook 2008.  It had the perfect combination of Gruyere and prosciutto containing the best parts of brunch - cheese and pork.

It was a cold day but the sun was shining and it's unusual to hold day light parties in my apartment.

Sara and Carly after being told to ignore the camera.

Whit and Mer who did not want to ignore the camera.

And lots of eating - Mer, Abby and Claire's hair.

Trish and Carly laughing at a joke probably about Indiana.

A wider shot of that end of the table - Di's hair, Sam, Mer, Susie and Abby.  I loved the colors on the table with the orange drinks, Orla Kiely tablecloth and roses.

This brunch was brought to you by the following books - 

Ladies Who Lunch

In the continuing quest to eat at all of the best of NYC restaurants, Mer and I ate at Le Bernardin.  It was delicious except for the dessert but more on that later.

We ate there for lunch and it was fun to look around at the other customers in the restaurant.  We opted for the City Harvest Menu which is only three courses but a portion of the money is donated to City Harvest.  Neither of us like fish enough to eat six courses of it.

Mer in the bar area.  I did not feel comfortable taking too many pictures in this setting but I sneaked a few shots of the food.  The presentation is just beautiful.

 This was my favorite course - Hamachi Tartare; Marinated Cucumber, Aged Citrus Vinegar.  It was probably the best raw fish dish I've ever eaten.  The citrus was perfect with the fish.

Our main dish was Sauteed Cod; Green Papaya, Lime, Coriander, Sambal Sauce.  The sauce smelled delicious and I loved the Asian influence.  

This was the disappointing dessert - Maralumi Milk Chocolate Parfait; Pear Sphere, Ginger Caramel.  The pear tasted like canned fruit.  It made me sad how unexciting this was after the fish courses were so delicious.

Why I Love Paris - Food

There are so many reasons why I love Paris and the food there is in the top 10.  My last trip to Paris was September 2010 with incredible friends and that is a very good way to eat your way through the city.

One of the first things I bought in Paris was Ladurée macaroons to confirm that they are still delicious and they are.  But I like Pierre Herme even more.

This is the only picture I took of one of the best meals we ate in Paris at Cocottes.  Ty, Jo and I went after we were evacuated off of the Eiffel Tower due to a bomb scare.  The food is served in little Staub cocottes (dutch ovens) and it was amazing.  Apparently the dessert was the only thing I felt needed to be documented.  It was a waffle with chocolate sauce and cream.  We ate it all.

Another meal was at Brasserie Lipp on Boulevard Saint-Germain.  The waiters were kind, funny and very tolerant of our lack of French.  The food is very French.

We should have gone to Berthillon every day.  The ice cream was a dream.  We went enough times to get a good sample of the flavors.

Trish eating the best falafel at L'as Du Falafel in the Marais.

Waffles with chocolate sauce from the Latin Quarter. 

We drank a lot of hot chocolate and some of it was at Angelina's - a must go in Paris.  Actually all of these places must be visited.  I should have an entire post on pain au chocolat alone because they really are the best in the world.  Other bests in the world - baguettes, butter, nutella (it's made differently for each country) and chocolate from Jean Paul Hevin.

Dinosaurs are Delicious

What do Syracuse, Troy, Rochester and Harlem all have in common?

I have lived in NYC for over 3 years now and I'm ashamed that it took a trip to Syracuse to eat at this very delicious place.  I don't know if Harlem is like this but we arrived at 5:45 on a Tuesday night and did not get seated until 7 pm.  It was packed and the place is huge.  I spoke to some locals who said 80% of the people in the place are tourists.  I understand.  I am so grateful that Ryan recommended this place and my friends loved it.

The crowds anxiously waiting to be called by the hostess for a table.

The fine and fancy decor.

I allowed a flash for the food because it was perfect - Texas brisket, pulled pork, cornbread, mac & cheese and barbecue beans.  I was so fat dog happy after eating this meal.

Better than the Frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity

Ice skating on Wollman Rink in Central Park on a sunny winter day is the quintessential New York experience.  I admit to wanting to come here because I saw the rink in Serendipity and probably in Love Story as well but I can't remember that movie as well.  But the experience surpasses the hollywoodized version of NYC.  The views from the ice are beautiful and I couldn't help but smile because I was ice skating in Central Park.  The crowd wasn't too overwhelming and the music was actually good - it varied from ACDC to Oasis.  Skating here was probably in my top 5 of must dos in NYC.

 

Thank goodness for friends that were willing to venture out with the crowds on President's Day.  We are all decent skaters and none of us fell.

Polariod Means Fun

I actually own a Fuji but it's the same idea as a Polaroid.  I bought it Summer 2009 before the Just Dance party.  Since then, I've snapped pics at the Throw Back Birthday party shared with Steve, Sadie Hawkins, various dinners and get togethers and the Christmas parties - Roaring 20s, Support the Troops, and Christmas with the Kennedy's.  I love having this reminder when I enter my apartment of incredible friends and great times.

Ones I love include Hyeku kissing Ty's faux-tat.

Amber just being Amber.  And Alpha looking so 1940s.  

Any picture with Amber.

Miss Ev and Fran so much.