Sunday morning was met by a sudden craving for Pho and Vietnamese Iced Coffee. Vien was particularly craving them from one particular restaurant in Queens so we hauled our asses all the way from Brooklyn and braved through the mad subway service changes and track work being done over the weekend. About an hour and a half and 4 subway rides later, we were snarfing down hot bowls of pho and spring rolls with iced coffee. Very few words were exchanged while we nurse our hangovers with steaming, delicious broth.

After lunch, we hopped on a cab to go see Omar, who was expecting us for the day. As soon as we walked in the apartment, we were greeted by a tray of multicolored cupcakes with a special note attached...

Now Vien knows why Omar will always be my #1. 

We took him to go see Real Steel (which was blah and doesn't deserve more space in this post). The movie was followed by a quick dinner with Tita Chon at Jackson Hole Diner because Vien was craving for their huge 7oz burgers. 

Benny is back from his 3-week european tour so we met up with him and other friends for a drink before we called it a night.

Vien hung out with Santi and I the next day...

V looks extra chinky here because I pretty much forced him
to get out of bed to hang with us.

We missed the $1 oyster happy hour at Cornelius after work but that didn't stop us from ordering a dozen of them to share and enjoyed with a bowl of fries and beer. I must remember to go back there on a weekend so we can make it to happy hour and chug down a lot more of those. Yum!

I made a different version of my usual meal, which would be chicken and potatoes for lunch.

Baked crusted chicken cutlets with garlic herb roasted potatoes and my usual veggies.

Such a small meal for one yet I ended up with an overflowing sink of dirty dishes.

Today I finally decided to patronize the nail salon downstairs. I've been living here for over a year and I never went in, choosing instead to pay $28 for a pedicure over in Union Square. I walked in and had my toesies done there for $10 less! And I didn't have to travel across the river to do it too! I was afraid at the kind of place it would be, thinking it would be dank and dingy. It was surprisingly clean, even cleaner than the other place on 6th avenue (and better massage chairs too). I may just go there every week now.

I went to Target today to buy toiletries but I made the mistake of first making a detour to DSW where I walked out with this in a camel color since it was on sale.

I was hungry when I got home and wanted something quick so I used some of Mica's olive bread to make bruschettas.
I'm trying to use up the slowly rotting produce before it really goes bad. I hate how basil goes bad so fast. I bought a bunch of them the other day and most of them have gone gray now. I had to pick through them to find a few good ones for this. And apparently, Mica had been buying produce to replace the ones of mine she's been using and here I was buying more stuff since I didn't want to use hers. So now we have double the number of tomatoes, green beans and bell peppers. A house of 4 people who love to eat will always have a pretty full fridge.


Benny also made a comment about him no longer having shelf space in the kitchen cabinets since I've monopolized one whole shelf solely for my baking supplies. So I decided to use up a bunch of them today by baking TWO UN-red velvet cakes. I didn't want to buy food coloring just for the sake of making it red hence the un-redness of it. I used my squeeze bottle to add an extra flair to cakes too just for the heck of it. If I find extra time tomorrow, I might tackle another batch of white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies again.

I have to be up early tomorrow and head out to Ana's to take photos of Santi. I believe he's turning one month old this week and I've volunteered to take photos. I might just make a monthly thing of this. Next week, I will head out to Ifang's to take photos of the apartment she and her husband are trying to sell/rent and also to take photos of their baby, Koyuki, who's 3 months old now. I can't believe it's been that long since I took these.

Benny's self-produced show is tomorrow night so I'm also skipping over to the lower east side to watch it. I'm not sure if I've posted this before but the postcard flyers that were distributed to promote the event were designed by yours truly. I cannot take credit for the image though, that was taken by Benny himself. This is only the second material I've made that have been handed around NYC so I'm mighty proud.

I just remade the delicious omelet I had at Cheryl's. I made myself a tomato, asparagus and goat cheese breakfast omelet coupled with my staple triple shot cappuccino. Thank you Ella for telling me about the Bialletti and thank you Grace for buying me one. I can't imagine breakfast without it.

Last night, I said goodbye to the one of many Pauls in my life. Paul (from the restaurant) worked his last shift with me last night. By this time, he would be on a plane headed to Hong Kong, his first trip home in about 4 years. When he comes back to NYC in May he shall be pursuing other business interests and I told him to remember to hire me when his wife does decide to open that studio.

I'm really loving the book Comfort Me with Apples. I found it while browsing through the book section of the flea market last week. They had a 2 for $5 book sale and I just picked up two books based on their title and cover. I'm really, really happy I got it. Although it's written in a tone that paints infidelity in a romantic light, Ruth Reichl writes in a manner that makes you sympathize and understand either sides of the story without being judgmental. She also writes about food with such careful detail and warmth that it makes me sad to have never heard of her until now. I would have enjoyed reading her articles at Gourmet Magazine or reading up on all the restaurants and food she's reviewed within the last two decades. I can only imagine a time where food writing as a profession, was frowned upon and considered a low level career choice. Now, with the advent of the food revolution, food blogs and self proclaimed food writers are everywhere. Some people have mistaken my (this) blog to be a food blog since my photos and stories lately have been revolving around restaurants I've tried and dishes I've made. The blog, still is mostly about me, and whatever I'm into at any point in time. Food has just been a constant factor in my life since I started cooking back in 2006. Prior to that, I can't remember what I'd be writing about.

I can't help it.

I'm OBSESSED with food.

Sometimes (well, lately it's been all the time), when I'm alone, I think to myself how utterly unfortunate it is that I discovered my love for food this late in life. Louiie keeps saying it's not too late but despite my fascination with flavors, I think I've outgrown the desire to work 18 hour days in a hot kitchen in the company of high testosteroned cooks. She keeps telling me to run her kitchen if and when we decide to open our own place. I think, if I ever agree to this impossibility, that I shall be single for the rest of my life. Louiie, that is NOT a future I look forward to.

Although I can't stop wondering about it. Right now, all I keep spending time on is thinking of what to try, where to eat, where to go, what to make. I may be online from the second I wake up and the last few minutes before I sleep at night. But the time I spend on the world wide web is not for religiously updating this blog (which I try to, as much as I can) or uploading and updating my pbase online portfolio (which I really should do), I spend countless of hours looking at restaurant reviews, online menus, searching for books about food, reading about food writers, and more.

This may be just a phase. I distinctly remember similarly waxing poetic about photography not too long ago. I do still take photos when I can. I do still want to pursue it. I just have been very distracted by all these new places I've been going to lately. My days off are timed to brunch schedules and dinner reservations. The realization that I live in one of the best cities for exploring flavors of the world has got me even more eager to try them all. I no longer go shopping. In as much as I would like to buy that pair of shoes, right now, a strong part of me would prefer to use that money for another plate of Apiary's Hamachi crudo, or Flatbush Farm's chorizo stew or sausage gravy, or maybe Prune's plate of roasted marrow bones. I walked by One if by Land, Two if by Sea on my way to work today and got a quick glimpse of their menu. They have grilled octopus, I have to try that. They also have a $25 Sunday Jazz Brunch that instantly earned a place in my go-to list. Yes, it's a lot of money for brunch, but really, there's nothing else I can think of that I'd rather spend my money on right now. I'm single, with no other obligations in life. As my mother recently finally admitted, you can't really take your money to the grave. You might as well enjoy what you can, when you can.

Tomorrow, I plan on having brunch at Cheryl's Global Soul which I heard served simple yet perfectly prepared omelets. I wonder what else they have. Their website chooses to be mysterious since they don't post their offerings online. I suppose I will have to see for myself tomorrow morning. I'm working later in the afternoon so I may walk on over to the weekend greenmarket nearby and see if the onset of spring has given us a better selection of produce. Louiie is one unlucky bastard. Exactly one week from that day she arrived in NYC after which she enjoyed over 72 hours of rain, today, we enjoyed 72 degrees in the city. It's as if the weekend she was here, the sky decided to flush out the last remnants of winter in preparation for spring. We've been getting beautiful sunny weather since the day she left for Vegas. It's such a pity I've been spending my days since then, holed indoors serving vegetarians who satisfy themselves by eating soy mutations and convincing themselves that it tastes just like chicken (I sadly admit that I lend a hand in that game of persuasion). If they had Scott Bryan's Roasted Chicken with wild mushroom jus and potato puree, they might just hang themselves.

So I survived the trip, event and back home in my mary janes. I got a little lost when I got to New Jersey but eventually found the country club where the event was held. And OMG, can you say rich-ass-mansion?!? I felt like I was in a film. When I got inside, it was obvious I didn't belong there. The place was filled with old rich people in fancy suit jackets and expensive jewelry sipping martinis and glasses of wine. Vested waiters walked around offering guests hors d'œuvres in silver trays. There were tables set up on separate corners, each table offering different menu items. There was a sushi table, pasta table, chinese food table, etc. Me? Well I went straight for and attacked the cheese table. All I had this morning were the pancakes so I was hungry when I got there. Big mistake though, because Mica failed to inform me that dinner would be served during the show. I sat in front of the bar snacking on shrimp tempura, mini sweet potato and spinach turnovers, crab cakes among other things. I was right by the piano where a guy was playing the usual elevator music people play at these things. I look over at the pianist and who do I see? If you've been watching Late Night with Conan O'brien or his short-lived stint with The Tonight Show, you'd recognize him too. It was La Bamba from the The Max Weinberg 7. Mica says they have him and his other band every year. Last year was supposedly the last time since they were moving to California for The Tonight Show but since that gig fizzled and died, he's apparently back in the east coast.

When it was time to enter the main ballroom, I was the first one in since I wanted to get a good seat at my assigned table. The room was made up that it felt like I was in a mini version of the Golden Globes. When everyone was seated, waiters moved around asking everyone for their choice of entree. I had the filet mignon since it felt like the safe choice. The chicken, I thought might be too dry and the fish, I felt were simply thawed out frozen filets. The mignon was tastier than I expected but too dry for my taste. I couldn't finish my meal no matter how much I forced it. I had too much food from the appetizer tables already. There was a bit of dancing and Mica and the rest of the company performed two excerpts from their shows. Desserts soon followed and I was ready to skip it until I saw what it was, apple pie a la mode with chocolate dipped strawberries. I dug in immediately. I honestly couldn't breathe through my dress at this point and I was glad to be informed that we needed to leave soon to catch our train back to New York.

I don't have (decent) photos from tonight, just random snapshots from my phonecam. I sneaked a few shots while David, one of the company members, were teaching some of the guests to do a chinese ribbon dance, hence the ribbons of color.





Tomorrow is laundry day once again. I was hoping to do it much later since I now have an abundant supply of underwear and socks (I no longer run out of them as fast). Although now my problem is my laundry bag is now stuffed full with dirty clothes. One thing I hate about winter is how much layers you have to wear everyday, you end up using twice the normal amount of clothing.

Caitlin brought home a waffle maker the other day and I got so excited because I thought of buying one before. I woke up this morning and excitedly prepared the batter. However, my overly-excited-inexperienced-in-waffle-making self poured too much batter in the waffle griddle and within seconds, batter flowed all over the kitchen counter and down to the floor. Caitlin's waffle maker was a bit of a mess and I spent 30 minutes, scraping bits of batter off the corners and ridges. I conceded and ended up making my usual silver dollar pancakes, vamping it up a bit with crushed walnuts and sliced strawberries to compensate for my waffle disappointment.

I'm excited and nervous about tonight. I'm Mica's plus one to her dance company's benefit gala. I'm hopping on the New Jersey transit tonight all dressed up for a semi-fancy-schmancy event. People who've worked with me before at The Picture Company know that I like getting dressed up for work a lot. Since I've moved here, it no longer is the case. Being a waitress, my wardrobe now consists of 70% blacks tops and I wear my Nike Air Max 5 out of 7 days in a week. On my days off, I still avoid any shoe with heels higher than an inch because I spend most of the day walking. One time, I braved wearing a pair of 3-inch ankle booties and when I was rushing down the subway trying to catch the train, I slipped and fell, landing on my ass several steps down. I never attend things that require me to get a bit dressed up. I've been in jeans and sneakers the entire time I've been in NYC that my feet have forgotten that it used to be quite at home in heels. Tonight, I'll be wearing satin flats for my commute then change into heels when I reach the venue.

I just finished a pint of Haagen Dazs Butter Pecan. I feel somewhat bad having just finished all of it in one go but I can't deny that it was soooo goooood.

I just got myself so excited and salivating once again after my chat with Louiie regarding the itinerary for her short return to NYC. Well, actually, after I gave her the details, I noticed it wasn't so much of an itinerary as it was an eating schedule. All I really gave her were restaurant names I was gonna take her for brunch and dinner and on what days we were going. Seriously, my fascination with food is getting a little too much but I don't see the need to stop anytime soon. I will be taking her to my recent favorites (Apiary and Prune) but what I'm most excited about is our midnight trip to Kum Gang San (the korean BBQ place) after my shift on Saturday night. I just found out that the korean bbq place is open 24 HOURS! So I figured we'd go scarf down some beef and kimchi after my shift, which ends at midnight (if I'm lucky).

I'm currently reading Waiter Rant and am laughing my ass off (I don't care if I look like an idiot with my restrained chuckles while reading on the subway). That book is so incredibly hilarious and SO relate-able. If you have time to read, go and get it! If you've read Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, then what it did for your perception of kitchen behavior will be the same for your view of waiters. Really! It's sooo funny to me because everything I've read so far has happened to me!!! I'm not alone! Warning though, once you've read it, you shall be compelled to always tip your servers 20%, which is not necessarily a bad thing, and ensures excellent service on your future visits.

Ok, back to my book.

I was meeting Mica at 5:30pm for dinner today. I spent the morning surfing through David Chang's restaurant menus and reviews since Louiie mentioned she was planning on getting his cookbook, Momofuku. First thing that came to mind was, "Hmmm, another place to go and try..." I was at the Union Square area a little too early to meet up with Mica so I found myself back at Strands Bookstore standing at a corner, poring over Thomas Keller's The French Laundry cookbook. I met up with her and we walked on over to a restaurant we were both trying to apply to for extra part time work. The head chef was very nice and said we can probably start in a couple of weeks when things start to pick up more. They've only been open a month so things are still slow moving. I am excited to work in a new place, gain more experience and meet new people. Plus! The best part? It's a Filipino restaurant! In my personal experience, most filipinos are not the best kind of tippers but I am taking this more for the change of scenery and pace. I won't be quitting the vegetarian gig anytime soon though, our weekends have been doing pretty well over there lately and I don't want to miss the good dinero. Specially now that I've developed this new expensive habit of eating out at these fancy places.

Tonight I found myself back at Apiary, this time with Mica and three of her dancer friends. One is also a NY based dancer and the other two were visiting from Hong Kong. Mica and I were there at 6pm and told the maitre d' that we're expecting three other people to join us in an hour and we will be staying at the bar for drinks while we wait. We each get a glass of prosecco and I convince Mica to share an order of the crisp sweetbreads with me. The bartender/waiter looked at us for a second then began,

Him: Have you had sweetbreads before?
Me: No
Him: Uhm well just to let you know that sweetbreads are a young calf's thymus gland....
Me: (cutting him off) I know what they are, that's why I want to try them.

I was smiling at him trying to convincing him that "It's ok, I won't send it back saying 'Ugh! Yuck! Gross!"

Him: Feeling adventurous tonight are we?
Me: Oh YES

Mica was apparently fiddling with her phone and distracted while this whole exchange was taking place because when I casually mentioned to her what the we're about to eat when the waiter left, she said "putangina mo, anong pinapakain mo sakin?!" I reassure her that it will be AWESOME and to add bonus reassurance, tell her that LOUIIE says they are great. Lately, we have come to believe that whatever Louiie says is good, indeed has to be good.

The dish came and we dug in. Now, I've used a lot of adjectives in the past describing the food I eat. I've mentioned amazing, great, awesome, delicious, good, excellent. I'm running out of things to describe dishes already. BASTA MASARAP SIYA OK! NAPAKASARAP NIYA TALAGA. I really would prefer not to describe it as "kinda like chicken" but it was what came out of Mica's mouth when she has her first bite. I guess it did, only BETTER. It was tender and melted in your mouth. The frisee salad that came with it was a perfect contrast to the sauce that circled the plate. I polished off the rest of the dish and secretly began running my fingers on the plate and licking off the wonderful sauce since I didn't want to waste a single drop of it. I saw the bartender sneak a glance just as I was sucking on my thumb and he smiled. Later, when we were seated with the rest, he jokingly asked me if I ordered the sweetbreads again.

Oh, I forgot to mention that we saw the man of the house himself! Scott Bryan! He was standing by the bar as soon as Mica and I walked in and made our reservations. My insides began screaming and I tried to calm myself as I told Mica, "Ayan na siyaaaaa!!! yung naka-puti! OMG!! Siya na yooooon!!!" I've seen a few Hollywood stars around New York but I haven't felt the same kind of "gigil" I felt when I realized SCOTT BRYAN IS IN THE ROOM. I wonder what will happen to me if I see Anthony Bourdain? I might faint. He lingered around the bar before dinner rush while we sat and drank waiting for Mica's friends. Later Mica asks me, "Nakita ka na ba ng chef nung andito ka dati?" I told her he wasn't there when I first came. "Kasi kanina pa siya tingin ng tingin sayo eh."

"TALAGA?!?!?"

Punyeta ang dork ko talaga. My reaction made Mica laugh so hard. She says she's never seen me so giddy ever. Anyway, wala lang naman yon pero natuwa parin ako. He disappeared into the kitchen when diners started pouring in. We were lucky they managed to squeeze us in despite a very busy night.

The rest of the party came, we sat down and ordered. I got most of the same I got last time except I chose the Roasted Merluza with curried mussel chowder instead of the chicken. I won't say anything about it anymore, you know it was good. Everybody else was very happy with their choices as the meal progressed. Since I recommended the restaurant, I was happy to see them pleased with their meals. Remember what I said yesterday about my dinner in Prune being my most expensive meal? Well today trumped yesterday's bill. BUT I DON'T CARE! Maybe next time though, I will stick to ordering only a few items at a time and not overly stuff myself in one go. Sitting silently by the bar while I enjoy a bowl of the tuscan bean and kale soup followed by the sweetbreads should be fine.

...and I spent it alone :)

I woke up and took my time. One thing I hate doing on my off days is rush myself. I took my time getting off of bed, making coffee, breakfast, watching last night's episode of Lost, looking at menus online deciding where to eat for dinner. I decided on Prune after watching an episode of No Reservations where Bourdain is joined by Eric Ripert (of Le Bernadin) and Scott Bryan (of Apiary) where they enjoy a late meal at Gabrielle Hamilton's place. I took my time in the shower, got dressed and headed over to Union Square and ended up where I usually go on my day off, a bookstore. This time I went to Strands and bought a copy of Thomas Keller's cookbook Ad Hoc.
I also bought a copy of Waiter Rant, which is the front of the restaurant's version of Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. I read an excerpt about verbal tipping and found it both hilarious and relate-able that I had to get it.

I walked around the east village and down to Prune, which was about 14 blocks and two avenues from the bookstore. The place didn't open until 5:30pm so I sat at a cafe and perused through Keller's cookbook as I waited for time to pass. Six o'clock came and I figured it was enough time to let the restaurant open and prepare itself before it welcomed diners. I didn't make reservations since I was once again dining solo. I needn't have worried, I was their first customer. I ordered the roasted marrow bones with parsley salad and the seared duck breast with dandelion greens and raisin-caper dressing. Bourdain has said it again and again, his death row meal would be roasted marrow bones with parsley salad. I shall have to say I agree. Honestly, I could die tomorrow and I would die a happy (wo)man. I will tell you the duck breast was fantastic but the bone marrow was the highlight of my meal. Seriously. It was the BEST.THING.EVER. It was nature's butter. Trying to describe it would be futile. No words can illustrate how simple yet absolutely amazing it was. People started pouring into the restaurant as I devoured my appetizer. A couple sat beside me and as the waitress told them about the bone marrow appetizer being the best selling item on the menu, I sneak a glance and smile at her. She pauses and gestures to me and my marrow stained fingers as if to emphasize her point. I couldn't help myself and told them to get it. "You have to get that, I swear, it is amazing," I tell them. They agreed and order it. Later the man turns to me and says, "Would you like a glass of our French Burgundy with your meal? We ordered a bottle and we won't be able to finish it." I graciously accept and later I surreptitiously tell my server to charge me twice for my dessert and give one to the couple at the next table as soon as they finish their meal. I've been specially lucky with free drinks this week. I forgot to mention that the bartender in Apiary also bought me an extra glass of wine when I was there. I had a glass of riesling prior to the burgundy and was at this point feeling particularly generous and adequately buzzed. I tipped the server more than the usual, ignoring the fact that my meal tonight was one of the, if not THE most expensive solo meal I've ever had. I can say now that it won't be my last.

I was lucky with a cab today. New York City is supposedly notorious for it's difficulty in hailing a cab. I never had that kind of bad luck except when it's raining hard. Tonight, I was at an intersection and didn't even hail a cab. All I did was look at a passing cab and it pulled over a few yards from where I was standing. It took me several seconds to realize that it stopped for me and I ran to it. I needed to make the 7:45pm showing of Shutter Island at a theatre near Union Square. I got there (over tipped the cab driver, it was the alchohol, I tell you) and found that the 7:45 showing was sold out. I quickly checked my phone for the next soonest showtime and found one at a theater right in the middle of new yorker hell and tourist district, Times Square. I normally never go anywhere above 14th st unless I'm taking out of town friends around NYC but it was early and I really didn't want to go home so I went and saw the movie. I don't want to spoil it for people who haven't seen it but it was a really good movie. Martin Scorcese did an awesome job as usual despite the conclusion having a particular resemblance to another movie (you'll know which one I'm referring to when you see it).

I walked out of the theater once again greeted by Times Square's bright lights that it felt like it was 7pm despite it being almost 11pm. I got home and Caitlin walked in soon after bearing a bottle of Jack Daniels. We drink while watching Sabrina (the Audrey Hepburn version) in the living room. My eyes, tired and relatively drunk, gave up halfway through the film and excused myself to my room where I decided to type this post before bed before I let go of today's high.

Louiie, we are going to Prune when you come to NYC next month, and we're ordering the sweetbreads with bacon and caper sauce.

***I'm really buzzed and if there are any grammatical errors or typos in this post, I shall fix them tomorrow morning***

Boring stuff:
Laundry, I was out of socks and underwear
Cleaned my room, dusted and swept every nook and cranny

Less boring stuff:
Went to target, bought socks and underwear so I don't run out of it so fast. Hahaha!
Headed to Bed, Bath and Beyond to look for the scalp massager I saw in Ana's house,
then Barnes and Noble (again) where I scored myself this...

and this...

I bought Arkham Asylum mainly because of Dave Mckean's awesome art. He produced the most horrifying image of The Joker that I've ever seen.
Plus I just re-watched Batman Begins last night and am still in a Batman high. I hope Christopher Nolan won't let Heath Ledger's death hinder him from continuing his work on the Batman franchise. Mr. Nolan is a supremely awesome filmmaker. Has anyone seen the trailer of his latest film Inception?

Ellen Page is in it! YEY!

Not too boring stuff:

Having read enough about Scott Bryan from Anthony Bourdain's books, an entire chapter was dedicated to Bryan alone in Kitchen Confidential, I decided to seek out the chef that New York culinarians have been raving about. I know nothing about him except for what Bourdain mentions in his books. One episode I saw of No Reservations had him working at Veritas but a quick web search told me he no longer works there. He apparently left Veritas two years ago and wandered around who knows where until he eventually found his way back to NYC, in Apiary in the East Village. Reviews for Apiary were a little on the blah side when it opened until Scott Bryan was hired to replace the existing executive chef. The website could use a little work and the place might be able to use a bit more press so I was a little apprehensive about my trip there tonight. I was hoping against hope that Bourdain's description of him then would still hold true today.

I went there with No Reservations (hehe) and was sat at the bar, which I didn't mind at all. I came prepared with reading material since I was going to be dining solo. They extended their restaurant week menu until the end of the month so I was able to score a 3-course dinner at a fraction of what it might have cost if I ordered a la carte.

TUSCAN WHITE BEAN SOUP black kale, tomato parmesan, extra virgin olive oil
I was annoyed after I swallowed a spoonful of this. Why? Because THIS is what I wanted to make when I made this. Although I did end up with good soup, theirs was PERFECT. The waiter said the soup was too thick to be served with bread but if I wanted some, they would give me anyway. I was glad I said yes because I used the bread to wipe every ounce of liquid off that bowl.

ROASTED ORGANIC CHICKEN celery root puree, glazed carrots wild mushroom jus
When ordering off restaurant week menus, I am more inclined to order the boldest looking item on the menu because I want to see what the chef can do with not-your-usual ingredients. I was planning to get the duck leg confit but changed my mind to the chicken due to a recommendation from a New York Magazine article I read prior to my visit. I was also curious as to what he could make out of such a boring ingredient. I remember reading somewhere that "chicken is for people who don't know what they want to eat."

After visiting Bar Boulud with Mica a few weeks ago, I was expecting miniature portions. I was given more that I prepared myself for. I actually walked out of there pregnant, barely able to breathe through my layers of clothing and skinny jeans. The server set my entree down and immediately I knew I was going to enjoy it. The aroma of the roasted chicken made my eyes flutter and I had to smile. Not bothering with my usual taking-pictures-of-what-I-eat and I immediately dug in. After my first bite, I put my utensils down and grabbed my phone.

"MICA, PUTANGINA KAILAN ANG DAY OFF MO? KAILANGAN KITANG DALHIN DITO."

The mashed potatoes that came with the dish tasted like it was supposed to, only it had the consistency of a mousse. It was light and creamy, fluffy without being too starchy and went perfectly with the chicken. It was a very simple and ingeniously prepared meal. Chicken here, is no longer for the boring foodies.

VANILLA PANNA COTTA raspberry coulis
I've never had panna cotta ever and I loved this one. I'm a fan of leche flan, creme caramel and creme brulee so this was right up my alley without being too sweet. I ate it slow, letting each spoonful linger in my mouth.

I am so going to be back this week. Mica has to try it. Heck, YOU ALL HAVE TO COME AND TRY IT.

Oh, and funny little thing was halfway through my meal, a group of people came and sat by me at the bar. They were speaking tagalog so I looked beside me and saw...Rajo Laurel. He must have been here for NY Fashion Week.

I was supposed to watch Shutter Island after dinner but tickets were sold out so I headed on home where I soaked my feet and gave myself a mani/pedi while watching dvds.

I was dangerously close to spending the whole day indoors and wasting a very rare opportunity to NOT be at work. I was lying in bed at 2pm wasting my time on nonsensical crap when Kelly calls asking for a favor. She needed to crash at my place since she can't drive back home to Long Island because of the snow storm. I told her I'd meet her at Union Square then I jumped off of bed and showered, got dressed and zipped up my dandy waterproof snow boots. I am so glad to have the opportunity to wear those again. I was getting worried it was useless getting them since we haven't been having a lot of snow lately. Well, we had a very very very thick layer of ice on the roads today. It's been snowing nonstop since I got off work last night so everything is nice and white.

I took the Q train to Union Square since it ran on the Manhattan Bridge as opposed to taking a train that ran underground. I wanted to see how bad the blizzard is over the water. It was so bad that I can't see anything beyond the Brooklyn bridge. I could barely see the bridge even, just a faint outline and the Manhattan skyline was totally invisible amidst the pouring snow. On an average day, you would never see me out and about on a day like this but my days off have been unpredictably seldom lately and I didn't want to spend my one free day indoors.

I got to Union Square and saw a few people milling about. Some kids were having snowball fights, some parents were with their kids making snowmen in the park and there was a group of guys still hungover from the Superbowl playing a freezing game of football in the snow.
I've been very unlucky with jeans this week. All three of my work jeans have ripped which forced me to buy three pairs today. I decided to go the cheap route and head on over to Old Navy. Kelly said I should just keep wearing the jeans since ripped is supposed to be a "style" anyway. I told her I agreed, but not when the tear is on the inner thigh crotch area. All three pants had the same rip. My mom says it might be due to all the machine washing. Kelly got so excited about the major clearance sale they were having and couldn't help gushing over the 8 tops she got for only $18.

We walked on over to Dallas BBQ and since I only had that soup this morning, I was so hungry I ordered a caesar salad (which was humongous btw) plus a bbq ribs and honey roasted chicken combo with corn bread and yellow rice. Kelly only had half a bbq chicken with rice, corn bread and corn on the cob but I wiped my plate clean while she pushed her food around halfway through the meal and eventually gave up. She did, however, have three goblets of long island iced tea while I enjoyed a single serving of strawberry frozen margarita.

We got home and watched 50 First Dates with Caitlin while Kelly finished off the remainder of my bottle of Riesling (I swear that girl is an alcoholic, and she knows it too). I chatted with my mom a bit on skype and here I am lying in bed not doing what I'm supposed to do, which is finish Benny's postcard flyers for his show in April.

Ok fine I'm gonna do it now...

*****

On a completely separate note, Neil Gaiman is celebrating his blog's 9th year by having blog readers post a photo of them with the number 9. Let's see if you can find me here. Hint: photo was taken by Jammi during my last TPC shoot.

Oh and OMG, Neil has an awesomly sick house:

the house and his dog, Cabal

I woke up at 6am and since I couldn't sleep anymore, spent about 4 hours in bed surfing the web. I didn't think I would sleep anymore so I made plans to have a solo brunch in the city then catching a movie. I ended up dozing off around 10am and woke up a little before 2pm. I got up, showered and headed out. I had originally planned either to have brunch at Flatbush Farm (for the english biscuits and sausage gravy) or in Grill 21 (for the tapsilog) but I was too late for Flatbush Farm (brunch only until 3pm) and Grill 21 was a long walk from the closest subway stop and it was about 17 degrees Fahrenheit outside. I ended up taking advantage of the restaurant week menu at Brasserie Les Halles on Park Avenue. Fans of Anthony Bourdain know that was the restaurant he used to work at as Executive Chef before making it big as a writer/food travel show host. I've read two of his books repeatedly and I felt such an odd feeling as if I was remembering memories that were not my own. He wrote of his days in Les Halles in a manner that gives readers a very good picture of what a typical day in the restaurant is like.

So the food, I ordered

Vol au vent de Champignons Sauvages et Salsifis (wild mushrooms in puff pastry)
Beouf Bourguignon (classic french beef stew)
Creme Brulee au Cafe (coffee creme brulee)

What do you want me to say?

OF COURSE IT WAS GOOD. The beef in the stew was so tender, it didn't need teeth to chew it. An old lady can take her dentures out and still be able to chew that sucker without suffering indigestion. The creme brulee was wonderful too with a light coffee flavor (although I like the texture of Louiie's creme brulee better). The big surprise was the mushroom pastry which I honestly had very low expectations of. It was described so simply that I didn't know such flavor could come from a bunch of fungi. The pastry was more of like a croissant ring, light, flaky and with a slight buttery taste that complemented the flavor of mushrooms. It was absolutely divine. I think, despite their prices, I may put this place on my list of go-to restaurants when I don't know where else to go. I shall be back...and I will have some that steak frites.

Skipped down to Union Square to catch Daybreakers. It was a toss up between that or Legion but after reading reviews on Rotten Tomatoes for both movies, I ended up choosing the former. It was alright, with the expected display of blood and gore (hello, vampire movie, what do you expect? don't let the stupid twilight series sway you into thinking vampires are meant to be emo). Daybreakers was predictable in most parts but despite all the blah moments, I know it was still probably better than Legion.

I dropped by Strands Bookstore and picked up a copy of the Mirrormask book as well as books-2-4 of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I finished the first one in about two days and loved it so much, I went ahead and got the other paperbacks. My nose shall be buried in the adventures of Percy and his conquests with characters in Greek Mythology.

*****

In a completely off topic. I just found out that Neil Gaiman is engaged to his girlfriend Amanda Palmer who is 15 years younger than him. Hell, I didn't even know he was divorced from the mother of his children! I quickly googled Amanda Palmer and found that she's a musician, artist, and really really really loves to get naked in public. I mean seriously. She took off her dress to change into another slipless see-through dress on the red carpet during the Golden Globes in front of all the press!!! Neil, by the way, was present and was assisting her through this entire scene. She's eccentric in a way that's both hilariously funny and borderline annoying. Read her blog post on her first red carpet experience and tell me if she doesn't make you laugh. I can sort of see why Neil likes her and can see where the dynamic is. It's just funny to me how both my male heroes have ended up with second wives who are significantly younger than them. Anthony Bourdain's guesting on Miami Ink accompanied by Ottavia Bourdain sporting a very tight black midriff instantly made me hate her. But after reading about her, I found out that through Tony's relationship with her, he has quit smoking, drug-free, been less vile, and has become a father. So we can say what we want about her but we can't deny that she's been very good for him. I guess despite Amanda Palmer's eccentricities, she may be good for Neil too. I suppose these men reach an age where they need partners who still find the need to care for them in a way that they need to be cared for. Their previous wives might have reached their breaking point where they've had it up to their necks with their husband's rockstar bullshit or whatever reason that's got them so jaded. The point is, I get it, and I offer no prejudice to either parties. I love Neil and Tony for their work no matter what their marital situation may be. As long as their personal lives continue to inspire them to produce more work that I can appreciate, then that's fine by me. Moral of the story is that men, it seems, as they get older, need more personal attention from their spouses. Ironically, this is the same kind of attention we women demand of our men at the beginning of every relationship so we can't blame them for asking of the same in return.

Amazing what we realize when we've been single for so long...ahem...

I'm ranting too much. I have to go to bed. 'nyt...

NYC Restaurant Week (winter edition) is here!!! I shall find my way back into Daniel Boulud's dining table once again! Although I tried making reservations at Cafe Boulud for next week but it looks like they're already fully booked. I'll try calling tomorrow but if I can't get reservations, it looks like I can get a table at Bar Boulud (the other franchise on the other side of town) instead. I just checked out both menus and if I can manage to get tables for both, I am SO going!!! Also, I shall make Louiie drool with envy because I just saw that Susur Lee's restaurant, Shang, is also participating until the end of February! It's 2am and I'm surfing through restaurant week menus that are making my stomach growl.

Enough about glorious food. So I finally got to see Tim Burton's exhibition at the MOMA and it was bloody amazing!

no photography was allowed so I only have two images from the entrance and the exit of his section of the museum

He really is truly an artist! It featured a lot of his drawings, painting, sketches from way back 1979 (maybe even earlier, I can't remember). Including all the character sketches from all his movies! It goes to show that his characters really are a product of his twistedly genius imagination. I didn't even bother seeing any of the other exhibits in the museum today. I paid my $20 just to see his and it did not disappoint! They even had some of the props used in some of his movies: Beetlejuice's sleeves, Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman costume from Batman Returns, the headless horseman's cape from Sleepy Hollow, Batman's rubber masks, the Edward Scissorhands costume, the barber's tools from Sweeney Todd and lots more! There was even a section of the exhibit where it felt like you walked into a small room from the circus in Big Fish. The exhibit runs until April so LOUIIE, I AM TAKING YOU THERE!!! I went home with a 3-pc figurine set from his Stainboy series. They're so cute!!! I also just framed some of the postcards sketches I bought from the museum store. I LOVE IT!

I walked from Moma all the way to Times Square trying to decide where to eat dinner. It was morbidly freezing out and I didn't have enough layers on plus I forgot my warm, fuzzy hat. I gave up on the whole enjoying-nyc-by-walking plan as my ears and fingers were dangerously close to getting frost bite and I hopped on the subway to eat at Monster Sushi down at Chelsea. This place is quickly becoming my go-to joint for a good and affordable sushi dinner. Of course, Ushiwakamaru still is hands down the best damn sushi place I've ever been to. But I wasn't prepared to drop a C-note (and then some) for a single meal. That one time happened to be a birthday treat from my friend Rie. That visit may as well be my last. I can't afford that place unless I was celebrating a very, very, very, VERY special occasion
.
I was hoping to watch Legion after my Moma trip but the next showtime almost two hours after I had finished my dinner. I decided to go home and watch The Men Who Stare at Goats instead.

Currently halfway through Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Very fun book! I highly recommend it. I just started reading it yesterday and I find it difficult to put down, even when my stop is here and I need to get off or I'll be late for work.

I'm struggling to stay awake just so I can post these photos because I know if I don't do these now, I will never be able to do anytime soon.

Louiie has been trying to convince me to start a food blog. She says she wants to capitalize on my culinary streak, whatever that means. She says I cook more than she does (not counting the hundreds of meals she busts out everyday at The Wynn of course). Although she's right. I HAVE been cooking quite a lot lately. I just haven't been taking photos of any of my recent exploits and I'm sorry about that. I've been getting a lot of feedback from people who seem to enjoy consuming all the stuff I keep producing. They keep saying I should go to culinary school. I'm flattered but I think I may be too old to get into that business now. I have Louiie to guide me anytime I need help in the kitchen anyway. Maybe one day when Louiie finally decides to put up her own restaurant, then I will consider applying to be her sous chef :)

I now only go to Starbucks when I'm running late for work and don't have time to make my own coffee. I make them better. Hehe. Now only if I can get my hands on those toffee nut syrups...hmmm...

Well today was one of kitchen days. I woke up and made my usual espresso + caramel cappuccino. I made blueberry pancakes again with fresh strawberries and blueberries for breakfast.


Mica was on the phone with one of her friends when she suddenly mentioned something about inviting them over for dinner. I immediately got excited and we began planning the night's menu. We made:

Soup Starter:

Corn, Cheese and Potato Chowder with turkey bacon

Salad:
Mixed greens with bell peppers, grape tomatoes, slivered almonds and french artichoke dressing

Pasta:
Pea and Tomato Pasta (a recipe we got from Giada de Laurentiis)

Entree:
Chicken Roulade with garlic herb roasted potatoes

The night's beverage of choice were several bottles of California Riesling.


Dessert:
Blueberry Cheesecake (extra whole leftover pie from the batch I made for Mica's party last Saturday. The cheesecake was a smashing hit, btw) No photo for this one, it was mutilated before I could

We were out within an hour and I bought kitchen items I would need to prepare dinner. The roulade was a suggestion from Louiie, who I called for help for menu ideas. She dictated the ingredients and procedure over the phone and I tried to re-create everything tonight.


We got home later than planned and started cooking only minutes before guests came in. We fed them the usual cheese platter with dried fruits and nuts, kalamata olives, baguettes, biscuits plus an added bonus of prosciutto that I picked up from Murray's cheese shop this afternoon. We had the usual brie and goat cheese plus, by suggestion of Louiie, I bought a quarter block of Brillat Savarin. She has kept talking about this cheese for weeks and keeps insisting that I get them. When I finally went out to get them, I find out that she has failed to mention how ridiculously expensive it was. How much? They were $28/lb!!!! So my measly little quarter block cost me a little over $10. But were they good? Oh fuck yes they were good. Our usually popular choice of double cream brie was ignored.

We played Cranium after dinner but I noticed the Cranium games that followed after that game night with Louiie, Angel and Kelly was never quite as fun.

Tomorrow shall be less exciting since I have to do laundry and really have to sit down and finish Ifang's pre-natal photos. I shall need to attend a district meeting at my friend Rie's house tomorrow night so I need to finish all my tasks early. I've been unable to attend a lot of SGI's meetings due to conflicting work schedules but I'm glad I can make it tomorrow specially since Rie (pronounced REE-YEH) is leaving to head back home to Japan by the end of the month and I will surely miss her. I haven't told you anything much about her but she's become one of my really funny friends here in NY. She even treated me to a lavish Japanese sushi dinner on my birthday. It was the best (and most expensive) sushi dinner of my life. I was wobbling home from all the raw seafood plus amazing sake.

So...

Off to bed for me...It's 3:30am already and I have laundry tomorrow.

I've been getting a lot of days off now that there are about 6 servers to work with at the restaurant. I still don't get weekends off though, boo! I thought of going on another trip this week but I thought maybe I'm pushing the travel spending a little too much so I opted to take a vacation in the kitchen!!! I haven't been making anything as much as I would have liked so I'm taking this free time to flex my kitchen skills. I started off by cleaning the kitchen earlier today. Mica came home exclaiming, "OMG, the stove is gleaming!" Well, by the end of three days, it may not be quite so gleaming.

I busted out the good ol' pressure cooker and made Beef Caldereta since I've had a weird craving for it. I just finished marinating sirloin tips for my breakfast tomorrow, Beef Tapa, itlog na pula and sinangag! I just found two decent recipes for my afternoon project which are Banana Walnut Bread and Bibingka Galapong! I'm also thinking of making homemade chicken sopas (with alphabet pasta!!!) since a good hot creamy soup is very good in current NY weather. Our evenings have now dropped to the 40s and I've already brought out my thick comforter. It seems just recently that I was stashing it under the bed because it's gotten too hot for it. Now I can't even go downstairs to do laundry without putting socks on.

Hopefully tomorrow's projects turn out alright. I'm still trying to figure out what to make for Thursday. I'm planning to squeeze in an IKEA trip tomorrow afternoon so whatever isn't made tomorrow will be done the following day.

Sadly, I have no photos. I was famished by the time my meal was done that I went straight to devouring it. Maybe I'll have something to show tomorrow. We'll see. Wish me luck!

Yes, babies. We walked 6 miles today taking photos along the way. We pretty much saw the greater Boston area on foot in one day. I can barely believe it. We had lunch at Boston Beer Works since Andy was really, really keen on trying the flavored beers (he had a Blueberry Beer). Ella and I were starving and we all shared a cheeseburger, pizza, clam chowder and tortilla with spinach and artichoke dip.


I have to say that Boston really is very much a cross between San Francisco and NYC with the exception that Boston is injected with lots of history, graveyards and historic chapels. Also, there seems to be an AWFUL LOT of Dunkin Donuts around. There's one in every other block! Rico (a friend who spent a few years living in this city while attending Berklee College of Music) just informed me earlier that it's mainly because Dunkin Donuts started right here in Massachusetts.

It's so much fun to finally be in the company of photographers again! I haven't had real awesome photos in a while and Ella took really good ones of me today.

Before heading back, we had beer at the oldest tavern in America, which we happened to find by chance despite Andy's attempt to locate it.

I've canceled my last night here at the hostel and will be staying with Ella and Andy in their hotel tomorrow night since we'll be in late after our road trip. Road trip you say? Yes! Tomorrow we're going to MAINE where I shall have my share of the best lobsters in the world! Yahoo!

PICTURES! PICTURES! PICTURES!

A few things happened today.

Woke up early to watch and photograph Mica's dance class. I took horrible shots not meant for sharing. We had eggo waffles, tomato and cheese omelet and bananas with cinnamon sugar for breakfast then walked over to Chilmark beach. Mica said it was a short half mile walk to the beach but it felt further than that. Gawd, I am so out of shape. But the walk was worth it because we were presented with this...

We gave up trying to toast ourselves on a cloudy sky and hopped on a bus to the Gay Head Cliffs. Funny name..hehe..GAY.HEAD. *giggle* We were hungry and were very pleased to find affordable fare. We each had a 1/4 pound hotdog with angus beef chili and cheese, a cup of New England clam chowder plus a fish taco. OMG. I didn't think I could find chili that could challenge my mom's recipe but that dog was the shit. THAT IS WHAT A HOTDOG IS SUPPOSED TO BE. My only gripe about NYC is they don't know how to DO a hotdog. This one had the perfect skin snap and the flavor of the chili was amazing. We were farting all day after that.Then we took photos of the Gay Head (*giggle*) lighthouse and roamed the tourist shops before hopping on the bus back to the yard where I napped a bit before we made dinner of anchovy pasta.

Currently snacking on cheddar cheese cubes before we go to bed and wake up for another day tomorrow. The day starts the same with Mica's class then we're heading out to the busy towns of abercrombie and fitch-esque residents to take more photos. It will be my last day before I head back to gloomy NYC on thursday.