Sharon and I had some extra tickets to the Kandinsky show at the Guggenheim, so we made a day of it with our friends Pete and Woody uptown viewing art and eating food! We started at the museum on the upper east side. Making our way to the top of the building and winding our way down, we did the reverse chronological order viewing. Kandinsky’s work was awesome, and the range and impact of environment was apparent in the paintings. Later life works were more organic and oceanic, while earlier pieces were more what I was familiar with. The show was curated expertly and we all enjoyed it — without the audio guide!
Hungry from so many abstract shapes, we headed west across Central Park — to Shake Shack. I hadn’t been to the uptown location and it was a much different experience. The line was inside, the signage was new and well layed out. There was still chaos as orders cleared. However, there were lots more kids and strollers which made getting around as well as scoring a table quite a challenge. The meal was delicious as always, nonetheless, and we walked out stuffed.
There was a little room for desert — and we took our guests to the best cookies in Manhattan — Levain Bakery! The warm, gooey cookies oozed everywhere as we divided up the chocolate, peanut-buttery goodness on the sidewalk out front.
Categories: Art · NYC · Restaurants
Sharon gets inspired to make pasta from scratch every once in a while — and I benefit! Above are home made tortellini with a ricotta and spinach filling. The little pillows were bursting with flavor and I enjoyed every bite.
Sharon brought home a pumpkin spiced pancake mix from Atlanta over Christmas and we tried it out for a hearty weekend brunch. The flapjacks were sweet and savory, with the maple syrup filling the nooks and crannies nicely. Combined with fresh bacon and fluffy goat cheese laced eggs, it was a breakfast to remember!
I also got Sharon Beard on Bread for Christmas, as she has wanted to make her own loaves for some time now. So far, 2 down with a tasty, plain white bread and a nice whole wheat. The kitchen is smelling amazing this winter, as we stay toasty inside!
Categories: Cooking · NYC
Happy 2010!
We had an amazing New Years Eve that started out at our apartment with a delicious, hearty meal cooked by me and enjoyed by Joel and our friend Pete. After dinner and some drinks, we made our way to Pete’s childhood home to see his parents, in the East Village. We were treated with amazing hospitalty — shrimp, beers, candle lighting on the tree and cookies!
After Pete’s, we left Manhattan to meet up with Kevin, a friend of ours visiting from Charleston as well as some of my old Roswell crew. We ended up at the Jelly NYC office only to be greeted with lots of mini Colt 45’s — after that, we knew an exciting and classy night was to be had by all. Many mini’s later, we left that party hoping to make it to another friend, Rob’s, party in Williamsburg.
We slid most of the way there as it was another snowy night in New York (Happy New Year to me!). We finally made it to Rob’s before midnight and toasted in the New Year. A few glasses of champagne in, an 80’s dance party full of Journey and Madonna ensued, which thrilled me to no end — what a way to bring in the new year! We danced the night away before somehow making it back home to Manhattan and posing for one last picture of the night in front of the Wall Street Christmas tree.
What a night… Cheers to a new and exciting year!
Categories: Bars · Cooking · NYC
Joel and I headed down south once again for his third Christmas. This year we felt like Santa as we packed our suitcases FULL of gifts. Upon arrival, we were greeted by my parents as well as my mom’s amazingly festive decorating and her beautiful tree.
As usual, right off the bat my family and I got to cooking — shrimp scampi here, goat cheese pizzas there. All culminating with my mom’s traditional Christmas dinner — a deliciously moist and perfectly seasoned rib roast purchased from our favorite meat purveyor, Star Provisions. Sided with tender, roasted brussel sprouts, roasted vegetables and superb, cheesy twice-baked potatoes. To end our holiday indulging, my mom paired her plethora of delicious homemade treats with my chocolate mint and pretzel bark. Another fantastic holiday meal but to rest!
After desert, another holiday tradition occurred — Taboo! A few of our friends came over and gathered in the basement to try their hand at beating Team Martin. Many laughs were had and many losing attempts were made but Team Martin came out on top again.
Full and tired from all of the food and beverages had all week, the whole family decided it was the right time to see James Cameron’s Avatar, in 3D IMAX of course! Although not an IMAX like we have in New York, it did the job. The movie was beautiful; the graphics were phenomenal. The purple world and the story line that was portrayed was a perfect mix of Furn Gully and Dances with Wolves. I was almost disappointed to leave the movie theater into the boring world outside!
Another amazing Christmas was had by all — amazing food, great family fun, fantastic gifts. I say we do it again next year Joel!
Categories: Cooking · Movies · Sophie · Travel
New York City experienced its first winter storm of the season this weekend. Needless to say, I was incredibly exited. As I have no driveway or sidewalk to shovel or a car to clear off, I revel in the idea of snow! Snow brings empty streets, white silence, that crunching sound with every step.
Joel and I had a holiday party to attend so unlike most New Yorkers, we ventured out. And Little Italy never looked so beautiful!
Categories: NYC
The scene: Peat’s Haus hosting Feuerzangenbowle 4 — The Reckoning. A Feuerzangenbowle is essentially a cone of flaming sugar melted above a pot of hot wine. The sugar melts and falls into the pot making a sweet, hot, winter treat.
My buddy Pete had a bunch of people over Saturday night (all braving blizzard conditions) to watch said activity with eager anticipation. It was a ton of fun with lots of other German treats abound: meats, cheeses, breads and cookies. Sharon and I stayed late in the night participating in the seasonal drinking and enjoying the company.
Can’t wait until the next cone!
Categories: NYC
I love food trucks. The latest one is called Frites ‘n’ Meats and amazingly parks Monday thru Friday by my office in Tribeca. I started following the truck on Twitter about 2 months ago when it started. The business seems to have really taken off since then with recent delivery service and great sounding burgers of the week. The day after my 2009 holiday party sounded like the perfect time to try their tasty sounding menu.
The concept is basic — hamburgers and fries. With some amazing sides and garnishes. I started with the grass-fed burger with Gruyere cheese, bacon, fresh greens and mustard. I also had to try the fries, and went for the garlic aoli dipping sauce.
First off, the burger was cooked perfectly with a taste of the grill. The cheese melted graciously on top of the patty and the crispy bacon strips added salty taste and texture. YUM. The fries were fresh, hot and came with the perfect accessory — a tiny fork so your fingers stayed grease-less! The savory garlic aoli sauce was a great tangy compliment to the fried potatoes.
I will visit the truck again, as there are many other things on the menu — soups, deserts and different meat and fry sauce combinations.
Categories: NYC · Restaurants
December 12, 2009 · 1 Comment
Christmas on Wall Street has arrived! My parents made their way to NYC for our annual holiday celebrations — my birthday and Christmas in New York. Like any other Martin visit, we ate our way through Manhattan, this time by way of the Union Square Hospitality Group. First off, Joel and I spent my actual birthday at Blue Smoke; my favorite low-key restaurant in the city.
The following night, Joel, my mom and I enjoyed a fantastic meal at The Modern Bar. The food and service were just what you’d expect from a Danny Meyer restaurant — The ambiance was exciting and loud which made for a fun atmosphere and meal. We indulged in such meals as the tarte flambee — a delicious combination of creme fraiche, applewood smoked bacon and onions. Also amazing was the homemade Alsatian country sausage — an incredibly fresh and light sausage served with tangy sauerkraut and whole grain mustard.
Friday night marked the arrival of my father and our annual holiday meal at the always incredible Eleven Madison Park. Although our regular and favorite server was off that night, we still indulged in the best meal of the year! Top notch service, delicious wine and champagne, as well as impeccable meals made for yet another well spent special occasion. To make the night even more superb, I was treated with a gift of a whole wheel (!) of the most sublime cheese ever made, Aria. The night couldn’t have been any better!
Our last meal of the weekend was Gramercy Tavern. The night didn’t start off well with a bad table and a terrible experience trying to change tables — The front of the house was downright rude. Our server was knowledgeable and nice and the food was substantial, almost making up for the beginning of the night. Unfortunately, the front of the house manager ruined the evening once and for all when he came over to our table after the meal. Not only was his arrival odd (no introductions, we had to ask who the strange man standing at our table was), but he ended a very awkward and uncomfortable conversation with “what can I do for you?”. We responded with “I don’t know” and he looked offended — as if we should be telling him how to fix the experience. He then turned and sped away; no apologies, nothing to rectify the situation, just an swish of air of where he once stood…
Needless to say, we will never make our way back to Grammercy Tavern and I recommend that you don’t either. I will, again and again, highly recommend Eleven Madison Park. It is the restaurant that all other restaurants should strive to be!
The rest of the weekend with the family was amazing. We had a lot of good conversations, did a bunch of holiday shopping and drank a lot of hot cider! Another fantastic Christmas in new York City!
Categories: Bars · NYC · Restaurants
Happy birthday my love — Another wonderful year together, and where else to spend it but Blue Smoke! Here’s to many, many more …
Categories: NYC · Restaurants
Lucky me, Sharon has been inspired by the veggies in season! I’ve been eating so well, I had to share some recent delicious meals — starting with a vegetarian chili. This was a bean and corn based mixture that was very spicy, just how I like it! The quinoa and tomatoes made it feel like there was meat inside somewhere, it was hardly missed.
Next up was a sweet potato gnocchi made from scratch. A touch of nutmeg and the crispy sage added such complexity to the dish it was hard to stop eating each light fluffy bite.
This sweet and savory combination was some soy-glazed wild salmon over noodles and Asian-inspired peanut sauce. The whole wheat pasta is served cold and provides the perfect bed to this filling and flavorful meal.
Last, a recent instant classic was butternut squash risotto topped with crispy shrimp in a cornmeal crust. The sweet squash paired beautifully with the delicate risotto. The texture of the slightly crispy shrimp on top was a great contrast to the smoothness underneath. Sharon made this meal for two nights in a row which gave me a happy smile on my face!
Categories: Cooking · Lists · NYC
