A recent trip to New York City, in Pictures

While there may well be a cohesive post or two about a specific activity (read: eating or drinking excursion) engaged in during a few most enjoyable days spent recently in the Big Apple, I thought that I might take the easy way out (at least initially) and post some photos. Captions are included for your contextual as well as comedic appreciation. Enjoy.


Though some may balk at the idea of going to a Battali/Bastianich restaurant these days, Otto Pizzeria is still a great value, as this trio of contorni will attest.


My girlfriend was tough on these pizzas, these pies with the super thin, crisp, sort of tough crusts. But I just think it's a style thing; these are not Neapolitan. Maybe Roman, or fancy New York, with an element of shmorah matzoh (the hand baked, slightly charred round matzos you cannot source in the supermarket). This particular version had delicious pecorino cheese melted on tomato sauce and an egg on top.


A guy further down the bar from us ordered the carbonara. Though I had consumed at least a pizza at this point, there was no way that this could go unordered. McDuff and Natalie split the dish with me so it wasn't too much of an overindulgence.


I strongly recommend eating at the bar at Otto. Behind the bar on this super quiet Monday lunch shift was a guy named Eric, who immediately suspected us of being in the business because we were "quite critical of the food, but in an intelligent way." The delicious glass of Coenobium pictured above he gave us each on the house to accompany the carbonara. How could we turn that down? It was a terrific regional pairing, with the cidery freshness providing a terrific counterpoint to the creamy, guanciale laced pasta. Thanks again, Eric. Batali, Bastianich, give that man a promotion!


The walking sign means walk...down the side of a building.


To be more precise, that is Elizabeth Streb walking down the side of the Whitney, performing a 1970 Trisha Brown piece entitled, appropriately enough, "Man Walking Down the Side of a Building."


Anyone care to hazard a guess which movie these quotes are referencing? Easy, I know.


Pork delivery to a prime-time ramen destination.

NYC Day One, part I: JFK to LES

[This post was originally drafted the good old-fashioned way, putting pen to paper - no typing, no blogger, certainly no thumbing it in on the mobile. Just a college ruled yellow pad, medium point blue pen, and hand movement. Writing is liberating, I highly recommend you re-visit it if it's been a while.]

After a long, unrestful red eye flight from San Francisco, my wonderful lady/ travel companion Natalie and I were happy to dump our bags and meet up with David McDuff, who was in town to attend a few of the Dressner and Kermit events taking place in New York last weekend, as well as to hang out with some like minded bon vivants such as the Brooklyn Guy, Cory, Guilhaume and me (more on that later). As McDuff pointed out, the east village is home to the city's greatest concentration of ramen spots. We agreed to meet at Setagaya. Small and casual, Setagaya consists of a small counter, some small tables and a communal table for eight (think high school cafeteria style communal table - not the large, handsome, solid piece of wood table you might find at your nearest locavore modern American eatery). We each ordered a bowl of the Shio ramen. Warming, translucent broth, simple but with terrific clarity of flavor, with perfectly toothsome noodles, a soft boiled egg adding richness and textural contrast, and the star of the dish, a few delicious, slightly fatty and smoky pieces of pork. Such a perfectly harmonious, satisfying bowl of nourishment has convinced me to partake in ramen more often. We also shared a small plate of kim chee, soft layers of thin cabbage (napa?) which represented a slightly vinegary, but spicy and tasty, vegetable addition to our meal.

After ramen, we headed to 9th Street Espresso for some excellent espresso drinks. I must have been due for my annual killer cup of espresso (I do drink espresso more often, just that it's seldom good). Jet lag temporarily stayed, we strolled over to the Essex Street market, where David introduced us to Benoit, who was manning the counter of Saxelby Cheesemongers. We tasted two cheeses from Vermont, our favorite of which was the Menuet from Laughing Cow Farms. In cheese speak, it's earthiness brought to mind a tomme de savoie, while the slight caramelized and nuttier notes reminded me of aged gouda. A delicious cheese, and particularly useful for late night soaking up of the wine we would drink later at The Ten Bells.

For a taste of something sweet, we consulted Natalie's list of food spots to visit, and headed to the famed Doughnut Plant. If you're a Bay Area doughnut fan, think Dynamo Doughnuts. The quality of the ingredients, which are organic whenever possible, as well as the terrific textures and intense flavors, make these some of the world's tastiest doughnuts, and elevates them to the realm of first class pastry. While the strawberry jelly doughnut with peanut butter glaze and the seasonal pumpkin cake doughnut were tasty, the tres leches and blackout were the true standouts. Each had a custard center (tres leches for the tres leches, liquid chocolate for the blackout), which I found to be cool innovations in the world of the cake doughnut. As the gentleman behind the counter proclaimed several times, in a classically proud New Yorker inflection, these donuts were truly "first rate." He also gently chided McDuff for his Phillies loyalties.

Up next: tasting Kermit Lynch wines with... Kermit Lynch; bookending a long and raucous evening at The Ten Bells.