First of all, it was a sunny morning, we got there around 8:30 AM.  We walked in to find such a warm, welcoming atmosphere.  It looked a little confusing at first (only because the menu is up on the wall, so when you walk in, you’re just drawn to it), but they are really friendly there and will explain to you where you need to go if you want to order.  This place is organized well, so that even if there are a ton of people, the line is very efficient.  They’re not rude or snotty, which, before noon, is always the best.  Haha, oh, LA.

a sneak peek into the kitchen...

Verdict: The cappuccino was good.

After they take your order, you’ll be moved along up to the cash register, where you’ll order your drink, pay, take a little card stand with your order number; and at a separate station, they’ll create this lovely latte for you and bring it right up to your table while you wait for the rest of your food.

THIS is the “Fried Egg Sandwich” with sunny side up eggs, Niman Ranch bacon, Gruyere cheese, arugula and aioli on country bread.  It was so good.  I know some of you don’t like sunny side up eggs, but I’m telling you, it’s perfect for this sandwich.  You’re gonna want that yolk to run.

This is “Green Eggs and Ham” with La Quercia prosciutto, pesto, and arugula on an English muffin.  The arugula is tossed in light lemony vinaigrette.  The eggs tasted very fresh, according to my friend whose dish this was.  The only thing is that the English muffin is nice and toasted, but a little difficult to cut still, even with the steak knife.  It was crunchy on the outside, but nice and soft on the inside.

This was my snack for later. The blueberry cornmeal cake. SO good! Light, and not too sweet either.

Definitely go to this place when you get a chance.  I love it because it’s family owned and they have not just delicious food, but you can taste the care they put into their dishes and pastries.

Open Tuesdays – Fridays 8AM to 7PM
Saturday and Sunday 8AM to 5 PM
Closed on Mondays

parking lot in the back

A brief connection before we begin:  So, Ilan is of Scottish and Israeli decent.  The Gorbals, the actual Gorbals is a place in south Glasgow, Scotland where there is a large Jewish population.  Ta-dah!

On this particular visit, a bunch of us went together to celebrate my sister’s quarter century birthday.  Yes, she’s a whole quarter now.  My big baby has grown up.

It was of course, our first time, so we had a little trouble finding the place.  It is located on 5th and Spring in an old hotel called The Alexandria, which is also houses a ballroom used as a venue of sorts and is also a not-so-great-never-ever-decide-to-live-in-this-building type of apartment.  Other than that, it’s “shabby chic” to visit.

You walk in through the doors and down the hall to The Gorbals.  Inside, you will find a dimly lit dining area with a small bar area, seats in front of the open kitchen so you can freely talk to the chef himself to tell him all about how much you are enjoying your food, and two tops to family style seating all around.  There were plenty of us, so the long family style table it was.

I really should bring a nicer camera, but you can see the actual "dimly" lit effect.

I was excited, not sure what to expect, because I heard that the place had mixed reviews.  Up front, I liked it and I’d go again to see what new menus he puts out.

Some drinks to start off with...

...and this is where you can get them. Or just ask your server.

a somewhat foggy version of their kitchen counter that you can sit at.

The famous Matzo Balls wrapped in bacon!  Yes, matzo balls and bacon?  Oxymoron?  Maybe, but really good.  Too bad these were shared plates.  I tried to sneak more than my share though.

Take a peek!

Lamb Stuffed Piquillos

They ate them without me, but it was a thumbs up all around…and it’s a pretty plate.

Lamb Burger, Mint Salsa Verde, & Fried Tomato

“Like”…and I’m not a big fan of lamb either, but I’ll eat it if it’s good…and I think it’s on a brioche bun, which is always good. (I’m telling you, Father’s Office, change your bun!!)

Grilled Squid, Lemon Garlic, & Parsley

This was good, but a little on the oilier tasting side, but still, good.

Prawns a la Plancha and Anchovy Butter

ps: “a la plancha” means grilled on a metal plate.  Fancy schmancy eh?  It’s a Spanish culinary technique.

Banh Mi Poutine

Poutine is a fast food dish originating from Quebec, Canada.  Originally, it’s made of fries, covered in gravy and cheese. Or the other way around, cheese, then gravy.  Anyway, the first time I had it was at the Standard Hotel diner on Sunset about five years ago, but it seems to have made a new round these days at different restaurants.  THIS was so good, I actually ordered a second round all to myself.

Bone Marrow, Oyster Mushrooms, Walnuts, & Malt Vinegar.

This dish was tasty, but my only two complaints were that 1, there wasn’t enough marrow, the mushrooms were delicious and very flavorful, but 2, the walnuts pretty much tasted burnt.  I don’t know if burnt tasting was what they were going for, but they were.

Latkes with Smoked Applesauce

Wow, when they say smoked, they mean smoked.  The apple sauce was something else!  A good thing though, and the sauce on the right, I forget already…but some kind of aioli I think.  Anyways, all put together, it was good.  Memorable because of that sauce though.

Black Fish and Chips

It was alright.  Not really a favorite, probably because it tasted a little plain.  Not really anything special here, except that the fish was “black”.

Spare Ribs

I didn’t get to try these, they were all gone by the time I had a second look (hey, at least I was able to get a picture), but according to my sources, they all loved them (well, obviously).

A peek into the kitchen.

Well, the verdict is, I’d go again to see what else Chef Ilan comes up with.  I really like that he basically won the contest to open up his dream restaurant and that this restaurant isn’t overly pretentious like some chefs might make it.  I get that there’s an expectation, especially after being on a show like Top Chef, but all in all, he wins because he gets to make the food he probably has grown up with or that he just likes and he gets to share it with everyone out there that is willing to try it.

Also a cool feature:  On the website, if you really enjoyed something there, they have this comment area where you can write in what your favorite dish was and if there’s enough votes of something, they’ll actually bring it back on the menu.  Neat idea!  Oh and to show some appreciation for the guys that make your food, you’re welcome to buying them a round of beer for $10.  It’s on the menu.

Open Monday – Wednesday, 6 PM to Midnight
Thursday — Saturday, 6 PM to 2 AM
Closed on Sundays

501 South Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
www.thegorbalsla.com
213.488.3408
Street Parking, Valet and Parking in the building. 
Parking entrance on 5th.
Hotel entrance on Spring; Restaurant entrance straight inside. (I know it sounds dumb that I’m explaining this, but trust me, you’ll appreciate it.)

I was recently in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where I discovered that there really isn’t a lot to do. As well, I’ll just say it, there really aren’t a lot of Asian people either. Anyway, my mom was craving her usual, have to eat some Chinese food at some point on this trip, so we needed to look for a Chinese restaurant. We searched, came close to going to one, but it turned out to be closed. I asked a friend of mine who knew the area and she said, there wasn’t really good Chinese food out in the area. By this time, my parents were getting pretty hungry, so we all agreed on Thai, except that in Florida, it seems that the common theme is Thai food AND sushi (which is Japanese, in case there is any question about it).

Here we go, so we decided on Tee-Jay Thai Sushi. I’m recommending this as a person that frequently eats Thai food in LA AND sushi, that this place is pretty good. It’s a sit down, fine dining type of restaurant that you can have a nice large meal with your family and friends at.

Just a tip: Free edemame when you check in on Yelp. The edemame came salted and warm. Delish!

Free Edemame!

We had a short conversation getting to know our server, Jackie.  Being of Thai and Chinese decent, we learned that he spoke mainly Thai and Chiu Chow and as a kid, studied in China to learn the Mandarin language.  He told us what we’d already discovered of course, that there weren’t a lot of Asians in Ft. Lauderdale.  I say this particularly, because I noticed that whenever other Asians would see our family, they would be surprised and want to talk to us a bit to get to know us and where we had come from.

Back to the meal:  We were pretty hungry, it being after noon and all, so we all ordered with our eyes it seems.  That and it was my sister’s birthday, so noodles were in order.  I don’t know about other Chinese families, but mine has a tradition that if it’s your birthday, you HAVE to have noodles, representing that you will have a long life.  So, don’t get those short choppy noodles.  You know what that means!  Just kidding.  Always get the dishes with oodles and oodles of long noodles for a long and prosperous life!

The Appetizers:

Fried Calamari with Thai Peanut Sauce

What made this dish Thai of course, was the Thai Peanut Sauce.  Not your regular tomato sauce and squeeze of lemon.  This gave the tempura battered rings a sweeter kick to it.

Oh, I just love spicy tuna rolls.  These were good…typical, nothing crazy or different.  It came with sliced, pickled ginger and wasabi.

Spicy Tuna Rolls (6 pcs.)

Another favorite of mine that I love ordering is papaya salad.  Tee-Jay’s is more sweet than spicy.  Typically, this dish would be a little more balanced with the spice, the acidity and the sweetness.  This one was definitely catered to a wider audience.  There was less of a fish sauce taste to it and had zero spice.  By the way, this dish has peanuts and tender shrimp for those that have some peanut or seafood allergies.

Papaya Salad

The Entrees:

Chiangmai Mai noodle soup.  I discovered this soup in Los Feliz earlier this year and it’s become one of my all time favorite Thai noodle dishes.  I don’t think a lot of places serve this actually, but I found it here.  This is a thick and creamy coconut based soup that takes its touch of spice from the curry. Using two different noodles, you get a little crispy texture in addition to the soft noodles underneath.

Chiangmai Noodle Soup

Fried rice. Sort of like “yang tzo” Taiwanese style fried rice.  What’s that?  Well, it’s like a fluffy fried rice with egg and other stuff, but the point is, “Yang Tzo” is fluffy.  This one is just similar. It’s called “Special Fried Rice”.

Special Fried Rice

These noodles were very flavorful, a little more on the salty side, but definitely something delicious to order.  Mixed in are veggies and chicken.

Bee Na Egg Noodles

Lastly, we had grilled chicken breast with three sauces, however, I was so engrossed in the eating that I must have forgotten to take a picture of it!  It was served with three sauces: wasabi cream, for a little heat, teriyaki sauce, for a little savoriness, and peanut sauce, for a little sweetness.  We tried mixing the teriyaki with a little wasabi cream and it tasted great! haha…a fourth sauce!  This dish comes served with a cup white rice.

Pair all of this with several cupfuls of matcha green tea.

I went out to Gardena to see my girlfriends one night and we travelled to Santa Ana for some shabu.  I’ve had shabu before.  You take the meat, dip it in the boiling water, dip it in some sauce and have a side of rice along with it. Pretty simple.

No expectations is the best way to fully enjoy an experience.  We each took a seat at the counter, (they only have counter seating) and in front of each of us was a hot metal pot with water.  The server turned on our burners and handed each of us a personal sized mortar and pestle filled with sesame seeds.  While waiting and chatting with my friends, I enjoyed pulverizing the little seeds into a fine powder.  I just loved hearing the little popping sounds as I rotated the pestle around the ribbed interior of the bowl.  That’s the kid in me.  For texture, you can just leave some sesame seeds whole, as my friend preferred.  Later, the server came around to pour their secret sauce into the mortar bowl to be mixed with the ground sesame.  They also gave us a bowl of soy sauce and ponzu topped with chopped scallions.

Handing us the menu, I was excited to see that they had several choices of meats such as beef rib eye, Jidori chicken (Japanese for “Chicken of the Earth”–widely used in high end restaurants) among my favorites, pork, seafood, as well as other combo items.  The plate that they bring to you is beautifully presented with baby bok choy, tofu, carrots, a shiitake mushroom, napa cabbage and noodles. 

Also, each section of the counter has a condiment holder filled with shredded daikon, minced garlic and scallions to add to your sauces. Oh, how can I forget, they have this secret hot sauce (they say it’s habanero), that they drop into your sauces if you can take the heat.  One drop? Two? Three? or Four?  I can just picture a bunch of guys ready to bet their friends on how many hot sauce drops they could take.  Oh brother! 

I began to eat:  Lifting a piece of raw rib eye with my chopsticks and dipping it into the boiling water until it turned just a bit brown (i’m a medium rare kinda girl), then dipping it into the ponzu sauce that I added daikon to. (Eh, I just like the daikon more than the garlic, but most people prefer garlic in both of their sauces).  Deliciousness!

You must save room for the noodle soup and dessert!  Towards the end of your shabu experience, the server comes over to make you your special soup.  They ask you what you would like to add into your soup, cook the veggies and meat (if that’s what you prefer), and with the udon noodles, they make you a noodle soup and add some of your special sauces.  It’s simple and you can totally do this on your own, but for your first meal there, it’s just another fun experience to watch them do this for you.  Then you can adjust the seasonings as you like.  The soup ends up being so good though either way, mostly because of the sauces added.

Have some green tea or black sesame ice cream to finish off your lovely meal…and there it is…a shabu experience.  I can’t wait to go back!

Shabu Shabu Bar

Well, last year, I went to Italy to visit my best friend and had of course, real gelato for the first time.  I’d had gelato here in the States, but it wasn’t like it was over there.  No wonder why you have to envy Julia Roberts and her character in Eat, Pray, Love.

My friend's li'l sis KC and Julia in Eat, Pray, Love

She got to have all that awesome gelato whenever she wanted!  Since my visit, I could not get over how delicious that ice cream was.  I mean, yes, Baskin Robbins will always be there and will always remind me of my childhood, but what about now?

Gelato in Florence, Italy

Guess what?  While walking around Los Feliz, I found the best ice cream that would be the closest thing to the gelato in Rome.  Paradis.  The “-is” in Danish means ice cream…I suppose an ice cream paradise?  Play on words? Hmmm…I think they’re right.  Paradis is originally from Denmark.  The original innovator, Thor Thorøe created this “paradise” for ice cream lovers from an inspiration to make a lower fat ice cream than the kind that he had been making in Rome, but for Denmark.

EVERYDAY!!

When my friend Genevieve came to visit from Italy, naturally, there I brought her.  Their ice cream is freshly made everyday.  I mean, I had strawberry sorbet (oh, by the way, they have sorbet too!) and you could taste every bit of the fresh strawberries in it.  AND they claim that their ice cream is lower in calories (by using milk, rather than cream) than having yogurt…which is probably true after you see how much toppings people end up adding to their low-fat yogurt.    Try the Ferrer Rocher (like the chocolate) and stracchiatella.  Also, if you want something fun, try getting a scoop of their peanut butter and their strawberry for a PBJ experience. (sorry, SO American! but well worth it!)

Gen enjoying her ice cream

Street Parking (it’s easier to just park in the neighborhoods and walk a little ways)

ps: there’s the Vintage Los Feliz Theaters (formerly Los Feliz 3) up the street, so this place makes a great date place…movies and ice cream anyone?

The most popular Filipino Spaghetti would be, I suppose from Jollibee.  Jolly what? you might ask?  Well, it’s the Filipino version of McDonalds.  Instead of a happy jolly clown named Ronald, you have a giant jolly bee, hence “Jollibee”…and his fun friends (I can’t recall their names…but they kinda look Dutch for some reason).  Click here for more than all you really need to know about Jollibee.

They are most popular in the Philippines for their Chicken Joy meals than their burgers.  I personally dig their breakfast Longaniza meal (consisting of a sweet sausage, garlic fried rice, an egg and a slice of tomato).  For any other time of the day aside from breakfast, I don’t go for the chicken, I get the Filipino Spaghetti and/or (and usually, it’s and) their Palabok.

Anyway, let’s get to the point…on to the homemade part of this story.  My sister and I like to eat Filipino Spaghetti, so I decided to make some at home and here is how you make it.  It’s semi-homemade with a couple processed ingredients…one of them making it truly Filipino spaghetti.  What makes it Filipino spaghetti? (a question you’ve probably been wondering since the beginning of reading this.)  Well, in the sauce, instead of meat, you use sliced hotdogs.  For the actual sauce, instead of just a regular marinara, we use tomato sauce WITH the addition of banana ketchup, which is a sweeter tangy ketchup, and lastly, if you want some grated cheese on top, instead of parmesan cheese, we present to you processed kraft cheese, from a can, preferably grated.

Here's what you will need: This should yield 4 portions.

• 2 T Olive Oil
• 1 T Garlic, minced
• 1 Spanish Onion, diced (brown onion)
• 1 large can of *tomatoes, can be already diced.  (I used whole peeled here, because that was what I had in the pantry–it’ll break down in the sauce either way.)

*You can always use fresh tomatoes and a little tomato paste to make your own sauce if you prefer and even more homemade sauce. 

• 8 ea. Hotdogs, whichever you prefer (beef, pork, “meat” as in mixed meats…honestly, “meat” will taste more authentic than all beef).
• 1/2 to 3/4 bottle of Jufran Banana Ketchup (Jufran is the brand and you can put in at least half the bottle and afterwards more to taste).
• 1 box of spaghetti
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 can of pasteurized cheese for grating (see pic above)

Now, you may be wondering why we’re using such items such as mixed meat hotdogs and pasteurized cheese in a can, but just remember that this recipe is sort of a poor man’s spaghetti recipe and you kinda love it because you grew up with it.  I wouldn’t knock it til you try it though. If a chain restaurant can make it into a top selling food item, I think you can give it a chance can’t you?  (PS: All these ingredients can be purchased at a Filipino or Asian supermarket such as Seafood City, Island Pacific, 99 Ranch Market, or Hawaii Supermarket)

Well, here we go…

Start with boiling water for your spaghetti. Don't forget to salt the water for some flavor.

• We are cooking the spaghetti while making the sauce so that they can finish at just about the same time.  From here on out, you should be watching your spaghetti once it boils (follow instructions according to the box.)

Get all of your ingredients ready before starting: mince the garlic, dice the onions and slice the hotdogs.

To start: In a saute pan, heat up the olive oil.

Next, add your aromatics: garlic, onions and sweat until translucent.

Add in your can of tomatoes and break the tomatoes up a bit if you used whole ones.

Add your secret ingredient: this is what makes it Filipino Spaghetti! Banana Ketchup!

• At this point, you can add in your hotdogs.  They don’t take very long to cook since they’re sliced so small, so to prevent them from being overcooked, I add them in last.

Lastly, top it off with some grated cheese.

• *unfortunately, I didn’t have grated, so I used some American sliced cheese, but I found it to be saltier than necessary.  Use the canned stuff for your first Filipino spaghetti experience.  It’ll taste much better.

Okay, kain na! (pronounced khah-in na, meaning let’s eat or time to eat!

Let me know if you try this recipe and what you think of it.

I took theto Union Square and exited near 16th St. to walk over to a bakery that I’ve been hearing about for a very long time now.  I used to work at a bakery here in LA with a baker from The City Bakery in Manhattan.  His name is Camilo and his specialty is the Pretzel Croissant.  Only problem was, he’d never make it for us, so finally, one day, I looked it up online and everyone was raving about it and how good it was, so I just had to see for myself.  I walked a few blocks from the subway to find The City Bakery.  I went in and immediately, I felt right at home seeing the coffee machines and pastries all lined up.

With some jazz music playing in the background, trays of freshly baked cookies, muffins and scones come out of the kitchen every so often for a refill at the counter.

Hot Chocolate Station: Where they readily have hot chocolate on hand and use a hand frother to froth up the hot chocolate.

It’s a huge property for a bakery/restaurant.  The ceilings are high with tall windows and tons of space for patrons.  High ceilings also mean that you can make use of the space by creating a second floor, which is cool for patrons to hang out and people watch down below.  The upstairs has a ton of extra seating for that.  I like people watching as you might tell.

I bought an iced coffee and two pastries, one of which was the pretzel croissant that I was eager to try.

delicious pastry: has a crunchy top, made of cinnamon and sugar dough and can be pulled apart almost like monkey bread, rolled together with walnuts and raisins, dusted in confectioner's sugar.

description: crunchy, flaky croissant with a salty eggwash, sesame seeds and closed ends like a pretzel.

With a full belly, I went on to have a little tour of Union Square.  The first time I went there (at Union Square) was about six years ago.  I had just moved to New York and was being shown around by a cute southerner that introduced me to his favorite bookstore:  Strand Bookstore.  At the time, I had no idea where I was.  I just knew there was a lot of walking that we did and there we ended up.  Now, it is a favorite of mine.  Like what City Lights is to San Francisco, Strand Bookstore is to Manhattan, but bigger.  (I could be wrong, maybe I should compare it to Powell Books in Oregon.)  Oh, either way, I love to visit these bookstores.  I bought a book called “More New York Stories, the best of the city section of The New York Times” Edited by Constance Rosenblum.

Other places around Union Square that I visited:

Farmer's Market in Union Square

For the avid comic book enthusiast...Forbidden Planet!

For the chocolate enthusiast...Max Brenner

Max Brenner, also known as “The Bald Man” has a restaurant in Union Square with an attached store.  I purchased a “hug mug” of course, which is basically just a cute cup made for hot chocolate.  I’m a sucker for cute table and kitchenware.  They also sell a huge syringe filled with chocolate for those of you that are in need of a sugar high.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to dine there, but they do have actual non-chocolatey foods on the menu!

From Union Square to Wall Street… (taking the  to Fulton St.)

It’s been ten years since that fateful day in New York City when the Twin Towers fell.  Everyone it would seem, has a story about where they were and what they were doing at the time that they heard about the crashes.  History has become split between the time before 9/11 and after.  We have natural disasters devastating our world today, but I don’t think anything is more remembered in most recent history than 9/11. (other than of course, Osama’s death).

I went to visit the site this year to see what had changed between the time they fenced up the remains and today.  Today, there are two voids in the ground where the Twin Towers were.  These will be or are man made waterfalls with the names of all those that lost their lives, including those that were killed at the Pentagon and on United 93.  There is a wall dedicated to the fallen heroes of 9/11 and an information station in the area that will tell you about the 9/11 Memorial and Museum which will be dedicated on the tenth anniversary and opened on the 12th of September.  The museum will open next year on 9/11.  Unfortunately, I only got to see pictures and construction from afar.

"Dedicated to those who fell and to those who carry on."

"May We Never Forget"

9/11 construction site

Aerial view of what will be.

This area is also in close vicinity to the World Financial Center, which is home to a lot of office buildings as well as a few shops and the waterfront area looking out to New Jersey.

World Financial Center

looking over to downtown New Jersey

Delicious looking pastries at Financier Patisserie in the World Financial Center

After this, I made a sad attempt to walk up to the first part of the Brooklyn Bridge.  I say ‘sad’, because, since I didn’t have a lot of time, I ended up only walking halfway up to the bridge, took my picture and walked with my friend Vic to Chinatown to get some well deserved ice cream. It was a hot, humid, muggy day…but I still enjoyed it.  This was the cooler part of the summer if you could believe it.

The closest I got to walking to the Brooklyn Bridge. One of these days...

The whole time I lived in New York and walked out to Chinatown I hadn’t any idea that there was this treasure.  The Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, open for over 28 years…and I’ve been missing out all those years I was there.  Man!  Well, it was time to catch up.  By the way, it’s on 65 Bayard Street in Chinatown, FYI.  Go there…now if you can!!

The Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

It's a small space with a long line, but it's worth it.

lots of exotic flavors

guess which one is mine? :0)

My tastebuds had the pleasure of trying lychee sorbet, almond cookie, and black sesame seed.  Delicious!!  Can’t wait to go back and try more flavors! (as you can tell, I become really enthusiastic about ice cream).

Canal Street, Chinatown

Now, with that sugar rush, we went up to Eataly, Mario Batali, Joe and Lidia Bastianich’s foodie haven for Italian pretty much everything lovers.  This place is bustling even more so than Chelsea Market!  It has everything and I mean EVERYTHING that you can think of that you’d ever need or want uh, EVER.  Eataly has a market, where you can buy produce, fresh pasta, fresh meat, fresh fish, freshly baked bread, a bookstore, restaurants of all ends…high, mid, low, take-out, kitchenware, wine shop, dessert shop, coffee shop, etc.  It is essentially, a little mini “land of Italy” and it’s food and all that comes with it. <sigh> I just wish they’d open one in Los Angeles.  BUT WAIT!  They are!  Well, as I hear through the Italian grape vine, there will be one opening in LA in 2012.  I will get back to you about where, but for now, I’m just excited to hear that they’ll be taking us to Eataly too!  Yay!  I swear, eight years ago, I would never have thought that LA would ever get to be a foodie town, but thanks to all these wonderful chefs opening up (finally!) in LA, I can finally be at peace. (gosh, so dramatic!)  Molto Buono! Capisce?

Eataly is near the famous Flat Iron Building

cup o' joe anyone?

mmm...from the dessert station

the butcher...

the baker...

and my personal favorite...the pasta maker... okay, so they don't have a candlestick maker.

books!! of course, many by Mario Batali and Lidia Bastianich...hmmm...

the fresh market area

That night, I headed up to the Upper East Side (UES for texters!) to see my beloved former roommates, Alisa and Nick and their cute little one, Gavin.  I was so relaxed and into having good old conversation and catching up that I didn’t get to take a picture of Alisa’s delicious pasta dish!  So, all I can do is tell you that it was incredibly fresh and delicious and that I had two bowls of it!  After, it was about midnight and I thought, there’s no way I will be able to keep going tonight, but I wanted to go see my good friend, whom I call my brother Paul. (AKA, Pauly)…whom I hadn’t seen much the entire trip until tonight.

I left the east side and headed over to the west side…midtown to Characters.  This is an Irish pub type bar with a friendly bartender that knows the regulars.  Have a Guiness and watch some soccer on the screen.

After this, we cabbed it up to Harlem on the east side to pay a visit to the Shrine.  Sunday nights are reggae night.  Now, I’m not completely familiar with a lot of reggae other than Marley, so this place was great.  I discovered a few songs that will forever remind me of that night.  ”She’s Royal” by Tarrus Riley and Rockaway by Beres Hammond.  They’re probably old songs already, but to me they were new. This time, we stayed until all the lights were on and they had kicked us out.  4AM now.

I was with Pauly, his co-worker Michael, and his best friend Brandon.  Okay, so, what does a girl do with three drunk guys in Harlem at 4AM?  What anyone else would do…head over to IHOP.  I was really hoping for Doug E’s Chicken and Waffles, but they were closed already.  I’m from LA, so I wanted to see what NY’s version of Roscoe’s would be like (what’s with that commercial?).

IHOP does the trick though, especially for the drunk.  For some reason, and I think it was the adrenaline, I just couldn’t get drunk.  I drank, but nothing.  Just excitement from the day before and the present.  I was having a great time.  There were some characters at that IHOP!  To my left was a table full of guys dressed straight outta Fresh Prince of Bel Air.  Those were the days…

To my right, were a couple guys that were so tired that the waitress just slammed their food onto the table just to wake them up. Nice.

We left IHOP with full bellies and the sun already peaking through the darkness.  It was 5:30 AM.  At this point, to get home, one must negotiate with some cabbies and limos…basically whatever you can get at that time of the day.

Negotiations at hand

After one left, then the next…but not before they taught me how to Dougie.

At the end of the day, or at the dawn of the new morning, what this trip taught me was that you need not sleep at all when it comes to being in NY!  It really reminded me of old times…working late and staying up until the sun came up.  Can’t wait for my next trip!

No more plain waffles for me!  During my first waffle experience, I had the Blueberry Lemon Waffle.  This became my favorite, but I added my own personal touch of an ice cream scoop…eh, maybe two, to go with it.  <sigh>  So good!!  …and that’s been my favorite ever since.  I try to try other things, but I always go back to that one.   A little sweet, a little tart, and a little crunch all at once and I’m a happy camper.

Here are some other delicious flavors they have there.  Currently though, everyone’s raving about their Red Velvet Waffle, but I’ve yet to try it…but oh, I will!

Maple Pecan Waffle...more like OMG!

MMM...Bacon Waffle! (No!...more like...mmm...bay-coh!)

(323) 465-6901

Afterwards, we actually drove out to Astoria to the Museum of the Moving Image <http://www.movingimage.us/>.  I was really excited to go after seeing the events at the website.  This would be a great place to take a date (hint, hint guys).  It’s fun and there are a lot of interactive stations.  We also went to specifically check out a showing and lecture (“Independently Animated”) of Bill Plimpton, the animator, showing us a few shorts and telling us the highs and woes of being an independent animator.

Entrance to: The Museum of the Moving Image

Projected moving mural

Cafe area

"Recycled" solar art piece...it moves as you move...pretty cool.

"Do the Mario!" Trying to stay alive at the video game area.

I can’t remember the exact time I had Gray’s Papaya…I just know that it was past midnight and we had just left a bar.  I think my friend Mike took me.  Since then, Gray’s has always been on my to-do list of places to eat whenever I’m in town.  What is it about Gray’s?  I don’t know…EVERYTHING?  lol.  It’s my west coast Costco hot dog to my east coast Gray’s Papaya hot dog… (oh, you know what I mean.–forget Pink’s…sorry, but I just don’t like Pink’s…give me a Costco Polish hotdog any day.)  I love that they’re both so cheap too.  Two hotdogs for $4.45…RECECESSION SPECIAL (still under $5… and it includes a drink.  Two words.  Pina Colada.  Aaaannnnd…I like my hotdogs with the barbecue onions.  The sauerkraut one is not bad; I just prefer the onions…with a little mustard. Ugh…I’m getting hungry!  And by the way, Gray’s can be had anytime.  A little pre-party to dinner, a little after-party after the party if ya catch my drift.  You can take the 1,2, 3, 9 to 72nd and there it will be.

Gray's Papaya on 72nd

Recession Special!

'nuff said.

Speaking of pre-party before the party.  We had Gray’s right before meeting a friend for another favorite meal I love having with friends.  We went to Blondie’s Sports Bar on 73rd & Amsterdam on the west side.  I used to come here a lot after work with my roommates, friends, co-workers, you name it.  The wings and beer must have had a hold on us. When they opened on on the corner of first and 93rd, I was in heaven (dramatic, I know)…but we could get them delivered to our apartment!  How awesome is that!!  Two exclamation points awesome is what!  Of course, no beer delivery, duh!  We had our own.

Honey

Garlic

Hot! ...<3 these.

"Now, these are wings!"

beer and wings...this is how you do it.

…and that concludes day two…great company, a ton of fun, and a full stomach.  Ta-dah!

I don’t know what it is about New York, but I’ve been obsessed with it since I was a kid.  I don’t know if it was the brownstones and the stoops from the TV shows in the 80′s, or the New York/East Coast accents that I dug, but I had always wanted to go and live in New York probably ever since I could remember.  So I did.  I went to school there for a couple years (granted, it was in upstate NY), but I would make my way down to the city with friends or by myself whenever I could.  Eventually, I got to live there for a split second with some very good friends from school.  It was exciting.  I didn’t care that the space was small, especially coming from the west coast, because it was New York.  I could live in a closet for all I cared, as long as I got to live there.

The vibe of the city is move fast, or get out of the way.  Walk fast, think fast, talk fast.  Moving back to LA, I realized how impatient I was with everything.  I couldn’t wait for people to finish their sentences, I couldn’t wait to cut in front (well, that’s everyone here) on the freeway, I couldn’t wait to know what was going to happen next. I used to work nights and overnight shifts there, but so did my roommates, so it was great.  In New York, you can eat out at a decent place other than Denny’s at three in the morning, cab it back home, sleep for a few hours and be on the move again the next day.  To relax though, was a bit tricky.  In order to really relax, I had to get my butt out to the beach in the summer.  No rushing, no noise, just me, the sky, and the ocean.

Recently, I got to revisit.  Don’t get me wrong, I talk like I haven’t been back for ages.  I make it a point to visit, every so often to hang out, see friends, and just plain walk around.  It’s a walking city and there are trains at every stop, so you can get anywhere.  This time was even better than my usual trips though.  I got to see things that I hadn’t visited ever and got to visit and hang out with all of my friends that I hadn’t seen in a long while.

I took this trip with two of my roommates, but after the first day, we ended up splitting up to do our own thing. The first day we were exhausted from the red eye that we took with Virgin America.  I don’t really know why, but this time, the seats felt really uncomfortable.  I used to take Jet Blue or Southwest red eyes and would get enough rest to go straight on after I got into the city.  There’s no time to waste!  We settled in.  I in Harlem and they in Queens.  We met up at Kat’s Deli <http://katzsdelicatessen.com/> near Houston (pronounced how-ston for non-New Yorkers).  I had always passed by during previous trips, but never made it inside.  Little did I know, but inside I would find the first pastrami sandwich that I would crave.  I mean, I’ve had The Hat and Canters, so it’s not really much to compare with, but this was hot, freshly sliced and incredibly juicy.  It’s a huge sandwich if you so decide to get one on your visit, so go hungry.  Or, you can get what I got, which was half a sandwich and a very flavorful chicken noodle soup.  Claim to fame:  This was also where Meg Ryan “faked it” in When Harry Met Sally, though I wouldn’t go sitting there and deciding to do the same with the huge amount of people rushing through there.  Good luck with that.  Maybe she had the pastrami.

Katz' Deli

Pastrami Sandwich

Chicken Noodle Soup & Pickles

When Harry Met Sally..."I'll have what she's having...."

Next, we walked over to Chelsea Market <http://chelseamarket.com/>.  Food haven.  Built within the old Nabisco Factory, it’s got stores with ingredients, bake shops, restaurants, little markets, flower shops, etc.  The interior’s got an urban vibe, with exposed pipes, a water main looking display that doubles as a waterfall.  On a nice day, I imagine it would be great to pick up some food and walk up to the next place we went to, High Line Park.

Wandering through Chelsea Market

@ Eleni's I <3 NY!

“The High Line was built in the 1930′s, as part of a massive public-private infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan’s largest industrial district. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park.”  <http://www.thehighline.org/>  High Line Park is a rooftop park area landscaped with clean lines of herbs and trees, lined with a bunch of beach style benches that people can lay out on.  In a certain spot, there’s even a little water area where the water runs over the ground so that park goers can take their shoes off and cool themselves off or watch the kiddies splash around.

Beautiful landscaping with use of herbs

High Line Park

High Line Park

Nothing like playing in the water to cool off on a hot day

Now, with the food you might pick up from Chelsea Market, you can either hang out on those beach style benches, or walk over to the stadium style seating where you can chill and watch passers by down below on the street.  This park was one of my favorite spots that I wish we had in the city here on the west coast.  It’s rare that I get a chance to see such different parts of the city without revisiting all the usual spots.  I loved High Line Park .  The lines, the modern structure.  Maybe it was the warmth of the day or just me being tired from the  red eye, but I really enjoyed seeing a little bit of how an architect would build a nice relaxation point in the middle of the city; in the middle of all the chaos.

Stadium seating at High Line Park with a window overlooking

Painting a clown face right below High Line Park

That night, I headed out to Port Chester, NY.  Never heard of it, never been, but my former roommate from St. Helena, now an extremely busy pastry chef, lives around the area, so I went to see her there.   That night we met up at a trendy hot spot called Bar Taco <http://www.bartaco.com/>.  I took the Metro-North <http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/planning/schedules/index.html> from Harlem towards Stamford and got off at Port Chester.  The restaurant is walking distance from the train, but I was greeted at the train station by her margarita lovin’ boyfriend.  We headed over to Bar Taco which seemed to be the most happening place.  Such a wide array of different groups of people.  In one corner, we had the cougars (it was obvious), in another, the meatheads, on the other side, some hipster types, dirty old men and…well, you get the jist.  While waiting for our table, we started out with some tasty margaritas.  We noticed that the bartenders have this awesome skill of opening beers with the mouth of a shaker.  I know it’s all about leverage, but that was cool new trick.

Meet...Margarita. Bar Taco Margarita made with Herradura Silver, Luxardo Triple Sec, Agave Syrup, & Lime Juice

Chips & Guacamole...delicioso!!

Stewed Beans with Pork, the Bar Taco Chopped Salad, Spicy Cucumber Salad, & Chipotle Slaw

This was just the beginning of our meal.  Unfortunately, for the rest of our meal of tacos & tamales, Margarita made me become a bit forgetful so I stopped taking pictures and just focused on the great conversation and delicious foods in front of me.