I think the chili hots have taken advantage of this newfangled thing--I think they call it "sunshine"--to really, really grow. They're so much bigger than they were a week ago (the two biggest are almost an inch long), and the flowers are still coming. Hooray for summer!
Had to share these photos of the surreal clouds over Manhattan last night. They appeared after a crazy thunderstorm, just at sunset. I was chilling out, looked out my window, and noticed the light outside was a kind of scary yellow color. I thought, "Is there an end of the world storm on its way?" Nope, it was weirder: the sky was covered in little orangey-pink cotton balls.
The sun actually made an appearance yesterday, so I packed up my camera and some reading, walked a few blocks south, and finally checked out NYC's latest addition: the new High Line park. I've loved the overgrown rusty beauty of the abandoned elevated railroad tracks on the western edge of Chelsea for years, and now the lower portion (from Gansevoort to 20th Street) has been transformed into a beautiful park. Reimagined by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (the same folks who did the new Alice Tully Hall), the park is a post-modern beauty and right up my alley. I'll be spending a lot of time there--especially when they open the sections still under construction to the north. I'm thankful to all of the people who fought for the High Line's preservation.
Just popped over to the new Greenmarket in the North Wing of the Port Authority Bus Terminal (Thursdays, 42nd and 8th). I had high expectations: finally, this neighborhood would have a place for local vendors to set up. Hurrah! And it was the stinky old bus station to boot, so they'd obviously encourage some of the less expensive farmers to set up shop there...
I do think it's important to have a local option in the neighborhood, and hope the Greenmarket peeps have plans to expand. But when they do, I hope they add some affordable options. It's Port Authority/Hell's Kitchen, people...think about your audience!
•handful of dried capellini
•1 lb. lean ground beef (lamb would be great, too)
I haven't been writing about the garden upstate because it's been entirely too depressing. Rain, rain, bugs, death, more rain, forgetfulness, and frustration is really all there is to report. But today there's a bit of happiness (I almost said ray of sunshine, but that would be asking for too much from Mother Nature, apparently)...a pepper flower has appeared on one of the chili hots in my window! I'll do some pollination research (as I don't keep bees in my apartment), and hope these little babies produce.
At the request of my parents back in Pennsyltucky, I'm sharing their digital transition story:
A view of Beacon from the Hudson River
The main tent offered strawberry shortcake, chocolate-covered strawberries, and smoothies.
A biplane over the Hudson.
Pete Seeger
The crowd
A model of the Clearwater.
A weaver shows onlookers how to use a loom.
Views from our impromptu ride on the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry.
Anyway, to the food... I spied what the guy at the table next to us had just received, and it looked beautiful. I asked what it was, then ordered it: a Mysore Rava Masala Dosa. It was crazy. The best dosa I've had so far. While the filling was the typical masala dosa filling, the crepe was unusually light, infused with fennel seeds and fresh cilantro leaves, and spiced up with a killer chili powder. Insane. I couldn't stop eating. I want to go back for one...right now...
We're in the midst of radish season (though it seems like they're plentiful all summer long...am I right?). Last Saturday I picked up a beautiful bunch at the wonderful little farmers market on 57th and 9th. The poor little guys hung out in my fridge all week, but finally, last night, I turned my attention to them. I absolutely love sautéed radishes, so I decided to make a pasta inspired by two other recipes: Chocolate and Zucchini's radish leaf pesto and a recipe I'd seen in Gourmet back in 2001.
First up, 99¢ Fresh Pizza. This little corner place serving up up slices, coffee, and dunots [sic--see photo below] through a window has been around for a few years. I regularly shop next door at the Big Apple Market and Stiles Farmers Market, so I've often dodged the lengthy line, but never eaten the pizza.
These places obviously save money by going light on the ingredients. There was only a thin layer of sauce and not much cheese, but that was actually fine in my book, since many traditional pizzeria slices have a puddle of grease and cheese that slides off the thick slick of sauce. The dough was thin, though a little sweet for my taste, and the sauce was fairly simple, which was fine. Overall, an acceptable cheap slice.
Next up, 2 Bros. I ordered another regular slice (again, $1 even), and Lara went for the Sicilian ($1.50). They were out of some of the sprinkle toppings, so I was only able to add oregano, garlic, and chili this time. The size of the slice was comparable, if only slightly larger, and the dough was crunchier, slightly more substantial, and less sweet than 99¢. But the sauce was, well, weird. We couldn't put our finger on it...it kind of tasted too sweet, a little like tomato paste, and perhaps even a little metallic. The Sicilian wasn't truly Sicilian, either...just a square that was thin in the middle and thick on the sides.
The advantage to 2 Bros., though, is the larger space filled with simple tables and chairs. But while you can sit, you'll have to deal with the unfortunate selection of music blasting from behind the counter. We couldn't decide if it was really worth the trade-off.
The Pony Bar, on the corner of 45th (next to the ginormous Hess station) is a fairly new addition to 10th Avenue's newly almost-fashionable look. While the happy hour is lame (only 4:20 to 5:20), the normal charge for all of the craft beers on the lengthy list is $5, so it's actually a pretty good deal. There were also signs last week noting the future kitchen completion, so hopefully the food will be acceptable as well.
The place's scary challenge, though, is The Pony Bar All American. Customers keep track of and rate each consumed beer on a card (which they provide and stash for you), and when you've reached 100, they put your name on a plaque. Kind of a tempting feat, but when you realize it'll be a sign that says, "Hey--I've spent $500 on beer here!"...I'm not so sure I want to go down that road...
We decided the first pizza (which kinda sorta almost looked like Nebraska) would have a super-thin layer of tomato, to give us the tomato taste without the soggy dough. We added some mozzarella, Maldon salt, and a sprinkle of olive oil.
The second pie was our crazy white pizza experiment: goat cheese, jalapeño, walnuts, Maldon salt, and olive oil.
...but no! About 5 minutes in, we smelled something burning. We assumed it was an oven remnant from a previous meal, so we shrugged it off. But then there was smoke, and upon inspection, Jimmy discovered the goat cheese experiment on the lowest level of the oven was already black on the bottom! We removed it, hilarity ensued, and we realized that this was all going much more quickly than anticipated. We had to add toppings to the other two pizzas, which were pretty much done within the next 5 minutes (though it was such a whirlwind, I honestly don't remember). I barely had time to put together the pizza with the dough from Whole Paycheck, which we popped into the oven when the others were finished.
Amazingly, all three of us agreed that these first three were some of the best pizzas we'd ever eaten. The goat cheese pizza--even with its charred bottom--was great. We'd added additional toppings to the others a few minutes before taking them out, and the tomato/mozzarella/goat cheese/mushroom/fresh basil kicked ass, and the tomato/mozzarella/caramelized onion was crazy amazing (at least Dan and I thought so...).
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