Archive for the 'Restaurants' Category

Field Trip: Blue Hill Farm

Published on August 22, 2011 in Field Trips, New York City and Restaurants. 0 Comments



Last week, we headed up to Blue Hill Farm for a visit. If you go on the weekend, there’s all sorts of activities like egg collecting, gardening workshops, cooking classes and such, but because it was a spontaneous, weekday sort of thing, nothing in particular was going on up there except a bunch of kids hanging out at Farm Camp (how awesome would that be?). But we didn’t care because there were turkeys to look at, flowers to smell, the gift shop to peruse, greenhouses to investigate and cookies to eat.


The grounds are beautiful and there are also trails that take you to Pocantico River, as well as a view of the Hudson River from up the hill.



I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the restaurant, Blue Hill at Stone Barns. We were lucky enough to attend a wedding there a few years ago, and the food is amazing. They actually don’t have a set menu, but they present you with a list of 100 or so ingredients and you get a “farmer’s feast,” that is, whatever is fresh at the farm that day. Some of the current offerings include red jacket squash, mountain magic and sungold tomatoes, black raspberries and fairytale eggplants. It all sounds so colorful and delicious.

There’s also the café, which is where we enjoyed cookies and iced tea. I saw some nice looking open-faced tomato flatbread sandwiches and salads and fresh loaves of some seriously crusty onion bread.

The chef who was collecting these flowers told me that in addition to using them in salads and as garnishes, they also roll the flowers into sheets of fresh pasta. The repeated rolling stretches the bright petals out, so the pasta has this incredibly colorful abstract pattern woven into it. I love this idea. I imagine it would look something like this Sol Lewitt sculpture:

It’s hard to believe while we’re deep in the throes of August, but I’m starting to feel summer slipping away ever so slightly. I’m not sure I’m ready for fall just yet, but I am excited about all the delicious produce coming our way, getting back in the kitchen and actually being able to turn the oven on again. So, are you excited for fall or are you still clinging to these lazy days of summer?

Weekend Adventures

Published on June 6, 2011 in Family, Field Trips, Restaurants and Travel. 0 Comments

My one-and-only brother John came to visit last week, and we had a few adventures in and out of town, including a delicious (and somewhat deep-fat-fried) lunch at Market Table and an amazing day yesterday at Storm King Art Center (where we *all* forgot our cameras and were reduced to using smart phone cameras, which really just don’t cut it). It’s okay, though, it gives me a reason to go back very soon. It’s only about 1.5 hour’s drive from NYC, and it is such a revelation. You can make a day of it — bring a picnic lunch and your bike (or rent one there); they have a tram if you’re not up for walking, but you should because then you can get up-close and personal with the art and hike some off-the-beaten-path trails to other pieces of sculpture (and work off your picnic lunch)…and it’s a great place for kids (please note that the signs say “Don’t Touch,” not “Don’t Enter!”).


Of course, if you don’t feel like schlepping, Storm King is presenting a special exhibition of Mark di Suvero’s work right here in New York City. But we were rather pleased to be strolling around the virtually empty grounds at Storm King when we heard from friends about the massive crowds on Governor’s Island. Such a great day!

24 hours at The Surrey

Published on May 16, 2011 in Family, Holiday, New York City, Restaurants and Travel. 0 Comments

This weekend we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary at The Surrey, a lovely and relaxing hotel on the Upper East Side. We were steps from the Met, fantastic shops and a gorgeous rooftop garden, but more importantly, we had some much-needed time to ourselves. We took advantage of room service (courtesy of Café Boulud, the in-house restaurant and where we lunched the following afternoon on mushroom velouté, pan-seared flounder and ravioli with burrata foam), watched movies in bed (what a luxury, especially with the snacks I smuggled in, which still didn’t stop Ryan from raiding the mini-bar for gummi bears) and even managed to squeeze in a morning run through Central Park, all of which added up to an amazing 24-hour getaway.

Service was impeccable, yet warm; the room was chic, yet cozy; and we came back downtown feeling like we’d just visited another city (it really is another world on the upper east side)!

So, have you ever had a staycation? What did you do (or not do)? What’s your favorite way to celebrate your anniversaries (keeping in mind this is, ahem, a family blog)? Inquiring minds wanna know…

The Edible Selby

Published on April 6, 2011 in Inspiration and Restaurants. 0 Comments

So, if you’re a web troller and not-so-secret design blog addict like myself, you know all about The Selby. Todd Selby is a photographer who takes photos of hipster types’ houses and apartments and also interviews them. His photos aren’t all shelter mag style — they’re sort of the graffiti artist version of that; more off-the-cuff, not everything is perfect, you don’t always see the whole room layout, but you do get a glimpse into how people live and — what I find fascinating — what they collect and choose to surround themselves with.

Anyway, I’m sure you’re already gone and clicking madly at The Selby, but if you’re still here, I wanted to let you know that Todd recently started doing a regular feature for the NY Times T Magazine called The Edible Selby focusing on chefs and other assorted foodies in their restaurants/businesses and homes (the posts are also on his blog). And they are pretty awesome.

The first column featured San Francisco bakery Tartine. And I’m dying. For example, that fig tart up above. Oh and this dark chocolate, creamy banana tart thing:

Oh my. A little Googling just took me to their menu, where I discovered there’s also caramel in this here tart. That just, well, that put me over the top. In fact, all of these photos are killing me.

Hartwood is a lovely-looking restaurant in Tulum, Mexico, run by a couple former New Yorkers. I’d really like to be eating that fish up there right now (and if we’re going to completely delve into my fantasy world, then I’ll also be sipping one of their habañero grapefruit margaritas…after a lazy day at the beach and a long nap). OK then.

Go check it out. But don’t do it on an empty stomach.

All photos by Todd Selby

Shake Shack & Best Buddies

Published on March 18, 2011 in Field Trips, Kids, New York City, Nonvegetarian and Restaurants. 0 Comments

My son’s best buddy is moving back to his parent’s native Texas and we are heartbroken. The good news is we’ll be seeing them when they come back to visit, which will (we hope) be often.

The boys had so many fun adventures together — from the Holiday Train Show at the Bronx Botanical Gardens to visiting Santa at Macy’s — and they were doubly fun as G & J are two peas in a pod. But one of our favorite outings was going to the Museum of Natural History, followed by everyone’s favorite part of the day…Shake Shack.

I know it’s blasphemy to talk about burgers on a vegetarian-focused blog, but damn, they’re good (and 100% natural hormone- and antibiotic-free Black Angus, ground fresh daily).  This is no ordinary burger stand. Well, actually, it is a burger stand, but it’s from Danny Meyer, owner of Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Café…so the quality is top-notch.

photo credit: Robyn Lee for Serious Eats: New York

And Shake Shack doesn’t leave vegetarians out in the cold. There’s the insane ‘shroom burger, which consists of a portobello mushroom stuffed with muenster and cheddar cheese, breaded and deep fried. Nothing wrong with that. And yes, you can get the ‘shroom burger on top of a shack burger, known as the Shack Stack. And I haven’t even started on the fries, which are to die for. And then the frozen custard. Be still, my heart. Flavors like Chocolate Chuckles (think Snickers ice cream) and Coffee & Donuts (*sigh*)…

photo credit: GlenwoodNYC.com

The wait at the original in Gramercy Park can be arduous, but the payout is always worth the wait (plus you can always check the website’s “shack cam” before heading over and they give you these pagers once you order, so that’s extra fun for the kiddos). The good news is the one on the Upper West Side by the museum is pretty mellow if you get there before noon on a weekday.

We spent quite a few mornings this winter letting the boys run amok amongst the whales, prehistoric people and butterflies, followed by a hearty lunch at Shake Shack. We will miss those mornings, but just as Rick and Ilsa will always have Paris, we’ll always have Shake Shack.

And what’s really exciting is that I just found out Shake Shack will be opening right down here in Battery Park City! Yes, that’s right — the land of Nothing Good To Eat. This is so very exciting — and dangerous. It’s set to open towards the end of the year, along with a new restaurant, North End Grill (helmed by Floyd Cardoz, former chef of the late great Tabla) and another Blue Smoke barbecue place. I’m all aquiver just thinking about it.

Safe travels to Katie, Rob & Jack!

Shake Shack Locations

    Flatiron: Madison Square Park, Madison Ave and East 23rd Street; 212-889-6600

    Upper West Side: 366 Columbus Ave (between 77th and 78th Street); 646-747-8770

    Theater District: 691 Eighth Avenue (at West 44th Street); 646-435-0135

    Upper East Side: 154 East 86th Street (between Lexington & Third Avenues); 646-237-5035

    Queens: Citi Field (Home of the NY Mets) 12301 Roosevelt Avenue, Flushing