The Restaurant Candle 79 and a Movie Star Alert!

Do you know of anyone who has to avoid gluten in their diet? A friend of mine who recently visited must eat gluten-free, and it forced us to be picky about what restaurants we chose.

We found Candle 79 using an internet search, and what find! As we were finishing our late lunch, around 3 p.m., I looked up and saw Pierce Brosnan exiting the restaurant! I sputtered to my friend to turn around NOW! Fortunately, for us, he lingered a few minutes talking to his driver, and we were able to stare at him through our window and get these photos.

Indeed, their website boasts, "It is a regular restaurant choice of neighborhood regulars, celebrities, politicians, and corporate tycoons."

How They Do It at the Anthropology Store

You can see how the artists at this amazing store create their displays! The Making of Earth Day Windows

Beautiful Fiber Art at Anthropology

If you don't have time to visit an art museum in New York, I recommend you check out the Anthropology store at Rockefeller Center. Their display artists are incredibly talented. This piece of fiber art measures a good 15 feet wide and stretches from floor to ceiling. It won't stay there long; however, they change displays with the seasons.

Sharing Appetizers

The Esquites appetizer (a dish of roasted corn off the cob, Mexican-flavored mayo and Cotija cheese) is so good that I have to create a barrier between my half and my husband's. This dish is to die for, and you can get it at Skinny's Mexican Bar and Grill in Long Island City. 

If You See Something, Say Something

The "see something, say something" phrase works; I pay attention to backpacks that don't have owners. So when I turned the corner to catch the elevator to the lobby one day and saw this, I was a little concerned.

Fortunately the owner had the good sense to place his business card on top, and I could see it belonged to one of the workers outside hanging from the roof in the wind risking his life to wash our windows.

Click here to see the window washers video.

How My Husband Has Changed Since Moving to New York

He actually said he didn't care what kind of coffee I bought. So we're going from regular roast to special roast. New York changes a person.

What a Waste.

Once a week the sidewalks are obstructed with mounds of trash bags just like this one. I have become used to seeing it, but a friend who was visiting from Cincinnati was shocked. She pulled out her camera. I did, too. Note, this is JUST trash, because recycling is mandatory here.

Gigino at Wagner Park

I had lunch at this lovely restaurant along Wagner Park, Battery Park City, facing the Hudson River, and I will definitely take visitors back here. The food is excellent, the view is awesome, and it's a great place to people-watch.

From Gigino's at Wagner Park website.

Preschoolers on an Outing

Sooooooo cute! These little guys are holding on to a type of "leash" to keep them together on their outing. The teachers each have a hold on either ends. 

Museum of Jewish Heritage

I visited the Museum of Jewish Heritage yesterday. I took my time exploring their three stories of really excellent exhibits. I paid for the audio listening tour ($5). I find listening easier than reading when learning new things, and for me it makes the visit much more orderly.

It's located in Battery Park City on the Hudson River. You can see the Statue of Liberty from its beautiful third floor seating area. Overall, I spent three hours there and was not disappointed.

Of course some themes are disturbing, and coming off the heels of my recent Cincinnati experience (see A Sad Slant on Midwesterners), I wondered if God had put me there as a response. When I turned the corner and saw this, I actually gasped. 

Here is a picture of the Garden of Stones in the back of the museum. Its creator, the famous naturalist-artist Andy Goldsworthy, has planted oak trees into boulders. You've probably received in your email pictures of some of his stunning stone-stacking sculptures with the subject line something like:  "You've-got-to-see-this!"

You Can Tell By Their Shoes.

Probably Midwesterners.

Probably New Yorkers

A Sad Slant on Midwesterners.

I overheard this conversation while eating my hot dog at the Cincinnati Reds game last week. A middle-aged white woman was ranting to her elderly mother about her daughter being upset that she's dating a black man. She said:

"(My daughter) said, 'Mom, you badmouthed my boyfriend in front of Grandma!' I said that's a lie! Everything that comes out that woman's (the one who told, I guess) mouth is a stinking lie! I never said anything bad about him. . . I just said he's black, and I don't like black people."

Sigh.

I just don't know what to write after that. I was able to leave and not react--uncommon for me.

Anyway, here's a picture of the game with Votto at bat--a great game with a 5-4 win over the Angels. I wasn't the only one with my camera out. Frazier, Choo, and Heisey each hit a home run that day!

Snaggletooth Cat

I have met a very nice person in our apartment unit who is letting me cat sit when she's traveling. This is Reggie Bush who, after three days of coming in to feed him, decided he could trust me enough to let me get close for this picture. Do you see his wonderful snaggletooth?

Storm

A line of dark clouds roll over Manhattan's skyline outside our apartment window.

Nice Tattoo

One of our favorite bartenders shows off his tattoo and amazingly skinny waist at Shi Restaurant in LIC. Oh my.

Day Trip to Jones Beach

Friends loaned us their car, and we drove to Jones Beach in the center of Long Island. It was closed due to Hurricane Sandy clean-up, but the drive was easy. Never pass an opportunity to see the beautiful, calming ocean.

While we filled the car with gas, I noticed these guys having snack of strawberries and canned whipped cream across the street.

On the way back, traffic was thick and ugly. Getting in and out of New York City is no fun, because you have to tackle driving in so much chaos.

Hotel Americano

My husband and I stopped at Hotel Americano in Chelsea looking for a place to have a drink before heading to an art gallery opening. The first floor bar was too full to find a seat, but the manager caught us and invited us to check out the bar on the top floor.

Top floor, indeed! It was the swimming pool area of the hotel. In the summer, the "roof" and walls are removed to provide outdoor dining and drinking. What a perfect use of space--and so chic. 

Photo from Hotel Americano website.

Photo from Americano website.

20,000 at The Metropolitan Museum of Natural History

A visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Natural History is always a good bet when company comes, but on this day when many kids were on spring break, we waited 20 minutes with a huge crowd just to get in. Once inside, ticketing was a hot mess--shoulder to shoulder in a very large, echoing room.

Fortunately we located the self-serve ticket station where the line was manageable and avoided another long wait. Amazingly, once we got inside the museum section, we didn't feel crowded--well, except when we got lunch at the cafe.

On the subway trip home, an MMNH worker told us the museum had 20,000 visitors that day, not uncommon for a holiday.

The Architectural Digest Design Show

WOW! So glad I went to the Architectural Digest Home Design Show at 55th and 12th on Pier 55.

A WALL OF HERSHEY'S KISSES THAT YOU CAN EAT !

When It's Cold and Rainy. . .

If you only have a few blocks to walk, but it's cold, windy and rainy, I suggest you hop into a bike taxi. For about a dollar a block you can get there like those little babies you see bundled up in their cozy strollers with wind-breaking plastic as cover. This was one of my most enjoyed moments when a friend visited recently.

The Designer's in the Store!

While shopping at Bergdorf Goodman, my friend was trying on a number of dresses that were perfect for her, and the gal helping us said that the designer was in the store! We got to meet Nanette Lepore and talk to her about her dresses. Guess what? She's from Ohio, too.

New York Window Display at The Rock

What is the name of that clothing store that I love that has the most amazing window displays at Rockefeller Center? Why can't I ever think of that name. It begins with an A.

More MOMA Art

El Anatsui. Bleeding Takari II. 2007

This is the kind of stuff I like. I love to see how artists are able to put together common household items and create art. I think I remember this is made of smashed bottle caps. Don't quote me.

MOMA Impressionist's Paintings

You learned about them in art class or have seen them on notecards: the ubiquitous images of the Impressionist painters. What you don't realize is how different they vary in size. This Rousseau takes up a whole wall while the Van Gogh could find a spot in your guest bathroom. A visit to the Modern Museum of Art is a fine thing.

Sidewalk Buffet

A colorful buffet being set up for actors and crew members of a soon-to-be-shot film on the streets of Manhattan. Usually they block off the street. The trailer in the background may hold a famous person.

Best Nachos

I thought I'd found the best nachos in the city at a place in Hunter's Point (Queens) until I came to this Park Slope (Brooklyn) bar which I will not be able to name because I can't remember it but it's across from the Goorin Hat Shop if that helps. (Nice run-on sentence, yes?)

Ignazio's in DUMBO

Did I post this picture already? Oh well, it's worth a second look if I did, of this beautiful Ignazio's pizza shot from indoors with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background.

Long Island Community Boathouse

Every now and then I look out my 17th floor apartment overlooking the East River and see people paddling in the river! They are part of a volunteer community to connect East Queens residents with their surrounding ecology called the Long Island Community Boathouse. It's free. Do you dare me?

Dogs on Sofa

On the first day of my son's visit to our Cincinnati home with his dogs, the rule is no dogs on the sofa. This is what it's like the second day. Ha ha. Can anyone relate? 

Terry's Turf Club in Cincinnati

After living in New York City a while, I realize how remiss I have been in discovering new things outside my suburb of Cincinnati. Terry's Turf Club is an example of the interesting things you miss if you keep eating at chain restaurants. My son took us to Terry's Turf Club on the east side of the city recently. It was a cold day, but there was a small heated area where we waited along with 20 or so other hungry customers. Great food and good times. Guy Fieri actually taped a show here last summer. I bet he didn't have to wait.