Street Food

This morning, the crisp air of autumn came breezing through my windows, waking me from my slumber. The air was fresh and clean, and begged me to come out and play. And so I did. I was feeling a little nostalgic for the Union Square farmers' market, so I made a pilgrimage there, and caught a street fair as well. It unfortunately warmed up a little (hit around 75), but it was nice in the shade, and signs of my beloved fall season were everywhere. It's hard to re-live the unique sights, sounds, and smells of New York during a street fair and at a market, but I hope my photos do it justice!

Congratulations

Congratulations to my friends Brian, Erica, and Big Brother Brady on the birth of baby Cameron James. He came into the world on Tuesday September 25, weighing 8 pounds and 5 ounces.

Change - What is it Good For?

Tonight a friend and I had dinner at one of my favorite casual eating places in the city, Elephant and Castle. It's somewhere between 6th and 7th Avenues around 11th St. (where Greenwich Street cuts in and all these weird corners show up), and one of our favorite things about the restaurant is that we rely completely on our memory of landmarks to get ourselves there! It's this great relaxed Irish pub-like atmosphere (with the emphasis being on food table service; there's no bar in there). You can stay as long as you want, no one rushes you out, the servers are as nice and can be, and it's just a great homey place.

The other perk: their crepes. My friend and I have gone back regularly when the craving has hit for these unbelievable crepes stuffed with chestnuts and apricot jam. There's something unique about the texture and flavor. With the coming of the fall, I was SO craving their crepe. So, off to Elephant and Castle we went. We noticed a few changes on the menu - they took out the avocado from my favorite shrimp, avocado, and bacon sandwich; they added some nice omelets; they took out a pasta dish. But, the biggest change of all?!?! THE CREPE WAS NOT ON THE MENU. We played the game of denial while we ate our entrees, avoiding discussing the omission, dreading the point when the waiter would ask us about dessert, and we'd have to face the hard truth about about favorite dessert... The Parisienne (as we learned its name was), the waiter told us, is no longer served. It was a mournful moment. He suggested the Normandy, filled with thin slices of apples. It had texture, it was good, but it was no Parisienne. I'm not sure where this leaves me. I mean, I could get an apple or banana or nutella crepe anywhere. But the chestnut? Some things should not be tampered with.

Suburban Living

Well, I've been out here for almost a year, and tonight was a great microcosm of some things I never thought I'd be getting used to about suburban living. Here they are:

1) People here drive. The time spent living in the suburbs is inversely related to the amount of consideration one gives to walking short distances. A year ago, I almost always walked to the train station, about 3/4 miles away. Now, I head straight for my car to drive the few blocks to the station.

2) There are bugs here. No city bugs like roaches (thank goodness) but I've had ants, a handful of centipedes (greeted by one just a few minutes ago, actually - oh and by the way, those suckers are FAST. I was unable to kill it before it darted behind my furniture and so now I'm afraid to go to bed, hence this post...), and a gargantuan spider on my garage door today.

3) There is grass here. And the grass gets watered. As a matter of fact, I got wet returning from dinner tonight.

4) There are gardens here. I looked out my back window today and was surprised to see in my complex's backyard these two huge green things. I'm not sure whether they are watermelons blooming late, or pumpkins not yet turned orange. I will keep you updated!

I Would Just Like to Point Out

that we are at the end of September. The weather should be cooling down. The forecast this week should not be calling for temperatures just short of 90 degrees. Yet, we will be enduring just that. Agh! I'm so ready to move with my brother to San Francisco where temperatures are in the wonderful 50's and 60's all year round.....

My Trip to San Francisco - more to come!

Giving into Temptation (or, a typical Chris story)

Those of you who've known me since way back when know that sometimes (more times than not), things just happen to not go my way. I had one of those incidents today. Don't ask me why, but on my way back from the gym, I got the worst craving for one of those Alba 77 chocolate shakes (the ones where you add milk and ice to the powder and blend it all together). My mom bought a box or two of them back in the day, and honestly, I don't think I've had one since I was about 8 years old. But suddenly, the vision that shake hit my conscious, I could practically feel the unique frothy-icy texture on my tongue, and I just HAD TO have one, immediately. I stopped off at the tiny grocery store a block down from my apartment, but alas: no Alba 77. They did however have Carnation Instant Breakfast, and I figured it would do, considering the pinch I was in. On my way out, I noticed that the car next to me was awfully close to my car, and there was a tiny scratch on my passenger door. I was able to rub most of it out, but I still got into a little tiff with the guy, who claims it wasn't him (let's not even get into the fact that the paint color on my door was the same exact steel blue as his minivan). All I could think about is that the shake better be worth a tiny scratch! I arrived home, only to remember that I don't have a blender - I thus pulled out my food processor, knocking down my cookbooks and bottle of vinegar in the process. I loaded the food processor with the shake, milk, and ice, and...... got completely sprayed by the shake exploding out of the top of the food processor! I got Chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast ALL OVER MY KITCHEN! Who knew that ice cubes don't act normally in a food processor?! It sort of reminds me of the time I put milk in the tea kettle, but that's another story for another day.... Anyways, the chocolate shake is just like I remember it: thick and frothy, and I am on cloud 9! It was just easier back in the day when Mom took care of the clean-up....

Mary Had A Little Lamb, Little Lamb, Little Lamb...

A few friends and I are trying to plan a little day trip to upstate New York to enjoy the foliage. New York State has the most beautiful foliage, I believe because its hills and mountains have so many different layers of trees (as opposed to, say, Vermont, where everything is pretty much the same all the way up the mountain). Anyways, while doing some research on quaint towns, apple orchards, and wineries for our itinerary, I stumbled upon the following website:

http://www.sheepandwool.com/index.cfm

I kid you not. At first I thought that it was some sort of joke, but no, it is real. And the best is that while people are celebrating sheep and wool, while people are holding competitions for heartiest sheep and best wool, they are also holding a lamb cook-off!!!! One minute, some poor little lamb is baaa-ing to its pen-partner, and the next minute, his friend is gone but there's some delicious smell wafting from the grill....

Congratulations

...to my friend Bridget and her husband Rob who just welcomed their first child into the world. Sophie Patricia made her debut on September 1 at 4 pounds, 4 ounces, and 17.5 inches. Congratulations to the new family! I'm so proud of you Bridget!