Smorgasburg

Smorgasburg in DUMBO is my new favorite NYC experience.

I knew of its existence but it never rose to the top of my consciousness until this last Saturday when Cup of Jo reminded me of it.

Smorgasburg takes place in the old roof-less tobacco factory along the East River in DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), which boasts one of the coolest views of any market, to my mind:

Brooklyn Bridge seen through the factory

Manhattan Bridge in the distance

So our Sunday was spent in the best way possible: eating and drinking.  It started with grilled cheese sandwiches from Milk Truck, a lobster roll from Red Hook Lobster Pound (which pairs insanely well with Maine Root Soda), and an arepa con queso:

Then we moved on to Smoked Brisket sandwiches (I can't find the vendor name...crap):

Then it was mini homemade Pop Tarts (with plum jam in the middle!) from Anarchy in a Jar and gourmet S'mores from S'More Bakery:

We refreshed ourselves with Grady's Cold Brew coffee (I bought this bottle so I could continue to enjoy it all week) and cherry shaved ice from People's Pops:

Stuffed and drowsy - because, yes, we did eat all this between just the three of us - we went home to Manhattan via one of NYC's transportation gems - the East River Ferry:

An outstanding day: one of our best in the seven years we've lived in New York.

Eat, drink, and wear loose pants.

Coffee

I can't do without coffee, I can't.  I get up in the morning, go to the bathroom, wash my face, and then get started on the coffee.  Which means that a mere 15-20 minutes after I wake up, I have a cup of coffee in hand.

But I can't say that I chase the good stuff.  I've had outstanding coffee: Ninth Street Espresso, Blue Bottle Coffee at the Ferry Building, Philz Coffee (my favorite ever).  I know it's good and I appreciate it's good. Ultimately, though, when it comes down to it, I buy Starbuck's and pretty much subsist on that.  It's easy, it's accessible.

Adam was just on a business trip in the Bay Area and came back with a bag of Blue Bottle:

The difference between this bag and my usual Starbuck's was marked.  Which won't be a surprise to you coffee aficionados.  But it has certainly inspired me to make more of an effort to get the good stuff. I mean, I live in NYC, for heaven's sake.  It shouldn't be that hard.

I insist on quality in so much that I put in my body - why not coffee?

What about you, fellow coffee drinkers?  What do you drink?  How do you brew it?

Eat, drink, and seek out quality.




For more about coffee, check out these links:

• My good friend, Amy: she calls herself a "coffee snob" but she's more like a coffee evangelist, spreading the Good Word to as many people who will hear her.
• Ashley at Not Without Salt has written loads about coffee: roasting your own beans, flavoring coffee, coffee pudding (which Martha's Circle and the gorgeous Kinfolk Magazine linked to!), and coffee tasting.
• The Amateur Gourmet couldn't say enough good things about Joe: The Art of Coffee when he was living in NYC. As it turns out, there's an outpost rather close to my apartment - I'll visit there ASAP!
• The Paupered Chef has a great tutorial on brewing the perfect cup.

The Wild Pair*

I apologize for the total absence of blog posts lately. I could give you all kinds of stories about being super busy and "oh my god, my life is so crazy"...but that's not really the case. The truth is that Adam and I have been without Bug for THREE WEEKS. You parents understand. THREE WEEKS. So I've been spending time with Adam - eating, drinking, dating, laughing, catching up on TV shows, watching Alice in Wonderland, visiting with friends. Blogging really took a backseat to getting in touch with Adam again and, while I missed blogging, I'm unapologetic about spending that time away.

But I'm back and excited to be. I really want to tell you about a wonderful restaurant we ate at while visiting my in-laws in Oregon: Wild Pear.

I can't imagine any of you will find your way to Salem, Oregon but, if you do, I can't recommend Wild Pear enough. The ingredients are local and seasonal, and the mood of the restaurant is cozy and relaxed. I started by ordering the Cubanisimo Rosado:

Last year on our annual trip to Oregon, the Cubanisimo Pinot Noir was recommended to me and I loved it. Clearly, I am now a Cubanisimo fan.

I ordered the Lobster and Seafood Melt:

Served on foccacia, it was topped with dill havarti, tomatoes, red onion, and a creamy dill dressing. It was actually a little too dill-y for my tastes...but I should have known better. Dill cheese AND dill dressing? I read that and ordered it anyway. My loss.

Adam had the French Dip and it was excellent - almost like a Philly cheesesteak - French dip hybrid:

The sweet potato fries were even better. And how adorable is that bucket?

But the major coup was had by MC, my mother-in-law; she ordered the Chicken Hazelnut Salad Sandwich:

Chicken, hazelnuts, dried cranberries, red onions...and that creamy dill dressing. What is it this place and dill? Nevertheless, it didn't take over the sandwich. The balance here was perfect - it was sweet, nutty, and earthy. Thanks to the onion, it even bit back a little. So hands down to MC. She won the Best Orderer this day - a fine, fine competitor.

As we were getting ready to leave the restaurant, our server says to us, "Funny that you ordered the Cubanisimo...the winemaker is sitting right over there." He pointed to a rather pretty woman sitting by herself, drinking a glass of wine and reading. Naturally MC and Adam urged me to give her one of my Pinot and Prose business cards...but I just couldn't. Totally chickened out. She had an air of celebrity about her (seriously, I really love Cubanisimo's wines) and I got too stargazy...

After lunch, we walked around downtown Salem a bit where I discovered Cherry Redd (careful with the link, this may not be work appropriate for some of you). Bought myself these fab shoes:

After all that walking and shoe-trying-on, it was time for dessert so we stopped at Napolean's Creperie and Gelato. Everyone ordered gelato, of course, but I was hearing the siren call of the espresso affogato.

It was creamy and rich. Which I deserved because I worked very hard earlier. You know, trying on shoes and eating.

Eat, drink, and always give out your business card.

* Yes, I realize I spelled "pair" differently - it was a play on the fact that Adam and I have been child-free for three weeks. Get it? We're the Wild Pair. But my post here is about Wild Pear. Clever, right? Right?

"Magical coffee spigots"

Benjamin Obler's Top 10 Fictional Coffee Scenes.

Makes me want to abandon work immediately and run - run like the wind! - to Ninth Street Espresso so I can have some sort of significant moment with an Americano. Because Obler has made me believe that every minute with a cup of coffee is full of portent.

YAY! Finally! Last week's NYT Dining Section

This is a late NYT Dining round-up, I know. But believe me, there wasn’t much to miss from last week’s paper (and by the time you read this I will have already bought this week’s section).

There was an article on fondue that sort of made me want to make some…but only sort of. Because here’s the thing: I loooove fondue. Hell, I love anything where cheese takes center stage. The problem is that I seem to lack any self-control when it comes to fondue, in particular. I just eat and eat and eat because it’s so darn good. And then I inevitably feel overstuffed, wishing I could just puke so I could feel better again. Too much information, perhaps. But nevertheless, when I saw fondue featured on the front page of the Dining section, I inwardly groaned. No fondue for me, thanks.

Anyone want to fork over $20,000 for a fancy schmancy coffee maker???? Yeah, me neither. But that’s how much this one costs and there are a couple of places in NYC that have one of these Mr. Coffees. Part of me is incredibly intrigued…but the more prudent part of me suspects it’s all pretentious mumbo jumbo. I have no other choice than to seek one of these places out and give it a try.

The best part of the section was the small corner dedicated to letters from readers. Needless to say, people were fired up over Jamie Oliver’s TV stunt that I blogged about last week. Most of the letters hit home for me, but I loved this one, in particular, who praised the likes of Jamie Oliver and Dan Barber for bringing this issue to the forefront:

“…No less aggravating are the dainty eaters leaving piles of sea scallops (overfished) or steak on their plates because they ‘don’t like leftovers.’ With our environment in a state of peril, we must stop subtracting our conscience from the food chain. If we acknowledge the lives and deaths of the animals we eat, perhaps we will eat fewer animals to the benefit of our bodies, our souls, the animals and the environment we all inhabit” – Mary Hammett (NY)

Again, I find myself in awe of those more articulate than I am. The letters were really wonderful.

And a nice little transition from there is some restaurant in NYC, Hakata Tonton, that serves only pigs’ feet. Seriously. Don’t want to go there? Then they have pig’s ear salad or calf liver sashimi.

Bon appétit!