the great outdoors

alfred hitchcock

on monday evening, i successfully crossed another item off my list. marissa and i attended HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival. they were showing 39 steps, a hitchcock film. the place was packed but we managed to squeeze in among all the blankets. it was a perfect summer evening, compete with food, friends, and a movie. the movie was good, but i cannot give you a full review. i might just have done more people watching than actually movie watching.

and then yesterday, i was the lucky winner of shakespeare in the park tickets. marissa and i are lucky ducks huh? this time we got to see measure for measure. we both agreed that we enjoyed all's well that ends well more. but it was still a lovely evening in the park.

the cloisters

today, marissa and i decided to go to the cloisters. we had heard about them, but really had no idea what to expect. we were pleasantly surprised. the museum was built to house medieval art and architecture. the gardens were beautiful. the collection was impressive. i loved the stained glass, the tapestries, the valencian lusterware, the annunciation triptych by robert campin, jean pucelle's the hours of jeanne d'évreux and the limbourg brother's les tres riches heures. 

robert campin's triptych

limbourg brothers

afterwards we strolled through fort tyron park and then made our way back down to central park where we were captivated by the turtle pond and analyzed the weather from belvadore's castle. and by that time we were starving, so we made our way to shake shack. shake shack has never tasted better to me than it did today. shack shake's fries are a perfect addition to their burgers. i do believe the crinkle in the fries enhances their flavor. and their concretes are a perfect addition to their fries. it was a perfect tri fecta.

cheese please

yesterday, the cheese shop right below the moderns open. no more jackhammer noise while i'm working. hurrah. and plus now, i have easy access to another lunch break destination. beecher's cheese flagship cheese is a combination of cheddar and gruyere. it's bomb diggity. but here are my thoughts on cheese:

cheese is a condiment. so just like you wouldn't eat more fries than you would ketchup. eating more cheese than noodles. is just wrong to me. don't get me wrong i love it. and you will occasionally find me chopping on a block of cheese. but when it come to mac and cheese. the mac comes first in the title for a reason.

image via serious eats

therefore i give beecher's mac and cheese 3.8 / 5 stars. too much cheese. put me in a food coma. but maybe the fact that i also ordered a panini with cheese, tomato and basil as well as a blueberry muffin contributed to that. hey there was a 50% discount on opening day. can't blame me for that.

marissa was the lucky winner of a pair of tickets to shakespeare in the park! so after work i met her at the delacorte theater in central park and we got to see all's well that ends well. and man it was good. the story line was entertaining, the cast was awesome and the skies held back the rain. it was a delightful evening and we highly recommend going if you get the chance.

while we were there i couldn't help but admire paula scher's work she has done for The Public Theater. Pentagram put this piece together last commemorating 15 years of work they have done for the theater.



for dinner, we stopped by taqueria y fonda. we order giant burritos to go and somehow mine just seemed to disappear. my stomach can beat yours any day.

i love cassie & marissa

because of the rain this afternoon, i ordered lunch in. despite the confusion of the phone, my food arrived from tiffin wallah. i have been craving indian food for awhile and it hit the spot today.

marissa came and met cassie and i after work tonight and we walked over to milk and cookies in the west village. upon opening the door we were greeted with the sweet aroma of cookies. cassie got a pecan bar, smores cookie, salted oatmeal surprise, double chocolate cookie and a glass of milk. i ordered a chocolate mint cookie, a salted oatmeal surprise, caramel chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk. and marissa got a chocolate mint cookie. impressive huh?

one is never enough

i think we all agree that the pecan bar was the hit

then the salted caramel surprise (oatmeal and white chocolate chips)

then the chocolate mint

i think the double chocolate and the caramel chocolate chip tie

then the smores cookie (quite a let down)

i would say for a chocolate cookie or a chocolate chip cookie i find both levain bakery and city bakery more scrumptous. but i would go back for another pecan bar or a salted oatmeal surprise. and a glass of fresh milk with your cookie a nice touch.

when we got home, marissa and i watched the breakfast club. neither of us had ever seen it before, can you believe it?! we loved it. i also love molly ringwald. how the heck did i leave her off my awesome gingas list. perhaps it's time for list number 2. redhead power.

ginga glam

i love her lipstick in this movie. it's a perfect everydat color for a redhead. now just how do i get my hands on that? and she looks so glam in the pale rose color. why do i feel like that color doesn't suit me? you showed me molly. 

girls nights are the best.

i love marissa

for lunch today, tempestt, cassie and i went to dos toros taqueria. yum yum burritos. and it reminded me that, i need to go back to taqueria y fonda by my house. 

after marissa got off work she walked her booty around to all the other theatres, first she tried for tickets to how to succeed... all out, then chicago... no showing tonight, then sister act... all out, then mama mia... all out. in a last ditch effort, thinking for sure the rush tickets were gone already, she tried jersey boys. but we were in luck. so i hurried over after work to meet her and we got a quick bite to eat. then we made our way back to the theatre. the show was awesome. we loved it. the music was wonderful and the story was well told. i'll have frankie valli songs stuck in my head for the rest of the week. and i'm alright with that. 

i love cassie

ya know just in case you haden't already seen this on facebook or instagram

tonight cassie and i had a lovely little evening. we enjoyed dinner at antibes bistro where we were treated to free drinks and even a complimentary appetizer, the truffle roasted asparagus. dinner was superb. i ordered the risotto,  the wild mushroom risotto, and cassie had the chicken served with truffle potato puree and haricots verts. we were quite content. afterwards we enjoyed some music at eight mile creek. girl time makes me happy.

the low down

tuesday:

the guggenheim
i love this museum and i love frank lloyd wright and i am glad he decided to bless this city with this structure. one day i will make my way to gehry's guggenheim in bilbao, spain. i enjoyed the kandinsky at the bauhaus exhibit.

rack & soul
pies & thighs got me on a soul food kick so i indulged once again. i got pulled pork, biscuits, stewed okra and mac and cheese. the pork was delish. the biscuits were a disappointment. the okra was yummy. and i think i just don't love the southern version of mac & cheese. i prefer me some high brow mac and cheese.

wednesday:

cafe orlin
this is one of cassie's go tos. so i was definately curious to see what all the fuss was about. i ordered the shrimp linguini and i was not disappointed. i hear the french toast is stellar. perhaps i'll go back for brunch one day.

scoops and sundaes
a meal is not complete without dessert. kent, nick, cassie and i enjoyed tasting the plethora of flavors. we tried corn, sesame, avocado, honeydew, taro root, and some other interesting concoctions. the boys decided on the black raspberry and cassie and i got the blood orange. it was amazing.

thursday:

hello dumbo party at toda
after work i headed over to dumbo to check out toda. although i did not eat dinner prior to the party. i filled up on the chocolate cover malt balls. made me miss maltesars.

friday:

plum
after work we decided to try a new place for pizza. after much debate, we settled on plum. the pizza was good. but not stellar and with all the options in the city. i am not interested in going back. the crust did not taste fresh and was super crunchy.

magnolia bakery
i met zack at rockefeller plaza and to ring in his birthday we celebrated with magnolia. i tried the flourless chocolate cake and although decadent. prolli not worth the calories.

and yes it probably should have stopped there but no

pommes frites
julia had told us about this place. a store that sells only fries with a huge selection of dipping sauces sounded fantastic to me. this served as marissa's dinner, but for zack and i it was post dessert snack.

scoops and sundaes
i tried to go back. but they locked the door right as we walked up. it was for my own good.

saturday:

rockaway beach
when we arrived at the beach, marissa and i were surprised to find that there were no crowds. we claimed our piece of sand and enjoyed the perfect weather and the surfer boys. perhaps too much. we both came home with red body parts.

smorgasburg
an extension of the brooklyn flea market with only food vendors. yes please! we tried the shorty tang and sons cold sesame noodles. it was quite a yummy meal for a hot day. and then we treated ourselves to some blue marble ice cream.

sunday:

the highline
for a sunday walk, i made my way over to the highline. the view really is fantastic. the park is a repurposed old freight train track. the designers and architects did a magnificent job of creating a really special sanctuary within the city.

fishs eddy
i did a little browsing in fishs eddy. they have a very strong brand that is playful and fun.

strand
i love bookstores and i think the strand is extra special. i just enjoyed walking through the rows and rows of floor to ceiling books.

monday:

rainbow cafe falafel
for a cheap and quick lunch, cassie and i went for some falafel. i was quite content with my purchase. however, the baklava could have been better.

dogmatic
we figured a homemade soda would be nice to wash down our sandwiches with. however, i was grossed out by my strawberry soda. sometimes it is just best to stick with what you know is good.

cafe lalo
this is the cafe featured in "you've got mail" so of course i wanted to make a pilgrimage. the place is adorable. the exposed brick with beautiful french posters reminiscent of those of toulouse lautrec that brightened up the place. i happily ordered a slice of key lime pie to go. however, when i opened my box when i got home, i discovered the slice i had paid 7.50 for way smaller than my phone. not cool. and although good nothing noteworthy except a super soggy graham cracker crust.

h&m
sometimes to avoid what appears as a insurmountable pile of laundry it is a good idea to just got buy new clothes instead. yep, i did that.

toulouse lautrec

if i wasn't broke

i would splurge on this.

and how cool is the dezeen watchstore's logo?

in case you needed to know

thursday

patsy's pizza
patsy's was good and fresh like i remember it being when i last had it. but i prefer south brooklyn pizza. i think the secret is in the tomato sauce.

funny face
as we indulged in our pizza we enjoyed audrey hepburn in funny face. she is too cute.


friday

andrew bird concert in brooklyn
after work we made our way over to brooklyn's prospect park for a free andrew bird concert. we had no idea how big the park was. the music was amazing, but we all gave in to our growling stomachs and had to leave early in search of grub.

pies n thighs
collin sent me the link to this place one day when i was craving pie and it immediately went on my list. what an awesome name. we all ordered fried chicken and pie for desert. the chicken and the biscuit were really great. but i do think my mac and cheese could have been better. my key lime pie also was not what i was hoping it would be. but overall i was a very happy girl


saturday

sip
for breakfast we stopped in at a little place near our apartment. i ordered a breakfast sandwich, egg with cheese and sundried tomatoes on an english muffin. i couldn't get over how dang good it was. i think i have forgotten how good healthy food can make your body feel.

natural history museum
i felt like a kid again. i laughed when i heard a little girl cry out, "daddy let me show you these beautiful shiny rocks" because that was what i had been saying to marissa.

shopping in soho
this somehow just isn't as fun in the rain.

midnight in paris
marissa and i were a little dubious that this film would live up to its 92% rating on rotten tomatoes. but it did. it was fun and very clever. it made me wish i was smarter.

tom's restaurant
i live right around the corner from the seinfeld restaurant and we had heard that the milkshakes were something to reckon with. so we came to fill our craving on saturday night. we enjoyed sipping on our shakes while enjoying the diner atmosphere.


sunday

church
elder cook and elder perry. nbd

fiesta with the bfa kids
for the first time since we have all been in nyc, we got together, every single one of us. i was quite pleased with the turn out. food was good and dessert was heavenly. cassie made us s'mores chocolate chip cookies. yes please.

foggy city in hiding

keep the calories coming.

evi abeler photography

donut pub donut holes

i just really love food. i think i would enjoy being a food critic. and although it is only wednesday, i have another food update for you. full of sugar and spice and everything nice.

monday
dinner at westville with cassie
we are just so stuck on the grilled cheese and sweet potato fries it is hard to order anything else
but next time i think i will force myself to order the mac and cheese because i hear that it's the bee knees
perhaps i'll even order the mac and cheese with a grilled cheese on the side
thank heaven for cheese

tuesday
donuts seem to be on my mind constantly. i can't even count the times that i have googled best donuts in nyc. i'm pretty sure i know the list by heart now.
a lot of the great donut places seem to be in brooklyn
but the donut pub was conveniently located on my way to work.
i ordered a red velvet cake donut and a glazed twist.
honestly i was expecting more of a wow moment
but i hear the donut holes and the cruellers are amazing, so i might just be back

and for dinner i met sara and mike and nick at cafe mogador
and that hummus plate was still as awesome as i remembered
and so was sara. i love her.

wednesday
cassie and i took full advantage of out lunch break today
we went to eataly (and now i can cross it off my list)
this place is filled to the brim with amazing food
we shared a magherita pizza and an eggplant lasagna.
we definately approve.
and then we topped it off with some raspberry, lemon and pink grapefruit gelato.
ice cream on a hot day is a blessing from on high

and for dinner
i chose cookies.
yes, cookies for dinner is always a good choice when those cookies are from levain bakery.
oh man, marissa and i, fell in love
we ordered the dark chocolate peanut butter and the chocolate chip walnut and shared them both.
this suckers are huge and delectable.
this deserves space on anyones nyc bucket list.
ps can you spot me in this picture?

cutie patooties

heart attack

yes, i am aware that my life revolves around food, especially the super healthy kind

the weekend went a little like this:

danced like bees at work

shoved city bakery cookies down my piehole

five guys on a friday night

fell for summer fun fruits starbursts
added fuel to the fire with absolute bagel

burned my left butt check at brighton beach

finished fountainhead on the subway

drank a lot of juice at international street fair

pretended like i was rich at the plaza hotel

strolled through central park

once again i dreamed like i was a rockstar at the st regis hotel
rekindled the flame with koronet's pizza

ate some ice cream at dylan's candy bar

sang along with moulin rouge 

(nicole kidman makes me proud to be a ginga)

got super heated up by the heat 

nyc bucket list

food

cafe lalo

fatwitch brownie

chelsea market
nathans

grimaldis in brooklyn

smorgasburg

max brenner

burger joint

serendipity

sylvias

pommes frites

big gay ice cream truck

dinosaur bbq

stardust diner
crumbs
eataly

blue marble ice cream

brooklyn ice cream factory

pies and thighs

artisinal fromangerie and bistro
balthazar

milk and cookies

carnegie deli
popbar

carlos bakery

the standard bar
peter pan bakery

restaurant week


pizza:
     joes pizza
     johns pizza
     bleeker st pizza

     totonnos pizza
     arturos pizza
     deninos pizza

trips

washington dc

philadelphia

cape cod

museums

frick collection

museum of natural history

cooper hewitt design museum - galleries closed for renovation until october 15

the guggenheim

the whitney museum

ps 1 contemporary art center

new museum
botanical gardens
the tenement museum

places
manhattan temple
the strand
grand central station
the highline

tiffany's

waterfall at morningside park

fishs eddy
design within reach

rockaway

pier at 72nd st

the cloisters

posterati
ursus
SVA

kid robot

paper source
coney island
bronx zoo
governors island
church in harlem

shows
apollo theater
movie on intrepid - i missed the last one during my stay
river to river - i missed it, it ended on july 17th
movie in byrant park
baseball game

go to a concert

shakespeare in the park

nyc philharmonic
met opera 

ballet

rooftop film

jazz club

broadways:

      wicked

      jersey boys

      memphis

      how to succeed...

      the importance of being earnest - i missed it, it closed on june 26th

      billy elliot

activities
harbor cruise
go to top of the empire state building
run in central park - yes, that is correct of the 4 months i lived in new york, i couldn't motivate myself one day to go

rent bikes
carriage ride
row boats in central park
chelsea gallery stroll
ride roosevelt island tram

architecture
four seasons hotel
chrysler building
seagram building
st regis hotel
waldorf astoria
carhart mansion
15 central park west
westin hotel
hearst magazine building
rose center for earth and space
philip johnson's glass house in CT
173 and 176 perry st apt
iac building
lvmh building

thank you marissa

for getting us rush tickets to see billy elliot tonight. 

we loved it and highly recommend it. it had me laughing and bawling. yes, it was that good. another show crossed off my wishlist. wicked or memphis is next. 

to end the evening we finished it off with a slice of junior's cheesecake. raspberry swirl. 

ringin' in the weekend in style.

the national : conversation 16

i can't stop playing this.

boston

top: mental institution, middle: mit, paul, trinity, bottom: views of boston from the harbor

in order to celebrate memorial day and to take full advantage of the long weekend, nick, zack and i ventured to boston, massachusetts.

we are becoming quite the travel buddies. so far we have been to salt lake city, las vegas, new york and now boston.

quite graciously my beautiful and talented friend rhianna helped find us a place to crash as well as gave us a lowdown on the city.

saturday morning we woke up early and got on the 7 am chinatown bus to boston. all the bolt bus tickets were sold out so we took a chance with lucky star. and honestly, i think all the haters of chinatown buses, don't know what they are talking about. the seats were totally more comfortable.

we arrived in boston at 11 an were ready to hit the ground running. we were first shocked at how quite it was. then, we were surprised at how short the buildings were. and then we feel in love with how clean the streets were and how good the air smelt.

we got some lunch with rhianna and some friends and then decided to take a chance on the trolley tour. the trolley tour was great, we were hesitant joining in with the slew of tourists, but it helped us get a feel for what all there was to see and do in the city. i would definately recommend it for anyone planning a trip to boston. our tickets were good for two days and came with a free harbor cruise.

after taking the full tour on the trolley. we took a stroll down newbury street and window shopped. we loved popping our heads into bang and olufsen, fresh, hotel chocolat, and zara, among others.

hotel chocolat chocolate bar, fresh oval soap, zara may lookbook, bang and olufsen speakers

unknowingly though, we turned a corner and stumbled upon the boston public library, i.m pei's hancock tower and henry hobson richardson's trinity church. the architecture and history in boston was astounding. i always love chatting with zack about architecture. so of course we just sat on the steps of the library and tried to sort out of crazy intricacies of the design of the trinity church.

for dinner we decided, we needed some fresh seafood. but i am sorry to say that we were sorely disappointed. if in boston, do not go to salty dog. but the restaurant was in faneuil marketplace, so it was nice to walk around afterwards.

on sunday, we woke up and poked around mit campus and then headed over to the open air farmers market and vintage flea. we had fun sifting through the buried treasures and enjoyed the free samples too.

afterwards, we went back to faneuil marketplace to see the street performer festival, but man it was hot, it was almost unenjoyable for me. so we got on our harbor cruise. and it was beautiful. the wind felt wonderful and the views of the city were amazing. when we got off, we headed to the old north end church, which just so happens is where paul revere hung the lanterns.

after that, we had one more piece of architecture we were anxious to see. it was the mental hospital. call us crazy. during construction, the funds ran low, so several of the staircases lead nowhere. perhaps this only adds to the confusion in this place. but we trespassed a bit to take all the picture we please. the building is a really great piece of brutalist architecture. you would have thought zack was in a candy store by the smile on his face.

that night, we made our way to harvard square to go see rhianna perform. i remember the first time i heard rhianna sing and play the guitar i was stunned. she has an amazing voice. and i feel so cool that i have a friend as awesome as her. she is releasing her new cd this upcoming weekend! i am excited.

after the show we were starving so, we walked next door to border cafe. after a disappointment the night before we were really hoping for a good meal. and this place delivered. they offered canjun and tex mex. so i ordered the blackened catfish fajitas. the fish was seasoned wonderfully and came topped with mango salsa. yummy. we got much more food, that was a million times, for much less money than we had the night before. i give it a 4.3/5

and on that high note, it was time for us to venture back to the bus stop.

trinity church

yayday

nallik

      i love bagels, especially absolute bagels

      i love voicemails, well only from people i love

      i love dresses, light breezy ones on summer days

      i love seeing babies in the city

      i love walking in the city, instead of taking the subway

      i love music, especially this song

      i love fruit, especially grapefruit, raspberries, and avocados