Last weekend, I visited Rich and Lisa with Betsy to see them and visit Bear Mountain State Park for their annual Oktoberfest. The leaves are starting to change, and the weather is getting cooler.
This photo is a picture of Anthony’s Nose from Bear Mountain State Park, where I hiked a couple of weeks ago.
Last Friday, October 17, Betsy and I went to see Katy Pfaffl at the Canal Room. Katy is a fun singer/songwriter. For this performance, she was backed by a full band, including a string trio. The Canal Room is a small, intimate venue with a decent sound system, but some weird choppy lighting. It was a fun performance; Katy is a great singer and a lot of fun.
(You can go to YouTube to watch the video in high quality.)
After the concert, Betsy and I went to Bouley Upstairs. It is in the same price range as several small bistros in the same neighborhood, but the food is cooked with the same love and attention to detail that is given at the affiliated high-end restaurants. And the wine is also fair, if you stick to the wines by the glass.
Last Thursday Evening, October 16, Anne and I went to the Rise Bar at the Ritz Carlton in Battery Park to wish the Queen Elizabeth 2 farewell to New York City. The QE2 is on it’s final voyage; after returning to England she will be moved to Dubai as a museum.
It was a windy, gray night, but the managers at the Rise Bar had the balcony open so that we could see the QE2 along side the much larger Queen Mary 2. The ships are both very impressive, but the QE2 looks more like a classic ocean liner than the QM2.
Even though I had a tripod, it was difficult to keep the camera steady due to the fierce winds.
The QM2 waiting for the QE2
The QE2 passing in front of the QM2
The QE2 sails ahead of the QM2 and out of the harbor
The New York Times has an article about the departure. And, of course, let’s not ignore the “it’s a small world” moment. The New York Times reports, “A duplicate of the pennant was presented Thursday to Grover Sanaschagrin [sic], 88, who as a harbor docking pilot guided liners to their berths from 1944 until his retirement in 1996.” I believe this is the grandfather of Grover Sanschagrin, my coworker at PhotoShelter.
It turns out that “Joe the Plumber,” described by John McCain in the McCain/Obama debate last night, may be related to Charles Keating of “Keating Five” fame. You can read about it on Martin Eisenstadt’s Blog and the Daily Kos.
Today, I received my copy of the Alinea cookbook by Grant Achatz. Mr. Achatz may currently be the most innovative chef in the United States, if not the world. The New Yorker wrote an in-depth profile of him in its innovation issue, and there is no question that his life makes for a compelling story even if you do not find his food intriguing.
I have not had the opportunity of dining at Alinea. Not only is it very expensive and difficult to get into, but also it is located in Chicago. However, there is no question that his cookbook is one of the most beautiful cookbooks I have ever seen.
The food at Alinea could be described as “molecular gastronomy.” But I believe that does a disservice to the food. Cooks throughout time have always been willing to work with new equipment and “exotic” ingredients, and Mr. Achatz is no exception. From a first glance, the most difficult elements of the Alinea cookbook for the home cook are not the generally unavailable ingredients or the unfamiliar equipment, but the intricate nature of the recipes. Just flipping through the book shows recipes that are composed of six or seven sub-recipes before a final assembly step. This goes far beyond the many layered approach of French sauces.
The Alinea cookbook is beautiful. I pre-ordered the cookbook through the Alinea Mosaic website; the pre-orders generated the funds to allow the bood to be produced. As an added bonus, the pre-ordered cookbooks are signed and numbered.
Here are a couple of quick snapshots of the new cookbook.
I have not cooked anything from the Alinea cookbook yet, but I am looking forward to trying one or two recipes. (It would be like playing a round of golf after receiving instructions from Tiger Woods.) Regardless if my attempts to cook anything from the Alinea cookbook are successful, I’m looking forward to reading Alinea at Home, a blog by Carol Blymire. Ms. Blymire’s last project was cooking every recipe in the French Laundry cookbook, which she documented at French Laundry at Home. She just finished her last recipe from that cookbook, the Cornets signature dish.
If you get a chance, definitely check out this cookbook.
Finally, in the it’s a small world category, one of the essays at the start of the book is by Mark McClusky. We worked together when he was at Sports Illustrated several years ago.
This past Monday, Dogmatic, street vendor turned fast food restaurant, opened on 17th Street in the former Mandler’s space off of Union Square. Mandler’s was a fast food store that served high end sausages, fries, and beers. Unfortunately, their food did not match their aspirations, the store always looked dirty, and the prices were a bit too high. Dogmatic is a new sausage store billing themselves as the “Gourmet Sausage System.” And they don’t disappoint.
The sausages at Dogmatic are served with a variety of sauces, but their bread steals the show. Rather than a standard hot dog bun, or even a fancy Chicago-style poppy-seed roll, Dogmatic uses French bread-style loaves. Each loaf is cut in half and shoved on a spike. The spike has two functions: it warms the bread and makes a nice receptacle for the sausage and sauce. I’ve tried a couple of sausage so far; my favorite combination is the beef sausage with the truffle-Gruyere sauce. (Don’t spill the sauce on your shirt–it is embarrassing, especially when your coworkers don’t tell you that you’ve spilled and you walk around all day with a splotch of Gruyere on your shirt like a nimrod.)
Dogmatic costs more than your typical dirty water dog stand–a sausage costs around $4.50. However, compared with nearby Chop’t (salad for $12), or other restaurants (sushi for $15), Dogmatic is a bargain. And I think the bread alone is worth the cost. Also, vegetarians (and those of us who have had their fill of sausage) have a very nice option: Dogmatic prepares grilled asparagus as a sausage substitute.
If you are in the neighborhood and want a quick bite to eat, Dogmatic is worth visiting.
(Dogmatic sausage with horseradish mustard sauce: if you love strong mustard and horseradish, you will love this sauce. For everyone else, it might be a bit too strong.)
Last weekend, I rode on a yacht, had food poisoning, and climbed Anthony’s Nose.
I took Friday, October 3rd off to sail around the New York Classic Week Regatta, a schooner race around New York Harbor. Anne, Ginny, and I met at Chelsea Piers to board the yacht Manhattan. We paced most of the race to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and then made our way up the East River before heading back to the finish line at the Hudson. There was a bit of extra time, so we continued up the Hudson to see the Intrepid before returning to dock.
The day was overcast, but it was still pleasant outside and we all had a great time. We were supplied with a brunch of waffles, quiche, ham, salmon, and bagels; not to mention a fully stocked bar.
New York harbor is a working harbor, and the sailboats navigated along large container vessels and barges.
Turning at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
Anne and Ginny
The Manhattan was comfortable, fast, and fun. It’s worth looking into if you want a pleasant cruise around the city.
The New York City Waterfalls. The project just finished this past weekend. We were able to get very close to the falls.
The day before our ride, the Intrepid returned to its permanent berth.
The view of Manhattan from the middle of New York harbor.
Unfortunately, several hours into the ride, I started to become sick. I was still fatigued and weak after the ride, and took a nap when I went home. I woke up shaking several hours later and realized that I had food poisoning. I don’t think it was from the food on the ship since no one was ill; I think it was from my breakfast at a coffee shop or my lunch the day before. The details are a bit gross, but the good news is that my fever broke that night at 3 am, and by the end of Saturday I was in good shape.
So on Sunday, I went up along the Hudson to visit my friend Phil at his house in Garrison. Anne, Mary, Phil, and I started out the day by climbing Anthony’s Nose, a peak overlooking Bear Mountain. We climbed the mountain fairly quickly; it’s a fairly easy, but steep, climb with a beautiful view.
Phil and Mary at the peak of Anthony’s Nose.
Bear Mountain Bridge
Me (Sam Greenfield) overlooking Bear Mountain Bridge from Anthony’s Nose
Anne, me, Mary, and Phil
Climbing down the mountain, I saw many weird looking mushrooms. I would have taken more pictures, but I didn’t want to keep everyone waiting.
I didn’t do as much this past weekend, but I did walk down to Brooklyn Bridge Park with a friend of mine. It was a clear, warm day.
I finished up the weekend playing with my camera. I want to work with the strobe to see if I can capture better images of water droplets.
Bobby Flay versus Jerome Chang
It looks like there might be a “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” filming in Union Square. I saw the logo for the show briefly on one of the trucks, and one of the film crew mentioned a contest with Bobby Flay. I wonder if he is competing with the Dessert Truck.
This afternoon, I saw an advertisement for Verizon Fios. My building is wired for Fios, but the last time I checked they were only offering high-speed internet service–not television. I saw the number on the screen, 1-888-818-FIOS, and decided to give them a call. (Once they offer television service I am definitely signing up.)
The phone was picked up by an electronic system, and asked if I was calling about my current phone number. Of course, they automatically detected my cell number and read it back. I said no, since I was going to call about Fios. They then asked me what number I was calling about, or if I wanted to speak with an operator. When I said, “Fios,” they said they had no one I could talk to right now, and the automatic system hung up.
This is what I don’t get: why would a major corporation pay for a national advertising campaign on television, and then not have their call centers staffed when the advertising campaign was running? It seems like a waste of money to me.
It’s a double-whammy for them. I really want this service, and even if it weren’t offered in my building right now, I would be willing to sign up for the service ahead of time. The more I try and get shot down for trying to give them money, the less inclined I am to sign up for Fios.
