tasty business

unique new york: flea markets, buck hunters & old friends (and cupcakes, of course)

every time i go to new york, i like to do things that make me feel like i live there, like a local. which, i realize, is what all tourists do. and locals don’t take pictures of everything. then again, i take pictures of everything in austin, where i *am* a local. anyway.

so on sunday, after a lovely brunch with meredith and kiley, henri and i met up with ryan, aka the most huggable person on the planet, to check out the flea market in his neighborhood (fort green, in brooklyn).

unsurprisingly, it was totally my favorite thing ever. and not just because there’s a street fair/carnival in “you’ve got mail.”

there were so many little treasures! and people in fall clothes! and crazy sequined vintage sweaters! and CUPCAKES!

and these were no ordinary cupcakes. ooooh no. they were from kumquat bakery, which is famous (ok, well, among people who read cupcake blogs) for their teeny tiny delicious treats! i got a chocolate peanut butter, the holiest of unions, and it was DIVINE. i literally stomped the ground and jumped into the air several times cos my body could not handle the tastiness. just ask ryan and henri. they saw it happen.

exploring the market was so fun, and it really did make me feel a local cos henri and i weren’t in a rush. so i dawdled and made small talk and tried on necklaces and took a picture of us in a huge mirror:

and really, the *best* part was spending more time with ryan. he’s the kind of friend that you start to miss even before you part ways, because he’s that wonderful.

i couldn’t leave the flea market without picking up a few tiny (non-edible) treasures:

i love the little wooden nun, esp. and i can’t wait to wear my xmas tree pin!!! all december long!!!

we bid adieu to ryan (i tried not to cry) and headed over to williamsburg, otherwise known as the Hipster Capital of the Universe. honestly, this neighborhood is so hip, it’s surreal.

even the TEN YEAR OLDS are hip. we spotted a group of tweens, decked out in scarves and retro sunglasses, selling baked goods for obama:

(i wanted to take their picture but i was scared they would notice and make fun of me and i can’t handle junior high mockery even though i am 29 years old).

further down the street, we passed by this lady would type a poem for you on the spot. which would be delightful anywhere but in williamsburg, where it came off kind of… well, like trying too hard.

we met up with a really nice guy named alex, who heads up an events (?) company called jelly. they’re famous for the williamsburg pool parties, which are free summer concerts that take place at this massive abandoned public pool:

you GUYS. this place was SO COOL. we couldn’t get inside without hopping over a massive fence, so we just walked around the perimeter until we found a pretty good view:

i swear, i heard someone call, “waaaarriors, come out and plaaaaay.”

this is *totally* the kind of place i wish i’d gone to as a teenager, along the same lines as “the old stone quarry” and “the abandoned amusement park.” except i was (am) a big weenie, so i probably would’ve just stood on the outskirts and watched the cool kids smoking/doing skate tricks/making out. still!!!!

after alex’s most excellent tour, we took the subway to the lower east side to meet up with henri’s friend matt and his fiancee, melissa. they took us to this DELISH italian place, inoteca, where we enjoyed italian-style tapas and pretended (ok, i did) to be in the mafia.

THEN we walked around the corner to aces, a bar with SKEE BALL!!

henri is a skee ball master, but then we figured out that one of the “100″ holes was actually only counting to 50, so he never earned that free beer (500 points). i think i prefer the ticket system, so i can at least go home with a cheap plastic ring or even a frickin’ paddle ball.

aces also has pinball!! and not just any pinball, but NEW PINBALL!! is anyone else impressed by the fact that they still make pinball machines?

i had fun playing “the dark night” but lost pretty quickly. i blame the distracting hotness of christian bale’s face.

i thought skee ball was pretty great, but then matt introduced us to a game called “big buck hunter.” it’s made right here, in the US of A!

it’s a pretty straightforward game– you have to shoot moose. but only the boy moose, not the girls (cows). and you get a “critter bonus” if you shoot other little animals, like rabbits and squirrels. HOT DIGGITY DARN!

henri put in his initials as “DAM” because he’s just so hilarious. you know what else is hilarious? those camo shorts.

the next day was our last day in NYC, and i think we made the most of it.

for lunch, we met up with erika, a faboo friend from high school, at a place she recommended called teany.

doesn’t it look so cute?! it’s basically a tea cafe that also serves veggie food (random note: moby owns it).

seriously, we’re talking major squeeosity.

it was so fun to see erika, esp. cos the last time i saw her, she was getting married, so she didn’t exactly have time for a sit-down chat.

you know, i try to live my life by a few simple rules, like “love yr neighbor” and “never buy uggs.” my main food rule is: if there is mac ‘n’ cheese on the menu, thou shalt order it.

the teany version was pretty good, even though the bacon was veggie (i’m all about eating less meat, but soy bacon is just plain wrong).

around the corner, i noticed a candy store that i had JUST READ ABOUT on a blog (yes, my google reader runs on sugar), so of couse we had to go.

you guys, this place was AWESOME. it totally lives up to its name, i.e. you’re not paying for, like, cutesy soda fountains or workers in striped aprons. i believe the official economy candy mantra is: “screw ambiance. here’s some candy!”

i wish i could’ve spent at LEAST an hour at this place, but given the time we had, i think we did pretty good.

yes, that IS candy lipstick. plus i bought this ball of crazy colorful licorice strings (that i’m still eating at my desk. right now) and a t-shirt!!! i can only hope that i’m worthy of representing economy candy to the rest of the world.

and, wouldn’t you know it, there was a cupcake shop down the street! with the best name EVER and i am NOT exaggerating even though i know i usually am but this time, seriously:

sugar sweet sunshine.

outside, they had a little board with the top ten reasons to eat a cupcake (LIKE I NEED A LIST):

I’M WORTH IT so i bought a pistachio-flavored one which was INCREDIBLE. the icing was so light and smooth (it was a “satin buttercream” frosting known as “the moose,” which is ironic since i was just shooting moose the night before!).

we had a little time left to kill before our flight, so we decided to meet up with henri’s friend dax, who works in the MTV building on times square.

even though i like to pretend i’m a local, i still get such a kick out of times square. it’s like, every time i see it, i’m suddenly nineteen again, meeting new york for the first time.

dax took us up to his office, which i was geekily excited to see. i mean, i know MTV isn’t cool anymore, but shhh!! my inner twelve year-old doesn’t know that yet!

check out their conference room:

yeah… MTV is definitely not cool anymore.

but they do have an *incredible* view of the city:

hi empire state building!!!!

seeing dax and henri together reminded me of the “old days” when i was first getting to know henri, and dax lived in austin and made ricidiculously awesome videos like this (<– which was actually filmed on a trip to NYC. seriously, watch it. i want this video to be my bff).

maybe it’s because i was able to see so many familiar, wonderful faces… or maybe it’s because i’ve been to the city enough times so that it kinda sorta feels like i know the place. whatever the reason, as we headed to the airport, i bid farewell to the city and realized that it felt like saying good-bye to an old friend. i didn’t want to leave! i wanted one more hug! don’t we have time for one more coffee? come on!

at any rate, thanks for a fabulous weekend, my dear. it was marvelous to see you.

til next time!

LINKS

i’ve been meaning to post about this comment (the last one) on my old “the notebook” post because it is basically the most awesome thing i’ve ever read and has spawned the repeated use of “GET OVER IT. MOVE ON.”

I CANNOT BELIEVE I DID NOT SEE THIS WHEN I WAS IN NEW YORK. GAAHHHHHHH. bansky, why didn’t you let me know in advance?

in case you missed it, check out amy poehler and seth meyer’s weekend update commentary on AIG via a new segment entitled “really!?!” which gradually evolves into “oh my god, are you serious, really!?!”

vulture examines the new twilight trailer (which i have to say, is basically like the old one but with KISSING).

babydisco!!!! i love the tone of this article about a child dance club exhibit at the palais de tokyo (i’ve been there!! but alas, the babydisco did not yet exist).

this cakespy post came out at the end of september, but it’s so cute and fun that i’m posting it anyway.

do you like mcdonald’s hamburgers? really? ok. then don’t read this.

looking for noodle ideas? i LOVE this site, even though it’s not, like, actual recipes. HONGRY.

erin sent me this link to the site of the photographer who does all of the portraits on SNL… dang, where was he when i needed my high school senior pictures?

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