voyages

feeding my brain (and my tummy) in NYC, part 3

y’all i am wrapping up new york today FOR REALS. and even though i’ve already covered calvin and food tours and james franco and big shot ad people and rice superstars, i STILL have V. Important Topics To Discuss With You Today.

like how i got into a KUNG FU DEATHMATCH with a NINJA PANDA!

and i’m still alive so guess who won OH SNAP! to his credit, the panda was nailed to the concrete, nor was he actually alive, so i guess you could call that a handicap in a fight.

amazingly enough, henri and i were still able to drag our bellies around after the calvin trillin’s tour, so we headed over to soho to meet up with amber. in spite of the gross weather, i really enjoyed the walk cos new york city always makes me feel like i’m in a movie, no matter how many times i’ve visited. and since it was new york in the fall, i think you know what movie i was thinking about… bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils, anyone?!!!

we met up with amber at this chocolate place called vosges, which i realized is the same company that makes that DELICIOUS chocolate bacon bar that meredith and i once devoured during a slumber party. truly, one should never dine in NYC without the help of a noble guide like amber, cos SWEET FANCY MOSES they have the most amazing hot chocolate there!! and it comes in a slender glass so you feel totally sophisticated while gulping down pure chocolate. see? don’t i look like a Lady of Distinguished Breeding?

the other bonus of vosges (and i have to say, she’s even BETTER than hot chocolate which is really saying a lot, am i right?) was jenna, another of my old rice pals! i hadn’t seen jenna since the last time i was in paris (I LOVE SAYING THAT cos it makes me sound like a cosmo pants), which was like three years ago you guys. three years!! the good news is that jenna is still as beautiful and wonderful and genteel as ever. and that’s not just the hot chocolate talking.

too soon, it was time for henri and me to head over to park slope to meet up with meredith and kiley. on the way to the subway, i had a total YA freak-out cos LOOK!!! A HUGE BANNER FOR CATCHING FIRE!! OMG PEETA I LOVE YOU.

seeing that banner totally made me go:

yay! it’s the hell yes sign! i’d read about it online but it was a super fun surprise to look up and suddenly see it as we turned the corner. rainbow art is THE BEST.

once henri and i were settled into meredith and kiley’s apartment, guess what? it was time to eat again!!!! no seriously. and guess what else? I WAS HUNGRY!! that’s because my tummy has amazing powers. i can pretty much always eat, like that weird pit in return of the jedi except i am waaaay prettier than that. anyway, we decided to return to ten, our favorite sushi place in their neighborhood, which features glowing cubes in all of the dishes and incredible rolls like the green lady:

OMG GREEN LADY YOU ARE SO FOXY WITH YR DELICIOUSNESS!!!

ten is the kind of place that believes in a certain way of serving sushi, and that style is called OVERKILL.

and while i tend to think of baby’s breath as being kind of unnecessary, i can tell you right now that serving food with fire? ALWAYS necessary.

full of sushi (and with no lasting burns, yay!), we headed over to a nearby bar and met up with alexandra, who is probably my favorite new-to-me person from meredith and kiley’s wedding in mexico last summer.

there are lots of things to love about alexandra, but it was during our conversation that night that i discovered the TRUE reason we feel such a deep, enduring bond: we were both OBSESSED with keanu reeves as teenagers. i mean, you guys know how crazycakes i was over mr. reeves, and *apparently* alexandra was JUST as bad (although did she sing to a picture of him on his birthday while holding a candle? i doubt it). once this INCREDIBLE connection was discovered, we pretty much managed to drive everyone away from the table with conversation starters like, “OMG, how many times did you watch ’speed’?” and “ISN’T POINTBREAK THE BEST MOVIE?!!”

if you can’t tell what sign we’re making with our fingers, then you obvs can’t be in our new gang. nor do you probably want to be.

ok so our conversation was obvs magic cos GUESS WHAT HAPPENED TO ALEXANDRA THE FOLLOWING MONDAY? she SAW KEANU REEVES! IN PERSON! ON THE STREET!! WHAAAAAA!!! of course she took a picture of him and sent it to me, since we’re in a gang and all:

here’s what she wrote to accompany the picture:

* *

In all his glory you have to zoom in but it’s him. Drinking his tea and smoking outside my work building! I saw him leaving and I saw him when I returned 5 min later. He’s beautiful and he’s tall tall tall and now I’m going to make Jim buy a hat that looks just like his!

I’m so happy!

* * *

OMGGG!!! i now full expect to see keanu outside of my work building any day now. i’m not sure how henri will feel about wearing that hat, though. it’s a little too, uh, LOTR for my taste (no disrespect, keanu! you know i love you!).

anyway!

we ended up having a fantastic and slightly ridiculous night out in park slope, which is what always happens when henri and meredith get together. BFFS Y’ALL!

the next day, i was really excited (HA when am i not excited?) cos henri, meredith and i were going to visit high line park!!! ever since i read about this place, i’ve been dying to see it, and let me just say that the high line lived up to the hype. it was a gorgeous combination of park space and city space, green and metal.

ya’ll if i lived in new york, i would LIVE IN THIS PARK. which i guess would make me homeless. but, like, stylishly homeless.

the best part about public space is seeing people *use* it, and new yorkers are v. v. skilled when it comes to parks. check out those awesome lounge chairs on the left:

know what’s even better than seeing people use parks? SEEING BABIES USE THEM!!!

much like that baby’s awesome hoodie onesie, the landscaping of high line mirrors the roots of the park, i.e. tracks.

we walked to the northern tip of the park, which ends with a lovely viewing station:

the high line is a beautiful, relaxing escape from the city, but it also made me feel like i was in the future! i love being in the future! doesn’t this picture look like an artist rendering of “new york city, 2020″ or something?

OBVS all of that walking built up my appetite, which then led me to undertake the poshdeluxe version of calvin trillin’s tour (the abridged version). first, we rushed over to union square so that i could visit the city bakery and, per sally’s recommendation, eat my v. first PRETZEL CROISSANT. and HOLY PANTS IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!! like i think it was the best thing i ate on my whole trip. I AM NOT JOKING. no offense, calvin.

y’all the next time you’re in new york you have GOT to get one of these little pieces of buttery, salty heaven. and then you better bring me back one cos that’s what a good friend would do and you want to be a good friend, don’t you?

the next (and last! curse you, plane departure!) stop on the poshdeluxe tour was s’mac, a restaurant that only serves mac ‘n’ cheese I KNOW, RIGHT?!!! the minute selina told me about it, i knew i was destined to meet this restaurant, fall in love with it, get married and then get really really fat on cheesy goodness.

it truly was just like a fairy tale. i walked in a regular girl, but by the end, i had the equivalent of a prince, a castle and a fancy pants gown, all combined in the form of a creamy, cheesy skillet of TASTY FREAKING BUSINESS!!!!!!

i felt like macaulay culkin in “home alone” when he says, “one cheese pizza, just for me!” except i was saying, “one skillet of mac ‘n’ cheese, just for me!” and also, i’m 30, so it’s ok if my family leaves town without me.

henri opted for the alpine, which features swiss cheese and bacon. i think he was UH pretty happy with his choice.

as you can see, being my boyfriend provides excellent training in How to Pose for Food Photography.

meredith ordered the classic american, which she was nice enough to let me try. it was REALLY delicious and super comfy, as you would expect.

it’s always hard for me to leave new york, but this trip taught me that the best way to say good-bye is with my mouth full of tasty business.

GUUHBAII NOOH YAWWK!!! SHEE YOO SHOOOM!!! AHHH LUF YOOO!!!

(that’s how a good-bye sounds when my mouth is full, in case you couldn’t tell)

LINKS

so sarah dessen, one of my fave YA authors, just wrote a blog entry about friday night lights, one of my fave shows. PANTS BLOWN.

meet yr new favorite little boy, ever (and henri, meet yr new style icon). thanks erin for sending me this adorableness!

© 2009 Poshdeluxe.