Field Trip - NYC

We left single digits Thursday morning in NH and barely got out of them when we got to NYC (this is Bryant Park) - and this is what the ocean looked like down the street from our house as we took off to go pick up my son Heath and daughter-in-law Emma to join us.  

This was to be a very bitter cold jaunt in the City - we were bundled up for two days in double gloves, scarves, hats, boots, and heavy coats, and except for my hubby Dan, we were all still a bit cold as we covered our chosen areas on foot.  But it was so fun!  When we arrived, we checked in our hotel at 60 E 55th in mid-town and then went to Chopt for lunch salads.  Delicious.  We then walked to several landmarks in the area, stopped at Magnolia's Bakery where we split one double chocolate cupcake four ways and ate it at Bryant Park.  We went in to the New York Public Libray (the gorgeous building with no books and the fabulous lavender painted hall ways), St. Paul's Cathedral where we heard some organ practice, The Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station, places we could go in to to warm up a bit at times.  Just walking around and looking at shops too and chatting.  For dinner we went to Two Darbar Grille for really excellent Indian Food.  So much spice, so aromatic, even floral at times and a bit of heat in the curries.  Then we took a cab downtown to the Orpheum Theatre and saw Stomp.  This is a group of eight very excellent dancers who stomp, clap and play percussion and beat on things you might find in your garage or basement.  It was so wonderful and funny too.  We all loved it and I highly recommend the show if any of you are going to NYC.

Dan and I traded hats for a while - mine kept sliding upward because of my fat scarf so he  kindly wore mine with the big ball on top (my daughter Gabe made this for me for Christmas and I love it).

The Stomp Stage

The next day Friday, still very cold, we set out for a long, brisk walk to my favorite, Amy's Bread.  I just had to introduce my kids to Amy's.  One thing about Dan and me; we don't eat in or around the corner from where we are staying  - every meal is a travel destination in itself so we don't care where it's located; most of the time it's a great way to get our exercise and see new neighborhoods and streets as we make our way to a restaurant/bakery.  I point this out because I know Heath and Emma wondered why they had to walk so many blocks and turn so many corners just to eat breakfast - but it was worth it!

The hot chocolate arrives! 

 After breakfast, we split ways - Heath and Emma were headed to more mid town walking, Times Square, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, Levain Bakery (I made them promise me they would find it and try a cookie or two), up and down Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues, etc.  We would then meet at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Temple and Meetinghouse across the street from the Lincoln Center at 5:30 pm.  Dan and I were headed to thoroughly explore Greenwich Village, East Village, and a bit of Soho.  And perhaps the 9/11 Memorial if we had time.  So he and I walked a few blocks and caught the subway to Washington Square.  It was so cold that we decided to go in to a little cafe and map out our route by stops from my list to better utilize our time.  And to thaw out my feet and have a beverage.

Dad did the mapping

As I read him all the stops/destinations on my list.  I love being the what-to-do planner and Dan is a great navigator.

 

We started at Washington Square Park, went to the Washington Mews (we need to see that again in summer), NYU campus buildings (what a great neighborhood to attend college!),  We stopped at this adorable book store below.  I could have stayed there for hours.  The way book stores should all be and used to be.  So cozy.  Then to the Bigelow Apothecary - I could have stayed in there for hours too - beauty items you don't see in your average drugstore or department store.  We also tried to find a gallery called the White Columns.  When we did find it, it was gone, closed.  Bummer.  

We ate here for lunch - The Spotted Pig - it's in the East Village at 314 W 11th St off of Greenwich near Hudson St.  It is such a charming place, kind of funky, with a very original and unusual menu.  The interior is packed with pictures, mirrors, plates, plants and pigs, hundreds of pigs.  

 I had an amazing apple salad.  It was described as an apple salad with arugula so I was picturing a bowl of arugula with apples in it and the other ingredients but it was truly an apple salad and after the hot chocolate and pastries I had eaten for breakfast, I was glad it was light.  An apple chopped with a few walnut halves, a few arugula leaves, pecorino cheese shavings, parsley, and a fantastic vinaigrette.  I plan on trying to make this at home if I can just get the vinaigrette right - that's the key.  Highly recommend this.  Dan had a couple slices of sourdough toast with a schmear of shredded pork with what looked like a layer of lard/bacon fat you mix it with, mustard and pickles.  Very interesting.

 And then we are walking down a delightful little street in Greenwich village and this board caught our eye - now if someone claims to have the best chocolate chip cookie in a city, we can't just not check it out to see.  So we bought one hot out of the oven and each took a bite.  Pretty good.  But the test is how it tastes  when it is cold so we wrapped it up for later testing.  Sweet Corner Bakeshop.  Really cute inside too with many tempting pastries.

One of dozens of really sweet streets we wandered through.  I pretended we lived there and we discussed what this would look like.  

We are approaching Milk and Cookies - one of the spots on our list.  One with some rave reviews on trip advisor.  

We bought two cookies - they were so mediocre and very bland - we threw them away.  Don't bother.

On Bleeker St, we found two of our destinations right next door to each other - Murray's Cheese and another Amy's Bakery.  Murray's is a cheese lover's paradise.  They also have hard to find gourmet food items too.  I bought a pound of french made butter that I wanted to buy when I was in France last month but couldn't bring  home.  Now I have it!  

We went in to this Amy's and bought a loaf of her much recommended semolina raisin fennel bread and her pink frosted butter cake and devils food cake - one slice of each to share with Heath and Emma for dessert tonight.  I've been wanting to try the pink cake for a long time.  

There are little parks like this all over the neighborhoods we walked through Friday - I want to see them in bloom, especially the Thomas Jefferson Market Garden (I didn't take a picture of it).  

 After we left Greenwich Village, we went to Soho to seek out a place called Le Labo; it's a perfume lab with a line of about 15 scents that you can't buy in stores, you have either go online where they make your selection to order  or go in to this lab store and they make it right there in front of you.  I had become acquainted with their scents while staying in a hotel in San Francisco and had been hoping to eventually visit their lab store.  Le Labo is a company born in Grasse France but carried out in NYC.  I had a bottle of Bergamotte 22 made.  It was fun to watch the chemist make the scent and the assistant label it for me.  Dan sat it a comfy chair and make a business call while I made my selection.

The assistant 

Dan in his comfy chair

The chemist

The Lab - Le Labo

The new World Trade Center 

One of The Memorial Twin Reflecting Pools at Ground Zero.  So lovely.

After we met up with Heath and Emma, we ate at The Smith located on Broadway a block from the Lincoln Center - another place I will highly recommend.  We all raved about our meal choices and the place was absolutely packed - I'm glad we had a reservation.  Afterwards we did some walking to look at the lights.  Back at our hotel, we brought our our bakery purchases and passed the desserts around where we all took bites of each.  We didn't finish them all so there is still pink cake in our refrigerator to eat tomorrow after church!

Columbus Circle

Heath and Emma's bag of Levin Bakery bread to take home to NH - yay!

Breakfast this morning Saturday at Maison Kayser (Paris' Eric Kayser's NYC bakery).  I didn't have the eggs or oatmeal,; I had two delectable pastries and hot chocolate).  

Heath and Emma's bag of Eric Kayser bread to take home to NH

Some of the goodies

 Our take home bag - a seeded baguette, a chocolate pain de mie, a raspberry financier, six choquettes, and three cookies.  Now they are all in the freezer to keep fresh until consumption.

Maison Kayser - you have to go there! 

Heath and Emma have fallen asleep on the drive  home.  We walked them to exhaustion.  Hee! 

Travelogue - Christmas in Paris 2014 - Part One

I can't believe this when I say that this trip was my 4th visit to Paris in 2 1/2 years but I mention it to explain what particular kind of trip this one turned out to be.  The first was our honeymoon - part of a 6 week France/Italy tour we took a couple months after marrying where we went to all the places first timers go (I being the first timer).  The second was a whirlwind one day excursion with my son Heath and his wife Emma where we walked them to death on a huge loop of the most beloved areas there, the third was with Dan's daughter Brooke and her family for 4 days where they mostly did their thing and we ourselves explored new places and areas of the city instead of the popular tourist spots we'd already done.  This Christmas trip was the food trip (and one museum).  I'd been taking notes of restaurants, bakeries, and the best hot chocolate spots since our last trip for perhaps a future one years away and really didn't know we would be going again so soon -  but I was ready with an itinerary.  We were to arrive again in the early morning after a night flight and I was determined that no matter what, I would be cheery.  Fortunately, we were able to check in right away and sleep for 3 hours.

We stayed at a hotel called Hotel Parc Saint Severin right in the heart of the Latin Quarter.  Nothing fancy but totally adequate, cute, and a killer location.

Hotel on the left, church by same name (Saint Severin) on right

View out one of our windows, geraniums blooming in December.  I deadheaded a few.

After a three hours nap, we made ourselves get up even though we were groggy so as not to waste any more time!  We set off to reacquaint ourselves with these cobbled, windy, crowded streets, saw places we had eaten at before and chose a little bistro on Rue Saint Germain where we ate steak with a fried egg on top and salad for our combined breakfast/lunch.  This was our day to adapt and wander so we did just that, walking for hours and just soaking Paris back in.  And visiting the first two bakeries on my list. That evening, the restaurant we had reserved with, Bofinger, in the Bastille area, cancelled us for reasons unknown.  So we went to a little creperie on the I'le de Saint Louis and ate delightful buckwheat crepes filled with meat and cheese, salad, and we split a dense flourless chocolate torte floating in creme anglaise.

Our Creperie

Buckwheat crepes - they are so tasty!

First bakery on list - Eric Kayser - reported to make some of the best bread in Paris, especially his pain de cereals, and of all things, his chocolate chip cookies!  And yes, they are one of the best cookies I have ever eaten at a bakery - most bakery cookies anywhere seem to disappoint, strangely enough.  We determined that we would come back the day before leaving Paris to buy 6 more cookies,  two to eat (one each), and freeze the 4 others so I could use them to try and duplicate his recipe.  They are caramelly, buttery, crunchy, intensely chocolately with tiny walnut pieces throughout and light and and airy.  

I had read about the creme covered meringues in general in David Lebovitz's cookbook My Paris Kitchen and have his version of a recipe for them.  We enjoyed watching these be made through the window at the bakery on Rue Monge, Latin Quarter area,  Patisserie Aux Merveilleux

These pastries flew out of this bakery - meringues covered with creme chantilly and rolled in shaved dark or white chocolate.  We weren't' allowed to buy just one small one; you had to buy a box of 6 or 12 or a long cake so we passed, darn it! Instead we bought the ganache filled pasty you'll see below.  

Every street seemed to have its own lighting theme - they were so lovely to look at all over the city.   Rue  d'Ecole  de Medecine where we would eat breakfast the following morning at Patisserie Viennoise there on the left.

This beauty in a soft bread made with eggs, milk and slightly sweet filled with wonderful ganache.  We ate it over a period of three days it was so rich and stayed soft and scrumptious. 

Notre Dame

Notre Dame gargoyles

Notre Dame - our hotel was across the street from it so we passed by it every day.

Rue St Louis en L' I'le  - this is such a charming street that we walked through it a couple times a day all week.

Near the creperie the first night on the Ile St. Louis, we passed by a gallery with this oil painting in the window and I was so captivated by it that I had to take a picture to remember it by.  I would purposely pass by that same gallery a couple times a day for the whole week just to stop and look at it as we made our way to other places.  On Christmas day I walked by to look at it again and it was gone - sold!

Tuesday, the 23rd, our second day, we headed to the Patisserie Viennoise for breakfast.  David Lebovitz, the American pastry chef who lives full time in Paris wrote in his book The Sweet Life in Paris about a hot chocolate that he considers to be one of the best.  I drink hot chocolate every day of my life and have for decades so drinking superb hot chocolate a la ancienne daily was one of our goals for this trip.  This place is tiny and the window and counter is jam packed with amazing looking pastries and there are two tiny rooms with tables and a very narrow counter on one wall so that if you can't sit down, you can squeeze yourself between the wall and horde of people at the counter and drink your beverage.  Dan ordered his hot chocolate with whipped cream and I without.  The hot chocolate according to David, is made fresh each morning in a big cauldron with whole milk and bittersweet bar chocolate.  This hot chocolate is super bitter and thick and if you get the whipped cream, you get as much of that as you do the chocolate.  Dan needed to add a bit of sugar to his but I enjoyed it bittersweet as it was.  I was so thrilled to be able to check off this experience on my must do list!  The pastries were yummy too.

Dan heading in - I was so excited to try the hot chocolate I could hardly stand it!

Isn't it beautiful?

That counter and that window behind it are the working spaces for the waitresses and where the goodies are.   Tiny!

An interesting french woman sitting next to us

After breakfast we headed back to the I'le St. Louis to buy perfume at "my" perfumer, Nicolai, which was to be my Christmas present - yay!!

Love these streets! 

Back again - oh the anticipation!

I put little white cards in front of the possibilities and then placed the cards on top of the lids of a couple winners.

Merry Christmas to me - thank you Dan, my love!  (He patiently sat in a chair and watched my selection process - it was fun for him, really!)

Charming street on this lovely, overcast day

After the perfume adventure, we headed to the Marais area in the 4th arrondissement - one of my favorite neighborhoods.  We watched ice skating at the Hotel de Ville then walked up and down delightful streets, perused little shops, found a chocolatier I had read about called Pralus where we purchased some gorgeous chocolates and one of the best breads I have ever tasted! A small round loaf of sweet bread loaded with candied almonds which are pink colored.  It was fresh out of the oven and we tore in to it!  It was difficult to not eat the whole thing, and we didn't, because we wanted to enjoy our next stop, lunch.

I'm constantly looking up at windows and wishing I could see what the flats are like in each one.

Another Aux Merveilleux - we had to watch her for awhile.  So fun. 

These were gorgeous - and a line of customers out the door

We popped in to this bakery just to see this mountain of brownies!  We did buy one but they weren't chocolatey enough for our taste. 

I don't know the name of this bakery but we tried a choc chip cookie and they were not good, like most we try, almost always a disappointment in any country (except for Levain in NYC and Eric Kayser in Paris)

And their carrot cakes - untasted but pretty cute with real carrot slices on top.

We bought a box of Pralus chocolates which will pack well because the pretty boxes are metal

The incredible almond bread at Pralus!!  Addictive!  I lament living so far from this bread.

Our lunch stop

Lunch!  The round thing on the left is an omelette.  Simple and hearty.  That's Poilane bread under my ham and eggs - fab!

In the Marais, find Rue Vielle du Temple and then Rosiers off of it - this section is darling; twisty cobbled streets full of delicious little shops, a Jewish neighborhood, killer falafel, so, so adorable!  I found another wonderful unique perfumer here called Graine de Pastel, made in the Toulouse area of France.  And look at that neighborhood Christmas lighting.  

I just thought this corner building was so pretty

Food suggestions for Sabbath dinner

Jewish bakery

Another favorite spot we've been to all four times - Place des Vosges - a park surrounded by buildings you see on all four sides and great little cafes and shops.   After this park closed, we headed to the Bastille area to find our reserved restaurant for dinner, Le Train Bleu. 

Landmark for the Bastille area - the lights behind it are some kind of circus type ride.  

Our restaurant - we got there just as it opened.  Americans eat earlier than the locals.  It started to fill up pretty quickly. This restaurant was built in 1900 in the then brand new Lyon Station as part of the Paris Exhibition.  The ceiling paintings are all original.  The food was wonderful.  The service, impeccable, the atmosphere kept our heads turning studying the artistry.

Such lights to guide our long walk back to the hotel.  

There are two restaurants on the top floor of this hotel we passed close to our own hotel 

A block from "home".   A nice ending for Part One