I break for liberty

staten island ferry

Took a break and went down to Battery Park today. Whenever I start feeling really stressed, I always seek out some water. I find just staring at the even temper of the water extreeeeeemly relaxing.

she's very small, and it's a very nasty day, but the statue of liberty is still there!

I feel like there is a lot going on lately...but I got into graduate school!

The Philanthrophist. 8pm. AA Theater.

Last night, I went to see "The Philanthropist" on Broadway. It stars Matthew Broderick and Steven Weber (with cute Brit accents). However, I do not think people like it. Maybe...simple...people, don't like it? The people sitting in front of us left. In back of us. A couple rows ahead, some people left during the second to last scene. Why would you do that?


I enjoyed it, immensely, but I couldn't really figure it out at the time. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't so damn tired. Frank Rich's review explained, gift-wrapped it even, the reasons why. It's a sort of anagram on "The Misanthrope"...while the protag in "The Misanthrope" was nasty and caused havoc through all aspects of his life, Philip, Broderick's character in "The Philanthropist" was nice and well-mannered and yet still caused the same hostile results. It seems, no matter what, human nature cannot change fate - or consequences.

Another episode of "why I don't understand people".

Missing in Action

Me, at the Matt Duke show in Philadelphia, Making Faces.

Sorry I've been MIA, but sooo much has been happening.
SATURDAY: Bronx Zoo and Luna Pizza in Hoboken. And Jamba Juice. SUNDAY: "Accent on Youth" with David Hyde Pierce! MONDAY: Made a really horrible attempt at homemade Pad Thai. TUESDAY: "Suddenly Last Summer" (Off-broadway) at the June Havoc Theater. Tonight we're going to see "The Philanthropist" with Matthew Broderick, where we attempt to answer that age-old question...how much is too much theater?

Promise pictures will be posted soon...in other news, I did have my first etsy sale!

Thursday. 8pm. Norman Conquests. 50th & 8th.

Above: cast from the norman conquests

Transplanted from the Old Vic Theater in London, A & I went to see the "Norman Conquests" on Broadway...thursday. Basically, it's about a married guy with an (too?) understanding wife wants to screw her sisters. There are three different plays (a writer, who also has a business degree?), called Living Together, Round and Round the Garden, and Table Manners. All the plays circle an evening at the wife's sister's house in the country. A had seen Table Manners, but based on the premise, I think I preferred seeing the Garden version.

It was hilarious, I highly recommend it. There's (partial) nudity, side splitting laughter, and unless you despise the Bard in all its forms, you will not fall asleep. Plus, the theater (Circle in the Square) imported the whole British cast, and didn't attempt to hire American actors with bad British accents.

Take a load off!

Philadelphia - Matt Duke, 9:30 pm.

Two nights ago, my friends S. & R. (who are roommates) decided to go on an impromptu journey to Philadelphia. They invited me along - who was I to say no to such a request - and I met up with R. at her office, jumped in S.'s car, and we were off...well, off to wait in an hour of traffic at the Lincoln Tunnel.

The reason of our trip is to see an old friend, Matt Duke, perform at Tin Angel. He's not really *my* old friend, but we know him from our sorority, through one of our sisters. While back then it seemed like he could break out at any moment, now he's definitely in the zeitgeist, having appeared in Teen Vogue and Perez Hilton.



We met up with our friend LK, who lives in Philly and goes to Medical School, and first went to a Medical School Party, complete with flip cup. They were about as socially awkward (her words, not mine) as I expected, for medical students, and there was a key lime pie. We left for the show soon after arriving.

Tin Angel, the venue, is at 20 South 2nd Street in the Old City, but it was confusing at first because I thought we were going to eat Italian food...you'll see what I mean if you ever go there. Matt was already playing, but we caught a good portion of his set, including this:



but at first I thought he sang "sexy reruns", which, I think, gives the song a new meaning. After saying hi, we needed food desperately...after all, we had only eaten Girl Scout cookies on the ride down (delicious, yet, not filling). We walked a little ways and hit up Soho Pizza, and it was yum. They even have Chicken Ranch pizza!

All & all, great night, except maybe the whole waking up the next morning at 5:15 part. I hate jobs!

Being Ill = The 39 Steps

So...I've been a little ill lately (no swine flu, oops), just a sore throat, and my boyfriend did just about a million nice things for me today - he bought skinny cow ice cream sandwiches, my favorite duane reade honey-lemon cough drops (that I actually use as mints), chicken noodle soup and haribo gummy bears..but the best was theater tickets!!!

A. and I go to the theater pretty regularly, and I have been nagging him to see "The 39 Steps" since we moved here...and finally we found tickets we could afford (today, for a show at 7pm!) Ah, and it was everything I wanted it to be.

From the website:

"Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have THE 39 STEPS, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre! This 2-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 zany characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of 4), an on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers and some good old-fashioned romance! In THE 39 STEPS, a man with a boring life meets a woman with a thick accent who says she's a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called "The 39 Steps" is hot on the man's trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale! A riotous blend of virtuoso performances and wildly inventive stagecraft, THE 39 STEPS amounts to an unforgettable evening of pure pleasure!"

It's playing at the Helen Hayes Theater at 44th between 7th & 8th.

p.s. i really appreciated the shadow puppet theater show.

Salata de Vinete

Until I was in my teens, I didn't enjoy, or eat much, Romanian food. A lot has changed and now I figured out how to make the foods I used to hate! Salata de vinete (eggplant spread) is a classic recipe that I obsess over and like to make at least 2x a month. It's really easy and simple peasant food, and now that I am a peasant, it's really quite appropriate.

Need:

3 medium-large eggplants
1 medium onion (can leave out if you want)
3 cloves garlic (more or less, depends how garlicky you like things)
4 tablespoons olive oil


Make:

Place aluminum foil on a large pan and crank the oven up to 550 degrees. Take a fork and poke holes all over the eggplants. Pop 'em in the oven and wait for the eggplants to "collapse" - about 25-30 minutes or longer, depending on the eggplants. So finicky, these eggplants.

Take the eggplants out of the oven and peel the skins off the eggplants (and the tops), leaving the meating insides. Put the insides in a blender with the minced onions, minced garlic and olive oil and puree.

It'll still be really hot (and it's best cold) so put it in the fridge and enjoy...with bread or crackers....later!

Brunchpeditions: Village Restaurant. 62 W 9th. 11:30 AM.

So because of of my old CNT friends was visiting "from out of town"...aka Princeton, NJ, I definitely wanted to get in some quality brunch time. My usual go-to spots are near my apartment, like Good Enough to Eat and EJ's Luncheonette, but I thought today could be...specialer.

Browsing Yelp! and Opentable, I came across Village, a cute spot that I fell for utterly and completely because it's petit francais. At 62 W. 9th Street, it's almost at the corner of 6th Avenue, but that was news to me. Almost every time I venture down to the West Village I feel lost and incapable of following simple directions. Today was different (I didn't get lost - Thanks Phone GPS!) and pleasant since I also had the opportunity to walk by Le Petit Puppy...where I saw the most adorable black puggle puppy in the window. In my head, I named him Deiter.

Village, in a word, was filling. To add another? Satisfying. Not in a Southern way, where the grits are dipped in lard fried and covered with lard again (i'm joking), but very understanded and hearty. All three of us were on the prix-fixe brunch bandwagon - for $19.50, we all got coffee, soup/salad, mains & a cocktail. I know you can do better than that, price-wise, in Manhattan, but think of the food. This isn't greasy spoon fare. I ordered a bloody mary (can't live without 'em on sundays) to start, which came with green olives and was properly spiced, as if the bartender actually made it special. Then came the salad with herb dressing and, for my main, the roast tomato, asparagus & goat cheese omelet - egg white omelet. I don't usually do egg whites only, but I've been going to the gym lately and I'm trying to do what the magazine say and eat healthier. Yikes, was I full after.

Not only was the food exactly what my stomach could handle after last night, but the ambience was perfect too. We sat at a table in the window, people-watched & listened to the circa-1940s French jazz piping through the stereo.

So we're probably going to make this a regular thing now - especially with the puppies.

Feast Pt. II : Stuffed Peppers with Couscous

My grandmother used to make the most delicious stuffed peppers, but these, I made with a twist. I barely eat meat (outside of restaurants) - an anomaly in my Romanian family. Growing up, I was vegan for a while, so I learned pretty quick how to stuff myself silly with weird sounding thingys like "cracked durham wheat". Couscous, I actually enjoy, and it's a lot easier to make than rice - which, for some reason, I seem to burn almost every time.

So easy mix, right? Stuff the peppers with couscous and you are filled up like you just ate some steak from Luger's.

And so, we have a pot of boiling water, and dunk some peppers into it (taking out the stems and seeds beforehand), making sure to cover the peppers with the water evenly and keep them there for 5-7 minutes, until they get tender.

Meanwhile, since you're not busy, make the couscous, but make sure you prepare it with chicken stock. Chicken stock = so much better than water. Then, pour the couscous into a bowl along with 1 tbspn olive oil, however much dill and basil you like and crumbled feta cheese. Mix up the mixture and stuff it into the peppers.

Voila, dinner! I used mozzarella cheese here as a last resort, but feta would be better. Food is food though...and I'm not about to argue.

In Where I Make A Feast!

Oh tonight was a sheer colossus of food. And you're going to make it to - it's so easy, it's disgusting - ha, not the food, but the process. It's all about the process here, people.

Here, I made varza - a Romanian sauerkraut treat!

First, add some olive oil to a pot on medium heat. Then chop up 1 medium onion. Maybe less though, if you find it's too onion-y. After you add it and it's all "saute-ed" up, add about a 1/2 a 12 oz. can of tomato paste to the mix. Mix the onion and tomato paste mix until it reaches a less clumpy, more sauce-y consistency.


Then, oh - then comes the fun part! Open a regular old can of sauerkraut - you know, the stuff that tastes sort of sour and delicious and pour it into the pot. The juice in the can will make it as sour as you want, so if you're anti-sour, take it out. I like it semi-sour, so I pour most of it out. Then you just plop it into the pot and stir it up! After it gets pretty hot - hot - hot, cover the whole concoction with water, and watch it boil.




The point here is, that all this water need to be absorbed, yet also evaporate. Stir vigorously, do whatever ya gotta do. I don't even really know why I add expect - except my mother tells me I need it, and well, I can't argue with tradition. After all the water has leached out of the varza (about 15-30 minutes), it's perfect to eat.

Late Lunchpeditions: Delta Grill

Another day, another apartment. I've been looking at new apartments around Chelsea/Hell's Kitchen all week, and up until today, they've mostly been a bust. Finally, we hit a great spot. Loads of sunlight, skyscraper views (a hint of the Hudson, perchance??) and big closets. And, cherry on top, it's next to an amazing-smelling fried chicken shack (Piece of Chicken) that I'm sure will greatly add to the circumference of my thighs in the coming months.


After our long, yet hopefully productive day, we were walking to the subway, and decided to eat instead at Delta Grill instead. Such a great place, and since I love all cajun food (maybe I lived in NOLA in another life), I decided to get adventurous - and try crawfish for the first time.


You can't really tell from my awful cell phone picture, but we devoured a delicious popcorn crawfish po'boy and chicken tortilla soup with sweet potato french fries. And, when A. & I go to an cajun joint, we must get fried green tomatoes. And my sweet tea of course. Don't leave home without it!

Cassoulet: Vive La France!

Finally getting readjusted to living in reality. Mexico isn’t reality, so I’m back to doing the things I do. Cook, read books, watch movies, sleep til 1. Oh, it happens. Tonight, I made cassoulet. I’m obsessed with all things French so I bought all the delicious goodies that come with making a French meal…baguette, red wine & well, I was going to watch “Breathless” but I’m a Robert Downey Jr. mood so I chose “Only You” instead. It’s set in Venice - is that close enough to Paris? Magnifique!

I found the recipe at epicurious.com - it’s basically just cooking some bacon, throwing a lot of veggies with some olive oil in a pot, add garlic, add beans & red wine and pop it in at 400 degrees for a half hour. It’s a peasant’s dish and considering that’s what I am at the moment, it couldn’t be more appropriate.

Cassoulet: the finished product!

Ah, and just for the hell of it, I made some eggplant dip (see the eviscerated eggplant carcass on my stove?). Oh my grandmothers would be so proud!

In Search of the Elusive Romanian Jew

So I really needed to check out this Sammy's Roumanian place. Alex's parents came to eat here 20+ years ago and, from first impressions, it really seems like it's the type of place that never changes. Halfway between 2 AM at a Bar Mitzvah and "Christmas" dinner with your Jewish friends, Sammy's is one of those quintessential NYC joints that makes us newbies wax nostalgic about the good ol' days (pre- Bloomberg, pre-Giuliani, crazy, coked out, dangerous & dirty New York)...

Wine...so far, promising.
There's literally, 8 things on the menu. Steak (single or double size), latkes, stuffed cabbage and chopped liver. You must be willing to clog your arteries and be slightly weirded out when you contemplate eating here.

me, eating my stuffed cabbage rolls, which I regret I ordered in lieu of the steak.
Not because they weren't good - my grandmother's are just better.

The double steak - it flops off the sides of the plate and is covered in butter and garlic.

David and the steaks, with the latkes & applesauce and pickled tomato appetizer.
The pickles tomatoes, unlike the cabbage, was exactly how I remember eating them growing up.

We finished up the meal with an egg cream (chocolate syrup, seltzer water and milk).
A really tongue-tasty culinary experience. Not refined, not cultured, but who wants to be in this economy?

Caught!

eating my cake.

Broken Apartment

Ever since moving to my new place back in May, I feel like Jekyll/Hyde. I love my apartment. I hate my apartment. I love my side-view of Central Park. I hate the rotted, warped floors. I love my big kitchen. I hate my teeny bedroom. I love my huge closet. I hate cockroaches.

I love the flea market across the street. I hate scary alley pigeons. I love Shake Shack. I hate the long lines at the Shake Shack. I love Loehmann’s and Filene’s Basement and Westside Markets. I hate Pinkberry. I guess those are just my neighborhood, not my apartment but I feel an all-encompassing neutral energy about the whole thing. This is how it is in Manhattan. Unless you have bajillions of dollars, nothing is your way and every positive moment is canceled out by a low blow. I love that I live in a better neighborhood, closer to work, closer to bars, closer to everything and I pay, on average, less that I did before. And now I have turtles. But,


The old-timey heater exploded and shot steam all over our bedroom. That thing on the ground is supposed to keep that from happening. And this is a staged picture - that thing flew off into our laundry hamper!