Keep Calm and Carry On: The Diary of Foodie and Gourmet

A couple Tuesday nights ago, my family and I enjoyed a very posh dinner at The Modern, which is located next to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). We have been long-time fans of the Modern and try to dine here as often as we can. Being attached to the MoMA, aesthetically, the Modern is gorgeous. It's very sleek and sophisticated, yet at times the decor can be quite funky. Makes sense for an institution that champions modern art. The staff at the Modern has to be the friendliest and possibly the most efficient team we have encountered at an NYC restaurant. Everyone's manners are always impeccable and the waitstaff are always upbeat and personable -- they are a pleasure to chat with. Most important of all though, is the food, which is not only gorgeous, but superb. We have never had a bad meal yet! We started dinner with a round of cocktails. As a family, we all ordered a "Blood and Sand," which is a family favorite. This old school cocktail is a Scotch based drink ...

After visiting the Bastille Day street fair, my cousin, parents, and I visited the Morgan Library for the  Alice in Wonderland  exhibition. We also explored other aspects of the Morgan. After a busy day, we worked up an appetite and decided to end our day of exploration in Chinatown.  Such a huge crab!!! Before heading over to dinner, we casually strolled the packed streets of Chinatown, trying to window shop, but spent most of the time dodging people. Rather than go directly to the restaurant, since it was still a bit early in the evening, we paused for a cool break --- iced bubble tea! Yum! My mother and I both enjoyed the lychee flavor tea, my dad had the melon tea, whilst my cousin had the strawberry. It was really tasty and refreshing, but because the teas were cold, the tapioca froze, which was an interesting crunchy texture.  Yummy selection of iced bubble tea For dinner, my family took E to our favorite restaurant in Chinatown: Hop Kee (21 Mo...

After brunch, it was time for my parents and I to show my cousin around the city. Since E is half French, we thought it might be fun to visit a Bastille Day celebration that was being held on 60th Street between 5th Ave and Lexington. This event occurred two days before the actual Bastille Day (July 14th), but it was still very fun! For those who may not know Bastille Day, it is France's independence day. Bastille Day, also known as La Fete Nationale (French National Day) "commemorates the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, which was the culmination in Paris of a violent revolution that had begun two days earlier, as well as the Fete de la Federation which celebrated the unity of the French people on 14 July 1790." (Wikipedia) As expected, the Bastille Day street fair was PACKED with people. 60th Street was lined with food vendors, musicians, art vendors, etc… There was a lot to see! While not everything was totally French and there wasn't a lot of French...

A few weekends ago, my cousin E arrived in NYC from Europe. I haven't seen her in a couple years and it's been nearly 13 years since she's been back in the USA! As you can imagine, my parents and I were excited to see her and she was excited to see us. To welcome her to NYC, we decided upon a Zabar's brunch. My dad and cousin woke up relatively early on Sunday morning, walked over to Zabars, and picked up lots of yummy treats. Brunch was absolutely stunning and delicious. We feasted upon an assortment of New York City classics including: bagels, lox, gravlox, and smoked sturgeon. Nothing says "welcome to Manhattan" like a bagel with cream cheese and lox! (To make it extra luxurious, my family like to put some salmon caviar on our bagel with the lox).  Brunch was really lively and fun, and yet very relaxed. We just sat there for a couple hours eating and schmoozing. Lots of reminiscing and discussion of future plans. What could be better? The perfect...

Last week, I had some time to kill, so I decided to visit the Morgan Library. Recently, I'd been seeing advertisements all over the city for their new Alice in Wonderland  exhibit and I wanted to check it out.  For those you are not familiar with the Morgan Library, is a "museum and research library located at 225 Madison Avenue at East 36th Street in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was founded to house the private library of J.P. Morgan in 1906, which included, besides the manuscripts and printed books, some of them in rare bindings, his collection of prints and drawings. the library was designed by Charles McKim of the firm of McKim, Mead and White, and cost $1.2 million. It was made a public institution in 1924 by J.P. Morgan's son, John Pierpoint Morgan, Jr., in accordance to his father's will." (from Wikipedia) Beautifully colored windows The Alice in Wonderland  exhibit was quite small, but jam packed with details...

I am very excited to tell everyone about my new favorite eatery in Manhattan: Dessert Kitchen. R and I stumbled upon this little dessert restaurant a few weeks ago and now we are obsessed. Dessert Kitchen is located at 192 Bleecker St, in the West Village, and specializes in an assortment of desserts ranging from puddings to cakes to parfaits.  About two weeks ago, R and I went to see The Third Man  at Film Forum. (Film Forum is an indie movie theater located off Houston Street and screens a fair number of film noirs --- something R and I both love.) After the movie, we grabbed dinner at a Japanese restaurant on MacDougal St, but decided to go elsewhere for dessert. In order to get home, we needed to hop on the 1 train, so I suggested strolling towards the Christopher St stop, assuming we'd come across dessert on our walk there. We had only been walking for a few minutes when we stumbled upon Dessert Kitchen, and boy, am I glad we found this place!  Dessert Kit...

Last Monday night, I had the great pleasure of seeing one of my all time favorite comedians --- Russell Howard --- perform his stand up. Russell Howard is an English comedian and I've been a fan of his for a couple years now. In the UK, he is a very well known personality and frequently appears on TV. I was first introduced to Russell Howard in 2009, when living and studying in London. He was a regular panelist on a comedy news show called "Mock the Week" and he was brilliant on it! I loved his insight and his on-the-spot stand up bits. He later left that show to start his own comedic news show called "Russell Howard's Good News." On this show, Howard searches the globe for funny news stories and basically takes the piss . It's hilarious and amazing. I can't get enough! (taken from google) Anyway, as far as I can tell, Russell Howard isn't super well known in the USA. I mean, I'm sure he has fans here, but I think that's only ...

I hope that everyone, American and non-American alike, enjoyed a lovely July 4th! I was fortunate enough to spend my Fourth of July in Brooklyn with close friends. My best friend E is currently back in the USA visiting, she moved to Australia last September, and she and her family were gracious enough to host a party. It was a moderately intimate affair, a total of 10 people, however, E and her family outdid themselves --- as per usual!  (I took this photo from E's instagram) On arrival, the feasting and drinking began. I was delighted to see that E had made my favorite summer drink -- Pimm's Cup ! For those who are not familiar, a Pimm's Cup is a British drink and it sort of resembles sangria. It's made from Pimm's, ginger ale or sprite, and fruit/cucumber (basically). It is really yummy and refreshing and I absolutely love it! E made three pitchers and we drank them all!  E's lovely Pimm's Cup E's family enjoys eating and their hospita...