The second amazing meal, as of right now, goes down as the best meal I have ever had. A dear friend treated me to what can only be described as a totally extravagant fantasy dinner. I have dreamt of going to Blue Hill at Stone Barns for years and I finally got to go on Friday. We started the day with a wee hike in the Rockefellar State Park that backs up into the Stone Barns property and then we wandered into some of the greenhouses on the land. We quickly changed into more appropriate attire and settled in for a unbelievable 8 course meal and a glass of champagne to boot. The service was absolutely unpretentious yet utterly impeccable at the same time. The explanation of the food and how and where it is grown on the farm was such a nice added touch. Each course was tailored for your table and the food was out of this world. I think I can safely say I ate the best carrot of my life that night. I could go on for days about my experience but I will simply say if you live in NY, make it a point of heading up there at some point (soon)!

I tried and (I think) succeeded in recreating one of the Momofuku Milk Bar cookies this weekend for a friend's bday party. I have had the cornflake, marshmallow, chocolate chip cookies at Momo's and love it (although it can be a bit too sugary sweet). Regardless, I thought I would try my hand at making my own batch. I used my normal chocolate chip recipe from the back of the Nestle package (works everytime), I added the cornflakes and then used mini marshmallows and mixed them all together. You then have to ball the dough before placing it on the cookie sheet to help the cookie retain some form. The cookies won't come out in perfect circular shapes but neither do Momo's. It is also important to use parchment paper because the marshmallow will obviously melt and the paper helps it from not becoming too hard and sticking to the sheet. Another tip is that you should bake them at 350 (instead of a usual 375) and for 9 mins (instead of the usual 11 mins). Enjoy!

I had the luxury of having two amazing meals this week as birthday treats. I went to The Grocery (Smith St, Brooklyn) on Wednesday for Dine In Brooklyn and had a fantastic meal. I had never been there before and can't wait to go back. The food was amazing (roasted carrot blitz, a haddock entree and grapefruit panna cotta) and the staff was not only attentive but really try to give it a personal touch.

Looks like one of my favorite places in Red Hook, Tini is moving a handful of blocks away due to rising rent. You can find them with an expanded kitchen, at the beginning of next month near the corner of Pioneer Street off Van Brunt. (via BK Paper)

The French Culinary Institute is now serving brunch, "Starting March 28, join us at L'Ecole for brunch. Enjoy a basket of fresh bread and pastry, your choice of one appetizer and one entreé, and regular coffee or tea every Saturday and Sunday for just $19.50"

oh man.

here's your chance to design the mini golf course of your dreams. FIGMENT is working with Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation and Black Rock Arts Foundation to create a fully functional 18-hole mini golf course on Governors Island. You can submit your designs here.

another great presentation last night was by artist Jonathan Harris who made this amazing website documenting his time on a whale hunt, he calls it an "storytelling experiment." As he describes in his own words, "I documented the entire experience [in] 3,214 photographs, beginning with the taxi ride to Newark airport, and ending with the butchering of the second whale, seven days later. The photographs were taken at five-minute intervals, even while sleeping (using a chronometer), establishing a constant "photographic heartbeat." In moments of high adrenaline, this photographic heartbeat would quicken (to a maximum rate of 37 pictures in five minutes while the first whale was being cut up), mimicking the changing pace of my own heartbeat." you can see the entire amazing collection here.

I went to this great event last night, it was a ny evening of pecha kucha (meaning chit chat in japanese). Started by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Tokyo's Klein Dytham Architecture- presenters speak on any topic although it is usually in the art and design realm and in doing so, show 20 images for 20 seconds apiece, for a total time of 6 minutes, 40 seconds. here were the speakers:
Daniel PerlinViraphon , Eric SandersonMannahatta Project - This one was GREAT. You can see more here , Allegra BurnetteMoMA, Tina Roth EisenbergSwissmiss, Jonathan HarrisNumber 27, Jay ParkinsonHello Health, Dickson DespommierVertical Farm, Glen CummingsMTWTF , Eviana HartmanBodkin Brooklyn, Dan FogelsonEmeco, Deborah Fisher21st Century Plowshare, Paul D. MillerDJ Spooky

Notte Sento (English subtitles) from napdan on Vimeo.

Short film made with 4500+ still photographs. Shot with a Canon EOS 30D camera.

A girl misses her train to Milan and is set to wait overnight in Rome until dawn. However, a chance encounter with a guy changes her plans and the night lights of the capital turn into the background to a tender love story. An extraordinary chemistry made of knowing glances and small gestures fills the few instants that separate them both from the sunrise.

(via VintageVogue)

Woody Allen has a shouts and murmurs piece in this week's New Yorker.

Yesterday's fleeting spring weather got me thinking about picnics so I thought I would pull out Mark Bittman's 101 Fast Recipes for Inspired Picnics. Get ready for spring here.

Men.Style.com is featuring one seriously stylish and cute kid, Arlo Weiner. Arlo is the son of Mad Men creator, Matthew Weiner and is clearly the sharpest dresser in the second grade. You can see a whole slideshow of his favorite outfits here. Also, here's what he has to say about the picture above. "I have a lot of black outfits these days, so I needed the red ascot to add some color. I love red and black together—they each make the other stand out. I’ve worn this to school about 12 times."

Also, making the rounds is stylish 12 year old, Tavi who runs her own much talked about style blog called Style Rookie. She blogs incessantly and is up on all the current runway shows while also photographing her own personal style experiments. Her explanation of the outfit above: "Since I've recently been craving more structured, "architectural" clothing I put the safety pins to work this morning on my mom's old blazer and vintage skirt, both of which were changing form all day. Nothing out of a Japanese sewing pattern book but that'll do pig, that'll do."

Too.cute.

A month or so back, I wrote about this amazing little book I read, Important Artifacts and Personal Property From the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry and now apparently it is coming to the screen. Yay! Per Vulture, "published just last month, Leanne Shapton’s Important Artifacts and Personal Property From the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry has been optioned by Paramount, with Brad Pitt and Natalie Portman set to produce and star in the romantic-comedy adaptation. The book takes the form of an estate-auction catalogue, with entries depicting the course of the now-expired relationship between Morris, a photographer in his forties, and Doolan, a food columnist in her late twenties." Surprisingly, the casting is spot on.

weekend project: i meant to post this earlier. i was sick of my cheap ikea chairs so i painted them fire engine red and bought light brown cushions to tie on them. i should have primed them before painting them because it took about three coats to get it right but they look good now!

Hood Updates

- Cheap Eats in Brooklyn from About.com : Bánh Mì form Hanco's, Christie's
Jamaican Patties, Panelle Special at Ferdinando's, Sample Platter at Hecho
en Dumbo and more.

- New coffeehouse on Atlantic, Clover Cafe. (via Brownstoner)

- NY Sandwich round up, some Brooklyn highlights include Defonte's. (via Time Out)

- Pita Grill on Smith St is now closed. (via Pardon Me for Asking)

sarah silverman is the new poster girl for the band of outsiders boy. campaign.

Photo by Russell Lee. Barbeque dinner at the Pie Town, New Mexico Fair, 1940.

more photos here. (via As via PDN)

amazing photos of an economically depressed detroit on time.com. more here. it makes me so sad to see (even though they are beautiful shots). you can literally get a run down home in detroit for $40 although some argue, it is bringing back a more active artist community. here's to hoping!

must try: blood orange olive oil cake recipe in nyt.

new cupcake place in nyc, baked by melissa -featured in nyt. interesting flavors, i'll have to check out.

new movie- away we go. directed by sam mendes and written by dave eggers.

the ability to cut and paste (along with many other new features) is coming to the iphone finally. Gizmodo has the full lowdown here.

this is a great trailer for the doc coming out on valentino. so over the top and set to "bette davis eyes"- it totally won me over.

i'm not really sure about this dining in the dark fad that seems to be going around. have you heard about this or gone to one of these dinner parties? apparently you are blindfolded once you enter the dinner party and are then served a full meal with the intention that your "other senses take over; you discover in yourself an expanded awareness and surprising competence. Savoring the supper’s tastes, smells and textures." then at the end of the meal, you are handed a card with a list of the full menu you were served. i have heard about this for some time now and am not really sure I would enjoy it but if you're curious, you can try it at abigail cafe and wine bar in prospect heights or head to dark dining projects for other options. (pic via gothamist)

From Eater: " Kogi, the Korean taco truck outfit that has garnered a hysteric, cult-like following in its home town of Los Angeles, will be coming to New York: "The food brings together Mexican and Korean influences in items like kimchi quesadillas and short rib tacos...Chef Roy Choi says he hopes Kogi will be in New York by 2010." Phew. We were almost jealous of LA for a second. [WSJ via ML]" yay!!!!

so pretty. from la garconne (via refinery)

This site, Nerd Boyfriend, identifies the objects of our affection (from Richard Avedon to Gene Wilder) and breaks down what they are wearing.

Hood Updates

- Lobo on Court Street is closing for renovations, will be interesting to see if it comes back. (via Grub Street)
- Dine In Brooklyn week is back and the full list of participating restaurants is here.
- Looks like Zuzu Ramen on 4th Ave (from the owners of Sheep Station) will be open soon. I walked by last week and the plywood was down and it looked ready to go. Tips on Eater concur.
- Caserta Vecchia is for sale (via Brownstoner).

i went to see Voy a Explotar and Summer Hours this weekend at BAM. i heart BAM tremendously, they have such fantastic curators and the general screening experience is always top notch. i went to see Olivier Assayas's Summer Hours first and it was really something. In its most basic sense, as imdb explains, it follows"two brothers and a sister as they witness the disappearance of their childhood memories when they must relinquish the family belongings to ensure their deceased mother's succession." It definitely drags at parts but the in the end, the way it explores the transfer of family history from an older generation to a younger one is pitch perfect. As this short interview with the director notes, the film started as a short that was commissioned by the Musee d'Orsay and acts as an epilogue to his earlier film, Les Destinées Sentimentales.
The next film I saw on Saturday was Voy a Explotar. I was super excited to see this movie but unfortunately, it was one of those cases where the trailer was better than the movie itself. Somewhere between Pierrot le Fou and Romeo and Juliet, Voy a Explotar is beautiful in moments as well striking in both visual color and romanticism but ultimately lacking in direction as it tries to weave between light hearted fantasticism and its dark consequences.

My friend turned me onto this oddly fascinating site, scanwiches. they scan the cross section of a sandwich and its bizarrely artful.

Accoring to the NYT's today, more on the Frank's empire in Brooklyn: "On March 11 they plan to open Cafe Peddlar, 210 Court Street (Warren Street). “It will be like a little Demel’s from Vienna,” Mr. Castronuovo said, “with sacher tortes, linzer tortes, and strudels.” The baking is being done at Prime Meats and the coffee will be from Stumptown."

love.this.
(via Daily Colander)

there is this fun site called polyvore that lets you essentially make inspiration boards with fashion, backgrounds, music and images. here's a quick one i just made...


Things I Fancy - by sarahreiko on Polyvore.com

the U.S. website for topshop has finally launched (soon to also be invading nyc- soho), happy shopping!

best rumor of the day : (from Eater) "we're hearing from a couple of sources that the Franks (of the Frankies Spuntinos and Prime Meats) are working in conjunction with Shane Welch of Sixpoint Craft Ales to open a cafe on Court Street and (yes and) a Frankies beer garden in the vicinity of—or perhaps even in—the current space of the Sixpoint Brewery." fingers crossed! The Franks Empire is taking over the world.

my lovely friend, alex sent this along to me. i love the idea of a food soundtrack - it's a " multi-course menu for hungry music lovers." you can see the tracklist and download here. it's part of theme's food issue.

this recipe in today's nyt dining and wine section looks amazing - Olive-Oil Poached Halibut Nuggets With Garlic and Mint, adding this to the "to-cook" list.

apparently this is my life on the web in an aggregated tag cloud

i went to go see grizzly bear play with the brooklyn philharmonic orchestra at bam last night and not only were our seats amazing, but the show was absolutely astounding. i can't say enough positive things about my experience at the show last night and am eagerly anticipating their new album. i feel so lucky to have been able to attend.

Grizzly Bear setlist 1. Easier 2. Central and Remote 3. Ready, Able 4. Two Weeks 5. Plans 6. Colorado 7. Reprise 8. Little Brother 9. Campfire 10. Dory 11. While you wait for the Others (ON REPEAT!) 12. Foreground
Encore: 13. Deep Blue Sea14. He Hit Me

i finally went to the farm on adderley in ditmas park today, a lovely friend with wheels drove myself and another friend out there for a fantastic brunch (didnt take a pic, photo from yelp). we shockingly didnt have to wait for table and were treated to a delicious brunch. i got a yummy poached eggs dish with roasted tomatoes, polenta, parmesean and truffle oil. it's definitely something i want to replicate for my next at-home-brunch. speaking of which i also tried mark bittman's baked eggs recipe this weekend for a brunch i made for two girlfriends who came by. i added cooked spinach, tomato, a wee bit of parmesean and prosciutto. i served it with some bread and a fruit salad and viola!

from a gallery window in williamsburg