Last week after closing the trailer for the season. I headed for the airport & found myself on my way to NYC. The impetus for the trip was that my very dear friend Hadley & her family were going to be in Brooklyn. They would be traveling all the way from New Zealand where they had moved 8 years ago. So I had to go & really who passes up the chance to spend a week in New York with much missed friends. I arrived after an easy plane ride to their Brooklyn flat. My own room ready with my favorite fresh hydrangeas & "Schoc" chocolate with lime & chili from the land down under. It was so great to see my friends & know that we were in for an adventurous week of food & catching up. Still being on west coast time I was up early the next morning. We left Jasper with the nanny, stopped for some coffee,(8oz americano is hard to find) ran into a friend from portland on the street (small world) then descended into the underground. On the G to the F or was it the F to The G it really is another world down there. Sun shining through the stairwell Manhattan was a buzz , as it has always been to me.
We ended up in China Town & it was as if everything was alive. All the markets & sidewalk stands loaded with everything from the far east. We made are way to the village to have some lunch. While walking up 1st Ave. I remembered that there was a great Indian market I loved when I lived here. All the bags of curry leaves, mustard seeds, star anise, & on and on. So I had to score some nigella seeds that I have found hard to find in Portland & Hadley got some delicious mint chutney for later. As we were walking & trying to figure out where to eat we found ourselves in front of Momofuku. So we went for it & luckily got in just before the real rush. The place was bustling with people but we got a seat at the bar. We ordered rice cakes with chili & onion, savoy cabbage with honey crisp apple & their famous ramen. The rice cakes were more like gnocchi with a BBQ sauce but, the edges were crispy & the sauce rich with caramelized onion then topped with scallions. Super Yum! The savoy cabbage arrive warm with the apples still holding onto their crunch. Their was a flavor that I still can't put my finger on . It was as if they had figured out how to get the rich flavor of butter without the heavy creaminess. Over the top good. Hadley had a tasty dark & stormy slushie. Frozen drinks done right.
So now it's back to the subway with a satisfied belly & dreams of what might be next. more soon. . . . . . hope all is well out there with you all.
Peace
N
