The next morning, Friday the 13th, I met up with my best friend Andrea. She is also interning here this summer at Alice + Olivia! She is engaged to a wonderful young man and was wedding dress shopping. I met her up at Carolina Herrara where every dress she put on was more beautiful than the one before it... After a few short hours my camera memory was full and our bellies were empty... we met up with Brett and headed to Freddy's. I had crab cakes and tuna tartare ... pretty good but nothing special- after all, I worked for Chef Joe Richardson. Crab cakes and tuna are among his many specialties! I get back home around 5 or 6 in the afternoon and decide my foot is really, really not good. My roommate Vicky aka Mother Nature incarnate, wrapped my ankle and called her sister for doctor recommendations. A short while later I had made an appointment to get it checked out. I stayed in and Vicky fed me a delicious meal made entirely from veggies from the garden. We hung out and I decided it was time to get a real nights sleep. The weekend was rainy, which was a bummer but it made me feel better about being a bum. Its obviously not my style to lay around... ever... but with a fractured heel... the rain allowed me not to feel guilty about resting it. I enjoyed a few street eats- Whimpy's in Harlem- soooooo gooood! I also ducked out in between the rain to explore and drop of some resumes. Finally, when Andrea got back from DC on Sunday, we went to dinner with Philip and Corey (new, fab friends) and wandered the area known as Hell's Kitchen. This really is the city that never sleeps. Sunday and midnight there are just as many people trotting around Manhattan as there are on a Friday night. Vastly different from the comforts of my former sleepy town of Tallahassee on a Sunday night... both great places, just wildly different.
I was once asked in an interview if I could describe myself in one word, what word would it be? My answer was adaptable. I am a highly adaptable person as in I can hold a convo with Giacomo Busino in Geneve, Suisse about the political landscape of the world and the intricacies of the international media as easily as I can win my fantasy football league and and comfortably sit at the Palace Saloon (don't judge me) but the point is that I may have given myself far too much credit... Monday came and at 2:34 pm I left Manhattan Orthopedic with tears in my eyes and no umbrella-- oh and I was in an air cast. I'm not taking a cab. I live in NYC now and I've got to get used to walking, no matter how bad it hurts. I told myself this for about 7 blocks when I finally decided that my stubborn, self pity would leave me nowhere but worse off. The next few days were spent in a series of emotional highs and lows- and the lows were, for the first time in my life, defeating my adaptive energy. Sooo, Tuesday rolls around and I'm wearing one of Andrea's beautiful dresses and the left cowboy boot of my dreams... its time to feel better. I did my hair and make-up and I did what always makes me feel better. I feasted.
So... Where do I even begin?
Well first off: upon landing at JFK, I was so excited to get the day going that I trotted over to the carousel to retrieve my luggage and had left my carry-on! WOW, is this a forecast of the type of scatterbrain shenanigans I'll lead myself into this summer? It was only about 15 minutes until I was reunited with my bag so just a minor speed bump in an otherwise delightful flight. I was lucky enough to find myself sitting next to Tina, a delightful Manhattanite that was in Tampa for Mother's Day weekend visiting family. Tina works the MTA and gave me a subway map and some of the ugly truths about the city... along with some of the local hotspots and city must-eats. I was greeted at the airport by an old friend and after I put my things down we did some walking around Central Park and before we knew it- it was happy hour. We stopped in at the Blind Tiger, the West side's craft beer heaven. I started with the Stone Kona Porter, mostly because I am familiar with Stone Brewery and I love Kona coffee and porters obviously. It. Was. Delish. As I sipped the beer and it lost its chill, more and more flavors were exposed. First, and most obvious was the coffee aroma and flavor, then I started to really taste a nice toasted nut and my last few sips were highlighted by a mild coconut! It made it hard not to order a second but I opted for something a little lighter.
Feeling a bit adventurous I chose the Speakeasy Double Daddy for a few reasons. Most obviously, the name hooked me and the fact that I was kickin' it in a neighborhood that is littered with famous speakeasies, some still in the same decor as their more daring says, lured me in and it just felt right. I'm coaching myself into IPA's but this Imperial IPA was really delightful. Balanced and citrusy it had a... dare I say... bouquet type of finish. Anyhooters, it was time for lunch so we meandered over the Spotted Pig. Apparently this cozy and eclectic West Village gem is famous for its 2 million annual profit... from the BURGERS ALONE. Well obvi... we had to try one. Its served with Roquefort Cheese and French Fries... but of course we started with a beet salad with goat feta crumbles and walnuts. Oh ya, and soft shell crab appetizer. Did I mention we also had bacon wrapped Cod with these amazingly rare seasonal 'ramps' that are all the rage here in NYC when they are fresh! As an onion lover... these little onion-scallion-leek hybrids are absolutely delectable.
Dinner was perfectly matched with Elena Walch "Castel Ringberg" Pinot Grigio and in no time at all I was loving my New York life.
Some short time later it was late and I was in a food/craft beer/wine coma. After some bit of walking around I realized I hadn't yet gotten the key to my place. I wouldn't meet my new roommates until the morning, and oh, what a beautiful morning! I arrive from the NQR and limp for 22 blocks to my new address. Yes, thats right... limp. I had injured my heel the day I left Tallahassee and it flared up with all this city walking I'd been doing (to be continued...)
When I arrived at the door, I called Vicky to figure out where exactly she was and I heard her answer from outside the building. I peep out the door and find that she was tending to her vegetable garden, how delightful! We hug and were pretty much instantly friends. She introduced me to Bomba, our landlord and her paternal figure for the past 5 years as Vicky's parents live in Jamaica. Bomba, who, excuse the corny pun, os the bomb.com. He is a retired chef and culinary instructor from the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan and runs a pretty serious catering kitchen from the basement of our building. After a few minutes of chatting I learn that Bomba is from the Ivory Coast but grew up mostly in France where he became a real French Chef.
Vicky and Bomba were chatting and it seemed that they were trying to leave but did not want to miss some delivery. I offered to my new friends that I had nothing to do except sit in the garden and continue reading my NYC tour guide bible and I'd be glad to wait in their place. Bomba looked at me, looked at Vicky then looked at me once more and said "come with me." I followed him into the immaculate kitchen of Le Rosier Catering where he opened the door of the freezer-and my heart- his assortment of fresh sorbets. "Pick any flavor to eat while you wait for produce delivery." Uh... OK. Mango it is. Mango makes me think of my Dad, it's his favorite and it had become a bit of a comfort food for me. So, here I am. Sitting in my new garden, reading about the City, devouring this mango sorbet, waiting on Bomba's strawberries, mango, lychees, and blackberries. He gave me a blank check with his signature on it which was a huge honor to me. I felt so immediately trusted and I knew I was in good company. They got back from the market and again joined me in the garden. Bomba was drinking a glass of wine and Vicky went upstairs and made us rum smoothies! I had a 'did we just become best friends?!' moment when she offered such a beverage. Rum, soy milk, Kombucha tea (homemade), fresh ginger and a dash of cinnamon, it made for a refreshing midday beverage! While Vicky was mixing it up, Bomba asked me a series of questions about myself... and it didn't take long to start talking about my appreciation for wine and spirits. I uttered the words Ritz-Carlton intern and sommelier and before I could finish my sentence he was calling on Sebastien to get down stairs and to 'bring a cup with him!' Party time. Sebastien and Dennis, soon join in on the midday cocktail hour that had taken form in the sunniest spot of the garden and... guess what... Sebastien and Dennis are both also French chefs. Poor me- making friends with enough chefs to staff a restaurant.
Well as we go on, Sebastian tells me he is opening a wine bar in the Westside (which I am not allowed to disclose the name of...) So I've made friends, or rather Bomba made me friends with young French chefs and the owner of a new, swanky vinoteque. I decide its time for me to head back to Manhattan and grab my luggage before I continue drinking. I excuse myself but before I could leave Bomba tells me he is heading to Upper East to pick his wife up from work and is also taking Dennis and Sebastien to that side of town... well lucky for my heel, thats exactly where I was heading! I jump in the car with my new French friends and as we sat in traffic over the Queensboro bridge, I couldn't help but smile like a fool. From 4 corners of the world, to 4 seats in this Volvo, we were citizens of the world sharing more than a car. We exchanged stories of our travels and laughed a lot and for only having known these gentlemen for an hour or so... it felt like home. New York City, my new home. <3
That was the last time I'd ever see Dennis, he moved to Dubai a few days later to open a restaurant at a new hotel that just opened. Although I did enjoy his cooking the next day at Sebastien's bar. Before he got out of the car he had mentioned that the wine salesmen were going to be at the bar at 2:30 and handed me his card... was this an invite? I was pretty much sure it was so I looked at him and said don't tempt me with a good time, if thats an invite, I'm there. And so I was.
I met his partner and 6 more Frenchmen. There was a lot of Champagne, which is why I discovered I was invited... women love Champagne and have better palette for it, says one Frenchman to another... They asked my opinion sincerely and I felt good about being there. After 3 hours of drinking French wine and snacking on Pâté de Foie Gras, Sebastian and I dipped out for a stroll to get some falafel that he swears are the best in NYC. I cant argue but I'll just have to do some research on that...
Its not hard to rewind to this exact time and day of 2010, I was sipping margaritas at Newark international airport with Paddy and Yount! We knew we were in for a delightful 6 weeks in Europa, but we could not imagine, at that moment, the size and scope of the very trip we would each embark on.
Now, exactly one year later, I am preparing to set forth on an entirely new journey. I have known many people who have mustered up the courage and cash flow it takes to move to the one and only New York City, and I can recall the very distinct style and presence each of them possessed. Come May 11, I'm not exactly sure where my courage or cash flow stand, but I know these two feet of mine will lead me to interesting places one summer more.
