New York - The Transient City

Friends come and go. Some drift apart for no fault of anyone in particular. Some were never meant to be. There are those that endure through the test of time and proximity. But I never fully appreciated the importance of having good, trusting, and long-term friendships until I came to New York. 

New York is a great place to meet new people from all walks of life. That's one of the things I love about the city. But the reality is that for many, New York is not the final destination but only a layover in their life's journey. Some come for further education, others come for work, to live the glamor of the city life for a brief moment in their lives, only to go back to their roots hopefully bigger, prouder and more experienced. Many more come for the pursuit of their dreams, and too many of them forgotten never realizing those dreams. 

During my years in New York, I've met many new friends. But I've said many good-byes as well.  I've come to grips with the fact that this is a fact of life in New York. Over the years, friends have come and gone. I don't dwell on it, but I am reminded of this fact periodically. In reflection, the friends I had 5 years ago are not the same as the friends I have now. Of course there are some friendships that have endured. These are friends in what I call the semi-permanent group; those of us that call New York our permanent home, or at least until we find a better city to live (and its not easy to out do New York). That's not to say or belittle the friendships I have formed and bonded over the years. But as they move on and go back to where ever they came from, only a handful have endured the test of time and distance. Perhaps with Facebook and other SNS, we have a better chance of keeping those friendships (but that's for another time). 

This past weekend, I was at a farewell party for a couple friend - whom we've met here in New York and gotten to be good friends. Again, a reminder that friends come and go. Although we had to say good-bye, we also met new friends. I never really liked farewell parties - why would you go to a party to say good-bye? Its usually an excuse to get together and have drinks. But perhaps there is a reason for such a party. Obviously to say good-bye; but it also serves a purpose of making new friendships - a partying gift by the person that's moving on to those that's left behind.

Establishing a livelihood in a new city where you have no friends or family is never easy. And in a transient city like New York, friends that you can trust is most critical to survival. 

Sidewalk Hoggers between Me and My Dinner

One of my pet peeves is what I call the "sidewalk hoggers." We walk a lot in New York City. Yes, we hail yellow cabs, we ride on the subway, and we ride the bus. But generally, we don't think much about walking 15 to 20 city blocks. Naturally, sidewalks are the equivalent of highway for automobiles. You heard it right - highway. We want to get from point A to point B as quickly as we can. We walk on narrow sidewalks, swiftly navigating through foot traffic, artfully maneuvering through crosswalks, traffic signals and yellow cabs. Oh, and in many touristy areas, we run into the "sidewalk hoggers."

You cannot miss the "sidewalk hoggers." Usually its a family of 4 or 5, or sometimes even more. They walk 4 across (or more) on the sidewalk - pretty much take up the whole width of the sidewalk. The problem is, they are typically walking at leisurely speed, taking in the bright lights big city scene. My Baby M can walk faster than these guys; and she just barely learned how to walk. As for me, I'm late for a meeting with a client on 45th Street but I can't pass and go around the "sidewalk hoggers" because they are blocking all lanes!!! Arghhh!!

It doesn't help that my office is located in the epicenter of Tourist Central (aka Times Square). I have to fight the crowd - tourists - as I come and go from the office. When its 8:30pm and the only thing that's slowing me from my dinner is the tourists, well, I'm not a happy camper.

It is nothing personal - I welcome our guests to the great City of New York. Last year alone, New York City welcomed a record breaking 52 million tourists. According to the city, tourists "generated an estimated $55.3 billion in economic impact to the city’s economy, with direct spending reaching $36.9 billion." So as a New Yorker, I welcome them to our great city. I thank each and everyone of the 52 million, for visiting and willing to spend money on overpriced goods and services. But when they stand between myself and my destination - well, they are not my best of friends.

Back to the "sidewalk hoggers." A four-lane highway typically means that slower traffic yield to the faster traffic by staying on the right lane. Remember what I said about sidewalks being the equivalent of highway for New Yorkers? Well, here too, we would like to have slower traffic yield to the side and allow the faster traffic to pass.

Oh, and by the way; its is not cool to suddenly stop in middle of the sidewalk without any warning, just because you want to take a picture with Naked Cowboy. No one in their right mind would stop the car in middle of a highway just to take picture of a burning car on the side street. I'm quite sure that's a moving violation - (or stopping violation)?

When I Opened a Bottle of ...

When is the perfect time to open that special bottle of wine? That was a topic of conversation recently with friends as we dined and wined - one of our favorite past time. In fact, we were enjoying a special bottle - courtesy of the friends - as we talked about the very topic.

As wine enthusiasts, we all have few of these special bottles sleeping in our cellar. It might be a bottle of 1982 Château Mouton Rothschild, a 1971 birth year vintage red from California, a bottle of the wine served at your wedding, or a bottle of wine with special memory. Or it just might be bottles from your favorite winery that you are keeping for special occasions. We buy these bottles with excitement, anticipation and high expectation; yet we find reasons to force ourselves to defer the ultimate enjoyment of actually tasting the wine and let them sleep in our cellar until that perfect moment that we hope can live up to the high expectation. The truth is, the more we wait, the harder it becomes to open these bottles, because they become too special to be opened.  We allow the wine to play the leading role and find ourselves trying to create the perfect setting to match the wine.

As I look back, some of my most memorable special wine moments were memorable because of the people and the story that we shared while drinking the wine. Its not so much about the wine that I remembered, but the stories shared and friendships made because of the wine; and because of the stories and friends, I also remember the wine. The special wine became memorable because it stepped aside from its leading role and stepped back into a supporting role; but paradoxically it ended up being the shining star.

Just the other day, I opened and drank a bottle of 2000 Niebaum-Coppola Estate Cabernet Franc with friends. It was an ordinary weekend evening, nothing special about it, except that we were enjoying the evening shooting the breeze. We were very much delighted with the wine and will always remember that evening. I'll remember the wine not because it was a special wine; not because it was the right moment; but because we can now share stories about the evening with friends.

Few years ago, I was visiting Tokyo to see Wife M (before she became Wife M). We were dating long distance - Tokyo/NY - and it was my turn to travel. We had dinner at a French restaurant at the top floor of a skyscrapers near by Tokyo Station. Our table had a stunning view of the Imperial Palace. Obviously, it was a special evening and I remember it well, although the food was forgettable. I also remember the evening quite well because we opened and drank a bottle from my favorite winery that I had brought with me from NY - a bottle of 2005 White Rock Claret. We still talk about that evening, how we had the restaurant to ourselves at the end of the meal and how we had a pleasant conversation with the restaurant's sommelier about the wine - even past their closing time.

Its not about the right moment. With wine - whether special or not - it is always the right moment as long as you have someone to share it with. It could be on an ordinary weekend with friends or could be with someone special with an added bonus of a sommelier. Wine is meant to be drunk. So what's holding us from opening those special bottles? Nothing - go out and drink up.

Back to the wine at a family friend's home. It was a wonderful Napa Valley Cab. Full bodied but needed some time to breath. But after it had some time to inhale, it really opened up. Loved the wine. But I will always remember the moment, because of the stories and friendship that the wine brought; but would not have remembered if we were there because of the wine. Thank you A&H!!

Adventures in Finding a Babysitter

Back in the late 80's, there was a movie called "Adventures in Babysitting" starting Elisabeth Shue. Remember her? She was in Karate Kid and Back to the Future II & III. Probably better know for her role in Leaving Las Vegas, which got her an Oscar nomination. Back to "Adventures in Babysitting". The plot was simple. A suburbanite teenage girl starts her boring weekend evening with a couple of kids she's babysitting. One thing leads to another and they end up having an adventure of their lives as they they navigate through the city ghetto.

I was reminded of that movie recently when the Wife and I were interviewing for our Baby H's babysitter. Now, the adventure was our, as we looked for a babysitter. Never appreciated how difficult it is to find a good babysitter, especially in the city. It's not like in the suburbs where you can hire the neighbor's kid to look after our Baby H. Most of our neighbors are young couples. The adventure starts with asking our friends, looking for ads, posting ads... basically, have to comb through strangers to find someone we can trust with our baby girl. Not an easy task to say the least.

We interviewed three candidates - and luckily for us, we found someone that we liked.

First candidate - she was a dancer from Japan. In her mid to late 20's. She looked responsible. But didn't strike us as really excited about being a babysitter. She was referred to us by a family friend. Immediate first impression was just not good. We weren't sure whether she liked kids or not. At best, she was indifferent. But she had babysitting experience. We had our doubts. After the interview, asked her for a reference, to which she did not take too well and wondered why we needed a reference. Did not go well, obviously.

Second candidate - he was also a dancer from Japan. He wasn't really a serious candidate. He went to the same school as the Wife in Japan. I guess we can say he is a family friend. But no experience with babysitting. I can see he likes kids. One of his dream is to go back to Japan and become a teacher. That passion alone will not convince us to trust the life of our Baby H to him.

Third candidate - now, she really impressed us. Immediately when she came to our house and introduced herself, she went straight to Baby H and began playing with her. Really energetic and you can tell she loves kids. She is a professional. She works for one of the nursery/daycare in the city. She is studying for her doctorate degree in early child development. And she wants to open her own nursery/daycare in the city. What really impressed us is that she wanted to see the Wife feed Baby H, put her to sleep, and the whole evening routine. She wanted to observe so that if and when she baby sit for us, she knows what to do and what not to do - to keep Baby H within her daily routine and her comfort zone. We were sold. Needless to say, she is our babysitter.

How did we come across this great babysitter? Our family friend's baby girl goes to the daycare that the babysitter works at. I do consider us lucky to have found a babysitter relatively easily.

The Halal Guys

53rd and 6th Halal Cart, also known as the Halal Guys. I've heard about them. I've seen the long line that forms on southwest corner of 53rd and 6th in Midtown. Everyone lined up for their chicken and/or lamb on rice with special white and hot sauces. You see a lot of street vendors in NYC. Apparently, not all of them are the same. The Halal Guys is apparently the best of the best. 

I finally had the chance to try the halal on 53rd and 6th. Meat on rice is $6 a plate - and you get a very generous portion of meat (either chicken or lamb; or you can ask for a combination) over yellow rice. It also comes with few pieces of pita bread and a garnish of iceberg lettuce. You don't want to forget the white sauce and the hot sauce on the side. 

My thoughts on chicken and lamb on rice.

1). I like the fact that lamb meat is diced. You can taste the meat better, which is quite tender. 

2). It is nice that they give you the sauces on the side - so that you can adjust as you like it. Go easy on the sauces. 

3). Hot sauce is very very spicy. You'll feel it till the next day. 

4). The portion is HUGE. I ate the whole thing - but regretted later in the night. That was a lot of food for $6. 

Overall, its one of the NYC experiences. If you are out late at night after few drinks, this is a good place to stop by for some cheap food before heading home. Like going for ramen noodles when you are out late in Tokyo. Definitely, for $6/plate, it is good eats!

Aureole: New York

Search for a restaurant for our first date night began only after we secured a baby sitter. We didn't want a restaurant that was far from our apartment; yet, we didn't want a place too close (although there are many within walking distance). The search got even narrower when we went to OpenTable to look for restaurants with available tables on the particular date and time our baby sitter is available. So began our first date night adventure.

We narrowed it down to Aureole: New York - the flagship restaurant of Charlie Palmer. I had lunch there once at the Bar Room and recall thinking that I needed to come back for dinner. The restaurant moved here from their former Madison Avenue location when One Bryant Park opened summer of 2009. The location is prime - a block from Times Square and Bryant Park with never ending foot traffic. 

The space is separated into the Bar Room and the Dining Room - a set up that you see in most high end restaurants these days. In the front of the house is the the vibrant Bar Room - an open space with high ceiling which probably helped to absorb the noise; and floor-to-ceiling window facing the 42nd Street. Then in the back is the Dining Room. Lower ceiling and dimmed lighting made it cozy but with sufficient noise to feel the energy. 

We went for the 5-course Dinner Tasting.

First Course - HAWAIIAN HAMACHI

avocado, pineapple, yuzu citrus, baby red shiso

Second Course - SCOTTISH LANGOUSTINE

basque peppers, potato gnocchi, sauce bouillabaisse

Third Course - BLACK BASS

mussels, purple potatoes, mustard greens, tomato

Fourth Course - PRIME NY STRIP

leeks, hens of the woods, potato puree, natural beef jus

Dessert - PINEAPPLE BAKED ALASKA

coconut, mango, passion fruit

The bouillabaisse sauce in the second course was quite memorable - you can taste the vastness of the ocean all squeezed into a couple of spoonful sauce on the plate. 

Black bass was cooked to perfection - the skin side charred just the right amount so that you can feel the crunch when you bite into the skin; yet the meat was moist with the broth from the mussels. 

Potato puree with the beef dish had a hint of wasabi, reminded me of Japanese style beef steak with wasabi soy sauce. They go quite well together - wasabi and beef. Maitake mushrooms (or also know as hens of the woods) on the plate added to the aromatic experience of the dish.

I couldn't quite figure out what the dessert was. I didn't know what a baked Alaska was - so I had to look it up when I got home. According to Wikipedia, "Baked Alaska (also known as glace au four, omelette à la norvégienne, Norwegian omelette and omelette surprise) is a dessert made of ice cream placed in a pie dish lined with slices of sponge cake or Christmas pudding and topped with meringue. The entire dessert is then placed in an extremely hot oven for just long enough to firm the meringue." I actually enjoyed the contrast in the creamy texture of the ice cream and the fluff meringue. 

Overall, the portions were just about right for a tasting menu. Each course had solid base; but with touches of Asian flavors to lighten the dishes. 

The Dining Room was full when we were seated, I suspect with the theater crowd. When we left, it was probably 1/3 full. Not sure if it got full again with late crowd. 

Very much enjoyed the dining experience. The food was not extraordinary; but it was not forgettable either. I'm sure to come back again, if not for dinner, for lunch. 

Aureole

One Bryant Park

135 West 42nd Street

New York, NY 10036

Tel: 212.319.1660

http://www.charliepalmer.com/Properties/Aureole/NY/

Rat Race in NYC - Extrovert v Introvert

Some of us really enjoy the lifestyle that NYC has to offer. Living in the center of global activities and one of the biggest (if not the biggest) metropolitan cities in the world. Then there are some of us who would never think of living in a city like NYC. Perhaps visiting the city once every five years to take in the sights, enjoy a show or two, dine/wine at a 4-star restaurant, and indulge in shopping; but one week is enough and would rather go back to the slower and quieter lifestyle. 

There's no doubt in my mind that to live and survive in NYC, you have to participate in the rat race - whether at work, in the neighborhood, within the play date circle, or with the social circuit. It can be tiring and can wear you out. 

I was reflecting back on a client dinner I had, as I walked back to my office today. It's always fun to get together with clients over drinks, dinner, or lunch. Gets me energized to take on more challenges. Its the same when I'm with friends on the weekends. Whether its drinks at a scotch bar, wine party at home, roof top hang out, I do enjoy spending time with people and it energizes me. 

So what does it have to do with rat race? I'm entertaining the idea that my survival in NYC has something to do with the fact that I'm actually an extrovert. The reason that I'm still enjoying the NYC after over six years  must be because I enjoy being with people and it energizes me to helps me survive the rat race. I have always thought of myself as an introvert. But if "extrovert" is defined as "a person who's energized by being around other people," then there's definitely a part of me that is an extrovert; and that's the secret of my success. 

I'm not suggesting that if you don't like the lifestyle in NYC, you are an introvert. But being an extrovert does help to adjust to the fast paced rat race that NYC is. 

... or maybe its just the alcohol that's doing its magic to ease the pain and suffering from the race. ... no, I do really enjoy the life that NYC has to offer.