Le pesky Pescadeaux

After two weekends of being out of my beloved city, I was set to settle in for a while, however, it had been over a month since I'd visited the folks in NH, so I felt obliged to make a journey up to Milford NH to see the mom and dad, fully intent on heading back to the city in time for a true CITY brunch for # 39.

This was why I chose Le Pescadeux; they offer an all-you-can-drink option for $16, they didn't need a major reservation blood-letting AND they were were on Thompson St, pretty close to my crib, so I would have enough time to get up early in NH, drive four hours back to the Village, drop the car rental off, book it home, drop of dogs, then make it to the reservation for 1:30 pm. Plan? Plan!

And yes, I did it, byatches, with like 5 motherfreaking minutes to spare, werd! OK, truthfully, I was 10 mins late, but seriously loves, with everything I had to do, I made it on time, ya digg? So, it was ladies brunch this time, with seven of us, including some faces not seen for a while, and we immediately got down to talk of sex, sizes, dates, visits, and all the lovely things that women talk about when we get together. Yes, it was happening.

I have to talk about the restaurant, however, and I was very happy with the choice made. It was not crazy Sunday-brunch crowded, they seated us before all parties arrived, and the food was really good. I had the omelet with creamy spinach, frites and a fresh salad, the benes were divine, and the bloodys got a thumbs-up from the ladies. I'm on week 3 of no SMOKING (that's rite!), so no bloody for moi.

I have to say the service was very French, which is not to say it was good or bad, it was what it was, and therefore , fine.

Then, it was off to Central Park for the first time in almost two years! (!) to meet up with more friends, then back downtown to have dinner with another friend at Les Enfants, my old cracked-out haunt, then back home for my eighteenth cup of tea for the day, and a fine end to a lovely day.

Brunch #39 – West Village

Where:  Le Pescadeux

Eats: Brioche French Toast, Fresh Berry Compote, Mascarpone Cream, Quiche Lorraine. 

Tracks: 

Quote of the Day: lambic pentameter

Word of the Day: new pasta - testerrony

Ye Country Home of Chatham

Chatham House

Another weekend spent outside the city walls. This time, we were invited to spend the weekend at our friend's country home in the bucolic hills of Chatham, NY. It was as different to last weeks hippy haven in the same way that the Tea Party and OWS supporters are different. In Long Island, you had a beautiful but aging home that welcomed doing any and everything to, as long as the stairs didn't collapse, you were a'iight.

Here, you had a beautifully preserved 'Country Home', built in 1830, with original everything, still in museum-like quality. I have to say, I enjoyed both weekends immensely, and i am so blessed to have such a great group of friends to experience both spectrums of the pendulum.

For this weekend, we had a much smaller crew of peeps headed out to hang with, and more sedate activities planned, which also included a bonfire, movies to watch, and food to be consumed.

Saturday night was super fun, with all seven of us in the kitchen, preparing pasta, sauteing vegetables, eating ice cream, and consuming a grandma-memory-reminiscing Brown Betty created by Jessica, with brown sugar, apples, more brown sugar, bread crumbs and warmly yummy goodness that we all died for.

We watched the fire burn, and fantasized about bringing Burning Man to these woods, but of course, just jesting (or gesticulating?).

polka dots

On Sunday, After much debate, we decided to check out one of the older restaurants in Chatham, the Chatham House Restaurant, which was built in 1859. They have a lovely all-you-may-consume   brunch for all of  $19.00. They used to offer one drink with brunch, however, alas, no longer.

We did get into a headed discussion on the Occupation of Wall Street protesters and we brought a little bit (ok, a lot) of city attitude to the quaint town. There were some four-letter words that flew around, that was NOT darn, but hey, what are friends without healthy debate? And, I'm sure the locals appreciated our honest words about Republicans and teabaggers and the 1% wall streeters.

crunchy

And the funny thing was that we were almost all wearing black. Not stereotypical New Yawkers at all. After brunch, when we were the only ones left, because brunch ends at 1:00 pm (WTF?) we rather sheepishly vacated the premises, apologizing if we offended anyone. Hey, i think they kinda liked having some color and then some colour in the 'hood. (yeah, i said it).

Brunch was.. good. The all-you-can-eat was fine, nothing spectacular, but the décor was certainly old-school with chandeliers and uniforms and large bay windows; it was like stepping back in time, to a place with separate entrances and quiet looks.

Anyhow, Chatham was lovely, and a great experience, but the city skyline was a welcome sight, after two weekends of separation, you know this city girl gets anxiety when i've been away from my love for too long. 

Brunch #38 – Chatham, NY

Where: Chatham Country Restaurant.

Eats:  All-you-eat-brunch with pancakes, frittattas, quiche, salad, chocolate, cake and more food.

Tracks: Take me Higher - Rogerseventytwo

Quote of the Day: equal opportunity discriminator

Word of the Day:

Long Island Awaits Indian Summer

us

Brunch #37 was a special gift for us. It was Des's birthday, and a remarkable 80 degree temperature gift from God weekend, so what else were we to do, but head out to Long Island Sound, for a day of beach, relaxation, frisbee  and chillaxing. We had a three-day weekend, with Columbus Day coming up, and a hippy haven home to habitat and cavort in,  the entire time.

picnic brunch

And so it was, that twenty of our closest friends arrived by train, automobile and ....car with booze, cheese, and all kinds of delights to share and celebrate one more beautiful sunny weekend together. We had the dogs, the games, the bad techno music, the second largest rock in Long Island, the private beach, the bonfire, the birthday cake and the birthday brownies – chocolate.

killer dog

And yes, there was a fight with the dogs. OK, I have to start from the beginning. First off, not sure I have mentioned my doggies; I have two delightful Yorkies, who are serious ruffians and ragamuffins.

I try not to treat them as anything more than cuddly cute animals, and sweaters and bows are strictly off-limits (unless it's stupid cold, and I'm getting the shaking heads of disapproval from passersby) and of course, because they are tiny dogs, they think they are German Shepards or something.  They don't really like other dogs, and yes, they will pick fights with said other dogs.

So to continue the story,   Mama was playing catch with her owner, and I had both my pups beside me, and they, for some reason, were in a crazy mood, their ears moving back and forth like satellite dishes picking up every pant from Mama's smiling face.

sweet mama

I only saw Jazmine diving after Mama in full frontal attack mood, kinda hanging off her ear. Now, Mama is one of the sweetest dogs there is, but when a little thing comes running up to you and you don't really know what it is, you might be startled into defence mode. And that's kinda what happened. But, no worries, there was a scratch and a bite, and that was it. Mama probably thought it was a mosquito bugging her and just swatted her out of the way.

After the battle of the dogs, I definitely was on point, so we headed to the beach for a bonfire circle, and more birthday singing. 

Which led to a solitary figure sitting on the second largest rock in Long Island. Followed by us clowns making fun of the person on the rock, with us calling out “ Oh Man on the Rock” Twas really funny at the time.

Then we had Suzanne throwing dead carcasses of land crabs into the fire. There really wasn't anything on the beach that we didn't tr to burn.

Finally, it was time to drive home, I had to take my warriors back to the city, and finished a most beautiful day, with close friends, laughter, no cigarettes (!!!) and a dog with an extra life.

Brunch #37– Long Island Sound

Eats: Picnic stuff, lots of cheese, spinach, bread, lovely finger sandwiches.

Track:

Quote of the Day:  i'm armed and tweeting!

Creole and Cake - Brunch #36

Another fine brunch is under way, and this week, we chose a special spot in the East Village, Arcane.  With fancy French Creole dishes, a complimentary drink and a lovely bartender, what more can you ask for? In this case, we had a small crew of seven, including some new faces into places.

I remember going to the Arcane a while ago, when I'd hang out for a drink at the bar and have a flirt with the bartender. This time, we had calypso music in the background, and a great menu of vegetarian and carnivore choices.

 I've been doing well, BTW, one week of NO smoking , hells yeah? I've re-discovered sleep and mornings and yes, even the freaking gym. Ya heard me, I am on a treadmill, and lemme tell you, when I'm on there, I sound like an aging hooker who's outside trying to get a bump from just about anyone passing by. But, it's all good, I am doing it for me, blah blah, blah, puke.

BTW, just saying, NYC is not a city for non-drinking activities. It's kinda funny going out, and everyone asks. "what are you drinking?”
 your answer “i'll have cranberry and seltzer”
 their response. "OK, one vodka/cranberry coming up''

It's like they don't even hear what was said. But, it's all good, I'm having fun with it.

At brunch at the Arcane, they offer one drink with the meal, which is very nice, if you are drinking. Since we had a couple of folks at the table not drinking, we ended up collecting all the extra bloodys for one person , who yeah, was very appreciative.

 His date kept getting carded though, and she was able to buy a drink after presenting her ID card, so that led us to talking about sex.  Wait, anything gets us to talking about sex, but we had an interesting question.

 "If someone is vegan, should they swallow?"  Discuss.

We also created a new Sunday drink -" the dark and bloody";  that is a Bloody Mary made with rum.  Thanks, Anna Maria for that one.

After attempting to speak French badly too many times, we left, and I was really beginning to miss our rooftop after-brunch parties, but again, good to start the week off right, with another successful attempt at working out, and health kicking it.

And I need to stop saying drink after every other word. Drink.

Brunch #36 - East Village

Location: the Arcane

Eats:  Arcane Baked Eggs, Caribbean Poached Eggs, Omelette of the day, and yummy frites.
Drinks: Dark and Bloody's - next time!

Track: Movado - So special

Quote of the Day: "Sorry, i'm Vegan.  I can't swallow"  

Word of the Day:  Blue and Orange - Blurange

Eating in the dark - Aussie style

This weekend has been a roller coaster of events, and as a result, I am on a six week cleanse. To put it more clearly, Burning Man finally caught up with me, and I realized that I have been partying non-stop since I got back from Nevada.

But, I guess I have to explain why I came to this conclusion , and folks, it ain't pretty. I'll start with the lovely date I had on Friday, and he was super cute and fun, but I should have gone home afterwards, instead of ending up at Rebel for the Fever Party and drank so much, I don't remember getting home. Yeah, tres pretty.

Then, after a painful hangover that lasted all day on Saturday, it was off to Dining in the Dark that night which was actually one of the greatest experiences I've had dining out in the city so far. The Ace Hotel, a lovely boutique hotel located in the Chelsea area, had partnered with Opaque, a dining group that offers dining in the dark experiences all over the world. It was the fist time they were making an appearance in NYC.

dinner

 Imagine sitting in absolute darkness, where your waiters are visually impaired, and you can't see your dining partners or the food carefully placed in front of you. Each morsel becomes a discovery of unusual spices and tastes, where other senses over-compensate with surprises hidden within each bite. We forgot about using utensils, feeling better prepared to eat with our fingers, and truly tuned in to what our companions were actually saying, losing ourselves in the all consuming darkness surrounding us. It was a thrill.

After dinner, it was off to Grotto for the once-a-month underground party madness, and I really wanted to stay and enjoy the music, but for some reason, I don't know WHY, I only wanted to go home and get some sleep. And I tried to sleep, for hours, but I had a headache, my senses were off, and the sounds of my beloved city prevented me from getting any rest.

So, Sunday brunch had a shaky start, and it was slowly dawning on me that I truly needed a break, and just be. I think I also realized I was smoking like a crackhead, I had actually smoked two packs of cigarettes in one day, and my inner parts, especially my throat and lungs wanted to crawl outside any opening of my body and just walk away.

A decision had to be made, that I needed to stop smoking. Since drinking makes me want to smoke, I needed to also stop drinking, at least until the thought of smoking no longer made my mouth water.

And so it was, that I arrived at our boozy all-you-can-drink brunch on Bondi Road, where drinks and food cost $18.00, with a decision to stop smoking and get on a detox plan towards healthy-dome.

Bondi Road was great, BTW. They offer fantastic Benedict's, with salmon and avocado, all you can drink Mimosas, Bloody Marys and Bellinis, complete with hash browns, side salad and lots of toast with butter. I was surrounded by my lovely crew of friends, who were nothing but supportive of my decision to be drink-free for six weeks.

It was pretty funny being in an all-you-can-drink spot while being seriously on the wagon, but trust me, my bod is in need of a break, and it was not complaining at all.

Let's see how long it lasts, and as long as I can stop smoking , that would be one small step for my lungs, one giant step doing healthy.

I figured I've done everything else, I might as well do healthy for a while. Can ya digg.

After Bondi, we cruised around for a while, till i made it back to the crib, for a seriously great nite's sleep.

BRUNCH #35 - LES

PLACE: Bondi Road

EATS:  Queen Adelaide Eggs Benedict, with Salmon and Avocado, Omelets and Buttermilk pancakes.

DRINKS: Moomosas, Moo Mary's, Greyhounds and Screwdrivers - but none for me!
TRACKS : Devo - Whip it
OUTSTANDING QUOTE OF THE DAY: Im doing healthy now
OUTSTANDING WORD OF THE DAY:  Whippit