Cuisine

I have often been told that I am "addicted" to my camera. That I "can't put it down." That I "don't have to take a picture of everything." I answer all of these statements with one quote from the epic film Can't Hardly Wait, "These are memories frozen in time people!"

I love my mini camera, which I carry on my person at all times in a "holster." This little booger comes packed with a punch--- like the many settings with which you can take a picture. My absolute favorite is the "cuisine" setting. It takes magnificent pictures of food, up close. You might say this is a useless feature, but it really comes in handy for such things as 1. copying cake decorating ideas 2. describing the best meal ever and having proof of the perfect presentation 3. showing the perfectly buttered piece of bread.

Underground E!

One of my favorite things about riding the subway is the underground performances that pop up at every stop, or even in your subway car. These drummers were in the Times Square Station at the NRWQ line. They've got some serious skills!

Eggy Egg

Joie de Vivre! This is my new favorite line of kitchen gadgets... more specifically, egg gadgets. How can you not have fun making a simple fried egg with these guys. It has become a bit of an obsession for me--- as soon as I see a new "eggy egg gadget" I have to get it. I have a small collection that includes the fried egg pan (x2), the egg spatula, the hard boiled egg maker, and the omelet pan. It is the most fun way to make a fried egg or an omelet. Since the pans are so small, they create the very best size eggs--- perfect for a single serving or, more importantly, a perfect fried egg sandwich. The hard boiled egg maker goes in the microwave and you have a hard-boiledy in 5 minutes. It really is quite genius. Most of the products are less than 10 dollars... a bargain! There is no better way to make eggs!!! This website has most of the collection: http://www.famousfoods.com/egggadgets.html

The Apple Store

For Valentine's day, Bryant got me a new IPOD. My old one was an original mini in that great blue color... but it could not survive one more dropping. Our relationship ended with a little cartoon ipod mini coming onto the screen and making a frowny face. That is when I knew it was over between us.

So Bryant and I made the adventure to the Apple Store on 5th Avenue and 59th (near FAO Schwartz). This place is a major what-a-land*... the entire building is made of glass and the store is located underground. Since the stairwell is mainly clear with a steel handrail, there is always a person windexing the entrance area.

Once you reach the bottom of the circular stairway (or you can take the glass elevator), you are greated by 4-5 apple workers who are ready to point you in the right direction. This place is usually insane--- hundreds of people, 50+ employees, and 6 or more working samples of every product available by apple... headphones, computers, nanos, iphones, itouches, macairs etc.

The best part... the apple store is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Wowzers!

I traded in my frowny face mini for a new 80GB (it's all about the gigs) classic ipod in black.

Happy Valentine's day!

*what-a-land is a Dan Escalante original quote after his first visit to Whataburger. It is a reference to a place that is a self-sustaining entity that often has it's own language. A place where everything is part of its own new world: whatafries, whatacoke, whataburger etc.

MIL and DIL weekend

First, a translation:
MIL = mother in law, DIL = daughter in law.

Yes, Kathy Lee joined Bryant, Ida, and I in NYC this weekend. After many a delay on her flight, Kathy made it in late Friday night. Saturday morning Bryant took Kathy to our beloved breakfast spot... The Kitcheonette. But Saturday afternoon is when Kathy and I got busy on the NYC shopping. We spent most of our time in the Rockefeller Center area--- mainly for the mothership of all Anthropologie stores. We also mingled our way down to New York City's diamond district. This is a one block area of serious diamonds- located on 47th Street between 5th and 6th avenue. Kathy has been keeping her eyes out for a diamond cross necklace, and I think we may have found exactly what she had in mind: some serious BLING!

We did some great people watching and headed for NOLITA where we ate at Cafe Habana--- a hole in the wall Cuban restaurant (I must give all credit to Angela Torn for this find). They have the very best grilled corn in the world!

Sunday we went to church and enjoyed brunch at Isabella's--- one of my favorite brunch spots: Major yummers on the crab cake benedict. After a pit stop at my favorite jewelry lady of the UWS market on Columbus and 77th Street, we headed back to midtown the see WICKED. I must tell you that this show is one of my all time favorites... It is in a huge theater and is still sold out for every single show over the next few months. The sets and costumes are out of this world and the music is just breathtaking! Kathy and I had breakfast at Tom's this morning and I just got her in a cab to JFK airport. All MIL/DIL weekends must come to an end. Thank you Kathy!

Ode to the Mannings

OK, it has been quite exciting around here since the Giants won the Superbowl. While I am definately not a Giants fan, it was neat to leave our windows open during the game to hear the screams and cheers coming from other apartments. Maybe one year soon the Cowboys will learn how to win a playoff game. Until then and at the risk of a major conflict of interests, I must admit that I am a Manning Brothers fan. Huge! Now in honor of the New York Giants and the Manning Brothers, I give you my favorite inspirational video...

Zipcar!

There is a phenomenon sweeping NYC called ZIPCAR! It is totally genius! This is a car rental program where the cars are parked on the street or in local garages--- usually within 1 block of where you are. You can reserve cars by the hour if you need to go around town or by the day. Once you reserve your car, you have a "zipcard" that you scan to get into the car. In the car are keys and a gas card. So the car is yours, gas is on them, and so is insurance. When you are finished, you just leave the car where you found it. Totes easy!

So on Saturday, Bryant and I tried out our zipcard and our zipcar. We picked up the car one block away from our apartment, drove to Sam's Club in New Jersey, stocked up, drove home, and parked the car where we found it. Major score! It is really nice to know that you can get out of the city if you need to. Whoever invented ZIPCAR is a genius!

Ida, Bryant, and Possum

If you need a break of some sort, this is worth watching. This is Bryant playing fetch with Ida (with "possum") down the hall of our apartment... a typical everyday activity for the Lee Family.

Well Where's Miss Ida???

For those of you that might be dying for an Ida update... this is for you. The weather here has not been the best for basset hounds lately. Lots of rain last week and now it is 14 degrees outside. So, sadly, walkies have been few and far between. But thank goodness Ida likes sleeping just as much as she likes being outside. Thursday was our first outing after a few days of rain and sleep. Needless to say she was very excited to be on a W-A-L-K to the P-A-R-K.

Steinways

My friend Tyler Ozanne recently (December) visited us in NYC for a fun, festive, winter weekend. We spent Saturday searching for "the hamburger joint" which turned out to be a tourist trap rather than a "best kept secret." After lunch at a great Italian restaurant, Tyler and I were walking down 57th Street and stumbled upon the Steinway Piano Showroom. Whether or not we were allowed in is still unclear, but we entered with purpose and nobody stopped us. We were amazed to find 2 stories and several "ballrooms" filled with $30,000-$100,000 Steinway pianos. It was pretty awesome! Since many of the pianos were worth more than cars, Tyler decided to give them each a test drive---- and please note that he knows how to play one, and only one, song on the piano... and yes, it is from his first grade piano recital. Please enjoy the following performance by M. Tyler Ozanne on his $70,000 Steinway.

Another Magnolia?

While the New York Cupcake War has been going on for over a decade now, I have been loyal to one... Magnolia Bakery. Most New Yorkers have their favorite, or they claim to have a favorite and yet cannot remember the name of the place that their "perfect cupcake" came from. Katie Holmes claims that "Billy's Cupcakes" are the best in the world--- she even flys in Billy's to feed the cast and crew of her movies. While I respect the dedication, and must admit that I have never been to Billy's, my loyalty is with Magnolia. Located on Bleeker and 11th Street in the West Village, you can usually find the bakery by looking for the mass of people standing in a line that wraps around the corner and down 11th. The bakery is very small and looks like a vintage kitchen from the 1950's. There is a limit on the number of cupcakes you can buy and there is a very serious system of getting your cupcakes, paying, and getting out. If you need assistance, the bouncer that works the door (yes I said bouncer) will help you. The cupcakes have a more shortbread taste to them, not your usual sugary taste. And the icing depends on my mood--- while the traditional vanilla buttercream was my original favorite. They introduced chocolate buttercream over a year ago and I think it might be the winner! Anyways---- they also have out of this world key lime cheesecake and their banana pudding is their second best seller behind the cupcakes. OK, so the purpose of this entry is to inform you of the latest Magnolia movement... they are now a chain. hmmmmm. Their second location is on Columbus and 69th Street on the Upper West Side. They did a good job making it look like its original, but it lacks the "personality." My vanilla cupcake with chocolate buttercream was served warm which was nice, but they did run out of vanilla on vanilla which was quite disappointing. More pros: there is no cupcake limit, it is a lot closer to my apartment, it is one block away from the amc theater--- i am seeing a dinner of combo #1 and a cupcake (or two). I present the you the new Magnolia Bakery...