December 2 arrived, and after a treadmill run at the gym, Lewis and I were inclined to meander through Manhattan. We began at Ping's Restaurant for many small plates of dim sum. It's a well-known eatery on Mott Street, which is an iconic street evocative of Chinatown and Little Italy (which has nearly disappeared). (Laid in the 1780s, its curve predates Manhattan's street-grid, and it's named for a prominent family during that era). Lewis and I learned to overlook its squalor, since the city neglects the ongoing dilapidation that Asian inhabitants are forced to endure. In that way, the area is unchanged since the decrepit landlord-created tenement houses of the 1870s.
When we bring friends from China, Taiwan, Vietnam, or Japan, they are appalled.
Considering its value, Ping's the better choice. Alas, our friends who were born in China criticize its dumpiness, as compared to eateries in China. (Well, that's NYC's Chinatown at its best).
If you want classier presentation or service, you must pay three-times as much at an eatery outside of Chinatown. At Ping's the waitstaff is always helpful, classic recipes are made, and servers use the tradition of pushing carts of freshly-made food through the restaurant for customers to choose from. (You never know which foods will arrive next).
Everything at Ping Seafood Restaurant is consistently delicious: rice-noodle rolls, dumplings, fried shrimp wrapped in bacon, shumai, sticky rice (enveloped in lotus leaves), turnip cakes, taro cakes, duck, and I adore their recipe for tripe! We savor their Chrysanthemum blossom tea.
We also respect how the restaurant doesn't give fortune cookies. Those are American inventions (like crappy Chop Suey), with no representation of Chinese culture. Since they originated with the Japanese, they should not be with authentic Chinese cuisine.
*Proving that point, during our glorious trip to Amsterdam, none of their Chinese restaurants served fortune cookies. To read about that trip, please go here:
*Of course, fortune cookies are unheard of in China. To read about our tasteful trip to China, please go here:
We meandered past brownstones, admiring the folks decorating their homes: hanging lights, tying fir garland onto their bannisters and window boxes, placing poinsettias, and carrying trees. Lots of Christmas tree "shops" (the original Pop-Up shop!) had sprung up on random street corners… each one strung with white lights over the sidewalk.
Next stop was BB&B for my favorite Mistletoe candle (to complement the mistletoe that I have hung strategically all over my apartment).
Finally, we entered Trader Joe's. Seeing that it was nearly 5pm (an expectant Rush Hour), I put Lewis on line with a basket. If you shop healthy, the strategy to use is picking the "outer" check-out line at Trader Joe's locations (as opposed to the "inner" line). The outer line moves along all the "fresh" foods. It allows you to kick along your basket, while you pick out the choicest veggies, fruits, cheese, pâté, dairy, and fresh juices.
Despite NYC's huge size and former German population, it's nearly impossible to find such cookies at the thousands of bakeries. So, I was elated to see them at TJs!
Afterwards, we walked a few blocks and decided to pop into Ferrara's Italian bakery. Out of all the Italian bakeries--along hundreds of streets in Manhattan--only TWO create traditional Italian Christmastime confections: Ferrara's Bakery and Rocco's Bakeshop (which costs less and is less touristy). I got a Pasticciotto cream tart, a wheat grain tart, and a Sfogliatella (lobster tail)! Lewis got a cup of Struffoli!
*To see our visit to Italy (full of great food), please click this link...
*To see our visit to Italy (full of great food), please click this link...
We took a detour to Bloomies (Bloomingdale's) for some men's grooming lotions. Lewis and I compared winter Vetiver fragrances that we both liked. It would be our Stocking Stuffer Swap! Ha ha.
We paused at Top Man, where Lewis found a great deal on a necktie with gold damask (which he thinks will be perfect to adorn his shirt at the NY Ballet's Nutcracker). Onward, we toted our bags to Payard Chocolatier on Houston St. There, we were mortified to find that Chef François downsized his bûche de Noël!!! He carelessly left it displayed on the gold cardboard from last year--so you could really see how much smaller it had become! How greedy. Does he think we're all stupid? Turning on our heel, we left.
Suddenly, we came upon a tidy shop: Sullivan Tea & Spice. We pushed open the door (replete with antique glass doorknob).
The young man with nice eyes was delighted to tell me that they HAD chrysanthemum tea--loose! I voiced my next concern, that flower teas (like chamomile) tend to clog up my tea ball, so the other shopkeeper recommended recycled paper tea sachets (100 for $7). I was delighted! It's funny that when you set out to find something, how twists and turns in the journey eventually do bring you to them.
Happy with our purchases, we walked to the sex shop, "Pleasure Chest" on 7th Ave (for Holiday gag gifts for friends, and massage oils for ourselves as "Stocking Stuffers")
We paused at Top Man, where Lewis found a great deal on a necktie with gold damask (which he thinks will be perfect to adorn his shirt at the NY Ballet's Nutcracker). Onward, we toted our bags to Payard Chocolatier on Houston St. There, we were mortified to find that Chef François downsized his bûche de Noël!!! He carelessly left it displayed on the gold cardboard from last year--so you could really see how much smaller it had become! How greedy. Does he think we're all stupid? Turning on our heel, we left.
Suddenly, we came upon a tidy shop: Sullivan Tea & Spice. We pushed open the door (replete with antique glass doorknob).
The young man with nice eyes was delighted to tell me that they HAD chrysanthemum tea--loose! I voiced my next concern, that flower teas (like chamomile) tend to clog up my tea ball, so the other shopkeeper recommended recycled paper tea sachets (100 for $7). I was delighted! It's funny that when you set out to find something, how twists and turns in the journey eventually do bring you to them.
Happy with our purchases, we walked to the sex shop, "Pleasure Chest" on 7th Ave (for Holiday gag gifts for friends, and massage oils for ourselves as "Stocking Stuffers")
We meandered past brownstones, admiring the folks decorating their homes: hanging lights, tying fir garland onto their bannisters and window boxes, placing poinsettias, and carrying trees. Lots of Christmas tree "shops" (the original Pop-Up shop!) had sprung up on random street corners… each one strung with white lights over the sidewalk.
Next stop was BB&B for my favorite Mistletoe candle (to complement the mistletoe that I have hung strategically all over my apartment).
Finally, we entered Trader Joe's. Seeing that it was nearly 5pm (an expectant Rush Hour), I put Lewis on line with a basket. If you shop healthy, the strategy to use is picking the "outer" check-out line at Trader Joe's locations (as opposed to the "inner" line). The outer line moves along all the "fresh" foods. It allows you to kick along your basket, while you pick out the choicest veggies, fruits, cheese, pâté, dairy, and fresh juices.
Considering the conscientious NYers who shop there (and doing the same thing you are), it's easy to "hop off" the line to grab something and then get back in the line. So, I grabbed pasta sauce, cereal, sunflower seed butter (tastes like peanut butter!) and cranberry juice (they make the BEST one I've ever tasted)! As we came around the last turn, I was ecstatic to find boxes of Pfeffernüsse! It inspired Lewis to christen me with a new nickname: Pfeffernunu. Lol! (Because he's called Lulu).
Despite NYC's huge size and former German population, it's nearly impossible to find such cookies at the thousands of bakeries. So, I was elated to see them at TJs!
I was also happy to bring in some winter greenery, via a lovely swag of holly with plump red berries.
Getting off the subway near my apartment, we walked under the lit Christmas decorations stretched across Broadway. I pointed out that as soon as the restaurants install their Christmas trees, we should dine at tables right next to the trees! Love that smell!!
We passed The Strand Smokehouse. I paused and suggested that we go in because the ENTIRE restaurant was EMPTY. How cool to have the whole place to ourselves?! So, we swung through the door--shopping bags and holly swag in hands--and were the first (only) ones on line to pick up smoked/barbecued goodness! Brisket and mammoth short ribs (in bone), mac 'n cheese empanadas, pulled pork empanadas, tomato/mozzarella salad, and string bean casserole. The ($5 ea) side dishes were huge, and the ($2 ea) empanadas (a dollar less than the nearby Brazilian cafe) are always made fresh and brought to your table--nicely flaky/crispy and succulently stuffed. All of the meat was perfectly tender--falling right off the bone--and moist. Their homemade hot sauce, BBQ sauce and sweet molasses sauce were delectable. Twas the BEST mac 'n cheese--perfect consistency and dripping from the pasta.
We finished everything with a satisfying sigh and headed home.
There, we lit our tree, which Lewis and I had merrily/tipsily decked last week (notice the bubble lights in the picture!) And all that mistletoe came in handy!
Getting off the subway near my apartment, we walked under the lit Christmas decorations stretched across Broadway. I pointed out that as soon as the restaurants install their Christmas trees, we should dine at tables right next to the trees! Love that smell!!
We passed The Strand Smokehouse. I paused and suggested that we go in because the ENTIRE restaurant was EMPTY. How cool to have the whole place to ourselves?! So, we swung through the door--shopping bags and holly swag in hands--and were the first (only) ones on line to pick up smoked/barbecued goodness! Brisket and mammoth short ribs (in bone), mac 'n cheese empanadas, pulled pork empanadas, tomato/mozzarella salad, and string bean casserole. The ($5 ea) side dishes were huge, and the ($2 ea) empanadas (a dollar less than the nearby Brazilian cafe) are always made fresh and brought to your table--nicely flaky/crispy and succulently stuffed. All of the meat was perfectly tender--falling right off the bone--and moist. Their homemade hot sauce, BBQ sauce and sweet molasses sauce were delectable. Twas the BEST mac 'n cheese--perfect consistency and dripping from the pasta.
We finished everything with a satisfying sigh and headed home.
There, we lit our tree, which Lewis and I had merrily/tipsily decked last week (notice the bubble lights in the picture!) And all that mistletoe came in handy!
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