Weekend Update

They say timing is everything and I guess that's true.  Friday night just so happened to be the annual summer concert by the New York Philharmonic in Prospect Park - just three blocks from my apartment.  Since we didn't know what the drill was we had dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant - Enzo's - then headed to the park about 30 minutes after the concert started.  What we saw was amazing - literally thousands of people, children and even dogs spread over what they call "Long Meadow" (similar to the Great Lawn at Central Park) sitting on blankets, chairs, etc.  Most had brought food and drink (lots of wine flowing), some even had candles going!  The mood was calm and festive as the Philharmonic played pieces by Tchaikovsky (Polonaise), Bernstein (West Side Story) and Prokofiev (Romeo and Juliet) from a huge stage in the background.  To top it all off the concert ended with a fireworks display.   And this was all for free courtesy of the City of New York!

On Saturday Tom and I headed to Atlantic Avenue to check out the famous Sahadi's Market and the Damascus Bakery.  At Damascus we bought falafel, humus, taboule, stuffed grape leaves, spinach pie and pita bread.  We packed up our feast and headed to the Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg for a picnic lunch.  This wasn't such an easy trip.  It took us a while to find the correct Metro station that would take us to the right train and when we finally got on the G train it discontinued service after two stops.  We then boarded a shuttle bus that wound it's way through the city stopping at each Metro stop.  After more than an hour we finally made it to Nassau Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where we walked a few blocks to the Brewery.  What a zoo!  The Brewery has a big warehouse space that they basically set up as a beer garden on weekends.  Beers are $4 each (or 6 for $20) and people come with their friends to drink, eat (they let you bring your own food or order takeout), play cards and some even take tours of the brewery.  What a hoot!  We met Tom's young cousin Shawn there.  Shawn graduated from college last year and Tom helped him get a job with American Spirit.  His territory is NYC and he has an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.  He is one happy boy. Having the time of his life and looking forward to a promising career in sales.

After a "nap" Tom and I headed to the Ditmas Park neighborhood for dinner a the Purple Yam - a self described "pan-asian filipino" restaurant. (http://www.purpleyamnyc.com/).  We shared several dishes including the Purple Yam's version of bibimbap - with fesh edamame, burdock, beansprouts, spinach and Phillipine heirloom rice. Also had a beautiful salad with fresh greens, watermelon, fresh peaches, papaya and mango.  Such a great dish for a hot night. We also had a dish called Jap Chae which was comprised of sweet potato noodles with shitake mushrooms and asian greens.  Perfection!

Got to spend Sunday with my nephew Mike and his wife Kim.  Another hot day in New York but that didn't stop us from seeing the sights.  I showed them the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood which is similar to Beacon Hill in Boston but sits on the water (East River) and has amazing views of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty.  We then headed across the Brooklyn Bridge on foot and walked over to the World Trade Center site to see the progress of the new tower.  Not quite a tower yet but they are getting there.  Dinner on Sunday night was at the infamous Momofuko Noodle Bar. This restaurant is all the rage in Manhattan and was recommended to me by several different people. (http://www.momofuku.com/noodle-bar/) You can tell it's trendy because almost everyone there seemed to be under the age of 30.  The chefs didn't look like they were much more than 20!  Food was eclectic (fried chicken is their specialty - go figure) and delicious.  I had steamed shitake mushroom "buns"; a side dish with roasted corn, miso and fingerling potatoes; and a bowl of ginger scallion noodles with pickled shitakes, cucumber and menma (lactate fermented bamboo shoots).

That's all for now folks. Off to school.  Check back tonight for my post on today's lesson.  Hope you all had a great weekend!