Tuesday, June 10, 2008

memorial day in NYC: some snapshots


**warning** extremely picture-heavy post! (I'll keep my words and descriptions very brief)


Daiku and I got to spend Memorial Day Weekend in New York City. Here is what we did:



we marveled at super-expensive gas prices in the Bronx



I found myself stuck in midtown (horrors! I try to avoid ever being there...) during an appointment that Daiku had. Fortunately, there was the Turkish parade to keep me entertained.



here's the view from one of my favorite gallery buildings in town. I was lucky that even though it was a holiday weekend, some galleries were open. If you're ever stuck in mid-town Manhattan and want a respite from the tourists, business people, and ritzy stores, go to the gallery building at 24 west 57th street. Then, just ride the elevator to each floor, there are at least 1 or 2 art galleries on every (public) floor. One of my favorites, the Galerie St. Etienne (specializing in German Expressionist art among other things)is there.



stopped into Sacred Chow for some beet-apple-cucumber-ginger juice for me



and a meatball and vegan cheese hero for Daiku.



saw some cool graffiti



helped my friend Tony celebrate his 30th birthday with the help of some lychee martinis (yum!) - sorry no pictures of the camera-shy birthday boy!



saluted Lenin (he saluted back!)



tried some awesome raw nori snacks that our friend Dorota introduced us to (seriously addictive- I want to figure out how to make these at home!)



baked some chocolate-chocolate-peppermint birthday cupcakes (I promise to share the recipe for the chocolate-mint streusel soon!)



hung out in our old 'hood in Queens



where we found out our old block (the top apartment is where Daiku and I used to live) has been renamed after our then-landlord ("the king of Long Island City") (!!!)



went to Red Bamboo for a huge PPK meet-up in Brooklyn (including meeting Jess of Get Sconed! yay! pssst- she's the girl with the pink hair hiding behind the menu in the above photo...)





the only food I got to photograph before the sun went down were these collard green rolls and buffalo wings, unfortunately.



aaaaaaand, dressed Dorota's kitty Willis in this awesome skull cap that we found. He seems to like it, no?

The weekend was a blast, filled with friends old and new, celebrations, good food, cute cats, and a chance to visit 4 out of 5 NY boroughs. (I've never been to Staten Island). This was one of our first really good-weather weekends, and Daiku and I enjoyed walking, talking, and laughing a lot. I hope you enjoyed the photos!


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19 comments:

Anonymous said...

many thanks for sharing these photoes of your weekend which was filled with old and new friends.In my free time i like to enjoy with my friend like you.

Anonymous said...

once again, I wish my palate was mature enough to like mint-flavored stuff, cause daaaaaaaayum that cupcake looks good.
wish I could have spent MD withchoo people, looks like you had a blast. or maybe it was the beans. GET IT? omg. I slay me.

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a blast with good food & good friends!

Anonymous said...

I love picture heavy posts! Looks like a great time, and good food, too!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

The photographs speak for themselves - what a weekend you had!! The graffiti is amazing, the food looks delicious, and that's SOOO fun that you got to meet Jess from the 'Get Sconed' blog!!

Anonymous said...

i DO love your photos, esp of the graffiti and the view out the window (i'm a that-kind-of-photo gal). it makes me want to visit new york. and maybe one day i'll have a mass ppk gathering (my first mini-one tomorrow)!

urban vegan said...

Looks like you had a fab time and ate some seriously yummy chow.

I adore Red Bamboo--and didn't realize they had outdoor space.

Kati said...

"I found myself stuck in midtown (horrors! I try to avoid ever being there...)" - hahaha. It's a zoo, truly.

Dorota's Willis looks just like my Dexter! Kitty twins!

Diz Rivera said...

Fun post! I love the photos.

Anonymous said...

Sad to say, those gas prices look (comparably) good to what's available here... But I try not to dwell on such things, especially when there's delicious food abounds! The nori snack does sound awesome; I'd love to hear about any possible experiments and recipes as well. :)

Vegan_Noodle said...

What a fun weekend!! You are really wetting my appetite for NYC :-) I love looking at all the photos (food and not food). Isn't it fun to visit places you used to live and see how they've changed?

Oh, and please do share your mint crumb topping.

Theresa said...

That looks like so much fun!

MeloMeals said...

What fun!

also, your last post was awesome.. the restaurant looked great.. glad you gave it a second chance.. I know that every restaurant can have an off day!

aTxVegn said...

I can't believe the kitty let someone put a cap on him!!! He's one cool cat.

I hope you will figure out a recipe for the raw nori rolls and also share the mint streusel recipe soon. Those cupcakes look so chocolatey good!

Rural Vegan said...

I want to comment on several other things, but I am presently mesmerized by that meatball hero...

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful and full weekend. I love the little skull cap on Willis. That's hysterical!

Jennifer said...

you were here again and i didn't know it...again. sad face.

TB said...

Fun post! And oh, I sighed at your marveling at those gas prices. We only WISH gas were so cheap out here in Cali. I was excited to find some $4.49 gas in the Central Valley last week. Here in SoCal,it's $4.59. Alas.

vko said...

Boo boo boo- sad that I missed you while you in NYC!!!!!!

Love kitty in a cap and your pics of LIC- your old 'hood and my soon to be new one!

Come visit again soon please and send me an email when you do because I didn't know you here til way after the fact.

Lots of love to you, Daiku & kitties.