The Year of New

With the new year comes an attempt at a new outlook on life, new lessons to be learned and new experiences to be had. I learned in 2007 that while you do command your own life, some things are just uncontrollable despite how badly you want to be able to control them. It's hard to succumb to the fact that these uncontrollable things are just that, but it seems that the best thing you can do is to realize it, recognize it and do what's necessary to move forward, even if it is difficult. I do however, believe that you can control what you decide to do with the fact that some things in life are just out of your hands, and I do believe that everything has a potential lesson attached to it, no matter how positive or negative it feels. If not necessarily a lesson, something can be gained, growth can occur.

I guess that's my little new year's inspirational bit (for myself if anything). Today is the third day of 2008. I'm pretty backed up on my blog posts, so for now, I'll skip right to the foods I ate on the first day of the year and post other foods later.

Jan. 1 - I woke up very late in the afternoon, a time that I will not disclose out of sheer shame (not really, but kind of). I didn't feel very happy, very refreshed, very new at all, but I knew it was the first day of the new year, that it was a beautiful day out and that I had to make the most of it.

I proceeded to watch a movie at my apartment (so much for making the most of the day), to which I almost feel asleep, and made sure to make plans so I got myself out of the house.

Dinner plans consisted of - yes - pho! No pictures this time, but I met Wendy and Heather at a pho restaurant in Chinatown that wasn't Pho Grand. I ordered my usual pho with brisket and eye round and Wendy and Heather were dinner twins ordering the sauteed curry chicken with rice. Their chicken and rice came on one of those oblongly-shaped, mass-produced chinese bordered plates - a pretty good size for $5! Our total bill was less than $20 (and it included summer rolls)! We ripped through our plates, needing solid food to soak up what was left in our bellies from the night before. Plenty of tea was had given the cold night and we found ourselves wondering where to go next.

It's amazing to see a city with a population that has recently surged to over 8 million people (!), completely dead and quiet on the first day of the year! We brainstormed what we wanted to do, where we wanted to go and we concluded that maybe we could check out what movies were playing and if that wasn't a go, dessert somewhere yummy. We opted for the latter, but walked all around looking for a place that was even open, nonetheless that would let us sit down just for dessert.

Finally, after two subway rides, we landed at Coffee Shop in Union Square. We welcomed the warmth and the number of empty tables. Still, the door guy had to check to see if we could just have dessert. After he and the two model-looking hostesses discussed as if there were a line out the door of people waiting for dinner, we were in! We were led to the back where big groups of friends sat laughing and talking. It was a heart-warming sight. Our waitress was a bit odd, very earthy, mother love goddess-esque, but with bright lipstick. It just seemed like she should've been at a small casual coffee shop in Eugene, Oregon or something. I think I recall Heather describing her as "fairy-like." The pretty lights may have added to this feeling...but mostly, it was just her outfit of a hobo-looking beanie, an oversized drapey sweater over a long broomstick looking skirt and her spacey demeanor.

Anyway, Heather ordered the pumpkin cheesecake, Wendy, the bread pudding, and me, the warm apple crisp. Heather's cheesecake was more like a small cylindrical piece (as opposed to slice) of cheesecake on a huge plate painted with chocolate. Wendy's bread pudding was actually a rather large ball that looked almost like a big chocolate-covered apple, with another ball [of ice cream] sitting next to it and my apple crisp came a la mode, with swirls of warm caramel swimming underneath. We all had some more tea, which proved even more comforting and refreshing. The tea bags came in individual boxes, which Wendy said was something along the lines of environmentally unsound (each box did also have plastic wrapping too). The night too, was comforting and refreshing with good people, good conversation and good food. I hope that the new year will follow suit and be filled with the same meaningful things!

tea box

Wendy's bread pudding and Heather's baby piece of cheesecake in the upper left corner.

warm apple crisp

So Pho-king Good!

Those who know me will attest to my unconditional love for pho and what good what my blog page be without at least one pho entry? But first, here's a tribute to the other reference of the play on words used above:

Now, back to business. Being from Seattle where pho has experienced a tremendous boom in the past five years or so, I found it difficult to match my Than Brothers veggie pho anywhere in New York and still can't say I've found anything like it. There is one place however, that I can rely on for consistenly good pho (minus one or two times out of the probably-over-50) and that place is Pho Grand in Chinatown (Grand between Eldridge and Forsyth).

This has become Ryan and I's go-to rendez-vous for a quick dinner together if we're too time-crunched (or budget-crunched) for anything else. Here is a shot of the steaming hot bowls of deliciousness we met for the other night:

For $4.75, you'll get a nice "regular" sized bowl of pho with brisket and eye round sprinkled with cilantro and chopped green onions, and strings of white onion floating about within an approximate wait time of five minutes. There are plenty of varieties for the same price as well. For $5.75, you can get a large, which is more than enough for a very hungry man (or a very very hungry Amy although I think it - dare I say - is too much for me to digest). We splurged and ordered summer rolls, also in the photo above, but they weren't the best I've had - a little chewier than most with a bit of a rubbery texture. Still, summer rolls are a great healthy alternative to spring rolls, which are fried.

Pho also serves as a great casual meeting suggestion to catch up with busy friends, or a great place to eat alone (my addiction to it has lured me in solo many a time). Whenever I eat pho alone, people ask, "did you bring a book?" Pho is not a constructive meal to sit down and read a book to. One must use both hands to fully enjoy the glory of pho. Plus, your reading material will mostly-likely end up smelling of pho with splatter marks scattered across the pages...that is, if you can even keep the book open with no hands.

Speaking of splattering, Ryan, though he is a great boyfriend, cannot eat one meal without wearing at least little bit of it (well, to his credit, somtimes he can). Thus, I have kindly suggested bibs. I should have gotten him a real one for Christmas that says, "I love pho!"

Pho fills me with warmth on the coldest of winter nights and satiates my cravings on the hottest of summer days. Its convenience - which includes speedy service, great locations and the crazy value factor - have kept me a devout and faithful pho foodie for many, many years. I could eat pho 24-7. The only thing that would stop me is a) I run out of funds and b) my insides drown in the broth that yes, I'm usually sure to drink all of...and I guess we can't discount the possibility I might, just might, get sick of it...but keep in mind that when I say this, we are talking 24-7 here. Below, you'll find an image very familiar to most all of you who know me well - me sitting across the table from you with a spoon in my left hand, chopsticks in right and bowl of pho in front.

Week before Xmas Dinner at Coco Roco

Last night, Ryan and I exchanged our Christmas presents then headed to Coco Roco, a Peruvian restaurant in Park Slope. We enjoy exploring new restaurants and this one has been on our list for quite some time.

As we entered the restaurant, the place was sparkling with festive lighting - white christmas lights strung along the walls reflected against mirrors and christmas trees beaded with colorful lights reflected off of silver tinsel laced around the trees. But...the music? Not the expected Christmas music we've all been hearing everywhere we go, nor was it some sort of Peruvian music, whatever that might be. Not even soft 90s lover's rock that you sometimes hear at these somewhat inimate/romantic restaurants. Instead, a mix of Weezer, Jay-Z and U2.

Our waiter came by and was very nice, despite various reviews claiming bad service. He kept calling Ryan "boss," which I think he liked. Everyone loves free snacks prior to their meal and here, we were graced with a small dish of fried plantains and hidden beneath, we found roasted corn kernels. Delicious spicy orange and green sauces fused together in another small dish, which was delightfully savory and creamy at first taste, then a welcomed spicy kick crept up seconds later. We ate most all the plaintains before I got a photo.

After grazing the extensive menu for quite some time, Ryan decided on the Salmon Morado, a blue potato crusted salmon served with spinach mashed potatoes and a green salad (based on NYMag's suggestion) and I went for the Paella Cocoroco, a Peruvian paella with chorizo, mixed seafood, ají amarillo (a spicy yellow sauce made from yellow peruvian chiles) and saffron flavors. When the dishes came out, portions were huge. My paella probably could've fed a family of four if it had to and Ryan's salmon and salad were mounted atop a rather large pile of the spinach mashed potatoes, which showed no real signs of spinach except for the almost neon-green color.

All in all, the meal was pleasant, though Ryan's dish seemed a bit luke warm. My paella was piping hot, but the creams squeezed onto each of our dishes were a bit odd since it looked so artificial. There wasn't enough on there to actually taste it, but I think the dishes would've looked much more aesthetically pleasing and appetizing if these puffy paint-like marks were absent. Would we come back again? Yes, I think so - next time the order will be their rotiserrie chicken, supposedly one of their more consistent house specialties. We were happy campers with our meal though and I had enough left over to cover my lunch for the rest of the week!

My First

Welcome to my brand new first blog.

I've jumped on the blogging bandwagon in hopes of sparking a new writing fire inside of me.

Just like how students don't seem to enjoy leisurely reading when there are stacks and stacks of reading assignments from school, I've found that leisurely writing for me has suffered on the same note given that I write business articles and features for a living. This will hopefully mark the beginning of the end of that.
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So, to begin my first official blog post, aside from the welcome note, I'll begin with my first official pinkberry tasting:


Caption: Sorry for the stock photo - I recognize the crucial role of freshly taken photos to blog posts, but unfortunately, I don't have my camera on hand.

My office is just around the corner from a pinkberry in Chelsea and for months, Wendy, Julie and I have been saying, "We should go to pinkberry!" Well, today, after splurging on an actual sit-down lunch at Spice (as opposed to take-out and eating at our desks), we finally followed through.

Wendy commented on how odd it was that they had a big step to get into the shop and how maybe that was the reason we had put it off for so long. Once inside, we didn't smell creamy yogurt or fresh fruit - instead, it smelt of old mops and "dirty dishes," as Julie noted.

Nonetheless, it looked bright and clean and as Wendy and I reviewed the process of ordering, the pinkberry employee came out from the back room in his pinkberry apron and very unenthusiastically said, "Welcome to pinkberry."

We sampled the original and I was delighted at just how much it really tasted like yogurt.* Wendy opted not to order, though she said she liked it.

I ordered my small original with blueberries and pomegranates and proceeded to find out that neither Wendy nor Julie had ever eaten fresh pomegranate before! The small was pretty big, but I guess it should be given that it was a $4.22 treat (a rather large chunk of change in my book).

Long story short (kind of), pinkberry was more than I thought it would be and for those Tasty Delight-lovers, a good alternative that doesn't bubble once it hits a paper plate. They also have shaved ice! On a sidenote, whilst in Seattle over Thanksgiving, I noticed a "crazyberry" on Capitol Hill. I'll be trying this out come my Christmas visit - note the strategically different placing of the leaves on the logo.



*Apparently, according to the Calif. Department of Ag., pinkberry's product cannot claim itself as real frozen yogurt because of it's 9,000,031,000 fewer bacterial cultures per gram than the National Yogurt Association's criteria for live and active culture yogurt, which is 10 million cultures per gram for frozen yogurt. I wonder if that's the case with crazyberry.