Woohoo, Laduree Finally Opened!!!

(Warning--this post has a lot of exclamation points in it!)

Laduree finally opened in NYC!!! It's actually been confusing--they were supposed to open the 22nd, then it got pushed back to the 26th (which was when the hurricane was coming through), then their website said the date was actually the 29th while their Facebook page still said the 26th...anyway, they are finally open!! Woohoo! Now, the Upper East Side is not my usual stomping grounds (Tom Ford and Lanvin being somewhat out of my price range) but for macarons, I am totally willing to traipse across town!


Of course, once I got to the other side of town I was greeted by this--a massive line that ran all the way down the block. Geez, LOOK AT THIS LINE!!! 20 minutes later, we had moved maybe 5 feet and then someone from further up the line said something about the wait being an additional 30 minutes once you actually got inside the store...which made at least five people in front of me give up. Woohoo! The waiting was made easier by the friendly folks standing in front of and behind me, and it was nice to meet other crazy people who are willing to stand in line for food.


An hour in and we finally were standing in front of the display windows! So close and yet so far away! Oh also, at this point we could see that there was in fact another line inside that snaked back and forth, and all those people were blocking my view of the macaron counter--I think I had a mild fit at the possibility that there might not be any salted butter caramel macs left! (Although the nice man in suit-who-was-not-the-president-but-was-obvs-important assured me there were plenty left.) Another 20 minutes of waiting once we were inside, a quick selection, and I was out the door (actually the hardest part, because I had to dodge around the line!)


And YAY, MY HAUL!! Oh, I should just point out that this is the standard box; they have all kinds of gorgeous gift boxes but you do pay a bit extra for those. My precious, precious salted caramel macarons are in the bottom right corner. Also, years ago when we went to Paris, we picked up a box of macarons at Laduree and then stupidly put them in our bike basket, so that by the time I got to eating them, they looked like this. I am so very pleased to have undamaged macaron photos now. (Also, apparently they are currently flying all of their macarons in from Paris, not baking them on-site.)


And a bonus shot of the insides! Mmm, sweet sweet goodness....I can report the salted caramel is still my absolute favorite. The green apple tastes exactly like a green apple Jolly Rancher, which I am not 100% sold on. Anyway, don't worry, I haven't eaten these all in one shot, because I am not THAT crazy! I've still got a bunch left for later today...and tomorrow...and maybe even the day after that. YAY!!

Ladurée New York
864 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10021

Review: Lincoln Ristorante

I met up with my friend for brunch yesterday at Lincoln Ristorante (which you might have guessed is located at Lincoln Center). I think this opened fairly recently (end of 2010ish) and it is in an absolutely beautiful space. We were speculating that perhaps people weren't aware of it, because it was surprisingly unbusy during brunch (getting a table at some brunch places in NYC is practically a contact sport). Then again, it is a bit on the pricey side (although probably consistent with other places in this neighborhood). Anyhow, I am always down for trying new places, and our table immediately put me in a good mood.


That's the restaurant behind the sculpture, with the sloping roof. We were sitting by those windows, so you can imagine that our view was rather nice! (Also, natural lighting, woohoo!) I had a roasted beet salad to start (that's the top photo) which was visually beautiful, and also tasty. I love beets, so it was kind of a no-brainer for me, but I thought the pistachios were a nice touch. My friend had a chicken salad which I neglected to take a photo of, but I tasted a bit of the chicken and that was also really good! Oh, actually, that wasn't our first course though--every table also got bowls of panna cotta topped with granola. There was a layer of jam under the panna cotta (which was very yogurty tasting) and would have been great as a dessert!


We both had pasta for our mains (and here's one quibble--it's a brunch menu, but there's not a whole lot of what I would consider traditional brunch choices on it. That's not necessarily a bad thing for me, because I'd rather have lunch, but then....just call it lunch?) That's JJ's pasta with sausage above.


And my much less photogenic penne ala carbonara. Both pastas were delicious, and we managed to clean our plates pretty thoroughly, which I suppose is all the endorsement I need to give! We thought we were done, but then our server appeared with this:


Oof! This whole tray was also complimentary, and included chocolate filled donuts, brioches filled with pastry cream, pine nut muffins, lemon poppyseed muffins, and buttermilk scones. The scones were my favorite...and maybe it was just a function of being stuffed, but I wasn't too impressed with the other pastries.

Overall, I had a pretty great time, in large part because of the company! We also liked the service, which was formal but friendly (actually, I think they may be employing some ninjas, because one server kept appearing from out of nowhere to refill my water glass and startled me every single time). I'd love to come back for dinner, I bet the view is even prettier....

(I walked the 40ish blocks home afterwards, which helped assuage the feelings of guilt that always come hand in hand with carbonara!)

Chinese New Year Parade 2010

I wonder if I will ever be caught up with blogging? That is to say, if I will ever be timely with blogging. Anyway, this year's CNY Parade was on February 21 (so I'm not tooooo late!) and as usual, I claimed a spot on Mott St.--this year, I was smart and showed up slightly later and stood on the correct side of the street, because I knew from my experience last year that by the time the parade started, I would be in the sun. Actually just like last year, it was pretty warm! I had better photos of the lions last year and you can see those in last year's post.


As you can see, it was a beautiful day, and the confetti poppers were out in full force. I just want you all to know about the insidious nature of that confetti--weeks later, you will still find bits of it everywhere, in your coat pocket, in your shoe, and mysteriously, it will start appearing on clothing that you didn't wear to the parade. And now I will stop babbling and just show you some pictures.


The veterans


One of my favorite photos of the day. You really need to see it in the large size to appreciate the details of the makeup and costumes!


A drum troupe. Red, red, red everywhere!


Hee, check out this adorable cymbal guy.


Dumpling man! (Hey, this is nominally food related.)


A troop of lanterns. I don't know, they really made me smile!


Here comes the dragon! My favorite. It's huge, with a giant long tail, which, of course, I did not get a good photo of.


You know what was more terrifying than these giant head masks? The fact that there was a whole pile of giant head masks on the float...a pile of decapitated giant head masks!! Yikes!


If I were in a parade, I would be super excited. This kid, not so much. Cute, though :)


What a ham. Lion dancing is haaaard work!




And what better way to celebrate the end of the parade than a cup of ice cream from the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory? This is black sesame, with zen butter underneath. My two favorite flavors, well worth a frozen finger or two! (One of the things I really like about this place is that they will give you half scoops, so you can try more than one flavor at a time.)

If you are interested in seeing more photos, the full set is on Flickr, here. I can't wait until the next one!

On an unrelated note, I just want to document for posterity that it's 10:05 in the morning on a Sunday and I am almost done with my laundry. A miracle? Truly. And after that, I am headed to Norma's for brunch, woohoo! And after that....maybe I'll write a few more posts. Have a great Sunday, everyone!

Kambi Ramen

Yes, I'm overdue for a post. Unfortunately, summer has finally hit NYC in all its sticky, humid glory, and so I have done precious little baking or cooking (although we have been eating well thanks to our CSA). Mostly I just want to lie around, drinking iced water!

Anyway, the other night we stopped in at Kambi Ramen on 14th St. and 1st Ave. for a bowl of noodles after an evening of drinking at Otto's Shrunken Head (2 for 1 well drinks before 8, apparently!). I love Otto's, but I have learned an important lesson--do not try to chug a Pang's Punch. Seriously. Also, you will find cocktail monkeys in your pockets for days afterwards. Ahem, anyway!


Kambi is a fairly typical ramen joint; it's not a place to linger and have a quiet conversation, but it's great for a quick meal, and the space itself is clean and comfortable with high tables and stools. Sorry for the sub-par photos--I was too hungry to fiddle around with settings. We shared some gyoza, which were filled with pork and were quite tasty, especially the crunchy bits on the bottom. Nice and juicy, too.


And here is a much-too-close photo of my spicy miso ramen. I know from this view, it's all corn and a seaweed sail, but trust me, the stewed pork served with it was deliciously fatty. And the boiled egg was nicely boiled until just set; no sulfurous, rubbery yolks to be found here! My only complaint was that I was extremely thirsty after I finished my soup, which I will attribute to a bit too much salt. Seriously, I drank two whole bottles of water when I got home.

All in all, a great place to grab a bowl of noodles; that is, if you can resist the lure of the Papaya Dog next door...

As an aside, if you are looking for a way to cool off for a few hours, I highly highly highly recommend going to see Ponyo, the new Miyazaki movie (okay, I know it was released in Japan already, but the subtitled Disney release is out now). I loved it. Probably designed for a younger audience than Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle, but still totally enjoyable and magical. Seriously, go see it.