Saturday Morning Walkers - February 11, 2008

Hi everyone!


Actually starting to write this edition on Sunday morning, February 10 sitting in Libby and David's gorgeous new apartment in Brooklyn. The floor to ceiling windows in the living room/dining room/kitchen area have an incredible view across the East River of the New York skyline, featuring the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.

I arrived here on Friday morning following my first experience on a “red-eye” from Denver to New York. Jack had been in New York all week on business and I was meeting him here. In between naps on Friday, David and I went to lunch at a funky little place here in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, The Egg. I had a yummy grilled cheese sandwich on 5 grain bread (healthy, huh?) and David had a amazing looking cheeseburger. Here’s a review - http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/egg/

When Jack arrived at the apartment at the end of the day, we headed out for dinner at a tiny little French bistro in Long Island City which is just minutes away in Queens. I had heard about Tournesol after listening to the audiobook memoir,Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. In an interview, Julie Powell, who lives in Long Island City, was asked about her favorite restaurant and she talked about Tournesol. I mentioned that to Libby and it turns out that it is one of David’s favorite spots. We were not disappointed! Libby had skate with cauliflower gratin, David had braised lamb with ratatouille, Jack had steak frite with béarnaise and I had flounder with ratatouille. Check out this review - http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/tournesol/

Saturday morning, we were up early and out for a walk to the dog park with Violet, Libby and David’s Black Russian Terrier. We had a wonderful waffle breakfast back at the house and then headed out for a ride around Brooklyn so I could see the apartment building and neighborhood, Flatbush, that my aunt and uncle lived in when I was a kid. Our family has strong roots in Brooklyn and I spent a lot of time there when I was growing up on Long Island. It was a nostalgic tour for me. We had intended to visit the Brooklyn Museum (the 2nd largest museum in NYC) but got sidetracked when we ventured into the aircraft museum at Floyd Bennett Field. It turned out to be a fascinating personal tour of this hangar filled with restored aircraft led by a very sweet volunteer, Tony.

The highlight of the afternoon was pizza at a little joint called Di Fara Pizza on Avenue J in the Midwood section of Brooklyn - Mandy's dad, Martin went to Midwood High School. Dominic DeMarco has been making every pizza there for the last 40 years, always assisted by a family member. Check out the review: http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/7381047/

We had big plans for Saturday night - a before theatre dinner at a wonderful seafood restaurant on West 43rd and Ninth Avenue called Esca. It was a delicious meal and the service was impeccable. We even got to chat with Chef David Pasternack. http://www.esca-nyc.com/.
Following dinner, we enjoyed a terrific play at the Music Box Theatre on 45th Street. It was The Farnsworth Invention starring Hank Azaria. This play by West Wing's creator, Aaron Sorkin, deals with the invention of television and the conflict between RCA founder David Sarnoff and inventor Filo T. Farnsworth. The actor who played Farnsworth, Jimmi Simpson, was outstanding.

When I left off writing on Sunday morning (I'm now back home on Monday night and trying to catch up!), we were getting ready to head out for brunch at the same restaurant that David and I had lunch in on Friday, The Egg. Great breakfast, especially the cheese grits and homemade sausage. Jack had oatmeal which was filled with pears, raisins and figs - looked yummy!

We'll skip the book reports and other cooking reports for this week - I have started Geraldine Brooks new novel, People of the Book and am already hooked. More later.....

Website of the Week - http://www.fictionnationonline.com/ - book review site

Podcast of the Week - http://www.dongenova.com/shows_podcast.html - All You Can Eat podcast - about food and wine

That's all for now.....

Love,

Susan