The Nutcracker

I've been meaning to go watch The Nutcracker at the NYC Ballet for years but have not been in town or had the time to go during the holiday season, so I'm glad I finally made it this year.  I haven't seen this ballet since I was a kid, but I love the music (who doesn't??  it's Tchaikovsky!), and it's such a classic, that adult me had to go at some point.

And...now that I have, I can say that it was fun and festive, and I can see how it's a great production for kids, but adult me prefers Swan Lake.  The first act of The Nutcracker actually had relatively little ballet, and it seemed like more of a play and acting.  There are also a lot more children in the ballet than I remember (not good or bad, just an observation, but perhaps that's also why there's not as much dancing).  The second act has most of the "popular" songs, and the Sugar Plum Fairy was a lovely dancer.  As a side note, the Playbill notes definitely made me appreciate some of the dances more.

Overall, it was enjoyable and lighthearted, but it wasn't as amazing as I had remembered.  That said, for those who have never seen it, I'd still recommend going one of these years, unless you're Scrooge and hate the holidays.

Sushi Seki

We tried the Seki sushi dinner (sushi pieces with Seki's special toppings on the fish), as the non-traditional pairings seem to be the hype here.  It was good on average, but there's a lot of good sushi places in the city, and I wouldn't call this my favorite (but wouldn't mind going back to try the omakase).

What I liked -- yellowtail jalapeno and spicy scallop roll were my favorites.  The spicy scallop roll didn't come with the dinner, but we swapped it out for $2 extra, and it was worth it.  The spicy tuna roll was also better than average.  The smoked salmon sushi was flavorful; the hint of smokiness complemented the fattiness of the fish.

The tuna with tofu sauce was good but not amazing, considering that seems to be a specialty item, and the "famous" salmon with sauteed tomato was a let down for me...the flavors didn't seem to gel at all, and the salmon tasted bland next to the acidity of the tomato.  The eggplant was pretty tasty actually, but I would've preferred another fish.  And the chopped toro sushi was fine, but a whole piece of toro would've been better (obviously).  The rice was a bit hard/undercooked for me personally.  Other pieces good but not super memorable.

Roast Chicken Recipe

Back in 2013, Buzzfeed put out a wonderful "Ultimate Roast Chicken Tournament" to find the best roast chicken recipe.  Thanks to them, I don't feel the need to experiment on my own, and I'm quite happy that the winning recipe (Thomas Keller's) is super simple and requires only 3 ingredients.  Sold.  Winning recipe below for reference, but feel free to try the other 7 if you wish!

Ingredients
One 2-3 lb chicken
Kosher salt
Black pepper

Instructions
Let chicken come to room temperature (remove from fridge at least 45 minutes before roasting).  Preheat oven to 450F.

Dry chicken very well on outside and inside.  Sprinkle salt and pepper inside chicken cavity.  Truss chicken.  Then season outside of chicken with lots of salt and some pepper.

Place chicken breast side up on a rack over a roasting pan.  Roast in oven for 50-60 minutes.

Let chicken sit on cutting board for 15 minutes before removing twine and carving.

Beef & Pepper Open-Faced Sandwich Recipe

Ingredients
1 lb thinly sliced beef
2 small baguettes
5 oz green peppers (or shishito peppers)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic

Instructions
Halve the baguettes.  Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toast.

While the baguette toasts, heat olive oil in a medium pan and cook peppers until browned and slightly softened.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer peppers to a plate.

In the same pan, heat olive oil until hot, and then add thinly sliced beef in a single layer and cook without stirring, 1-2 minutes or until browned on the first side.  Add red wine vinegar.  Cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds to 1 minute, until beef is cooked through.

Peel and mince garlic, then smash until it resembles a paste.  Combine with mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Spread onto toasted baguette.  Top with cooked beef and peppers.

Sugarfish

Pretty good value, but by far not the best sushi in NYC and not worth waiting for.  The fish selection was pretty generic; the size of fish a bit larger than average, and the flavor and freshness of fish was also average.  The rice was warm and more vinegary than usual, which I liked (I love the taste of sushi rice, but the rice flavor was a bit strong relative to the fish).  My favorite item was the crab handroll, which was the only thing that was a little bit different than most other places.

Le Botaniste

For those who don't know, this is a vegan place.  The food was decent, but I was disappointed (was expecting better based on the reviews).  We tried the Tibetan Mama Rice Bowl, Spicy Chili sin Carne, and Vegetable Tajine.  I think the chili was the most flavorful, the Tibetan curry was fine, but nothing special about the vegetable tajine.

We also tried a sample of the hummus and red beet caviar, but I didn't like the texture and it didn't taste that great, so we didn't order.  They also had samples of the quinoa cookie, which also had a strange texture, so we passed on dessert.

Bar Primi

Carbo-licious and great service.  

Piccolini -- we had the rice balls and the ricotta crostino.  Rice balls were perfectly fried and crispy, and you can't go wrong with truffle honey in general (on the crostino).  The smell of truffle was quite strong but the taste was mainly sweet (from the honey).

Apps -- tried the stuffed meatballs, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower and enjoyed all.

Pastas -- had the bucatini (my favorite pasta made better with lamb), squid ink campanelle (nice and creamy with generous portion of crab), orecchiette, and fusilli (a bit sweeter than I was expecting, but I didn't mind the different flavor profile in contrast to the others we ordered).  All nicely al dente.

Dessert -- didn't order this time around, but I remember having the tiramisu last time (it's been a while), and it was delicious but not very pretty (but that's okay).

Midwinter Kitchen

First time coming here yesterday, and I really enjoyed their brunch.  I love brunch, but I feel I've gotten spoiled and am rarely impressed by brunch menus, but Midwinter Kitchen was a delightful surprise.  So good it's going on my NYC Eats list.

The braised steak hash and eggs dish was done very well.  The steak was tender and plentiful.  The potatoes were still a bit crispy.  The balance of flavor as well as food groups was perfect.  I usually get very excited about anything "hash" on menus, but most places give you a bunch of potatoes and not enough of everything else, but Midwinter has a winning combination.

We were also trying to decide between the popular spiced chickpea hash and the farmer's skillet special and ultimately went for the special since I'm sure the chickpea hash will still be on the menu next time.  The farmer's skillet was a mushroom ragu over polenta and braised kale, topped with a poached egg.  I really also liked this dish, although between the two, the winner was the braised steak hash.

Happy to say I'll definitely come back to try other things!

Braised steak hash and eggs

Farmer's skillet

Shanghai Mong

It's been years since I've been here, but I was craving Korean jja jiang myun (black bean noodle) yesterday, so I came.  My go-to is the combo noodle with the jja jiang myun and spicy seafood noodle soup.  Not your best noodles, but it's good comfort food that'll hit the spot.  And for whatever reason, there aren't really that many places (at least not in K-town) that have jja jiang myun, which is a pity.

I remembered other appetizers and entrees to be pretty mediocre though, and sadly that's still the case.  I tried the triple combo yesterday with the 2 noodles (jja jiang myun and spicy seafood noodle soup) and sweet and sour pork, and I should've just stuck with the combo noodles.  The pork was heavily battered and drenched in sauce, so it was soggy.  Just get the noodles.

Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

12 ounces cranberries
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sugar, to taste

Instructions

In a saucepan, dissolve sugar in the orange juice.  Stir in the cranberries and cook until cranberries start to pop.  Reduce heat and stir for another 2-3 minutes, or until desired consistency.  Remove from heat and  set aside in a bowl.  

Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup crushed gingersnap cookies
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened (bring to room temperature)
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Mix together the crushed cookies, pecans, and butter.  Press into the bottom of a 9-inch round springform pan.  Back crust 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and vanilla just until smooth.  Mix in eggs one at a time, blending well after each.  Set aside 1 cup of the mixture.  Blend 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg into remaining mixture.

Spread pumpkin flavored batter into the crust, and drop the plain batter by spoonfuls onto the top.  Swirl with a knife to create a marbled effect.

Bake 55 minutes, or until filling is set.  Run a knife around the edge of the pan.  Allow to cool before removing pan rim.  Chill for at least 4 hours (or overnight) before serving.

Note: use total 3 cups cookies + pecans if you prefer a crust that goes up entire side of cheesecake and not just the bottom

Maple-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pecan Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts
1/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup toasted pecans (or hazelnuts, or other nuts of choice), coarsely chopped (optional)

Instructions

Heat olive oil in pan, and place brussels sprouts cut side down until lightly browned.  Stir-fry another 2-3 minutes, or until brussels sprouts begin to soften.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, and cook until liquid is evaporated.  Mix in maple syrup.  Mix in toasted pecans.

Queens Comfort

We went for brunch and enjoyed the food, but it was not so amazing that I would go out of my way to go or to wait in line.

Experience: 
We arrived at 10am on Sunday (when they open), and as expected, there was a long line already; unfortunately we just missed the first wave of seating and had to wait about 40 minutes (for a party of 4).  Host James Avatar was super friendly and fun(ny), making the time go by faster.  Getting a doughnut while waiting in line also helps tremendously.  Once inside, it was a fun vibe with the DJ spinning, but I thought the noise level was way too loud.  It felt like a club and less of a restaurant; we were all shouting to hear each other and ultimately just stopped talking.

Food: 
Overall, the small plates were great, but the entrees were not as exciting as they sounded.  The doughnut was terrific though -- it was almost like a cake and was served warm.  The flavor of the day was apple cider crumb with vanilla cinnamon glaze; delicious, although I can see how it can be hit or miss depending on the flavor.  

For small plates, I would highly recommend the atomic fireballs (fried mac & cheese ball), fried stuffing balls, the empanadas (we had shepherd's pie empanadas).  We also tried the disco tots after reading all the reviews, but they were nothing special, just tots with cheese.  

For mains, I tried the benedict over plantain (I forget what it's called...The Row Boat?  Big Row?) and that was pretty unique and tasty.  My husband got the Pig Mac.  The fried pork tenderloin (sort of like a schnitzel) was huge and very thin; on its own, it tasted a bit dry, but it was better with the sandwich.  Good but not great.  Another person in our party got the chicken and waffle, which is normally one of my favorite items; I can't comment on the taste since I didn't try it, but it looked pretty plain vanilla, sadly.
  

Momokawa

We tried a few appetizers and sushi tonight, and I would say the food is decent but not amazing.  It seems they are known for shabu shabu and sukiyaki, which we didn't order, so perhaps we'll come back to try and their ramen next time.

-Kaminari Konnyaku (spiced yam cake) -- very tasty and chewy

-Snow crab appetizer -- light and good crab; met but did not exceed expectations

-Kara age -- decent fried chicken, but personally I wasn't a fan of the batter (crispy outside, but a bit cakey on inside)

-Yellowtail collar -- I have a high bar since this is one of my favorite dishes, and this fell a bit short for me; flavorful, but a bit dry

-Sushi entree -- good assortment (even included chu toro (medium fatty tuna)); decent but not amazing quality; sushi rice a bit hard

Té Company

Very cute and quaint tea spot.  There's a huge selection of teas, so be prepared to spend some time reading through all the various descriptions, which are very helpful.

We had to try the pineapple linzer cookies after all the reviews, and I'd agree with other reviews that it's delicious (although not entirely convinced they're worth $3.75 per cookie...).  The shortbread cookie was well done, and the pineapple jam went very well with it; a good take on the traditional pineapple tart.  The seasonal pastry today was carrot cake, which was more like a muffin, but it was great and not too sweet.  Finally, we tried the chocolate cake, which was light and fluffy and not overly rich.  All good complements to the tea.

Root & Bone

We came for a late night fixing of fried chicken but found it pretty disappointing.

The fried chicken is dusted with a bit of lemon, which I thought was okay, but my husband found overly sour.  Personal preference.  The dark meat was okay.  BUT then I had a piece of chicken breast and it was incredibly dry and stringy.  We can disagree on flavor profile, but dry fried chicken is game over.

Cornbread souffle sounded more exciting than it actually was.  The texture was interesting; it was light and creamy and enjoyable the first couple of bites, but there wasn't enough cornbread substance and just felt like I was eating cream after that.

Deviled eggs were pretty good and unique though.

SakaMai

Excellent meal and creative menu with a twist on many classic items.  I also love that they have a whole section of the menu (the first section actually) dedicated to uni.

1. Egg on egg on  egg -- obviously had to try this; it's a small dish, but generous portion of uni and caviar (for the size of the dish) on top of perfectly fluffy scrambled eggs



2. Burrata special with fried gyoza skin (forgot what it's called) -- melted burrata was delicious with crunchy mountain yam worked surprisingly well; the fried gyoza skin cracker was fine but could've been easily substituted with any other carb



3. Yakisaba sushi -- we ordered this because it sounded different (grilled mackerel, lardo iberico, spicy sesame soy); it was pretty tasty, although the sushi rice was not the best...rice was a bit hard and fell apart/not sticky enough



4. Kara-age fried chicken -- this has almost become a staple to order at izakayas, and I'm usually not impressed, but SakaMai's kara-age surprised on the upside; large pieces of juicy chicken and not too much batter


5. Uni mazemen -- this was probably my favorite dish; I also try to order uni mazemen everywhere I can and am usually underwhelmed, but this was very good; generous helping of uni, creamy noodles, and on top of that, a big side of bone marrow that you add and mix in; great flavor overall



6. Beef curry special -- 18-spice curry was a delicious combination of hot, sweet, and salt


The cocktails sounded great as well although I didn't try any.

Canstruction

I had some extra time to kill today after my calligraphy class downtown, so I went for a stroll at Brookfield Place and was pleasantly surprised by a fun exhibit, Canstruction.  Canstruction is an annual design competition and food charity.  As the name suggests, teams have to create their designs out of unopened canned goods, and at the end of the exhibit, the cans will be donated to City Harvest.  There are currently 25 "cansculptures" on display at Brookfield Place until November 16.

My favorite one is probably the carousel (I love horses!), but they were all pretty cool and definitely unique.  The titles of the projects were just as interesting as the sculptures themselves.  I'd highly recommend stopping by if you're in the area, and bring a can of food to donate too!

Sakanaya

Great new sushi restaurant; omakase without breaking the bank.  There are only 2 menu options -- omakase with or without sashimi ($100 or $80, respectively).  

Here's what we had in our omakase without sashimi:
1. Appetizer trio -- daikon with beef (good), sweet potato (good), miso cod (a bit dry)
2. Shima aji (striped jack) with the usual scallion, ginger topping
3. Salmon with skin and sesame (very good)
4. Botan ebi (sweet shrimp) with herring roe
5. Chawanmushi with fried shrimp head (chawanmushi was decent but not special, fried shrimp head was yum)
6. Red snapper (surprised me on the upside)
7. Hirame (Fluke)
8. Chutoro (medium fatty tuna)
9. Uni topped with herring roe (one of my favorites)
10. Ikura (salmon roe) over rice, topped with some crunchy bits (crunchy bits made it especially good)
11. Miso soup with mushrooms and tamago on the side (soup was a bit salty)
12. Anago (sea eel)
13. Tuna hand roll
14. Matcha mousse with red bean paste

Overall good quality fish, great taste, although rice fell apart on a couple of pieces.  I enjoyed the appetizer trio and sushi but could've skipped the chawanmushi, soup, and dessert.

Black Seed Bagels (at Hudson Eats)

I've been meaning to try Black Seed Bagels for a while, but it was only okay.  Maybe the original location is better.  The bagel is smaller and more thin, which is fine (good for the carb conscious?) but it tasted pretty average.  I got the whitefish salad sandwich, which is my go-to sandwich when trying out any new bagel spot, and that was also nothing special.  Not bad, but not memorable.  The whitefish salad itself was a bit dry, but the pickled cucumbers added a nice, sweet touch.  I'd pick Ess-A-Bagel over Black Seed any day.

Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1

My earliest memory of Bruch's Violin Concerto is of my friend performing it beautifully and virtuosically with the Clear Lake Symphony Orchestra.  I was eleven at the time; she was ten.  I remember getting lost in the melodies (and wishing I could play as well as she), and then walking away with the very colorful third movement stuck in my head for days.  Later at home, I would listen to the CD over and over -- it was a David Oistrakh recording, and to this day, that's still my favorite rendition.  I suppose we're all more or less influenced by, if not partial to, the first recording of a song we hear.  Keep in mind this was before the days of YouTube and even Napster; it wasn't nearly as easy to find different recordings and compare and contrast before forming a view!

Bruch composed three violin concertos, or four if you count Scottish Fantasy, which I also love, but his other two concertos are rarely performed and never reached the same level of popularity as the first (hence people often just refer to Bruch's first violin concerto as the Bruch violin concerto).  The first movement is dramatic, passionate, and emotional, yet it is probably the most easily forgotten movement and is sometimes described as a long prelude into the second.  I'm not sure I agree with that statement though, as the piece has its own distinct character and has darker undertones than the second or third movements.  The second movement is actually a rondo and the heart of the concerto; the melody is beautifully sung and becomes more spirited, uplifting, and powerful as the piece progresses, before quieting down again at the end.  The third movement is an energetic dance, and perhaps the most impressive (and memorable) with all its double stops and fireworks ending.

Anyway, why am I talking about all of this now?  Because the New York Philharmonic will be performing this from October 27 - November 1, with concertmaster Frank Huang as the soloist.  So obviously I have to go 1) relive some good memories (I've actually never heard Bruch's violin concerto performed live after my 10-year-old friend's amazing concert), 2) support my fellow Houstonian (no, I don't know Frank Huang, but less than 6 degrees of separation...a few of my other music friends either studied violin with his mom or are friends with his younger sister), and 3) just enjoy one of my favorite violin pieces.

*UPDATE: Glowing review from NY Times here.


Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 (David Oistrakh, of course...that EMI Studio CD cover is the exact CD I had!):

Movement 1:

Movement 2:

Movement 3:

Butler

I was excited to check out this cute Williamsburg neighborhood bakery, but I didn't find it outstanding enough for me to go out of my way to return.

I tried a special open-faced egg sandwich on foccacia, which was very tasty.  The egg was perfectly runny.  The dark chocolate brownie was very rich; the concord grapes were an interesting touch, but I would've appreciated more black sesame (the flavor didn't really come through for me and was overpowered by the brownie itself).  It was a bit hard and dry on the outside, but the inside was still moist.  Other pastries and sweets looked good and very tempting, but I didn't get to try today.

    

Ali Wong

For anyone who hasn't seen Ali Wong's stand-up comedy show Baby Cobra, you should watch it (available on Netflix).  For everyone who has, she needs no further introduction.

I think Ali Wong has left such a lasting impression on so many of us for a number of reasons.  For starters, obviously her performance was solid -- the material was hilarious, the delivery was on point, and her facial expressions (and graphic mimes) were the perfect complement to every joke.  But a good, funny show is just the prerequisite; I've certainly watched and laughed my way through a number of comedy shows (both live and recorded), yet unfortunately I can't name most of those comedians, nor can I remember what they said that was so funny at the time.  Ali was (is) different though.  Whether it's "right" or not, her identity alone was (is) a statement in and of itself.  She's Asian, female, and at the time of Baby Cobra, pregnant.  Asian comic?  Rare.  Female comic?  Also relatively rare.  Pregnant?  Even rarer.  Asian, female, and pregnant?  Ali Wong.

Now, having a unique identity can be a double-edged sword.  Had she delivered a less than stellar show, it's quite likely the story would have been "Asians aren't that funny," or "she was trying too hard."  Thankfully, that's not the case though, and she came out with pretty powerful (and also sensitive) content that was raw and real, touching on everything from cultural stereotypes (e.g., fancy Asian vs. jungle Asian) to women in the workplace (e.g., "lean in" vs. lie down) to poop (c'mon, just admit it...poop is funny...why else would there be a poop emoji?).  As a result, what I hear is "Ali Wong (Baby Cobra) is amazing!  I hope she comes out with more stuff.  I hope she's not a one hit wonder."  But why the last comment if we all agree with the first two?  Is it because we lack faith in her because she's Asian, female, and a new mother?  Or is it because we want her to succeed so badly that we're nervous for her, the way we might be anxious when rooting for a favorite sports team?

Regardless, I'm thrilled our wish has come true -- she's going on tour and is getting such a great reception.  And yes, of course I got my New York tickets already.  Originally there was only one NY show, and all tickets sold out during the presale, then she added a second show and sold out again, and now she's added a third.  Good for her!  Go buy tickets soon before the third show sells out too!

Sadelle's

Delicious, fresh fish platters, unlimited bagels. Pastries are also spot on.

--Salmon: house salmon is more of a gravlax, lighter than the smoked Scottish. Both are good.
--Whitefish salad: yum
--Latke royale: so good we ordered a second one (it's small)
--Bagels: not the best bagel in the city, but pretty good and fresh and not overwhelmingly large. I always get everything bagels wherever I go, and Sadelle's has an Everything 2.0 bagel, which is a normal everything bagel + fennel and caraway seeds
--French toast: best French toast every, probably because it's deep fried; crispy on the outside, chewy and gooey on the inside
--Babka: fluffy and chocolatey, and topped with more chocolate
--Sticky bun: as good as everyone says; even better when slightly heated
--Steak tartare: mediocre
--Curry lobster: good, but not that special or worth the price
--Matzoh ball soup: a bit salty

      

Avocado Toast Recipe

Ingredients

2 avocados
1/4 pound feta, crumbled
4 slices thick cut (multigrain) toast
juice of 1/2 lemon
olive oil, salt, pepper to taste
red pepper flakes
pumpkin seeds, optional

Instructions

Dice and mash avocados to desired consistency (I prefer a little bit chunkier; not as smooth as guacamole).  Mix in feta and lemon juice.  Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste.  Spread over toasted slices of bread.  Top with red pepper flakes and pumpkin seeds.

You can also get creative with this dish and top with a fried egg or other toppings of your choice.

TsuRuTonTan

There are already so many ramen restaurants in NYC, so I'm glad there's an exciting new udon place now...I've always preferred the thicker, chewier udon noodle and lighter broths to ramen.

I've ordered the sukiyaki and uni udons, and my husband's tried the TsuRuTonTan Deluxe and nabeyaki.  The sukiyaki was exactly how I imagined it; the broth was slightly sweet, and it was overall very flavorful.  The uni was a bit disappointing; there was barely any uni.  My husband enjoyed the deluxe, and the nabeyaki was light (I liked it, but he thought it was a bit bland).  I also had a spoonful of the curry from a friend's dish, and that was flavorful...I would be interested in ordering that for myself as we head into winter.

I like how you can pick thin or thick noodles (I think thin makes sense for cold noodles or saucy noodles, and thick for heartier broths).  Regular and large-sized portions are also the same size, which is good news for big eaters, but I thought the regular size was plenty.

Appetizers are okay, but you're going for the udon.

sukiyaki

nabeyaki

uni

deluxe

      

Chinese Calligraphy

Writing is a form of art; it's an expression of who we are, beyond the words we use.  Even in this digitized age, I can still recognize my best friends' handwriting, just like how I can recognize their voices.  I'll also bet that most of us make judgments on a person based on his or her handwriting -- bubbly "girly" handwriting or messy "doctor's" writing, to give a couple of stereotypical examples.  There's an art to typefaces as well.  The font I use for my resume is certainly different from what I chose for our wedding invitations.  Corporations pay millions of dollars to develop their branding and "visual identity" -- my former employer used to mandate Trebuchet font, and my eyes were so well trained that I actually freaked out once when one of my client presentations came out from the printing room in Arial; my OCD self almost had all the presentation books reprinted but was assured by a manager that it would only be worth the effort if it came out in Wingdings.

Beautiful writing has always drawn me in, whether it's good handwriting or a pretty typeface, whether it's English or Chinese.  Calligraphy in either language is no easy feat to master, but I recently decided to give Chinese calligraphy another go.  I had (very briefly) tried to learn Chinese calligraphy and brush painting as a child but did not have the patience at the time to make much of it, but I'm hoping this time will be different.  It first (re-)piqued my interest last fall when I was visiting my parents, and my mom was sharing the background and meaning of some of the scrolls on the living room wall (I'm sure she's done that many, many times, but I guess there's a time and place for everything, and this time it stuck with me).  It was the first time that I saw the scrolls as something more than random art and decoration; the beauty of it was not in the words alone or the calligraphy itself, but how the style of the calligraphy (and calligrapher) expresses the message.

Today, there are five major styles of calligraphy: seal script, clerical, standard (kai shu), semi-cursive, and cursive.

Chinese character for horse, from top right to left: seal script, clerical, standard, semi-cursive, cursive

Seal script (篆書, zhuan shu) was the formal script of the Qin (秦) Dynasty.  While there were other more ancient scripts, this was the first that was widely practiced.  Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇, literally translated "first emperor of Qin"), the first sovereign ruler of a unified China, had a bad rep as an extremely strict and ruthless ruler (how else does one conquer and unite all those independent kingdoms?), but he was the one who unified China economically and culturally -- he standardized Chinese units of measurements such as currency and weights, and he unified the language and Chinese script.

Clerical script is believed to have developed during the Han (漢) Dynasty.  It looks more rectangular and less hieroglyphic than seal script.

The most easily and widely recognized "standard" style today is kai shu (楷書), which developed between the Han (漢) Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period and matured in the Tang (唐) Dynasty.  It emerged from a neatly written, early period semi-cursive form of clerical script.

Semi-cursive script is also known as "running" script (行書, xing shu).  As the English name suggests, the cursive nature allows strokes between characters to run into one another, and it approximates normal handwriting with rounder, less angular characters.

Finally, the cursive script (草書, caoshu, literally translated "grass script") has a more abstract appearance.  There's more simplification of the characters, and not all characters are easily legible to the average person.

As a beginner, obviously I'm starting with kai shu standard script, roughly 3"x 3" size characters.  The larger the characters, the harder it is -- a calligrapher needs more control of a bigger brush but begins to use more of his/her arm and less of the wrist to write.  On the flip side, the smaller the characters, the harder it is too -- no margin for error yet ink bleeds!  All I can say is, I've had one class to practice three basic strokes, and I walked away with maybe one good stroke out of two pages of practice.  My teacher says having those good accidents means there's hope.  He also says he can usually tell within the first half hour which students will come back and which will quit.  I wonder which camp he thinks I'm in.

Blackened Chicken with Zucchini Rice Recipe

Another slightly modified, easy and tasty Blue Apron recipe.

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup long grain jasmine rice
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 scallions
1 ear of corn
1 lime
1 zucchini
2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1/4 cup Mexican crema, or creme fraiche

Instructions

Rice: Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil and add the zucchini and half the garlic, season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, 1-2 minutes, or until softened and fragrant.  Stir in the rice and 1 cup of water.  Heat to boiling on high, then cover and reduce the heat to low until the water has been absorbed.  Stir in the juice of 2 remaining lime wedges, season with salt and pepper to taste,

Chicken: Pat the chicken dry and season both sides with salt, pepper, and the ancho chile powder.  Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil and seasoned chicken, 4-6 minutes per side, or until cooked through.  Transfer to a cutting board, leaving any browned bits in the pan.

Vegetables: Cut the corn kernels off the cob and discard the cob.  Add corn, remaining garlic, and white bottoms of the scallions to the pan (with the remaining browned bits), season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring frequently for 30 seconds to 1 minutes, or until softened and fragrant.  Remove from heat, and add half the green tops of the scallions.

Sauce: Combine the crema and juice of 2 lime wedges; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Plate: Slice the cooked chicken, and stir any juices into the finished vegetables.  Divide zucchini rice, sliced chicken and vegetables between 2 dishes.  Garnish with remaining green tops of the scallions and lime crema.

Korean Pork Tacos Recipe

Modified, easy Blue Apron recipe:

Ingredients

2 pounds ground pork
8 flour tortillas
1/4 shredded red cabbage
3 radishes
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1-inch piece ginger
1 tablespoon gochujang
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup rice wine
Sliced avocado, optional

Instructions

Slaw: Shred red cabbage, thinly slice radish into rounds.  Combine with sesame oil, sugar, half of the garlic, half of the white bottoms of the scallions, 3/4 of the vinegar, and 1/4 of the gochujang.  Season with salt and pepper as needed.  Toss thoroughly and marinate for at least 10 minutes.

Pork: Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil and add ground pork, seasoning with salt and pepper.  Cook until lightly browned, and then add minced ginger, remaining garlic, remaining white bottoms of scallions, and remaining gochujang.  Add rice wine and cook until liquid has cooked off.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sauce: Combine the sour cream and remaining vinegar.

Warm the tortillas over a dry pan and divide the finished pork and slaw between the warmed tortillas.  Top with sliced avocados, green tops of the scallions, and sauce.

High Street on Hudson

We went for brunch after hearing many good things, but I think this would be another spot where I've enjoyed the food, but haven't found it to be so special or outstanding that I would go out of my way to return.

Bodega sandwich: I enjoyed the biscuit, the eggs were fluffy, and the sauce was good too.  That said, the clear, overwhelming taste is the sausage, and it masks the other flavors a bit.  Personally, sausage is not my preferred breakfast or sandwich meat, but I still liked the sandwich overall.

Pastrami and hash sandwich: this one fell a bit short; there was a lot of hash and next to no pastrami.  Pastrami is a heavy meat, but I could barely taste it over the hash.  I found myself picking out the hash and eating it separately in an attempt to balance the sandwich more and actually taste the pastrami.

Duck meatball sub: a good sandwich, but not something  I'd care to order again.  The liver taste was stronger than I expected, so if you're not a  fan of liver, this won't be for you.

Date and almond oatcake: this was the best item for me.  The salt from the buttery pastry nicely balanced out the sweet filling, and the texture felt light and slightly crunchy, almost like a biscuit.  Other pastries looked good too, so may be worth trying more of their bakery items.

Craftbar

I went with a large group of friends for dinner, and we were able to sample a lot of the appetizers and desserts in addition to individual mains.  Overall, the food was decent, but nothing that special, considering the hype that comes with these celebrity chef restaurants.

Appetizers: whipped ricotta toast was my favorite; anchovy and soft egg toast was decent; pecorino fonduta was fine but nothing special...I expected a lot better; kielbasa was okay; beets were sub-par.

Mains: smoked duck breast was very smoky and on the salty side and slightly overcooked, but the mole sauce was great; quail with corn and pretzel stuffing was pretty good.

  

Dessert: milk and cookies were good, carrot cake was a twist on the classic and well done, chocolate tart was not that special.

  

Cocktails: The Great Pretender (mezcal, chocolate-mint, lime, cava) was delicious and the best part of dinner, in my opinion.  (I'm not alcoholic.)  It came with a lot of foliage, but that foliage was dusted with powdered sugar (yippee!  I am a sugarholic).