a day off?

On Wednesday I took the day off. It felt very strange to have time to do whatever I wanted. Hana was with Antoinette, and after Mark and I had a relaxing breakfast in DUMBO, he was off to Albany for work. Breakfast was interesting, we went to this fairly new cafe/design place near our apt. The breakfast was a scrambled egg, Israeli style salad (with lots of olives and dill so you know I loved it and Mark didn't), warm pita bread, and 'labne' which is a middle eastern yogurt cheese. Quite tasty! I need to start making my own Labne. apparently it's easy to make by straining greek style yougrt. I'd definitely go back for breakfast, but I don't really like the vibe of the place. It's part cafe, part home design store, and part clothing store. just pick one thing and go with it!

Once Mark left for Albany, I decided to check out the newly opened High Line park. It was very relaxing to just walk the park, look at the view, and soak in the sun (sunshine is apparently a rarity these days). The park was interesting, it still looked like an old elevated railway, with plants and trees all around. There were sleek wood benches and lounge type chairs as well. the wooden lounge chairs looked inviting, but were very uncomfortable. I couldn't sit for very long, which was a pity in the beautiful weather. the benches are a better choice. The plants are colorful and pleasing, but there was not a huge variety. There were a bunch of employees (or volunteers?) still planting and weeding, so I'm guessing that they are not finished with the greenery yet. The high line is an interesting mix of old, new, natural, and industrial. There is also an art exhibition area. I was glad that I was able to check it out, but I'm not sure how quickly I'd race back. It was quiet when I went, but I imagine the weekends will have it filled with hipsters and tourists.

After the park I walked around Chelsea Market a little bit, and had an iced Darjeeling (2nd flush) from T-salon. It was tasty and not too watered down. Quite refreshing after my walk. I don't think I'd want to hang out in T-salon for very long though. It felt pretentious, and the over the top Asian decor just didn't feel genuine to me. When I arrived around noon, the food behind the case also looked like it had been sitting for awhile. If I'm in the area, I would probably stop by to purchase loose tea and have a cup, but I would not linger.

After tea, I went uptown to meet my sister for lunch and pedicures! It was great to see her, we don't get to hang out very much anymore. We went to Bliss for pedicures, and while it was a nice pedicure, the service was horrible. My sister had to wait over 1/2 an hour before someone realized that they overbooked, and had to scramble to find someone to start her pedicure. No one apologized and she was not compensated at all. The staff is definitely snooty. I won't be returning to bliss any time soon, and I do like to go out and get an occasional massage, pedicure, etc. If you are looking for a big chain spa, Oasis is much better. The Bliss products are overrated, and expensive as well.

After my lovely relaxing day, I returned home to sweet little Hana! Now if that isn't the perfect end to my day, I don't know what is!

sobaKoh and milk bar

On Tuesday night I joined Ramen and Friends for SobaKoh night. SobaKoh is a small, tidy, and modern Japanese Soba shop. We were a large group and basically took over the entire place. I had the soba soup with yuba. Yuba is tofu skin, and has a very interesting texture, sort of like a very thin omlette. My soup was very tasty. The soba was delicate with a good texture, and the broth had a nice soy flavor. The yuba had a delicate texture, and was a good compliment to the soba. It's important to note that the flavors are very subtle and gentle, but I like this. I did add a little bit of the hot pepper provided at the table to give it a little more zip. I don't know what authentic soba is supposed to tastse like, so I can't vouch for the authenticity. I don't often crave soba, so I'm not sure I'll race back, but it's a good place to keep in mind for a quiet, fairly healthy Japanese meal in the east village. I don't have any pictures but check out http://ramenandfriends.com/for the scoop.

For dessert we walked over to Milk Bar, which is the famous David Chang sweets joint. Cookies, cakes, pies, 'milks', soft-serve, flavored butters...this place had a crazy assortment of treats. I was very tempted to take home some of the kimchi butter but I decided to leave that for another time, because I was focused on dessert. I was quite full from dinner but I still ordered three cookies to take home since I wanted to bring a couple back for Mark to try. I ended up with the compost cookie, marshmallow, cornflake, and choco chip cookie, and the chocolate chocolate cookie. I was really excited to try these, as I've read countless mentions of milk bar across the internets and it was featured on Martha Stewart's show. I have to say that the compost and mashmallow cookies were actually too sweet and buttery for me. I adore cookies and frequently bake, so this is really saying something. The butter made them a bit greasy, and combined with the sweetness it was just too much to take. Mark and I decided that the chocolate chocolate cookie was the winner. It had a rich chocolate flavor, and wasn't too buttery. But, as Mark pointed out, it could have used a bit more salt to really let the chocolate pop. If I have a chance to return to Milk Bar, I'd probably try the crack pie, and maybe the cereal milk, and take one of those chocolate cookies to go!

it was a fun night, I always enjoy the Ramen and Friends outings. It is a diverse group of people, and they are fun and friendly!