park avenue winter

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for brunch. $35 prix-fixe.

sweet pastries & breads for the table (golden raisin & walnut roll, glazed banana bread, brioche & pecan sticky bun, spiced sugar donut, pistachio scone, winter cranberry muffin)

appetizer 1: salmon tartare, oven roasted tomatoes, basil

appetizer 2: porcini ravioli, swiss chard, gorgonzola cream

main 1: fried chicken 'n waffle sandwich

main 2: filet mignon, roasted shallot glaze, sunny-side up eggs

best of the pastries? brioche & pecan sticky bun...yummy. porcini ravioli was the other stand-out. lots and lots of food... i noticed that the tables beside us were only sampling the pastries & breads. us? we were eating it all.

abraco: olive loaf

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i wondered what was so great about this olive oil cake i kept hearing about from abraco.

abraco olive oil cake slice $3

verdict? it is very good. don't think i would especially trek all the way down to the east village for it tho... something to consider if i were in the area.

weather this weekend? c-c-cold.

moma: tim burton exhibit

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round 2: success at getting weekend tickets for the tim burton exhibit at the moma.

tim burton exhibit, museum of modern art
ongoing until april 26th

a colossal breadth of work on display ranging from sketches, film shorts, and movie memorbilia.

i introduce you to:

stainboy (the series)

robot boy (episode 4 in stainboy series)

and my favourite of the series: stare girl (episode 1 in stainboy series)

you should watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1nKVJTTFqA

city bakery

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city bakery in chelsea. always bustling everytime i go for a snack there.

pretzel croissant

walnut rugalech

zucchini chocolate cake

mixed feelings about the pretzel croissant. it just seemed wrong. bites of salty sesame seeds combatting with the buttery taste of the croissant.

zucchini chocolate cake was a winner. moist chocolate-y goodness.

walnut rugalech? aye...too much walnut

cole haan sale

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cole haan sample sale
jan 23 - 27th, (sat-tues 9-6:30pm, wed 9-5pm)
soiffer haskin, 317 w 33rd st (nr 8th ave)
credit card only

um. so, i ended up buying another bag already.

cole haan kendal satchel

the kendal satchel reminds me of the LV speedy (but less ubiquitous O_o).

...and a wallet (to match).

most items were 75% off retail (ranged from 60-75% off)... majority of shoppers purchasing bags. the boots and shoes were meh.

playbill: chicago

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last night's show: chicago.


with ashlee simpson-(w) as roxy hart. (surprisingly)...a role that she played quite well.

after theatre snacks in hell's kitchen at kashkavel.

overheard at the table of girls sitting next to us: "i want to marry a doctor. like a cardiovascular surgeon, of course."

oh, the uneducated. the proper choices (ie. lifestyle-friendly specialties with high earning potential) would have been anesthesiologist or even radiologist. and the "of course" would have been dermatologist. ^-^

hayden-harnett: havana hobo

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o hai thar. (chuckle, chuckle...)

it's no secret that i am a huge fan of hayden-harnett's...bags, accessories, and apparel.

hayden-harnett havana hobo in black onyx

no, i just didn't buy another bag already... i had ordered this bag a long time ago when it was on sale, and since it was on backorder, i just recently received it.

the havana hobo is one of h-h's best sellers, and it's easy to see why. fabulous soft leather and a good sized bag for everyday use. the compartments are also well thought out.

zippered compartment in the back

smaller zippered compartment and pocket in the front.

the opening of the bag also has a magnetic closure. nice.

and every season, comes in new colours. a reason to own more than one.^-^

financier patisserie

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a mere 6 blocks away, there is no excuse for me not to frequent financier patisserie more often.

apple galette

croissant

almond brioche

keylime tart

pain au chocolat

madelines

pistachio macaron

let's see...

my favourite of the above? ooh...the apple galette. baked apples on puff pastry. i briefly warmed it in the microwave. delish.

the fresh madelines were also fabulous. recommended to eat day of purchase, of course.

almond brioche was good as well. very filling.

disappointment? the pistachio maracon filling reminded me of oreo cream filling. something was just off about it.

all the single ladies

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now put your hands up.

(btw sams, i'm still waiting for your youtube video...)

ah, good friends, good times this past weekend. the bostonians and the canadian were visiting this past weekend.

who could forget:

the lurkers...
1. the bug-eyed guy.
2. the pinstriped suit guy with the helmut hair.
3. the scary guy in the green shirt and khakis.

MB informing the man in the full length fur coat that he should stop dancing.

crazy asian stripper-like dancing. (no, not us).

MC dancing up a storm and catching a second wind with redbull vodka (ie. cough syrup).

and a table all to ourselves... without having to oblige the stupid bottle service rule.

weekend food round-up

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luke's lobster in the east village.

oh-so-good. just a perfect size for a snack tho. i was still hungry after eating this.

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cascabel taqueria, upper east side. for a snack post kandinsky exhibit at the guggenheim.

carnitas (slow roasted berkshire pork butt/pickled red onion/roasted chili de arbol)
carne asada (grilled yucatán achiote hanger steak/oyster mushrooms/creme fresca/crispy)

de-licious. so flavour-ful... not your typical tacos. the sauces were also good, i liked the green tomato salsa one the best.

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not a restaurant that i would have picked out..(but surprisingly good), chef's tasting menu at gordon ramsey's maze at the london hotel.

cauliflower soup

fingerling potatoes on a bed of proscuitto

sautéed sea scallops

dry aged strip loin, sunchoke purée, pommes anna, roasted portobello

mango parfait, pine nut brittle and douglas fir sorbet

petit fours

every dish was extremely well prepared. the cauliflower soup was my favourite. the strip loin was a close second. but as stated in most reviews of maze, small-ish portions. even with a tasting menu...i'm glad i had a snack beforehand.

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two little red hens bakery. oh, for cheesecake of course.

no, i didn't eat half of this 4" round already. ^-^ i had split it with my cousin.

i was also interested in this boston cream cupcake.

the inside:

can you see the boston cream inside?

that's right, neither could i. (well, barely).

O_o
oh-so-disappointing.

cynthia rowley sample sale

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i checked out the cynthia rowley sale in the west village today. i really like her stuff...and i always try on lots... but it never fits properly. i'm now convinced that her clothing is not for the petite. sigh.

i did see former madtv star arden myrin (blonde actor below) shopping at the cynthia rowley store tho.

cynthia rowley sale

jan 8 - 10th, 10-9pm

376 bleecker st

loehmann's: pietro alessandro

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my dkny hobo bag that i purchased last christmas in hawaii is a bag that i love...but being such a large leather bag, it is a tad bit heavy (even without anything in it). so, i decided i needed a*lighter* bag... a light bag that was large enough to carry shoes. and lunch. and such.

a trip to loehmann's in chelsea.


enter pietro alessandro, style 2084 convertible shoulder bag.

as a tote.

or shoulder bag.

soft italian leather and definitely a bag that will hold all my stuff. new fave.

dough ray me cookies, part 1

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i have been slowly, but surely, eating my way thru jon chazen's dough ray me cookies. these are bite-sized cookies (think size of a loonie), sold by the dozen.

here are the first 5:

dawn (two chocolate peanut butter wafers with a spread of peanut butter and semisweet chocolate)

summaiya (soft and chewy oatmeal, raisin, sour cherry and potato chip)

luna (soft chocolate cookie laced with espresso finely chopped almonds)

gillian (soft and chewy triple gingerbread cookie with powdered, fresh and dried ginger covered with sesame seeds)

sophie (crunchy and cake like, soft lemon poppy seed cookie)

i can't even say that one of these was my favourite... because i liked them all. each one had it's special flavour or texture. all equally good.