NY Cares Day: Meet Alfred

I forgot how fun it is to paint, especially when you’re bringing cartoony characters to life on the blah walls of an elementary school cafeteria. This Saturday, Leah and I painted murals at PS84, an arts school in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for NY Cares Day. 8,000 New Yorkers came out to spruce up schools around the city. There was a huge team effort at PS84, led by my wonderful co-worker Gloria and her boyfriend, Sam. Leah and I can take credit for bringing this creature to life - I surmise he was a cross between a goose and a moose? We declared him Alfred.

Alfred, keeping watch over the lunchroom

To get involved with NY Cares, click here for Upcoming Events. I bet you’ll be surprised at the variety of opportunities that exist. Next weekend, if you’re free and feeling festive, you can even guide kids through a “haunted” walk at Prospect Park.

So go out and volunteer! It’s even more fun when you’re not doing it for the sake of your college applications.

Brooklyn Fall Festival: The Prequel

In my last post, you read how Sammy and I took on Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood for cheap fall fun. The New York Times may have written about “Frugal New York” this weekend, but that’s how we live every weekend…NYC is an insanely expensive city, but free stuff is all around you. Take for instance Union Square on Saturday morning, where we met up before hopping on the F train to Carrol St.

1) Free Fashion Advice at the Union Square Green Market.

were they for real?

Two women who claimed to be stylists were giving free fashion advice to anyone who lined up at their booth. Sammy and I eavesdropped and tried to ask them the business rationale for setting up here — was this for a TV show? A book proposal? a web site? A magazine prank? (Yours truly used to do that for JANE magazine…remember the infamous street spa in Times Square for the March 2006 issue?). They avoided non-style questions and only gave out a paper with this web site, which looks pretty hokey…plus, these bloggers caught some cameramen hanging around the girls, so I’m betting it’s candid camera for a reality show. Another reason to love NY: Where else can you get locally grown produce and good, free fashion advice in one place?

2) Free Mini Crumbs Cupcakes!

You know it’s your lucky day when a woman stands on the street corner with a pink baker’s hat serving free mini Crumbs cupcakes, of the M&M, Oreo, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup variety. This plate was cleared in less than a minute!

cupcakes are bliss

See, freebies abound you when you have wanderlust and open eyes.

Fall Festival @ Brooklyn’s The Yard

butternut squash soup, mm mm good

You may have noticed my beloved New York Times chose “Frugal New York” as its main travel feature this weekend. Had I written the article, I wouldn’t have considered a $29 burger & beer meal at the Parker Meredian ”frugal” traveling (instead, try beer with FREE pizza at the Crocodile Lounge on 14th St.!). But whatev, that’s why you have Rachel and I to share all the cheap secrets with you.

On Saturday, our friend Sammy (of awkwardiswawesome.com) and I took a tip from Time Out New York and checked out Brooklyn’s fall festival at the Yard. It was a benefit for Just Food, a non-profit that aims to develop a sustainable food system in New York City. Admission was only $12…kids 5 and under were free, which explained the stroller derby, but hey, they gave us something to awwwwat. The event also attracted twentysomething Brooklyn hipsters, who sat on bales of hay and sipped their seasonal beers.

For $4, we snacked on honeycrisp apples from upstate New York and each devoured the creamiest bowl of butternut squash soup we’ve ever had.

But what we REALLY wanted was pumpkin pie. How can you celebrate fall without it? With none to be found at the Yard, we walked back to the Carrol St. subway stop (take the F from Manhattan) and from there, wandered down Smith St. It was less congested than Manhattan and tourist-free, lined with trendy clothing boutiques and cozy restaurants representing all types of cuisines, from Latin to Indian and Thai. I spotted the Fall Cafe and our eyes lit up — they must have pumpkin pie, right? Wrong. The wanderlust-deprived dude running shop couldn’t even tell us where there would be a nearby bakery! Ah well, the cafe still had a nice, intellectual vibe, making you want to pen your novel or read The New York Times there. 

Second try: a French bakery, where they didn’t seem familiar with the glory that is pumpkin pie, but they tried to sell us on a porcupine ball of chocolate mousse (yes, the chocolate ball had quills…do the French eat that?). No thank you. Pumpkin pie and pumpkin pie only.

my my miss American pie

We were almost ready to give up, taking our hunt just one block further. Sammy spotted a graphic novel shop and suggested we browse, but then she grabbed my arm and started pulling me in the opposite direction — she’d spotted a beacon of hope: a Met Foods grocery store. And there, right by the deli, we found the selection of packaged Entemanns’ desserts…which included, lo and behold, a pumpkin pie for $5.49. Score, third time’s a charm.

We left Met with our pie, realizing we had no “cutlery,” as Sammy put it. So we revisit our French bakery buddies. We showed them our pie, flashed bright smiles, and asked if they knew where we could find some plastic knives and forks with which to enjoy it. They gave us some and assured us that they’ll be carrying pumpkin pie by the end of October.

Mission accomplished, we met up with our LES friend Leah at the Gowanus Yacht Club and Beer Garden, which wasn’t the least bit as pretentious as it sounds…it felt like hanging out in someone’s backyard at a barbecue. Lights were strung overhead, a Tom Petty CD played, and the menu of beer, hot dogs, and burgers is chalked on hanging boards (even the bathrooms have chalkboards encouraging you to be a graffiti artist). It was so laid-back, even a beagle sat on a bar stool to order. Hey, come to think of it, Matt Gross, the New York Times’ Frugal Traveler, is from Brooklyn. Wonder if he’s been?

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

Mmmm fall foods… I’m thinking toasted pumpkin bread, hot apple cider, stacks of Saturday morning pancakes. I had never realized how much autumn treats are associated with warmth, until I stopped by Shake Shack this week. On Sunday, I had my first taste of warm comfort food transformed into creamy, chilly custard when I ordered Shiraz poached pear. It must have been really good, because I was back on Monday night to order custard mixed with pumpkin pie. But I got distracted by the flavor of the day, pumpkin spice. Going for customization, I mixed it with spice bread and roasted apples in a gift to New York called the concrete. It was like Thanksgiving turned into a 4th of July ice cream cone—my brain and taste buds were slightly confused at first, but then gave in and savored. Now I just have to work my way through the whole list. It’s a tough job, but luckily I live in the neighborhood and am conditioned for rigorous testing. And I hear the heat lamps are coming out soon…

M: Pumpkin Spice
T: German Chocolate
W: Apple Rosemary
Th: Pancake
F: Chocolate Candy Corn
S: Cinnamon Roasted Fig
S: Shiraz Poached Pear

Walk like a Drusian (or at least, eat like one).

I had actually already eaten dinner when I passed Gazala Place on Ninth Ave. I was actually strolling along with my vegan tofu soft serve from Kyotofu, ambling slowly enough to eat and walk at the same time. So the New York Times article posted in the window was the perfect reason to stop, and then convince me that I needed a snack.

And I’m glad I did. Gazala Place specializes in Drusian food, the cuisine of a religious tribe in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. The regional influence is there (hummus, grape leaves, etc.) but there are also some dishes I’ve never tried, like burekas, big fluffy phyllo pastries stuffed with goat cheese and roasted peppers. I picked two up, along with some hummus. They were good enough that I had to introduce Tammy to Drusian food the very next night.

Go Drusian. It’s just enough off the Mediterranean beaten path that you’ll feel cool, while still being familiar enough for cautious eaters. And you can add a new ‘Have you ever…’ to your ethnic food list. Betcha no one else you know has gone Drusian.

unidentifiable but delicious Drusian food

Why We Love Wanderlust

Eric Anthamatten, we couldn’t have written it better ourselves:

EMERGING from the bowels of the city in an unfamiliar neighborhood, you climb the subway steps, your pupils dilating as the sunlight strikes them, your ears adjusting to unfamiliar sounds.

Once you reach the street, you survey the intersection, squinting as you peer down each block in turn, trying to make out the name on the street signs. Your eyes scan the skyline for some recognizable tower.

Finally, you decide to walk: “This way?” You go for a few blocks, unsure, your senses on the alert. In this fog of momentary disorientation, you are nonetheless aware of various clues: a whiff of halal spices, both foreign and familiar; a heated conversation in Polish in your left ear; a taxi driver cursing in Caribbean Spanish in your right.

You’ve got to read the rest of this essay by Anthamatten, a New School grad student, in Sunday’s New York Times. He argues how GPS systems in cabs and handheld devices defeat wanderlust, which is what our blog is all about — the culture and hidden gems you discover when you’re on no particular course or make a wrong turn. Read it and be inspired to get lost, because as the deck for the article says: “If you always know where you are, you may never discover who you are.”

Welcome to Doodletown

Last weekend, Rachel, five friends, and I went “glamping” in Bear Mountain, NY, about an hour outside of Manhattan. “Glamping,” a term I first saw in The New York Times, is what we call “glamorous camping” — i.e. there are public restrooms with toilet paper nearby, you can park a car near the campsite, and the boys do the hard labor, like pitching the tent. Of course, we went glamping in the rain, which is sort of an oxymoron, but we had a fabulous time and coined our own term, “damping,” for camping in the rain. It’s totally underrated.

On Saturday, we hiked the Doodletown trail. Rachel told us it was a ghost town and I envisioned dilapidated homes and buildings, wild, wild, West-style. (What was I to expect? Did I mention this was my first camping trip ever?) Well, Doodletown literally is a ghost town — the former buildings are invisible, long demolished in the 1960s. As we walked the trail, there would be signs indicating that we stood before the former Doodletown church, or school, or cemetery. It did feel a little haunted, but there were no ghosts — only a BIG BLACK BEAR. Meriko was the first to spot this creature, which would have potentially mauled us all (would the boys have sacrificed themselves first? Is that part of the glamping chivalry?) but we coolly and casually walked on and tossed a few apples behind us, to distract the bear from the smell of our juicy flesh. It worked.

A week later, the journalist inside me is still mystified by Doodletown. What was the real story on this funky town? I searched — where else? — nytimes.com and found all sorts of trivia:

- the last remaining residents left Doodletown in 1965, because of plans to build a ski slope in the area – never happened

- the land became known as Doodletown in 1762

- 5,000-10,000 years ago, Munsee Indians inhabited the area

- the people quoted in the NY Times article say to beware of snakes but don’t even mention bears…huh

- the British used the Doodletown trail during the Revolutionary War to attack the Americans, and they won that battle

- the town’s anthem went something like, “Arkansas, Arkansas, I lust love ole Arkansas, Love my ma, love my pa, But I just love ole Arkansas”…oh wait, that was our inside joke, not the NY Times. Trust me, you had to be there.

Bear Mountain truly does feel a world away from Manhattan, so do as we did — print out backpacker.com’s guide, hop on the train at Grand Central, find friends with a car, and show the rain who’s boss.

Clip, Save, Point, Eat

Manhattanites often think of Flushing, Queens, as having only two attractions: Shea stadium and the U.S. Open. But we found out that it’s also the home of New York’s second Chinatown, a delight to eat your way through. We sampled the ‘best of’ at seven places, and it cost us only $8 per person. In Manhattan, that won’t even buy you a sandwich and beverage at Café Metro. We’ll take credit for being adventurous eaters, but the credit for discovering the best-of-the-best in Chinatown goes to the NY Times. We printed out its guide and used it to navigate the streets of this neighborhood, which is the last stop on the 7 train.

First stop: No. 1 East for spinach dumplings (6 for $4.95)

Don’t get a table. Grab them as take out and go to…

Second stop: Lanzhou Handmade Noodles in the Golden Mall for hand-pulled noodles in soup with greens ($4.50). Well, that‘s what we asked for anyways. But there was chicken floating around in it. We sat in the food court of the “mall” (it resembled an Amish food market more than your typical Auntie-Annie-pretzel scented food court) to eat the soup and our dumplings with chopsticks (a challenge for Tammy, but she did it!) The dumplings were extraordinary and fresh. We slurped up the soft noodles with satisfaction, but the real enjoyment was in watching their formation. The chef, 24-year-old Zhang Feng, chops off a wad of dough and then effortlessly pulls, folds, pulls, folds, pulls it in his hands, turning it into a skein of noodles. It’s seriously like a magic trick, what you dream of the when you spend hours practicing string games as a kid.

Third stop: Sun Mary Bakery for egg custard tart, green bean cake, and curry cake ($4.50)

Time for dessert, if only because we were passing the bakery. We had to try the 90-cent tart because it’s cited as the rare example of British influence on Chinese food. Delicious, but not very exotic. We had no idea what to expect from a green bean cake — unlike a carrot cake, it wasn’t a slice but rather a dense round ball, that had a yellowish flaky shell, and a red stamp on top. Biting into it, it was sweet — but not rich like a truffle would be. Though the insides were green, the taste of green beans wasn’t very pronounced. Note: Take advantage of the clean restroom here for your bathroom break (even though it says employees only, no one seemed to mind).

Fourth stop: Quickly for bubble tea ($1.99).

It’s the only bubble tea chain we’ve ever seen. Tammy ordered her tapioca balls with black tea, Rachel with green, but when she asked for the “low sugar” option, we think she caused some confusion and wound up with black too. Doesn’t matter — bubble tea is all about sucking up the tapioca balls through your extra-large straw.

Fifth stop: Xinjiang Barbecue Cartfor grilled skewer of lamb ($1).

Vegetarian Rachel opted out of this one, and Tammy only took a bite. We handed this one over to our trusty food test dummy, Lorne, who gave his guy verdict as “spicy and fatty.” So consider this the least favorite, but it was still pretty cool to order it from a guy who wore a surgical mask and eat it sitting on plastic chairs in front of his cart.

Sixth stop: Zhu Ji Guo Tie for tea eggs and rice cake ($3.50).

We planned on ordering the 3 for $1 dumplings, but turns out they don’t make them without meat. So instead, we opted for tea eggs (eggs hardboiled in vinegar and spices) and rice cake (brown, sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves…supposedly with meat mixed in but we only saw a few little pieces that might pass for pork).

Seventh stop: Random market we found ourselves for ginger candy ($0.79)

We stumbled in one market to gawk at the fresh seafood and ginormous melons they were selling — we even saw some live toads in one bucket. Next, we went into another to look at the dried foods, herbs, teas, and candies. For all we know, the cure to the common cold or makings of love potion number 9 could be resting in there. As cheap as this whole adventure has been, you’d be surprised to know there was ginseng on sale for more than $4,000 a pound! We snagged a handful of ginger candies, which Rachel knew as the equivalent of after-dinner mints from her travels to Hong Kong, and chewed on them as we made our way back to the 7 … truly amazed that a world that felt a plane-ticket away was really only an hour outside of our Manhattan comfort zone.

Lessons from TurkFest ‘08

On a whim, I wandered to the NY Turkish Festival in Central Park today. Lessons learned:

1. Should you ever try Turkish coffee, do not drink the cup empty …you will end up with a mouthful of coffee grains, which settle on the bottom. It’s served with little gummy/sugary confections called “Turkish delight,” which are delish.

2. Turkish oil wrestling is a very odd sport. The Turkish are avid supporters of it — just as the Spanish are of bull fights. The men come out on the field with glistening torsos, to the delight of the women onlookers. But then, to win the match, they must stick their hand down their opponent’s pants!! I kid you not! See my quick video for a demo.

3. A performance of marionettes, those puppets with the strings, draws a crowd like you wouldn’t believe.

Don’t Travel Anywhere…

…without visiting idlewild books on 12 W 19th St (near 5th Ave.) That’s my new policy. Yesterday, I stumbled upon this bookstore that specializes in travel guides and international literature. I love how the books are organized by country — of course I gravitated toward the Spain section first. My recommendation: email events@idlewildbooks.com and ask to be added to their events list, so you can attend the book launch parties with authors.