cherrypatter nyc

i do love my pretzels, and they are probably what i subsided on my first few years in new york post college. fortunately, my tastes have advanced since then and i’m quite bit pickier, and don’t often see good ones about, at least in a shop. so this fall i was pretty excited with the ones i had at the sigmund pretzel shop. delicious, chewy, with a faint taste of butter and some tasty sides too, these are pretzels i could eat often. and now i can, as signmund’s pretzel’s will be showing up at the flea every saturday — much easier for me to get to regularly than the east village.

the woman who created sigmund pretzel shop, lina kulchinsky, a former bouley pastry chef, is clearly a master with her dough. and she has happily shared with us a few of her favorite spots both for the little shopping she does do and for eating. i’m especially intrigued by cafe brown. anytime someone tells me not to give up their secret, i’m sure it’s got to be good. and breakfast is one of my very favorite meals. thanks again lina.

shops:

top places for clothes?

i love in the east village for “statement pieces” they sell designer clothes on consignment and they have my petite size always. click here for more: interview: lina kulchinsky of sigmund pretzel shop

i know i should probably cover more men’s stores but it’s a hard road. first off, there are way fewer of them. of those that exist, many are either too out there, or too darn boring, but when i find the good ones, i become a fan for life. in addition to save khaki and sean, i think we’ll be adding kai d to our twice a year shopping ritual to update j’s wardrobe (he needs it more than that but that’s as often as i can get him out there). kai d has some great staples, with excellent style. i particularly like this knapsack at $175 above, versatile, useful, well constructed and i could actually see j. using it which might be a miracle.

this spring, kai d was carrying lots of great lightweight linen jackets in a range of browns, tans and greens for prices between $245 and $300. clean cut, simple but clearly very well made, these would be keepers in my book. kai d also had a nice mix of t-shirts as well as button-down shirts (though not cheap with some around $299) with checks, stripes, some with a bit of western flair. the cotton was of a high quality and i particularly liked the small details like a different fabric, more like a ribbon, along the button strip (i’m sure that area has a name but i have no idea). i am eager to get j in for a fitting to see if kai d makes their sleeves long enough (at 6′ 2″ and skinny as a bean, that’s where all our difficulties start).

the guy behind this shop, kai d fan, likes to focus on “utility,” what someone might need so there are lots of pockets, and the products are meant to last. mixed in with his designs, are some vintage goods like the shoes above. the kai d blog has  the collection laid out, as well as a fun look book. only open a few months so far, the kai d shop already feels like its been here for ages. kai d, 75 orchard street between broome and grand streets, manhattan, new york, .

i don’t know about you, but i feel like i will never have enough notebooks. i horde them (i have piles of these at home), i can’t help myself from wanting more and so keep buying them when i don’t need them and always have some new idea how this pad will finally keep me organized. while i used to have to go to manhattan to get my fix, i finally discovered a local brooklyn place with plenty of eye candy in the notebook department. paper xoxo opened up in the fall of 2008 and it took me more than a year make it to this very cute little shop right off 7th avenue in park slope. the great selection includes some of my favorite designers like oh joy! and thomas paul, as well as new ones like these bright yellow pads from susyjack and others from ecojot.

this small shop also has some fun gifts including stamps by psa essentials, cavallini papers and yellow owl (i love her stuff), coasters by lucky bee press, adorable bags with bold prints by modern radar, fun wrapping paper and even some recipe boxes. paper xoxo also carries a small selection of cards from some of the usual suspects like elum, hello lucky, red cap and driscoll design. if i were to compare paper xoxo to scaredy kat (which i also love), i think it is just a little more serious, a little more sedate, and not so many toys, but not as stuffy as lion in the sun.

paper xoxo also offers letterpress custom invites, and will help put together the designs too. just remember, that they’re not open on sundays. paper xoxo, 178a lincoln place between 7th and 8th avenues, brooklyn, new york, .

i’ve never been to japan, so i really cannot say with any authority that ippudo is the real deal, but from what i can tell this is as close to japan as i’m going to get without crossing the pacific.  i’ve been hearing about this place forever, and i knew it was a chain and all over japan so maybe i wasn’t so enamored.  however, my friends who come here all the time (they live near by, lucky ducks), finally convinced me while we were having dinner at robataya that ippudo is a must visit.  and our friends who went with us to ippudo have parents from japan, and go there often so i was in good hands.

of course, we had to have the ramen, called the original shiromaru hakata soup, and it was excellent.   the bowl was filled with briny broth along with slices of pork, beansprouts, pickled ginger, sesame and scallions along with that lovely soft, runny poached egg.   we also tried the akamaru modern with their “special” sauce — flavored with miso and some garlic.  i preferred the traditional broth, not quite as heavy and more on the healing side of things (think really great chicken soup), though both had noodles prepared just right.

the ramen was the highlight for us. we also tried the spare ribs (good, nice flavor) as well as the steamed buns (not terribly exciting, and if you love momofuku’s you won’t like these).  unfortunately they didn’t have any shishito as they are supposed to be amazing, and i wanted to see how they compared to the ones at tia pol.  in other random information, in case you’re interested, the ippudo website is full of the history of ramen along with some very odd references in their promotional materials.  apparently, because their pork no longer has the usual smell of pork they have succeeded in winning “over female customers tempting them to want to try it everyday.” hopefully, just a translation error.   while i probably prefer the ramen at momofuku (it was my first), ippudo is somewhere to get ready for my long overdue trip to japan!  ippudo, 65 4th avenue between 9th and 10th streets, manhattan, new york, .

rich nieto of sweetleaf cafe is definitely obssessed with coffee, and the devotion shows at his very cute little cafe in long island city which he co-owns with his brother al “freddy” arundel.  since this spot opened two years ago, it has been a destination of sorts for anyone in queens not wanting to cross the east river to get some well-brewed coffee, with stumptown coffee no less.  rich grew up in flushing, and knows the ins and outs of queens, and so i was thrilled when he agreed to let us in on some of his favorite local spots.  now if i could just get myself up in the morning so i could try out his breakfast idea — it sounds amazing!  thanks so much rich.

shops:

for housewarming presents?

i collect wine so i like to bring something special (how special depends on how special the person is to me ) from my cellar. i enjoy giving them a wine that is not available in wine stores anymore.

food:

favorite date-night restaurant?

when you’re married with children anywhere but your house seems pretty romantic and special but i would say the strip house on east 12th street in manhattan. it has a romantic ambiance so i get to please my wife and my carnivorous needs at the same time. i like it when everybody wins!

with friends?

i love going to the wine bar domaine in long island city. on fridays the steve blanco trio plays amazing jazz music. they have fantastic wine, oysters and  meat and cheese platters. what else do you need? click here for more: interview: rich nieto of sweetleaf cafe

in our wintery round of fancy restaurants, beginning with marea for my birthday, we went on to convivio for our anniversary in february.  we had been here many moons before for a j. birthday dinner when it was l’impero, and we liked it then though it felt a bit stuffy and corporate.   that feeling hasn’t changed too much (in fact most of the decor appeared the same though i’m sure it had a massive change), but convivio has a different, also super well-regarded chef, michael white, three new york times starts under its belt and a focus on southern italian.

and convivio is no new restaurant, as it has been open since 2008, but still i was curious, and for the most part, pleased with our dinner.  highlights for me were the lightest, ethereal really, grilled octopus served with chickpeas, panissa, olives and red peppers, and then we both devoured the fusilli served with the pork shoulder ragu served with some amazing fonduta layered on top – that’s the kind of dish i would head back for if pressed.  we also got the braised oxtail agnolotti which reminded me a lot of my favorite dishes from babbo.  the meats we had were good, tender, tasty, but i really want to return to convivio for their other pastas — so many to choose that all sound fantastic like the indulgent maccheroni alla carbonara or the culingiones or sardinian ricotta ravioli with mushroom ragu.

the main distraction from dinner was the service. it felt like the convivio staff wanted a hipper crowd, and if you didn’t meet their preconceived notions of that (sadly, i suppose, we don’t) , you won’t be treated so well. the attitude started with hello, continued with lack of attention from our server who was nearly inaudible and, though not directly related to coolness but equally bothersome, a somewhat stinky bathroom (really at a high-end restaurant?).  so, i think if you are not super trendy but still want to try some of convivio’s delicious pastas, i would come back for a low-key, value-packed lunch.  convivio, 45 tudor city place, just off 42nd street and between 1st and 2nd avenues, manhattan, new york, .

i don’t know about you, but i feel like i could shop year-round and still not necessarily find that perfect present for my mom.  she is very challenging to buy for, and given our other challenges, i always feel it especially important to try and get that perfect whatever.   i am happy to report that sprout home in williamsburg (with another shop in chicago),  has lots of excellent ideas, and with mother’s day around the corner (well – not really, but it does feel like it to me — that pressure to pick well is building, and i will tell you i am so far not surprisingly finding zero in hawaii).  my top favorite items at sprout home are the terrariums.  in all shapes and sizes, sprout’s terrariums had all sorts of cute funky things inside like a pink plastic ballerina or the cowboy above (now that might not appeal to every mother out there) as well as some more classic looking ones.

sprout home also has a really nice selection of interesting flowers, great colors and arrangements. on my visit a few weeks ago, i spotted fritillaries, geraniums, daffodils, muscaris and red peonies.  i didn’t catch the name of the yellow beauties above but i could use a few of those every now and then.  sprout home has a little backyard area with more garden plants — big baby bushes, grasses and trees for those of you with some property, as well as good greens/flowers for planters. they also have seeds galore with a focus it seemed on beans — garbanzos, lentils and the like.

sprout home also has a cute selection of other home items like colorful flower print watering cans, great ceramic pots in beautiful blues, greys and reds,  the pantone mugs i have been ogling over for a while and adorable cardboard birdhouses by kikkerland.  a good spot for mom and me possibly! sprout home: 44 grand street between kent and wythe avenues, brooklyn, new york, .

the buzz about the montreal-style deli mile end has been going strong weeks before this place even opened this winter, and i was shocked to see that it had reached all the way to pittsburgh where my very reliable counsel for my regular job actually sought it out on a weekend trek to new york — hmmmm, this place must have something going for it other than an amazing publicist. we finally made our way over to mile end a few weeks ago, definitely preparing ourselves for a huge wait, as well as the possibility that they would have run out of the much prized smoked meat — a major draw (you can keep up to date on the meat status by following their ).

while we did have to wait, mile end gave us a buzzing beeper allowing us to visit our favorite shops nearby like acorn and layla. once we got in, service was spotty (the wait staff weren’t the friendliest) but when we complained about cold fries, the owner i think came over and was super nice and quickly got us some delicious piping hot ones. i had the requisite beef brisket on rye with mustard (not too big, juicy, tender and tasty), and j. got the smoked meat on hash — good but not spectacular. we loved the tiny, spare but warm space (lots of wood and black metal), and i really cannot wait to get another one of mile end’s bagelach pastries which i had never tried before — slightly warm, slightly sweet and flaky and instantly an obsession of mine. with some interesting sandwiches during the week, and hopefully mile end is a little calmer then, i’ll be back with other omnivores to try out the ruth wilensky (salami on an onion roll) and the grandpa (smoked turkey). mile end, 97a hoyt street between atlantic avenue and pacific street, brooklyn, new york, .

so i’ve been a bit distracted the past few days as we were getting ready for our epic 2-week vacation on the big island (and no that’s not manhattan) to celebrate j’s big birthday and also spend some time with grandma and grandpa. we survived our long trek out here, and now are in lost territory (my current junk tv obsession and i just finished season 1, so good!) – above is the view from the house where we’re staying at which is along the kohala coast and where we have been whale spotting the last few days.

i’ve been lazy as i’ve only taken photos from our bedroom but the view i think you’ll agree is not too too bad. i do plan to get some regular content out there — and have lots of good food and shops to share — but it’s taking me a little longer to get rolling as i adjust to the 6-hour time zone with a small child who still wants to get up at 3 and now 4 in the morning. meanwhile, we’re hunting down some excellent coffee spots here so if you have any ideas feel free to send them my way. have a great week, and i’ll be back soon.

way down at the end of atlantic avenue, towards the water, there seems to be a few interesting stores and even some very appealing food options hidden away right at the edge of brooklyn heights.   i finally got myself down to holler & squall a few weeks ago, and for a vintage, antique store it’s pretty great.  while i don’t have many details (sorry about that — hopefully i will be able to fill in later on), holler & squall has lots of art objects and paintings and prints so for a little decorative pick-me-up it would be a great destination.

holler & squall has fantastic industrial-like objects of all sorts, plus furniture, cabinets, drawers, and library card drawers (wish i had space for those).  they also had lots of toys, animals, and even a bowl full of marbles.

they of course have my current obsession, glass bottles of many shapes and colors (i am still focused on the ones at the upper rust), some jewelry and lighting. holler & squall is an eclectic shop but well laid out (not crammed together) and i can easily see coming back here again and again just to see what’s new in the collection.   holler and squall, 71 atlantic avenue at hicks street, brooklyn, new york, .