Chipotle

I had lunch from Chipotle the other day which is a much hyped Mexican restaurant here in New York. We'd tried to go for lunch a couple of times before, but the queues were coming out of the door so we headed somewhere else instead.

This time we ordered online in an effort to beat the rush. They have a very cool website where you get an overhead view of the mis en place and select what you want in your burrito or salad. It was huge (obligatory in America) and tasty. Very good value for around $7.

I was telling my friend Clint about my enjoyable lunch and he started scaring me with horror stories about the calorie count at Chipotle. Really? I didn't expect it to be supper healthy, but lettuce, avocado and salsa; how bad could it be? The sour cream is obviously a sin, but surely that doesn't make it worse than a bowl of fries?

I found this online calculator for working out the calorie count. 1,533 for a single burrito and almost twice your recommended daily allowance of salt! It was so good i'll be going back, but perhaps not that regularly............

P.S. Weekday lunches don't count towards the no return rule.

Restaurant Review: Jaiya Thai

In honour of my birthday this week I arranged dinner on Saturday night. An eclectic mix of Sydneysiders, uni, work and JPMorgan friends.

I haven't had any good Thai food since I have moved to New York, so I did as the locals do, and referred to my Zagat. About 10 blocks south of my flat are two Thai restaurants next to each other. One which is smart, modern, glass fronted and stylish with a trendy logo; and next door a more down at heel looking place. The cool logo replaced with Thai script. It had to be the more authentic looking Thai place!

When we arrived it was packed and having arrived late, were were lucky they hadn't given away our table. We had a big array of dishes from my favourites Som Tum (fiery hot), larb gai, green curries, fish cakes, duck curries and noodles. The quality of the dishes was a really good consistent standard.

Nick was a bit disappointed that they waitress refused to serve him a prawn dish "very spicy" as he was farang. I was trying to teach him how to ask in Thai which I think would have clinched it, but alas he stuck to English.

As I explore New York I have a resolution not to go back to the same place twice, which is a shame as I think this place is worth a second visit.

Le Tour de Manhattan

Yesterday Olivier and I rented some bicycles to go for a ride around Manhattan. We rather ambitiously decided to do a lap of the Island.

We joined the East River at about 13th Street and headed south. There was a cycle path next to the waters edge and we got great views of the bridges and city scape from river level. There were lots of runners out and about. Saturday morning is clearly little league baseball time. All around Manhattan we saw groups of under 10s playing in their smart little uniforms.

It was fairly easy riding as we cruised passed South Seaport, the Stattan Island Ferry and into Battery Park. The tourists were out in force to take the Ellis Island ferry. We were at our first landmark, the southern tip of the Island.

We turned north and headed up the western side of the Island following the Hudson River. The paths along the Hudson have a deserved reputation for being the best on the Island with smooth, wide lanes for cyclists and walkers. Olivier and I were both surprised at how quickly we were eating up the streets without having to stop for traffic lights every couple of blocks. The above picture was taken at the Chelsea Piers.

As we continued north the imposing George Washington bridge became larger and larger. We decided to cycle across the bridge so that we visit New Jersey for the first time. There are great sweeping views back across Manhattan from the middle of the bridge. About half way through Le Tour we stopped for a drink and cakes at a cafe in Jersey.

Back in New York we continued north up to Inwood Hill Park and found 218th Street which is the most northerly street on Manhattan Island. Needing to get the bikes back before the shop closed we turned south. Unfortunately there isn't a continuous path along the East River and what there is, isn't as well maintained as on the Hudson. We cycled through Harlem on St Nicholas Avenue. When we reached the top of Central Park we cut across to the river and cycled alongside Roosevelt Island before being forced to join 2nd Avenue around 56th Street. We cruised the final 39 streets back to the bike shop along the Avenue. It was quite frustrating to be stopping for traffic lights every few minutes after a couple of hours of uninterrupted cycling.

We got back to the bike shop 30miles and 5hr 45mins later, a little tired, but quite proud of our achievements. I've got a sore knee today.

We really are in trouble if Pret a Manger is the best British export we have to offer.

Today I have been mainly walking

Another busy weekend. Yesterday I met my school friend, Joel, and his wife Becky for lunch. They are in NY for a long weekend celebrating their wedding anniversary. We went to a cafe opposite my flat called Josie's for brunch. The food was good and I think I have discovered a little local gem to enjoy a lazy lunchtime.

It was really hot in the afternoon and knowing that I had to head out to the airport to meeting Olivier in the early evening I just relaxed in the flat. After the near disaster of meeting Ruth at Pen station I am becoming quite versed in getting the train to Newark Airport and back.

We went for dinner at Blockheads which is a lively local Mexican place that has been recommended to me by a friend at friend at work. I will leave the review to Olivier.

I had another going out disaster in the evening. A big group of my JPMorgan friends were going out on the other side of town. Leaving Olivier to sleep off the jet lag I grabbed a taxi only to spend 5mins talking to them in the queue before being refused entry for the second weekend in a row! This time they didn't like my shoes.............


Today, Olivier and I did a mammoth walk around Manhattan. We headed down Third Avenue and stopped at a diner for breakfast. I went for a modest bagel with cream cheese, while Olivier did the full works pancakes with eggs and bacon.

We checked out Whole Foods in Union Square and then wound our way down to Ground Zero via Washington Square Park and Broadway. There were a few glimmers of sunshine breaking through the clouds so we decided to take the Staten Island ferry for views over Manhattan, Liberty and Ellis Islands.



There didn't seem to be much worth visiting at Staten and quite a lot of people just seemed to get the ferry straight back again! We paid a quick visit to the rather well done September 11th memorial on the shore near the ferry.

Off for dinner at Hudson Place.

Wrong Number

In the UK I hardly ever get someone calling me by mistake and saying "oh sorry, wrong number". It has happened a couple of times a day since I got a NY mobile three weeks ago. I've also had a text message intended for someone who I can only guess is having an affair, asking if I can sneak away from the kids.

Today was the best phone call yet. Did I want to accept a reverse charges call from a State penitentiary? I politely declined. I hope I don't have a stranded friend locked up in jail somewhere!

Tomorrow there will be a restaurant review from the first guest writer on the blog, my friend Olivier who is over visiting.

Summer has arrived in New York

Before I came to New York a few people told me that Spring only lasted about a week here and the seasons transferred quickly from winter to summer. Daffodils, blossom on the trees, lambs in the fields and tweeting birds are such a quintessential part of Spring in the UK. There is not much opportunity for any of them in just a single week!

On Monday and Tuesday I was thrusting my hands into my pockets and wrapping up warm on my walk into work. On Wednesday people were sitting outside cafes enjoying dinner al fresco and the ambient temperature was a lot more pleasant in the evening.

Last night I had a drink on the way home from work at a roof top bar. Today I am wearing shorts. Summer has arrived!

No I.D.

Possibly the only advantage of starting to go bald at 17 is that I have never been asked for ID when buying alcohol or getting into a pub/bar. I mean literally; never.

Last night I went to B-Bar and Grill in Downtown Manhattan and was refused entry as I didn't have any I.D. on me. It was an expensive night getting a taxi home to pick up my drivers licence and go back to the club again. The bouncers were pretty reasonable and when I got back to the club for the second time they let me jump the queue and go straight in. I'll be carrying some ID in my wallet at all times from now on. At 27 it just isn't something that occurs to you to do at home.......

Weekly Catch Up

I've got a bit behind on my posts this week and I don't think I am going to be able to catch up, so here is a summary of this weeks excitments.

While Ruth was staying she wanted to take in all of the classic American / New York food experiences. One of those has to be a a burger (even though she is a veggie!) so on Monday we went to the Better Burger NY takeaway opposite my flat. Sadly it was a big disappointment, the chips were under cooked and soggy and there were no great relishes with the burgers. Some of the side orders were good, but I don't think I will be going back.

Hoping for a better experience on Tuesday night, we went to a local Mexican place. (Where the photo of me was taken.) A beer, two courses and service all for £12.50. You can't argue with that. After dinner we visited the top of the Empire State building. By the lengths of the snaking barriers you can clearly queue for hours, thankfully there was no one there and we walked straight through. It was a clear night and there were view stretching for 10miles. It was a great contrast to go at night, after visiting the Rockefeller during the day on Sunday. None of my photos came out that well unfortunately.

On Wednesday we hit Broadway! We had dinner in a little Italian place before heading to see to see the Lion King at the Minskoff Theatre. The theatre has a glass plated front and you get excellent views of Time Square from the balconies outside of the auditorium. The show was good fun, excellent costumes and music. Mum and Dad bought the tickets for our birthdays, thank you!

On Thursday Ruth and Auntie Anne flew home and it was a relatively quiet day. Last night I met my friends Pen and Clint in Tribeca. A scary experience as it is off the grid plan and I had to get the underground there which was my first experience on the subway! ;-) We had dinner at a restaurant called Gigino's Trattoria. (It is a lot nicer than the photo on their website suggests.) Finally sensible sized portions!

I'm continuing to update my online photo album if you are interested. I've been musing a piece on the cultural differences between the US and UK. Also, all this eating out and no cycling is making me fat. I'm going on a diet which should make for fun postings full of self denial. I know you are excited already......

Restaurant Review: Hudson Place

The blog has been a quite quiet for the last week. Not due to the lack of the material to post, but due to the lack of time!

Within 10mins walk of my flat I think there must be at least 50 bars, delis and restaurants, but with its white linen table cloths, Hudson Place stands out as the local smart establishment.

My sister and Aunt left today after staying for the past week. I've enjoyed having them here as it has given me the excuse to try out a few of the local places. We decided to go for dinner at Hudson Place on Sunday night as a bit of a treat for my Aunt's birthday. There is a smart bar area when you go in and then lots of tables in a large open plan room, with big windows looking out onto the street. The menu is a mix of salads, pastas, steaks and seafood. The meatloaf on the menu lets you know that you are in an American restaurant and there are a few Mexican and Italian influences which seem quite common in New York.

We shared an excellent bottle of wine and I really enjoyed my Hangar steak. My Aunt's Sea Bass and sisters salad went down well too. We were all too full for a desert. It wasn't too expensive either. (Which luckily seems to be a common theme of restuarants here!)

I think all of my visitors over the next couple of months can look forward to a dinner at Hudson Place during their stay. Olivier, Mike are you reading this?

The photo has been shamelessly stolen from this blog.

Tourist in NYC

My sister and Aunt are currently staying and, as you would expect, we are hitting the tourist trail.

Yesterday we walked all the way from where I am staying in Midtown down to the Brooklyn Bridge, we had lunch in South Seaport and then walked back via Wall St, Broadway and Soho. It was a serious walk!

Today we started with breakfast in the diner next to my flat, we've been to the top of the Rockefeller (unfortunately it wasn't a particularly sunny day), through Central Park and finished it off with a trip to MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). We're hoping to go out for dinner tonight.

For those of you that are interested, I am uploading photos to my online album.

I am one! Happy Birthday to my blog!

My blog is one year old today. I wrote my first post as I departed for a holiday to Thailand, so I think that it is quite fitting that I am also travelling on the first birthday of the site.

Starting as a travel journal, the blog went quiet for a couple of months, and then re-appeared as a diary, venturing into restaurant reviews and local issues as the mood has taken me.

Thank you to all of my readers and commenters, there seems to be a loyal band who visit the site regularly. Special thanks to the top three referrers to the site over the last year, Edland, Brockley Central and Andrew Brown.

The top 10 most popular posts of the year contain a few surprises:
1. Thai Massage - judging by some of the keywords used to find this article I think the readers will have been disappointed by how clean it was.
2. Memories of Bengal - Restaurant Review from Cholsey in Oxfordshire
3. Two faces of Brockley - an attempt at local issue blogging
4. Laughing Buddha - Restaurant Review from Blackheath
5. BBC iPlayer vs 4OD - surprisingly popular attempt at an IT review
6. Kolbeh at Skitby House - another restaurant review from Cumbria
7. Meze Mangal - Brokley's finest restaurant
8. Brockley on the Way Up?
9. Closure of the East London Line
10. Adelaide for the Wedding of the Year - more travel news

The most exciting time for the blog came last October when an article on Brockley Central prompted a deluge of visitors to my restaurant review of Le Querce. (Not sure if some housekeeping has gone on at Brockley Central, as I couldn't find the Love@Brockley article that linked to my review. Nick? John?)

The blog also got a mention by Iain Dale on (the now defunct?) Doughty St TV.

First Fridays: Not Quite the Guggenheim Museum

I went out for drinks with a few people from work on Thursday night and they told me about First Fridays at the Guggenheim Museum. They open the museum from 9pm to 1am, invite DJs, sell drinks and allow you to visit the museum in a more funky atmosphere.

Ruth and I duly walked the 52 blocks up to the Upper East Side, arriving at the museum about 20:45. Anticipation built as more people joined the queue who were clearly dressed up for a night out. This was to be no ordinary visit to the V&A.

After an hour and a half in the queue we still hadn't managed to get in. There were rumours circulating of one-in-one-out, reluctantly we headed home. I've got two more chances to go before I leave NY. I'll make sure I arrive a bit earlier next time.

Lifehouse: Tuesday Night Gig

I decided before I came to New York that it was going to be three months all about saying YES.

When I got a call from my friend Kelly at lunchtime asking if I wanted to go and see a Lifehouse gig that evening there was only one answer. I actually misheard Kelly and thought she said Lighthouse (as in Lighthouse Family). I was quite surprised as a) I thought they had long disappeared into obscurity b) it wasn't her thing. When I realised she said Lifehouse I was still none the wiser and had to resort to Google.

I walked to the gig at the Roseland Ballroom passing Time Square, Broadway, saw steam coming out of manhole covers and a fire engine with sirens blazing come out of its station and force its way up Eighth Avenue. It was a microcosm of all the impressions you have of New York.

We had dinner in an Italian restaurant on Eighth Avenue before the gig and arrived at the start of the second warm up act Matt Nathanson. I wasn't a massive fan of his music, but he was a sparky character and quite amusing to watch.

Then came the headliners! Lifehouse, I learnt, are American soft rock band. There music was quite good, but it was the atmosphere that I will remember most about the night. The audience were really passive. There was no dancing, moshing nor the usual crowd surge forward when the band started playing. There were even some people sitting down! We were standing about half way back, without being crushed, in air conditioned splendour. As Kelly remarked we could have been listening to their CD in our own living room.

There were big cheers at the end of each song and I think the audience were enjoying the music. The question I want answered is this: was this a typical US gig?

Well I don't want to watch US TV now do I?

A little surprisingly my most popular post to date is the article I did at the end of Feb on the BBC iPlayer vs 4OD. I thought I would catch up on the best of Blightly by downloading a couple of shows I missed from last week. Both the iPlayer and 4OD use IP recognition and would not let me download anything, determining that I am outside of the UK. Does anyone know of any clever ways to get round this? I've paid my licence fee and demand to be able to watch what I have paid for!!!