Halloween at Maxwell's NYC

I was out for a Halloween party at Maxwell's in Tribeca tonight with friends for some comfort food and that meant burgers, fries, mac & cheese and drinks before Hurricane Sandy blows us all away.  I'm not much of a burger girl as they all taste the same to me.  Being Asian, I love me my rice and rice just doesn't go well with beef patties on a bun.

I ordered the Maxwell's signature burger with slices of Angus rib eye, red wine gravy, sauteed onions, fried egg and horseradish mayo.  Now I chose this because I'm a gravy girl and steak with gravy on a burger bun sounded so enticing.  They could've added mashed potatoes in it and I would've died and gone to heaven.

The meat was cooked just right and the red wine gravy soaked the burger bun.  I guess I didn't eat fast enough so I had to fork my way through my burger because the bread was soggy already.  It was delicious but messy.  Fine by me, I actually would've loved a gravy-soaked burger bun had I been in the comfort of my own dinner table.  I just didn't want to be eating sloppily in a Tribeca bar.  This burger is perfect for breakfast too since the fried egg was a nice complement to an already filling meal. 

Southwest - 8oz Angus beef, pepperjack cheese, bacon, guacamole, sweet chili sauce

 

End of Summer at The Met

I've been wanting to see the Regarding Warhol exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art for days and since I've taken up a lot more days at work, I couldn't just walk off into the sunset of Museum Mile on 5th Avenue, which is where the Grand Dame of NYC Museums is located. 

But I finally did and so here goes my way of coping with the end of summer.

I left the house early.  Early for me means 11am, after a breakfast of waffles and Nutella.  Then burger lunch at Shake Shack at 12noon.  Yup, I like to eat.

I got to The Met at almost 1 and of course, tourists galore!  I got in line to get my little pin, gave my donation of $1, trying to be discreet about it but all the while itching to tell all those in line before and after me that they don't have to give the recommended fee of $25.  They can give me the $24 if they're so inclined to spend money.

Anyway, I couldn't take any pictures at the Warhol exhibit, which was weird because they couldn't care less about taking pictures of the classics.  I'm guessing it might have something to do with copyright laws like in books.  If it's more than a 100 years old, then it's public domain or something.

Auguste Rodin

Stepping Out, Roy Lichtenstein

Nymphs and Satyr, William Bouguereau

And so I did my moping at The Met.  Now I'm ready for fall.  Getting ready for winter will require a lot more art and beauty.

Chicago The Musical

I saw Chicago on Broadway last week.  My favorite number was Cell Block Tango.  Although there weren't any mainstream celebrities that I know of like Christie Brinkley, I liked it just the same. 

I can't do a review to save my life.

Confessions of an Ex-Airline Slave

My brother who hates traveling (gasp!) dramatically informed us that he changed his mind and would love to travel too.  About time!  I've never understood how he can be contented in staying in one place and not gasp in awe about waterfalls and unicorns but I do see his point about the endless immigration lines and packing.

I'm not so delusional as to think that I'm alone in this wanderlust, travel bug, thirst for travel restlessness.  I grew up in an mid-income household where both of my parents worked to make ends meet.  Add 6 kids and two house helps, a mortgage to be paid off and reasonable luxuries (like a pack of Chips Ahoy!) to the mix, we get frazzled parents and disciplined kids who know they won't always get what they want.  But we always, always got to go on those yearly summer trips to a beach resort no matter what.  

Then I worked for Philippine Airlines for 7 years after college.  That fed my wanderlust even more as I took advantage of it to the best of my abilities.  Imagine eight people traveling together as non-revenue passengers (that means free in airline-speak) to LA and SF from Manila.  I was always unhappiest before these trips because I absolutely can't have one of us get bumped off a flight.  Stress and pressure could've killed me then.  Oh, the things I've learned to do to ensure that all 8 of us get on those flights.  And I didn't even have to touch anybody.

All Smoke, No Fire

Had I not received tickets to see The Last Smoker in America, it wouldn't register a blip in my brain.  That's not such a bad thing because there are a lot more shows that I haven't seen but anyway, I went to see it with a friend.  We weren't about to waste free tickets even if it meant two hours of our time.

Most of the people around us must've been family and friends of the cast because they were all too ready with their laughs and nods of approval.  What?  Ganya and I were stoic-faced mascots looking at each other, wondering what people were laughing about.

This won't be a proper critique, as is usual with me and this blog, and there's really no point anymore  because the show closed September 1.

Central Park Series

My favorite pastime the whole summer has been walking around aimlessly in Central Park.  Today I got to see totally new (to me) sights and chance encounters. 

 Met Buck, a Bouvier.  Gorgeous hair.

Belvedere Castle, very cheesy-looking.  It's right above the Delacorte Theater where they hold Shakespeare in the Park.  Damn, that line for tickets was looong.

Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater.  Ghastly, spooky, marionettes.  Enough said.

Eataly, NYC

I met up with a friend for lunch a few days ago at Eataly, Mario Batali's market/restaurant at the Flatiron District.  I like going out with her as she loves to eat and knows a lot of restaurants in New York that are affordable but tastes ridiculously rich, luxurious and delicious.

We ordered the ravioli with lemon butter sauce and pistachio and the Napolitano pizza with mozzarella cheese, olives, various herbs and anchovies.  Of course, dessert will not be forgotten.  We skipped our regular, much-beloved French crepes for Italian hazelnut gelato.