My sister and the nephews came to visit me on Sunday. We walked around the neighborhood and did a little bit of shopping. I'd gone looking online for some kids-oriented shops in the West Village and, thanks to Time Out New York Kids' website, found the ... Coolest. Store. Ever. Why is House of Cards & Curiosities the coolest store ever? Two words: squirrel underpants.
We had lunch at The New French, a bistro on Hudson Street between Charles and 10th. I got the delicious brisket sandwich with a side salad. Mike got the chicken sandwich with a side salad. Tracey got an omelette with a side salad. And Matt got the tuna salad sandwich with fries on the side. So all of us who wanted to give the appearance of eating healthier and got the salad naturally attacked Matt's tiny, crispy, tasty fries when his plate arrived.
After we let our lunch digest a bit, we went to Magnolia Bakery for cupcakes. I've been hitting MB about once a week when I need a sugar fix. On the way there, Matt told me he liked Crumbs cupcakes, and I told him I liked them better than Magnolia's because of their unusual flavors. (Admittedly, some of them are kinda cheesy. But not this one, which Matt raved about and I love too.)
Magnolia offers basically vanilla or chocolate with pretty but unfancily flavored icing. MB had red velvet cupcakes on Sunday; I got one and Tracey and Mike split another one. Matt got chocolate with green vanilla buttercream icing. I think Crumbs' RV is better. And so is mine.
Magnolia's store is darn cute, and the employees are friendly and helpful. It's fun having MB so close to my apartment and watching the tourists take their picture in front of it because they saw Carrie and Miranda eating cupcakes there on Sex and the City. But I'd really prefer to have a Crumbs* in the 'hood.
When the Gerbers got here, Matt declared that he was hungry, which is generally the case when he arrives at my place. And Mike too, though he wasn't complaining about it this time. I offered Matt wild blueberries, pluots, plums. All kinds of good stuff. No. No. No. He ended up having some pineapple ice cream and ate it like it was the best food ever. Mike wanted to try some, and I made the mistake of saying, "You know, that's actually goat milk ice cream" before he dug the spoon in. Mike didn't want to try it anymore, and Matt decided that what he'd been raving about was now yucky. Mike did eventually try it, though he said he didn't like it much, and Matt went back to really enjoying it. I'd gotten it from Patches of Star Dairy at the Union Square Greenmarket a little while ago. And I'd actually meant to get peanut butter. There was a P on the lid, and the woman who was working the stand must have assumed that P stood for peanut butter instead of pineapple. I like the pineapple stuff quite a bit but, man, was I disappointed when I opened the container for the first time and saw white with golden chunks instead of uniform light brown.
As we were planning this visit, I'd asked Bug about having the guys stay with me for a weekend in August. ARROHK, I've taken care of Mike and Matt for a summer weekend twice because a family in Connecticut whom David and Tracey are friends with have had two of their four sons celebrate his bar mitzvah in August. I'd asked whether, by any chance, their third son was turning 13 this year. But I said that even if he wasn't, I'd still like to have the ne-P.U.s stay with me for a weekend. Tracey said there was no bar mitzvah in August and that their August is too filled up for M&M to stay with me then but we could probably arrange for a visit in September. Woot! My August is actually filling up really quickly too, so September is even better. And hopefully, it won't be so damn hot then.
When Tracey and M&M were leaving, I asked them to pose for a group picture in front of my building. Rudy took a leak as I was setting up the shot, and you can see where he tinkled. Sigh. Tracey is holding a bouquet of gorgeous marigolds like the ones I got from The River Garden stand at the Union Square Greenmarket last summer. It turns out, TRG comes to that market on Saturdays too, so I'll be able to buy their flowers every week instead of hoping I can catch them before they leave after I get done work on Friday. Yes! I'd bought two bunches and gave some to Tony too, since he said marigolds are one of his favorites.
I'll put up some more photos of the Gerbers' visit at the end of the post.
***
Two Saturdays ago, Dad came to visit. And it was a mission of mercy. He hauled a bunch of things away so I would have some more breathing room in my little apartment. He also came to claim the two dining chairs we'd left in my storage unit in the basement of my Park Slope apartment building and which Bob and Jen had put in their apartment for safekeeping.
For dinner, Dad and I went to Piccolo Angolo, at the recommendation of Joyce. She'd raved about PA's bolognese, so I had to get pasta in that sauce for dinner. I did, and it was terrific. To start, I got the insalata tricolore, which was big enough for two people. Dad was shocked that I managed to eat every bit of my salad and my penne. He'd had salad with lunch, so he didn't want any before his dinner. He got chicken francese and a side of penne in tomato basil sauce. He enjoyed his meal, and we both liked the bottle of Sicilian rosé we polished off together. It was blisteringly hot that day, and the wine really hit the spot. And so did the tiramisu we shared for dessert.
On Sunday, we took Dad's truck to Park Slope with a bunch of my shit in the back, including art that didn't fit on my walls. I treated Dad and the Schultieses to pizza at La Villa. And then he drove off to South Jersey with the chairs and the rest of it.
***
The guys eating at The New French
A shelf label at Left Bank Books, one of the stores we checked out
And a fun tote bag at Olive & Bette's, which is Emme and Rudy's favorite store in the neighborhood because the employees give out dog biscuits.
*Neither Crumbs nor Magnolia made the list of Serious Eats' best cupcakes in the city. Baked, a bakery in Red Hook I visited only once when I lived in Brooklyn, won for best cupcake shop. (And when I went there—as my blog post linked to at Baked relates—I was on a quest for bar cookies, not cupcakes. Though I did write a lot about cupcakes in that post, including my first encounter with Crumbs' grasshopper flavor.) My friend Andy posted the link to the SE story on my Facebook wall the other day.
i do prefer crumbs. magnolia is ok but its overrated in my eyes. too many woman just go there because of S&TC (which i dont even remember and i watched it)... but cupcakes are about the cake part as much as the icing. and the cake part is drier than i would prefer. and then the ratio of icing on top is not good either...
crumbs cupcake part is a little bit moister. (is that a word? i say it is haha). and the icing isnt as much. and yes, i agree the flavors are more unique at crumbs too.
but my main problem is that these gourmet cupcakes are the "new" thing and they are really expensive!!! i'm sorry take out the betty crocker or duncan hines and i make a mean cupcake too :P and those arent as dense and are yummy and moist too! lol
i think you could make a lot of them yourself too... cuz you're an excellent baker :)
oh i found a better cupcake place in the village. "butter lane" on like 7th street and b/t 1st ave and ave a. awesome homemade like cupcakes and they ice them there on the spot usually. cuz you tell them which bottom cake part you want with which icing you want. its awesome. and the cupcake literally was melting in my mouth!!! you must try it! :0)
Posted by: Missy | July 28, 2010 at 10:53 PM