A Dream of Escape

A dream of escape.

Here in the Northeast in America, we are under a cold snap.

Since Christmas, we have been suffering with below zero temperatures and into the predictable future (according to the iPhone).

And then, with or without a cold (which I have), we are essentially trapped indoors.

I've been lucky to have a writing project to take me out of myself.

The BEST vacation I can ever have. 

Brooklyn Label is BACK!!

The sunny rooms, the bar, even my favorite nook for meals is open and BACK on the corner of Java and Franklin.  (I even had a dream about it!)

It was given a new life, thanks to its new proprietor:Alex Russel, who used to bring us delicious dishes at Le Gamin, down the street!

http://bedfordandbowery.com/2017/08/greenpoint-resto-brooklyn-label-to-be-revived-with-some-help-from-le-gamin/

He's even digging into the history of the building, Mae West's old haunt.  Learn something new everytime you go (including how marvelously crowded it can get, even if it's still newly reopened)


Be in LOVE! Be very much in love with this new spot!  

Getting a Sunburn in October

Sometimes, there is nothing more glorious (and foreboding) than to be able to enjoy a Brunch on a sidewalk cafe in Brooklyn, in a sun so strong that you are suffering from the glare.

No sunglasses, no shade, just direct sunlight, and when you get back, slightly drunk from the peach bellinis, you notice that your skin marks the lines where your clothes cover you.  And it is not dirt.  If summer hadn't been so recent, you wouldn't know what it was.

Grilled Cheese Avocado and Ramen

Funny, I had SUCH cravings for the above.

I didn't even realize how much until I ate it and then had a sense memory of what was going on.

Also for brunch.  Also for Korean food, but I left that all out this time.

It's the food of Greenpoint, of a different home.

Even of work, Eatsa and Poke Salads.  Ah, tuna!!

How I missed it!!

PeachD

So there is a service that will bring restaurant lunch take out to Waltham.

You can pay for EXCELLENT greasy food 5 days a week, or 4 if your company buys lunch on Fridays.

For some reason, food has lost its appeal for me.  I used to be so excited about LUNCHES ALONE.  And I probably still am, I just don't get to have them.  Alone with my computer.

My New Old Favorite

Everything is better with French food and champagne.

Hen of the Woods mushrooms, and a few baked eggs and some bread.

And a cappuccino.

For my birthday, and any day I wish to spend too much on bfast.

Dojo

Walking by Dojo, why did I remember it to be a crunchy-granola place?  It's Japanese, NOT specializing in Sushi!!

I ordered a madellaine, a fried tofu burger.  Suddenly I was transported back to my early days in the city, the first time.  When it was all I could afford, so I savored it.

The 2 gay guys next to me were being so precious about their conversation.  Preening about poetry, using all the super-meta words.  Exaggerating in front of each other, who is more gay, who is more smart.  NYU Grad students/teachers.

It took me back to those days....

Dar Brunch

Scrambled Eggs & Mergues

Hen of the field

Hen of the Forest

11am, Saturday Brunch, Hen of the Forest Mushroom Omelette.

1 couple sitting across from a male. Out on the sidewalk. The conversation is only between the female of the couple and the uncoupled man.

I hate pancakes, but these look really good!

I think that's the point.

Our house manager has the recipe down to a science

And having a baby, I mean, she's home breastfeeding, but figuring out how everybody, all my friends, do it. I mean, my mom had 3 kids and zero money, but that was in Saratoga. Good schools.

-Does anyone wanna share the baked eggs?

My parents just went to Russia, I mean, good for them! While you can! 

We went to Gheorgia for our honeymoon.

In Gheorgian /Georgian culture, if there are more than 4 people, then it turns into a "supra"

You can only drink when there's a toast.

The first toast is always about why we are here. I wouldn't want to wait...

Ghosha, she had a good time. She was the default Tamara-translates into toastmaster. I always translate it to booze-hound. She's too young to drink, but she's the toastmaster wherever she goes!

They have a house, and he used to do the music for music hall of Williamsburg, and then they have another house, and then another house

Her work has blown up, she sells to Anthropologie

Where was I going with this.

She just quit her job one day and starting doing this and it took off within a couple of weeks.

American Apparel was stealing her designs.

Is that true?

Yeah!! And now she's had a baby and moved upstate.

She taught her husband how to do this for St Patrick's day and now they get asked for it all the time.

And she does the wallpaper....

All the pictures look like this (toddler tracing for the phone) because she's obsessed with it. They must make some children's version of this, we can't be the only parents...

I'll take you to the kids store after this.

You're so limited in how you can shape your children's personality....No doubt you can fuck up a child. We need to get her a treadmill... But when Ghosha has play dates, we really see....She goes up to other kids and smacks them. She'll even snack her reflection in the mirror. My uncle frank has quiet kids.

Robin gets kicked out of bars all the time. As soon as we see her start to argue, we're like, we gotta go.

And then she gave me a lap dance...

Shonda and I were just watching this crazy ass show in front of us.

Manhattan-Cafe Cluny

She had a burger, a tuna rare, which ended up having no taste. Wasabi mayo on the side and the fries had the most spice & excitement. 

Anything to drink?

Water.

Back to water & coffee.  No alcohol. She could easily survive without alcohol, and if she chose to indulge, it was good for a few laughs and a moment of feeling dizzy or lightheaded, as if she laughed too much. When you go to a restaurant alone, it's best not too laugh too loud.

Alcohol was like men for her. And she felt lucky. She could give it up without really caring. 

She liked alcohol more than men. 

Less of a commitment. Better conversational partner.

There was a boy across the restaurant, who had a "Steve" voice. She wasn't sure what that was, exactly, but stuffed, not eloquent, from across the room she could tell he was bullshitying. And would prefer to discuss football.

A kid of indeterminate origin emerged from a mahogany black suv.

He pointed down the block.

Are you sure you're...

My house is right there. I do it all the time. Thanks!!

Even a kid had enough instinct to know that a harried hairy housewife was only making a gesture.

The men in the restaurant had to wear horizontal striped shirts.  A woman at the bar having a glass of wine while on a date with her cellphone.

What's the story behind the name?

It's after a region outside Paris, a train stop.

Oh right, the striped shirts should've tipped me off.

Hehe.

I was on a European tour/cruise thing and we stopped in Paris. 

Oh really?

Yeah, but the thing about it was that you're only there for one day. 

Yep.

But I have an image of guys walking down the street, baguette under one arm. Striped shirts.

Yep.

The woman left a few minutes later, having run out of conversation with her alcohol. 

Waltham, MA- Leo's Diner-Stay or Go?

12:30. We left church exactly an hour ago.

I've nearly finished my magazine.  

This is my 3rd coffee.

If I have to start the fiction piece before the food, I'll scream.

The people in front, and behind us got their food.

The ones to the side don't have their dishes.

All 3 arrived after we did.

Did you put in my order?

It should be right there.

It's not her fault if the cook is disorganized.

I'm grumpy now. It's everyone's fault.

Should we leave? 

They wouldn't blame us. After 3 coffees. Do we even pay?

We wouldn't ever be able to come back.

This place is funky. 

I haven't worked my way thru the menu yet.

Should we leave?

Like waiting for a bus. The more time we wait, the closer we are to the bus arriving.

Sunk costs actually mean nothing. 

I'm hungry. Doesn't that mean something? 

Should we leave?

If I had given up on you, we wouldn't be here.

You have the patience of an angel.

Except when I don't.

If you had given up on me, my wife would've had my breakfast ready at 8am.

We were making love at 8am. Did you want to switch places?

No. I'm grumpy. Sorry.

Y'know, I'm glad that you have this for your weekly grump session. Much better than you getting annoyed at me.

I do not get annoyed at you.

She gives him an annoyed look.

These potatoes are raw.

Oh, I'm busy next weekend.

This toast is white, not rye. What are you doing? 

They always get our orders wrong here. It's a good thing the boy is so good about the coffee.

What are you doing?

Oh nothing, just a thing. So we can't meet up, sorry.

I shouldn't eat so many carbs anyway.

I told you, the best way to ease into a diet is to eat versions you hate. Warm soda, white bread. Leaving stuff on the table is easier that way.

You're right.

You still wanna go to the library after this?

No, I think I'll head home.

Look, if it was because I was grumpy, I'm sorry. 

Both of us were grumpy. And hungry.

What's wrong?

Nothing-it's just, life is a series of disappointments. And I'm hoping that hanging out with you will make it a little less awful.

Is it so awful to be out with me?

No, not at all. I love you, but you're not trying.

Sorry, I forget.

I do my part to be cheerful. Decent. Respectful.

Yeah, I'll try harder.

I don't think this is a habit you can just start. 

It's a habit I want.

She looks into his eyes.

They pay the bill.

So, I um, guess I'll see you at work tomorrow?

I'm heading over to the library after all. You can walk with me if you want.

And next weekend?

We'll see. Don't take it for granted that I'll stay. I could've left that restaurant at any moment.

We could have.

Yes. Or I could have. I can.

Sauvage & Hen of the Woods

"That's a great book!"

"Yeah, right!?!?"

"I wish I could be you right now,"

"Well, I've been you before..."

My waitress laughed as she walked away.

"I'm so glad we can recognize each other so easily in ourselves!"

Le Gamin Quiche

Leek, mushroom,Swiss & salad

Comfort food for me.

Sitting in the sun. "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" playing in the background. 

This is what Germany must've felt in the mid thirties. 

"What does the chef put into this quiche?It is the best thing I've ever had!"

"I know he uses the best butter.  He has his cookbook here & doesn't mind sharing"

"No, it tastes like magic, there's a secret he doesn't include in the recipe. Does he sing to the eggs while he's beating them?"

"Actually, he uses aged pots & pans for everything. I'm a believer in history. Even though there's tin foil between the food & the dish, I don't know how the transfer happens,"

"Be my spy & capture everything he does. It's gotta be something!!"

"I'll try"

Also overheard: "My Mom's Puerto Rican & she's so passive about praise!"