Wikipages Blog

In my former life as a preschool teacher, I worked on the Upper East Side. While I occasionally miss the kids, probably the thing I miss most is the area. I used to walk to Carl Schurz Park on my lunch hour and watch the water. And on nice days, I’d walk down through Central Park all the way to where it begins. And some days I would eat at one of the yummiest spots in the city: Lili’s Noodle Shop and Grill.

The place is a chain and there’s one in Tribeca, but somehow it doesn’t seem as nice to me. Lili’s has a full front window and a modern, Asian atmosphere. The service is speedy and the menu is delicious. It has this lovely bean curd in black bean sauce, which I attempted to make once for myself and utterly failed. And they have Jasmine bubble milk tea, which I am slightly obsessed with. The prices are decent, with a nice lunch special, including soup, rice and entree for under $7. A good place to eat with friends or alone after a stressful day of chasing after 3-year-olds.

Yes, I do miss the kids. But even more, I miss the Upper East Side’s peaceful charm and yummy noodle shop.

No, I’m not talking about A Christmas Story, which my sister insists on watching during its Christmas Eve marathon showing every year, despite the fact that it always makes me feel a little bit sad since he nearly does shoot his eye out. I’m talking about our work holiday party, which for the past three years has taken place at the same restaurant: Dim Sum Go Go.

Located in Chinatown, Dim Sum Go Go was the first dim sum I ever had. It’s definitely tasty (though maybe not tasty enough to warrant 3 consecutive years of holiday business parties). And they appear to have less vegetarian options than most Chinese restaurants. But the dumplings are good and so is the service.

At the holiday party, everyone enjoyed eating dumplings, drinking wine, and getting to know each other a little bit better. It’s always nice to let loose with co-workers and let them see a different side of you. When they found out that I have a small match-making hobby, I got three requests for set-ups. I’m thinking I’ll just throw one big party and invite all my single friends (a number that’s fast dwindling)!

After dinner was finished and the annual speech by the CEO given, people began to disperse and I wished good holidays to all. I’m off till after Christmas, so time to celebrate and deck the halls! Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra! Happy Holidays!

Ben and I attended a gathering for web designers at Mannahatta, a chic bar in the West Village. We planned to spread the word about Wikipages to the internet community.

We arrived early to the gathering with hopes to chat with a few folks and then go home to sleep. When we got there, not many people had yet arrived. I ordered a vodka tonic, always a good standard drink, and we explored the interior. Good lighting, ample seating on these sleek couch type benches, and interesting map art on the walls.

Then we noticed a nice spread of food, out for the gathering. Hummus, pita, veggies, bruschetta, all sorts of delicious foods that nut-allergic vegetarians can eat! Having just come from work, we were starving. We helped ourselves to hummus-coated pita as people began filling up the bar. By the time our appetites were sated, the bar was packed with web designers, bloggers, and internet entrepreneurs like ourselves.

We had planned to mingle with everyone, all of whom seemed very interesting. But, as occasionally happens on work nights, my energy just felt drained. It seemed more useful to use what little I had left to go home and add Mannahatta into Wikipages. Ben was of a like mind. So having had a good drink and tasty food, we thanked the hosts of the event and headed home.

The Financial District does not consist solely of skyscrapers. There’s an oasis of beautiful old buildings, including those on and around Stone Street. George Washington spoke to his troops at one of these, and you can still get a hard drink or a tasty meal there today: The Fraunces Tavern.

The Fraunces Tavern was started by Samual Fraunces, probably one of the first middle-class African Americans, in 1762. Built in the Federalist style, the tavern is brick and simple. A friend of Samuel Fraunces, George Washington and other famous revolutionaries frequented this tavern. Legend has it that their ghosts still linger there.

Now also a museum, this place is one of the oldest operating taverns in the city. A few of us decided to have a meal there after work. We had hopes to see something supernatural occur.

The interior is split into two sections: tavern and restaurant. The restaurant requires a bit of splurging. It also lacks vegetarian entrees. But the salads and soups are plenty tasty (and cheaper than the entrees, anyway!). The decor is colonial elegance, with a warm vibe.

We saw no ghosts, unfortunately. But with the tasty food and the chatter from the tavern, the restaurant radiates a cosy vibe. Perhaps it’s the presence of the ghosts, protecting their favorite drinking hole from the chaos of the outside world.

Last night, I went to the Cinewoman Festival at the Two Boots Pioneer Theater. A combination of independent video store, movie theater, and pizza parlor, Two Boots is a pretty cool place. Located in the Lower East Side (which I love), its name refers to the blending of Italian and Louisiana cuisine. Two Boots! (It took me a while to get it.)

The theater hosts frequent events featuring independent films. At the Cinewoman, we watched two films directed by women which discussed Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge. The first was an awesome short by Rain Breaw about a Cambodian immigrant family, which showed animated flashbacks to horrors of their experiences with the Khmer Rouge. Very interesting stuff. The second was a documentary about Cambodian landmine victims directed by Alison McMahan. Pretty intense, but also very hopeful for the future. Not exactly merry movies, but both very well-done and thought-provoking.

After watching these heavy films, we headed downstairs to “Den of Cin” for the free pizza and beer that comes with the movie ticket. The place lived up to its name, serving a saucy pizza with a cajun spice twist. Delicious! I plan to return for more thought-provoking films in the future. And more pizza.

I was exploring the East Village with a friend from out of town. I love this part of the city. Awesome vintage shops, some great jazz venues, fun bars. After trying on a wide selection of hats at one shop, and purchasing some beautiful vintage threads at another, we decided to look for a place to eat. As my friends know, when I get hungry, it’s not a pretty sight. And I got hungry. So we went to the first place we saw, a tiny place that we had no clue about, but the door was open and there was an empty table.

The place was one simple room, tinted in red. As soon as we entered, the owner approached us with a wide, friendly smile. He was a beautiful black young man who charmingly informed us in a Caribbean accent that we were in a vegan, Haitian restaurant. I didn’t even know such a thing existed. There was no menu, only items listed on a blackboard on the wall. But all the items on the wall seemed delicious. I chose advocado roasted with mushroom mousse inside.

The owner took our orders, with his dashing smile, and introduced us to his partner, his beautiful red-haired American wife. The two of them made such a stunning couple, I kept thinking how gorgeous their children would be. Both in their twenties, they told us that they had started this restaurant a couple years ago and had also started a similar place up in Harlem which had a music venue. The place was BYO, but as we had brought none, the owners offered a bottle that had been unfinished by former customers and we accepted.

The food was amazingly delicious. Unlike anything I have had before or since. Such an amazing combination of advocado and mushroom! We left the restaurant with our appetites sated and a feeling that we had made friends with this fascinating couple.

Unfortunately, we did not leave with the name of the restaurant, nor the address. I have searched for this place since and failed. It is an utter tragedy. Please, if you know this establishment, tell me! And I’ll add it to Wikipages so others can find it.

I’m always on the look out for more great Little Italian Restaurants. Here’s one that makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

Located on the Upper East Side, The Luca Restaurant is a small place with delicious food. Decorated with rather suprising, large paper vegetable sculptures, this restaurant never bores you. It’s Italian, but with a little kick. One of the best things about this restaurant is the tasty fried olives that they bring out as soon as you sit down. I don’t even like olives usually, but these are insanely good. The menu has a good range of options, including many vegetarian selections like Pumpkin Ravioli and Mushroom Risotto.

When you’ve finished your yummy meal, walk just a couple of blocks over to Cavatappo for an after dinner drink. This wine bar, owned by the same people as the Luca Restaurant, has a cosy brick interior with a wide selection of wines and some munchies. A visit to both places makes for a perfect evening.

When I was little, I always ate peanut butter sandwiches. Not peanut butter and jelly, just peanut butter. It tastes better that way. Many may disagree, but you can eat peanut butter any way you like at Peanut Butter & Co.

Peanut Butter & Co is located in the West Village steps away from Washington Square Park. Its menu contains a variety of peanut butter based dishes, including the Fluffer Nutter (peanut butter and marshmallow) and the Elvis (peanut butter and banana with bacon optional). They also offer a selection of beverages (milk being ideal for accompanying peanut butter) and some non-peanut butter options (grilled cheese and tuna fish, um, separately). All sandwiches are served with potato chips and carrot sticks, to complete that nostalgic after school snack feeling.

We attended a talk given by Lee Zalben, founder of Peanut Butter & Co. A personable guy, Lee told us the story of how he came up with this idea. A long-time peanut butter lover, he ate all sorts of peanut butter combinations during late night study sessions in college. These late night snacks spawned the idea for a shop that served variations of peanut butter. Only a few years out of college, Lee noticed a store front for sale in the West Village and thought it would be the perfect location for this venture. He quit his job, rented the property, and went for it! Their opening was a huge success! A truly inspiring tale of a successful entrepreneur.

Now they’re selling jarred peanut butter of all different yummy flavors in stores all over the country. I personally recommend the Dark Chocolate variety spread over waffles. But no jelly. Peanut butter always tastes best without the jelly.

I met up with some old friends from highschool and decided to take them to Meskerem, a small, Ethiopian restaurant in the West Village, right near Washington Square Park. Tons of great restaurants in that area! Meskerem is always a good bet, since it’s not usually crowded and it’s not expensive.

The place is small. Just one narrow room. And the service is not excellent. But it’s got funky, exotic decorations, dim lighting, and a tasty menu. Plenty of vegetarian options.

All the dishes are large, meant to be shared. And, of course, they are also meant to be eaten with your hands. OCD folks might not like it, but I’m a slob and I always think it’s fun. I usually order the Vegetarian combo, which has several delicious veggie options. Some are a bit spicey, so beware. I also always try to order Mead, honey wine, but, alas, they never seem to have it. It makes me sad.

We all still got drunk, anyway, on white wine instead. I got complimented on my restaurant selection by my friend, a former Astorian who’s a fan of Ethiopian food. So if you’re looking for a good place to gather with friends in the West Village, and none of you are OCD, I recommend it.

One of the best parts of living in New York is the wide variety of “little Italian restaurants” (LIR’s). Growing up in Northern NJ, going into the city to eat, I had thought Italian restaurants are everywhere. But not outside NYC. I’ve searched DC, San Francisco, and others, but have found none that compare.

I have a number of favorite LIR’s in the city, Don Giovani’s, Mezzo Mezzo, Babbo (went there once; wonderful place, but don’t know when I’ll be able to afford it again.) But none of them are as classic NYC as Carmine’s. I only go on occasion, since it really needs to be an occasion to go there.

Last Friday, my friend John Paul’s birthday, he decided naively, at 7:30, that Carmine’s would be a good place to go for dinner. Carmine’s is always packed. Tourists on their way to Broadway shows, families, mobsters, all cram into Carmine’s, especially on the weekend. Luckily, I have connections. Because I’m Italian. So I made a phone call. I seriously did. I made a phone call to a friend who could pull some strings and get us a table for that evening. I felt pretty special.

Carmine’s was packed, as usual. My friend (who pulled the strings) made his way over to us and assured us that our table would be ready in just a few minutes. And, miraculously, it was. For some unknown reason, I always seem to have the same table.

The six of us sat down and ordered a bottle of the house Chianti. My Italian grandfather always only drinks Chianti (Carlo Rossi!) and it just seems appropriate at Carmine’s. The meals are family style, so we got Caesar salad, Penna alla Vodka (my favorite dish), and some meat item or another. As always, the penna alla vodka was amazing. I’m starting to drool just thinking about it.

After a few glasses of Chianti, everyone was laughing, the stress of the work week was slipping away, and we reached that perfect comfort and contentment that every Italian restaurant should create. Then the waiters presented John Paul with a monstrously huge cake containing chocolates, fruits, and, unfortunately, nuts (I’m allergic). Even without my help, the party nearly finished the huge dessert. Apparently, it was delicious. It seemed even more delicious when the waitress gave us our bill and informed us that my string-pulling friend had taken care of coffee and dessert.

Ah, the many joys of little Italian restaurants in the city. It really is the place city on earth, for Italian food. Ok, except for maybe cities actually in Italy.