Wikipages Blog

I love this weather! Everything is warm and sunny, just in time for Earth Day last weekend.

To celebrate the holiday, Ben and I tried to spend as much time outside as possible. Saturday night, we went for a drink and a bite before a late night sing-along screening of Buffy the Musical. We decided on Caffe Reggio in the West Village. A nice tiny spot with outdoor seating that makes for good people watching. The cappuccinos and chocolate mousse were very tasty. Although the bathroom left a bit to be desired! The caffeine and sugar gave us the needed boost to fully participate in the midnight Buffy showing.

On Sunday, we went up to Central Park. We took the train to 86th and made our way through the park, seeing all my favorite sites along the way: Belvedere Castle, The Shakespeare Gardens, the Angel Fountain. Walked all the way through to 59th and 5th, where we can catch our train.

A truly great way to celebrate Earth Day!

In the heart of the West Village is a little Italian place. But it doesn’t specialize in the usual starchy pastas or typical Italian carbohydrates. It specializes in gluten-free food, as stated in its name: Risotteria.

Risotteria is a tiny place with a funky vibe. The menu includes pizzas and various risotto dishes, catering to vegetarians. My favorite is the goat cheese risotto. Super tasty, though very filling. The food is relatively cheap and definitely delicious. The place can be crowded on a weekend afternoon, but it’s worth a bit of a wait.

It’s a perfect place to meet friends for lunch, particularly those that are vegetarian or on a budget.

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.

I wandered the West Village with some friends looking for a good place for an after dinner drink. Of course, ten million such places exist in the area. But they are often 1. completely packed (sometimes with a studenty or tourist crowd) 2. extremely loud 3. don’t give seating to anyone not eating. But right near Meskerem, a tasty Ethiopian restaurant, we spotted a sub-level tiny place whose name caught my eye, the Bourgeois Pig.

The interior is dimly lit, with plush couches and fringe lamps. The menu includes fondus, chocolates, cheeses, and a long wine list. Very tasty stuff! The place is tiny, but crammed with couches which allow a surprising amount of seating.

The wine and food was delicious and the atmosphere lush. I felt the need to sit on a piano and belt La Vie En Rose. It’s a nice, hidden place for a quiet drink.

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.

Despite having lived in New York for three years, I have never seen the Halloween Parade. Until last night.

I went with Ben and a couple of friends who dressed up as V (for Venedetta, not from the 80’s mini series about aliens, which was my first thought when he told me) and a wench. I had planned to dress up as Alice in Wonderland and dress Ben up as the Chesire Cat, but due to his lack of enthuasiam and my lack of costume elements, we didn’t really dress up. I wore cat ears and Ben wore a glittery bowa.

The parade always starts in the West Village and goes up to 23rd street. The crowds were every bit as dense as I imagined. Packed with people, mostly in costume, all come to see the parade. I decided next year, I will definitley wear a good costume and definitely walk in the parade. It would be a lot easier to get around! Plus, it just looks like fun.

The parade marchers ranged from people in typical, store-bought costumes to hand-made original costumes (my favorite being Beaker from the Muppets) to giant floats filled with costumed dancers, sponsored by bars or the Voice.

Definitely an interesting show. I’m going to start planning a real costume for next Halloween. Look out for me in next year’s parade!

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.