Brooklyn Botanical Garden, A Wonderfully Rich Mocha, and A So-So Accidental Vegetarian Dinner: Brooklyn, NY

For years Michael and I have been talking about going to the "Sakura Matsuri" festival at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, but have never actually gone. This year, I made it a point to put it in my calendar, but I noticed the cherry blossoms blooming prematurely in Stamford, so I decided we should go a week early. As you probably know, I'm not very good at dealing with crowds, so it wasn't that difficult for me to decide that I'd rather take photos of nature than portraits of strangers dressed up in kimonos/cosplay.

Brooklyn Botanical Garden
1000 Washington Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11225
For the second time in a row, I brought my camera but had no battery charge (I did try to charge it recently, but realized that either my charger or my battery is broken), so I had to settle for using Michael's iPhone. I know, I really haven't been doing well in the photography department recently. I was pissed at myself for about 5 minutes, then decided this was a great chance to experience the walk more, rather than stressing about taking photos the entire time. As you probably know if you have ever used a DSLR, it's a lot less worrisome to just use a camera phone. In any case, you'll probably notice the Instagram-ish quality of my photos for this walk, and that's the reason why.

Half the cherry blossoms were already done for the season, and half were crowded with photographers, people doing engagement/child/family photo sessions, and couples lying down and canoodling under the shade as if there weren't hundreds of other people there. I positioned myself to take photos in areas where there weren't too many people.

This tree made me think of the poster from the movie "Big Fish"

Glass Shop

766 Classon Ave
(between Sterling Pl & Park Pl)
Brooklyn, NY 11238

Neighborhood: Crown Heights

After the park, we stopped by Glass Shop, which is a hipster-ish coffeehouse, for a quick mocha. The reviews on this place are mixed. People seem to like the food and the coffee, but there are many complaints about the baristas being snooty or rude. I found the guy working there at the time wasn't rude, but not super friendly either. I've found this to be true for most NY establishments anyway, so I really have no complaints, especially since the mocha was superb. If you need me to be more specific, it was creamy and almost hot chocolatey. I had planned on getting their olive oil cake, but they were out. Michael couldn't stop himself from getting the apple turnover, which also turned out to be good. They also serve healthier snacks like hard-boiled eggs and oranges. The interior of the place is very plain and almost hole-in-the-wall-ish, but it was still crowded. I'm not surprised, since they also have free wifi. I would recommend this place as long as you're not planning on annoying the baristas.

After hitting the Glass Shop, we walked around Crown Heights and went to a few stores, none of which were all that interesting to me. Owl & Thistle General Store was somewhat interesting, in a Brooklyn-y/Etsy kinda way, but I didn't feel a desire to buy any of their stuff.

The walk wasn't completely lame at that point though, because some areas of Crown Heights were quite nice.

After Crown Heights, I convinced Michael to drive us to Brooklyn Heights for dinner, and I chose Jack the Horse Tavern for their 4 stars on Yelp, and because their menu had both yummy and healthy-sounding food.

Jack the Horse Tavern

66 Hicks St
(between Middagh St & Cranberry St)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Neighborhood: Brooklyn Heights

I'm not quite sure how I feel about JtH. Food-wise, Michael had what I think was a 2-star experience, while I had a 4-star experience (more on that later). The ambiance is cozy, with exposed brick walls and vintage-style clocks. The clientele is a bit on the middle-aged side, though it might be because we were having a bit of an early dinner (6 pm). Service was pretty bad. It took forever for each of the courses to get to us, and THEY FORGOT TO GIVE US OUR ENTREES. What?! They went from appetizers directly to dessert. This has never happened to me in my life. We waited for about an hour for our entrees to appear, and during this time the waiter took our dessert order. We assumed he was just taking it in advance, but then we got the cake a few minutes later. We told them about the error of course, and they seemed somewhat apologetic. They removed the cake from our bill, though in my opinion they should've removed the entrees.

For my appetizer, I had the Red & Golden Beets Salad with Cabernet Vinegar & Walnut Oil Marinade, Tango, Radish, Goat Cheese & Oranges. I loved the colors in this, and any meal that is (naturally) colorful usually means it's good for you. However, the greens were a bit too bitter for my taste, which isn't new since I'm very picky with greens. The radish was also a bit too much on the sour side for me, so I found myself just enjoying the fruit, beets, and cheese.

Red & Golden Beets Salad with Cabernet Vinegar & Walnut Oil Marinade, Tango, Radish, Goat Cheese & Oranges

Michael had a first course of Ricotta Ravioli with Mixed Mushrooms, Brown Butter & Parmesan. It looked extremely weird to me, because it seemed more like giant gnocchis, with some purple crap on top. As weird as it looked, Michael liked it even less. He said the purple stuff tasted "strange", and the ravioli didn't taste like anything.

Ricotta Ravioli with Mixed Mushrooms, Brown Butter & Parmesan

For my entree, I had the Risotto with Spinach Pesto, Spring Kale & Asparagus. This dish looks (and sounds) pretty boring, and to be honest risotto is one of the most boring dishes to photograph. However, it tasted really good for something decently healthy. I don't usually order all vegetarian anywhere, but I saw kale and was instantly drawn to the dish. It was creamy and flavorful, so I definitely enjoyed it.

Risotto with Spinach Pesto, Spring Kale & Asparagus

Michael had yet another blah dish for his entree. He got the Grilled Boneless Pork Loin, with Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder, Smoked Celery Root & Escarole. As a healthy meal, I wouldn't have minded this, however it cost $24, and I would've expected something a lot better for something that cost that much and had the words "slow roasted" in the description. The pork was a bit on the dry side, and the whole dish just lacked... something. Maybe some sauce, or maybe some herbs? In any case, it was not good.

All in all, that dinner was one of the lamest we'd had in so long. To top it all off, the woman sitting at the table beside us spilled an entire glass of water right on Michael's shoes. Of course, the restaurant had nothing to do with this, but it put him in an even darker mood than he was already in. 

We felt a bit better about them when we got home and tasted their olive oil cake. It came with a citrusy custard, creme fraiche, and orange pieces. It was so good Michael requested I make it at some point, since I had mentioned that I saw a recipe in a South Beach cookbook years ago. To be honest, I still wouldn't go back there, but at least it wasn't all bad.

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SoNo Marketplace - South Norwalk, CT

The sun was out and it felt warm for the first time in what seems like a very loooong time today, so despite still feeling a bit out of the weather, we made an effort to drive out somewhere (after sleeping 'til like, noon-ish, hehe). We picked the perfect "walk". A very short walk around the SoNo Marketplace, which, according to their site, "is a European style market with over 50 local merchants, artisans and delicious food all under one roof!". This meant there was so much to see, and everything I usually go for was there: food, home goods, jewelry, coffee, clothes, bakeries, and even a bar, though to be honest I very rarely go to those.

We started with lunch, because I was absolutely starving. They have at least two fresh seafood stalls in there, but I went for "Bloom Bros. Lobsters and Clams", which makes lobster sliders with tarragon (no butter or mayo), which they call "New School". These are not sophisticated in ANY WAY, but they were good, and they were healthy.

After ordering, you can sit down at one of the long tables they have, decorated with an assortment of flower pots. If you weren't on a spring diet like me, you probably would have decided to get something from "Chocopologie" as well, which serves crepes, in addition to cakes, cupcakes, and chocolate truffles.

As we waited for the food, I appreciated the flowers, and the chandeliers they use to light the place. Every single one is different from the other.

Right beside our table was "Maura & Nuccia Italian Artisan Desserts", which gives away free biscotti pieces, and sells gluten-free desserts. We vowed to try one of their pies sometime.

There was a tea shop that also sold tea kettle and cup sets, with a sign that said "pay at Momo Sushi". Apparently people in Connecticut trust each other enough to do this kind of thing. Momo Sushi was on the other side of the building. They sold "fork and spoon" chopsticks there as well for $15.

There were various jewelry shops, but I just went on an online jewelry shopping binge recently, so I wasn't really looking for anything. My favorite store today was ReFABulous Furnishings by Machette Restoration.

I was first drawn to this vinyl and cd dessert or decor tower. Too bad it doesn't go with our apartment.

I was next drawn to a pair of decorated teacups that were hanging from the side of the store. I took a photo of one of them the first time we walked past the store. I didn't even notice the nerdy reference until I had bought it, brought it home, and uploaded a photo.

I walked out with a somewhat unhealthy (oops) mochaccino from the Flat White Coffee Company, which I paid for via workout later. It was well worth it.

I'm definitely looking forward to going back there, especially since they will be opening up a farmer's market outside as well in the spring.

SoNo Marketplace

314 Wilson Ave

Norwalk, CT 06854

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Harlan Social - Stamford, CT

Yours truly recently moved to Stamford, Connecticut, in a fit of rage over the fact that the 7 train has basically not been crossing to Manhattan every weekend for an entire year. At least, that's what it felt like. And I'm not sorry either, because until now I still get messages from my NYC transport app that the 7 train is delayed every single morning. Many of my friends and family were at first shocked, and I'm sure if anyone out there reads my blog semi-regularly, you'd probably be thinking, "So that means the end of your New York City adventures, right?". Well, the thought did cross my mind once or twice, but after about a month of living in CT I've realized it takes me about the same amount of time to get home as it did when I lived in Queens, plus it is now possible for me to do walks around the Stamford area too. Not a bad deal, in addition to my apartment and neighborhood being much, much better, and the majority of my commute being so comfortable it doesn't feel like a commute (padded seats I can ALWAYS get, outlets to plug power-greedy tech gadgets, Internet access since the train is above ground, and I can actually move my arms). So here's my first Connecticut post as a Connecticut resident.

Harlan Social is a bar/restaurant just a few minutes from Downtown Stamford (near Fairway Market, which I love, but I'm not going to talk about that here). The restaurant has a bit of a New York feel in that the interior decor is part industrial part rustic (which I've seen in countless NYC restaurants). It is NOT like NYC in that it is very spacious, with high ceilings, and tables that actually allow you to have a conversation that won't be overheard by other people if you talk at a reasonable volume.

We booked Harlan Social for Valentine's Day because we were stupid enough to think we could get a table at Momofuku Ko in Manhattan (apparently the only way to get in is to be online at 10 am and start clicking away at their reservation site to get a spot exactly 1 week ahead), and by the time we realized that would be impossible, everywhere else worth the trip to the city was booked solid.

So we decided to have dinner at Harlan Social, which we'd accidentally discovered while doing some grocery shopping.

I started with a "Drunken Palmer". It's made with sweet tea vodka, lemonade, and iced tea. It's fairly simple, but very good. It was probably the longest I'd ever taken to decide on what cocktail to order, since everything sounded perfect for a wintry night. Most of them sound very all-American too, with mixtures like apple and cinnamon, and honeycomb and bourbon. It's also worth noting that they have a "mozzarella bar" and a variety of cheeses and charcuterie, if you're into that sort of thing.

Drunked Palmer

For our appetizers, we got the Braised Veal & Foie Gras Ballotine with Caramelized Figs & Raisin Walnut Bread, and the Rock Shrimp Tempura with Yellow Curry.

Mike thoroughly enjoyed every bit of the braised veal & foie gras dish. Sweet and salty, soft and crunchy, it was a good balance of texture and taste. He even loved the bread despite his usual distaste when it comes to nuts.

Braised Veal & Foie Gras Ballotine with Caramelized Figs & Raisin Walnut Bread

I was expecting the rock tempura to be more... tempura-ish? Despite that, the dish was still decent. The texture was perfect, lightly crunch on the outside, succulent on the inside. The yellow curry was on the sweet side, which I'm usually a fan of, but I would've liked it to be a tad more salty to offset the sweetness.

Rock Shrimp Tempura with Yellow Curry

For our entrees we had the Parisienne Gnocchi with Puttanesca Sauce & Smoked Mozzarella and the Braised Beef Short Ribs with Parsnip Puree & Caramelized Brussel Sprouts.

The gnocchi was very good. It was flat instead of the more traditional thumb-shaped, and "Parisienne" is made with choux pastry. Honestly I didn't notice much of a difference texture-wise, but the puttanesca sauce was delicious.  The smoked mozzarella tasted fresh, and took the whole dish up a level. This is good enough reason to try their mozzarella bar at some point.

Parisienne Gnocchi with Puttanesca Sauce & Smoked Mozzarella

Any short rib dish that does not cut like butter is a failure to me, and this one was definitely on-par with the best of them. The texture was perfect, however it was just a tad too much on the sweet side for me, which might have been because the dish had both pureed parsnips and caramelized brussels sprouts, both of which are naturally sweet. Like the rock tempura, a bit more saltiness would've gone a long way with this dish.

Braised Beef Short Ribs with Parsnip Puree & Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

For our desserts we had an apple tart (which was actually not on the menu, and replaced the lemon raspberry tart) and warm cinnamon donuts.

The apple tart was gorgeous and delicious. It had a soft crust and center, with thinly sliced and glazed apples on top.

Apple Tart

The warm cinnamon donuts were a disappointment to me, but Mike ate three of them, so I think it's safe to say he liked them. I wanted them to be a lot sweeter than they were, but the texture was very good. The bittersweet chocolate did not help with the lack of sweetness either. If this came in a bread basket with some whipped butter at the beginning of the meal instead of as a dessert, I probably would have loved it.

Warm Cinnamon Donuts with Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce

Overall I wasn't floored by Harlan Social that first time, but it was a good experience, and I left wanting to try more. We returned for fantastic brunch a few days later, which I'll hopefully write about sometime this week.

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"A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words" is Not Always True

I've been reading a lot lately, and I've been thinking of the oft said fact that the books are always better than the movies (or tv shows), which was proven to me once again as I started reading "Game of Thrones". Here are just two quotes (of which there are many, many more) from books that probably had a tenth of their effect on me on screen:

"Everything Syrio Forel had ever taught her vanished in a heartbeat. In that instant of sudden terror, the only lesson Arya could remember was the one Jon Snow had given her, the very first. She stuck him with the pointy end, driving the blade upward with a wild, hysterical strength." - from Game of Thrones

"Everything inside me came undone as I stared at the tiny porcelain face of the half-vampire, half-human baby. All the lines that held me to my life were sliced apart in swift cuts, like clipping the strings to a bunch of balloons. Everything that made me who I was – my love for the dead girl upstairs, my love for my father, my loyalty to my new pack, the love for my other brothers, my hatred for my enemies, my home, my name, my self – disconnected from me in that second – snip, snip, snip – and floated up into space. I was not left drifting. A new string held me where I was. Not one string, but a million. Not strings, but steel cables... all tying me to one thing – to the very center of the universe. I could see that now – how the universe swirled around this one point. I'd never seen the symmetry of the universe before, but now it was plain. The gravity of the earth no longer tied me to the place where I stood. It was the baby girl in the blond vampire's arms that held me here now. Renesmee.
From upstairs, there was a new sound. The only sound that could touch me in this endless instant. A frantic pounding, a  racing beat... A changing heart." - from Breaking Dawn

I've also somewhat recently finished "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell", which has not actually been adapted on-screen, but is rumored to be coming to BBC in a mini-series directed by Toby Haynes, who has worked on both "Doctor Who" and "Sherlock". I would be shocked if they could pull it off properly. There were so many brilliant lines in this book that I started using the highlighting function of my Kindle for the first time ever.  Here are a few:

"It has been remarked (by a lady infinitely cleverer than the present author) how kindly disposed the world in general feels to young people who either die or marry. Imagine then the interest that surrounded Miss Wintertowne! No young lady ever had such advantages before: for she died upon the Tuesday, was raised to life in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and was married upon the Thursday; which some people thought too much excitement for one week".

"But from the first moment of his entering the house Strange found himself subject to that peculiarly uncomfortable Natural Law which states that whenever a person arrives at a place where he is not known, then wherever he stands he is sure to be in the way."

"'Such nonsense!' declared Dr. Greysteel. 'Whoever heard of cats doing anything useful!' 'Except for staring at one in a supercilious manner,' said Strange. 'That has a sort of moral usefulness, I suppose, in making one feel uncomfortable and encouraging sober reflection upon one's imperfections.'"

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Not Bored in Seoul 2012, Day 2 Part 2 - Hwaseong Fortress and Insadong

After our stop for lunch and coffee, we were pumped to head out again and see more of Seoul. Before that, we had to stop and pick up a Japanese couple who joined our tour for the afternoon. Then we actually left Seoul and were driven to Suwon, which is south of Seoul, and surrounded by our next destination, the Hwaseong Fortress. "Hwaseong (Brilliant Castle/ Fortress) was built in the late 18th century by King Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty (the king in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, for those interested in Kdrama references) to honour and house the remains of his father Prince Sado, who had been murdered by being locked alive inside a rice chest by his own father King Yeongjo having failed to obey his command to commit suicide." Eep. Talk about a nasty back story.

Hwaseong Fortress

Before I found out about this though, I had seen the fortress wall in many Korean dramas already. As of this moment, I can only remember one, "King 2 Hearts". Come to think of it, this scene was pretty depressing. The princess is imagining a conversation with her almost-lover, who had died protecting her brother, the king, about how she's finally ready to start dating again. *sigh*

Despite the sad stories linked to the fortress, it was still quite a sight to behold. They also have a restaurant, a tea house, a souvenir shop, and for the more active/adventurous types, an archery range. We didn't have time to try and shoot some arrows, but there were plenty of people doing it and it looked fun.

I was quite amused that the targets were painted with bull's heads, which I remember seeing on "Sungkyunkwan Scandal".

We milled around for a few minutes and then boarded a trolley that took us around the fortress. It was a pleasant way to relax after all the walking we'd done that week.

After the trolley ride, we took a break to see some cultural presentations. The weapons demonstration was somewhat boring, although I did appreciate this one pair "dueling" with spears.

The all-women group playing drums was a lot more interesting to me.

I also liked these dancers, not so much because of the dancing, but because their hanboks were cute.

After watching for a bit we went into Hwaesong Haenggung (hanggeung means detached palace). It was built to house King Jeongjo when he was staying in the area.

I feel as though this guy was trying very hard not to look at the camera

Kitchen items

Prince Sado was locked inside a rice chest similar to this one to die

We Want You!

I probably would have been more excited about this if I had actually seen Dae Jang Geum (Jewel of the Palace).
It's on my list.

Hwaseong was technically our last stop on the tour, but our guide was kind enough to drop us off at Insadong, a shopping area well-known for its antique stores, art galleries, restaurants, and souvenir shops.

Insadong

In all my travels, I've never been happier shopping for souvenirs and knick knacks than I was at Insadong. Most of the souvenir items looked classy and well-made (as to whether or not they actually are, I can only vouch for the things I've bought, and they've been good so far). There were so many choices, ranging from the super cheap (bookmarks, candies, fashion jewelry) to the ridiculously expensive (actual antiques, traditional clothing). We had already spent a bit at this point, so I mostly bought souvenirs for my family (coasters, chopsticks, fans). My one purchase for myself was a personal seal/stamp. In Korea these are used together with signatures for signing important documents. Mine was just for fun.

After shopping a bit we were exhausted and hungry, so we hunted for a nice restaurant to have dinner at. We found a few nestled behind an outdoor shopping mall.

We had done most of our shopping, so we didn't enter any of the stores here (sad!), and instead went directly into one of the restaurants. The food was fantastic. We had some of the dishes that can be found all over Koreatown and Flushing here in New York: bibimbap and daeji bulgogi or spicy pork. We also ordered a spicy noodle dish I unfortunately forgot to write down the name of. Everything was delicious, and a tad more spicy than those served here. Either we were really lucky, or like Filipino food, it's also hard to find Korean restaurants in New York that come close to their local fare. Note that this was a random restaurant and the food was that good.

Mike enjoying dinner

Like everywhere else, our food came with side dishes.

Bizeun

On our way back to the hotel, we passed by a rice cake store called Bizeun. I bought a few things, and they mostly tasted like mochi, but I loved the colors and designs.

We headed back to the hotel to rest before going back to the Han river to hang out at one of their riverside cafes, but it ended up raining pretty hard. So we ordered some room service dessert instead. I was a bit disappointed that we were forced to stay in on our last night in Seoul, but at least I grabbed a few snacks from Paris Baguette (a French-themed Korean bakery) at the airport early the next day.

Our last night may have been uneventful, but our whole trip to South Korea was one of the most active, and most exciting trips I've ever been on. I definitely would be pumped if I were to plan another trip to go there one day.

Related Posts:


Not Bored in Manila 2012, Day 1 - Mesa Filipino Moderne, Fort Santiago, and Travel Woes
Not Bored in Jeju Island 2012, Day 1 and 2, Part 1 - Airport and Hotel Food, Jetlag, and Jeju Olle Trails Route 7
Not Bored in Jeju Island 2012, Day 2 Part 2 - Loveland Museum
Not Bored in Jeju Island 2012, Day 2 Part 3 - Dongmun Market, Han's Deli, and Gwang Won (Korean BBQ)
Not Bored in Jeju Island 2012, Day 3 Part 1 - Hallim Park and Jeju Olle Trail
Not Bored in Jeju Island 2012, Day 3 Part 2 - Spirited Gardens, Locadio World, Mt. Sanbang, and Cheonjeyeon Falls
Not Bored in Seoul 2012, Day 1 - Myeongdong, More Korean Food, and Hangang River Park
Not Bored in Seoul 2012, Day 2 Part 1 - UNESCO World Heritage Day Tour

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