Scouting: Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks

June 13, 2014 by Laura Messersmith in Scouting

Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, Greenwich Village | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, Greenwich Village** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Once upon a time, some brilliant soul coined the term ‘hangry’ defined by Urban Dictionary as being “so hungry that your lack of food causes you to become angry, frustrated or both.” Sounds unpleasant.

I am guilty of hangry feelings from time to time, but I also need a term for humidity-induced irritability. If the Internet could please work on developing this term for me I’d be grateful. This whole week and again today has been just full of moody, rainy, not really hot, but still sticky days that put me right into a funk.

What’s a girl to do when she’s in the midst of a weather-induced bad attitude? In my case, a little change of scenery helps and preferably one that includes an adorable neighborhood, a mild dose of retail therapy, and some escapist reading.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you: Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks a shop specializing in food-related books and periodicals deep in the heart of Greenwich Village. Add an ice cream cone to the mix and I’m telling you it’s gold.

The shop is packed floor to ceiling with books of all shapes and sizes covering range of food and cooking related topics from a variety of eras – antique to modern. Alongside what I’d consider the classics of cooking and commentary (James Beard, Julia Child, Paul Bocuse, M.F.K. Fisher, Elizabeth David) are spiral-bound volumes by local Junior League chapters, glossy hardcovers by celebrity chefs, cozy memoirs from literary food writers, and tomes on entertaining.

Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks is a great spot for happy discoveries and treasure hunting – no need to wait for a rainy day. I easily spent over an hour browsing the shelves before finally forcing myself out the door a like-new copy of Judith Jones’s The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food tucked under my arm feeling significantly less grumpy. Crisis averted!

Scouting: Central Park Conservatory Garden

June 06, 2014 by Laura Messersmith in Scouting

Vanderbilt Gate Central Park Conservatory Garden | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Vanderbilt Gate Central Park Conservatory Garden** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

One of the best parts about living on the Upper West Side is access to Central Park. I know I've talked about how much I love the park before, but it really is one of my favorite places. I think what makes it so great is how varied it is - woodsy in the Ramble, grassy in the Sheep's Meadow, and manicured in the gardens. There's always something new to see or a different corner to explore.

On a gorgeous late spring day a few weeks ago I took a little stroll across the park and up Fifth Avenue to visit the Central Park Conservatory Garden. This will probably sound ridiculous to non-city dwellers – but across the park and 30 blocks north is not exactly in my backyard. Fun Fact: The Garden's main entrance is through the Vanderbilt Gate, which originally stood before the Vanderbilt mansion at Fifth Avenue and 58th Street so it headed north too.

Central Park Conservatory Garden | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Central Park Conservatory Garden** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

You all know my love of gardens and this one is laid out in formal beds with a central fountain and a really stunning arbor of wisteria vines – very Game of Thrones. I wandered along the paths testing my knowledge of the plants (moderate), checking out the new plants being laid out by the gardeners, and observing the people sunning themselves on the benches in one of the quietest places in the city.

Next time I go my plan is to bring a book, pick up a cool beverage on the way, and just camp out for an hour or two in this little oasis. It's the perfect destination for the kind of day when you want to wander, but wander to somewhere.

Scouting: Madison Square Eats

May 30, 2014 by Laura Messersmith in Scouting

Madison Square Eats | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Madison Square Eats** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

As I write this I'm still crazy full from my field trip to Madison Square Eats this afternoon. To paraphrase the MSQ Eats website - it's a pop-up market that brings together a "group of New York City’s most popular restaurants and well-respected chefs." The market takes place over the course of four weeks in May (I just barely squeaked in before it ended today) and then returns for four more weeks beginning in early September.

I scouted vendors in advance and had a sketch of a plan in mind, but I was still overwhelmed by the number of great options singing their siren street food song. Despite my best-laid plans - light breakfast, long pre-lunch walk from the UWS to Flatiron - I still only managed to sample a few different dishes before I was in danger of a food coma. That said, I can whole-heartedly endorse the following:

Arrancini Bros's blanco verde arrancini filled with mozz and spinach – delightfully crunchy outside, creamy and rich inside.

La Sonrisa Empanadas's pulled pork empanada flavorful, tangy pork inside a super crisp shell. Yum.

Melt's Morticia ice cream sandwich a chewy chocolate crisp cookie with chocolate rum ice cream – I love chocolate and these folks are not messing around. I see that they also have one called the Thick Mint which sounds like heaven.

Lastly, Roberta's has such a great reputation that I couldn't resist taking home one of their margarita pizzas with fresh basil and mozz. I had one bite while it was still piping hot from the charcoal oven (you know, for journalistic purposes) and I'm here to tell you the rumors are true. I can feel a pilgrimage to Brooklyn coming on...

There were so many awesome options I wanted to try – 100 Sardines, L&W Oyster Co., Doughnuttery – that I'd highly recommend bringing a partner in crime (and cash too, not all vendors take plastic.) It will make it easier to taste more dishes and stake out a spot at one of the cafe tables scattered through the square. We’ll call it Operation: Divide & Conquer. Who wants to be my buddy?

Scouting: Nantucket

May 24, 2014 by Laura Messersmith in Scouting

"In the midst of waters," or "far away island" are the two suggested translations for Nantucket offered by Wikipedia, font of all random facts. It’s an Algonquin word - and now I want to quote Wayne’s World all day long, so there’s that, but really my point is that they were pretty spot-on with their description. As I mentioned before, Nantucket takes a little effort to get to, but once you’re there it feel like the rest of the world falls away.

Nantucket | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Nantucket** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

In a continuing trend of all our spring travels (see also Croatia and Santa Barbara) we arrived about a week before everyone else just as the shops and restaurants were waking up from a long winter’s nap. If you’re not a fan of crowds mid-May is the perfect time to go – town was relatively quiet, the sun was warm, but not hot, the apple trees were in bloom, and the sea air mingled with the scent fresh mulch in the flowerbeds.

Nantucket Wine Festival | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Nantucket Wine Festival** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Our visit was timed with the Nantucket Wine Festival, so much of our time was spent near the White Elephant Hotel, site of the festival, but I did have a chance to do a little scouting and a lot of “shutterbugging.” Of course I have recommendations for you – a mix of a few old favorites and some new discoveries. Here’s what we did:

See:

Nantucket Town is incredibly charming with whaling era cobblestone streets (wear flats!), a multitude of nautical themed weathervanes to take pictures of, and lots of little antique shops to snoop through. One of my favorites is an antique shop/gallery called Four Winds Craft Guild & Sylvia Antiques where I learned about (and actually got to meet!) David Lazarus, a really talented scrimshaw artist and oil painter.

The Beach! There are lots of options for beach-going (Surfside, Brant Point, etc.) but my favorite is Madaket. It’s a long-ish, but not overly challenging bike ride from town and despite the island bus service I’ve never seen it crowded. The sand is wide and the view is gorgeous even on a chilly late spring day.

Cisco Brewery has a great patio, live music in the afternoons and is just a stone’s throw from Bartlett Farm. So, when you’re done sipping a locally brewed beer you can make a quick stop and pick up dinner.

‘Sconset Cliff Walk is utterly charming and gorgeous. Definitely plan a drive over to the east end of the island to see village and take a stroll up to the Sankaty Head Lighthouse.

Madaket Beach, Nantucket | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Madaket Beach, Nantucket** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Stay:

Cottage all the way! since we were traveling with a group it made sense to find a place with a little more space. This cottage on Crooked Lane was perfect. Quiet and peaceful but only a 10 minute bike to town.

Nantucket Cottage | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Nantucket Cottage** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Eat:

Dune was the location for our anniversary dinner and the one ‘fancy’ place on our itinerary, so standards were extra high. (No pressure.) Thankfully, the food was delicious – I loved the Pan Seared Halibut and Mike was really happy with the Grilled Steak with bok choy. I also have to give a shout out to my Bill Burr cocktail (if you like Dark N Stormys…) and to the Apple Cinnamon Donut - so good. The setting is what I’d call ‘modern coastal,’ like being in a sleek beach house, and we were delighted with the service. We had a great time.

Nantucket Pasty Co. I followed my nose to this little shop and found a great, quick, hot breakfast. Read “pasty,” think “turnover” in both sweet and savory versions. We shared one ham, cheddar & rutabaga and one apple. Yum. The fillings were delicious and the pastry was buttery and flaky. An excellent option, especially when you don’t have a lot of time.

Something Natural Nantucket is home to several excellent sandwich shops, but Something Natural - just outside of ‘town’ on Cliff Road - is my favorite. I love to stop here on the way to the beach (I always get turkey and cheddar on multigrain and a chocolate chip cookie) or set up camp at one of their picnic tables for lunch. Delicious!

Straight Wharf Fish Store is my new source for take-out, prepared seafood. We were hosting a dinner at our rental cottage, so I picked up New England clam chowder, crab cakes, and the biggest lobster rolls I’ve ever seen here. The SWFS staff were really helpful and our guests were really impressed with the food. Note: they are cash or check only!