Scenes from Istanbul

Hey, all!

I wish I could say that I have a great April Fools' Day joke for you, but I don't. :) Either way, I thought I would start off the weekend with some more pics of Turkey, this time focusing on Istanbul. I'll be writing more in-depth posts starting next week.

While looking at pictures of sights are great, I think looking at how people live everyday is even better. Here's a glimpse into Istanbul:

Empty Asirefendi Caddesi (Asirefendi Street) in Sultanahmet (the old historic portion of the city) on a Sunday morning.

A heavy police presence on fashionable and fun Beyoglu's Istakal Caddesi (Istakal Street)

There was a heavier police presence that day because of small protests in front of some of consulates of countries participating in the no-fly zone enforcement over Libya. We saw a few people screaming in front of the French consulate. While Turkey is one of the less conservative Muslim countries (they have had a democratically elected secular representative government since the early 1920's), many still feel a connection to the rest of the Muslim world.

In general, I loved looking at the colorful (and often designer) scarves that many women wore in Istanbul.

Some women in Turkey wear head scarves as a way of honoring the Muslim tenet of hijab. You can read about it here. There are many interpretations of what hijab means and how one should interpret its requirement of modesty in dress and deportment. There were many women in Istanbul without head scarves (Apparently if we were there in the summer, we would have seen many women in tank tops and mini-skirts, too). While 97% of Turkey's population states that their religion of choice is Islam, there are many who do not practice regularly.

Fishing off of the side of the Galata Bridge connecting Sultanahmet and Karakoy neighborhoods. We saw people there at all times of day and night fishing. Check the Yeni Camii (mosque) in the background

We saw these boats by the Galata Bridge and couldn't quite understand what was going on.

They're cooking! I think they should make this a Top Chef challenge: cook on a shaky boat in the middle of a busy waterway.

Inner courtyard of the Yeni Camii (Yenii Mosque)

There are so many large beautiful mosques in Istanbul that dot its skyline.

A view from Galata Tower, in the Karakoy neighborhood, of the Golden Horn, the inlet of the Bosphorus strait that divides Sultanahment from the new portions of Istanbul proper.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing more of Istanbul.

Happy Weekend!

Merhaba!

Merhaba (That's Hello in Turkish)!

We're finally back from Turkey, and I'm finally settled again at home. If you followed my tweets you'll know that Husband J and I really enjoyed our time in Turkey. Turkey has so much historical importance (especially to Christians and Muslims), unique scenery, and I didn't have a bad meal the entire time. It was also overcast and cold for our first SIX days. SIX days without sun! The previous week was sunny and warm there, and we got the short end of the stick on weather, unfortunately. That made me appreciate our last two warm, sunny days even more. I also say this so you won't wonder why my pictures are so darn dark. :)

I will admit to you that I had a hard time coming back home this time around. There have been a variety of things going on with me and my family. Don't worry. We're all healthy and safe (which is all that matters), but there are just so many things up in the air right now. Being away allowed for some emotional rest at the very least, even if our trip had a whirlwind moment or two.

I'll be writing a lot about Turkey in the coming weeks and also adding some things to my Facebook page that won't appear here, so make sure to check over there as well (and like my Facebook page...dude, I gotta plug it somehow! :) ).

Here's a little preview of what we saw and experienced in Turkey:

It's good to be back blogging again. If any of you have any special requests for posts on specific topics or want to know more about a certain pic above, just let me know in the comments section.

Food Porn Friday - Doughnut Plant

I've never really been a big donut fan. (By the way, do you spell it doughnut or donut? Please let me know.) I didn't like red wine either, and then I went to Napa and realized that it wasn't because red wine is bad. It was because I hadn't tasted GOOD red wine. Maybe that's been the case with doughnuts?Also I felt like one day all I was reading were articles about doughnuts. Perhaps the universe was sending me a sign. Off I went to Doughnut Plant in the Lower East Side.

First word of advice: Do not come here on a weekend. It's mobbed. I repeat there is a line out the door. It's really not that big of a space anyway, and there is no real seating, just some banquettes. Tea, coffee and milk are drink options. I brought my doughnuts home.

The menu is divided into yeast doughnuts, cake doughnuts and those with jelly fillings. I forgot this when I ordered and got more yeast ones than I intended, but I can always go back, right?

Yeast Doughnuts

Valhrona Chocolate

This is essentially a light, chewy donut with a chocolate glaze. This is great for someone like me who has her moments with chocolate (some days love, others not so much).

Glazed Doughnut

I was so ready to take a bite that I forgot to take a pic beforehand.

Just your traditional glazed doughnut but WAAY better. What was blowing my mind was the freshness of the doughnuts. Doughnut Plant makes its doughnuts right there in the store (makes you think of Krispy Kreme, doesn't it?), so I shouldn't be surprised. Also the fact that I wasn't clutching my jaw due to the sweetness was a major plus.

Creme Brulee

Creme filled insides

My people, this doughnut is pure brilliance. There is a coating that is a crackly glaze in the same way as a creme brulee dessert just replicated on a doughnut. Genius, I tell you!! The creme did not compete with the glaze and tasted like Boston Creme, smooth with an understated tanginess.

Cake Doughnuts

Tres Leches

Honestly, I think this one was my favorite. I am sucker for things like dulce de leche or which emphasize vanilla or sweet cream flavors. Being one of the cake doughnuts, this one was spongy yet soft with a minute bit of crunch when you bit into it. True to its name, there were drips of milk on the bottom of the doughnut. I should have gotten five of these.

I even found some cream inside.

These four doughnuts are just the tip of the iceberg. Check out the names of these other flavors:

Blackout

Peanut Butter Glaze with Blackberry Jelly

Pistachio

I think I'll need a few months before I go back and try some new ones. :)

Doughnut Plant

379 Grand Street

New York, New York

Doughnut Plant donuts are available all over NYC and globally.

Happy Weekend!

A Sweet Retreat in Kerala's Backwaters

Hey, all. Here's another guest post. This time from my BFF, B. You might remember that I mentioned her wedding late last year. She and her new husband went to India on their honeymoon in January. They found a relaxing retreat in southern India's Kerala.

When my husband and I chose to spend two-weeks in India for our honeymoon, friends and family thought we were crazy. Didn’t we want to go somewhere purely relaxing where we could lie on a beach and people could bring us beer and fruity drinks with little paper umbrellas? Our response was instant and unwavering - we were beyond excited to have an opportunity to spend 2 weeks experiencing through such a beautiful and unique country.

We found both excitement and relaxation in Kerala. We spent five days in Kerala, a region of India at the southern-most tip of the country. To say that it was one of the most beautiful and exhilarating places that I have ever visited does not begin to do it justice. We spent our first two and a half days at the Kumarakom Resort, a sprawling tropical resort nested deep in the Keralan backwaters. We arrived from the airport and were greeted in their open-air “lobby” with cool face towels and fresh coconuts. In contrast to how tight and packed everything had been in Delhi - or even how packed everything is in our home in New York City, our resort had no walls (except for the guest rooms). Everything from the restaurants to the spa was open, and I had the feeling of being on a remote island that had only recently been discovered.

I had been excited to try South Indian food, as I was much more familiar with the Moghul-influenced food of the north. The food was incredible! The most common foods/ flavors involved coconut, banana, and rice (three of my favorite things!) and everything was very light compared to northern food. Our breakfast buffet included both South Indian specialties such Uttapam (rice pancakes), idlis (steamed rice cakes) with a curry or coconut chutney, and Sambhar (a spicy vegetable stew), as well as traditional western dishes like pancakes. Afternoon tea, which they served everyday on the shores of the canals, consisted of chai, fresh coconuts, and various treats such as fried bananas.

We spent our final two and a half days in Kerala on a houseboat. I hadn’t known what to expect when I signed us up for a houseboat tour. I had seen pictures online of the various boats, and brief descriptions of the tours, but nothing had prepared me for how amazing the experience actually was.

We were on a houseboat with two hotel-room-sized bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and an open-air deck. For two days we relaxed on the boat, meandering through miles of backwater canals and watching a whole new world float by. The best way to describe what we saw is with pictures:

Witnessing a Transforming Society in China

Hey, all! I thought for some change of pace that I would invite some of my friends to write a few guest posts while I'm away. Please welcome my friend, E to blog. You might remember her as my dining partner from my Colicchio & Sons post awhile back. She and her husband went to China June of last year and had a chance to see many of the changes happening there.

Last June, we spent two weeks traveling in China, with stops in Beijing, Xian, Chengdu and Hong Kong. Each city was in a different province, and each one had distinct features. But the one thing they all had in common? Louis Vuitton. In a country where the average income was the equivalent of $3,650 USD in 2009 and the smallest Louis Vuitton purse costs about $300, there are 35 Louis Vuitton boutiques.

One of major changes in contemporary Chinese society involves the development of a consumer culture. Luxury goods makers appear to have a gold rush mentality in the country. We saw Armani, Cartier, Gucci, Hermes, Prada stores. All of them! We suspect in a market the size of China that is growing as fast as it is that the goal is to establish the brand now and let the sales come later. In fact, the importance of having any presence at all seemed paramount – even if that meant the famed jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels is next to a KFC! Surely, an executive would be fired if those two stores sat side-by-side in the U.S.

Chicken & Diamonds

Not to be left out, the Chinese are getting into the branding game themselves. But even there, we noticed the influence of Western consumer brands. There are at least three Nike wannabes, sportswear companies each with their own version of the iconic swoosh – Li Ning, ANTA, and Erke. Nike is definitely not alone.

Perhaps the most significant new consumer item in China is the car. The clogged, broad avenues of Beijing are full of shiny, new Volkswagens, Toyotas and Buicks. As a pedestrian, however, you should not stand and admire those new cars lest you be run over by one of them. Seriously. Pedestrians have no right of way in China. It seems that it's all about who gets there first! We saw countless instances of drivers jockeying to be first, even if that meant driving into a crowd of people crossing a street.

The rush of the Chinese driver mirrors the rush of China to develop. Unfortunately, some of the country’s charm and traditions may be lost in the future. In Beijing, for example, older residential neighborhoods were largely demolished to make room for modern residences and office buildings. Dating back many centuries, traditional neighborhoods contain mazes of very narrow alleys (“hutongs”) lined with doors that lead to homes surrounded by high walls.

A typical alley near our hotel

During our trip, we decided to get a better feel for these old neighborhoods by staying in a home that was turned into a small boutique hotel, Hotel Cote Cour, in one of the hutongs. In addition to being a lovely hotel that we highly recommend, we enjoyed staying in an actual neighborhood. Wandering through the alleyways, we saw people hanging laundry, cats lounging on tops of cars, and people shopping at closet-sized storefronts. Two weeks is not enough time to get to know a country as large and diverse as China, but staying in a hutong gave us a small glimpse of real life. Fortunately, there are some efforts to preserve the hutongs, in part, because the Chinese now appreciate the tourist value of these unique neighborhoods.

The interior courtyard of our hotel was a quiet retreat after long days of sightseeing.

The changes in China are not only material, but behavioral as well. Authorities have invested in public awareness campaigns to cut down on certain acts like spitting. Yes, modern, urban China frowns on loogies. This is good, because there is something unsettling about folks in public loudly gathering phlegm for discharge.

No bombs away

Our most unexpected sight, though, were the infamous “split pants” on almost every baby or toddler we came across. In case you don’t know, rather than wear diapers, little ones in China often wear regular pants except the pants are split to allow, er, eliminations – almost anywhere at anytime. We saw children relieving themselves in the street or on plants. We even saw a mother instruct her toddler to relieve himself against the wall by the airport baggage carousel, even though there was a bathroom right around the corner. Luckily, disposable diapers are increasingly catching on with urban, upwardly mobile parents. Just another change in China.

Next time we vacation in China, we might try more rural parts of the country to compare with our urban experience. But the urban centers are wonderful for demonstrating the rapid evolution of Chinese society.

Food Porn Friday - Eggplant Parm at No. 7 Sub

The area around the Ace Hotel has become somewhat of a food destination in the past couple of years. I've already talked about The Breslin and almost made it to John Dory Oyster Bar. Since I don't drink coffee too much, I didn't mention Stumptown Coffee either. There's one more place though, a gourmet sandwich shop called No. 7 Sub. No.7 Sub is actually the Manhattan outpost of a Fort Greene, Brooklyn restaurant, No. 7. Husband J and I have been to No. 7 before, but I think we are definitely due back.

It's a pretty simple set up. No. 7 Sub sells sandwiches and not much else. Actually that's not true. They sell pickles, potato chips, homemade soda and Coca-Cola (there's diet, too).

Also there's really not anywhere to sit. Just two counters where you can eat standing.

Also just know that these sandwiches are NOT cheap.

For some reason lately, I've been feeling guilty about eating meat. I eat it perhaps maybe once per week, but I was a pescetarian until last year (actually until I started this blog). I thought I would go back to my vegetarian-esque roots here. I was going to get this sandwich:

Sounds good, right?

Then I got to the counter to order, and these words came out of my mouth instead:

I'm supposed to be trying to be healthy here. Jalapenos & BBQ Potato Chips reeled me in.

No. 7 Sub Eggplant Parm Sandwich

Side view

Front view

I am going to say that this sandwich is comfort between two pieces of hero bread. It was a cold late winter day and having a warm sandwich made me feel at home even if I was eating while standing and still wearing my coat. I actually liked that there was no marinara sauce. The jalapeno peppers were not super spicy and really an unexpected contrast to the fried eggplant. I would never thought about BBQ potato chips on a gourmet sandwich, but it added smokiness and sweetness to what could have been bland fried eggplant.

Sandwiches are not usually my thing. Now I'm on a quest to try all of these sandwiches. No. 7 Sub sells a highly regarded brussels sprout reuben sandwich and a fried clam sandwich, too.

No. 7 Sub

1188 Broadway (between 28th + 29th Streets)

New York, NY 10001

Happy Weekend!

Hometown Tourist - Flat Stanley Visits NYC

My sister-in-law is an elementary school teacher and asked for my help for one of the kids in her class. Apparently, her students are learning about different communities in other states, and she was hoping that I would help one of her students who wanted to study New York. NO problem, except I didn't realize that I would have to tote around a friend...a paper friend that is.

My sister-in-law's students are learning about different states through the eyes of Flat Stanley. Flat Stanley is a children's book series that follows the global travels of a little boy who gets flattened by a bulletin board (sounds a little violent, LOL!), and his new easy to maneuver shape allows him to travel all over the world. The book has developed into a wonderful teaching tool for opening up the world of travel, geography and diverse notions of community life to kids.

Since I was running around doing some errands one day in Manhattan, I took Flat Stanley with me and snapped some pictures of him in places that someone might want to visit during their first time in NYC. I think Flat Stanley enjoyed it, too.

Here's what we saw and did that afternoon:

Flat Stanley reads the paper on the subway.

Flat Stanley liked seeing Radio City Music Hall from the outside.

Flat Stanley was a little disappointed to not see too many people ice skating when we passed by Rockefeller Center.

Flat Stanley in front of the New York Public Library. He wanted to see where Carrie Bradshaw was supposed to get married, but I hurried him along. Uh...I had to finish my errands!

Flat Stanley in front the of the Flatiron Building

I think I enjoyed my afternoon with Stanley waaay too much, but I love the idea of teaching kids about how others live in different communities. Here's a link with more information about the Flat Stanley Project. :)

If and/or when I have a child or two, one of the things I hope to instill in them is a wonder and awe for the larger world and a thirst to know how others live.

Were there any books, tv shows or school projects from your childhood or teen years that made you interested in travel, geography or different communities?