Summer Is Here
June 1, 2008 3:30 pmI have to confess that it has been quite an adjustment moving into the Financial District. To say it is quiet is an understatement. Still this can have its advantages. Between my apartment and the harbor is, umm well, nothing, except the park. Being able to smell sea air makes this stranded NY Kiwi at least get a small sense of home. The commute to work involves a walk up the Battery Park promenade, along the river. Also there are more places in the area for food and coffee than I thought would have existed.
Anyone who knows me realizes that espresso is core to my personality (only second to fantastic fresh inspiring cooking). Moving to FiDi from the West Village was like having my life support needles ripped from my veins. Its was a serious void down here, Starbucks (not going so far as to say I “hate” Starbucks - hating is so ugly - and Starbucks is acceptable when the urge calls - just suffers big franchise problems that any corporate suffers) and tar-like muck scrapped off the street-vendors stall, mixed with hot water and served as “cowfee”. So just as I was considering topping myself (hmm well maybe not as dramatically as one of my neighbors), a friend threw me a lifeline of hope, Jack’s at South Seaport. An institution of hippie coffee culture in the West Village, Jack’s is all about authentic experience, organic coffees and great atmosphere. This has been recreated on Front Street, with a huge (well huge as compared to WeVil) space, exposed brick walls, picture windows onto the street, haha and some kind guy upstairs who hasn’t yet secured his WiFi connection (haha thanks man!). Yeah so perhaps, JUST perhaps, I may consider an apartment lease renewal for another year. Oh and other good news, Jack’s is just across the road from Nelson Blue - the other New Zealand pub/bar in FiDi.
So yes - I think I am back on the map. Oh and feel free to check out my Yelp reviews. I love Yelp, helps me find the great spots around town that locals really like.
PS - OUT IN TOWN NOW - WILL POST PIX SOON
Categories: New York
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The market was fun. There was a hilarious woman in the line in front of me - she was all dressed up with a feather hat on, lots of make up and fur - only thing she was pissed … this made for a lot of humor at the counter. Naturally I was the one right behind her … the checkout woman looks at me and mouths “sorry”, haha im like “dont worry sweatheart, this is great entertainment for Thanksgiving morning”. So the drunk woman finally wanders out and I get up to the counter … check-out chick says “clearly the first two hours with the family were more than she could deal with”.
(3) Note to self - don’t put too much salt in the leek and potatoe soup. Headed back downstairs to get more leeks for a second non-salted batch to water down the first. Soup tastes perfect now - porchini mushrooms have been turned into a powder, the pint of cream is ready (just so long as they don’t see me pouring it in their consciences will be just fine - yeah you know, just in the same way that the vegetarians think this is such an amazingly flavoured Vegetable Soup, even though it has 10 cups of chicken stock in it - haha go figure). The hard work is done, so time for a wee drop of champagne (yes Timmy it is the one we had at the Champagne wine tasting a couple of Christmas’s
I have happily taken to drinking wine again - this comes after a one year break to drink cocktails - but sucked on one cocktail, sucked on them all. However not easy to navigate the wine stores here - at a glance the variety seems extensive, but there is also a vast quantity of crap on the shelves. I do give credit to my local wine shop 
