For Sonja: the best of NYC

A lot of these places I go because I like one thing- and some I have no idea what the addresses are, so you may have to just google...

Best BBQ

Fete Sau- worth the trek to brooklyn- I think it's on Havermeyer or the cross street is Havermeyer and it's on Metropolitan- take the L train.

Best Italian

I think Pepe Giallo's in Chelsea by the art galleries. I like the pasta with mushrooms, but the fish plates are excellent too. Take the ACE to 23rd st it's on 10th and 25th. Max SoHa's where I believe I've taken you a few blocks from my house is almost identical... but there I prefer the eggplant pasta, and the fish plates never disappoint either. Take the 1 train to 125th it's on Amsterdam and 123rd.

Best Brunch

In brooklyn I'd say Dumont- they have a great back garden- sometimes the food is just good- but the atmosphere is always great. They have an amazing trout omelet, but it's only a special so sometimes it's not available. In manhattan, I love Community- the mushroom quiche melts in your mouth (and I'm not the kind of person who says things like melts in your mouth)- they had a kitchen fire before I left though and were closed all summer- not sure if they are open anymore- this place has great fish at night too- the other place would be on St Marks street in the East Village- it called Cafe something- I just told Schuyler all about it, and he went there- it's sort of middle eastern and they have this great eggs benedict type thing but with cheese- but in general I would say go to the East Village for brunch there are too many good places- you'll find something, and the vibe is really nice too.

Best Chai in the world and not to be missed

I can't believe I didn't frequent this place everyday before I left- Yaffa Cafe also on St Marks cross street is Ave A I think. You could go here everyday for a Chai and never get sick of them- the use a homemade concoction that I have tried to buy off of them. I bring out of towners here a lot because the food is ok, but to me it's really crazy and eclectic and makes people feel like they're not in Kansas anymore- and if you convince them to get the Chai, they don't care if most of the food on the menu has sprouts.

Best Mexican

I have no idea what the name of this place is, but its near the DeLancy F train and you just walk two blocks north its on the corner of I think Rivington.... It's a total grunge place but it's authentic and the chicken quesadilla's are delicious... And cheap.

Best Guacamole

Rosa Mexicana- don't bother eating here, just go for a margarita or beer and order the guacamole meant to be split between two or more- I have often considered going and ordering it for myself- it wouldn't be difficult for me to inhale it all and convince myself it constitutes a meal. There are two locations- maybe three- the one near my house is in Lincoln Square- take the 1 train to Lincoln Sq- go south a couple blocks, it's just across from Lincoln Center- there is also one in Union Square.

Best Meal in the world not to be missed

Sonja since you've been with me I know you're familiar, but it's so good in every way it bears repeating Quality Meats on 57th between 5th and 6th- it might be 58th though... If you want the best meal of your life, eat here, and don't worry about the check, a meal like this is priceless, order starters, order dessert, order wine, order everything. You only live once. As usual, I can only really account for the fish- but it's by far the best preparation I've had- the cod and the salmon are incredible, and they have a Tuna starter with foie gras- it's crazy good. The service here, is incredible as well. Take a cab...

Best Tapas

Well I'd say there are two good tapas places- one I went to on a date in my neighborhood and started going there regularly - I have no idea what it's called, may be something like Tapas - but its just off Amsterdam (but between Broadway in Amsterdam) and on 96 or 95th I think. They have dates wrapped in bacon and good white wine options. The other is right around the corner from NYU's studios on 2nd ave and 10th or thereabouts- it's on the south end of the block with the movie theater and just north of the little park sq. There are two and they are owned by the same people- both are good.

Best place to grab a snack while shopping downtown

Karen's on Astor I think it's called on 8th between Astor Place and Broadway- it's organic so it's pricey but totally worth it- get the chicken curry salad, ice tea and a cookie or two- I always do, and it's a meal that never disappoints...

Best place to grab a meal while shopping downtown

Farfelli's or Fanelli's like that on the corner of Prince and 2 blocks from Broadway. Get the croque monsieur with fries I think the burgers are probably good too. This is a great place to go and get a beer and watch the game on a Sunday while you eat your croque monsieur and talk the to British bartender whose name I forgot- but don't worry he's just another wannabe actor with an accent....

Best Thai Food

I went here twice in two days before I left NYC- Cafe Spice- first, go to The Strand and look at books for 45 minutes, then walk north and west a block each and have dinner, afterwards walk back east a block and catch a movie- I think it's 13th st between Broadway and whatever is one block west of Broadway

A great way to start the day...

Fifteen minutes ago Sylvain made me coffee, I told him to put it on the table because I was getting up. I took a sip, went to go get a bio active yoghurt and came back five minutes later to sit down and start my morning. I took another sip and thought; 'I hate this damn instant coffee, and I can't wait to get a real one in exactly 49 days!" I wasn't angry, but just how much instant coffee can a person take?

My Ms America friend had sent me a link to her American in Chile's blog site I posted it at the left- it's a good site- and in taking a look I was thrilled- yes thrilled to find she had put directions to Cerro La Campana on them (sans vehicle). This is the one day hiking trip I've been talking about doing for 2 months now, but finding directions for anything here is virtually impossible - I usually get this: I think you can take a micro, then a collectivo- then the next person I ask says, Micro then micro! or Metro then micro, but the metro doesnt start until later and you have to be at Cerro by 9 to finish the climb. So this information alone was enough to make my day... But then I heard the buzzer and a package had arrived for me...

I have a confession to make: yesterday at Renaca I got off the bus which happened to be across the street from a McDonald's and having to pee, I went in. But I did more than pee, I patronized. In NYC there is a McDonald's around the corner from my apartment, the last time I ate there was 2 years ago when my friend and neighbor Jenna got milkshakes, Big Macs and fries and brought them over. We had thought this would be like the ultimate indulgence but we finished our meals and immediately realized it was a mistake. Like most liberal Americans with a food conscious I read Fast Food Nation, In Defense of Food (shout out for Michael Pollan) and saw Supersize Me since then I've never really considered fast food, food, just like anything else that when reading the ingredients you read more chemicals and food dyes than things that grow in the ground and are considered "natural" - I've often considered it maybe like a cigarette- like putting something in your mouth and starting it on fire- one time isn't going to kill you- but when you really think about it, gross.

I remember happy meals with chicken nuggets being incredibly satisfying as a kid, I LOVED chicken nuggets from McDonald's, but yesterday I was headed to the beach and got a caramel (manjar) sundae. My first bite brought me back to my best friend from Appleton- Char, we met in kindergarten, she lived a few blocks away and I was a bridesmaid in her wedding last April. Char also loved chicken nuggets but what she really loved was caramel sundaes and so eating that caramel sundae was like being 14 again and listening to her talk about whether they had put enough caramel, too much or just enough- she was like that- she would analyze her food to the extent you wondered if she could actually enjoy the experience. But it felt like she was there with me and we were 14 again...

I may have mentioned service in Valpo is along the lines of non-existent- last Friday Sylvain and I went out for a drink and we watched as the bartender and server sat at the bar chatting for yes 25 minutes before even making our drink... When Ms America and I were at the Jardin Botanical on Saturday I asked her what she found most annoying here after 2 years... Her immediate reaction was: " the service sucks". But what was fascinating to me was the service at McDonald's was like the service in a McDonald's commercial - helpful, immediate and all with a smile. Sylvain loves McDonald's and would often stop by there after boxing to get food- but after a few weeks he came home and said, "Wad the hell! that girl at McDonald's is so rude, I'm not going there anymore". He had been complaining about the service for a while, but I guess this had been the final straw the teenage teller was texting or on her cell and ignored him to the extent that even Sylvain went on strike...

What can I say, fast food restaurants have a place in the American landscape- on road trips, it's a great place to pee, in foreign countries, it's still a great place to pee, and if you feel like you're missing home, you can always get a greasy meal and within minutes realize your mistake and carry on enjoying your holiday... after the gas and bloating subside of course.

Tuesday is beach day

I headed to the beach today- was going to go to Concon, but it was overcast and instead of going at 10 am I waited around hoping the fog would burn off a bit but by 12 it was only a little bit nicer. By 12:15 I grabbed my bag and said the hell with it, I'm going to the beach anyway. I decided to go to Renaca which is 8 km closer, just after Vina. I stayed at the beach for just over an hour, I had to get back by 4pm to let Sylvain in because Gabi took my key with him to the desert. On my way back I walked along the coast to Vina because the beach is really nice there and I thought I'd do some recon and maybe come back on Thursday when it's supposed to be 82 degrees.

Sylvain bought nicorette and is trying to reduce from 10 cigarettes a day to 5. Smoking doesn't bother me that much when you're at a bar and drinking- any other time of the day or location it's annoying and at age 25 he coughs a lot in the morning... but it's an addiction, and there isn't much I'm going to say, if he's successful in reducing or quitting, it isn't going to be because I'm pressuring him. We've been watching sex and the city at night and I'm shocked at how often "Carrie" is smoking, it's actually quite gross.

I've been crocheting this grocery tote bag to bring with me to the market across the street. I finished it last night so I tried it out this morning. While crocheting it, I ripped it out almost finished, no less than 4 times. It's the kind of project you could have finished in a day, but it took me 4 or 5 after all of those restarts. Yesterday I was working in cycles, read a chapter (The Carpenters Pencil), crochet for 10-20 minutes, paint in my sketchbook. The cycles were to let the paint dry so I could flip the page.

Jardin Botanical in Vina

Yesterday my American friend and I went to the Botanical Gardens in Vina- it was refreshing to be in what was more akin to a park then a botanical garden, but me and my parks, I do miss them so. There were foreign exchange students playing soccer and locals having picnics with their kids. We brought wine, apples, bread and what she called goats cheese. To me it tasted like mozzarella and it did not agree with me I'm afraid. My excitement for goats cheese was in equal proportion to my ensuing gastro-suffering.

It's no secret to my friends and family, and now anyone that reads my blog, that I've had my share of "stomach" problems here. I've vacillated from issues with gas to issues with constipation- neither are any fun or sexy. I spent hours researching online, changing my diet, with little improvement. My cousin suggested papaya, I tried the juice because I didn't really know how to eat a papaya, then when that didn't work, I tried the papaya itself... I stopped eating meat, I went back to vegetables I chewed on gas x my mom sent me from home, I cried on skype about how badly I needed to go to the bathroom, I went to bed each night giving Sylvain a run down of whether or not I was going to bed in pain or not.

Finally after several hours at the garden and the most (gastro) pain I've been in in a long I said, screw it, I'm going to the pharmacy. Thankfully late at night in moments of desperation I had looked up the word Laxative in spanish so it was no problem asking for what I needed because gas is just gaz. To cover all the bases I got medicine for both. I wasted no time and before could reach the pharmacy exit all of two steps behind me, I had swallowed the pill dry... and it worked in snap.

Feeling better this morning I went for a jog towards the beach that my friend Ms. America had told me about- I hadn't gone in this direction because everyone had a story about some friend of a friend whose gotten mugged, but usually these stories took place late at night and to guys. It was noon and beautiful and how bad could it be it was on the way to a beach.

I know now why I never found the beach before- it took a little ways to get there and if you didn't know you'd be rewarded with a beach you would have thought, why bother carrying on in this direction its nothing but highway and port authority after port authority... But then, there was sand, about as much as one might need to fill a sandbox for adults. But it was glorious nonetheless and I sat down in the rocky perimeter for a few minutes before heading back to soak up sun and enjoy the beauty of the harbor.

Sylvain told me today, 52 days left... it's time to get moving- next on my list Isla Negra an Zappallar one of which I hope to visit this week or next weekend...

Flushing...

Yesterday I tried to go to spinning twice- the first time I was an hour early, so I went home, when I went back, I got there too late and there were no bikes left. So when I came back home, I made Sylvain do a pilates video with me I had gotten in Boston- I had done this video with Schuyler's sister in law and I had remembered it being somewhat challenging. I remembered wrong, it was the pilates equivalent of yoga in Chile. But it was fun to do together, Sylvain is as sporty a person I know, but was not stretchy or flexible at all.

When I moved in with Laura in brooklyn I noticed that the toilet often went unflushed- as in: "if it's brown flush it down, if it's yellow, let it mellow". As green as I aspire to be, this was too much, sad, but true, I couldn't handle pee in the toilet. Once I arrived in Chile, I change my mind some. People that don't move out of the way and walk properly annoy me most, but the flushing situation is a close second here in Chile. The flushing situation is somewhat distinctive to our apartment, but here it is- we don't have much water pressure in house, of course for each flush we have to turn it on and off, but the reality is, if it's brown, its hard to flush down... I haven't lived here long enough to know one way or another- but the bottom of the toilet is completely dirty brown- I once asked why it wasn't clean since we have a cleaning woman and Sylvain suggested the water was heavy with iron- but I knew this wasn't the reality because our cottage had iron water and our toilet turned rusty but then we cleaned it back to white again. I'm pretty sure the bottom of the toilet stays brown to mask the lingering deposits that haven't been able to push themselves through the pipes... but I'm not entirely sure which came first, the chicken, or the egg... Since the toilet bottom is brown anyway, we don't throw paper in, and flushing means bothering to turn on and off a pump, I have resorted to considering flushing yellow a needless endeavor. That's just two more germy handles I didn't have to touch.

One of the weird goals I had in coming on this trip was to live less materialistically I guess- I mean thats not exactly it, but I wanted to bring just enough clothes, and to not need to bring more than a handful of clothes back because they had mostly been worn out or donated. For the most part I can see this is going to be a successful exercise because already I only have one pair of jeans left (the first to expire were white and died a sad death of wine stain last week)- this morning I took my second pair of pants out of the dryer to discover a larger whole in the bum. I've also worn out a cashmere sweater that I bought for Char's wedding in April, and then pretty much didn't take off. Most of the other clothes I brought with me can be considered lightly soiled- the kinds of things I wore to work a lot as an art teacher- a skirt with a small paint stain, a shirt with a small paint stain, well, they're all paint stains so I need not elaborate. After packing my apartment up I realized with disgust, just how many clothes I had, and I had decided not to buy anymore (really) until I had worn through (not just brought back to my parents for storage) at least half- or one garbage bag. The same can be said for shoes, it's pretty clear 3 or 4 won't hit American soil again. The sad part of all this is- to me, it feels so good to wear out my clothing, but even my worn and stained clothes would likely be mended or bleached to death to be worn until almost threadbare.

I know most people that read my blog haven't been to Chile, but I'm wondering if there is anywhere I have to see before I leave. Sylvain is being super annoying pinning down an actual Mendoza itinerary and I was hoping to go to Buenos Aires or Salta on my own after spending a couple days in Mendoza with him. But in the meantime I'm thinking I should try and find some interesting day trips or overnighters in Chile... Any suggestions???

Waking up...

Ah the first night after a guest leaves- you enjoy the guest, it was great to have them, but it's exhausting, you miss your privacy, routine, but at the end the promise of a good nights sleep.

So when we woke up around 3am to our roommates amigo revving his motorcycle engine for 20 minutes, no one was happy. I was somehow able to stay in a light dream state where the revving was part of my dream, but Sylvain was up, and angry... and this morning when he was tired and had to go to an early class, he wanted revenge.

I love the day after a guest leaves because you have so much stuff to do. Today I wanted to download the 4th level of Rosetta Stone, clean up, I just finished a scarf but have enough yarn to make another one (I hope- cause I liked this one so much I might keep it), I had banana's browning for days to make banana bread, I just started a really good book, I had a list of emails to send out for work stuff and I could go on...

Elspeth has been a big help planning and advising on trips- the current itinerary- Mendoza, Zapallara, Pucon, Cerro la Campana (somehow without a car) and Isla Negra!

Julie, Julia, and Cora

My mom and I went to see Julie and Julia right before I left for Chile- as an avid movie-goer I had seen previews of it during other movies and I had thought it looked awful- crowd pleasing and "feel good" exactly like the kind of movie you'd go see with your mom, and so we did. It didn't disappoint on that measure- Julia Child has always reminded me of my paternal grandmother who has a similar stature to Julia and in the 70's and 80's can be seen in photographs wearing similar outfits- but I think Meryl totally killed the part- no matter how mediocre the rest of the story was, Meryl was brilliant and I just wanted to watch her tell Julia's story and Julie could bugger off. Right before Julia died, she came to my college graduation- where she was being honored as a special alumni among other distinguished lower profile alum, I saw her receive her award and then filed out of the over-crowded room having had enough pomp and circumstance for the day.

I don't exactly feel like Julia Child, but one thing she said in the movie (and it's such a perfect quote it almost has to be the real deal and not hollywood) about how she was good at eating, or that she loved eating. Well, so do I. Whilst in Chile I've been pretty bummed out by the food. Except for the fresh markets there isn't much happening once you've had a completo- and seriously, one was sort of enough- it's disgustingly good in the sense that it's disgusting: mayonnaise, guacamole, ketchup, it's all condiment and mystery meat in a bun . It's kind of like the hot dog I eat once or twice a year at a baseball game- it has it's moment but you wouldn't want to make a habit of it.

But the thing is everything I can't get here, makes me want it even more. So I decided to make it myself. In the states I never really wanted to go there- making my own chicken tikka masala, and General Tso's Chicken, I guess the treasured experience of sitting down in an Indian Restaurant decorated the same as every other Indian restaurant I've ever been to- garishly- was in a way comforting and part of the savory experience, the same goes with the general tso's that regularly delivered itself to my apt door in cardboard boxes and plastic containers. I've made plenty of sushi and I'm an expert at Thai, but frankly the aura of 4 dollar chinese meals was too much - and I didn't want the spell broken.

So I've learned to make rice- something I've refused to do for 10 years because frankly I never really liked rice that much, but watching Sylvain make rice the same as you would pasta- and then draining it, was too much. I've mastered chinese food, I just made a delicious version of my favorite indian dish, I've cooked several "turning chickens" as Sylvain likes to call rotisserie and which I just bake in the oven with lemon and rosemary, and don't even get me started on the ingenious pastas. It was good foresight to pack my spice cabinet...

Still, as 3 months in Paris draws near (ok, not that near, February), my mind wanders to night after night not slaving behind a hot stove, but simple meals of warm crusty baguette and bleu cheese- because at least for now- that's one thing I can't do here.