Something informative on the Lower East Side...

There are so many things to do in NYC!

I've lived here for almost 5 years, and I am constantly learning new things about the city!

For example, the other day my friend told me about the Tenement Museum.

Located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Tenement Museum honors NYC's (and America's) immigrants.

As the website explains:

A historian and social activist, Ruth Abram wanted to build a museum that honored America's immigrants. New York's tenements were the perfect place for her museum: these humble, multiple family buildings were the first American homes for thousands of immigrants. But the search for a tenement proved frustrating. By 1988, Abram and co-founder Anita Jacobson were nearly ready to give up. Then they stumbled upon the tenement at 97 Orchard Street.

97 Orchard's initial appeal was an available storefront: Jacobsen and Abram considered renting the space to run tours of the Lower East Side. While inspecting the storefront, Jacobsen went to the hallway to look for a bathroom. She saw sheet-metal ceilings, turn-of-the-century toilets and an aging wood banister. "It was as though people had just picked up and left", Jacobson recalled. It was a little time capsule...I called Ruth and said 'We have got to have this building.' It was perfect."

Shuttered for over 50 years, 97 Orchard's apartments were in ruin. It would take time to transform the tenement into a museum. Undaunted, researchers scavenged through 97 Orchard and combed through archives, compiling evidence about tenants and tenement life. After several years of research, the Museum began the difficult task of restoring apartments that had been left vacant for so long. And in 1992, the Museum opened its first restored apartment.

 

97 Orchard Street is home to 6 restored apartments, each depicting an actual family who lived in the building. From the Moores (Irish-Catholic immigrants coping with the death of a child in 1869) to the Levines (who had a garment workshop at the turn of the 20th century, when the Lower East Side was the most densely populated place in the world, the museum is so interesting.

Tour guides lead small groups through specific tours- each day there are over 50 different tours to participate in. I chose the Moores, the newest addition to the museum, and it was fascinating to learn about one of the first families to call the building "home". From their daily struggles with sanitation, to the depressing reality of disease in the 1860's, I learned a lot.

Unfortunately, photos are forbidden within the museum, so you'll have to take my word on how cool everything looks inside. Built in 1864, 97 Orchard has 20 units and housed on average 100 people until it was condemned in 1935. It sat vacant until the museum purchased the building. However, I must say that I admire the way they have chosen to restore the building. With 4 units per floor, only 1 or 2 units are restored, while the rest are left "as is"... from layer upon layer of wallpaper, to original moldings and ancient tile, the building is a time capsule in an of itself.

Lucky for the museum (and visitors like me), they've also purchased another building (103 Orchard) which will house the visitor center and additional apartments/exhibits in the coming years.

So while this hidden gem may not be the most well-known museum destination in NYC, I highly recommend that you stop by for a visit (and many thanks to my friend for the recommendation)!

Thanks for visiting- I hope you had a great weekend!

Go nuts for DOUGHNUTS!!

On Saturday morning, SFS, his roommate and I trekked down to the Lower East Side. We were on a mission...
A mission to find Doughnut Plant. SFS had read about this place in a foody magazine... and after reading about Doughnut Plant's history, I was stoked to go!
It's a modest storefront- here's the entire thing! And just past a door on the right is the doughnut factory- all the wonderful goodies are made on site!
SFS was more than a little excited to try the doughnuts!
After we received our order, we wandered across the street...
To a local playground...
And spread out our delicious feast!
We started with the Tres Leches. (Please forgive those dark crumbs... they'll come into play later!)
This was a MUST ORDER for us- SFS had read about the creamy filling... and we're so glad he did! It was sweet and rich... and yummy!
Next we tried the traditional yeast doughnut... it was similar to something you'd find at Crispy Creme, only a million times better!
Next we ripped into the best (in my opinion) doughnut- a homemade blackberry jelly filled doughnut.
Let me tell you- my mouth is watering just remembering this perfect treat! The jelly filling was tart and wonderful, which paired perfectly with the chewy doughnut!
And to finish off our feast, we dug into the Blackout doughnut.
Not only is it filled with dark chocolate cream, it's covered in German Chocolate Cake crumbs!
If you ever have a morning free, I highly recommend stopping by this amazing bakery! Just pick out one (or a few) of the tasty varieties available, pour yourself a cup if coffee... and enjoy!
Doughnut Plant is located at 379 Grand Street (just off Essex). Thank you for stopping by- I hope you had a wonderful weekend!!

Mmmm... Butter!

When my family was in town this weekend, we went to eat at Butter (it is Restaurant Week after all). Have you ever been? It's a trendy restaurant in the village that sometimes shows up on the pages of People magazine. While we waited for our table, we snapped a few pictures in the waiting area.
There's my sweet family! There are two floors at Butter- the main floor houses the restaurant, and the lower level houses a more relaxed, club type place.
When we got to our table, we ordered a bottle of wine.
The dining room is so cool. Cedar from floor to ceiling, there's an illuminated photo of a birch forest at the back of the room.
And there are cool arches of light throughout the room.
I was having a good time... can you tell?
Here's a shot of my brother, SFS and I...
And here's one of my mom and dad... it cracks me up!!
Before our meals arrived, we had herb and truffle butter for our bread.
For my first course, I had the marinated beet salad with wheat berries, crumbled goat cheese, mache and sherry dressing.
My dad had the squash soup with savory popcorn.
My mom had the Florida-shrimp with marinated celery root and fresh chilies.
And SFS and my brother each had a charcuterie plate, complete with duck mortadella, venison "salami", house cured bacon with curry, and chicken livers with aged balsamic vinegar bread. It sounded gross to me, but they both loved it!
For the main course, SFS and my dad had Atlantic salmon with sunchokes, pearl tapioca and meyer lemon dressing.
My little brother ordered the duck confit with shitake mushrooms, apple puree and charred brussel sprouts.
I ordered the smoked and grilled mushroom ravioli with Jerusalem artichoke cream and sunflower greens.
For dessert, my brother had caramelized bananas with Arborio rice pudding and dark rum ice cream.
SFS and my dad had the dark chocolate cake.
My mom ordered the fruit and cheese plate....
And I had the white chocolate custard with blood orange marmalade.
Talk about one decadent dinner- we were there for almost three hours and loved every minute of it! If you ever want to check out Butter, you can find it on Lafayette, just north of 4th Street.

Thank you for visiting my blog- I hope you have a great day!!

Weekend in review

Another fun-filled weekend in NYC has come and gone. On Saturday, SFS and I spent the day hanging out on the lower East Side. We started with a quick tour of the GreenMarket at Union Square, and eventually made our way over to Udon West for lunch. This is what it looked like from the outside.
I'll admit- I probably wouldn't have picked the place on my own. It was tiny and dark, and I hadn't been there before... and yes, I know that makes me sound very unadventurous. But when we got inside, it was obvious that SFS had made an excellent decision.
First of all, let me tell you that the photo above pretty much captures the entire inside of the restaurant- it was that tiny! There was a counter along the side of the restaurant and a single table at the back... and that was it. Luckily, there were a couple empty stools when we showed up. And since the counter looks over at the kitchen, you get to watch as they make your food! Here's the view from where we sat.
SFS had the curry with a pork cutlet...
While I tried the curry set (that way I got to try the noodles, too!).
Speaking of, do you see the noodles on the right? I really liked them, but decided I didn't want to eat the radish slices. Lucky for me, SFS didn't tell me until after I was finished that those were slices of FISH! Sometimes ignorance really IS bliss!

After lunch, we excited the restaurant, and I saw this beacon of joy across the street:
Self serve yogurt+grand opening price of 35 cents an ounce=HAPPINESS IN A CUP! And would you believe, it really IS self-serve; so many places in NYC really aren't, which most of the time I appreciate. But when it comes to ice cream toppings, I like to do it myself. First, you get to choose your yogurt flavor- and they're each paired up so you can swirl!
And there are TONS of topping choices! The right side are all sorts of fruits (clearly I skipped that side), while the left side are the sprinkles and candies.
I went with a traditional vanilla/chocolate swirl with chocolate sprinkles... at just over a dollar, this was quite a steal!
After that, SFS and I made our way over to St. Mark's. We checked out antique stores, used/rare bookstores, unique gift shops, and so much more. We eventually made our way to a quaint little coffee shop. SFS had a latte, while I enjoyed a mint iced tea.
There was a great bench in the window, which SFS and I snagged. We had perfect timing, as it started to POUR just as we walked in!!
After that, we made our way back to the Upper West Side. We ordered some dinner from Flor de Mayo, which is always delish! I had the lomo saltado (beef, onions, tomatoes and french fries, sauteed and served over saffron rice).
And SFS got a half chicken with pork fried rice.
After dinner, we made our way to the 92nd Street Y: Tribeca for the sing-a-long version of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I hadn't been there before, but the space is really great! We got our complimentary beverage:
And settled into the screening room to watch the show.
Boy, was it a hoot! Only a couple people dressed up (one in FULL Hedwig regalia), but everyone was singing along... it was definitely a fun experience. Apparently next month they're doing Little Mermaid... which sounds like a BLAST, right?

And to top off the fun weekend, I found out that this blog was nominated for an award. I'm up against some pretty tough competition, but I'm so flattered. If you'd like to check it out (and maybe vote for me while you're there), I'm under the "eye candy" section. Here's a link:


That's it for me- I hope you had a WONDERFUL weekend as well!! Happy Monday!