we exit NYC

so our final dinner in NYC was with Jeremy and his friend Carolina and at Scalini Fedeli (we have been a couple of times before and been very happy with the food and the service and Tribeca seemed a good meeting point.)

my starter of veal Bolognese on pappardella

arctic char- fabulous!

risotto for the table (mushroom)

a terrific napoleon for dessert - so good I refused to share- LOL

and then the next day- on the way out of town and to the airport - we were invited to Google for lunch! we ate the café La Place which is kind of like Movenpick Marche in Boston or Toronto or Foodlife in Chicago.  Photos are restricted in Google so I only have two from this visit - from the newly opened roof deck overlooking NYC... very fun!

we actually have visited Google before and the many photos (Sunday and not much work going on) in this post-
http://blog.semifreelife.com/2012/04/all-agog-at-google.html
from here we went to the airport for our completely uneventful flight to Brussels - where we arrived 45 minutes early! and because I had booked the hotel room for early arrival we could just crash there and then get up in time for lunch! Which we had a 't Kelderke - for mussels in Brussels!

more on Brussels after lunch! in a further post... because I need to break it up or go crazy with the cumbersome uploading system I have to deal with when not using my own laptop to post to semifreelife... a promise of more- as always

Above NYC

I have done several prior posts on the High Line in NYC and at least one on the prototype for it - the Promenade Plantee in Paris. It is a great way to get some fresh air and an elevated point of view when in NYC.

Today we headed over there thinking to walk south from the (former) north terminus of the High Line and found voila - a new segment had opened over to the Hudson River and circumnavigating the Hudson Yards.

The new area "plantings" are all very small and the area does not have quite the diverse hardscape (benches, jut-outs, etc.) Nor changes in elevation as the prior segments, but it is nice to have a river view and the new north end is a broad sweeping descent which is quite appealing...

We found ourselves somewhat running out of time so we walked the new segment and about half the older ones. Enjoying the beautiful day...  Tonight we meet up with Jeremy and his friend Carolina. And tomorrow we are having lunch at Google. That should be fun... Or at least different...

Then off to the airport for Brussels...

two for two

About a year ago or so we went to Juni for the Prix fixe lunch.  We had been to SHO Shaun Hergatt with Angela & Lee, Laure & Arno before it closed and really loved the food. We were thrilled to find Shaun Hergatt had opened a new place near where we frequently stay in Chelsea.

When we went the first time we were completely wowwed by the meal. Rarely do you have a 100% perfect meal and our first meal at Juni was just that

The return visit today made it two for two! 100% perfect meal!  We had starters of the stunningly beautiful spring inspiration salad and the hearts of palm. Then we both had the amazing salmon lacquered in pomegranate. And we both had the mango jalapeño dessert.

Each on every course was exquisite! Highly recommended. We simply don't know why there isn't a line out the door and around the block!!!!  We will be back....

Racine's NY at a year!

A few weeks longer than one year ago we made our first trip to Racine's NY at the soft opening April 2014... here is the post from the evening we spent there - http://blog.semifreelife.com/2014/04/the-main-event.html

and tonight we went back for the second time to find a fully functioning restaurant and wine bar that has a supremely welcoming vibe and fabulous food along with the incredibly great wines that are selected by our dear friend Arno Tronche - (owner/sommelier) who runs the front of the house along with many other tasks (adjusting lighting,  buying extra bread etc...)

We are completely happy to report this is as great as the reviews it has been getting for the last eleven months.  A great evening dining with daughter Angela, her guy Lee along with Laure and Alix.

We had a number of terrific dishes - and here are some photos etc...

Amuse of chilled soup-  and below - the fabulous an amazingly varied tastes of the fluke starter.

the mackerel - with cauliflower-  very good as well- (this came for the table)

the soft shell crab special - also for the table-

my main the monkfish- was excellent! with a hearty sauce of mushrooms and hazelnuts!

we tried these three desserts but I only got one with my dying cell phone - and below a photo of the interior (not a great one but you can at least see the scale- very cozy but not sitting on top of each other...

the coffee parfait with milk chocolate sauce - was good but the chocolate caramel tart was the big winner in the dessert courses!

It was great to see Arno enjoying himself and fully in his element.  Super to catch up a bit with Angela and Lee as well as touch base with Laure and Alix one more time before leaving town... tomorrow "Number One Son" and his friend Carolina... at dinner- and a high end treat of a lunch at Juni! so stay tuned for more fun- we also are programming good weather for a walk along the High Line! - always a winner with us!

gotta love NY

We have always made our getaway spot NYC so it was somewhat fated our kids would end up here. These days we stop on the way to or from Europe and try to get here twice a year to see friends and family. This time we have made time to catch a few of our favorites from prior visits and yet still try new places.

We arrived around 7:30 on Sunday and had a 9pm dinner reservation at degustation. This is a return to again and again syle favorite. And Sunday night's meal was up to their high standards. Starting with glasses of white and then on to an Oregon Pinot Noir...

below- kushi oysters with grapefruit-

Above green strawberries and below a kohlrabi dish...

YUM! fiddleheads and pumpernickel soil.

redfish with sofrito on romesco sauce

below my favorite course of the menu- scallops over spinach puree with fresh peas and reisling foam- these were fab!

Chorizo and clams with uni on farm house bread-

 the perfectly prepared meat course- beef with sunchokes and white asparagus... who knew sunchokes were this good??? The meal was terrific - we love that you can watch the prep of everything.

So on Monday we decided on a restful day -having run around so much in the ten days that I was home before leaving LOL... So we went to a new place for lunch near the hotel called Seven Bistro. We had salads and I had a tuna poke and Phil some bang bang shrimp.

We had dinner with friends on Monday night so we could see our favorite four year old in the entire world. Lovely evening catching up with dear friends.

This afternoon we revisited old haunts in Katz's Deli and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. This time we went for the Shop Life tour...

Now we're on to the LESTM. 

There are many choices now for tours and walks. When we first started coming here in the late 1990s they had a small storefront museum shop and a single apartment. Today this is a thriving museum of interest to a broad band of folks regardless of your background.

So we headed back to the hotel  on the subway so we could relax before meeting up with Angela & Lee for dinner at Racine's NY along with Laure & Alix as well!

 

Above- our train arrives just as I was taking a photo of the Delancey Street sign... more later!

and although I came back to do a quick edit of this post- I actually wrote the whole thing and loaded most of the photos from my PHONE!!! it is a little hard working in the tiny desktop space but obviously it can be done! so YEA!  read more as we go along!