Summer Eats NYC

In the heat of the summer, I have a hard time working up much of an appetite for anything but ice cream and fruity cocktails- healthy, right?? but seriously, something fresh and cool made from the best of the summer fruits and vegetables is right in line with what I'm craving this time of year, and its fun to eat what is in season and available at one of the many farmer's markets that have popped up across the country in honor of the summer bounty.

On a recent last minute jaunt to New York I tried a new restaurant worth mentioning that makes the most of the season's vegetables. Rouge Tomate serves up healthy and fresh fare in midtown Manhattan without leaving you wanting, like some healthy fare often does. Fresh and seasonal is made gourmet and exciting in this mod dining spot, while the fresh juice bar and artisan cocktails keep you hydrated and, well... lubricated (as we say of a good cocktail). I would think even a meat and potatoes kind of gal could enjoy this menu without realizing she was eating lighter.

The place has been open a while, so this is no newcomer to the scene, but its new to me since I usually stick to my standbys when dining in NYC- or at least, my standby neighborhoods. It was nice to try something in a part of town that I usually feel is a good-food desert!

The chef, who worked under some of my favorite chefs, including Daniel Boulud, collaborated on the menu with an in-house nutritionist to develop food that has "a social and environmental consciousness" and follows "a balanced approach to sourcing and preparing food". If it sounds complicated, don't worry. The menu and the meal are straightforward and simply delicious!

eating your way through nyc...

As promised, we tried some new and notable restaurants while in New York City last week amidst the most intense cold snap imaginable. We also, unfortunately, tried some not-so-notable places, but the good out-weighed the bad on this trip. Here are two stand outs…

Company is a pizza place right next to… nothing… on 9th avenue and 26th street. While you probably won’t ever be in the neighborhood, its worth a trip for the thin pizza pies on a soft crust with fabulous toppings. Most notable were the “Popeye” which had fresh spinach, toasted until crisp in the giant pizza ovens over gobs of melted gruyere and buffalo mozzarella, and the "Flambe" (reminiscent of the Alsatian Tarte Flambee) with caramelized onions, lardons and béchamel. Don’t let the faux fireplace blazing on a big screen tv fool you- the food is authentic and delicious. They don't take reservations and tables are communal, but it kind of adds to the fun.
230 Ninth Avenue, New York, www.co-pane.com

History and contemporary sensibilities collide at Commerce, housed in the newly restored Grange Hall in Greenwich Village, once a Depression-era speakeasy (and formerly The Blue Mill Tavern). Tiny and bustling and tucked away on one of those streets you would miss if you blinked, the cocktails are divine and the food is too. I dined on roasted sweet potato tortelloni with hazelnuts, pomegranate and a buerre noisette, as well as sazeracs and champagne cocktails with house-made grenadine. It was a fabulous evening staying warm and catching up with old friends in a bistro-style café on a back street on a cold night.
50 Commerce Street, New York, www.commercerestaurant.com

Of course we hit some tried and true favorites that can’t be missed when in New York- Pastis for a brunch of oysters, croque monsieur, pomme frites and café au lait, and Le Pain Quotidian for flaky croissants, steel cut oatmeal and herb teas. If I hadn’t walked about a thousands miles while there, I know I would have come home twice my original size. But that is the beauty of Yew York- eat divine food and then walk it off through Central Park!

bundled up, then and now...

Heading to New York for a chilly weekend of buying and meetings with importers from around the world- hoping to find some fabulous things for this Spring! I have an appointment with a silk importer who has some fabulous new colors for the Julie dress, and we plan on bringing back lots of Moroccan baskets, silk scarves and beach cover ups for the warmer months ahead.

I came across this photo yesterday of little bitty me in an adorable yellow coat in Rockefeller center right after my fourth birthday. Wish I could look this cute this weekend while I’m bundled up to beat the 15 degree weather. But I do promise to try some new restaurants and share the scoop, as well as visit some old favorites. I can’t go to New York without a trip to Le Pain Quotidian, Pastis and Café Habana!

living the high life...

On a trip to New York just two weeks ago, a friend introduced me to something new and exciting on the city’s west side- The High Line. Someone once said that what they loved about New York City is how it always changes on you, and I would have to add that it keeps changing for the better. This project reflects some real vision for a public space.

First the background… In the late 1840s, the City laid a line of rail road tracks down the west side that went on to cause so many deadly accidents that 10th Avenue became known as Death Avenue. Finally in 1930, an elevated rail road was built, The High Line, eliminating 105 street-level rail road intersections (and saving many lives in the process). This elevated rail track was in continued use until the 80s, when rail road traffic had diminished considerably and the line was unnecessary. (tidbit- they say the last trainload to run down the High Line was in 1980, carrying three carloads of frozen turkeys). The rail sat in disrepair for years afterwards.

By about the year 2000, neighborhood leaders were advocating for a reinvention of this rail track for public use, and it has finally come to fruition. The High Line is open to the public between Gansevoort and 20th, creating a unique juxtaposition of sleek modern walkways and seating with naturalistic plantings, almost meadow-like in places. At any time on any given day, the High Line can be filled with sunbathers on sleek teak loungers, children purchasing ice cream cones, groups of people watching a performance or taking a yoga class, and workers choosing to make their commute to the office a little more pleasant by walking this route instead of on the street below.

It is being built in stages, and the first has only just been completed. But when it is done, it will be a mile-and-a-half-long elevated park, running through the West Side neighborhoods of the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell's Kitchen.

An event not to be missed… Chefs Dinner to Benefit Friends of the High Line

Friends of the High Line is the conservancy charged with raising private funds for the park and overseeing its maintenance and operations. This chef’s dinner, organized by Chef Tom Colicchio of Craftsteak (and my favorite Top Chef), will be a fabulous al-fresco evening of dinning on the highline with multiple amazing chefs. I can’t imagine anything better than dinner under the stars in New York in early October when the weather is just beginning to turn cool and more than half a dozen NYC chefs have prepared your meal, all for the good cause of urban revitalization.

Check it out… http://www.thehighline.org/events/all/2009/10/chefs-dinner-to-benefit-friends-of-the-high-line

cuba by way of nolita…

We at Cerulean travel the world looking for the newest, most unique, or most exquisite items possible for the pages of our catalog and website. These travels often lead us to New York, epicenter of design and fashion for the US. When in NYC, there is only one restaurant we can not pass up. Every trip, without fail, rain or shine, regardless of the long line or any other deterrent, we hit Café Habana.

Nestled on a quiet corner in the Nolita neighborhood, Café Habana has been serving up home-style Latin food with unique Cuban and Central Mexican accents for two decades now, and it is unforgettable. Modeled after the famous Mexico City diner with the same name, this family-run home-style hangout features a sleek metal diner-style façade and a retro interior. Sip on Mandarina Jarritas or Horchatas while you wait for the luscious grilled corn with cheese and spices, the huevos rancheros, or the tortas (sandwiches) with chorizo and beans. The atmosphere is enticing, the clientele perfect for people watching, and the ceiling glows a bit, thought we can’t figure out why. Maybe it’s from the energy of the place???

Speaking of energy, you can feel good about your carbon footprint when eating at Café Habana or its sister outpost in Brooklyn. Owner Sean Meenan strives to make his restaurants Eco-Eateries- restaurants that use earth-friendly practices in their design, construction, and day-to-day operations. This jewel box of a restaurant is packed day and night, but its worth the wait every time.

celebrating the holidays...

Happy holidays from cerulean! It has been a pleasure being a part of so many memories-in-the-making this holiday season. As we wrapped each present and shipped it off to its recipient, we have no way to know the many stories that will be told and the memories made from all the gifts exchanged and the packages sitting on doorsteps. The beauty of the internet is that showing you care about the people you love is only a click away! We have enjoyed helping you celebrate this holiday with your loved ones!

As for my gift giving, rest assured that all the women in my life received lovely little items purchased overseas in foreign marketplaces, or from artists turned textile designers, or from the newest accessory designers. Everything under my tree is wrapped in the signature Cerulean turquoise tissue that always puts a smile on people’s faces around my house!

With a new year upon us, and thus the obligatory New Year’s Eve celebrations, I am already envisioning glistening clutches and sparkling accessories for a memorable night on the town. Click here to visit our how to wear section, where we outline the best accessories for any festive outfit this New Year’s Eve! I will be attending a Joie de Vivre- Night in Parisbenefit at an art museum that promises to carry on until the early hours of the night while we dance amid sculptures and paintings galore to bands and DJs, one after the other. Never one to be underdressed, I have picked out the most fabulous Grecian column and am accessorizing it with long dangling Indian Earrings. Here’s to fireworks in the New Year!

But what are all our fabulous Cerulean customers and friends doing to ring in two-thousand nine??? One of our dearest customers is whiling away the hours in sunny Key West at the Marquesa hotel, where I had one of the best dinners of my life several years back. Another friend and great Cerulean supporter is dancing the night away as we speak in some club in Jordan- who knew? I just got a text message that the New Year has already rung in the Middle East. Still others are in New York, and Santa Fe, and Paris, and places closer to home.

Let us know where you are spending YOUR New Year's Eve!

daily bread...

I’ve been back and forth to New York TWICE! in about as many weeks- so much has happened! So much time spent in airports, taxis, and cafes mulling over what fantastic things to bring to the pages of Cerulean for Fall. And as frequent traveler, I have a singular mission when away from home- make every meal count. There is nothing more tragic than to waste an opportunity to experience local cuisine when traveling somewhere exotic, or somewhere that simply has a lot of amazing food to offer! Like the time I visited Costa Rica, only to see Americans lined up at a KFC… don't even get me started.

While I try to fully live this mission every time I travel to New York City, making sure to hit my favorite restaurants and cafés, or to try a new place or sample some ethnic fare, work often keeps me from lingering over meals or traveling to far flung neighborhoods for that certain bite to eat. But now this problem is solved in the form of Le Pain Quotidien. I can guarantee even meals on the go are worthwhile when spent here.

A chain (I know… but trust me) of bakery/ eateries originating in Brussels has come to the US and now has outposts in most every NYC neighborhood. No matter what part of town I may be in, I am surely within walking distance of a Le Pain Quotidien, or if not, its worth the walk.
The original idea was simplicity itself- simple and inspirational food based around bread with only three ingredients (water, flour and salt). Le Pain Quotidien offers great tasting food, prepared naturally and organically in a European café setting where each restaurant has a communal table. As they say, it is sharing of time and space with other people in the restaurant that adds to the experience (although there are individual tables for the squeamish). Sit next to locals or travelers from afar while you sip your tea with rich organic honey or enjoy a tartine (French open face sandwich), wine or coffee. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, you are never far away from a worthwhile meal. One the go or whiling the day away, I feel like I have made the meal count when at Le pain Quotidien.

Le Pain Quotidien has locations all over the world- click here to find the closest one to you!

http://www.lepainquotidien.com/storelocator.htm

fashion week, nyc...

Just back from a week in New York City, right in the midst of fashion week. The whole city was buzzing with catwalks, supermodels, beautiful clothing, celebrities sitting sideline, paparazzi, and black town cars full of ladies who lunch, fashion editors and buyers from all over the world. A real whirlwind. Cerulean was on it’s own mission to find something fabulous, the next wonderful little things for the pages of our website and catalog. While the goal was to find the shoes, clothing and accessories we will all be panting over this fall, and order up a few for our darling customers, we couldn’t help but pick up some great jewelry at amazing prices for all our fashionistas to wear right now. Shopping entire seasons in advance looses a bit of the instant gratification, so we found that fulfillment in the form of enamel bangles, coral and turquoise (over which we are always obsessed), dangly little earrings and more. And its all available on the web right now. The best news from New York this trip? Our amazing friends who import sumptuous fabrics from overseas sold us just a few yards of luxurious colored silk. Coming soon to Cerulean- a limited group of dresses that will be sure to set off that long Kenneth Jay Lane necklace you’re eyeing, or those silver leather sandals that will be perfect this Spring. Think dresses that will be chic and simple, can be dressy and casual at the same time. Hold your breath, we’ll release them soon…