If you live in the Northeast, you know how difficult this
winter has been. Last winter was pretty
cold and snowy too so I think having two in a row has proved particularly
trying for us. For me, working from home
adds to the doldrums that have set in.
But I am not one to complain (usually) and generally try to find
something positive.
I have been religious about going to the gym every morning
because it gets me out of the house at least once. I have been getting together with friends
whenever possible, skiing whenever feasible, and making weekend plans to avoid being cooped up in the
house too much. It’s really not that
hard with all the friends and family I have nearby. This past weekend I made plans with some
friends from Lancaster, PA to take a Dim Sum cooking class in Brooklyn and then
just spend the day in the city doing whatever came to mind. I also had a party in the evening that I was invited
to and so planned to stay overnight for ease.
I started my day on an early morning train into Penn Station
and the train ride alone invigorated me despite the cold temperature
outside. I switched to the subway and
took the E train to my hotel to check in and collect my friends. After a quick breakfast, we headed to the
Brooklyn Brainery in Prospect Heights for our Dim Sum class. It’s located in a neat little neighborhood of
Brooklyn near Grand Army Plaza among old brownstones and local businesses.
The Brainery is a store front that looks like
a classroom inside with tables and chairs and a kitchen at the back. There were about 15 students on this
particular morning and our instructor was Diana Kuan, author of “The Chinese
Takeout Cookbook”. We learned much and
had fun making Steamed Pork Buns filled with rich roasted pork belly, Shumai filled with ground port and shrimp, and Chinese Broccoli in Oyster
Sauce. We learned about the different
sauces and ingredients used in Chinese cooking as well as when to use each
one. I finally know the difference between regular and dark soy sauce. The best part of course, was that
we got to eat what we cooked and it was delicious.
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| My first Shumai |
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| Our group's Shumai in the Steamer |
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| Chinese Broccoli w/ Oyster Sauce |
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| Pork Buns ready to steam |
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| Pork Cheek & Beef Tongue on Toast |
Franny’s makes the kind of pizza you find in Italy; not the greasy,
cheesy, thick crust pies you find on every street corner in New York City (my
friend D calls those NY pizza). Luckily real
pizza can be found in more places today than ever before at restaurants like Roberta’s,
Pizza Fresca, Motorino, and others, but Franny’s is one of my favorites. We ordered a bottle of Conti, two pizzas,
some salumi and a pork cheek & beef tongue terrine as suggested by D. Everything was delicious but that terrine,
which was served warm, was exceptionally good and if you ever find yourself at
Franny’s it is a must order. We ended our meal with a single cannoli because they looked too good not to at least try one and it did not disappoint. Our
stomachs filled and satisfied, we headed back towards our hotel in Manhattan.
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| Holy Cannoli |
We ended the evening at a friend’s 40th birthday
party in the presidential suite of a hotel in the Meatpacking District. Initially intending to only stop in for a
little bit, we ended up having a lot of fun and staying till our feet got
tired.
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| Presidential Suite at Dream Downtown |
On my train ride home the next morning, I felt a twinge of guilt for shirking my responsibilities at home, but it was gone as quickly as it came because I knew I had made the right
decision to escape for just one day to go out
and have a little fun during this long winter season. It would carry me till the thawing of Spring.
