On ne sait jamais

Uygur Delight: hearty without the farty

2008-01-31T20:36:00.000-08:00

Cafe Kashkar, and sister Cafe Adolat, of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, NYC

Billed as an Uygur (Uighur) restaurant, it is a blend of Asian-Russian meets Chinese. In fact, it is said to be the only Uygur restaurant in the state, or the country. Though I'm not going fact-checking any time soon, I do believe it to be a very interesting blend of tasty Russian staples in a healthy (a not-so-Russian ideal) delicate manner.
The best times to go is lunch or early dinner, as it tends to be booked by the local Russians in the evenings. Also, you can bring your own alcohol, as you will find the stereotypical Russian does.
The Lagman soup is a lamb stew with homemade noodles. In it, you will find an array of spices, chunks of lamb, ginger and cardammon. It is hard to describe this soup without saying that it is extremly well-spiced. This is one of my favorite qualities in good, inexpensive, ethnic food. The Langsai salad is a clear noodle salad with so much garlic that you will taste it on your mouth for days to come. Needless to say, it is incredible. Finish off your meal with chak-chak(basically angel cake fried in little pieces, then mixed with honey and walnuts) and green tea.

This is a very special place with food you can't get anywhere else.

Café Kashkar
1141 Brighton Beach Avenue, Brooklyn; (718) 743-3832

Café Adolat
3087 Brighton 4th St, Brooklyn, NY 11235; Phone: (718) 743-2077

Pak Nasheman: best Paki for your buck

2008-01-31T20:18:00.000-08:00

It is in a predominantly russian neighborhood but still. One of my favorite places ever.

This is a really great neighborhood Pakistani place. On the outskirts of a predominantly Russian neighborhood, this place caters to the local scattered Pakistani population, and that is who you will find dining here at all hours (it is amazing how strangely inviting this place gets after-hours).
We eat here almost every week. After experimenting in a bunch of places in the city, we always come back to this one. The vegetable dishes are amazing. You can get a mixed vegetable plate over rice for $6-$8. You can get a mix of peas and potatoes, lentils, chickpeas, okra. Everything tastes very strong and spicy and you can wash it all down with a mango lassi. The curry chicken has bits of cardamon and ginger in it as well. They have a large selection of desserts. I always get
the milk balls or rice pudding.

CHOCOLATE in NYC

2008-01-25T20:05:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite chocolate places in nyc.It feels like you are in a hidden dessert heaven. The hot chocolates are the purest and best quality I have ever tasted. If you need a nice place to go on Valentines day this is it.They also have really cool pin-up girls chocolate bars that make for really great gifts. I had the Panela hot chocolate which has the highest cocoa out of all the choices.(75%).I had the european style which is with water not milk.I recommend this one because this way you can really taste the cocoa.

http://www.mariebelle.com/index.cfm

My So Called Life

2008-01-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

Hearts of NYC (in progress)

2008-01-24T15:03:00.000-08:00

Mid-Winter Sunset on Brighton Beach

2008-01-16T19:44:00.001-08:00

Mid-winter bather

Babushka after a dip

The Coolest Dog in the World, and Alex

2008-01-16T19:38:00.000-08:00

He weighs 200 pounds, stands at 6'5", and acts like a chihuahua. (The other guy is Alex)

Miscellanous Pretty Things

2008-01-15T13:55:00.000-08:00

Little angels pop up as we walk through Barcelona
The funniest and longest dog with a huge personality

A quiet bar to linger the hours away...

A beautiful archway that caught us off guard...

Amazing natural light in the piazza

A random rock heart in Montserrat

A White Christmas on Las Ramblas...

Palau de Musica (I wish we could take pics inside!)

bocce culture

2008-01-15T13:53:00.001-08:00

These men were incredible. They were very serious about the game. It was obvious this was something they do everyday , alot like the chess players on Brighton Beach and in Washington Square Park. They even had their own bocce balls that they took home after the game. It seems like a high stress game but somehow they all seemed relaxed. It was very inspiring seeing them so into their game and enjoying the day like kids. I think we will go place some BOCCE in Brooklyn at the only place I know that it is possible: Union Hall http://unionhallny.com/

HAPPY PILLS!

2008-01-15T13:51:00.001-08:00

This is the tiniest candy store I have ever seen. It has the coolest concept: you fill up pill jars with candy and put prescriptions on them like, "for a happy Monday." They make really cute gifts. The store is very bright and happy happy happy looking but the underlying idea is definitely controversial. We need a store like this in NYC.

Sagrada Familia

2008-01-15T13:42:00.001-08:00

Senyor Paralleda

2008-01-15T13:38:00.001-08:00

This is by far the best restaurant we have been to in Barcelona, and this counts for a lot in an eating town. Rather than tapas, this place serves traditional and modern dishes. It is tucked in the corner of L'Argentina, with a gorgeous decor ,detailed high ceilings,pale blue walls,chandeliers, and friendly waiters. The first time we were there, all of the dishes looked amazing, so we asked a friendly and interesting American couple (a writer and artist who now reside in Pisa) seating near us for advice. They told us they loved the place so much it was, in fact, the third time they were there in two days. After about 20 minutes of deliberation, we settled on the tenderest veal cheeks we have ever tasted in our lives and a herring dish .

The second time we were there, we ordered the lamb in 12 garlic cloves and a traditional stew, pot-au-feu. The latter dish was an appetizing dish of the Spanish patrons sitting near us, and after some muddled Spanglish, we were told it was a very traditional dish of the Catalonian region. To this day we debate what exactly was in it (a variety of meats, vegetables, tendons/ligaments, and what I believe to be the skin of a tongue), and little can be seen in the second picture above (it was only taken to prove that I ate more than the meat-eater).
Furthermore, it was ordered only as a promise that I will eat any traditional dish I come across without hesitation, and would think twice about ordering it again. Without a doubt it was delicious..at times..and not...most of the time.
Overall: best restaurant we've been to in Barcelona --> food 5 out of 5, service excellent, ambiance exquisite, and not expensive.We ate a huge meal with cava for 40 euros for two and enjoyed it more than Cal Pep where we paid over 90 euros for two.

The Scariest Car I've Ever Seen

2008-01-15T13:34:00.001-08:00

This is a creation from the genius Salvador Dali in his museum in Figueres. This mafia-looking old Cadillac contains 3 mannequins in an eerie arrangement as if they are coming home from a ball or a night at some speakeasy. Through the broken glass, ivory vines grow unrestricted. When you throw a euro into the feeder, a sinister fluorescent green light illuminates the inside and an internal sprinkler system bathes the inhabitants, as well as watering the plant that grows around (traps?) them. This is, of course, accompanied by dually sinister music coming from the car's radio. We were alone in the courtyard in the middle of the day when we tried it out and I still have nightmares of it (think scary more like David Lynch rather than "I Know What You Did Last Summer"). Best way to experience it is to probably opt for the night tour of the museum, and be by yourself in the courtyard when you feed the machine. Either way you'll be thinking about it long after you leave.

Dali in Figueres

2008-01-15T13:30:00.001-08:00

Vanilla Sky Sunset in Barcelona

2008-01-15T13:25:00.001-08:00

Romantic nights in Barcelona...

bubo....mmmmmmmmm

2008-01-15T13:22:00.000-08:00

We first read about this place in The New York Times: http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/travel/07foraging.html and we knew we had to go. It is a beautiful cafe with tempting desserts and excellent coffee. It was a really nice break from sightseeing.All of the desserts are delicous and creative.

Montserrat in the Clouds

2008-01-15T13:05:00.001-08:00

Blonsky Device, US Patent #3,216,423

2008-01-14T19:35:00.001-08:00

Apparatus for facilitating the birth of a child by centrifugal force

Boqueria heaven part 2

2008-01-14T19:12:00.000-08:00

What you will see when you turn from Las Ramblas towards the market.

Boqueria Heaven

2008-01-14T19:05:00.001-08:00

When you come to Barcelona go straight to the Boqueria Market. It is one of the most colorful markets we have ever seen. A labyrinth of food stands, including things you wish you hadn't seen (like sheep's head), there is also some of the freshest and most appetizing things we've ever seen in our lives. Cheeses, meats and hams, fish, eggs (chicken, ostrich), fruits (including fragolini), and sweets. The funnest part for us was eating at the bars scattered throughout the market. One of our favorites was PINOTXO. There is no such thing as a line or first-come-first-served, and rules of etiquette could get pretty tricky. Basically, you have to line yourself up behind whoever looks like they're going to leave next. After about 15 minutes of moving back and forth, getting skipped and losing our place, we were on the verge of accepting defeat and finding another bar, but Juanito, the lively personality that is Pinotxo, helped us out and reserved the next two open seats for us. The key here is to not question and try as much as possible (since the plates themselves are relatively small, we easily downed 4 plates). "El mejor" was all I needed to say before he gave us the understanding nod and prepared the dishes. Make sure to get cope de cava and begin with the chickpeas with blood-sausage [scheyschee?] and egg-clam concoction, and move on to the . Also feel free to point things out at random.
This is the kind of place where everyone sitting next to you becomes a friend and offers you food to try from their own plates. It is a great feeling and unusual for two New Yorkers. If you have time go to some of the other Markets in Barcelona (particularly the modern St. Caterina Market near the Palau de Musica Catalunya), they also have amazing stands to eat at and incredible food to savor.

(ps: do take care of looking after your personal belongings. This is without a doubt prime location for pickpockets as the market gets overcrowded, people bump off one another, and distraction are abundant. Also keep in mind the fact that more often than not they work in pairs or groups, one working to distract while the other empties your pockets. Best advice: don't carry or conceal your purse or bag, don't show off your camera, don't advertise that you are a tourist.)

Greetings and Salutations

2008-01-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

WELCOME TO OUR BLOG!
This is a first for both us. Since we are becoming more adventurous, traveling, eating, exploring and aging, we decided to record it. So this blog is devoted to solidly and faithfully recount everything we come across, and . Also, here and there, I'll throw in some verbal farts, mental intrigues, striking curiosities, and anything that strikes me as particularly interesting.

We begin with our recent trip to Barcelona. If you are planning a trip we hope this will help, and if you have any questions, let us know.

the rain in spain falls mainly in the plain

2008-01-14T17:14:00.000-08:00