Whirlwind Weekend

My mom came to visit last weekend, and it was incredibly lovely not only to have her around, but really to have anyone around. I've said it before and I'll say it again--living alone is a bit weird, and during this transition, while nice, definitely a little bit lonely. She came down on Thursday while I was at work, treated me to a quick lunch on my hour long break, and then wandered about on the UWS until I finished. We had a delicious dinner at Sarabeth's with my Aunt Jane (the 80th and Amsterdam location), where I chipped away at my continuing New York mission: trying as many burgers as possible at as many locations as possible!

On Friday, when I actually don't have work, we spent the day shopping, visiting the Met, and of course, eating. I had only been to the Met once before, on a quick trip with the Wesleyan Classics Department, so it was great fun to go again and see a bit more. Given the state of the US dollar right now, it seems like everyone and their entire extended family has hopped on planes to come visit the states...that being the case, the museum was insanely crowded. I dragged my poor mother around to look at all of the Greek pottery and sculpture, and we roamed a bit on the way to the Room With A View exhibit (it was exceptional, so if you get the chance, definitely go and see it) and the Temple of Dendur (which I declared I had to see before the end of the visit). It was full of people, but still absolutely stunning. If anyone wants to build me a huge wing like the exhibit room to live in (water feature and windows included, please), I'd be eternally grateful.

The gate, which spent a large chunk of its modern life partially flooded post-dam construction.

The temple itself, with part of the winding line to get in to see the small room that's open to the public. The temple was originally covered with graffiti, at least as far as I understood, and I'd be curious to find out what kind of restoration and preservation work they had to do to clean it up.

The view from the front. Columns. They get me every time.

We also did some serious eating this weekend: post-Met we made a quick pit stop a a cart outside called "Cake and Shake". The cupcakes were fantastic, and I highly recommend them. Lots of fun flavors (I had a chocolate cupcake filled with white buttercream and covered in nougat ice cream. It doesn't get much better!). Then we decided it was time for real lunch, and headed over to a place called "Le Pain Quotidien" (there are a gazillion locations; see here ). I'd been here once before and their open-faced tartine sandwiches were so delicious, I knew I had to take my mom. Not only did I get to have my sandwich again, but I tried their 'watermelon cooler', which also had agave and cucumber blended into it. It was great fare for a hot day, and I'm going to have to find to make it for myself, because I definitely can't afford to trek over for and buy one on a daily basis!

Yum!

My mom reminded me to snap some pictures for the blog, so here is my sandwich! Black bean hummus, avocado, and a little bit of lettuce and tomato with spicy tahini on the side. Yes please!

Sunday was filled with more walking and shopping, topped off by a delicious dinner at Gabriel's (11 W 60th, right near Lincoln Center), which never fails to disappoint. I've had several things on the menu now, and am blown away every time. If you haven't been to this place, you need to pay it a visit (and if you're a poor, recent college grad, make sure to *ahem* invite your parents). I had their sausage and peppers pasta dish this time (Hil, I'm looking at you here), and while it was phenomenal, you really can't go wrong with anything. Try it out!

Our final--and perhaps most important--food discovery was a place just down the street called Teresa's Restaurant (80 Montague St out here in Brooklyn Heights). We had several breakfasts here, and although we stuck to the standard egg dishes, they have a real selection of what looked like (and if they're anything like the rest of the food, should be) delicious, traditional Eastern European fare. Pierogis, potato pancakes, borscht...I'm making plans to go back and try most of it, so if anyone is interested, do give me a call. If we're feeling particularly hungry, we could even go for the babka french toast...