Sister = Food

My most favorite and wonderful sister traveled from California a few weekends ago.  Basically, when she comes around, it's constant food and drinking.  She's my idol.


Because we have no imagination, we took her to the farmers' market, like we did with my mom a few weeks ago.  Except we went to the Union Square Greenmarket, which is supposedly the Big Kahuna but as I've already stated I think it's just a sham compared to CA markets.  I mean, where are all the free samples you assholes.

The market seems to have really great salad greens, although sadly it is lost on me because I make it a point not to eat salad.

Sugar snap peas.  They look good, and maybe they are, but these were $9 per pound. Gazooks!

Fascinating, eh?

Hand dyed wool, next to the coolers of lamb meat from whence they came.

Look at the razor clams on the right!

One of the market guests

Later that night, we went to West Branch for dinner.

Duck shnitzel, calamari in spicy tomato sauce, cabbage and fries.

The aftermath

Hi!

A few nights later, we went to Sushi Yasuda, a really great sushi restaurant in midtown.  Not only was the sushi incredibly fresh and tasty, but it was also such a lovely, serene dining experience.  There was a rhythm and ritual to it, although sadly we were buffoons when it came to the ritual part.  This was clear when it took us 30 minutes to order because we didn't understand the menu system.  There were about 4 separate menus and we pretty much fucked up with every step--a la carte, prix fixe, fixed selection, it was all very confusing and we were stressed out.  Kevin said he felt like he was taking an exam, and I think our server thought we were idiots. 

Another example of my buffoonery--I ordered two sakes because I had no idea what the size was (even after she told me--I couldn't understand her), and we each ended up with two sake cups in front of us, for 6 total. We looked like such lushes.

The squid, on the left, was the hit of the night. It was super fresh and sweet.  Then there was yellowtail, bonito, salmon and striped bass.  The sushi chef reached over the counter to instruct us on how to eat the sashimi.  For the sushi (not pictured), he lightly swiped it with soy sauce so I didn't need to dip or anything, and the rice was slightly warm.  It was amazing!

On the last day she was here, my sister and I went to Ippudo in the East Village for some of the best ramen in the city.

Little one learning early the value of a good bowl of ramen.

Gah these pork buns were so good.

I know it's hard to tell that this is a bowl of ramen, but it is, and an extremely good one at that.  The most unctuous pork broth ever.

My sister very kindly and generously made us lobster rolls as well.  Look at these bad boys.

Extracting all the meat required all kinds of tools.

I needed to reward myself after all that effort.

Okay, so lame, I don't have a picture of the final product.  But it had mayonnaise, lots of chopped celery, salt, and plenty of lemon juice.


Sniff.  Miss her.