mft #5: Balthazar

I’ve been to Paris twice, and fell in love with it twice. And to me, with its frosted glass, crowded but cheerful atmosphere, Balthazar is my escape back there without leaving Manhattan.

Not to mention, the food is delicious. I’ve had all of their skate/cod/trout/bass entrees and liked each of them, although my absolute favorite is their Plateaux de Fruits de Mer, a 3-tier display of raw seafood (clams, oysters, shrimp, king crab, scallop, etc) on ice – just the presentation of the dish itself is impressive.

To be honest, I’ve found better French food elsewhere. And the need to make reservations a week ahead of time annoys me. But the ability of the restaurant, with its friendly waiters, to so accurately recreate the summer days spent at those Parisian brasseries and bistros makes the inconveniences well worth it, time after time. after time. This is consistently one of my favorite restaurants these past few years, and I can’t imagine life without it.

you can find it at: 80 Spring St., New York, NY 10012 (closest subway is 6 train to Spring St.). Balthazar Bakery is right next door, although their delicious goodness is shipped daily to many cafes, etc. around the city.

mft #4: The Economist

The creator of the Big Mac index! The Economist is by far my most favorite current events periodical. Although written by an editorial team, the magazine presents a unified voice and is consistent in its support of free trade, its span of global topics, and most importantly, its dry British humor. I also love that the writers offer intelligent viewpoints supported by cold hard facts, without feeling obligated to cover middle ground to appease the masses. Such as from a recent article on Belgium:

“If Belgium did not exist, would anyone today bother to invent it?”

fantastic.

A copy of the latest issue, and a cup of coffee – these are what Saturday mornings are made of.

you can find it at: bookstores, news-stands, www.economist.com

mft #3: Luna bars

If I were religious, healthy snack bars would be God (which, incidentally, is not why I am not religious). They fulfill my need for nutritious sustenance when can’t find the time for it. And of the countless brands I’ve tried, Luna is definitely the best. I remember going crazy once and deciding that I was going to order 50 of them online and have it shipped because I was sick of buying them one at a time, but ended up buying 50…dozen bars. For a while I hated them because I felt compelled to eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But I’m happy to say that we’ve since rekindled our relationship, and I, again, can’t live without them.

Luna’s made by the same team as Clif Bar, but ‘reformulated’ for women. This means they are smaller, contain more calcium/iron, and have a slightly cheesy quote on each wrapper. Luna bars are excellent because they come in about 15 different flavors, 70% organic, and they’re all good. My favorites are Toasted Nuts n’ Cranberry and S’mores. I’m a huge fan of snack-bars to begin with, because they’re so easy to pop into my bag when I’m running around doing errands, or trying to catch the subways in the mornings. But I like Luna the best for their their taste, variety, and chewiness (I love chewy, nutty things jammed together). They also don’t melt as easily as other bars.

you can find it at: grocery stores, health-food stores, pharmacies. I’m sure I still have a pile of them somewhere if you’d like to purchase them from me. unopened!

mft #2: Nike + iPod

It’s simply, and utterly, one of the coolest collaborations ever – a match made in heaven. It’s the combination of a small sensor (that you put inside your shoes) and a receiver (that you plug into your iPod nano), and it saved me from my hatred of running on the treadmill. The sensor/receiver combo can record everything: time, distance, calories, etc. a voice gives you distance/calorie updates at the push of a button. With this, I can break free from the gym and hit the parks, trails, city blocks. It’s the best part of waking up.
And the coolest of all, you can upload your data onto nike.com, which then gives you another slew of options – high definition graphs and charts, options to compete against others, etc.

you can find it at: at the Apple store, but you can also find them online, at sports stores, wherever.

mft #1: the real Bagel

So I will kick off the MFT series with the one thing that I’ve missed the most and that my life isn’t quite complete without – real, authentic Bagels, with a capital “B”.

Yes, there is a thing as an authentic Bagel. It’s the kind that is freshly boiled and right out of the oven – they are big and thick, with a crunchy crust and a warm, chewy center that is doughy but not overly so. Top with some fresh cream cheese, smoked salmon, tomato slices – hello, lover.

Any other type of “bagel”, especially those that need to be toasted, or come from bags(?!), are knock-offs. They are also known as crap.

you can find it at: the birthplace of the American bagel. In New York, the best-bagel war will never end, but my favorite is at Ess-a-Bagel, but don’t mind the line, and unless you’d like to be yelled at, don’t ask for your bagel toasted! and on the days i find myself on the UWS, i will almost always go to the original H&H Bagels on 80th st.

my favorite things (MFT) series

**note: this is completely unrelated and has nothing to do with Oprah’s Favorite Things. or anything at all with Oprah. thank god.

After living in a foreign country for so many months, I find myself dreaming about and craving for things back home that i either loved or didn’t realize I loved. so I will begin to list them on this blog and publicly declare my love for them.

**also note: it will be my goal to not fill this up with entries on food. but no promises.