citrus salad with hazelnuts and pecorino
and my thoughts on perhaps moving to nyc part 1
guys—is it time for a change?
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i woke up early today and decided to finish writing this substack. i didn’t mean to wake up early—i can’t sleep. i woke up thinking about nyc.
if you have been here a while, you’ll know of my great love affair with nyc, ive made no secret of this over the years. but moving there has become a real topic of conversation for my husband and i ever since we came back from our trip in october last year. his job is based there and so we go a lot as it is. but something happened to both of us when we visited back in october, and we havent stopped talking about the possibility of moving ever since. what is a year, to try something new—in the grand scheme of things. we can rent our house out here in los angeles. life is too short, right? right!
but los angeles is home. the first place i have truly felt a real sense of home in my adult life. i know i am going to grow old here, in the hills of pasadena. i know that is where we will reside. who knows what the next few years holds—i love los angeles too much to picture moving to nyc forever. but for a year or so maybe, to try it out?
i am more than to warming to the idea, let’s say that.
i just got back from another amazing week in nyc and i’ll admit—am feeling a little blue. i think coming back to the trauma and reality of a broken los angeles, for sure, rings true. i feel guilty for feeling like this, especially when so many people have lost so much. but i came back confused about knowing where i want to be. and i haven't felt that feeling in a very, very long time (coming from a childhood with abandonment issues and a longing for a sense of home).
these feelings could also be just because i came back from another amazing trip full of incredible food, and so much fun with friends. it can’t always be like that, can it?
regardless of how i am feeling now, here is a recap on all the fun that was had—because we really did have so much fun, despite the -12 weather.
i touched down at JFK and within a few hours i was checked into my hotel in williamsburg, (the penny hotel) and already bundling up to embrace the freezing weather.
i was meant to meet a friend for a glass of wine, but they (quite rightly) canceled because of the freezing temps—but nothing could stop me from venturing out into the night, not even -12 weather. i didn’t quite know where i was headed, but i knew i needed wine.
then it dawned on me. i knew where i should go—four horseman. if i am staying in brooklyn, it is almost always my first stop. similarly, if i am staying in manhattan, cervos is almost always my first stop. if you’ve been here a while, you will know all of this. i write about my love for both places here.
i slid in through the door, and was surprised to see that the restaurant was half empty. this never happens! the reality of -12 weather set in.
as a solo diner, i love a good bar seat. indeed—my husband and i also love a bar seat. give me a bar seat over a two top any day of the week. i spotted a seat at the bar, and asked the host to be seated there. as with all four horsemen hosts (i find), he greeted me with a smile and walked me over to sit right where i had requested. the kind bar lady poured me a glass of the house orange before i had barely had a chance to sit down. my kind of service.
i ordered some food and quietly sat reading my book, until i overheard the conversation next to me. i don’t usually make a habit of eavesdropping but the guy sat next to me had been talking to the bar staff about fleeing los angeles because his restaurant pacific palisades had been unfortunately affected by the fires—he had no choice but to come a see his family in los angeles. this chance eavesdrop felt too much like fate. he was also sat on his own, so i apologized for interrupting and introduced myself.
we trauma bonded over everything that had happened in LA recently and even shared a bottle of wine. we talked to all the bar staff about the recent fires, and everyone was so engaged as we both re-told our stories. i think they could sense the distraught sound in my voice, and listened with horrified faces as i told them about the night that it all happened, about the fear that we all collectively felt and the unknown future of both the palisades and altadena. my heart feels so broken, even as i am writing this.
i, of course—got the celery salad, and was torn by ordering the butter beans or the leek toast. it was cold, so i settled on the brothy butter beans—and they did not disappoint. i always get the celery salad if it is on the menu, it might just be one of my favorite salads ever. my bar friend ordered food too and let me try some of his hake, so that was nice. new friends, sharing food—a very new york moment, i’ll say.
i walked back to my hotel, and genuinely thought i may have gotten frost bite on my ears, in the ten minutes it took me to walk. the cold was insane. i got into my cosy bed back at the hotel fell straight to sleep.
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the next day, i woke up early as i was meeting my friend jay for coffee. we were meeting at marlowe and sons, which was a 25 minute walk from my hotel. so, i bundled up and got to stomping. jay is a chef friend of mine, that i met via instagram about a year ago—but now is just a real life true friend. he and his wife lee let us stay at their beautiful apartment back in october, and ever since we have all become firm friends.
we caught up and talked about all the fun things he had coming up, as well as all the fun things i had planned. i always like to get jay’s advice on things, he is kind of big brother energy in that regard (even though i am a little older than him), he has a wiseness to his demeanor, and always happy to oblige when i send him frantic texts on where to buy white peppercorns on the lower east side!
i then walked all the way back to greenpoint as radio bakery had been on my mind, did some vintage shopping (of course) and then finally strolled back to my hotel for a little lay down before dinner with my best friend, justine that night.
justine had invited me to a gorgeous event with nancy silverton at barbuto. we caught up, laughed, drank martinis and enjoyed a night of delicious food. just what i needed!
all of the food, was of course divine, but the tomato soup with grilled cheese really took it for me. however, i cannot forget to mention jonathan waxman’s famous chicken—it really was that good.
bedtime for me again, so i said goodbye to justine as she dropped me off in the uber and i headed to bed again for another insanely good sleep.
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day three, and i decided to head over into manhattan. i met my friend kristen for a quick coffee in williamsburg before walking over to the east village. i walked over the williamsburg bridge in minus conditions, which is not something i recommend—put it that way.
i popped into gem cafe for a toasted buckwheat tea and sandwich, which were both so lovely. ive never had toasted buckwheat tea before, and now i am obsessed. the space was a cute and cosy respite after my freezing cold walk.
i got the subway back to my hotel as i was filming some content for them, including trying some of the food at their rooftop restaurant, which was so good! i am always surprised when hotel restaurant food is genuinely delicious—which this was. and the sweeping views of the manhattan skyline weren’t half bad too.
i showered and then headed back out, as i was meeting jay and his wife lee for dinner at the highly anticipated new restaurant—bridges. but before that, i had an exciting meeting at the sweetest little wine bar in brooklyn, as we were discussing my pop-up that will be happening there in april. more on that soon.
bridges—LES
i got the subway from williamsburg, to the LES and then had a short walk to get to the new, highly anticipated restaurant, bridges. lee and jay were already there, as i was running a few minutes late.
i walked in and was immediately enamored with the cosy but oh so chic interiors. it reminded me of dining rooms in milan or rome. glass bricks, but with a warm but minimal / mid century accented tone to it all as well. the crisp white table cloths paired with the causal laminate flooring was so perfect, i could have cried.
we started with a few cocktails, which were all very good! and then we got to ordering. we ordered a lot of the menu, and everything was absolutely delicious. and when i say delicious, i mean delicious.
the tuna crudo draped gently over warm mejool dates was sensational. the dumplings en brodo were so delicate but so flavorful. but the comte tart was the stand out of the night—i would go as far as to say that it might have changed my brain chemistry completely. the pastry was so thin and buttery, but held up so well to the custardy comte filling. sauteed girole mushrooms a top, then with a very generous flurry of winter truffle. it was outstanding.
we drank more wine, chatted more and then ordered desert to share, and of course— always accompanied with a desert wine too. more cocktails were drank after that, and we actually shut the place down, which is always a good sign. i remember thinking that i hadn’t felt this way about a restaurant in a long time.
what a gorgeous night! i popped in to say hello to margot, jay and lee’s sweet doggy, on my way home then took a little stroll back from their apartment to my hotel for yet another amazing nights sleep. all of this walking was taking it out of me (and it wasn’t all of the cocktails, i’m sure).
my husband and friends were arriving the next day, for the next part of my trip—my friend jackies 40th birthday celebrations and i would be moving hotels and checking into the bowery hotel (only my favorite hotel in nyc!), so more of that in the next installment, coming next week.
until then, here is a citrus salad that i made upon my return to los angeles.
winter citrus with hazelnuts, sherry vinegar and aged manchego
serves 1-2 people as an light lunch or appetiser
1 blood orange
1 navel orange
1/4 cup of roasted, chopped hazelnuts
1/4 small white onion, very thinly sliced
aged manchego (or pecorino also works)
salt
black pepper
olive oil
sherry vinegar
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begin by peeling both of the citrus. i just use the regular peel method, but if you want to slice the skin off for more of a chef look, then please go ahead. slice the citrus into approximately 1 cm rounds—not too thick, but not so thin that the slices fall apart. arrange them on a plate in a decorative fashion, alternating between the different colored oranges.
next add a small glug of sherry vinegar to the citrus (approximately 1-2 tbsp) and then sprinkle over the hazelnuts and thinly sliced onions. as much onion as you like—i like a lot of onion. finally, using a vegetable peeler grate over the cheese into little ribbons or small chunks—however it comes out!
finish the dish by dressing it in lots of olive oil, flaky salt and a good amount of black pepper.
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talk soon
xo
Fun post!
Salad looks delicious but the dates don’t seem to be included…..