Spooky Treats

Oct 24, 2012 By Smith & Ratliff in Food, New York 1 Comment Tags: baking, beer, cookies, tribeca

Aren’t these Halloween cookies from Duane Park Patisserie adorable?

We spotted them at the TriBeCa bakery and thought they were too clever not to share. Of course, form follows function and luckily for us, they were pretty tasty too. We were partial to the chewy gingerbread skeleton, although the white chocolate tombstone was no slouch either.

Paired with a bottle of Southern Tier’s Pumking beer, they made for the perfect afternoon snack. (If you haven’t tried Pumking yet, you must—imagine the most delicious pumpkin pie you’ve ever tasted in a beer form. It’s that good!)

If you grab a cookie from Duane Park for yourself, pop across the street to Laughing Man, Hugh Jackman’s coffee shop.

- Laura

All Good Things

Sep 10, 2012 By Smith & Ratliff in Food, New York 2 Comments Tags: blue bottle, blue marble, farmers market, greenmarket, tribeca

Over the weekend, I stopped by TriBeCa’s recently opened food market, All Good Things, to check out a few of the vendors. There were lots of familiar faces—along with a few new favorites.

The new space, owned and designed by Kyle Wittels, is a bit different from other markets around town, mainly due to its size—the entire space is basically a long hallway. The size constraints actually serve to make the space feel like a real bustling marketplace. The moment you step inside you are greeted with an array of beautiful bouquets from Polux Fleuriste next to Blue Bottle Coffee’s espresso bar, right across from Dickson’s Farmstand Meats.

The various stalls throughout All Good Things cover all of your artisanal needs, from coffee and chocolate, to oysters and a bakery. Even Sag Harbor’s Cavaniola’s Gourmet has set up shop here, for those who want to bring a bit of the Hamptons to Manhattan.

The space never feels too crowded, though, as you find yourself hopping from vendor to vendor the area opens up near the mid-section, allowing you a bit of space to enjoy your Blue Marble ice cream. Further in the back of the market is a small seating section next to Nunu Chocolates.

A particular favorite of mine is All Good Things Seafood, a seafood stall with freshly shucked oysters available for eating on the spot. Pair this with the small bar near the back with three different beers on tap and a selection of wines, and going produce shopping has never been quite so fun.

All Good Things is located at 102 Franklin Street between W. Broadway and Church Street. The market will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, but the bar will stay open and serve small plates till 1 a.m.

- Ryan

Summer in the Park

Jul 4, 2012 By Smith & Ratliff in Living, New York 2 Comments Tags: battery park city, parks, photos, rockefeller park, summer, tribeca

On Monday, I spent the afternoon in my favorite small park in Manhattan, Rockefeller Park in Battery Park City.

Besides its close proximity to our apartment, I love the park’s views of the Hudson River and the expansive lawn available for picnics. During the summer months the parkhouse loans out games and sports equipment, but they also have ping-pong, table top hockey and pool tables outside.

The lawns are great for reading, suntanning, playing football, baseball, croquet or any other sport you can think of. It would even be perfect for a Fourth of July picnic today.

Hope you and yours have a very happy (and safe) holiday, wherever you are. We’re planning on a sunset bike ride and then watching a few fireworks from the piers along the West Side Highway. How about you?

- Ryan

Happy Hour

Feb 27, 2012 By Smith & Ratliff in Drink, New York 2 Comments Tags: terroir, tribeca, wine

Nothing eases the pain of a long day’s work like happy hour. But even better than regular happy hour is a free happy hour.

Enter Terroir. The self-proclaimed “elitist wine bar for everyone” gives away a free glass of sherry during happy hour at each of its three locations—East Village, TriBeCa, and Murray Hill.

Terroir’s head honcho, Paul Grieco, thinks sherry is extremely underrated and wants more of its patrons to realize that it’s good for more than just cooking. (And it definitely is!)

The free sherry is accompanied by $6 glasses of wine, all perfectly paired with the delicious food menu, which includes beet and gorgonzola risotto balls, sage leaves with lamb sausage and some delicious fried chicken.

We ducked in last Friday and despite the gloomy, chilly weather, the sherry, copious wine and tasty small plates warmed us right up. The TriBeCa spot is our favorite since the out-of-the-way location makes for a less crowded, more pleasant environment than the raucous East Village bar.

After our last glasses of wine, we headed back out into the foggy night, taking in the view of lower Manhattan on our walk home.

- Laura

Fall Vignettes: Snowy October

Oct 31, 2011 By Smith & Ratliff in Living, New York No Comments Tags: fall, pier 25, snow, tribeca, vignettes, west village

Despite the persistent drops in temperature, Laura and I continue to have fun strolling around our neighborhood.

This past Friday, we took a short bike ride through the Village and TriBeCa and onto Pier 25 to look out over the water and admire the sunset.

Admittedly, I hadn’t given a lot of thought about the upcoming forecast of snow, with it being October and all, but sure enough it came.

It took only a single day for sunny skies to give way to snowy streets and sloshy shoes. It was an odd sight to see jack-o-lanterns being covered in powdery white snow.

While we love bundling up for colder weather in the city, we’re hoping for at least a few more 60 degree fall days before we truly have to break out the winter wear.

Hope you have a happy Halloween!

- Ryan