Monday - Arriving in New York City during their amazing fireworks display was a really great beginning to the workweek that my co-worker, Farrah, and I had in the city. After an exciting (?!?) taxi ride and having settled into our rooms on Monday night, we met in the lobby and the big booms that we heard in the distance let us know that the Hudson River fireworks were in full display.Being in Midtown Manhattan, we were a bit far from the waterfront, but walked towards the celebrations so that we could catch glimpses as we searched hungrily for somewhere to have supper. We settled on the “build your own hamburger” place called The Counter. You have a clipboard with choices that you check and I ordered a 1/3 lb beef burger (I could have had a chicken, turkey or veggie burger) with an herb goat cheese spread, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles on a regular bun. I don’t know if it was because I was starving… but it tasted delicious!!! http://www.thecounterburger.com/
Tuesday – We had a great productive and informative day of training with Sule, a smart & lovely executive from our German head office, and it was truly helpful to meet face-to-face – all together in the company conference room – and follow through various processes in our company-wide song database, fine-tuning each step. We discussed procedures and related tasks and issues and I had the much-appreciated chance to see what our head offices look like.
The Admin staff all went to lunch together at the Japanese restaurant, IchiUmi, which is near to the office… actually right next door. I thought a lot about my fellow Pamela’s Girl sushi-lover, SanFran S, while eating there! They had the longest sushi buffet that I have ever seen in my life and it had a great many types of sushi that I had never tried before…. so I tried them! Did I expect that I would like cuttlefish sushi or Gunkan spicy tuna… I don’t know… but I went back for seconds… http://ichiumi.com/NewYork-Photos-NewYorkRestaurant
After several of us discussed Italian for supper, our NY friend & co-worker, Caitlin, offered to take us to her neighborhood in NY, the upper West Side. She said that there was a great little Italian restaurant there that she thought we would like – and we did!!! It was amazing! Featuring cuisine native to Naples, Celeste in the Upper West Side was cozy, intimate and welcoming. I looked online while writing this post and saw that Celeste was picked in a New York Times Top Ten Italian Restaurants in the City list.
For appetizers we had freshly sliced tomatoes with soft, light Italian cheese on top (ricotta? Mozzarella?), fried artichoke hearts surrounded by flash-fried parsley and a cold artichoke salad. For a main dish Sule ordered a small pizza from their wood-fired oven and the rest of us had differing kinds of pasta. I had an amazing house-made ravioli stuffed with ricotta and spinach and served with a buttery sage sauce. Seriously yum.
Unfortunately… (smile)… Caitlin had also told me about a bookstore in Manhattan that advertises that it has “18 miles of books”. Now THAT is just a bit too tempting for me to hear and resist. After we got back to the hotel, Sule and I decided to go for a walk and the next thing we knew, we were walking the 20-something blocks that it took for us to get to The Strand Bookstore. http://www.strandbooks.com/ By the time we got there, we only had 30 minutes to look before they closed, but we both took off in separate directions to see what we could find.
The Admin staff all went to lunch together at the Japanese restaurant, IchiUmi, which is near to the office… actually right next door. I thought a lot about my fellow Pamela’s Girl sushi-lover, SanFran S, while eating there! They had the longest sushi buffet that I have ever seen in my life and it had a great many types of sushi that I had never tried before…. so I tried them! Did I expect that I would like cuttlefish sushi or Gunkan spicy tuna… I don’t know… but I went back for seconds… http://ichiumi.com/NewYork-Photos-NewYorkRestaurant
After several of us discussed Italian for supper, our NY friend & co-worker, Caitlin, offered to take us to her neighborhood in NY, the upper West Side. She said that there was a great little Italian restaurant there that she thought we would like – and we did!!! It was amazing! Featuring cuisine native to Naples, Celeste in the Upper West Side was cozy, intimate and welcoming. I looked online while writing this post and saw that Celeste was picked in a New York Times Top Ten Italian Restaurants in the City list.
For appetizers we had freshly sliced tomatoes with soft, light Italian cheese on top (ricotta? Mozzarella?), fried artichoke hearts surrounded by flash-fried parsley and a cold artichoke salad. For a main dish Sule ordered a small pizza from their wood-fired oven and the rest of us had differing kinds of pasta. I had an amazing house-made ravioli stuffed with ricotta and spinach and served with a buttery sage sauce. Seriously yum.
But we also really enjoyed the walk around Sweet Caitlin’s neighborhood, which was the setting for the musical West Side Story. It was a pleasant after-dinner stroll that took us by the café location (Café Lalo) for Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in the movie, You’ve Got Mail, lovely brownstones ornamented with flowering pots and through parks dotted with lightning bugs. It is a good setting for Caitlin and she enjoys all that this area offers in the way of shops, restaurants and pleasant walks. Her kind hospitality to us was very much appreciated!
Unfortunately… (smile)… Caitlin had also told me about a bookstore in Manhattan that advertises that it has “18 miles of books”. Now THAT is just a bit too tempting for me to hear and resist. After we got back to the hotel, Sule and I decided to go for a walk and the next thing we knew, we were walking the 20-something blocks that it took for us to get to The Strand Bookstore. http://www.strandbooks.com/ By the time we got there, we only had 30 minutes to look before they closed, but we both took off in separate directions to see what we could find.
The choice for me was a newly restored edition of Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast with edited portions added back into the text so that the book now appears as Hemingway meant for it to be published. Why were some portions taken out? I guess that I will find out. I haven’t read this book for years and have been meaning to, so this will be the perfect reread of his early years in Paris. After making our purchases, Sule and I limped back to the hotel like the 90-year-old ladies that our feet had us feeling like, and I went up to my room to nurse my poor blisters.
Wednesday – Another good day of work was accomplished. I won’t go over areas that we covered here, but my boss, Peter, very skillfully laid out our agenda for the week. It included all of the areas that were most on our minds and all that we had questions about, and he was flexible to allow new topics to come up as different staff members voiced concerns in various areas. Again – an excellent idea to be face to face and look at procedural issues together.
For supper Peter had us all meet at Gallaghers, a famous NY steakhouse located in the theatre district. This restaurant opened in 1927 as a “speakeasy” and steaks were one of the things that they provided that were not easy to find during that time. This establishment is known for its all-natural, dry aged steaks that are cooked over hickory coals. It is said that it was common thing for the crowd to be made up of such characters as gamblers, sports figures, show people, novelists, playwrights, judges, ballerinas and business tycoons filled the dining room. I sat next to a portrait of Richard Burton. http://www.gallaghersnysteakhouse.com/index.html
Wednesday – Another good day of work was accomplished. I won’t go over areas that we covered here, but my boss, Peter, very skillfully laid out our agenda for the week. It included all of the areas that were most on our minds and all that we had questions about, and he was flexible to allow new topics to come up as different staff members voiced concerns in various areas. Again – an excellent idea to be face to face and look at procedural issues together.
For supper Peter had us all meet at Gallaghers, a famous NY steakhouse located in the theatre district. This restaurant opened in 1927 as a “speakeasy” and steaks were one of the things that they provided that were not easy to find during that time. This establishment is known for its all-natural, dry aged steaks that are cooked over hickory coals. It is said that it was common thing for the crowd to be made up of such characters as gamblers, sports figures, show people, novelists, playwrights, judges, ballerinas and business tycoons filled the dining room. I sat next to a portrait of Richard Burton. http://www.gallaghersnysteakhouse.com/index.html
Then Peter took us all to see the musical, Catch Me If You Can, playing at the Neil Simon Theatre. It was based on a true story that was also depicted in the 2002 film of the same name featuring Leonardo di Caprio. http://www.catchmethemusical.com/ It was really a great musical and we all had fun seeing it together. Many, many thanks to Peter!
Thursday – After our work day, Farrah, Sule, Caitlin and I all went shopping in an area not too far from our work and hotel. Everyone had some mementoes to pick up for friends and/or family and we all wanted to walk through the famous Macy’s. Of course I REALLY thought of SanFran S while there and wished that I could see her sweet smiling face appear around one of the corners! But at the same time, I was glad that she was not still there but back in her beloved San Francisco!
For super, Farrah, Sule and I settled on pizza and ate at a very tasty restaurant just across the street from the hotel… which was good… because honestly I wasn’t sure that my feet would make it much farther! The restaurant was called Bella Napoli and Sule and I split a delicious pepperoni, mushroom and olive pizza which was topped off by dessert. She tried the tiramisu and both Farrah and I got a dessert called Tartufo, which was chocolate and vanilla ice-cream wrapped with dark chocolate and covered with cherries and almonds… oh my... http://www.bellanapoli.com/
Friday – Early Friday morning I received a call from Sule asking if I would like to take a walk and find a place to eat breakfast. We had talked about doing that the night before and I was ready to walk out the door, so we headed out to see what we might find. After walking a few blocks we ended up back at a place directly across from the hotel called the Tasty Café. It was a basic and simple fast breakfast, but I very much enjoyed having some extra time to talk with Sule. She is a remarkable woman – beautiful, sweet and brilliant at what she does.
During Friday morning we all answered e-mails and took care of tasks that couldn’t wait until Monday. For lunch we grabbed carryout from nearby Kyo Chon Chicken. Lightly fried chicken strips coated in rice crumbs with various dipping sauces, a salad and some potato wedges shared with Caitlin made a very tasty lunch! http://www.kyochon.us/2009usa/02_menu/01/01.asp
After our Friday afternoon recap meeting it was hard to say goodbye to my NY work peeps. It meant a lot to me get to know their various personalities and to be able to now place a face with a name as we deal back and forth through e-mail and over the phone. I appreciate the company that I work for providing this opportunity for work and camaraderie combined!
The boutique hotel that I stayed in - The Hotel Roger Williams - was especially nice. The $21 Breakfast Buffet price was a bit alarming, but the rooms were clean & bright and it was crazy convenient to our office, which was just around the corner! http://www.therogernewyork.com
Love from Auntie J.
For super, Farrah, Sule and I settled on pizza and ate at a very tasty restaurant just across the street from the hotel… which was good… because honestly I wasn’t sure that my feet would make it much farther! The restaurant was called Bella Napoli and Sule and I split a delicious pepperoni, mushroom and olive pizza which was topped off by dessert. She tried the tiramisu and both Farrah and I got a dessert called Tartufo, which was chocolate and vanilla ice-cream wrapped with dark chocolate and covered with cherries and almonds… oh my... http://www.bellanapoli.com/
Friday – Early Friday morning I received a call from Sule asking if I would like to take a walk and find a place to eat breakfast. We had talked about doing that the night before and I was ready to walk out the door, so we headed out to see what we might find. After walking a few blocks we ended up back at a place directly across from the hotel called the Tasty Café. It was a basic and simple fast breakfast, but I very much enjoyed having some extra time to talk with Sule. She is a remarkable woman – beautiful, sweet and brilliant at what she does.
During Friday morning we all answered e-mails and took care of tasks that couldn’t wait until Monday. For lunch we grabbed carryout from nearby Kyo Chon Chicken. Lightly fried chicken strips coated in rice crumbs with various dipping sauces, a salad and some potato wedges shared with Caitlin made a very tasty lunch! http://www.kyochon.us/2009usa/02_menu/01/01.asp
After our Friday afternoon recap meeting it was hard to say goodbye to my NY work peeps. It meant a lot to me get to know their various personalities and to be able to now place a face with a name as we deal back and forth through e-mail and over the phone. I appreciate the company that I work for providing this opportunity for work and camaraderie combined!
The boutique hotel that I stayed in - The Hotel Roger Williams - was especially nice. The $21 Breakfast Buffet price was a bit alarming, but the rooms were clean & bright and it was crazy convenient to our office, which was just around the corner! http://www.therogernewyork.com
I thought of all of my Pamela’s Girls while there and wished that there was a way that we could all spend time together in a place like NY; shopping, eating out and just enjoying being together! Maybe someday!
Love from Auntie J.
