Thursday, November 11, 2010

What happens when you have to travel to Boston every week

Not only have I been a blogging slacker, but I've been a wedding slacker too!  I guess that's why I haven't had any posts in a while.  When did it suddenly become 2 weeks before the wedding?  Aaaahhhhh! 

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The Vietnamese ceremony

I'm still a bit hazy on the Vietnamese ceremony that we're having the morning of the wedding. I know that B's family comes to my parent's place to basically ask to take me away. :) They come bearing gifts and then we pray to our ancestors. My family presents me with jewelry (fun!). There's also eating involved and within an hour or so it'll all be done.

And I'll be wearing this (ignore the cheesy smile):


















We had the dress (called 'ao dai' in Vietnamese) and pants made with some silk that my mom had. It's not finished in the photo -- in fact, there are probably about 200 pins holding it together here. But the dressmaker is incredible and has managed to accentuate my good parts and hide my bad parts while still making it relatively comfortable to wear.

I'm borrowing the overcoat from a family friend. Personally I don't want to wear the overcoat at all. And that head dress (called 'khan dong') is not my favorite, but it's traditional and pulls the whole outfit together. In any case, the head piece is too big for my head, so we'll have to figure out how to keep it in place without messing up my hair. I also need to come up with a hairstyle that will work for both this outfit as well as my western one.

While planning 2 ceremonies has been a pain, I like the idea of incorporating my heritage into the day's festivities.
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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Please, Mr Postman

Drumroll, please...

The biggest ever DIY project we (I) have ever undertaken is now in the US Postal Service's hands.  The invites are out! 

Lessons learned:
  • Start as early as possible - it takes way longer than you ever anticipate
  • Get addresses and contacts as soon as you start wedding planning.  It's amazing how long it takes people to respond.
  • Definitely travel for work so that your significant other gets stuck doing all the cutting and gluing and assembly.  :)
  • Don't forget to number the RSVP cards.  If a guest sends back the RSVP card and forgets to put their names, I'll be all set.
  • If you have others helping you (i.e. elderly parents), diligent QC is a must!  We had so many invites that were upside down or backward.
In the end, it was a fun project and I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.  Now I wait on pins and needles for responses to start flowing in!!!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Photo Collage

I found the photo collage feature on Picasa today and was playing around with a couple of different formats. I'm thinking about using these at each of the tables. The escort cards would be the aforementioned Mini-MOO cards (LOVE THESE!) with a photo on one side and the table number on the other side. So for each table there would be about 5 different photos corresponding to a particular country. Vote please:

Option 1: photo pile















Option 2: separated photos

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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Moooo

Okay I am kind of in love with MOO cards.  You can customize them anyway you like, up to 100 individual photos!  So I want to make escort cards from these and either do something like this:

That would be side 1.  The other side I would put the guest's name and table number.

You could also customize it with a photo.  So instead of the above, you could just have a picture.  Fun fun fun fun!!!  And they're so cheap too!

Friday, July 30, 2010

Drumroll please...the dress is in!

Whoa, I was not ready for that email.  On my original receipt the expected delivery date was at the end of October and here we are at the end of July.  But who cares?  My dress is here!!!

I went to pick it up and schedule an alterations appointment.  Got the dress home (luckily B is in Hawaii for the week, so no spoilers for him) and had to try it on.  With the aforementioned sky-high heels, the dress is the perfect length.  In fact, if the dress was a micron shorter, or the shoes a bit taller (impossible, by the way), then I would be in big trouble.  YAY!

So all I'll have to do in September is have it taken in a bit at the top (or get a boob job - haha) and sort out a bustle.  Easy peasy!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Dress your feet

Before I even started wedding planning, I knew I wanted to have fabulous shoes.  My prediction was that I would end up spending the same amount on the shoes as I would the dress and as it turns out, I'm not too far off! 

I have been coveting these shoes since I saw them in my very first bridal magazine when all this hullaballoo planning started.  A couple of weeks ago I finally pulled the trigger and bought these beauties:



Yes, they are SKY HIGH but surprisingly comfortable.  I love them!  Let's see if I'm still saying that after the wedding.  :)

Kudos to http://www.piperlime.com/ for having great descriptions, reviews, no shipping fees, and an easy return policy.  It made my purchase worry-free!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

DIY invite mock-ups

I put these together as a trial and we're still trying to finalize all the little details before we go ahead and start making these little suckers.  Horizontal vs. vertical?  Green vs. white?  Bi-lingual or not?  Decisions, decisions...

Monday, July 12, 2010

Say Yes to the Dress

Friend (and now bridesmaid) S came out for the weekend to help me find a wedding dress.  Anyone who knows me will know that I'm not a "traditional" or "typical" bride.  I haven't been thinking about this day since I was 11.  I never played dress-up wedding.  So I certainly had no idea what kind of dress I was looking for. 

Strapless?  Straps?  A-line?  Trumpet?  Sheath?  Princess ball gown?  Definitely not princess.  Ivory?  White?  Train?  Veil?  Sweetheart?  V-neck?  Empire?  Silk?  Satin?  Charmeuse?  Chiffon?  Lace?  UGH, it'll make your head spin! 

Over the course of the weekend we hit 4 bridal shops ranging from not-for-profit Bridal Garden to the high end Kleinfeld, made famous by the TLC show, Say Yes to the Dress.  Needless to say, they were all very different experiences and S helped me every step of the way.  I honestly could not have done it without her.

I tried on so many different styles at a wide range of price points.  And in the end, I had some really good options to choose from all within budget (score!).  After a week of deliberation, I made my decision and submitted my dress order!  I should be getting it at the end of October.  Fingers crossed!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

When to DIY

Planning a wedding on a budget is a pain!  Dealing with people who charge you double just-because-it's-a-wedding are annoying!  But thus far, we have gotten what I would consider reasonable pricing for most things.  Most things, except invitations.  UGH.  Why are invitations so expensive?  Even crappy looking invitations are expensive.  Nevermind letterpress!  I totally understand that a "small run" doesn't make alot of economic sense for most printers, but c'mon. 

And thus, I am considering doing the invitations myself. 

Yes, I know I'm crazy.  But I have seen some really great invites done by everyday brides at a fraction of the cost.  And they seem so personal too.  I'm sure much more so once I have constructed 250 of those bad boys by my own two little hands.  I'm no designer, but how hard can it be?  (I will probably be eating those words soon!)

So I will be looking into this option and deciding if I am really willing to go down this path, because once I buy all of the supplies, there's no turning back.  I'll share design ideas soon!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Rest your head

We finally decided on our hotel blocks.  It's another difficult thing to do when you don't live in the city!  We had to choose hotels based on websites, TripAdvisor reviews, and again, the responsiveness of vendors.  It's amazing how far that will go in the eyes of a customer.  I am much more inclined to do business with someone who gets back to me in a timely manner, answers all of my questions directly, and then follows up when they don't hear from me. 

According to "wedding experts" you are supposed to choose 3 hotels in different price ranges, but every hotel we called was willing to offer about the same rates and seemed quite reasonable to us.  So we're going for the following 3 hotels:

The Adolphus, grande dame of downtown Dallas hotels

The Magnolia, modern boutique hotel that serves milk and cookies at night

The Stoneleigh, spa hotel in Uptown

I think they will all be fine for our guests, and at $99/night, who could complain? 

Friday, July 2, 2010

Strike a pose

One more thing checked off the list!  We've secured our fabulous photographer.  He's one of our grad school classmate's husband, and he does great work.  He's even throwing in a couple of extra hours gratis to shoot the traditional ceremony at the folks' place.  Check out Tony Ku Photography!!

Monday, June 28, 2010

The big reveal

Okay, now that most of the major elements are set up, here is the wedding website I put together:  https://sites.google.com/site/brandonandlien/

And a sneak peak:

Again, with Google sites and a ready-made template, it couldn't have been easier.

On a roll

I am no techie nor a graphic designer, but I did manage to put together an ESTD (okay, if you have to ask - electronic Save the Date) today! It's not fancy, but it'll work.

The problem with using Google's website templates is that you can't always copy the images and reuse them elsewhere.  So it took some finagling and clever copying and pasting and reformatting in MS Publisher before I could get the darned thing to even email.  One version would work on Outlook but not Gmail.  Then one wouldn't work at all.  And then finally, 3rd time's a charm, I got something to work with both!  YAY!

One more pass through the guest list to see who gets one of these bad boys, and I can check another thing off the list!

Friday, June 25, 2010

And the winner is...

The Crow Collection of Asian Art!  YAY!!!!  We are so excited and relieved to have finally chosen a place and set a date.  Now onto the next task, but those are two of the biggest things I can now check off the list!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Venue update - day 3

I took a deep breath on Monday morning and while I was still frustrated, we still had some appointments.  I screwed up the time for our first appointment, so we got downtown a bit late. 

Crow Collection of Asian Art
This is a really cool space and we both really liked it.  It was less than the Arboretum, but still not exactly "budget".  Still, we figured if we had a smaller guest list, we could have made it work.  The plus here is that you could have both the ceremony and reception in one spot and Jennifer is so responsive.  They seemed really flexible too, so you could really make it whatever you wanted to. 

Our next appointment wasn't until 3, so we did what any true Dallasite would do and went to North Park mall for some lunch and shopping. 

Zander's House
At 3 we went back to Zander's House to speak with the man in charge.  He was definitely shady and the "deal" he was giving us wasn't that great.  They are still an option for us, but I felt a lot less sure about this spot after our meeting.  Hmmm, what to do what to do?

We tried to change our plane tickets to leave that evening, but no such luck, so we had dinner with the old folks and hit the sack early.  Early Tuesday morning we were headed back to NYC and I felt even more lost than before the trip!  UGH, I'm not sure how it all got so complicated and difficult, and I always knew I wasn't cut out for wedding planning, but this was beyond ridiculous.

So that's where we are.  A week later and we haven't made any decisions.  The one good thing is that B, in his infinite wisdom, decided to do some leg work on his own to take some of the stress off me.  This past weekend we did some thinking and may have a plan of action...and a date!  Confirmation to come in the next few days when we secure the venues.

Venue update - day 2

The only appointment we had on Sunday was with the cake lady.  She's a friend of the family and we figured we could get a decent  price on the cake.  So at 11, we headed out to Hurst (lots of driving this weekend!!!) and tasted 5 or 6 different flavors of cake.  I think the group was unanimous with the Italian cream (still not even sure what that is) and strawberry flavors.  B is allergic to chocolate, so we'll have to consider whether we'll have a chocolate option.

Okay, cake done, now what?  We stopped by a printer, but they were closed.  At any rate, I think we're going to try and do the invitations ourselves and put my DIY skills to work!  So we drove up to Plano to try a Vietnamese restaurant called Zander's House.  This is Option B for the wedding reception.  I never ever wanted a reception at an Asian restaurant, but I was willing to at least go and see the space and try the food. 

The food, I will admit, was pretty good.  And the space wasn't too awful (not compared to most of the strip mall joints around DFW).  My biggest gripe was the location - it was FAR!  So another consideration. 

Sunday I definitely started to get frustrated with the parents.  They were driving me nuts and honestly, we just don't see eye to eye on how this wedding should be.  So I was frustrated and annoyed and didn't want to do anymore planning with them.  B saved me and we went out for date night that evening to get away from the house and enjoy ourselves a bit.  Phew.

Venue update - day 1

I'm about a week late with this update, but it's taken me at least that long to calm down and regain some perspective.  Last weekend we spent three days in Dallas with the express purpose of finding a venue and setting a wedding date.  I scheduled several appointments and my parents filled in the rest of the time with other appointments and meetings. 

Dress #1
Straight off the plane we headed to the Vietnamese tailor who was making my traditional dress.  My mom was prepared with some fabrics and after being measured in about a thousand different places, we were off to the next spot.  Easy enough. 

Then we grabbed a quick bite to eat.  I was starving and knew it would be a bad day without some sustenance.  Quick pit stop to look at the traditional Vietnamese head piece which looks ridiculous on me.  They're all too big or something.  I don't like them, but my mom thinks I should wear one.  Fine.  I guess I'll look here too.

Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
Next stop, the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.  It's a beautiful spot, but it was SO EFFING HOT that day, I thought we were all going to pass out.  It's not the cheapest place to have a wedding either.  And Texas weather could put a wrench in the plans, since most of the venues are outdoors.  It is definitely in the running though.

Hickory Street Annex
I was so ready to get in the car and crank the air conditioning.  Last stop was Hickory Street Annex in an old warehouse/industrial area near downtown Dallas.  The space was nice and you could set it up a lot of different ways, but the parents immediately nixed it due to the neighborhood, so it is now scratched off the list.

We were all exhausted after this so we headed home and had a quiet evening.  Had a chance to run out and meet an old college friend, Jeanie and her new husband for dessert.  I was glad to have that opportunity since I would be missing her baby shower.  We were in bed at a decent time in anticipation for Day 2...

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

A sweet story...

I love those idea and it makes for a sweet story:  http://www.weddingbee.com/2010/06/04/the-metal-box/ but I think I'd prefer a box that earns interest!  :)

Scratch this

Sadly, Marie Gabrielle is out of the running.  The minimums were way beyond our budget and no matter how beautiful the space, I just can't justify it. 

The good news is that we're headed to Dallas this coming weekend to see the other spots.  Fingers crossed!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Venue progress

B and I sat down for 2 hours this evening and narrowed down the venue list.  We are calling on the following spots.  Drumroll please...
  • The Dallas Arboretum
  • Hickory Street Annex
  • Winfrey Point
  • Marie Gabrielle Restaurant and Gardens
  • Crow Collection of Asian Art
Yay, we have made some progress at least!  Now we wait for the responses...Not a bad way to wrap up the weekend.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Marie Gabrielle Restaurant and Gardens

I found another spot today while trolling around some wedding blogs.  Marie Gabrielle Restaurant and Gardens looks awesome...if only we weren't on such a budget.  I think it's worth calling to get a quote at least.  From what I understand the food is awesome and it's a really beautiful place.  They also throw in free parking which is nice since it's basically downtown.

Some fun stuff

With all the headaches of assembling the guest list and trying to find a venue sight unseen, I decided to do something a little more fun.  I started to build our wedding website!

I got a few website programs on Weddingbee and decided to try out Google Sites.  It is SO EASY!  You can either use templates and then customize it to your liking, or you can start from scratch.  Since I'm not a talented crafty "bee", I went the template route and I like it!  It's not the most amazing website, but it looks good and serves it's purpose.  And it took me about 20 minutes to put together!

Now if only I had all the details to fill in, I would post the link here.  *Sigh*

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

More venues...

Ugh, this venue thing is a headache!  Especially when you can't see the places in person. 

We've solicited some more Dallas friends to send some more ideas, so I have another long list to go through.  Add to that all the crazy ideas my parents come forward with.  They actually said they were going to book a place yesterday.  What?  Without discussing with me first?  I swear, they're going to drive me cuckoo!!!  Of course I did some research last night and almost every single review I read warned not to have a wedding there.  UGH. 

So here are some more spots:
Dallas Woman's Forum
Dallas Art Center
Dallas World Acquarium
Fair Park
The Women's Museum
Hall of State
Arlington Hall in Lee Park
Aldredge House
Crow Collection of Asian Art
Hickory Street Annex
Belo Mansion

Sunday, May 16, 2010

The big ticket item

Without fail, the biggest expense is the venue and since we're probably going to pay for most of the wedding ourselves, I am trying to find budget-conscious options. 

I know that B wants something outdoors.  Not so easy in Texas, but doable.  It certainly won't be some fairytale ceremony on the beach with the sunset in the background, but I think that is okay.  We're simple people and like the outdoors and a natural setting.  Ideally, I would like a venue that would allow us to bring in our own caterers and alcohol.  We can definitely save money there too. 

So with the help of a very close high school friend, I have some venues to look into:

Winfrey Point at White Rock Lake (for both ceremony & reception) - you need some imagination based on the following pics, but I think it could be really beautiful


The Arboretum (for either ceremony or ceremony & reception)


Fort Worth Botanical Gardens


Zander's House (for the reception only)


Winfrey Point is now a front-runner for me.  I haven't shared the idea with B as yet, as Dandy just sent the idea to me last night, but it looks perfect.  It's an older building set by the lake.  The ceremony can be held outside, but if weather is an issue, it can be moved inside.  And the reception area is a blank canvas - just one big open space.  A big plus is that you can use your own caterers and bring your own alcohol as long as you follow certain rules.  The biggest problem is that it will be a lot of work since you do all the decorating, catering, etc...And I understand the kitchen facilities are not adequate.  So we'll see...

I hope B likes it and we can start making some calls.  At some point we'll need to run down to Dallas to have a look at these places.  I don't like the idea of planning things sight-unseen.  

To invite or not to invite...

According to my All-In-One Wedding Planner from Google Docs, I am supposed to assemble my guest list first because it is the biggest driver of the wedding budget.  Easier said than done.

My list and B's list were easy.  We have only so many close friends.  The parents lists are more complicated, particularly my parents.  You see, they expect to invite every single person they know, anyone who has invited them to their or their child's weddings, and of course anyone that they have ever talked to.  Ever.  In my dad's words, Tradition = Family Pride.  What does this mean??!!??  So I have had to control this process closely and asked my parents to compile their list with priority rankings.  If you don't make the A-List, you probably will not be getting an invitation (but I didn't tell them that part).  'Nuff said.

The wedding planner formula goes something like this:
80% that you invite will show up
10% of those that said they would show up will actually not show up
I don't know what this means.  Lets put real numbers to this.  Say we want to invite 100 guests (in reality it will be more, but this makes for easy math.  As Professor Granoff says, it's a pedagogical example).  Okay, back to the example.  80 of them will show up.  But then 8 of them won't show up?  Or 80 of them will come.  Period.  And ~90 people will RSVP that they will come, but 9 or so won't so we're back to 80 people?  Oh gosh, confusing.  I think these are 2 separate rules.  I can think of so many ways this doesn't work.  I guess I will be counting RSVPs carefully.

As it is, not including the parents lists, we are at 85 guests plus their +1s.  We considered not doing +1, but having been a single guest at a wedding where I didn't know very many people, I would have appreciated bringing a companion along.  Maybe we should reconsider.  Needless to say, I think we are going to have to pair this down significantly, especially after my mom's email saying she was "only going to invite 100 of her closest friends".  And I guarantee every single one of them will show up for the free food.  :)  EEK.  Let the chopping begin!!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Desperation calls

If it were up to us, we would elope. At most, we would have a destination wedding surrounded by close family and friends. But alas, my parents are DESPERATE to throw a wedding. You see, both of my older brothers eloped the first time around and I am the last hope to have a wedding to repay their friends for all the weddings they have attended over the last 35 years. It's silly, I know, but I do want to do this for them. What that means is that both parties are going to have to compromise. At the moment, what it's looking like is a small intimate ceremony for us and a big reception for my parents. I think that's fair, don't you? So, to answer those 2 pesky questions...

Do you know where it's going to be?
I've given into my parents wishes and we're going to get married in Dallas. They are getting on in years and travel will be difficult for them. So although I haven't lived in Dallas since I was 18 years old, I am willing to do this for them. The problem that arises is planning the darned thing from NYC. Thank goodness for the internet! What did people do before the internet??

Have you set a date?
 The answer to this is still no, but we at least have a little bit more direction now that we have a city. We would like to get married sooner rather than later -- I mean, let's be honest, I'm no spring chicken! So our considerations are:
  • Timing - can we pull something together in 6 months? Or will waiting a year allow us to plan something nicer with less stress?
  • Weather - in Texas, if you wait 10 minutes the weather will change...at least that's what people say. Judging by the winter they just had, Texas is getting colder, so I don't want to chance a winter wedding. Also, for those of us traveling from less sunny climates, I don't want to get stuck at the airport for my own wedding! And a summer wedding in Dallas? Fuhgeddaboudit! So that leaves FALL and SPRING, just like everyone else planning a wedding in Texas.
  • Venue - will we be able to find a place with availability given the above constraints?

Friday, May 14, 2010

Let the planning begin!

My head has been all over the place these days.  Forget enjoying the glow of being newly engaged.  As soon as you tell someone, inevitably the first question is "So have you set a date?"  Ummmm, no, we just got engaged.  "Do you know where it's going to be?"  Ummmm, no, we just got engaged.

So it's been about 3 weeks now and about all I have done is bought a handful of wedding magazines that all more or less tell you the same things and of course post photos of beautiful (and expensive) weddings that make you think you really really really need to have those super cute wedding favors.  I guess it's time to start making decisions!

In a word, planning a wedding is OVERWHELMING.  Hopefully this blog and the amazing wedding planning templates on Google Docs will help me stay focused and organized!!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Amazing "Engagement" Race

This has been a tough week for us healthwise.  First B got sick and then passed it onto me.  I was running a high fever on Friday night and he was desperately trying to get me better and now I know why!

On Sunday morning he asked if I felt well enough to go get some pho in Chinatown.  I was on the mend and pho always cures what ails you, so of course I agreed.  I thought it was kind of curious that he wanted to bring his backpack with us but he said it was just in case we bought groceries which, in my sick state, seemed perfectly reasonable. 

It was rainy out so we took the subway to Nha Trang, one of our favorite pho places.  After we ordered he said he had a gift for me.  Hmmm, curious.  I have a couple of Momiji message dolls and he had gotten me a new one -- Silly Billy -- but told me there was a catch and I would have to play along.  He said it was like the Amazing Race and I would get $60 for this leg.  I had to give him a 10 minute head start and then I could read the message that was tucked inside the Momiji doll for my next clue.  FUN!  He made his way out and I settled the bill and opened my first clue: 


"You need to run, run and get to one of your favorite locations in HK.  I'll be waiting for you with chips made just right, so hurry, hurry!!"

I figured it could be one of two places in Hell's Kitchen:  Arriba Arriba or Empanada Mama.  Arriba makes my favorite nachos in NYC - simple, no frills, so I figured I would go there first.  I did a quick map on my phone and headed for the subway.  Excited that the Q train came so quickly I hopped on only to discover that I was going the wrong way!  Doh!!  Rookie mistake to get on the train headed for Brooklyn but at least I got to cross the Brooklyn bridge.  :)  It took me a while to figure out how to get back to Hell's Kitchen so I sent B a quick text that I was a little lost.  I finally got there and the food had just arrived with yet another Momiji doll and another clue.  This time Giggles had 2 clues:


A picture of a blue box
AND
"Jump on the train or catch a cab to one of our favorite weeknight locations for "big" tasty rolls.  I'll be waiting for you next to iron Godzilla with a "big" drink. 

This had to be Monster Sushi which is close to our place and they have a collection of godzilla figurines.  I gave him a 10 minute head start and made my way to the 1 train.  I timed it just right because I made it just as the train was approaching the platform.  Imagine my surprise when 2 stops later B gets in the same car.  Hmmm, I wasn't sure if this was part of the scavenger hunt or if he screwed up?  Hah!  He got on the wrong train and now I had caught up with him.  Oopsy.  At Monster we still sat by the iron godzilla and while I was in the restroom he got the next clue ready.  Coco's clue said:


A picture of an iron
AND
"The theme of the day is probably becoming quite clear, so a quick jaunt back north will complete this favorite fix: be it pepperoni, mushroom, or even a broccoli rabbe.  Can't beat the beat deal in NYC, at least for Brooklyn lager."

There's a really good pizza place a block away from our apartment that does $10 pitchers of Brooklyn lager - we always say it's the best deal in town.  So I walked up there and sure enough he was waiting and had put in a pizza order.  Holy cow, I was already so full -- pho, nachos, a sushi roll, and now pizza!  We each had a slice and then I ran the rest of the pizza up to the apartment before heading off to the next place.  This time Happy's clue said:


A picture of Zoe from Sesame Street the day we saw them in Madison Square Park
AND
"I would be remiss if we didn't stop by your home state staple.  Although the brisket may not compare to Snow's, it does have some pretty pictures to remind us what BBQ should be and does supply a decent slice of bread."

This was easy.  Hill Country BBQ right across the street from our place.  I dropped off the pizza and said hello to the kitties before I headed over.  B was waiting at the bar with some brisket and sausage from Kreuz's.  YUM.  I was full, but still managed to eat some of it.  Fun fun!!!  My next clue came from Soul:

A picture of an Antony Gormley statue - one of many that have started appearing all over Madison Square Park
AND
"Now that you have all the clues, come find me in a place which we love and used to sit and talk about our future in the big city.  Oh, you won't have to wait in line, I promise."

When we were apartment hunting, Madison Square Park was what sold me on our current apartment.  It's a cute community park and Shake Shack is right in the middle of it.  The line is always long, but it's worth the wait for the hamburgers, so I dropped off our BBQ leftovers at the apartment and headed over to the park.  I was pretty sure this was the last clue since the pictures were:  a square, a flatiron, Sesame Street, and the Gormley statue.  As I was walking toward Shake Shack I could see B waiting for me next to a fountain and he gave me a big hug and said he had a question to ask me. 

Teehee, that was it.  He got down on one knee in the rain and asked me to marry him.  I of course said yes!  What a fun day - the whole day it felt like we were the only two people in the city.  We picked up some champagne on the way home, called our families and enjoyed the little adventure we had.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Le Bernardin

Yesterday was my birthday and B was generous enough to treat me to a meal by famed chef, Eric Ripert. A dear friend had given me Ripert's Return to Cooking years ago as a gift. After trying several of the recipes, we were excited to see what it was "really" supposed to taste like. We had reservations at Le Bernardin for 7:45 and it was all I could think about at work that day! Below are my impressions of the meal.

To Start

AMUSE BUCHE  
Oyster with foam and black truffle oil 
I wish I could remember exactly what was in this. Neither of us could understand the waiter at first, perhaps from the excitement of finally being there and the anticipation of dining at a 3-Michelin-star restaurant. All we could make out was that it was an oyster (location was mentioned, but again, couldn’t understand), some kind of foam (it was brown), sauteed vegetables of some sort, and the truffle oil. Whatever was in it, this was the most delicious little bite and a great way to start out our meal.


BREADS 
Selection of various breads: sourdough, wheat, olive, and 2 others I don’t recall.
Breads were offered next and we tried the sourdough and olive bread. Both good especially with yummy French butter. Why is French butter so much better than what you get here?


Chef’s Tasting Menu

TUNA  
Smoked yellowfin tuna “prosciutto”; Japanese pickled vegetables (daikon) and crispy kombu
A nice, light start to the tasting menu. The portion was actually larger than we expected. The fish was so fresh tasting (like sashimi, but more firm) and the daikon and crispy seaweed added so much texture to each bite.

EGG – CAVIAR  
Poached pastured egg; Osetra caviar; mariniere brother and English muffin
This was amazingly delicious and simple. Even the English muffin was perfectly toasted. I guess this is an Eric Ripert specialty and should be on every menu. Perfectly poached egg – nice and runny, just the way I like it. Topped with caviar and then finished at the table with the broth. Once you break the egg open in the broth, it’s like a rich soup which is perfect to dip the strips of muffin to sop up all the goodness.

LANGOUSTINE
Seared langoustine, mache, wild mushroom salad; shaved foie gras; white balsamic vinaigrette
This too was delicious. The vinaigrette was delicate and added just the right amount of acid to balance the richness of the mushrooms and foie gras. I was surprised that it wasn’t too bright as vinaigrettes tend to be. B felt like the foie gras was too overpowering for the sweetness of the langoustine. The earthiness was like eating country pate. But I love country pate.   :)

MONKFISH
Pan roasted monkfish; hon shimeji mushrooms; turnip-ginger emulsion; sake broth
Mmmm, this dish definitely had Asian notes with the ginger. The mushrooms especially, took on the gingery flavor. It may be possible that these cute little mushrooms stole the show as far as this dish goes. Again, the dish was finished at the table with the sake broth and it all worked nicely. Balanced, but still delicately flavored.

BLACK BASS
Crispy black bass; braised celery and parsnip custard; Iberico ham-green peppercorn sauce
This was my least favorite dish of the evening. The entire dish was incredibly meaty to me after having such delicate and well-balanced courses before. The ham flavor definitely came through in the sauce, not so much the peppercorns. The fish itself was delicious, but again, very meaty. There was a generous portion so I had to donate the rest of the fish to B to finish for me. As for the parsnip custard, it was actually really interesting. Normally I don’t like parsnip, but the bottom of the custard was coated with a layer of flan, so mixing it up gave a nice mix of salty and sweet. Much better than I was expecting.

LOBSTER  
Baked lobster on a bed of truffled foie gras stuffing; brandy red wine sauce
This dish was SO rich, but delicious. Even with foie gras and a very strong wine sauce, the sweetness of the lobster still came through and all of the other flavors didn’t overpower the delicate meat. The portion again, was huge – one Maine lobster tail and one claw (the tail was better and probably would have been enough). B still prefers crab over lobster and found the texture to be a little tougher than he expected. I thought it was delicious, but again I had to share with B because I was so stuffed. J

CHEVRE  
Creamy goat cheese spheres, concord grape, candied walnut, black pepper
OMG, what a surprise the cheese course was. I cannot describe it in any way to do this dish justice. The spheres had the most interesting texture – soft and moist little orbs of goat cheese. The grapes were perfect with it. Such a lovely surprise – maybe one of my favorite courses of the evening. So simple with clean flavors that married well together.

CORN-PRALINE  
Caramelized corn custard, hazelnut praline, brown butter ice cream, popcorn tuile
This was different and not what I expected. The custard was okay. I was so full at this point, I just ate the praline and ice cream which were delicious. The popcorn flavor did not come through on the tuile. It actually just seemed like a thin, crispy sugar wafer.

Extras

EXTRA SPECIAL BIRTHDAY DESSERT
White chocolate passion fruit cheesecake with passion fruit sorbet
The plating was beautiful with a skinny tapered candle and Happy Birthday scrawled in chocolate on the plate. The cheesecake and sorbet were incredible with fresh, bright flavors. I actually didn’t notice the white chocolate too much, but the waiter made it sound like there was just a thin white chocolate “wash” over the top of the cheesecake. Delicious!

EVEN MORE SWEETS  
Petits fours – miniature bites of pistachio tarts with cherry and cream puffs 
Ugh, we definitely didn’t need any more food at this point, but we tried them all. After all, they were teeny tiny little bites of goodness. I thought the cream puffs tasted very much like cereal milk. In fact, I went so far as to say it tasted like Lucky Charms marshmallows. This is not a bad thing, just unexpected. The pistachio tarts were good, but I was so done eating.

WINES
Muscadet ‘Close des Briords’, Pepiere, Loire 2008 
Riesling Feinherb, Karthauserhof, Mosel, Germany 2008 
We had the first two whites with the first four courses in the tasting menu. Well chosen and within our budget too. The Riesling had nice floral notes without being too fruity or too cloyingly sweet.

Rioja, Reserve ‘Vina Ardanza’, La Rioja Alta, Spain 2000
Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy, France 2006

The two reds paired with the last four courses of the tasting menu. The burgundy was great with the food, but the rioja had nice body and could definitely stand on its own, even with a meaty steak.

Chateau La Rame, Reserve, Sainte-Croix-du-Mont, France 1998
This dessert wine came with the birthday dessert and petit fours. I mentioned that I liked sauternes and she came up with a glass of this stuff. Delicious with strong notes of black tea.

SERVICE
A quick note on service. It was efficient and friendly. I love service that is unobtrusive and you don’t even notice when they give you new silverware or refill your water. The sommelier was so helpful and not at all snooty. She knew we were on a budget and worked within those limits to deliver some nice wines for us.  The waiter described in detail each and every course. And they took care not to serve any cocoa because of B’s allergy. We were excited to see Eric Ripert himself come out to the floor, but alas, he didn't stop at our table.

AMBIENCE
The setting is pretty, but very corporate feeling. I would say most people dining there looked like they came straight from a business meeting. There were a handful of “special occasion looking” couples.  Not my favorite decor, but it didn't detract from the entire experience.  Noise levels were reasonable – not too quiet, not too noisy. Tables are arranged in such a way that is intimate and private.  Our dinner lasted about 2 1/2 hours but the time flew by and we really enjoyed ourselves.  I had been to a few similar tasting menu dinners but this was B's first and I think it's safe to say, it will not be his last!

I left not impressed by the decadence of it all, but by just how good simple and delicate flavors can be.  Ripert seems to have a great respect for the main ingredient and lets the seafood shine.  What a great birthday!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Mesa Grill

We went to Mesa Grill on Saturday evening and I’ll just cut to the chase: While nothing was terribly bad (save one side dish), I have satisfied my curiosity and will not be rushing back anytime soon.

We have been curious about this place for a long time, seeing Flay on the Food Channel in Iron Chef and his Throwdown show. I had really high hopes to find a good southwestern style restaurant near home, but I just don't think this is it. Why can't NYC get this right?? And don't get me started on Mexican, Cal-Mex, or Tex-Mex!

To drink:
Pear cactus margarita. Nothing special, just a margarita that was pink. When we sat down we were only given a wine menu and had to ask about cocktails. I would think a place like that would have given you both.

To eat:
We shared a bunch of dishes and that worked pretty well.

Bread basket. Everyone raves about this bread basket in reviews. I thought the cornbread muffins had good flavor, but they were dry and crumbly. The rosemary bread was good but seemed out of place. In the end, not 100% sure what was so great about the bread basket.

Blue corn pancake with barbecued duck + habanero chile-star anise sauce ($14). Supposedly one of Flay’s signature dishes. It was very heavy on the star anise/five spice powder flavoring, lacking in the habanero department, and seemed more appropriate for a nice Chinese restaurant than a Southwestern place. This was not my favorite and with one little taco at $14, seemed out of place and overly-priced hype.

Shrimp + roasted garlic corn tamale with fresh corn + cilantro sauce ($15). This was recommended as another of Flay’s signature dishes and was more successful than the prior. I especially liked the tamale with strong sweet corn flavors although still a tad disappointed that the shrimp was over cooked and tough.

New Mexican spice rubbed pork tenderloin with bourbon-ancho chile sauce + sweet potato tamale with crushed pecan butter ($29). I think this was the most successful dish of the evening. I know meat is Flay’s sweet spot and the pork was perfectly cooked. I even liked the chile sauce which was very close to being a too sweet, too thick barbecue sauce, but had just the right mix of flavors to compliment the pork. Funny, I didn’t realize the tamale was supposed to have sweet potatoes and pecan butter until re-reading the menu description. It tasted very similar to the first tamale we had. Haha. It was good, but nothing like the description.

Brussels sprouts with toasted pecans + pomegranate seeds ($7). This was horribly, horribly disappointing. You could not taste anything but the overly sour pomegranate juice that they used to braise the vegetables. Brussels sprouts are normally one of my favorite side dishes and I only had one bite of it. Even B couldn’t finish it off. Disappointing doesn't even come close to describing this dish.

We decided to skip dessert given the average meal we already had. Besides, nothing looked all that appealing, even on paper.

On a positive note, service was decent. Our server wasn’t the most attentive, but other servers in her area picked up her slack. The restaurant is huge by NYC standards and the ambiance is festive. He still packs ‘em in so he is either doing something right, or America’s taste buds have lowered their standards. I'm sure there's a fair number of patrons who were also enthralled by Flay's celebrity and were as curious as we were. We walked home happy to have tried it but wondered how on earth Flay wins so many Iron Chef battles!