The rest of January in pictures

1/15/10: artichoke pizza from Artichokes

1/17/10: West Side Story

1/18/10: bomb pastrami and corned beef sandwich from Sarge's Deli at 3am



1/20/10: pork buns, crack pie, and chocolate chip, cornflake, marshmallow cookie from Milkbar


1/21/10: dog-sitting for Pippo


1/29/10: Cold War Kids concert

Manhattan Half Marathon

One of my New Year's resolutions was to work out 3-4 days/week. To motivate myself to do this, I signed up to run the Manhattan Half Marathon.

Armed with 3 1/2 weeks of training and a sweet new running outfit, I arrived at 7:45am to a cold and overcast Central Park. I didn't realize how big this race was going to be, but there were thousands of runners there already, taking their places within their assigned sections. Of course, my section was in the very back.

The race was 2 laps around Central Park and then an extra mile to finish (13.1 miles). There were markers at every mile with a timer and water stations, which I definitely took advantage of. I was pretty proud of myself after the first 6 mile lap around the park. I'd been running on average 9ish minutes per mile, which is faster than I had been training at, so I tried to slow down a little bit so I wouldn't tire out. The 2nd lap was the worst. I'd already seen everything, so I already knew what was coming up, and it was a little boring. It was definitely the mental part of the race. There were so many times I wanted to stop or just walk for a couple of minutes, but then I'd see an old man in front of me and think, "I can take that guy", and keep running. Pathetic that I am comparing myself to 80 year old men, but whatever it takes to motivate you...

Anyway, long race short, I finished in 2:00:16. Considering my goal was to run it in under 3 hours (because at 3 hours they start taking down the finish line), I think I did pretty well. I did cross country in high school, and I've always loved runners because they are so positive and encouraging, and this race was no different. Runners that had already finished the race came back around to cheer for other runners. It was really cool. This was my first half marathon, but it won't be my last. I've already signed up to run a 4 mile race in 2 weeks and a 5K at the end of February. I think I just found a new hobby.

Grimaldi's Pizzeria - Brooklyn

Close your eyes and think about the best piece of pizza you've ever eaten. Ok, now times that by 10. That's what I had at Grimaldi's today. I've been to Brooklyn 4 times now, and 2 of those times has been to eat pizza at Grimaldi's. It's definitely worth the trek across the bridge and the hour long wait in line.

A friend visiting from CA, said that she had heard that Grimaldi's was the BEST pizza in NY. That is a BOLD statement. Being that I had the day off and it was a beautiful morning, we decided to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge for her to try Grimaldi's for the first time, and for me to reconfirm just how delicious it really was.

We only had to wait about 30 minutes to get in for lunch. We ordered a small (which is huge) of half regular (tomato sauce, mozzerella, and basil) and half with pepperoni and mushrooms. Usually I like a lot of crazy toppings, but I prefer the regular at Grimaldi's. The ingredients are so fresh. The pizza crust is thin and a little crispy and doesn't get soggy. The cheese is melted just right and even a little burnt. PERFECT!

It is for sure the best pizza I've had in NY, and possibly the best pizza I've ever had. EVER. (yeah, I said it)

Poutine

After missing out for 5 years on poutine (a Canadian treat that my friends rave about, consisting of fries covered in gravy and cheese curds) I was stoked to learn about T Poutine in LES - a tiny restaurant specializing in crazy poutine concoctions, such as "The Steakhouse" (fries, gravy, steak, and blue cheese) and "Morning Glory" (fries, gravy, bacon, and an egg).

I have been wanting to go to T Poutine since I moved here, and FINALLY a friend from work suggested that we check it out. She is Canadian and gets cravings for the stuff, so I think we may make this a weekly event.

We went right after work, and after getting lost a few times, we finally found T Poutine. It's actually in an area that I frequent on weekends, and I am a little upset that I have been so close without ever realizing it. It is a tiny place, with seating room for only 20. Luckily it was empty when we arrived for dinner at 8PM (I don't think many people would consider this an actual meal - it's more of something substantial you would eat after drinking heavily for several hours).

My friend ordered the "Classic" (fries, gravy, and cheese curds) and I ordered the special of the day: fries, gravy, cheese curds, and SHORT RIBS! MMM! It was everything I imagined it would be! The fries were still crispy despite being drowned in gravy, and the cheese curds melted over the short ribs and fries, creating a heaping mess of deliciousness. It sounds absolutely disgusting and it looks even worse, but it was incredible. I went home feeling like I had a brick in my stomach and it was totally worth it.

Ironically, I found myself in LES later in the evening, and after I had been going on about the poutine I'd had for dinner, the group I was with decided they wanted to try it too...so I went to T Poutine...again. I didn't order anything, but I did have a couple more fries. And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I learned that poutine is even more amazing after a few drinks.

New Year's Day: Take 2

Considering I wasted away more than half of the first day of 2010, I decided that my New Year's Day evening should be very productive. I followed my first New Year's resolution by working out. What started as a 4 mile run along the East River, turned into a 7.5 mile run when I got lost in Chinatown. I'd never actually been through Chinatown though, so I guess that was a good thing to see.

Then I met up with some friends and went to Katz's Deli, another first for me. The pastrami sandwiches are supposed to be amazing, but I opted for the matzo ball soup because it was so cold and I was still hungover from NYE. It was exactly what I needed.

After dinner, we decided to go to the Empire State Building. I couldn't believe I'd been in NY for 4 months already and I still hadn't been to the top. Even though it was pretty cold, the sky was clear and we figured that there would be amazing views of the city at the top. Within the 45 minutes it took us to get through the lines, up the elevator and several flights of stairs, the weather had turned to freezing and it started snowing! It was pretty cool to see all the snow swirling around, but we could only stand it for 20 minutes before we had to go back inside.

3 new NY experiences in 1 day! All in all, a great start to 2010!

Lobby of the Empire State Building

Tip top of the Empire State Building

View of my neighborhood from the top of the ESB

New Year's Day: Resolutions

At 2PM on New Year's Day, I decided that staying in bed ALL day would have been a terrible start to the new year. I layed in bed for another hour contemplating my New Year's resolutions and came up with these:

1. Workout at least every other day
2. Bring lunch to work 4 days/week
3. Drink at least 8 glasses of water/day
4. Start a budget and stick to it (budget TBD)

Sad that it took me an hour to come up with these, but I think they are reasonable and that I can stick to them.