NYC. Day 2.

Day 2 and we were ready to revisit some of

our favorites. The East Village is home of one of

our favorite restaurants --Prune.

Lunch at Prune started off with this brilliant chicken noodle

soup. The broth was already rich, but the addition of

peppery sliced radishes, crispy chicken skin, and matzah balls

made the soup extra-special. We were so impressed when

our main dishes arrived, we simply forgot to photograph them.

Sorry folks. I had the pasta kerchief with French Ham, poached

egg, and pine nuts. Randy had bacon and orange marmalade

on pumpernickel. Both were so, so good. It was hard, but we

skipped dessert as we knew we wanted to stop by

il laboratorio for some of their inventive gelatoes.

After sampling the coconut, grapefruit, and pink pepper

gelatoes, we stopped by Upper Rust. This fantastic

East Village shop is loaded with all sorts of interesting

things. No purchases, but we certainly had fun looking.

Upper Rust photos via nyportaits and knack studios.
Obscura came later with its overwhelming display
of antiques and oddities.
This would be part of the oddities.

This painting caught our eye, but its

price tag did not.

Loved this Lindbergh portrait as well.

A corner of Obscura -- just to give you an idea. We did

buy two pairs of 1920's boxing gloves. You'll see those later.

We finished off the East Village with Momofuku's Milk Bar.

If you haven't already heard about Martha Stewart raving

about this place, or Anderson Cooper's Crack Pie addiction --

then let me tell you, this place is the deal! So many decisions,

so we decided to create a little "care package" for our hotel

room. Here's what we included: Birthday Cake Truffles,

Compost Cookie (pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats,

butterscoth, and chocolate chips), blueberry and

milk crumb cookies, and an amazing corn cookie

(made with corn powder and corn flower). Oh yeah--

a piece of Anderson's favorite Crack Pie. Swoon, swoon!

That's for both the pie and Mr. Cooper.

We headed back to our room at the Iroquois

for a little rest and a shower before dinner

at Beppe. I had the "Butcher's Spaghetti" with

crumbled pork, garlic, chianti, rosemary and tomato.

Randy had the Tagliatelle with sea scallops and saffron.

_______

Tomorrow we hit the Flatiron District and see

Kelsey Grammer in the Tony Award-winning

La Cage aux Folles!

NYC Day 1

We started the day off with lunch at Artisanal, the midtown

house of cheese worship. I had a fantastic lobster salad

with avacado, grapefruit, and a creamy herb dressing.

Randy had a delicious croque madame of ham, egg,

and gruyere. The real surprise was the tasty watermelon

gazpacho with feta and black sesame seeds. For dessert

we shared an apple tarte tatin with a cheddar crust.

Images via Artisanal Bistro.
The Elton John produced Next Fall was next.
The play was fantastic, funny, sad, and believable.
I especially enjoyed Maddie Corman as Holly.
In the evening, after some shopping and the play,
we looked forward to dinner at Tipsy Parson.
The restaurant has a great eclectic vibe. Handsome waiters
and beautiful waitresses certainly doesn't hurt the aesthetic.

I had a frisee salad with country ham, grilled asparagus,

tarragon, and a fried egg. Delicious! We had heard

about their John Cope's sweet creamed corn and buttermilk

chive biscuits -- so of course I got a side of both. That corn!

I couldn't completey pick the recipe apart, but I swear there

had to be crack in there somewhere (and maybe some sage).

Addictive!

Randy had the hanger steak with a spiced pecan vinaigrette.

For dessert, he had the restaurant's signature --

The Tipsy Parson. It was a brandy-soaked almond cake

with vanilla custard, berries, and toasted almonds.

I had the strawberry shortcake made with a cornmeal

poundcake, Bavarian cream, and tarragon syrup.

____________

Time to get some rest now. Big day tomorrow!

Of course I'll keep you posted.

NYC. Late. Hungry.

Dopo Teatro, 125 West 44th

Well, we finally made it into NYC late last night. We arrived

at The Iroquois, dropped our bags, and headed out for

a late night bite. We are close to the theatre district

and remembered how much we enjoyed our impromptu

dinner at Dopo Teatro last summer -- so we hoped they'd

stay open late enough to feed us. We got lucky.

A plate of pappardelle with Barolo-braised beef short rib

ragout for me. Spinach and ricotta gnocchi for Randy.

Yes, we were inhaling this just before midnight... and

we loved every second of it. It is vacation after all.
Off to see Next Fall at the Helen Hayes Theatre!

J. Crew men's shop at the liquor store...

J. Crew has taken over the old Tribeca Tavern located

for years in a landmark 1825 townhouse. I'm looking

forward to visiting J. Crew's first men's shop at

235 West Broadway at White Street!

Great color on the front doors.
An interior shot via Crabapple.

A striking window display.

Handsome wares here, there, and everywhere.

Oh yeah — some nice looking clothes too.

I especially like this wool herringbone Ludlow two-button

suit jacket made from premier Italian wool via

Lanificio Di Tollegno (est. 1862), one of the oldest mills in Italy.

I also like the nice, casual rumple of this St. Tropez sportcoat.

The Baracuta G9 Harrington Jacket is very cool.

The original design was made famous by a certain

iconic 60's actor. Hmmm?

_______

Images 1, 2, 4, and 5 via Kitsune Noir.

6, 7, 8, and 9 via J. Crew.

Whatddya Think?

Gold and grey wool crewelwork rug.

Whaddya think?

Look past the text printed pillows on this

dark linen upholstered sofa. Whaddya think?

Braided cotton zig-zags stitched to
heavy linen panels. Whatddya think?
_______

Panels and rug via Anthropologie.
Sofa via Aidan Gray.

100 Recorded Followers!

Thanks for following The New Victorian Ruralist!

Today we reached 100 recorded followers! Thanks

to everyone that visits, reads, comments, and enjoys.

If you are already a follower, introduce a friend to the NVR.

Let's see how fast we can celebrate 200!

These Roving Eyes...

If you haven't already discovered Jason Hudson's

entertaining blogs — These Roving Eyes and

These Roving Ears — you are definitely in for

a treat. Totally jam-packed with visual and

audible delights, both blogs are bound to

become a favorite distraction.

For now, I am completely captivated by his

portraits of little cottages. Somewhere, on a lake in Canada,

these modest structures punctuate the shoreline with

their promises of endless summers and eternal comfort.

I am not completely sure how Jason photographs, but

I love the effect that he creates. It is almost like we

are looking at a model, a Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood

diorama come to life. (Jason, if you are reading, please

share your technique with us.)

These fantastic images are just a taste of what Jason

offers on his blogs. His ears and his eyes are on point

with the clever, the stylish, the delicious, and

the things we long to be (and sometimes are).

Talk about bringing the outside in...

Back in 2007, interior designer Brad Ford collaborated with

wallpaper designer Jennifer Angus to create this stunning

wall effect using hundreds of preserved insects.

It took two and a half days to attach cicadas, jungle nymphs,

and walking leaf insects (among others) to the walls.

Practical? Probably not. But just look at the beautiful
colors and textures each installation creates.
The design was for the 2007 Hamptons Cottages &
Gardens Idea Show House.

( Images via Brad Ford)

Please click on the photographs to view the

beautiful details in the larger versions.

Summer Romanticized...

I.
II.
III.

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

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(click on images for larger versions)

Jordi Canosa photography for Katrin Arens —

styled by Daniela Cavestany