Countdown to Beantown, Part 3: The Pre-Move Holiday
Avid readers of Jaffe will already have noticed the pictures from my trip to London in my flickr badge. This was the longest stretch I've had in London since the move to New York a little over 2 years ago. Managed to fit a lot of catching up into the 8-day trip, but unfortunately didn't have a chance to see everyone. As it turns out, just because I'm on vacation doesn't mean everyone else is!!!
In spite of everyone having to work, my time in London was basically an 8-day version of my 5 years of living there. Watched a football (soccer) match in a pub on Exmouth Market, where Serena and I ran into the manager of The Eagle Pub, one of my London favorites; had a picnic on Primrose Hill; lunch at Italia Uno (unfortunately they didn't have the Torta della Nonna); tea at the LMCB; went for a walk along the Thames; and of course, Wimbledon!
Also tried some new things - a walk in Holland Park, a beigel (they spell it differently in London, apparently) from Brick Lane Beigel Bakery, and some afternoons in Serena's Institute.
Definitely the nicest trip I've had to London since leaving a couple of years ago.
Countdown to Beantown, Part 2b: More Farewell Drinks/Dinners
We had a lab dinner last week - the traditional 'leaving-do', as they say in London. I suppose this one could double-up as a Restaurant of the Week:
Zipi Zape 152 Metropolitan Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11211 718-599-3027
Zipi and Zape are two popular Spanish cartoon characters that were chosen as a theme for the restaurant when a Spanish chef partnered with twin sisters (one of whom is the woman taking our food order from Aurelia in this picture) to open a tapas restaurant in Brooklyn. Sketches of the cartoon are on the inside and outside of the restaurant, and help give the place a really relaxed and low-key feel.
We had two tables outside in the front of the restaurant, which is on a (relatively) quiet street in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. I say relatively quiet street because Metropolitan Avenue seems to be a shortcut for large trucks, which a few times during the meal came tearing down the otherwise very quiet street.
Other than the occasional truck, sitting outside was really nice. The weather was perfect. We arrived around 7pm, which gave us almost an hour-and-a-half before it got dark and became a bit too cold for the people who didn't wear sweaters or jackets.
Zipi Zape is a tapas restaurant, and since Aurelia (who is from Seville) was clearly going to be the most familiar with the choices, we let her order. We had a couple orders of the tasting menu (as well as the vegetarian version, which, unfortunately for the true vegetarians in the lab, had quite a few seafood dishes), a couple orders of paella (including paella negra, which is made with squid ink, and vegetarian paella), and a lot of white sangria.
The food was excellent. Everything was very fresh, and extremely tasty. In the end we ordered way too much, which turned out to be a nice little bonus for lunch the next day (the paella was even tastier after a day in the frig and re-heating in the microwave).
Check out the pictures from the dinner by clicking on the badge or the date under My New York pics!
Most of you who read Jaffe will know that before most (all?) major sporting events in the US someone leads the crowd in the singing of our National Anthem, the Star Spangled Banner. Last night I was sitting at home getting ready to watch game 5 of the NBA finals between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, listening to the National Anthem being sung by Ashanti:
Those of you who like to click on all of the links in my entries may notice something peculiar about Ashanti's rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. No, it's not that she improvised a bit with the tune. It's that she got a word wrong!
OK, so it was only one word, and a lot of people may not even notice. But if you're a professional singer, and are hired to sing the National Anthem, I think you should learn the words.
Countdown to Beantown, Part 2: Farewell Drinks/Dinners
A couple of posts ago I wrote about the Boston move and the search for an apartment. The lease is signed, deposit check has been sent, so everything is a go.
With a trip to London planned for the end of this coming week, and the move happening only a couple of days after I get back, I've started having my farewell dinners and drinks to say goodbye to my friends in New York.
Thursday was a very nice evening out with my current supervisor and his wife. We went to Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse, a place that I've wanted to try for a while. Smith & Wollensky is exactly what you would imagine a steakhouse would be like. Men and meat. Appetizers like 'Tomato and Onion', which is literally a stack of slices of tomato alternating with slices of raw onion, and main courses like this:
would leave most people digesting their meal for days. Definitely worth skipping lunch next time!
Last night was drinks with friends from New York and the surrounding area. I asked around to some people 'in the know' for advice on the bar, and Anastacia came up with Nightingale Lounge in the East Village. A good choice - no cover, good cocktails, DJ, chilled out atmosphere. Christina and Uli came in from Long Island (with, as Christina put it, a small asian posse), Shoshana and Len made it in from New Jersey, and a lot of the Manhattan crowd showed up in spite of the rain.
I'm sure there are some pictures out there... will put some up when I get my hands on them!
I'm guessing that the majority of people who read Jaffe already know this, but I'm moving to Boston!!!
Serena and I were in Boston at the end of last week to look for a place, and after seeing 16 apartments (yes, 16 apartments) in Cambridge, Beacon Hill, Fenway, and Back Bay/Symphony, we found a very nice one-bedroom garden apartment around the corner from the Prudential Center.
The move is set for the beginning of July, and the grill for the patio will be purchased the day after I arrive!!!
