Last night as I was getting ready to pack up for the day, I heard people in my office saying that there was an explosion at Grand Central and telling me to evacuate the building immediately. Some of the associates that have offices facing Madison Ave saw lots of smoke and felt the floor rumbling, so they started running for the stairs/elevators and were telling other people to do the same. When I got to the first floor, there was a mad exodus – seriously – everyone in our building was running to the exit and trying to see what all the fuss was about. Apparently, there was a steam pipe explosion near grand central and the smoke people thought they saw was actually steam coming up from the ground. One woman died from the explosion (cardiac arrest) and 44 other people were injured. Here are the pictures I took from the street as I was walking home:
The debris that fell onto all New Yorkers in the area:
Also, there was asbestos in the debris that fell from the explosion, so if you were in the area, you should probably either 1. throw away your clothes that you were wearing or 2. get them cleaned so you won’t be breathing in the asbestos.
Trains are running again, but there’s still a lot of cleanup and there’s no traffic along 42nd street near Grand Central.
David Burke, owner of davidburke & donatella on the Upper East Side, opened up a small shop on the side of Bloomingdales, accurately named David Burke at Bloomingdale’s. It’s a small eatery on 59th street (close to cosmetics) and I ventured there with Chris last night for a bite to eat. I heard of them because of their “sliders” – small burgers that pack a punch, so I decided it was time to check them out. These cheeseburkers (haha – get it?) are bite sized beef patties with a sliver of cheddar cheese placed delicately on a crusty piece of bread (not a bun), all topped with half a cherry tomato:
Cute, right? They usually come in packs of three for lunch (as a meal) but for dinner, they are only served as appetizers. I ordered one (just to try it) and it was actually pretty delicious. The bread is what makes the cheeseburker special – you definitely have to bite into it because it’s pretty tough on the outside, chewy on the inside (in a good way). The meat didn’t taste too flavored, but for a cheeseburger, it wasn’t bad. For $3.95 though, I don’t think it’s worth it.
David Burke at Bloomingdale’s has a great deal for dinner – $24.07 for a prix fix dinner (appetizer, main course, and dessert). You can choose anything off the menu – there are no restrictions! (most appetizers are over $10, main courses are all $18-$22, and dessert are another $10 if you order them separately)…why wouldn’t anyone get the deal? Since I wasn’t that hungry, I thought it would be a good idea if I just got the cheeseburker and then Chris got the prix fix meal, but I would share with him. Great idea, right?
We started off with the lobster bisque – described to us as not a thick and creamy bisque like you would expect, but paired with apples for an interesting combination. I was skeptical, but we ordered it anyway:
Talk about presentation! I love the bowl. Anyway, the bisque was really quite yummy – I don’t like mixing savory with sweet (there’s just something wrong with that!) but they used granny smith apples and the tartness complimented the bisque. I also liked how the bisque tasted more like a chunky puree than a creamy mess that you might find elsewhere. Too bad there wasn’t much lobster (although whenever Chris found a piece, he offered it to me!).
For our main course, we ordered the filet mignon:
Talk about STEAKY! We’ve learned that if you want your meat medium rare, you should order it medium, especially with filet mignon. The cut is just too large for them to cook it all the way through (understandably) so they just kind of go as far as they can with what they have. uhh..yeah. So anyway, the steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare, the carrots were delicious (I LOVE carrots) but the potatoes tasted a little stale. I won’t hold it against David Burke, though.
For dessert, we ordered the blueberry and peach tart:
Who knew it came with a side of ice cream? What a wonderfully delicious surprise! The ice cream was pretty sour (raspberry with something that made it sour…I couldn’t tell what it was) and went really well with the super sweet tart (but not overly sweet).
Overall, the meal was great – I mean, $30ish for all that food?! The service wasn’t that great (the hostess was just walking around the restaurant aimlessly while we were waiting to be seated, the waitress took a while to get our order, she forgot to order our dessert, etc) but understandable since it’s a small operation in Bloomingdale’s. I enjoyed the meal and it was so nice seeing Chris since I JUST got back from Europe!
Side note – even though I promised updates from Berlin/Copenhagen, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. I need to organize all of my pictures (over 1,000 already!) and think about what I’m going to blog about before rolling out the Berlin posts. For now, enjoy an Economy Candy post that I’ve been storing for a rainy day!
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One thing I love is Candy. Candy candy candy. When I was a kid, I used to hide my Halloween candy under my bed and eat it after my mom tucked me in. I had six cavities when I was only five years old. Impressive, I know. So when I heard about Economy Candy, I knew that I HAD to go!
Economy Candy has all kinds of hard to find candies (nostalgia candies, if you will), without the frills of Dylan’s. When I walked in, it was definitely a sensory overload…see below:
OMFG! AHHHHHHHH!!! It was AWESOME!! Seriously, there is candy up and down the walls and all over the place. I couldn’t believe my eyes!! Seriously, I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen so much candy…not even in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! They have all types of awesome candy there, including hard to find brands and stuff from overseas. Look at how happy I am:
Office reference:
Michael: I am really proud of you.
Pam: Thank you.
Michael: What?
Pam: Do you have something in your pocket?
Michael: A Chunky. Do you want half?
HA! 馃檪
Economy Candy even has their own cat:
If he could talk, he would say: I’m in your candy store, eating your halvah! Check out icanhascheezburger for more funny cat pics!
We made out like bandits with candy that I used to eat all the time when I lived in Pittsburgh and some candy I found in Europe, including KINDER EGGS:
I absolutely LOVE kinder eggs because it’s just the right amount of chocolate and creamy insides AND there’s always a toy inside! I thought they were banned in the US because the toys were too small and kids kept swallowing them, but apparently they’re still available at Economy Candy! I’m seriously going to Economy Candy every single day to pick up a little treat – their prices are a LOT better than Dylan’s and their choices are a ton better, too!
How to get to Economy Candy:
Economy Candy
108 Rivington Street between Essex and Ludlow
New York, NY 10002
212-254-1531
A friend from work recommended Gyu-Kaku for a group dinner, so I checked it out with Chris and our friend Tim, who actually set us up six months ago. 馃檪 My friend warned me that Gyu-Kaku might be a little expensive, but we decided to celebrate since Tim was in town from Los Angeles for the week. A picture of me and Chris:
And a picture of our friend, Tim:
There were two ordering options for us – ordering a la carte or ordering enough for four people. The menu for four people included a lot of chicken and other fillers and would’ve cost about $50pp (without tip), so we decided to order a la carte. We started out with some tuna:
Very fresh and meaty without the taste of fish and a great way to start the meal.
After our tuna appetizer, we started on the meats. The waitress said two meats per person with a side would most likely be enough for everyone, so we ordered according to her. I ordered the U.S. Kobe Filet and the Rosu (thin slices of ribeye with ponzu sauce), Chris ordered the harami (skirt steak marinated with miso):
He ordered another beef (I can’t remember what the name is since they’re all semi-Japanese):
Tim ordered the harami as well and then another beef. We also ordered one serving of mixed vegetables (corn, onions, tomatoes, eggplant, and mushrooms). A layout of our table:
And a picture of me grilling the beef:
Overall, the meats were all good (we liked the harami the most). After devouring the meats, vegetables, and tuna, we were still hungry and had to order more meat (two more orders of harami). The meal cost about $50pp including tip, which was an expensive meal, but definitely worth it. To save some money, next time I’d probably go for happy hour (5-7) or after 9:30 because certain meats are half off (you have to check the dates because each night features a different meat). Gyu-Kaku was a great meal, although slightly pricey. It would be a great place to have a fun birthday party (and you don’t smell like barbeque afterwards, either, so you can wear nice clothing to the restaurant!).
By
grace.g.yang
路 July 9, 2007
Under:
My Life I’m on vacation in Berlin and Copenhagen for the week, so my posts will be a little delayed. Stay tuned for my trip highlights!
