Week 7 Chelsea Market

                            "A busy person is a happy person."  Patricia Sullivan (aka Mom)

Cellar of Ambassador WInes

Rosa Mexicano on 1st Avenue

As I caught up with Friends while “home” in Milton for Thanksgiving, I have  been reminded that I am late on my posts. I have been busy!!  So here’s an update.  The Tuesday after Veteran’s Day I dragged myself across the street to the library to work with yet another interesting Lady on computer skills  I kind of giggle doing this as I absolutely do not consider myself a techie  But, whatever little I know, I am delighted to pass on.  That evening I met some friends at Ambassador Wines in Midtown (2d and 54^th), for a truly fun tasting of many Champagnes. On Timeout, I found a discount for a champagne tasting.  Hello.  I now actually know enough People to get a group together to explore!  My Friend from the Spring library class, 2 Friends from the NYC Wine and Food Festival, and 2 Friends of those, met.  After all the Champagne early in the evening we took a frigid walk to my old neighborhood, Sutton Place, for a wonderful dinner at Rosa Mexicano.  It was an awesome blend of People, cultures, and personalities.

On a sunny, brisk Thursday, I headed to Hunter College to go on a walking tour of the Upper East Side with Big Onion Tours (Kris gave me gift certificates last Christmas).  I love being a tourist close to home, so much to learn.  Our Guide was a lovely young Lady getting her PhD in Art History who was knowledgeable and entertaining.  From their website: Upper East Side: A Clash of Titans

Explore one of the most luxurious neighborhoods in the world as we delve into the personalities, scandals, and institutions that have made it so legendary. Our tour will include a visit inside one of New York’s most significant historic galleries and landmarked townhouses.- See more at: http://www.bigonion.com/). 

I have been following an interesting young Man’s blog and website for awhile since I learned of him at a lecture at Boston’s newest Hostel.  Nomadic Matt (www.nomadicmatt,com) is actually from the Boston area as well, but now bases himself in NYC.  He is energetic, engaging, and informative.  I finally caught up with him in person at a MeetUp he held at Solas in the East Village.  As friendly and extroverted as I am, I am not comfortable in a “cocktail party” type setting.  The few other MeetUps I have been too have been a bit more structured.  I chatted with Matt for a bit (and discovered he has two openings left in a February trip to Thailand he’s running.  Tempting.)  I also spent some time chatting with a couple of gracious Ladies who invited me to join them.  A quick glass of wine and about an hour were enough.

Early morning @ Chelsea Market

Tuff Kookooshka @ Chelsea Market

Friday I headed to Chelsea Market to help my friend again at Tuff Kookooshka, the best Children’s hats, mittens, and jackets around, in my humble opinion.  They are 100% made in Massachusetts, including the fleece.  My Brother was in town on business, so he met me there, and I sent him on a walk of the Highline til I was finished.  He loved it (one of my favorite places in NYC).  Kris then came over and we shared a lovely dinner at The Green Table before heading to the UES so John could see my Hx3!  Wonderful evening.  I spent the rest of the weekend and part of Monday at Tuff Kookooshka’s booth helping out and meeting other interesting vendors.  Great fun!  I loved going in early to Chelsea Market being one of the only people in a place that is usually mobbed.  It makes me feel like a true insider.

From the Chelsea market website:  A block long and a block wide and just a short walk from the Hudson River in the area of Manhattan known as the eatpacking District, Chelsea Market has become in just fifteen years one of the greatest indoor food halls of the world, with more than thirty-five vendors purveying everything from soup to nuts, wine to coffee, cheese to cheesecake. Attracting 6 million national and international visitors annually, it is one of the most trafficked, and written-about, destinations of any kind in New York City. Chelsea Market is a neighborhood market with a global perspective.

The area has always been the locus of food in the city, beginning with the Algonquin Indians, who traded their game and crops on the banks of the Hudson River at this same spot. The trains of the High Line once served the wholesale butchers who lined the streets beneath the tracks and cooled their provisions with blocks of Hudson River ice, and the National Biscuit Company established its factory—now reclaimed as the Chelsea Market—here to take advantage of the butchers’ lard in the nineteenth century. This long history—and the stripped-down brick architecture of the building—gives the Market a unique character. For foodies and even casual tourists, it is possible to enter the Market at one end in the morning and not exit the other until lunchtime, without ever growing bored—and certainly without ever going hungry.

Monday afternoon I was very busy getting ready for the Chicago Food Film Festival (guess my good works ethic, and crazy energy impressed the Powers that be in NYC, as I was invited to join everyone in Chicago!).  I actually had to skip a lecture at the NYPL that I got tickets for month ago, Alice Waters of Chez Panise in Berkeley California, and Kermit Lynch, her wine man, were speaking.  Ms Waters has been influential in the farm to table movement, and starting gardens in schools for children to teach healthy, and sustainable eating habits.  Bummer.  The Chicago FFF more than made up for that loss!

6 million national and international visitors annually, it is one of the most trafficked, and written-about