Adventures in New York

It's been more than two months since my latest trip to NYC, but unfortunately it's taken me this long to get this post up! While unfortunate that it's taken me this long, it's lovely to reminisce of such a lovely visit to my favourite city with my favourite person!

After visiting NYC twice a year in 2011 and 2012, I was itching to go by fall 2013. Corbin had never really had a proper visit to New York, so we decided to go together in November. There was a bunch of things happening around that time that I wanted to go to and so many restaurants that I wanted to visited and Corbin told me to go ahead and plan the itinerary - so fun! Here are some of the highlights from our time there.

Amazing Meals

The food in New York is always a highlight for me. I love adding to my list of incredible Ashley-friendly restaurants and visiting  all of my favourites. This trip certainly did not disappoint!! On our first day we stopped at two of my very favourites: Sun in Bloom and Pure Food and Wine. We had a wonderful brunch at Sun in Bloom as soon as we arrived and it was totally worth the jaunt to Brooklyn!

Amazing sweet potato soup, breakfast burritos and scrambled tofu were gobbled up and enjoyed immensely. Our dinner at Pure that night was beyond words; everything was phenomenal and worth the 2 year wait since I had last eaten there.

Everything at Pure was unbelievably delicious from the kale salad and raw cheese plate to our tamales and Pure's signature zucchini and heirloom tomato lasagna and our epic desserts along with sangria. It was such a special, memorable meal and Corbin's first experience with gourmet raw food. Writing about it makes me want to hop on a plane and go eat there right now... Other amazing meals included more trips to Brooklyn for Buttermilk Channel

and two visits to Champs (yes, it was that good!)

as well as a lovely breakfast at Peacefood Cafe on our last day. New York was good to our tummies and so easily Ashley (and Corbin!) friendly.

Wonderful Treats

The treats that we had in New York deserve their own description - they were so good!! We ended up making two visits to Babycakes because we couldn't get enough!

Round one included a pumpkin eclair, cookie sandwich, churro and samoa donut. Round two had another cookie sandwich, a scrumptious scone and a pumpkin chip loaf that Corbin was adamant about getting (he said it was delicious!) I think it would be really difficult to pick a favourite from all the treats we sampled as everything was so delicious! Babycakes is just heavenly, but probably good that it's far away from my daily existence so I can only go there for treats when I'm in the city! The other noteworthy treat that we had was at Chloe's Soft Serve Fruit.

It is an awesome alternative to froyo or ice cream that is made with fresh frozen fruit and therefore has no dairy or gluten and is crazy delicious!! So many flavor options and toppings make for a really awesome and allergen friendly dessert. It's been on my list for awhile, and I will definitely be going back again and again!!

Incredible Theatre

I always feel inspired by the calibre of theatre and performers in NYC and this trip was no exception. There were some really cool shows happening while we were there and we really enjoyed everything we saw. Part of the reason we went to NYC over that weekend was because Jason Robert Brown was doing a concert at 54 Below. JRB is one of my very favourite musical theatre composers and it was wonderful to finally see him in concert and get to meet him (briefly!) after the show.

He played songs from so many of my favourite shows (The Last Five Years! Songs for a New World!) as well as some from shows that are on their way to Broadway (or should be!) He had an amazing group of singers with him and a stellar band; it was a great night. We also got to see Bernadette Peters in A Bed and A Chair which was really awesome.

She is such a talent and I loved Wynton Marsalis' arrangements of Sondheim with a full jazz orchestra and the rest of the cast including Cyrille Aimée, Jeremy Jordan and. Norm Lewis. I also made my third visit to The McKittrick Hotel for Sleep No More and it still continues to be the most captivating piece of theatre I've ever experienced. It was Corbin's first time and it was really cool to discuss our different experiences and approaches to the show. The ambiance at the McKittrick before and after the show was incredible and we just loved the jazz bands playing throughout. Before we left Toronto, I received a Facebook invite from Drew Gasparini for an industry reading of his show Crazy Just Like Me starring some phenomenal performers (Alex Brightman! Jason Gotay! Andrew Kober!) and was ultra stoked to realize that it was happening while we were there. Both Corbin and I adored this show. It was funny and smart with such a talented cast and great music. It's already won some awards from various festivals it has been a part of and I can't wait to see where it goes. I felt so blessed to see so much great theatre while we were there and certainly felt inspired to up the ante in my own work!

Adventures and Magical Moments

Corbin and I are pretty good at having a lot of fun together and New York was just an even bigger playground for us! We had the best time exploring the city and discovering things together. We visited with some lovely friends including the always delightful Sheryl (complete with her NYC Marathon medal!!)

We ventured to a New York Islanders game,

experienced the MOMA (for free!), walked along the Highline, navigated the NYC Metro and discovered all sorts of cute art

made all sorts of new friends and frolicked in Central Park (complete with a photo shoot - thanks Corbin!). 

I often feel that extraordinary things happen when I'm in New York and this trip with Corbin proved this theory to be true once again. All sorts of really neat, magical things kept happening to us in the city. We found parking everywhere (super close to wherever we were going). We were upgraded to the dining room at 54 Below and got to sit DIRECTLY IN FRONT of Jason Robert Brown. We experienced the city at the top of an incredible rooftop in Washington Heights. When we walked into Peacefood Cafe one of our very favourite songs was playing. Simply wonderful.

All of these things + the amazing adventures, theatre, treats and meals culminated into an unforgettable trip with my love and I can't wait for us to travel more and head back to NYC together for more fun!! 

An Empire State of Mind - Labor Day weekend highlights

New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there's nothing you can't do

Now you're in New York... these dreams will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you

Let's hear it for New York...

I was so lucky to spend Labor Day weekend in my favourite place. Here are some of my highlights

1. Babycakes 

Always a highlight, that place brings me such immense joy. The decor. The selection. The sweet music they have playing. The adorable plates they serve your donuts on. It's all so charming. I had a caramel coconut chocolate donut and a cookie sandwich. Food swoon. 

2. High Line at sunset

The High Line is wonderful at any time of day, but add sunset into the mix and it's pretty much all kinds of amazing. 

3. Sleep No More

I had a very different experience this time around, but it was equally brilliant and inspiring and breathtaking. I saw things that I had seen the first time and saw a bunch of new things, corridors and rooms as well. It was awesome to experience the show with two people who had never seen it and spend time in the lounge afterward debriefing on what each of us had experienced. I had a beautiful moment at the end of the show with one of my favourite members of the cast, that made the experience that much more wonderful and intense. I must see it again. And so should you. 

4. Toronto friends who find you in your travels

So many of my Toronto friends were in and around NYC this weekend and I was delighted to be able to meet up with a couple of them. 

Rebecca and I are kindred spirits - redheaded, singing, gluten free, veg loving gals. We had a wonderful brunch in Brooklyn at one of my very favourite places and also got to experience Sleep No More on the same evening. She's a delight and it was awesome to spend more time with her. 

Also got to spend a very fun evening at Marie`s Crisis with my awesome friend (and musical director for the upcoming Ashleyx2 cabaret!) Tara. I got to meet her sister and her sister`s boyfriend (whose sister reads my blog - hi!) AND Jim Rash. Who is an Oscar winner who happens to be on Community. Just another night in New York with friends, new and old. 

5. Smiling, squealing and skipping, because you`re in your favourite city

Amazing eats. Coney Island. Grand piano concerts in parks. Epic wandering. Beautiful artwork. Awesome weather. Taking the subway. Central Park. Not getting lost. Until F trains turn into G trains. Fancy pants restaurants. Hunting for wifi. Getting excited about yellow tights and owl stickers. Times Square. Brooklyn. Wrinkly puppies. Belting out showtunes as the token soprano. Gushing to waitresses about how much you love the peanut butter cheesecake. Watching someone experience your favourite city for the first time. And that person being really awesome to share everything with. And only calling you a food picture Nazi once, when you forced him to take his cookie out of the wrapper so you could get a better photo. 

Absolutely feeling brand new and inspired. Gah, I love New York. 

I promise that more foodie details are on their way. I can't wait to post more pictures of deliciousness from some of my new favourite places! And what perfect timing that detox-ing is just around the corner. Have you entered the giveaway yet?

How was your Labo(u)r Day weekend?

Just Magic - More NYC tales

All three of my trips to NYC in the last year have felt pretty magical. The first was special because it was the first and a boy who I was dating at the time took me. The second was so incredible because I was there on my own, doing whatever I wanted, in the middle of a Hurricane. This last trip was totally what I needed at that exact moment.

I found myself at the very beginning of summer without a job and questioning what I wanted to do with my days, summer and well, life. The decision to go on a whim was perfect and as I closed my eyes on my first night in New York I knew I was exactly where I needed to be. I had a day and a half in the city to do whatever I wanted before heading to my first class on Friday night. I had a few objectives: see friends, eat good food, visit old favourites, make new favourites and see a show. Somehow on a random May Thursday in New York, I managed to do all of that.

I started with lunch at Quintessence. Quintessence has been on my NYC eats spreadsheet for awhile, but for  whatever reason, I hadn't gone there in the two previous trips. One of my tips for eating a little more inexpensively in New York is to check out restaurants at lunch, as it's usually less expensive and many restaurants have lunch specials. Quintessence is no exception. I had an Indian influenced lunch combo with squash noodles, a curry sauce and mango chutney. It was a pretty delicious combination of flavors, although surprisingly I wasn't super impressed with the mango chutney. It was almost too sweet and the texture was confusing. I was glad I went at lunch as the restaurant was small and I managed to score a sweet seat by the window for some high quality people watching.

My next stop was all my favourite places in and around Soho. Babycakes was a must and I treated myself to a kick ass donut and sandwich cookie.

Both were out of this world divine. While I love the gluten free and vegan bakeries that we have in Toronto, nothing compares to Babycakes.

I also made a stop at Harney & Sons where I caught up with Emeric Harney and scored some awesome tea. The fact that Emeric remembers me each time I go makes me really happy and he's gotten to know my tea preferences (or he's just a wizard) and I always leave with some amazing new things to steep. This time it was Blood Orange, Love Life and a Chamomile Lavender blend.

I also got to have a quicky catch up with my awesome friend Sheryl in Bryant Park.

Our time together is always hilarious and I was so glad we were both able to squeeze in a visit! 

I had to see a show while I was in town and I really wanted that show to be Once. It is one of my very favourite movies and the music makes my heart really happy. I had gone down to TKTS in the afternoon only to be told that there was obstructed view. I froze and didn't really know what to do. I only had time to see one show, but didn't want to be disappointed if I couldn't see half the show, but I also knew that it had been nominated for a whole whack of Tonys and it was likely that it would be even harder to get tickets down the road. I decided to take a chance on it and was so happy that I did.

The show was unbelievable. It was everything I had hoped for and more. The story and the music were brought to life in the theatrical setting. The story was distilled to make it more palatable to be onstage. All of the actors played instruments which added an incredible element to the show. The performances of the ensemble and especially Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti were nothing short of magical and brought the story to life in ways I couldn't have even imagined. And I got to tell them that after the show at the stage door. 

The cast signed my program and I got to tell them how much I loved it. I told Cristin about my favourite moment in the show (a really beautiful acting moment at the very end) and chatted with Steve a bit too. They're both incredible performers and seem like really lovely people. Nothing like meeting people who inspire you creatively at the beginning of a really epic weekend of performing! It was the perfect end to seeing the show and made the experience that much more awesome. I was over the moon thrilled when they won 8 Tonys the following week, and Steve's acceptance speech had me bawling my eyes out. 

As I write this, I can't believe how much I managed to squeeze into just a day in the city. I think if this had been my only day in NYC I would have gone home a happy gal, but there was so much more than this in the weekend that followed. More to come!! 


And if you haven't already, go see Once. And if you can't get to New York, at least see the movie... 

I’ll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours….

It’s pretty fantastic when other people cook for me. I know that I’m not the easiest person to feed, so it means an awful lot to me when people make the effort to prepare Ashley-friendly meals. It’s especially awesome when you ask for comfort food and get this:

Mashed potatoes, steamed collards and veggie burgers topped with everything imaginable on gluten free buns. I wish we had taken pictures of me trying to eat the damn thing because it was pretty comical.

As if the meal wasn’t already brilliant, we followed it up with a s’more tart from LPK’s Culinary Groove.

When I walked into LPK’s that day I went straight up to the fridge and immediately asked what the tart was as I had never seen it before! (you know you go somewhere too often when…) It was a gluten free crust filled with chocolate and a cream filling topped with a vegan marshmallow.

Or we can just call it heaven and call it a day.

I absolutely love cooking for other people (especially when they’ve made something for me!!). When I cook for other people I actually challenge myself and go outside of my default easy peasy yummy meals that are quick and easy to prepare. Following the comfort food extravaganza, I made plans for a delicious meal last week, thanks to the wonder that is Veganomicon. Seriously, that cookbook can do no wrong…

I went with a Mexican theme and made the potato kale enchilladas with Mexican millet.

The one and ONLY issue I have with Veganomican, is that some of the recipes require A LOT of steps. All the steps are worth it. Homemade enchillada sauce? Oh yes. Toast the millet? Sure. I had initially planned to do some of the prep ahead of time, but that didn’t happen the way I wanted it to, so after all was said and done we ended up having a late dinner.

Every single step was TOTALLY worth it.

It also made for wicked leftovers the next day. I had my lunch whilst listening to a conference call and I was the happiest girl ever.

Even happier when we enjoyed these sundaes

I. Don’t. Even. Have. Words.

Another cookbook that hasn’t failed me yet is the SECOND Babycakes book. These thin mint cookies taste just like the mint Girl Guide cookies, with the added benefit of being gluten free and vegan and therefore Ashley-friendly. Along with some Coconut Bliss, chocolate chips and cacao nibs, they were out of this world.

Two spectacular meals.
Two very happy people.

Now to figure out how to outdo myself the next time… I’m open to suggestion

Keep Calm and Sparkle

Happy New Year!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity and so far January is whipping right along. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season. As I mentioned in my last post of 2011, I was ready for the year to be over and the was solidified for me in the last chunk of my “vacation”. I did do some really fun things in December though, like hit up the symphony for the Messiah, sing some carols with my dear friend Lindsay, had some gal pals over for dins and made my first ever gluten free vegan donuts.

The donuts were a pretty big success, and I’m excited to make them again. They were another awesome Babycakes recipe!

New Year’s Eve was a blast. I led 3 Weight Watchers meetings in the morning, decked out in a sparkly dress, sparkly nails and tiara

I had a lot of fun recapping 2011 with my members and looking ahead to the year to come. January brings some pretty kick ass energy to Weight Watchers meetings and I’m excited for everyone’s continued success! I enjoyed a great dinner, some Pure2Raw apple pie parfaits for dessert and a really fun party with bubbly and a kiss at midnight.

So far 2012 has been super busy! I’m going to post a food recap later in the week including some yummy restaurant eats and some recipes I’ve made at home, including the delicious dins I enjoyed with my sweet friend Reggy on Saturday night

Some good things coming up on the bloggy – food and fashion! I’m excited about both. Also excited that in less than two weeks, I’ll be nourishing my soul in St. Lucia. Another good thing? My appearance in Hello! Canada this week talking about Weight Watchers.

So far 2012 is pretty okay.