The Art of the Staycation

    Are you broke? Do you ever get back from vacation and feel like you need to take a few more days off to recuperate? Take a staycation instead of going away!
    There are a few important rules to staycationing:
1. Focus on what you like to do. While it seems like a great chance to do spring cleaning, don't waste this precious time on boring tasks.
2. Remember that you are probably the only person who has a week to do anything you want. Your friends and family are not going to be at your disposal. You may have to do things on your own (or in my case with your retired crazy dad).
3. A staycation is like a mental cleanse. On your first day, do nothing. It sets a great tone for the rest of the time.


My staycation photo itinerary:

DAY 1: NOTHING. Movies. Tacos. Nap.
DAY 2: Dumbo Art Opening. Olympic Hockey Final Game. Dinner at Five Leaves. Everything about this restaurant is perfect. Great atmosphere, awesome cocktails, good music and insanely delicious food. We had: cheese board, raw oysters, duck confit risotto, truffle fries and brussels sprouts.
DAY 3: Coney Island!

DAY 4: Buffet Indian lunch at Dhaba. (Thanks for this recommendation Laptop Chronicles!) Spices from Kalustyans. Some thrift store shopping (I should have got that watercolor bunny painting!) and of course perusing Fishes Eddy, my favorite store ever.

DAY 5: Spa Castle, Sushi Yasu. Bliss plus bliss.
DAY 6: More nothing. Cello Wine Bar.
DAY 7: Belmont, Little Italy in the Bronx. Arthur Ave Retail Market, where you can get the best produce, awesome sammies, and anything Italian. Borgatti's Ravioli and Egg Noodle Store, where I found truffle salt, balsamic creme and squid ink linguini. Lunch at Giantina with Rocco. We both had our favorite gnocchi dish. Let's not forget the espresso!

DAY 8: Greenpoint Farmer's Market. Split Thy Skull Barley Wine Tasting at Mugs. Family and Friends Party at the now open Paulie Gee's Pizzeria in Greenpoint. Arica's Birthday Party/ Bitch's Banana Bread Bake-Off! You have to be in it to win it, and I was!
DAY 9: Sunday dinner at Nonna's: Rocco's pasta with kholrabi, broccoli rabe, Nonna's stuffed artichokes.

Staycations rule!

Edible Queens: check out my photos!

      The latest Edible Queens issue is out and guess who took some photos for it? I didn't make the cover (above) but I did a cool shoot (below) for a story about the cuisine of the Burmese community in my native borough. Not only did I meet some of the most wonderful people during this experience, they fed me! Double awesome.
      I went on two shoots, one at a church in Elmhurst where they serve a huge lunch for the entire congregation every Sunday. Too bad I can't understand the language or I would have signed up on the spot to become a member. What a great way to keep people coming to church! Oh yeah, I guess God and fear of damnation are good reasons, too. It reminded me of coffee hour at the Maspeth United Methodist Church, where I used to go when I was a kid. I would sit in the pew and couldn't wait for the service to be over so I could eat bundt cake and drink sweet tea with honey.

     The next stop was this cool boutique in Sunnyside that also serves home cooked dishes to-go. "This purse and some fish curry. And can you wrap that?" I was honored to have a lunch feast with the shopkeeper after our shoot. She was a doll and her spread was incredible. If Nonna was Burmese, its what her food would taste like. Just like home.
     I am really excited I had this great opportunity to shoot for Edible Queens. Please go get an issue! ITS FREE!