Ma Pechehhhhhh!

Expecting a great lunch or dinner and receiving lower than your great expectations might qualify as one of the "worst minor catastrophes" in the world, in the words of my co-worker.

Ma Peche, aka "Mother Peach", is the newest edition to the David Chang dynasty of pan-Asian cuisine that comprises the brand Momofuku, meaning "Lucky Peach." As a regular follower of Midtown Lunch Blog (a celebration of the wasteland that is the food selection in Midtown Manhattan), I was thrilled to hear about Ma Peche's opening in November 2009 and couldn't wait for a good reason to pretend I was fine dining ($10 lunch special, heyooo!). And unfortunately, pretend...it sure was.

Momofuku is known for their meats! They are known for having some of the best fried chicken in the city (inspired by Congee Village), the best pork buns, and one of the city's best pork ramen. It came as a HUGE disappointment to be (disappointed) by the meat in the dishes we ordered. I knew a $10 lunch special from the Momofuku Empire was too good to be true!

Exhibit 1: Banh Mi au poulet

 

First off, $10 for a banh mi and a coke is overpriced (this was expected), but the "banh mi au poulet" was half the size of a banh mi 40 blocks downtown for double the price. Really though, my main problem with this banh mi was the chicken, which is a shame because it's a chicken sandwich. I've never been keen on ordering chicken in Vietnamese restaurants (remember, never order Pho Ga, you wimp), but given Momofuku's reputation for fried chicken, I figured all bets were out the door.  The chicken wasn't fresh chicken breast. It was some sort of chicken patty/roll with a dry, block like consistency that was a bit tough. And they get away with calling it "au poulet..."

Exhibit 2: Bun du riz (aka Pork Rice Noodles)

This initially caught my eye from Midtown Lunch blog, and I pretty much knew I was going to order it before I got to the Chambers Hotel. Behind those layers of green is actually very salty ground pork. Very salty. The dish almost tasted like it could have been an Asian Box of Hamburger Helper...guh. The noodles were interestingly shaped into little cones. The redeeming quality of the dish was that they were fun to eat, BUT I usually find myself with a healthy appetite, and I didn't finish the plate. Salty pork drew my mouth-watering appetite dry.

At this point, I was ready to leave without ordering the peanut butter cookie (from Momofuku Milk Bar) which everyone raves about, but my 6'3 businessman who opened the colossal, wooden doors of the Chambers Hotel from the top of the door handles has a soft spot for peanut butter, so we stayed. 

 

As we sat in our cubicle-feeling bucket chairs placed diagonally far away from each other, my eyes drifted to the book Farm Animal Portraits placed in front of us on the bookshelf, and our waiter returned with a peanut butter cookie in a bag in his hand, almost high-fiving it over to us. Not even a plate! Just a cookie in a sweaty bag. Yipes. At least the center was chewy and peanut buttery?

Just say "momofuku" to Momofuku Midtown and get yourself over to Takashimaya on 5th Ave for the fine dining experience you deserve. Ma Peche ain't worth yer pennies!

If I Trust In You, Oh Please...

When I first started playing guitar, I ate up the two volumes of Beatles sheet music that my Dad had recently purchased at Barnes & Noble. There were two songs I remember him re-learning: "And I Love Her" and "If I Fell." I recently remembered how much I love the vocal harmonies in this song--

Little Things in My Morning Commute

Day in, day out, same morning commute. Half-asleep, over-crowded L train. Who needs a cup of coffee? Not me! Get a little morning exercise, transfer to the 6 train. And, since April, no iPod. Just lots and lots of New York mag articles and attempts at writing in my journalist looking memopad. Nope, I'm not blogging about that dry doughnut at Peter Pan! But please, tall peeps, don't read what I'm writing in this thing! It's personal! After taking the same route for almost a year now, I find a lot of enjoyment in the small things that vary in my morning commute.

Anyways, I couldn't tell you why, but all too regularly, The Righteous Brothers' version of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" pops into my head as I'm climbing up the stairs at Union Square from the L train to the 6 train. There's no justification for this! I promise you, I don't listen to this song on repeat, like I have with other songs for which I'm infamous for. This loving feeling occurrence happens in the second set of stairs, right as I round that corner. Keeping my fingers crossed that I don't trip up the stairs, and hummin' this little diddy. That's my morning.

It wasn't until watching this Hall & Oates video that I appreciated the Hall & Oates cover of this song. I have it on one of their "Best of" albums, and always thought The Righteous Brothers do it so much better. Well, this video just proved that theory wrong.

I Want a House on the Beach...I do, I really do

Beach House. I've seen them live twice, both free, both in consecutive summers, both times finding myself bored, but really trying to like them. The only song that really grabbed me in the past was "Heart of Chambers," but gotta admit, the song is pretty heavy and sad. I also happened to favorite it on my hype machine right after Hall & Oates, which makes for an especially low, low. Maybe it's Ed Droste. Maybe he's the one making me feel guilty here for not coming around!

Anyways, I think the problem for me was that Beach House's music never syncs up with the picture in my mind, or my initial reaction, to hearing the term "beach house." Beach house makes me immediately think of some little bungalow on Rockaway or Fire Island on a hot, humid, sticky day; lounging around in yellow flip flops, wearing neon tobacco quit line sunglasses and a sun hat, going out for fish tacos and ice cream, and riding bikes. My mistake! This is more of a Beach Boys kind of fun in the sun.

It wasn't until this morning while listening to "Norway," off of their upcoming January 2010 release, Teen Drama, that I got the visuals right for this band. If you've ever been to the beaches on the Oregon Coast (Cannon Beach/Seaside), then it all makes sense. Or, if you've ever seen The Goonies - it's that beach with Haystack Rock on it. Every time I've been to the beaches in Oregon, despite going there in July or August, it's been cold, overcast at some point, melancholic, lonely, introspective. It's the kind of beach that's more conducive to kite-flying than beach volleyball. The mist sits on the ocean, the fog is dense, and the wind from the Pacific Ocean has permanently bent the trees lining the beachfront neighborhoods at a forty-five degree angle.

I think it's fitting that Beach House is now signed to Sub Pop (PacNW!). From what I've heard of the new album, it sounds like Beach House has found themselves more upbeat, with a stronger pulse. There's a soft energy there, maybe it's the vocals cutting through in a slightly forceful way, while still remaining dreamy and lush. If you can grab this mp3 of "Take Care" I have a feeling it will be my favorite on the new record.

The Modern Toilet, Please Come to NYC!

Today, my co-worker said, "Hey Alexa, I was watching the Food Network last night and I saw something that made me think of you."

What exactly made him think of me? Well, it was none other than THE MODERN TOILET, a Taipei-based restaurant with the over-arching theme of toilets. Of course, this sounds pretty repulsive. I could even go so far as to say VERY repulsive. The name of the restaurant itself is enough to make someone run to the nearest bathroom. However, I can't help but find myself completely intrigued with this restaurant AND hitting myself over the head for not leaving the Taipei airport last year when Gao Di and I were stuck there for 6 hours. We used our long-stop over trying to write knock-knock jokes that we now cannot even remember when we could have been fine dining at The Modern Toilet!

Is it just me or do those two dishes look absolutely delicious?!

And in the end, isn't it all gonna end up in the toilet anyways? 
I'll take Toilet #1 puh-leeeeeze (chocolate ice cream/aka poo).

"Who Knew Queens Could Be So Beautiful?"

I almost felt like I was living in California today. It was 73 degrees, and it's November 8th. After a gluttonous weekend, Char and I decided to exercise. Our initial Greenpoint joyride brought us to LONG ISLAND CITY!

Going to Queens was probably the second best decision I made today after picking Huevos Rancheros for brunch. We found these benches on the piers that were shaped like sine curves and I fell asleep with my sunglasses on to the backdrop of Manhattan, only to be woken up to the excitement of a boy who caught a two foot fish in the East River. I think they dumped it back because of laws...probably for the better. 

 To keep the 5pm sunset a little brighter, I've been listening to "Pet Sounds" over and over on repeat, as well as Hall & Oates "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)." Good for the soul? yep.  

So let me just slip into this lace catsuit...

Just now, I went to read This Recording, when I was distracted by this American Apparel ad for a "Lace Catsuit." I laughed out loud, showed this to Erin, and then we both wondered why it was called a catsuit. Upon further research (heyooo wikipedia) we were greeted with this definition:

A catsuit is a skin-tight one-piece usually stretch garment with long sleeves and legs. Catsuits can be used by both genders, and despite the name they do not in general have feline characteristics.

 I guess this pretty much sums it up. The new American Apparel unisex catsuit. Ayomp.