“A Celebration of Cupcakes”

Manhattan Sojourn

Crumbs Bake Shop

Grand Central (43/44th)

Dizzying delights.

Pardon the appearance of the McDonald's coffee cup, it's mine.

Choc/Choc Frosted and Carrot

Dulce de Leche (too bad it's just seasonal) and Devil's Food - Yum!!!

Even if I have a sweet tooth, cupcakes have never been one of my favorite sugar fixes until I was smitten by Crumbs cupcakes. Is it because the base is not too sweet? My first encounter was with the Dulce de Leche flavor as it flirted with me with those topping of mouth-watering heavily sweetened milk caramel with crisscross of chocolate and caramel syrup with the chocolate flavored cupcake underneath – moist and soft. They had me on the first bite! Then there were more clandestine encounters with different flavors: Devil’s Food, Carrot, Tiramisu, Black Forest and the list goes on as I devour each one of them in reckless abandon. Never mind that a classic size carries an average of 320 calories, I will spend two hours in the treadmill.

It’s just too bad that Crumbs have no stores in Canada as they are only located in the East Coast (NY, NJ, CT) and the West Coast LA area. In hindsight, Crumbs should might as well stay put south of the border as I might not be able to control myself from eating those sinfully delightful cupcakes if they open in Toronto and I get diabetes. Crumbs cupcakes are few and far between indulgence that I look forward to eating whenever I visit NYC.

www.crumbs.com

Men’s Mules Anyone?

Manhattan Sojourn

Men's Mules "A Moment Is Forever"

And I don’t mean the animal but those that I call “half-finished” slip-on footwear popular among women but also available for men. I was intrigued by the style of these lace-ups when I saw it at Jeffrey at the Meat Packing District. Jeffrey is known for its excellent selection of men’s (and women’s) shoes but I was ambiguous about this particular pair. I could probably wear those with a pair of jeans or khakis with the cuffs slightly rolled up but I am partial with either with sneakers, boat shoes or loafers but not mules. I am not sure why the name of the brand is “A Moment Is Forever” perhaps the experience of wearing it and accidentally slipping off while walking down Wall Street. Not for everyone but hey, different strokes for different folks. Heck, chefs might like it as part of their formal wear.

“Mediterranean Freshness”

Manhattan Sojourn

Eats: Milos, 124 West 55th Street, New York, NY

It was a rainy spring day but it did not dampen my spirits in embarking on a gastronomical adventure at this upscale Mediterranean restaurant in Manhattan. I like the concept of a high ceiling giving patrons a semblance of wide spaces and those white tapestries cascading down adds a dramatic touch. White is of course, the dominant color of the interiors but it wonderfully complements the wood furnishings. The fish display is overwhelming but one could see and smell the freshness of the bounty of the sea.

This big Greek style jar greets you at the foyer.

Fish Display featuring the fresh bounties.

Milos Special - paper-thin zucchini, eggplant and saganaki cheese, lightly fried.

Fried Calamari and those heavenly Crab Cakes!

Lobster Pasta

Yogurt with honey and fresh fruit platter.

We started off with the Milos Special, an addicting appetizer of lightly friend paper-thin zucchini, eggplant and saganaki cheese stacked almost a foot high. My favorite was the Crab Cakes so tenderly cooked to perfection that we ordered for another. My main course was the Lobster Pasta, a tad indulgent but it was my first time to taste lobster with pasta and it was very good. Plus, you get to choose between a low calorie and a semolina pasta, I chose the former. Our lunch ended on a high note with Karidopita, walnut-based cake topped with ice cream, which was not too sweet just the way I like it. Plus, a treat of Milo’s famous yogurt with honey on a platter of fresh fruits brought lunch to a close.

I left Milos feeling delightfully satisfied and surprisingly light not with that heavy feeling that you were beaten to death because of over eating. It was all good!

Scorecard:

Food – Outstanding

Ambience – Very Good

Service – Outstanding

Price – worth the freshness and quality of the food

Overall Dining Experience – Wonderful

www.milos.ca

“Chicken like you’ve never had before!”

Manhattan Sojourn

Eats: Kyochon Chicken, 319 5th Avenue, New York, NY

That is the tagline of Kyochon Chicken, a restaurant that serves Korean fried chicken (available in wings and drumsticks only) known for its secret signature sauces of soy garlic and hot & sweet created by its founder, Mr Won-Kang Kwon.

The restaurant I visited in Manhattan boasted a very hip interior with the blinding red as its dominant theme color even on its restrooms. The interior design has touches of cool Japanese contemporary design and 70s retro.

Manhattan Branch

Even the design of the condiment dispensers are impressive.

The red toilet.

Signature Drumsticks of soy garlic and hot & sweet sauces.

Signature Wings of soy garlic and hot & sweet sauces.

A side dish of Brocoli Salad makes a perfect combination for the Signature Wings.

The Signature Wings with soy garlic sauce were really crunchy to the bite but tender and juicy in taste. Their claim to fame is that they only use young chickens and never frozen. I can imagine how difficult it is to maintain the quality chain from their processing plant to the restaurants but somehow it worked. However, do not expect a fast service because all items are made-to-order. The price is even an attraction, a small size of 5 pieces is only $5.99.

Scorecard:

Food – Very Good

Ambience – Excellent

Service – Fair

Price – Affordable

Overall Dining Experience – Very Good

www.kyochon.com

Hola Cuba!

Eats: Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar (Old City), 10 S. 2^nd St., Philadelphia, PA

We accidentally stumbled on this restaurant when my friends and I were desperately looking for a restaurant in Philly. Located in the old section of the city, the restaurant’s exterior is unobtrusive but arouses your curiosity as Zagat Rated decals are on the window so we assumed that the food must be very good.

Plantains Galore (Maduros)!

15 Tastes of Cuba Appetizers including the heavenly Guava BBQ Ribs

Skirt Steak (Churrasco a la Cubana)

15 Tastes of Cuba yummy desserts

The restaurant’s interior resembles an Old Havana courtyard complete with flora (without the fauna) and bright-colored murals. I have never been to Cuba but I guess this is as close as I can get with the sounds of the Latin beat reverberating ever so lively but not too loud nor too soft just enough to complete the Cuban ambience.

The staff was very efficient and seemed to be very knowledgeable about the entire menu as they confidently make their recommendations. As we were dying of hunger, we requested for some appetizers to bridge our appetite. The most amazing discovery of the night was the mango butter. We continued to eat spread after spread of the mango butter on our bread that we have to stop ourselves because of the main course to come. The mango with just the right amount of sweetness did the trick for the butter.

15 Tastes of Cuba is a parade of Chef Guillermo Pernot’s culinary favorites served in small tasting plates. Aside from our now-favorite Pressed Cuban Bread & Mango Butter, the special tasting menu included Empanada, Guava BBQ Ribs (the meat falls so easily from the bone with a delightfully tangy flavor because of the guava BBQ sauce. The Churrasco a la Cubana is a tender grilled steak on a bed of garlic roasted mashed potato perfectly complemented by the watercress and rosemary mushroom escabeche salad. In between meals, we nibbled on those crispy fried ripened plantains as if it were potato chips. The night was capped by three wonderful desserts of Cuban flan, rice pudding and chocolate soufflé tart layered with dulce de leche.

We went home happy and still delightfully talking how great the food was. Cuban food suddenly became one of my favorite cuisines. Cuban cuisine has both Spanish and African influences but most importantly, the dishes are generally not spicy which I love.

Score Card:

Food – Excellent

Ambience – Very Good

Service – Very Good

Price – Reasonable

Overall Dining Experience – Heaven

www.cubalibrerestaurant.com

Um… those irritating verbal pauses.

There is a certain kind of disorder going around that afflicts almost everyone – the all too familiar albeit distracting verbal pauses. Personal development blogger, Steve Pavlina, aptly defines verbal pauses: “Verbal pauses are when you say um, ah, uh, you know, etc. While your brain is searching for the next words to say, your mouth keeps on going and blurts out meaningless extra syllables. Verbal pauses also include bridge words like and, but, and so. If you say one of these words and hang on it before you actually know what you’re going to say next, it’s a bridge word. Another form of verbal pause is the repeated word. You keep repeating your last word until you figure out what to say next, like and and and. “

According to Michael Erard, author of the book “Um…”, everyone suffers from speech disfluency and an average person will commit somewhere between 7 to 22 slips of the tongue each day and from two to to four times a day will struggle, for an embarrassing length of time, to find the right word or name. I am not surprised as I hear a lot of verbal pauses coming from almost every person in the street and even from TV newscasters, politicians and celebrities. Admittedly, on rare occasions, I also suffer from it but um, I am trying to get rid of it.

According to Pavlina, the way to eliminate verbal pauses is two-fold: awareness and practice. Listen and be cognizant of the verbal pauses when you watch the news of rom conversations with friends or co-workers. Ask someone to count your verbal pauses the next time you engage in a conversation and you might be surprised how many you have blurted out. Once you become aware of it, practice, practice, practice. You may even ask someone to point it out whenever you say um, ah, like so you could track your progress. Pavlina also suggested that a silent pause can be a simple replacement for a verbal pause: "When your brain stops feeding intelligible words to your mouth, stop talking. Don’t say um, ah, y’know, sooooo, etc. If you’re addicted to verbal pauses, this may feel uncomfortable at first, but you eventually get used to it. Remember that you don’t have to fill every minute of airtime with noise.”

For me, a person who commits verbal pauses sound less intelligent and should go to jail. Um, just kidding!

Virtual Harmony

Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir

What happens when you get 185 voices from 12 countries record a composition without having them leave the comforts of their homes? Composer and conductor, Eric Whitacre, developed a virtual conducting track for the piece “Lux Aurumque”, it’s like an instruction manual, and posted it as a free download for interested singers who wanted to join the virtual choir. The singers then post their recorded tracks and Scottie Haines would edit and polish and blend it together. The result was a very moving performance. Watching the composer and the singers perform their recital was both moving and amazing.

Music is truly a universal language and the technology that unites these people to perform for a single purpose. Bravo!

http://ericwhitacre.com/blog/the-virtual-choir-how-we-did-it

Flying Porter Airlines is Heaven!

TThe first time I flew Porter was last December when I flew to NYC for the Christmas holiday and I was hesitant at first because it’s the first time I heard about them and the planes are turboprop. But I took a chance because: 1) the ticket prices are comparable to Air Canada 2) flies right out of downtown from the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport which is about a 20-minute commute from home compared to a hour commute to Pearson in Mississauga. Little did I know that there were pleasant surprises that await me when I checked in for my flight.

First of all, you get a free shuttle service to and from the ferry terminal (yes, you have to take a minute ferry ride to go to the city airport) now that’s added value. When you get to the check-in counter, the efficient staff warmly greets you. They understand that the faster they check you in, the more pleasant experience it will be for passengers. There is no first, business or coach class Porter, all are treated as VIP so the lounge is another bonus. Help yourself to a café latte or a snack and surf the Internet through free Wi-Fi. The plane is not as scary as I have imagined, a Bombardier Q400 (“Q” stands for quiet) turboprop and looks new. Those young and pretty flight attendants were wearing uniforms straight out of the “Catch Me If You Can” movie that I think is very stylish. When most airlines scrimp on food, Porter provides a full snack like an appetizer, sandwich and desserts for FREE!

Porter Airline's branding is single-mindedly efficient and stylish even on their in-flight service.

Voila! Yummy snacks for free!

Coming from my pleasant experience, I took Porter Airlines again from Toronto to NYC for the Easter holiday and I was pleasantly surprised that I was standing in a spanking new terminal building (you still have to take the ferry though). The lounge is bigger and they added a computer station of 14 MACs. My only problem - there was no mobile phone signal in the lounge as you have to go upstairs to be able to get a signal. I guess you can’t have them all.

Aside from its friendly and efficient service and the bonuses that go with it, what I like about Porter is the whole branding. Their mascot, Mr Porter, is a stylish city-living raccoon that appears on most communication materials from their in-house magazine to their snack box. Their use of muted colors such as blue, gray and black are far from tacky but understatedly elegant blending seamlessly with the minimalist interiors of the lounge.

Freshly brewed coffee and snacks from the lounge.

Computer station - all MACS!

Cozy passenger lounge.

Unfortunately, Porter Airlines only have short-haul flights within Canada and some select US cities – for now. I hope that when the time comes that they expand more flights, they continue to surpass passengers’ expectations. www.flyporter.com