jaysaint Getting it all down on paper…

Is that a sports thing? I might be mixing sports things with Catholic things. Neither one of which am I fully qualified to discuss.

Today I left my office like a little sherpa, all my work effluvia in my bag. Monday morning the packers come. Tuesday morning the movers come. We fly out from Newark Tuesday night to start our new life as Tennesseans. This weekend we will figure out how to pack for the three of us for two months, but only with what we can carry on the plane. At least our temporary apartment has a washer and dryer.

Since we are beyond maxed out (Did I mention that I have a big work project due Monday?) we decided to have a goodbye open house from noon to seven on Saturday. (I think I made it too long, but that ship has sailed.) So far we have 35 acceptances on our Evite. For drinks we will have the standard sodas, waters, mimosas, etc and then I’m going to make chelada, the recipe for which I got from Ask Moxie. For snacks I’m making finger sandwiches. Lox (regular and Scottish) and cream cheese for the grownups (and discerning kids) and almond butter and jam for the kiddies. We’ll also grab some crunchy, chip-type food and a bunch of bakery cookies. Damon feels a better person would cook some “actual food” for our guests. I feel he should have married a better person, then.

Up until this afternoon, I worked in the Chelsea Market. It’s a hip, happening place and is often packed with tourists. Food Network is based there, and Kitchen Stadium (and other studios can be found on the 6th floor.) It was originally a giant bakery, and that legacy lives on. Fat Witch is based there, and sells discount witches from 4-6 every day. There are several other bakeries selling seriously fanciful goodies. For the high end eater, Morimoto and Buddakan are also in the building. You can also find a fantastic salad bar in the Manhattan Fruit Exchange — a small island of affordable lunch in a painfully expensive building. You can also get your knives sharpened and buy imports from Marrakesh. I can’t forget The Lobster Place, which has the best seafood — both to take home and cook and to eat at their little counter. I have had several lovely sushi or bisque lunches there.

Best for last, though: The Green Table. It’s tiny, about five tables, and it serves locally-sourced fresh food on a seasonal menu. They have one table that sits outside the restaurant, right by the Market’s indoor waterfall. It was a perfect spot to take visiting friends and their kids. It’s one of the few places you can get what I consider to be a NY dining experience and still not worry about it if your kids run around like monkeys. You’re inside the building, but outside the restaurant. Perfect.

But you know what I won’t miss? Ninth Street Espresso. Because, with a straight face I am sure, someone who runs that place hung a sign that reads:

“As artisans, we have spent much time and energy refining our culinary craft. We take great pride in offering you our menu, which consists of a core group of drinks that we believe showcase the natural beauty of coffee.

It is our policy not to deviate from those recipes or to compromise the integrity of our craft, the craft of our roasters, or the craft of the farmers the world over whose labor we are entrusted to present.”

So, I guess if you want a little extra milk you can suck it. Every time I walk past that sign I walk to punch a barista in the face. And I don’t even have a horse in this race, I’ve never had a cup of coffee.

Taken from .

Y’all know I love to talk about food.

Bold the stuff you’ve tried.

1. Venison
2. Nettle Tea
3. Huevos Ranchero I was lucky enough to have this for the first time in Jalisco, Mexico. Delicious that and every other time.
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile Might have been alligator — no good either way.
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese Fondue Not only have I had many cheese fondue dinners, most of them were made by a Swiss guy.
8. Carp (Maybe?)
9. Borscht Hot and cold
10. Baba Ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
14. Aloo Gobi
15. Hot Dog from Street Car
16. Epoisses (Maybe?)
17. Black Truffle So so so so delicious. Only once, but perhaps again soon.
18. Fruit wine made with something other than grapes Ick, too sweet.
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio Ice Cream
21. Heirloom Tomatoes
22. Wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and Beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de Leche
28. Oysters American and British
29. Baklava Ick, too sweet.
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi
32. Clam chowder
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Cottage Cheese
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream with tea Just this past weekend
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken Tikki Masala
48. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
49. Chutney
50. Sea Urchin
51. Prickly Pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob Chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweet Breads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Churro
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe Beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft Shell Crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole Pablano
96. Bagel and Lox If you come over tomorrow, you can have this with us.
97. Lobster
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

One week from today we move from New York to Knoxville. It’s hard to leave. DC was much easier. Atlanta was harder. We do love it here. We’d have to in order to tolerate all the inherent hassle of living here without mountains of cash.

Security has been on my mind with some frequency as we shift into serious house hunting. Watch TV for five minutes and you’d think that I would be so relieved to shift from the crazy city to a safer, smaller place. But the truth is that I’m wondering how I will cope with the vulnerability of living in a house. It’s been so many years since I have. In DC we lived in a 4th floor walk up in a security building. (What we apartment dwellers mean by “security building” is that there is a common, locked front door. In DC you had to enter a code. In NY we have an intercom and we buzz people in.) High above the ground and the last stop in the building, there were a lot of doors and people between us and anyone coming in the front door. Windows? Not an option at 30+ feet off the ground. Our apartment in NY is even more airtight. That security door out front means business. It’s heavy metal and it closes decisively (watch your fingers). Even the police and fire department buzz to be let in. Our apartment door is made of steel. We have big deadbolt locks. The only way through is with one of the police-issue heavy battering rams or fire department axes made for just such a thing. (I will say that it’s amazing how fast the fire department can get through your door. I’ve seen it in action across the hall when a neighbor fell asleep with something on the stove.) Our windows are, once again, high off the ground. The one window accessing the fire escape has a retractable steel gate. So. I have always felt bunkered down and secure here.

When we buy a house it will feel enormous to us, even though we’re looking for something of modest dimensions (don’t want to get the bends). We’re going to probably double the number of rooms we have. We have five now, counting the bathroom. And there will be windows right near the ground! And wooden doors! With simple locks! I know in time I will adjust. But right now that all feels scary to me.

The old house in undeniably more beautiful, and the neighborhood is better. But I just fished a paint chip out of Alden’s mouth. The new house it is. I think.

I thought of the third brush with celebrity. It’s tangential. We always go to the airport early in case there are baby shenanigans slowing us down. So we had a lot of time in the Knoxville airport. (early + 2-hour delay. Thanks LaGuardia!)

I spent most of the time chatting with a woman on our flight. She was connecting through New York on her way to Beijing because her husband is running in the steeplechase event. They live in Knoxville because he went to the university and so it allows him to train with its facilities. She’s a designer and does all the dresses and skirts for The Limited. I don’t know that we’re cool enough (or young enough) to be their friends, but she was awfully charming. So if you’re watching the steeplechase finals on Monday, join me in a “Go Famiglietti!” He’s got a website too.

I am bone tired. We spent another eight days in Knoxville. It was a productive and pleasant trip, but it is wearing on me to keep bouncing back and forth with the baby (and bringing along my mom as well).

We did bookend the trip with celebrities, which was fun. Freddy Prinze Jr. was on our flight out of LaGuardia. He flirted with Alden on the shuttle and then helped Damon take the stroller down the stairs. Very kind. Near the end of our stay at our bed and breakfast (booked by a sweet assistant who was trying to make the trip nice by sending us there instead of a sterile hotel) we were joined by Patricia Neal. She lived in Knoxville for a time and there is a hospital wing there in her name. She was in town for some kind of event. So we all got to have breakfast together. She was every inch the grande dame movie star. She seemed to truly enjoy talking with us and we passed a very pleasant hour together. Now I admit that I know at some point in the last 10 days I had another celebrity contact, but I can’t remember who or how. But I’m positive that I was saying “three celebrities” just a few days ago.

PS — I know I’m rambling.

We leave New York in 11 days. Or 10, I guess, since it’s after midnight. We took Tennessee real estate by storm last week and found a few contenders. Two are tied for first right now. One is old and beautiful, full of charm but with a super-high-end brand-new kitchen. The cabinets alone look like something we could not normally hope to have. But no master bath. And did I mention it’s 70 years old? The neighborhood is gorgeous. Old houses on hilly lots, crazy foliage everywhere. Tall trees, vines, ground cover. The second house is relatively new and pretty modern. It’s a bit smaller. The neighborhood is nice, but can’t begin to compare with the first. The back yard is perfect for Alden. It has a lovely master bath. We hired a contractor to go out to house one tomorrow morning and let us know what it would take to get a master bath in there somewhere. The jury is still out, but right now I’m leaning to new. It’s been a hard year. We deserve an easy house.

But before any of that happens we will be bunking in a temporary apartment. We were living in corporate housing when Alden was born and it looks like he might spend his first birthday there too. Poor baby. I planned for him to be a sheltered little flower, but instead he’s already flown so many times I lost count long ago. I’d love to throw him a party in his very own house. I think, aside from that, the temp housing will be fine. It’s roomy, there’s a pool and gym, there’s a washer and dryer (praise the lord) in the unit.

There’s no better note to end on than a washer and dryer, so now I’ll stop nattering in your ear and go to bed.