NYC Part III: Halloween in the Air

The sun finally came out on Sunday morning and my brother and I went for a brisk run along the waterfront, looping south down the Hudson River Park from Canal Street on the west side, through Battery Park and then back up to the Williamsburg Bridge on the east side. Although it was windy, it was a gorgeous morning for a run and the views of New York's most iconic triplet of bridges — Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg — were superb.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped for coffee at El Rey on Stanton Street, which I'd been meaning to try for a while. My cortado was very nice and the banana and sesame bread was excellent. My brother's cold brew was good too, although on such a cold morning, it cooled him down more than he was expecting. We also picked up some bagels at the famous Katz's Deli on Houston Street. I first visited Katz's in 2003, soon after the end of my decade of vegetarianism, and, intimidated by the menu and the size of the sandwiches, ordered a hot dog. I rather like pastrami sandwiches now but not at 8.30 am and I still found the experience a little intimidating.

After changing and picking up another coffee, from Ground Support (another of my all-time favourite New York coffee bars), we walked up to the Meatpacking District where we were meeting some family friends for brunch in their hotel, the Gansevoort. My cheeseburger was very tasty but the service and ambience was a little disappointing. We headed back down to Washington Square Park, which was a hive of activity. There was a craft market, a student performance of The Twelfth Night, and a Halloween dog parade. The latter was particularly impressive — or bonkers, depending on your point of view.

I spent a few hours shopping in the Flat Iron district and then caught the subway to Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, to meet a friend of mine. We went for cocktails at Clover Club, which has to be one of the best bars I've visited in New York. The drinks are excellent — I tried the eponymous Clover Club (a gin, raspberry and lemon concoction) and the Apple Turnover (which really did taste like an apple turnover) — and there is a lovely relaxed vibe. It's the kind of unpretentious neighbourhood bar every neighbourhood needs.

We walked back to the subway via some of the more residential streets of Boerum Hill, where the Halloween decorations were out in full force. The best had to be the haunted 666 bus, complete with terrified pumpkin passengers (one even had a red pepper as its tongue). We definitely don't get Halloween like this in the UK.

For dinner, I met my parents at Mighty Quinn's, a hip, casual BBQ joint in the West Village. The three of us shared some brisket, pulled pork, ribs and various sides. Everything tasted fab, especially the brisket and the dirty fries. Fine dining this ain't, but the food is good and it's a great experience. We finished the night with a trip to the Barnes & Noble on Union Square, which is still hanging on after all of these years. I picked up a couple of books as gifts and was intrigued by the 'mystery book' packages they were selling: what a nice gift idea.

February Favourites

February was a pretty hectic month for me, and a large portion was taken up with my trip to Washington and California, which already feels like a long time ago. Here are some of my favourite things that didn't make it onto the blog.

Colourful running kit

I have a couple of pairs of Brooks shoes for 'serious' running at home, but one of the items on my US shopping list was a new pair of lightweight running shoes for travel and casual use. I flirted with some Asics, but in the end, my heart was won over by a pair of green-turquoise, pink and black Nike Free 5.0s ($100), which I picked up at City Sports in DC and which I have since customised with a pair of pink laces. They are colourful, comfortable and lightweight, and I'm really pleased with them.

But that wasn't enough colour for one shopping trip and I couldn't resist these floral running capris in all of my favourite colours from Athleta ($74). I usually go for dark bottoms and bright tops, but these make me happy. The quality is good, although not quite as nice as my Lululemon leggings, and they match my new trainers.


Four Barrel Coffee

I was only in San Francisco for six hours, but that was long enough to find a new coffee favourite: Four Barrel. The pourover was great and I knew it was a sign when the barista made it with the Colombian Andino coffee ($19.50) I had already picked out to take home. I've been grinding up the beans at home for the past week, and the coffee still has a wonderfully rich, chocolatey flavour. If you don't live in the Bay Area, you can order beans from their online store.

The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant

Anita Diamant's story of a young Jewish woman growing up in Boston's North End during the early 20th century is a smart, richly detailed portrait of immigrant life in the United States. Diamant's heroine Addie is an intelligent, feminist character who goes on to have an extraordinary life, the story of which she is telling to her favourite granddaughter, decades later. The writing is lively and it's a fascinating read.

Byron's B-Rex burger

To celebrate the return of its popular special burger, the B-Rex, Byron gave away hundreds of vouchers for free B-Rexes last week, and I managed to bag myself one. The B-Rex (£10.50) is pretty epic: it comes with an onion ring, streaky bacon, cheese, jalapeños, pickles, onion, BBQ sauce and mayo. It probably wouldn't have been my first choice — I'm a purist and tend to err on the side of cheeseburgers — but it was really good. I asked them to hold the jalapeños and the pickles, but my burger was still a towering beast of a thing. And while I was there, it seemed silly not to order one of Byron's delicious Oreo shakes. It was probably the least healthy but most fun Monday of the year so far.

The event obviously went well because the B-Rex has now earned a place in Byron's classic specials hall of fame.

A Soft Murmur ambient noise website
On the Slate Culture Gabfest earlier this month, one of the gabbers recommended an ambient noise website called Rainy Cafe, which allows you to play your perfect combination of rain and cafe noise — always helpful if you can't stand to work in the sound of silence. I then found another site called A Soft Murmur, which adds a few more sounds to the mix, including waves, birds and fire. I've enjoyed using both websites when I needed a little ambient noise to help me concentrate on whatever I'm working on, both at work and at home.

Bex's Guide to NYC: Things To Do

I promised three parts to my 2013 guide to New York — coffee, burgers and cocktails — but there were still quite a few of my favourite experiences in the city missing from the equation. Hence this bonus fourth list. I am lucky enough to visit New York fairly often, so this isn't a round-up of the biggest and best tourist attractions, but I find that the activities on the list are all very New Yorky experiences. I will also be posting a Google Map with all of my NYC highlights on the blog on Wednesday.

1. Get high. You could go up the Empire State Building if you want to get a great view of the city, but I prefer the Top of the Rock experience at Rockefeller Center. It isn't as tall as the Empire State Building, but I think the skyline view is better — you get to see the Empire State, for example — and you get to look out on the city without any glass or railings in the way. There is, of course, a wall, but you can look out over the top. I like to go at sunset, but it can get busy, especially if you like to leap. 30 Rockefeller Plaza bet. 5th & 6th Ave and 49th & 50th St (Midtown). Mini-reviews of the Top of the Rock here and here.

The view from the Top of the Rock at sunset.

2. Pick a museum. My favourite is the Frick, a sort of best-of collection of the Old Masters, which has enough history to get around the fact that I'm not into art. The American Museum of Natural History is great too, especially the planetarium; I love the MOMA design store; the Tenement Museum tour is fascinating; and I've also enjoyed wandering through the grand rooms of the Morgan Library. 1 East 70th St bet. 5th & Madison Ave (Midtown).

3. NYC's worst-kept-secret freebie. You can get some of the best views of New York from the Staten Island Ferry, which runs from Whitehall (South Ferry) in Lower Manhattan to Staten Island. The bright orange ferries run 24/7 and the journey takes about 25 minutes and is completely free. Don't forget your camera. 4 South Street (Lower Manhattan).

4. Parks and recreation. When I'm staying in Midtown, I try to run in Central Park every day, looping around the reservoir if I don't have time to do the full circuit. It's gorgeous in autumn, but the park is beautiful at any time of the year. If you're there in the summer, take a picnic and relax under the trees. If it's winter, try the skating rink, with its superb skyline views and warming hot chocolate. 59th Street to 110th Street (Midtown / Upper Manhattan).

5. A view from the bridge. I love to get up early and take the subway to High Street Brooklyn (the blue A and C trains), cross the park and then run back to Manhattan over the bridge, which brings you out near City Hall. You can do it the other way round, but it's much more exciting to watch the Manhattan skyline appear before you. And you don't have to run — walking is fun too, especially if you also take in the gorgeous houses and views from Brooklyn Heights Promenade. (Lower Manhattan / Brooklyn)

Manhattan at sunrise, viewed from Brooklyn Bridge.

6. Take the high road. The High Line — a disused, elevated freight railway line that has been converted into a park and public space — now stretches from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to 34th Street, bringing you level with the Empire State Building (although several blocks further west). You can enjoy the view and the green space, as well as art, live music and a few food, drink and artsy retail opportunities. If you walk southwards, you can reward yourself with brunch, lunch or dinner outdoors at one of the many Meatpacking restaurants. Pastis and the Standard Grill are among my favourites. Gansevoort to 34th St (Meatpacking District / Chelsea) Mini-reviews of the High Line here, here and here.

The Meatpacking District end of the High Line.

7. Eastern promises. Catch the L train or, better, the East River Ferry, and spend the afternoon exploring Brooklyn. There are tons of great shops and eateries on Bedford Avenue, Billyburg’s main drag, and at weekends, check out the Smorgasburg and Williamsburg Flea markets. Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn (Williamsburg) More about Williamsburg here, here and here.

8. Hit the shops. I must admit that indulging in some retail therapy is usually one of the first things I do when I enter the 212 area code. My first port of call is usually SoHo, but once I've raided my favourite chains (J. Crew, Madewell, Lululemon), Kate Spade and Bloomingdale's, I like to wander around the independent stores in NoLIta and NoHo. Fanelli's on Prince Street is my favourite place in the area to refuel; it's a complete coincidence that it's just opposite J. Crew! I've been going there with my family for over 15 years, but in the grand scheme of the café's 166-year history, that isn't very long. Further north, I really like shopping on the stretch of Fifth Avenue between Union Square and Madison Square Park, and Henri Bendel is the best place to shop for lovely gifts for girls. (SoHo)

9. The other Bloomies. This (mostly) recovered nail biter had her first manicure at Bloomie Nails in New York, and I’ve been loyal ever since. My mother discovered them by chance, as we often stay very close to the Midtown branch. Efficient and proficient, they even make my hands look pretty. 44 West 55th Street bet. 5th & 6th Ave (Midtown)

10. People-watching. Perhaps the best thing of all about New York is that you don't really need to do anything much to have fun and experience the city. Grab a coffee or a bagel (try Ess-A-Bagel) and sit in a café or in Union Square or Madison Square Park, or stand in Grand Central Station (especially at rush hour) or Times Square and watch and listen as New York goes by. What a great city.


Part 1: Top 10 New York coffee bars
Part 2: Top 10 New York burgers
Part 3: Top 10 New York cocktails

Save It for a Rainy Day

The weather in London has been miserable this weekend, although relative to the Nemo-induced chaos in the US northeast, I probably shouldn't complain too much. The rain certainly didn't stop play here, and I've been pretty busy. On Friday night, I went to a ceilidh at Cecil Sharp House for a friend's birthday, which was good fun, although took me back to my Nowheresville days with the high ratio of nerds to civilians.

Lomo-ed shot of St Paul's on Saturday morning

Yesterday, my parents came into town, which meant I had to get up to go running relatively early. It was grey, cold and rainy, but I had a good run, motivated by the knowledge that I would be stopping by St John's outpost on Druid Street on my way home for a custard doughnut and some sourdough bread for lunch. I spent the afternoon shopping with my parents in Covent Garden and Soho. I hadn't been into the West End for several weeks and was surprised how busy it was for a rainy, cold February. The parents were staying at the Royal Automobile Club on Pall Mall, so while they went to get changed for dinner, I sat and read the papers in one of the lounges, surrounded by the usual smartness and decorum.

Did someone say "doughnuts"?

I took my parents back to Mele e Pere in Brewer Street for dinner, as a thank you for helping me move into my (now not so) new flat. We had hoped to have a pre-dinner cocktail at Hawksmoor on Air Street, but their bar was full of people waiting to dine, so we had our aperitif at Mele e Pere instead. I didn't get the chance to check out their list of wittily named cocktails last time, and although I was tempted by the Don't Be So Cocchi and the Down the Apples, in the end I orded an Autentico Sour, with Galliano, gin, sours and ginger. It was really good. Papa was very impressed by the home-made vermouth, with Mele e Pere's special blend of botanicals.

Assorted treats at Mele e Pere

Once we got to our table, the food was great too. We shared a selection of small plates to start—the arancini and the San Daniele ham being the standouts for me—and then I had the roast baby chicken with roast peppers and a side of fries. With hindsight, I should have ordered a salad instead of the chips, as with the starters and bread, I had had plenty of carbs. The chicken was delicious, though: juicy, tender and very more-ish. Papa's lamb and Maman's pollock were equally successful. I was too full for a pudding, really, but Papa and I managed to share a chocolate fondente, topped with vanilla ice cream and a dusting of pretty, pink praline crunch. Yum!

Yes, they do have cars at the Royal Automobile Club. Well, a car.

This morning, it was time to work off last night's excesses and I joined my parents at the Royal Automobile Club for a morning workout, pounding the treadmill and then sweating it out in the Turkish baths. I haven't been to the gym at the RAC for a while and compared to the Peckham Pulse, whose facilities I have been using recently, the contrast is even more striking. Somewhat counter-productively, we then had a big breakfast in the club: scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and pastries. Unsurprisingly, I was full again soon.

Looking East-er

After getting back from the Pays Noir fairly late on Saturday, I decided to take advantage of the extra hour granted by the clock change to go running along the Thames Path. This time, though, I went east, following the river as it loops around Rotherhithe, before looping back via Surrey Quays and Southwark Park. I'm still getting used to the terrain and the best routes, so it took me a little longer than normal. Slightly annoyingly, if you want to run directly alongside the river, you have to keep cutting back onto the road, what with all the docks and private residence.

Autumnal Canary Wharf panorama

It was quiet and pleasant, though, and I'll definitely consider a similar route on those weekend mornings when I just can't face the hoards of tourists that descend to the stretch of the Thames Path that runs between Tower Bridge and Westminster Bridge.

Escher or Ariadne from Inception seem to have been messing with the waterfront opposite Canary Wharf

While getting my bearings, I snapped a few photos of Canary Wharf, including the one just above, where the panorama mode over-emphasises the curve of the river, which is much less pronounced here in real life. I've said this before, but I do love London in the autumn. And by autumn, I mean crisp, sunny days, where you can crunch through the fallen leaves--not the cold, grey, drizzly weather that we have got on about 27 days so far this month.

South by South East

It was inevitable that the weekend before I moved house was glorious and sunny while moving weekend ended up being mostly rainy. Nonetheless, I am now officially a home-owner and resident of South of the River (SOTR), and I am successfully installed in my new humble abode. I picked up the keys on Friday afternoon, but only had a few hours in the flat to check a few things before I had to head to Leicester Square for the Seven Psychopaths screening. It didn't help that it was pouring with rain when we arrived and seeing the empty flat, I had a first flash of doubt: have I done the right thing?

Home sweet home. The wallpaper isn't staying...

When the movers offered me an 8 am slot on Saturday, all I could think of was the 6.30 am alarm, but it actually worked out quite well. There was hardly any traffic and the movers were able to load everything up in NoMaRo, drive to SOTR and then unload. By 11 am, then, they had gone and I was left with a flat full of boxes and bags to unpack. Fortunately, the Bro and the SIL were there for moral support. I unpacked a little bit and then we went to meet the Bridge Buddies for lunch at Borough Market. I thought it was important to reassure myself that I am in a good location, close to lots of interesting places like Borough and the lovely Bermondsey Street, which is the new Marylebone High Street for me. After a pulled pork bap from Hobbs at Borough Market, a crème caramel, and a celebratory G and T at one of the riverside pubs, I went home to do some more unpacking.

Fun at Borough: pulled pork, crème caramels and my new landmark, the Shard

The Bridge Buddies, the Bro and I then went to a pub in Rotherhithe for dinner, while the SIL worked her last shift there. The rain didn't stop and it was a soggy journey home, but I was enamoured with the London "skyline" views from the river near Rotherhithe by night. This morning it was a little drier, so I went for a run along what will probably be my new standard weekend route: up to Tower Bridge, across to the North Bank and then along the Thames Path to Westminster Bridge, and then back again. I finally had an opportunity to use my iPhone's new panorama mode. It's just a shame the Thames wasn't looking its finest.

Thames panorama from Tower Bridge on a grey, autumnal Sunday

Overall, then, I'm really glad to have moved and reassured by the fact that there are a lot of new restaurants, espresso bars and shops in the vicinity for me to check out. I just need to get better at calculating SOTR walking distances. Oh, and sleep. I need that too. Most of this year has been taking up with the moving project and although there is still more work to do and more things to sort, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Easter Eggscursions

Because it's a four-day weekend in the UK, the weather isn't allowed to be pleasant. There was a bit of sunshine on Friday, when I managed to photograph these grassy bunnies hanging out in the spring flowers outside the Dorchester Hotel, but since then it's been grey, rainy and fairly cold.

Easter bunnies outside the Dorchester

Nonetheless, I did one of my favourite runs this morning, taking the Tube to Waterloo, running along the South Bank to Tower Bridge, crossing to the North Bank and then heading all the way along to the Bridge and back to Marylebone via Sloane Street and Hyde Park. I like running along the Thames but 15 minutes is about all I can handle on the South Bank, especially on a busy Sunday morning with thousands of tourists enjoying the, er, grey skies. Once you're past the Tower of London, on the north side, the route is clearer until you reach Parliament Square; after that, the Thames Path is much quieter.

Shard, eh?

As far as I could tell, none of the shops were open but Knightsbridge was still rammed. I was quite amused by Harvey Nichols' new concession, Harvey Nickers, but it was closed so I couldn't investigate further.

Harvey Nickers

And in the absence of more spring-like weather, I bought some pretty tulips on Friday, which are at least brightening up my flat.

Perhaps the most surprising thing of all about Easter Sunday is that I haven't eaten any chocolate. Funny how times change.

14.1

Some of my best--and longest--runs have been the unplanned ones. The ones where I head out, thinking I'll knock out a decent seven- or eight-mile route, and then the serendipitous co-occurrence of good weather, good podcasts and good sleep the night before make me choose to keep on running. And yes, the previous sentence does sound like it comes straight from Private Eye's Pseuds' Corner column.

Industrial wasteland, somewhere near Stonebridge Park

Today, I decided to run along the Grand Union Canal for a change. My flat is only half a mile from the canal and then it's towpath all the way, which makes for a more peaceful, solitary outing than my usual turns around the Royal Parks. I figured I would probably go as far as the Car Giant near Willesdon Junction (no, it isn't the prettiest route), which is an eight-mile round trip. But the weather was perfect--cool but sunny and not windy--I had several podcasts lined up on my iPhone and, despite a tiring week and strangely achy legs yesterday, I was feeling pretty good, so I kept on going. In fact, the main problem was that some of the factories that form the industrial wasteland that surrounds the canal seemed to be making donuts and other sweet treats. Usually, this would have made me hungry but on long runs, the smell of food, especially sweet food, makes me feel sick.

I ended up timing myself using podcasts because I wasn't using RunKeeper and estimating my distance by the occasional signs near the towpath. The aforementioned industrial wasteland alongside the canal means there isn't really any decent destination to aim for so my targets were distance-based instead. Based on the signs, 7.5 miles got me to a place I'd never heard of, called Alperton, which seemed as good a turning point as any. Calculating my route on Google Maps when I got home suggests that I "only" ran 14.1 miles, which is the furthest I've ever run, but in a pretty decent time of about 1h50. Not bad considering I wasn't really pushing myself. My legs were aching a lot towards the end but I think I could probably have done another three or four miles without too much fuss. And yet, if I'd try to "make myself" run 14 miles today, I would have ended up talking myself out of it. Isn't motivation funny?

Sunday in SoMaRo

After spending most of yesterday in Soho and SoBa (OK, the South Bank!) with The Ex, today I didn't roam beyond the quartier. On the way back from my Hyde Park run, I stopped by SoMaRo's newest (and possibly only) espresso bar, The Borough Barista, on Seymour Place, which opened just over a week ago. There are plenty of cafes in Marylebone but not very many places to get really good coffee, as evidenced by the fact that only one Marylebone purveyor of caffeine made my top eight.

I only had enough money for an espresso and although it was pretty good, with a decent crema, I have obviously been spoiled by my recent trip to New York where, these days, it's fairly easy to get a really excellent espresso that is rich, smooth and almost chocolatey. The BB's was a little bit bitter but still much better than the other options nearby. I'll definitely be back to try out a macchiato and maybe a pastry. There are a few small tables inside for drinking in (perfect for a Saturday morning post-run coffee-with-the-papers session), and, for now, some on the pavements. With the newish branch of Vinoteca and Homemade London, a new craft centre, which runs classes like book binding for beginners or making your own shoulder bag, plenty of interesting new places are popping up in this part of Marylebone.

After a shower, it was back down Seymour Place to the ill-designed and badly lit multiplex of doom Odeon to watch Drive (well, as I've seen Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Page One was only showing in Brixton, this was my best bet), which was interesting. It isn't the kind of film I'd normally rush out to see but Ryan Gosling as the mechanic/movie car stunt man by day and getaway driver by night was strangely compelling, despite the fact that his character barely speaks and we find out almost nothing about him, as he builds up a relationship with his neighbour, single mom Irene (Carey Mulligan).

I liked the juxtapositions of high energy car chases and graphically violent fight scenes with very calm interlude where Gosling's character just drives in contemplative silence, while inappropriate '80s synth pop pumps along on the soundtrack. I also liked the chemistry between Gosling and Mulligan, although I found it harder to care about--or even keep up with--the developments with the various "bad guys." Oh, and Christina "Joanie" Hendricks's ten minutes of screen time were fun, if only to see Hendricks playing the white trash hired to take part in one of his jobs. Overall, though, Drive was a beautifully shot and well executed but ultimately unsatisfying movie.

NYC: Good Morning America

The humidity hasn't died down this morning but the sun was shining, making my Central Park run very enjoyable. The view of the city from the top of the Jackie Onassis reservoir made it more than worth the early—and pre-caffeine—start.

Then I re-fuelled Stockholm-style at Fika, near the park with a very good double espresso and a kanelbülle, so now I'm raring to go.

A Drinking Problem

One of the best things about running in Manhattan is that you are never far from a (working) drinking fountain. I hate carrying a bottle of water with me when I run and it's really handy to be able to stop briefly to rehydrate one or two times mid-session. London doesn't do so well; at least not in the parks in which I usually run: Regent's Park and Hyde Park. This helpful website does map most of the fountains in the city and lets you know if they are broken but doesn't usually account for problems like, "we're holding a music festival and the fountain isn't accessible unless you have a ticket," which happens pretty often in Hyde Park.

Photo by  Ambernectar 13

Still, Hyde Park does at least have the beautiful, shiny, spherical fountain designed by David Harber, which has multiple spouts and options for filling a bottle as well as drinking directly from the fountain. Even better, it's almost always working, even in winter, which means that it doesn't matter so much when the other two drinking fountains in Hyde Park are broken and/or unavailable.

Regent's Park is another story. There's this fountain, near the boating lake, but that's been out of action for months now. Then there's the very grand Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Fountain, which is over 140 years old. It's very impressive but somewhat unpredictable in terms of when it will dispense water and when it won't. It's reasonable enough to turn off the fountains in the winter months but this one also seemed to be off for long periods during the summer, much to my annoyance. With no obvious levers or buttons, I tried various combinations of standing on the blocks at its base, hitting the spouts and chanting, "open sesame!" Nothing worked. I knew there must have been a good reason to read Harry Potter!

Photo by stephengg

On Monday, though, as I jogged up to the fountain, I noticed that one of the spouts appeared to be working but by the time I arrived, it had stopped. I had water with me so it wasn't such a big deal but today we wanted to investigate further. And indeed, when I held my hand under the spout today, magically, the water appeared. It turns out that there is a tiny, near-invisible motion sensor tucked just inside each spout; once activated, the flow is on a timer. The sensors must be new as on previous occasions when the fountain was working, we'd never seen the water stop flowing. But finally, the mystery is solved.

Of course, once the weather starts getting nippy again, the powers that be will probably turn off the water supply. Until then, I plan to take advantage of the fountain as much as I can.

Winter, Er, Wonderland II

It wasn't snowing this morning and while there were a good few inches of slush on the streets of NoMaRo, I decided this was going to be my best offer for a run and headed out into the cold. Running through snow, rather like running on a sandy beach, must be good for you, making your legs work harder than usual, unless of course you slip over on the treacherous ice and break an ankle; then it's not so good.

Hyde Park in the snow

I expected to be the only runner in Hyde Park but there were several other brave souls as well as many walkers and assorted frolickers and photographers. It was hard work running round the park but I feel much better for it, even if my feet are still chilly, despite a long, hot shower.

Cold statues at the Albert Memorial

Assorted--and Sometimes Surprising--Pleasures

From my radar this week:

1. Pretending I'm in New York. Although living in London (rather than the sticks) can usually ward off my New York cravings for quite some time, once I start getting close to six months since my last visit (as I am now), I start getting antsy, especially given that my parents are going in a few weeks. I want to wander through the West Village and run in Central Park. I also want to shop. Luckily, of the three American shops in which I spend most money, two of them (Banana Republic and Anthropologie) have Regent Street branches, both of which are staffed partly by Yanks. This means I can amble up Regent Street on a Saturday afternoon and I could almost be in NYC. The prices of the clothes are, of course, way higher than in New York but today I discovered the sale room at Anthropologie where I picked up a gorgeous, colourful top on sale for £9.95, reduced from £60. Both the sales assistant and the woman behind me in the queue commented on what a great bargain it was.

2. Random London eateries. If I can't be discovering fun new places in the Big Apple, random restaus in London almost make up for it. Yesterday, there was Paolina's a cheap and low-key Thai restaurant near King's Cross, with very tasty food, friendly staff and a ski chalet-like decor. The other night, it was the Posh Banger Boys in Borough Market, which is basically a guy with a barbecue in an unheated, candle-lit garage, decorated with sparse furniture that looks like it's just been salvaged from a skip. The burgers were very tasty, though, and I speak from experience. Mori, meanwhile, is a smart new Asian takeaway on Marylebone High Street with a range of reasonably priced sushi, salads and other Asian goodies. I haven't eaten there yet but next time I need a quick bite to eat in the quartier, I will probably check it out.

3. The Blind Side. I went to see this film, like many people, to see whether Sandy B really deserved that Oscar. Also, I had a voucher for a free Cineworld ticket for which I only paid £1 so I decided to use it on a film I might not otherwise have seen. Two things surprised me: 1) there were far more men than women in the audience and 2) I liked it, despite the fact it was corny as hell. And yes, Sandra Bullock was very good, although I still think Carey Mulligan should have won. The premise is like The OC meets Friday Night Lights. Rich, seemingly perfect, BMW-driving family come across underprivileged boy from bad neighbourhood, take him in and under their watch, he flourishes (in The OC, Ryan is from Chino, is white and goes on to be a great architect, as opposed to Michael, in The Blind Side, who is black and very good at football, but otherwise, the concept is very similar). The family even has a slightly geeky, sarcastic sun who tries to help Michael out--a son who, despite being about ten years younger than The OC's Seth Cohen in the movie, reminds me a lot of him. Of course, The Blind Side is not borrowing from The OC as it is based on the true story of NFL football player Michael Oher. I genuinely enjoyed the film, anyway, although I wasn't expecting to.

4. RunKeeper. I really like my Nike +iPod sensor. It tracks the speed, distance and pace of my runs and syncs automatically with the Nike+ website, allowing me to track my training over time. Unfortunately, I've been having problems getting accurate recordings almost as long as I've had the sensor. Most of the time, it works fine but sometimes, if I pause the app while I stretch or try to change the music, it gives up and only records the time of the rest of the run and not the speed or distance. Also, the Nike system requires that I bring the sensor with me and as I regularly use two pairs of trainers, this is a hassle. Enter RunKeeper. This is an iPhone app that performs a similar function to Nike+ but using the GPS on the iPhone; this means it also automatically maps my routes on Google Maps and sends the information to the RunKeeper site without me even having to hook up my iPhone with a computer. I'm not sure which of the two is more accurate (RK's distances and paces are worse than the Nike+ ones I'm used to) but RK could potentially be a good back up and/or alternative to Nike+ -- and it's free!

5. Walking home from work. Yesterday was the first time I've walked home from my new office. It's less than 2.5 miles but a combination of really bad weather and the sun setting too early has meant walking wasn't a very appealing prospect until yesterday. It only took me 35 minutes and I was home while it was (just about) still light. Walking is also much less stressful than getting the Tube or waiting too long for buses. In the mornings, I usually get a bus to work but when you factor in the walking to and from the bus stops, waiting for a bus to arrive and getting stuck in traffic, I usually get into work 20-40 minutes later so perhaps I will walk in more often. On those days when it's not raining or snowing, I'm not running late and I'm not wearing high heels, anyway. The route isn't the most pleasant in London (unless you are a fan of the Euston Road) but at Great Portland Street, I cut up into Regent's Park and walk the rest of the way buffered from most of the traffic and enjoying the spring flowers).

A Chilly Day in Soho

Regent's Park was very pretty in the snow--even the London mosque had a white frosting on top--and although the outside temperature was about minus five, after about 15 minutes of running, I began to warm up. we proceeded to Milkbar for a most excellent espresso. After some further wandering, we had a great macchiato and a quick sandwich at the cosy Fernandez and Wells on Beak Street. A successful coffee day, by all accounts!

I've been meaning to go to Polpo since it opened towards the end of last year. It has been touted as a stylish but reasonably priced, tapas-style Italian restaurant with assorted regional specialities. The restaurant was heaving at 8.30 (and even when we left, three hours later) and we had to wait 30 minutes for a table but it was worth it.

I'm no tapas expert and it was hard to know how much food we should order but the waitress assured me we had got it about right. In the past, tapas restaurants would never have worked for me--often, it's hard enough for me to find one thing I like on a menu, let alone several. Polpo had plenty of tasty dishes though. We ordered a pizzetta biancha (small and very thin pizza base with mozzarella and onion) and a couple of the chicheti to start (we each tried a potato and parmesan croquette and the prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella on a toasted bread base), and then ordered two meat dishes (a bresaola and rocket salad and pork belly with hazelnuts and radicchio) and two sides (roast potatoes with rosemary and pumpkin risotto). This proved to be just the right amount of food, although I didn't have room for pudding (I could have been tempted by a different selection of puddings). The wine was decent and reasonably priced too and most of the wines come in half-litre carafes.

When you are ordering lots of small dishes, it's easy to lose track of the total cost and so I was pleasantly surprised when the bill, including wine and service, only came to £45--not bad for a gourmet feast of yummy, small dishes that were rolled out over the course of about 45 minutes, prolonging the dining experience. Even though the restaurant was packed, the service was great too, particularly the maître d' (seen in the door on the left of the photo), who kept coming to update us on the table progress every 10 minutes or so.

Waterloo Sunshine

When I got up at about 8.30, the mercury on my iPhone was indicating minus five degrees. As the iPhone, like its mistress, tends to be a bit of a hypochondriac about the cold, I also checked a few other weather websites and the consensus seemed to be that it was about minus three. Nonetheless, it was beautiful and sunny and I saw no reason not go ahead with my original plan to catch the Tube down to Waterloo and then do a circular route along both banks of the Thames.

The South Bank was busy, even for nine-thirty on a freezing cold morning in December. Also, because I haven't done a proper run along the river since I got my iPhone, I kept stopping to take photos, which meant my iPedometer probably wasn't very accurate.

I ran along the South Bank to Tower Bridge before crossing over--Tower Bridge isn't exactly Brooklyn Bridge, but on a bright, winter morning it's a fairly striking sight. I then ran all the way back along the North Bank, past Somerset House, St Stephen's Tower and Westminster Abbey, to Vauxhall Bridge. Finally, I crossed back over and completed the circuit by running up to the Jubilee Bridge.

By that point, it was after ten-thirty and the tourist hoards had made a beeline for the London Eye, the Aquarium, the Christmas markets and the other range of excitements on offer on the South Bank. I, meanwhile, could walk smugly back to the Tube station before jumping into a scalding hot shower in an attempt to regain some feeling in my feet. I have definitely earned my bacon sandwich today!