I heard a rumor that they are designing NY apartments without kitchens because New Yorkers don’t cook. Apparently, we have so many restaurants and take-out food choices that cooking is unnecessary. Well I don’t believe it and I certainly don’t live it. I get in the kitchen New Yorkers, like me, who really cook and find their favorite places for shopping, cooking and eating in the city.
For many New Yorkers, a home cooked meal is a rarity, a pearl in an ocean of eating out, deliveries–in and sustenance grabbed on the Go!–Go!–Go! For nearly all of food enthusiast Mercedes Batista’s almost eighty years, cooking is a ritual, a gift she gives herself everyday. I joined Mercedes at the West Village apartment where she has lived happily alone for the past forty of those years for dinner.
On a chilly, wintry afternoon, I popped over for lunch with holistic nutrition counselor and Park Slope mom, Jennifer Schonborn. In her business, Jennifer counsels people so their food and lifestyle choices help them achieve their health and weight loss goals in a way that is flexible and fun.
My NYC foodie fantasy came true: I spent a fall afternoon at the Union Square Green Market with author, culinary historian, chocolate tasting-tour expert, Les Dames Escoffier member and of course NYC mom, Alexandra Leaf. She answers my “NYC Food Tips From A New Yorker Who Really Cooks” questions at the end of this post. Check out Alexandra’s Chocolate Fest: A Walk-Around Tasting event on March 14th, at the 92nd St. Y (I’ll be there with a spicy chocolate fountain!).
This post is out of order chronologically due to editing issues and holiday mayhem. Also, it was the first time I used my new Kodak zi8 camera so some of the photos reflect that.
