Run Woman, Run!

Last night Miss Tea went to the 40/40 Club for an information session with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training® - the world's largest endurance sports training program. The program provides training to run or walk a marathon or half marathon, swim, hike, bike and run a triathlon or take on a century bike ride (100 miles). In attendance with Miss Tea were Miss Ivy and Fau, who left with a gorgeous door prize – a big box of cosmetics. After asking as many questions about why Miss Tea should NOT participate, she finally did it…yes, Miss Tea signed up to train for the Nike Women’s Marathon in October 2009. So you’ll be hearing Miss Tea talk about this ever so often this year, and will probably throw a few fundraising parties in the mix. Of course, Miss Tea appreciates the support of her family and friends…even the ones who snickered (ahem, Rocky).

One of the items in our goodie bag was a discount card to Bikram Yoga, something that Rocky loves and wants Miss Tea to try. Rocky, so sweetly, offered to attend a few classes with Miss Tea so that she won't feel so self conscious about sweating like a piglet and falling over in some kind of twisted eagle position. Awwww…

Afterwards, the gals headed over to Pranna for a cocktail quickie and dished on topics like the swine flu (and everyone’s over-exaggeration) to Millionaire Matchmaker’s Guide (yes, Miss Tea did by Patti Stanger’s book – need all the help here) to learning how to play golf. Looks like Fau will plan a golf lesson for us at Chelsea Piers…Miss Tea hopes she won’t hurt anyone with her…um…what do you call it? A stick? Huh?...oh…a club. Thanks Natasha 98!

By the way, Miss Tea is not one for the sports bars (in face it’s more of a nightmare ambience) but the 40/40 Club was fascinating and the food was surprisingly good. For some reason, Miss Tea associated sports bar menus with pub grub…wonder why.


Anyhoo, stay tuned…

Team in Training
http://www.lls.org

Bikram Yoga NYC
http://www.bikramyoganyc.com/

http://www.4040club.com
6 W. 25th Street
New York, NY 10010
(212) 832.4040

Not Your Typical NYC Sunday

Yesterday (4/26/09) Miss Tea put on her “goody-two-shoes” and walked the walk for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation at Riverside Park. Invited by some good ol’ friends, Miss Tea thought this 5K walkathon would take an hour or less, though she can do it in 36 minutes if she ran. (Yes, Miss Tea has been hitting the gym - bathing suit season is just around the corner and Miss Tea does not want to be caught with a muffin top over a struggling bikini bottom.)

While Miss Tea loves the little kiddies, it did not occur to her that they might actually be there. Miss Ivy highlighted the word “pediatric” to Miss Tea, who was already past the “duh” enlightenment. Anyway, so what should’ve taken an hour with 7 adults and 4 kids, turned out to be 4 hours of restlessness, ice cream/water pit stops, and of course, trying not to lose any of these wandering kids.

At one point Miss Tea felt rather slow because she did not understand what is called the “parent language” – spoken by full grown adults who fear speaking “trigger” words that will get their children riled up, and therefore triumphantly dupe the kids by spelling these words out loud. Obviously, this is something only parents understand because Miss Tea has some trouble figuring out why we were avoiding a path that crossed a S-L-I-D-E….oh. All joking aside, I loved all the little ankle-biters and their cute smiles. It almost made Miss Tea wish she had kids…almost.

After the walk, we had some free pizza in the rotunda (I’m sure we were the last ones there, scarfing it down). Miss Tea received a gift bag with parenting materials and glitter-lined false eye lashes and faux French nails (for the single ladies I guess?! Miss Tea needs to have a word with their sponsor recruiter).

Around 3pm, Miss Tea headed home and took a quick nap. Then it was off to dinner at Kampuchea, a cute little Cambodian restaurant in the Lower East Side. Miss Tea had two gentlemen to meet: Rey was visiting from LA and Tone, a ‘same-circle’ acquaintance, both good friends and quite entertaining. Tone told me he loved the sandwiches at Kampuchea, which I trust because Rey and I split his leftover Hoisin Pork Meatball sandwich. Rey had the Chicken Katiev which was a type of stew with egg noodles, chicken breast, sweet sausages. Miss Tea couldn’t see much of the ingredients as it was buried under the broth, but Rey thought it was very good. Another bonus of Kampuchea: Sundays nights, wines by the glass and wines by the bottle are HALF OFF. Score!!!

Miss Tea has been to Kampuchea before with JBaby and enjoyed the P.E.I. Mussels, but this time around it was the Chilled Rice Vermicelli (Grilled Duroc pork, Chinese sausage, egg over easy, sprouts, shallots, crushed peanuts, fresh herbs) that hit the spot. Now, I love all the chefs who believe in the herbs, but if it isn't actually in the dish or mixed into the dish, Miss Tea is going to take it out. Aside from the extra greenery that was plucked out the bowl, the Chilled Rice Vermicelli (actually not chilled, but at room temperature) was the perfect dinner for a hot summer night.

After dinner, we all took a quick tour of the LES and, out of curiosity, stopped at a store called Babeland, a fully-stocked naughty store. If you’re familiar with the LES, you know what this is. Now, Miss Tea promised herself she would keep this blog totally PG-13 so not one more word will be mentioned…except this: Miss Tea and company did get a kick out of toys for the naughty naughty!

And so Miss Tea went home, with a smile on her face.

Pediatric Cancer Foundation

http://www.pcfwalk.org/

Kampuchea Restaurant

http://www.kampucheanyc.com/

78 Rivington Street (at Allen Street)

New York, NY 10002

212 529 3901

Friday Night in NYC

Miss Tea received an invitation to attend the first in a series of “Cultural Pairings in NYC” last night (4/24/09). Not knowing fully what this event entailed, Miss Tea seized the opportunity to snag Rocky Stillwell (colleague and confidante) as her date for the evening – woo hoo!

First stop was Pranna for their Weekday Warm-up Menu. Rocky and Miss Tea needed to prep up, in case there were no appies or alcohol at the event. Rocky sipped on the Emerald Bay cocktail (Sonnema Herb Vodka and St. Germain elderflower liquor, green tea, fresh lemon juice) while Miss Tea had her soon-to-be-usual Muscadet Cuve St Vincent Michel Delhommeau 2007. Both of us also tried the Penang Chicken Spring Roll with Tamarind Mustard and Paneer and Potato Croquettes with Homemade Banana Ketchup….both were sooooo good (ok, Miss Tea will tone down the gushing of food…soon). Seeing Pranna for the first time, Rocky thought it was a gorgeous restaurant and asked the servers about the crowd and ambience in the PM. Miss Tea informed Rocky of all the hidden spaces for private parties within the venue – even Condé Nast Traveler hosted their Hot List Party at Pranna last week (Natasha 98 and Miss Tea noticed them setting up).

Next stop was the Agatha Ruiz de la Prada NY Store, the venue for the “Culturing Pairings”. After walking around the wrong way because of wrong directions (Miss Tea still gets confused in the Village area), we finally found the cute and colorful store. Agatha Ruiz de la Prada is a Spanish fashion designer, known for her whimsical and colorful styles. Rocky and Miss Tea loved the cute clothing and creative designs. This soiree had a DJ and acoustic band in the front of the elongated store, painted all white with a few colorful stripes here and there.

On the tables were mini brochures promoting the designer and co-sponsor Global Events, a worldwide special events management company (www.global-events.com). Miss Tea was glad to see this party also promoted Vibrant Rioja, celebrating the wines of Spain. Check out www.VibrantRioja.com to learn about Rioja Restaurant Week in NYC (April 29th to May 2nd). While we checked out the crowd, Rocky shared a rather endearing line: “Food is the way to my heart, wine is the way to my bed.” Sigh. I can see it now: Greeting Cards by Rocky Stillwell.

After sampling the Rioja and a few passed appetizers (the chicken cups and tuna tartar on a fried wonton crisp were pretty good), Rocky and Miss Tea mingled towards Señor CL, my host for the party. An incredibly nice Spaniard, Señor CL told us about the concept of the Cultural Pairings – this event was the pairing of art and fashion. He told us how popular Agatha’s clothes are in Spain and this NYC store served as the perfect venue for exhibiting the works of four NYC photographers:

Jon Smith - www.jonathansmithphotography.com
Michael Creagh - www.michaelcreagh.com
Andrew Hetherington - www.ahetherington.com
Benjamin Lowy www.benlowy.com

After thanking Señor CL for the invitation, Rocky and I moseyed on to Pangea Restaurant for dinner, another favorite haunt of Miss Tea. Imagine my delight to greet owner Arnoldo, still looking fabulous and flaunty, and Douglas and Marek still serving it up! Rocky had a pear cocktail special (so delish!) as well as fried calamari, roasted bistro chicken and spinach and ricotta ravioli. Miss Tea LOVES Pangea because of the Meditrerranean-esque menu, the incredibly decent prices, and of course, for the friendly faces who welcome you back with open arms after months of absence. After dinner, Miss Tea showed Rocky the private party room in the back. Rocky’s planning a birthday party for Mama Stillwell so in hanging out with Miss Tea, Rocky got to see two potential venues – Pranna and Pangea. :o)

Finally Rocky and Miss Tea headed off to subway land. Kiss kiss, huuuuug, goodnight.

http://www.prannarestaurant.com/
79 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
212 696 5700

http://www.pangeanyc.com/
178 2nd Avenue (between 11 & 12 Sts)
New York, NY 10003
212 995 0900

http://agatharuizdelaprada-com.blogspot.com/
135 Wooster Street (at Prince)
New York, NY 10012
212 598 4078

"All My Single Ladies"

So Trident Chewing Gum wanted to do a special promo for Beyonce's upcoming tour in the UK. Miss Tea saw this clip, courtesy of PercyGreen17 on Youtube...in which Miss Tea absolutely MUST learn the Single Ladies dance before she dies...or gets married...whichever comes first. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLj5zphusLw

Checking out the Fig & Olive

Miss Tea got to visit Fig & Olive last week (4/15/09) - FINALLY!!! Lala raved about the food and told Miss Tea to check it out. With Benjamin in tow, Miss Tea sat at the bar and checked out the scene. Upon arrival, it was completely dead, then literally started bustling with midtown suits outta nowhere...thank goodness Miss Tea dressed up!

We went to the Fig & Olive on Fifth Avenue (close to Gilt at the New York Palace). In the front of the area is the bar with seating in the back and on the second floor. The design was mostly white and minimal, yet stylish. Think William Sonoma style with fig and olive features. Olive oil bottles filled the walls and concoctions were placed on top of the glass barrier of the oyster bar. You couldn't help but look at the food in front of everyone and get that Mediterranean vibe.

Miss Tea and Benjamin sipped on the Rueda-Castelo de Median, Sauvignon Blanc 2007 while tasting the Spanish Croquetas (looked like regular crab cakes to me) and Fig Gorgonzola Tartlet (melted gorgonzola, prosciutto, fig, walnut arugula, tomaro, on a fine puff pastry...are tiy salivating yet?!). Sommelier FO guy (read: FigOlive guy) was incredibly courteous (not to mention adorable - think Colin Hanks) and allowed Benjamin to sample some suggested wine. A foodie himself, Bejamin very much loved checking out Fig & Olive, and we had a nice chat catching up.

As Miss Tea sat near the prep station, she got to see a lot of the serving dishes and jsut could not help taking pictures. Sommelier FO guy said that picture-taking was a no-no (huh?!) and Miss Tea replied, "Well, could I take a picture of you instead?" Yea, that was a definite no. Weak.

Fau joined Miss Tea as Benjamin was leaving and we enjoyed a Cheese plate of fromage de Chevre, Gorgonzola Dolce, Rochetta, Manchego, Taleggio, Fig & Olive Tapenade and Marcona Almonds...too bad Miss Tea had to share, because she really would've eaten everything and not be dainty about it. Later, pubLiZity joined us. Our friendly Sommelier FO guy pulled out a seat for her "because she's cute" but Miss Tea and to give him a sturdy eye and say "Hey! That's my sister!" Whatever awkward teasing went on between Miss Tea and Sommelier FO was all in good fun, putting Miss Tea at ease. And Ms. pubLiZity loved her Yello Fin Tuna Carpaccio and our conversation went on.

Out of the blue, Sommelier FO guy served us a Tuna Carpaccio over sliced cucumbers, on the house! A welcomed surprised indeed!

At the end, we got the bill which was a lot lower than Miss Tea expected.....hmmm, did my awkward flirting work? Miss Tea will go back and find out. ;o)

Fig & Olive Fifth Avenue

10 East 52nd StreetNew York, NY 10022

Between Fifth & Madison Ave.

Tel. (212) 319 8035
http://www.figandolive.com/

Movie Night

Lucky me, Miss Tea, scored tickets to a preview screening of 17 Again, starring Zac Efron. Before you call me Cougar*, let me say this: FREE is always within Miss Tea’s budget. And in these economic times, I will take Zac Efron, thank you very much. FYI, tickets were courtesy of my dear sister, pubLiZity, who was supposed to join me but mysteriously cancelled out last minute. Hmmm…

No matter, Miss Tea brought fellow celebrity chaser and NKOTB fan, Maxie 48. [Incidentally, if you missed NKOTB at MSG – which was awesome! – you can see them at Jones Beach / Mohegan Sun this summer. www.ticketmaster.com ;o) ]

Miss Tea and Maxie 48 headed to AMC Lincoln Center in the rain and checked in just in time. Warner Bros. provided us with a film synopsis and passes. We also received notice of a special advance screening of The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock (yay! Sandy’s back with the chick flicks) and leading man (yummy) Ryan Reynolds. Unfortunately, Miss Tea already has plans for that screening but with all chick flicks, I think I can figure out what’s going to happen.

The theater was huge and beautiful (old-school style) but we sat close to the front, because Miss Tea didn’t have her glasses (someone lifted them at a wedding, seriously). As a force of nature, Miss Tea must have buttered popcorn and soda at the movies, even though it makes her sick later. Maxie 48 also craved a soda and hot dog. Going to the movies seems like such a luxury these days that Miss Tea feels like it’s a free pass to eat junk, and forgive herself the next day. Go figure.

As for the movie, let it be known that Miss Tea was no fan of Zac Efron (no offense kid, but you are way too perky and I’m old and cynical). Previous knowledge of “the Zac attack” was from High School Musical, which Miss Tea could not even finish on DVD (clearly, Miss Tea is not the target audience). Miss Tea accepted Zac in Hairspray only because she loves all things Hairspray - the original, the re-make, the musical. But in 17 Again, Zac finally shows some acting chops. Even though he plays a teenager (again…what a surprise), Miss Tea really did believe him as a thirtysomething bitter man trapped in the body of a teenage boy. The film revolves around Mike O’Donnell (played by Matthew Perry), a depressed father unwanted by his family, who wonders what life would be like, had he made different choices. By some “It’s a Wonderful Life”-esque vortex, he gets to live through puberty again, embodied by Zac, but with the same thirtysomething bitter dad mindset. Mike, who changes his name to Mark (played by Zac) gets closer to his family in the hopes of returning to his former, older self. (Gawd, why? If it were me…)

Miss Tea truly thought this would be a dud and was glad Maxie 48 came with her, for fear of looking like a cougar, or worse, a tween. But in all honesty, this film was pretty good! Miss Tea gives props to Zac for being able to imitate Matthew Perry’s character and mannerisms and heck, even his speech. Particularly entertaining was Zac’s adult BFF, the sci-fi collecting, peacock dressing, awkward wooing Ned Gold, played by Thomas Lennon (of Reno 911! fame as Lt. Jim Dangle). Michelle Trachtenberg (probably best known for, like, one Gossip Girl guest spot) and Alex White (a Disney recyclable – have you noticed that one kid appears on 4 different shows on the Disney network?) play his teenage-angst kids.

Overall, the movie was a lot better than my money’s worth (LOL) and both Miss Tea and Maxie 48 thoroughly enjoyed this flick. All the tweens will be happy. Good job Zac!

Just a warning: some parts may be found disturbing. Maxie 48 had to look away and Miss Tea got the shakes from the “almost” inter-family relationships…ugh, ga-roesss.

Thanks again to pubLiZity for the tix!!!

17 Again in theaters on Friday, April 17

http://www.17againmovie.com/

*For those unfamiliar with the term “cougar”, it’s a woman who dates considerably younger men. This is not an accurate description of Miss Tea. Well, not totally. I mean, how young are we talking…

Miss Tea Makes Her Own Food & Wine Week Schedule

This week was all about food and wine – Miss Tea could’ve planned out the week like a festival if she did enough research on it!

On Saturday (4/4/09), Miss Tea and friend, Bella Italiana, attended a wine seminar at Le Bernardin, hosted by sommelier Aldo Sohm. The topic of the seminar was “Differences Between Champagne, Prosecco, Cava and Sparkling Wines.” Definitely a useful course for Miss Tea on “How to Taste", noting the differences in color, aroma and yes, even the size of those cute bubbles! Miss Tea loved the set up – a U-shaped table for 22 with eight numbered glasses clearly marked at each place setting, along with a seminar pamphlet.

Miss Tea took plenty of notes for future reference. You never know when information like this could come in handy, perhaps at some benefit gala or society brunch or romantic date to fill the lull in conversation…but I digress.

Both Bella Italiana and Miss Tea learned that the handsome Aldo Sohm was from Austria (love his accent). Bella Italiana remarked that he looked more my age than hers, and that Miss Tea should “go for it.” Sigh. As Miss Tea is still single, clearly she has no idea how to “go for it” and managed a timid handshake and a smile instead.

After the seminar, we had a few canapés which were delish! We thanked Aldo for his time and went on our merry way. Yes, Miss Tea did leave Le Bernardin just a tad tipsy. Incidentally, congratulations to Aldo Sohm on his nomination for the Outstanding Wine Service Award 2009 by the James Beard Foundation. Clink-clink!

For dinner, Miss Tea and Bella Italiana went to Estiatorio Milos, a seafood restaurant in Midtown. It’s been awhile, but yes, Miss Tea came back to Milos…only to find the service has slightly been downgraded. She did not appreciate being seated in the corner of the restaurant right next to the bar, nor having to track down a server to order her meal after waiting for 40 minutes. Shambles. If the food wasn’t so enticing, Miss Tea would have walked out (and probably embarrass poor Bella Italiana).

The prix-fixe menu is also a plus, served from 5:00pm – 6:30pm and from 10:00pm – 11:45pm. Miss Tea dined on the grilled octopus, followed by a plate of Greek salad, then the main course of grilled Loup de Mer (a fish from the island of Kephalonia, similar to sea bass) and for dessert, Karidopita, a walnut cake with vanilla ice cream. All this, accompanied by a glass (or two) of the 2008 Malagousia wine (Greek), from the “Mountichas Family” Avantis Estate, Evia. After a nice day of wonderful wine and food, and great company, Miss Tea needed some rest.

Le Bernardin
155 W. 51st St., New York, NY 10019 Between 6th & 7th Avenue
(212) 554-1515 www.le-bernardin.com

Estiatorio Milos
125 W. 55th St., New York, NY 10019 nr. Sixth Ave.
(212) 245-7400 http://milos.ca/

On Wednesday (4/8/09), Miss Tea had the pleasure of meeting one of the newest chefs on the scene – Curtis Stone, Australian chef of the popular reality/cooking show titled, "Take Home Chef". He has released his latest cookbook “Relaxed Cooking” and was at William Sonoma in Chelsea for a booksigning and cooking demo. People Magazine voted him as one of the sexiest men alive and if you haven’t guessed yet, Miss Tea is fan of the sexy men, especially those who can cook. And to those sexy, cooking men who are single – Miss Tea is available.

Miss Tea read about Curtis’ appearance on his web site, www.curtisstone.com, and followed his schedule to NYC and William Sonoma. Luckily, Miss Tea was able to drag another friend, Natasha 98, to the event for moral support…and to humor Miss Tea as her photographer.

We were both pleasantly surprised to be served two tidbits from “Relaxed Cooking” while waiting on line for Curtis to appear. Everyone on line was served a veggie fritter and Eggplant dip with toasted pita bread. Very thoughtful, considering Curtis was late.

I love his accent. I love all accents!

At the event, Miss Tea got to introduce herself to Curtis, shake his hand, take a snug picture with him (he had to come close as Miss Tea is vertically challenged) and have her cookbook signed. Then Curtis asked Miss Tea to stick around for the cooking demo (didn’t know there was one), to which Miss Tea replied instantaneously “Sure!” Curtis could ask anything of Miss Tea and the answer will always be ‘yes’. You hear me Curtis?!

So Miss Tea and Natasha 98 waited (again) in front of the workspace diligently until Curtis was ready to cook, inconspicuously noshing on more pita bread and eggplant dip until the server took it away to serve the other people on line. Oops!

Okay, it’s babaganoush – come on, we all know that’s what it is. Sorry Curtis, that eggplant dip ain’t new.

When Curtis started his demo, he entertained the audience, cracking a few jokes that put everyone at ease – he is quite charismatic. Of course, he had a “very bad cook” helping him (chosen from the audience) as his sous-chef. No joke, she really was bad and didn’t even know how to slice a pickle. Then people got to shout out questions to him, including Miss Tea: Do you plan to open any restaurants in the States?

Curtis: If I did, it would probably be somewhere in LA because I would want to be around so that I could be at the restaurant. Although, I’ve thought about looking for place here in Manhattan. I like it here.

Mind you, Miss Tea is paraphrasing as her memory has gone shoddy in her thirties. And yes, Miss Tea and Curtis are exactly the same age, in case you were wondering.

One unsightly girl with a pancake layer of makeup and uber-gratuitous cleavage stood directly in front of Curtis. Miss Tea does not condone the slutty and flirtatiously offensive. This girl was re-applying her makeup (ugh) and making loud comments about how Curtis is such a “hot chef” to a point that everyone else around was embarrassed for her. And Curtis did not appreciate her banter either, in fact he looked peeved and just started to ignore her altogether. Miss Tea was tempted to ask Curtis, “So how do you handle brazen women who shamelessly throw themselves at you?” But that would’ve started a cat fight (which Miss Tea would’ve won) and Natasha 98 would’ve had to drag me out of the store.

Ladies, please be ladies no matter who you’re drooling over. Desperation is sooooo unattractive.

All in all, it was a lovely evening and Miss Tea left with a big smile on her face. A special shot-out to Natasha 98 for having to endure all this with me. Thank gawd she enjoyed it all.

Later that evening, Miss Tea sat down with a glass of wine (Bigi Orvieto Classico 2006 – a dry wine, great for cooking) and reviewed all her photos and videos from the event.

Miss Tea liked this week – thumbs up!