The last couple days of Mom and Dad’s visit to NYC were equally adventurous and filled with good eats. On Monday, I sent them to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, one of my favorite places to learn how to use your camera. Mom inherited my brother’s last digital camera, so she’s all about practicing. That evening, we met up at Otto, one of Mario Batali’s restaurants, for pizza, pasta and gelato.

 On Tuesday, Mom and Dad visited my office, met some of my coworkers, and joined me for lunch at Katz’s Deli. I’d never been, so I got to check another off my list. We were told to order the lean pastrami, and it was wonderful. I went back to work while they checked out the Tenement Museum, something I need to do this year. For their last dinner of this NYC visit, we went for Afghani food. Ariana is a great, quaint little joint up in Hell’s Kitchen, with a friendly proprietor and great food. Definitely one of my local favorites!

Otto’s seating system plays off of an Italian train station. Luckily there isn’t much of a wait on a Monday night.

Fortunately the food was yummy; unfortunately we forgot to photograph before we dug in. We shared mixed mushrooms, lentils, wine-poached figs, and an escarole and sunchoke salad to start. Then we moved on to pizza with proscuitto and arugula, which is pictured here.

And an order of the pasta a la norma (with eggplant and ricotta), which looked a lot prettier before I mixed it all together and we demolished it. Trust me, it’s delicious.

For dessert, I insisted they try the gelato, particularly Otto’s famous olive oil gelato. We also chose salted carmel and hazelnut stracciatella. All three were scrumptious! Doesn’t Mom look happy?

Outside the restaurant

Lunch at Katz’s Deli, a NY institution and must visit, although this would be my first time ever, after living here for five years.

Potato knish - kinda like a giant french fry. And just as tasty!

Matzo ball soup = Jewish comfort food

Lean pastrami on rye, classic Katz’s

Mom and Dad’s last night in NYC was spent at Ariana’s, a wonderful little Afghani restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen. We started with a boiled pumpkin appetizer with yogurt sauce and bread. For entrees, Mom had the lamb shishkebab with basmati rice, Dad ordered kabuli palow (beef shishkebab over rice with carrots, raisins, almonds, pistachios), and I chose the vegetarian combo of okra and eggplant, and I tried dough (yogurt drink with mint and cucumber). For dessert we shared an order of firnee (Afghani cardamom pudding), which was different in a good way. We almost licked the bowl. Yet another successful new cuisine for them, and some serious quality time for me with my parents.

I really enjoyed having my parents here. I got to share some of my NY life with them, exposed them to new places and new foods, and they got to meet a few of my friends and coworkers.  I really hope they come back for more next year (we still have to do the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island), and not wait another two years to return (hint, hint!). In the meantime, I’m guessing they’ll be checking for their local Korean BBQ hot spots before I get home for Christmas!

Thanks for visiting, Mom and Dad, love you guys!

One of the reasons Mom and Dad chose to come here in October was to see the foliage. It really is stunning when you catch it at its peak, all the reds, yellows, oranges, only nature could produce something so pretty. Since most of the trees in NYC were still green, on Sunday we hopped on Metro-North and headed to Cold Spring, one of my favorite hiking spots. There was some change going on up there, but not as much as I would have liked. I took Mom and Dad on a bit of a challenging hike to get to some views over the Hudson River. It was a fun little trip out of the city, with some gorgeous views, a cute little town, and a chance to practice photography skills.

Dad thought the old abandoned gas station was pretty cool.

Sleepy geese

This was my first time on this trail.

It lead us to a beach!

Then we crossed the road to my normal trail, which leads into this beautiful quarry.

Mommy and me

Mom and Dad made it to the first major lookout point…

For this view!

Another lovely view on our way back to town.

While we waited for the train back to Manhattan, we listened to the band playing in the gazebo near The Depot and watched this adorable couple dance.

The ride back to the city was a good time for a nap for Mom.

And Dad. He caught me taking his picture.

After a bit of rest at home, we met my friends Heather and Nicki at the Spotted Pig. Dad had seen a segment on Nightline about the best burgers in NYC, and he wanted to check it out. Luckily it’s one of our favorites too! I usually only have a bite or two, since I don’t eat much meat, but I always nibble on the shoestring fries with garlic and rosemary. This time I ordered the (also) famous gnudi and a side of beets and greens. After dinner we hung out at Nicki’s and had Billy’s cupcakes and tea. It was the perfect ending to another wonderful day!

One of the things I tried to do with Mom and Dad while they were visiting NY was introduce them to new cuisines. Food is a  huge part of my life, I love trying new ethnic foods, and just like SF, we have our share of goodies out here. So after taking them through the farmers market (one of my happiest places on earth!), I introduced them to Korean BBQ. We have a few good spots over in Koreatown, and Chung Moo Ro is one of my favorites. They have grills built into the tables, and they bring lots of banchan, which is one of the best parts of a Korean meal. We ordered pajun (Korean pancake) with veggies, seafood bibimbap, and kalbi. Everything was delicious, and Mom and Dad loved trying all the little side dishes. I’m pretty sure they’ll be requesting Korean BBQ next time we all go out to eat!

Kalbi on the grill, lettuce waiting, and lots of banchan and dipping sauces!

Mom getting ready to try her first bite.

Dad assembling his first kalbi.

Seafood bibimbap, one of my favorites.

The aftermath. We pretty much cleaned the table.