"what shall we do today?"
Our usual Saturday entails West Village brunch, followed by a stroll around Soho, along with random knickknacks and errands, dinner and drinks with friends, and a late night movie(s).
But today was different. Because routine is good till it gets boring. And then you gotta switch it up!
"Have you been to the Blue Mountains?" he asked.
"Blue Mountains?" Clearly I had not.
"Ok, then let's go!"
I love spur of the moment adventures!
He pulled out his mountain biking gear and started to packed. I browsed through books and picked a few for the afternoon. But we couldn't leave without taking care of the most important part of our adventure: lunch! I've developed the slightest obsession with the nearby Murray's Cheese, both for the cheese and the desserts (Tumbador sweets, their milkshakes, a solid selection ice creams, and chocolates to satisfy all whims). After reading Carey's post on their new sandwich bar last week, it seemed only fit to pack Murray's picnic sandwiches for lunch.
We strolled down to Murray's and picked out sandwiches from their panini menu..."The Great Cabot Roast" with Cabot clothbound cheddar, caramelized onions and house-roasted beef for him...
...and the artichoke loaded "Delicate Flower" for myself. We completed the meal with jalapeno slaw and garlic dill pickles. Two bags of dill and jalapeno chips and Gus' sodas in grapefruit and valencia orange on the side :)
With the picnic basket set to go, Zubair went to pick up his car, while I stopped in at Amy's Bread for something sweet to eat on the drive over. He requested brioche, one of the few sweets I had not yet made my way around to try at Amy's.
And golly, I've been missing out! My favourite Amy's Bread item to this day is the Irish soda bread, but this almond brioche comes a close second. Thick-sliced brioche is smothered in marizpan and slivered almonds, then baked a golden brown. Like an almond croissant, only done with brioche! The flavours are just awesome, though unforgivingly dense and heavy in the belly.
Between bites of brioche, we drove up to Peekskill, an hour north of the city. My time on the east coast is so very centered in Manhattan, and it's only once or twice a year that I venture out to other cities like Boston, DC, and Philly. I visited Montreal once last year, but aside from that, my time is split between Manhattan and bi-yearly trips home to Hawai'i. So while weekends upstate might be common for a lot of people here, it's really quite a trip for me, so you can imagine how excited I was! I ought to travel more.
Here we are at Blue Mountain! So pretty, isn't it? There were not many people around, save for a few families...
...and some men fishing.
It was nice to feel space...there was so much rooooom, I almost didn't know what to do with myself!
Except...relax, you know? ;)
But first we needed to eat! I picked a lovely spot near the late, and set out our lunch.
This was the second time I've used this picnic basket (first was for Zubair's birthday picnic), and I intend to put it to good use this summer! I intended to lay out the picnic blanket on the grass, but was worried the ducks would venture to close to the food...
...those ducks weren't shy in the least! We ended up organizing everything on a lake facing bench.
Post-lunch, Zubair changed into biking gear for his ride up the mountain, while I lazied back and tucked away the afternoon with books. I've never been the biking type, walking - yes, but biking - not so much. I found myself a small table on the other side of the lake and dozed off. It was so peaceful with no people around.
This is the beginning of the bike trail up Blue Mountain. Oh! And there's my picnic basket on the bottom right. Forgot to move it for the photo, heheh.
After he returned from the ride, we simply did nothing for a while. And how good it felt! To do absolutely nothing. Except sit and lie down (occasionally brushing off a stray bug ;) We left the Blue Mountains early evening, driving our way through Tarrytown and then Sleepy Hollow.
Upon entering Dobbs Ferry, Zubair turned into the parking lot of Half Moon, a restaurant he had been to once before. We sat at an outside table with front row views of the Hudson - it was perfect.
The ocean views made me miss Hawai'i for just a second - how easily we take the water for granted in Hawai'i! I'll have to remind myself that on the next trip home. Ocean views + drinks + a full day of utter relaxation...there's little more to desire.
But we couldn't make do without food, of course! ;) We shared an order of spicy calamari...
...and the house, "Half Moon" burger. They kindly split the large burger into two upon request, and each half was still pretty hefty. The burger is paired with spicy aji amarillo sauce, tomato salsa, frisee & pickled cucumber. Fries and coleslaw on the side.
I spotted bread pudding on the menu and couldn't leave without it. The custard soaked bread, served warm, layered sliced bananas and plenty of walnuts. To finish - vanilla ice cream and drizzles of chocolate.
We drove back to the city soon after, and it was about 11pm when we arrived home. Our timing was perfect because it just started to drizzle on the walk from the car to the apartment...by the time we got behind closed doors, there was thunder and lighting! My plans for finishing the night with a few paddles of L'arte del Gelato was out the question in that weather, but no matters, for hot tea and a movie is a more than perfect substitute.
Happy Monday! ^_^
Murray's Cheese
254 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 243-3289
Half Moon
1 High Street
Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522
(914) 693-4130
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