After letting the blog slip by the wayside in my transition between spain, san francisco and new york, i have decided to re-up it, as they say. I find living in new york as an outsider a vastly confusing experience. it's like a big country club to break into...figuring out the hip neighborhoods, what a certain street number signifies culturally, and don't even get me started on the surrounding burroughs. it's taken me two months to explore my own little niche in the west village, and still everyday i stumble upon a new wonder: adorable handcrafted jewelry store, all you can eat sushi, vegetarian bistro. there is something to be said for new york: it never ceases to amaze.
I'll admit the transition has been less than easy. displaced californians are more common than not, and there is a definitively shared nostalgia (fog, hills, mexican food). I won't even attempt to settle the eternal debate, which food city is best: ny or sf. obviously to each his own, there are inherent biases, but i will admit, the sheer volume of amazing food is astounding here, yet the produce leaves something to be desired.
I've been told that new york is the loneliest city in the world, especially in winter, and i don't doubt that it is true. I've taking it upon myself to use these lonely dark days to cook and buckle down on the studies. Studying food culture at nyu is incredible, i am meeting amazing people and have been opened up to an entire world that would otherwise be difficult to access. So for now, i will focus on my research. I am currently studying the lack of mexican food in new york, or more specifically, how the burrito is an iconic symbol of california and what it says about mexican/californian relations. My other area of research at the moment is the influence or effect of food on dreaming and other subconscious states.
Tonight i am cooking south african braii spiced chicken, roasted and then braised in a tomato curry sauce with red lentils. excited to bust open my smuggled spice packets from capetown...they have been sitting in my cabinet for the better part of the year, and actually survived the move from sf to nyc. Hopefully my survival through this journey will be equally successful, although i admit to a large amount of homesickness at the moment, and i could use some california sun. we shall see...
