Carole Terwilliger Meyers's Blog, page 35

Good Eats: Trastevere, Santa Monica, California

Trastevere   1360 Third Street Promenade, (310) 319-1985.  If you close your eyes, this trattoria-pizzeria feels so Italian that you might think you are in Italy.  However, part of the fun here is watching the street parade, so seat yourself outside in good weather, open up those eyes, and enjoy the show.  You might even spot a star.  Inside, high ceilings and cloth-covered tables provide an equally inviting setting.  After ordering, a complimentary basket of bread and some tasty chopped olive spread appears.  Well-priced lunch specials include pastas, sandwiches, and pizzas.  My favorites on the regular menu are a really good eggplant-tomato pasta sauce on linguini.  I have my eye on pasta al salmone for next time, and many veggie options are available.  
exterior of Trastevere in Santa Monica, California
bread and olive spread at Trastevere in Santa Monica, California
linguine with shrimp lunch plate at Trastevere in Santa Monica, California
vegetarian pasta lunch plate at Trastevere in Santa Monica, California
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images ©2016 Carole Terwilliger Meyers
 

Good Eats: Wild Note Café, Solana Beach, California

Wild Note Café   143 S. Cedros Ave., (858) 720-9000.  L-D daily; $$.  A large lunch menu gives you the choice of salads, sandwiches, sliders, burgers, and Mexican items.  I can vouch for both the taco salad and the hand-carved turkey sandwich (made with house-roasted turkey and big enough to share).  Seating is available in a pleasant inside dining room as well as outside on a porch that is perfect on warm days.  In the evening, music acts are booked into the Belly Up showroom in back.   






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images ©2016 Carole Terwilliger Meyers
 

Good Eats: 18th Street Coffeehouse, Santa Monica, California

18th Street Coffeehouse  1725 Broadway/18th St., (310) 264-0662.  Daily 7am-6:30pm.  Rumored to be owned by Bob Dylan (no one wants to verify that), this cozy coffeehouse features a pleasant decor that includes broken-tile tabletops, booths, and an array of art.  When the weather is nice, an open-air courtyard is particularly inviting.  Choose from coffees and sweets—perhaps an iced coffee and a miniature lemon Bundt cake like I enjoyed.  As might be expected if the rumor is true, the background music is exceptional.  No Wi-Fi is provided and cell phones are discouraged, but many individuals camp out with their laptops.  Claims to fame include being the setting for episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (“Denise Handicapped,” Season 7, 2009) and “Modern Family” (“Rash Decisions,” Season 6).  Free parking is available in an adjacent alley.  









early-on student ticket to see Bob Dylan concert at UCLA

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images ©2016 Carole Terwilliger Meyers
 

Good Eats: Zabar's, NYC

Zabar's   2245 Broadway/80th St., Upper West Side, (800) 697-6301, (212) 496-1234.  This famous market is filled to the rafters with good stuff.  Aisles are narrow, and rubbing shoulders with the other customers is de rigueur.  Special counters are devoted to cheese, fish, and meat, plus there are deli items galore.  The bagels are great, as is most everything.  Don’t miss going upstairs to peruse the vast selection of kitchen items.  I always wind up buying some small items I didn’t realize I needed—most recently a multi-colored set of measuring spoons and a tiny garlic grater—and this is where I bought my Bagel Biter, a much-loved and -used souvenir.  Speaking of which, you will also find well-priced souvenirs with the Zabar logo—coffee mugs, pot holders, kitchen towels—as well as a 3-D New York cutting board. 











 
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images ©2016 Carole Terwilliger Meyers
 

Good Eats: Persepolis, NYC

Persepolis   1407 2nd Ave./73rd St., Upper East Side, (212) 535-1100.  It is fun here to make a meal of appetizers and salads.  The flavorful Persian food includes Eggplant Mirza (a roasted puree with mint, tomato, garlic, and yogurt), refreshing Yogurt & Shallots, and Shirazi Salad (chopped cucumber, tomato, and parsley).  Since I was with a vegan I shared Khorest Ghormeh Sabzi (a green vegetable and red bean stew) and Khorest Gaimeh Badamjan (a split pea, eggplant, and tomato stew).  But what I really wanted was the Khorest Fesenjan (chicken with pomegranate and walnuts).  However, our veggie items were served over a sour cherry rice and a dill-fava bean rice and were very tasty.  I was here for a late lunch, so there weren’t many people dining then, but a man seated nearby was someone I recognize from PBS—but darned if I can remember his name or role, though I think it was a mystery.


Eggplant Mirza

Shirazi Salad

sour cherry rice and dill-fava bean rices

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images ©2016 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Sights to See + Good Eats: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NYC

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum   1071 5th Ave./89th St., 212 423 3500.  14 F–Wed 10–5:45, Sat 10–7:45, closed Thurs.  09 $18, 65+ $15, under 12 free, audio tours free.  NYC’s only building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, this structure is shaped like a flattened corkscrew.  The museum specializes in Modern art.  Take the elevator to the top and walk down, viewing the special exhibits displayed in descending circles.  Several smaller rooms on levels 2 and 3 hold the permanent collection, and level 5 usually presents a special show.


A cafe with a view of Central Park, which is just across the street, serves light snacks.

Note that everyone seems to head to a museum when it rains or snows.  Expect long lines then, sometimes situated outside the building.



Great lunch spots abound in this area. 
●Just on the next block in the Neue Galerie is Viennese Cafe Sabarsky. 
●Adjacent to that in the Church of the Heavenly Rest is the Heavenly Rest Stop by Bluestone Lane cafe.  Tucked in a former chapel under the limestone arches, this super-popular café is very small and so there is often a wait.  In good weather, seating spreads out onto a patio in front facing Central Park. 
●And a few blocks away, a branch of the fabulous Sarabeth’s awaits with its delicious pastries and all-day breakfast menu.  More about Sarabeth’s.   




More things to do in NYC.

More travel articles to inspire you and help you plan some spectacular getaways.

images ©2016 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Sights to See: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NYC

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum   1071 5th Ave./89th St., 212 423 3500.  14 F–Wed 10–5:45, Sat 10–7:45, closed Thurs.  09 $18, 65+ $15, under 12 free, audio tours free.  NYC’s only building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, this structure is shaped like a flattened corkscrew.  The museum specializes in Modern art.  Take the elevator to the top and walk down, viewing the special exhibits displayed in descending circles.  Several smaller rooms on levels 2 and 3 hold the permanent collection, and level 5 usually presents a special show.


A cafe with a view of Central Park, which is just across the street, serves light snacks.

Note that everyone seems to head to a museum when it rains or snows.  Expect long lines then, sometimes situated outside the building.



Great lunch spots abound in this area. 
●Just on the next block in the Neue Galerie is Viennese Cafe Sabarsky. 
●Adjacent to that in the Church of the Heavenly Rest is the Heavenly Rest Stop by Bluestone Lane cafe.  Tucked in a former chapel under the limestone arches, this super-popular café is very small and so there is often a wait.  In good weather, seating spreads out onto a patio in front facing Central Park. 
●And a few blocks away, a branch of the fabulous Sarabeth’s awaits with its delicious pastries and all-day breakfast menu.  More about Sarabeth’s.   




More things to do in NYC.

More travel articles to inspire you and help you plan some spectacular getaways.

images ©2016 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Good Eats: Hummus Place, NYC

Hummus Place   305 Amsterdam Ave./74th, (212) 799-3335.  L-D daily.  Delicious Israeli food is served up in this tiny subterranean spot and it includes even the famous attitude.



Several different kinds of hummus are on the menu—if you are indecisive you can order a sampling of them—but Masabacha, made with whole chick peas remains my favorite.  Fava Hummus, made with fava beans and topped with a hard-boiled egg is probably the most unusual.  All are served with really good plump housemade pitas.  

A falafel sandwich topped with fries and za’atar pizza are also options, 

and side dishes are especially good, among them a beet salad, stuffed grape leaves, Labane cheese, roasted eggplant, and olives and pickles. 


Housemade lemonade, mint ice tea, and fresh veggie juice are available along with beer.  Turkish coffee is on hand to revive you and mint tea to refresh you, but sadly, the baklava can be soggy.  It is useful to know that tasty and nutritious hummus satisfies your appetite without spiking your blood glucose levels, and it is also low in calories.  Most items on the menu are vegan, and many are gluten-free.  

 


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images ©2016 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Sights to See and Good Eats: Time Warner Center/The Shops at Columbus Circle and Bouchon Bakery, NYC

Time Warner Center/ The Shops at Columbus Circle   10 Columbus Circle, (212) 823-6300.  Shopping here is primo, there is a gigantic Whole Foods in the basement, and you can spend the night at the swanky Mandarin Oriental hotel.  And let’s not overlook the opportunity to browse the larger-than-life plump "Adam" and "Eve" bronze sculptures by artist Fernando Botero.


 
"Adam" bronze sculpture by artist Fernando Botero
"Eve" bronze sculpture by artist Fernando Botero
But my main reason to come here is to eat at:
● Bouchon Bakery   (212) 823-9366.  M-Sat 8am-9pm, Sun 8am-7pm.  I’m familiar with this exceptional bakery from a visit to the original in the tiny town of Yountville in California’s Wine Country, where celebrity chef Thomas Keller has his original restaurant, The French Laundry.  Here I enjoyed a really good almond croissant (if you love almond croissants you probably know how many places don’t get it right).  It was made even tastier by the view of Columbus Circle I snagged from my chair at a high table overlooking the scene. 




More things to do in NYC.

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images ©2016 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Great Sleeps: Vasanti Seminyak Resort Bali, Bali, Indonesia

Vasanti Seminyak Resort Bali   Jl Petitenget Gg Cendrawasih No. 99 DS, North Kuta, Badung, Bali 80361, +62 361 8466 966.  121 rooms; 4 stories.  Pool; fitness room; full-service spa.  Breakfast buffet included; restaurant; 2 bars.  Free shuttle service via open-air buggy to shopping, restaurants, and clubs in nearby Seminyak area, as well as to Batu Belig Beach and beach club.  Newly built in 2012 and located just 45 minutes from the airport and a few minutes from shopping and restaurants, this clean-lined, contemporary hotel features a Balinese style.  It sits in a quiet neighborhood amid what formerly was a rice field, and the remaining field around the exterior is still farmed--giving the hotel a pleasant rural feel.  Guests often return to the spacious open-air lobby with a musician playing traditional music from Bali or Borneo, and a gaggle of bellboys are anxious to assist and eager to speak in English.  An expansive breakfast buffet with particularly tasty pastries, fruit, and local noodles is complimentary to all guests and served in the open-air Devali Restaurant, which also serves lunch and dinner.  Beautiful intricately-woven silk panels line the guest room wall acting as a headboard, and comfortable king-size beds are made up with two light duvets (one for each side) and white cotton linens.  Marble-tiled bathrooms have a glassed-in shower separate from the bathtub and feature a large glass window with a view into the bedroom and beyond to the view outside; a pull-down shade permits privacy.  All rooms have a balcony.  














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images ©2016 Carole Terwilliger Meyers