Drop into 2635 to wish them well and stay for cake. Imagine, a family business sill going strong after 40 years!

The view from our room at Wingate by Wyndham Midtown. Perfectly located within walking distance of so many attractions, the room was comfortable, the staff helpful and accommodating.

Since 1884 Bryant Park is situated behind the New York Public Library in midtown Manhattan, between 40th and 42nd Streets & Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Although I love Central Park and others in the east village, Bryant has been my favourite since D discovered it whilst roaming around and killing time while I attended a media seminar in Times Square.

The park itself invites is set up in a relaxing fashion with chairs available to pull together and face the sun.

The perimeter of the park is as picturesque as the park itself with many historic buildings that can be viewed through the trees.

The Bryant Park Grill features new American-style dining set against the stunning backdrop of Bryant Park. Seasonal patio and rooftop dining provide great views of the park. It is located behind the library, on Bryant Park’s Upper Terrace between 40th and 42nd Streets.

A bronze bust can be seen just to the west of the Bryant Memorial. Sculptor Jo Davidson created a bust of the American writer Gertrude Stein in 1923, now in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art. The Bryant Park bust is a cast made from the original.

The lawn is lush and green and the flowers change seasonally but Bryant Park is more than a garden. When you first discover it, nestled in its canyon of skyscrapers, it’s like an oasis–a refuge of peace and calm. But Bryant Park is a city park, full of historical monuments and urban amenities. The park is a social place where friends meet, eat lunch, chat, stroll, listen to music, work on the wireless network, or simply sit and think. Winter, summer, spring, and fall, New Yorkers love this park.

Six flower beds border Bryant Park’s Lawn to the north and south–two on the shady South side and three on the sunny North. They are planted seasonally with 100 species of woody shrubs and herbaceous perennials and 20,000 bulbs.

Today’s version of Bryant Park–with its gravel paths, green chairs, and jaunty le carrousel–is a recent invention. Though the space has been called Bryant Park since 1842, the park has had a checkered career. By 1979, it was the site of frequent muggings and drug deals and was avoided by knowledgeable New Yorkers. An almost ten-year effort, begun in 1980, transformed the park and its reputation.

Along the Northern and Southern sides of the park are twin promenades bordered by London plane trees (Platanus acerifolia). This is the same species found at the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris, and contributes a great deal to Bryant Park’s European feel. These trees can grow up to 120 feet in height.

At the western gateway to the park is the pink granite Josephine Shaw Lowell Memorial Fountain, dedicated in 1912. This was the city’s first public memorial dedicated to a woman. Lowell (1843-1905) was a social worker and founder of the Charity Organization Society. Charles Adams Platt designed the fountain.

Pétanque is a French game of “boules” (French for balls), where each player strives to throw metal balls as close as possible to a smaller wooden ball, named the “cochonnet”. Most games are played in teams, and are staged on the gravel area near the Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street corner. Tournaments are played on the gravel paths around the Bryant Park lawn. Game strategies include “pointing” when a player throws his ball to have it roll as close to the cochonnet as possible, and “shooting” when a player aims for the ball of an opponent, hoping to move him out of a favorable spot.

I get out my novel and perch my feet on an extra chair while D loves to linger over a New York newspaper. We pretend that we are New Yorkers.

Since Bryant Park s right next door to the New York Public Library, we often stop in there as well. When we first visited we found the reading room that looked like it was right out of “Ghostbusters”!

Sculptor Edward Clark Potter created the lions, which were carved in pink Tennessee marble by the Piccirilli brothers. They were later nicknamed “Patience” and “Fortitude” by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.

The New York Public Library building was designed by John Merven Carrère and Thomas Hastings. The magnificent Beaux-Arts building sits on a terrace that was designed to elevate the building above surrounding streets, to provide gathering places for people, and to provide a setting for public sculpture.

The fountains on either side of the library’s entrance are Truth” on the (South) side and “Beauty” on the (North). They are the works of the major American sculptor Frederick William MacMonnies.

Feeling a little peckish by this time, we find a New York deli called Ben’s. Read all about it here.

Kath’s quote: “The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding.”  ― John Updike

Love never fails.

Not far from our hotel in Midtown Manhattan last fall, we came upon Ben’s Kosher Deli. We hadn’t planned on filling up quite to the extent that we did. We had previously decided to eat rather light as we were catching a plane for a transatlantic journey later that evening.  We immediately sampled the cole slaw and two varieties of pickles-one traditional style and another just barely pickled.

The enormous menu was hard to sort through and make a decision as there were just too many choices.

We were not quite sure what we had gotten ourselves into but we were impressed by the ambience and settled in.

Before long our “server” appeared. I use the word “server” loosely as this fellow thought that he was there to entertain us more than provide us with food.

When we inquired what a “kreplach” was he said: “Have you ever tasted a wonton? Well then you have tasted kreplach”. We ended up ordering chicken noodle soup with extra kreplach.

D had his sights set on a pastrami sandwich that I enjoyed a taste of, but never could consumer an entire sandwich (or even half).

I went to one of my old favourites “fresh” cut fries. Actually they were made from baked potatoes likely left over from the day before. Those old baked potatoes may have been “freshly” cut but the potato wasn’t “fresh” to start. This was an old trick that D and I learned in our early restaurant days. We used left over baked potatoes and lightly fried them and then loaded them with cheese and bacon bits to make potato skins.

Back to our waiter for a minute. He asked us where we were from and immediately indicated that he had been to Winnipeg once in January and how much he loved it and the vibrant comedy scene. Turns out he knew a friend of ours who used to run a comedy club. When we caught up with that friend months later, he had some outrageous stories of his own to tell.

Kath’s quote: “New York is a gothic Roquefort.”-Salvador Dali

Love never fails.

In 1996, farmers planted the first biotech crop. I was recently invited to Winnipeg’s “Table for Twenty” event at the Kitchen Sync. We assembled to celebrate that first crop and engage in continued conversation about plant biotechnology and the benefits to both Canadian farmers and consumers.

I was very excited that Chef Gordon Bailey was our culinary host that evening. I first met Chef Bailey when I was a judge for a PEI Shellfish Festival held a couple of years ago in Winnipeg. He won the best seafood chowder contest (not the category that I judged) and represented Winnipeg at the national cook-off which he won as well. No surprise really as Chef Gord once owned a popular restaurant in PEI.

First up was a basket of potato/whole wheat buns with smoked rosemary butter. I can usually refrain from the temptations of the bread basket but not on this evening. I ate not one but two-they could have been my entire meal!

The salad course was a feast for the eyes-zucchini confit, vine ripened tomato, sweet corn relish, basil marinated tofu, cold-pressed canola oil and spring greens freshly plucked from the garden. The spritely flavours were a lovely way to commence the evening.

A rustic bowl of goodness was the main course. Braised chicken thighs and wild mushrooms were perched upon split pea and yellow pulses.

We concluded with a sparkling apple sorbet on a crunchy oat and chickpea biscuit accompanied by warm vanilla cream.

Even though the food was an absolute pleasure, the persons who rose to speak in between the courses and the engaging conversation around the table, made the evening even more enjoyable. Coming from a multi-generational agriculture and food family, I love the opportunity to connect with the people who are responsible for feeding my family and indeed the world.

At our table was Erin O’Hara one of our hosts from Crop Life Canada as well as Shawna Mathieson of the Prairie Oat Growers Association and my long time friend Ellen Pruden from the Manitoba Canola Growers. Farmers Rob & Shelly Bartley and Paul Orsak (who I have met on numerous occasions) really illuminated the advantages of bio-tech crops for me. Not only are crop yields higher but they are able to be kinder to the land they own in addition to being able to spend more time with their own families. Nita Sharda, a Dietician and fellow blogger, was an important part of the discussion indicating how she negates worries about bio-tech plants with her clients.

Of course there are also world-wide advantages of bio tech crops. For a more global perspective I found the Table for Twenty website a great resourse.

Kath’s quote: “Genetically modified organism foods are feared and hated by environmentalists and the public alike. Yet the scientific assessment of GMOs is remarkably different. Every major scientific evaluation of GMO technology has concluded that GMOs are safe for human consumption and are a benefit to the environment.”-Ramez Naam

Love never fails.

Ever since our son took his certified brewer training we have become a family of craft beer aficionados. I am the lone holdout, preferring my glass of red wine, for medicinal purposes of course!

As a result, we happen to know of Nicole Berry, the sole owner and operator of Peg Beer Company. I have watched the renovation process of the building, which was the former home of an indoor skate park, in the Exchange District by following Nicole on Twitter. Her birthing pains have paid off because the rustic/modern interior is a beautiful , sleek space perfect for the neighbourhood and a venture of this kind.

The evening we sampled the fare, the three beer drinkers in our group were duly impressed with the offerings, but they did indicate that they were really looking forward to the time when Peg Beer Company will be serving their own beer. We understand that this will be in the upcoming months.

But, to the food! The menu is compact which I appreciate. I prefer when a few items are done exceptionally well rather than a bevy of options that are perfunctory. In the case of the Peg Beer Company, less is indeed more.

We all chose flatbreads and the hits were the Roasted Beet and the Bacon and Egg. The former started with a smear of cream sauce and in addition to the delectable roasted beets, it was adorned with ham, mozzarella and a drizzling of dill oil.

The bacon & egg flatbread was my favourite, reminding me (and I mean this as the highest compliment) of by gone days when my family would order the thin crust Gondola pizza with bacon. Gondola’s sauce was used sparingly and the bacon was cooked on top of the cheese. I have searched for a duplication of this decadent taste and I think that I have found it. Peg Beer’s version starts with garlic butter, diced bacon, aged cheddar and a free run egg. Next time, I may even suggest that they hold the egg!

When I didn’t think the evening could get any better, I spotted Platz on the dessert menu. I am not a huge sweet lover but fruit platz (Mennonite coffee cake) is my favourite and this recipe is absolutely authentic.

Kath’s quote: “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer.”  ― Abraham Lincoln

Love never fails.