Shop Spotlight - British Cream Tea

I've just discovered a fantastic shop called British Cream Tea located in Liverpool, UK, that is just the place for Anglophiles like me. I laughed out loud looking at all of the felt English food that she makes with love "and a hint of hunger". Cornettos, fish fingers, lollies, scotch eggs, Cornish pasties, Blackpool Rock...they're all here, and more. I've spent many hours watching British TV and am always planning my next trip over there to visit friends, so I felt a huge wave of nostalgia looking at her witty items. And a hint of hunger as well. They'd make a great gift for an expatriate, international foodie, or anyone in love with British culture!

On The Loisaida

Talk about contrasts!

I love the Hebrew-styled choice of lettering for this quiet little apartment building.


For people not familiar with the term, "Loisaidia" is a local nickname for the "Lower East Side", spoken with a Spanish accent.

I happened to be on the Lower East Side on Saturday morning (only an interview could get me out and down there that early on a weekend) before the snow hit and managed a few photos before the camera battery gave out from the cold. It's been a couple of years since I actively shopped there; a few stores endure from days of old, and although the street looks the same, it really has changed drastically. The many fabric places are mostly gone, replaced by chic boutiques and bars, though the luggage and mens-wear sellers are still there.


I used to shop at Beckenstein's Fabrics. There were two shops on either side of Orchard Street. The painted facade still looks as fresh as ever even though the store is long gone, and the men's store opposite, stocking woolen suit and coat fabrics, still sports its sign even though it too has closed. (The store has moved to West 39th street in the garment district) These shops were kind of drab and depressing to trawl through, and the location was a long way from the costume shops I worked for as a shopper, but I miss them for their variety now. The resources for fabrics have sharply diminished over the years; I have a swatchbox of fabrics that I collected many years ago and who knows when I'll ever see materials like those again. In those days it was no trouble to find novelty brocades from France, interesting sheer fabrics and velvets, metallics and intricate trimmings, and raw silks in so many varieties that one was dizzy.

I did a movie a few years ago, and we filmed at a few locations in the city that have since shuttered, like Lismore Hosiery, which had been there for about 70 years. Here's a great blog post about the closing of Lismore Hosiery from one of my favorite places on the web, The Sartorialist (see sidebar for places to visit). The area will never lose its tenement character (I hope) and I hope that developers leave it alone to evolve as it may. Thank God Ben Freedman's is still here - I love the old-fashioned clothing that one can buy for a reasonable price. I gave a Member's Only-style jacket from the film to the assistant cameraman after the shoot that I'd bought there for $20 - he was delirious with glee. That's the kind of stuff you'll find there alongside more fashionable styles - inexpensive dress shirts and belts, vests, and all kinds of haberdashery that you thought didn't exist anymore.



Naturally, I had to stop into my favorite Jewish food station, Russ and Daughters, where I purchased a couple of fun splurges. I've never been a fan of some of the delicacies that I grew up looking at - corned beef, gefilte fish, chopped liver, among others....but I do have an unhealthy love of smoked salmon for all of its salty goodness. That will explain these pictures - the orange color to me glows with the translucency of the finest jewels. I am always amused by the idea of "leftover" smoked salmon. Where? At the bris of a nephew, a huge platter of smoked salmon tortured me all morning long. Which was more delectable - the lox or the pink-cheeked, adorable 8 day-old baby? :O



The caviar cream cheese is pretty fabulous - if you have a salt tooth and enjoy caviar. :)


And what's life without a little dessert?

Foggy Christmas Eve

I was on my way to a party in my nabe on Christmas Eve and was shocked by the presence of heavy fog - something I haven't seen up here. The Fog just stayed in the park, as it had risen up from the river - the Hudson River behind Inwood Hill Park. It was eerie and quite beautiful, and thanks to the lamplight, I was able to get some decent pictures. This one's a little blurry but it was the best one. We still had some snow left in the park, but as it was warm, it was melting fast, so the ground was slick and that added so much atmosphere. During my first trip to London in summer many years ago, we had an incredible pea-souper one night and it was very Ripper-esque.

The party was real change of pace as I haven't been to one locally for some time. Our hosts are lovely folks and their dog was most well-behaved, even while sitting near the pâté, without making a dive for it.

Greenmarket Saturday

I was out bright and very early (early for ME), as the market was opening, around seven AM (!) so I could a) grab the best produce, and b) take some pictures. It was well worth the effort, as the goods were spectacular-looking...food just photographs so brilliantly. I have so many pictures that I don't think I can post them all here, but they're at my Flickr space for a complete viewing. The link will take you to the slideshow of the Greenmarket Pix that I've taken since September. I missed the market last weekend, but tomatoes continue to be prime, the apples look great (wish I liked them) and the cauliflower varieties I think are the stars of the week. The strange looking green vegetable is a Romanesca cauliflower, a cross between broccoli and cauliflower, that I'll try next week. I did buy some purple cauliflower, which I am told tastes just like the white variety.

The lady in the orange sweatshirt is my fabulous neighbor Ruby, who is a Renaissance woman - knitter, chef, fishing enthusiast and market-vendor. She is selling divine milk from Thistle Farms - you have to get there very early to snag the chocolate milk, which is extraordinary.

Duane is our very cheerful honey-and-candle-vendor. It was so early that he hadn't yet unpacked the candles, which was a shame as far as my pictures fared. There are traditional beeswax tapers but also angels and other molded shapes that would make great gifts.

The pumpkins and gourds are also pretty spectacular, and I'm loving the harvest display that was created for maximum seasonal decoration. Enjoy the pictures...and visit your local Greenmarket, if there's one near you. This one is on Isham Street between Cooper and Seaman Avenues in Inwood, in upper Manhattan, just north of the A train's last stop on 207th street.