Day Off

I definitely don't DESERVE a day off, but my school schedule right now is only T/Th/F so today was a free day. I spent the morning creating my culinary resume, which, as you can imagine was a little sparse. Too bad it has to be on paper. I am also going to print out some photos of my desserts and bring that with me, 'cuz that's my REAL CULINARY RESUME! My reciprocity application is still sitting at the New York Board of Pharmacy, so I decided that I'm going to go out and try to find another job. One that's much more fun! There are 2 fantastic bakeries in town looking for help and the program director has agreed to look over my resume and help me get it ready. (He also told me yesterday that he thinks that I will be one of the school's "distinguished alumni." He said that he "sees great things in my future!") YAY! If you want to check out the bakeries online, they are www.tisserie.com and www.davidbouley.com (follow links to the Bakery/Market). I sampled desserts at each place and they were both amazing. I like the atmosphere of Bouley Bakery a little better (it's not as "bustling"), but Tisserie seems to be running an extremely successful operation (which definitely would be a great thing to observe)! One of the greatest things about New York is the abundance of greenmarkets. Union Square holds one of the city's largest, on M/W/F/Sa. Farmers from surrounding areas bring their fresh produce, cheese, meat, flowers, etc. and set up booths in the square. Not only can you buy the freshest foods, but they are cheap (and in New York, that's really something!) As a side note, you can regularly spot some of the city's top chefs, as many of them do their shopping at the market. I brought a canvas bag with me and purchased a big bag of apples, some lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and broccoli, all for about $6. Tomatoes were $0.75/pound and apples were $1.00/bag. What a steal! I also walked around Union Square, then south to the East Village. The East Village is a very curious, interesting place. Tons of ethnic restaurants and the smell of incense is everywhere. It was nice, very laid back. I also went to all of the bakeries in the East Village, sampling a cannoli from one of New York's oldest Italian bakeries (Veniero's - www.venierospastry.com), and took a tour through Max Brenner (www.maxbrenner.com) Chocolate By the Bald Man. It is a restaurant of only chocolate. What a great place for lunch, huh?!?! (I didn't eat there, but sampled a few of their little chocolate/coconut waffle balls.) At the remainder of the bakeries, I looked and smelled only. There is only so much sweet stuff a person can eat in one day! Here are some pictures from the adventure.