Back on the right track

Yes, I feel I am back to life, after a few difficult weeks.
I've been living an active lifestyle lately, going out quite a lotand balancing with a lot of climbing.

Jenny took me to the Jazz at Lincoln center, where we had the best seats in the auditorium, and I was able to meet Wynton Marsalis backstage and speak to him for a minute! Very classy jazz, with the Lincoln orchestra virtuosos and many guest star players.






I also went to one of my first NYC art exhibition opening, in the Meatpacking district. The major pieces of Japanese artist Shinjo Into were on display. I was surprised that people did not seem to care about the buddha statues and calligraphies, but were more there for the scene. It was great for people watching: models, hipsters, cool photographers etc.... I met Kaori and her friends there and we headed to Buddakan afterwards... Which is an even nicer restaurant than Megu, and affordable! I think I have a new favorite in NYC now...

Picture courtesy of the New York Times, how can you not be amazed by the main dining area?:




And, last but not least, Arnaud took us out for a low key birthday party at Fat Cat, a jazz club I hard heard of a lot in the West village. The place was yet another excellent discovery: huge cavernous room, lots of obscure microbreweries on tap (you all must know I'm a beer snob), tons of sofa to sit confortably listening to the live band, and games (chess, ping ping tables, billiards etc). We had a great night, and I even beat (almost) all of them at ping pong. Damn, a crazy Alskan guy showed up at our table and eventually won every game....

As Arnaud says, this city is infinite...

Facebook and restaurants

Sometimes I wonder if Facebook will kill my blog. It's much more practical nowadays to create posts in Facebook, add images, and all your friends get notified immediately.
Problem is: my blog's audience is not all on Facebook.
And also posting on Blogger is not that hard either. So I think I'll keep my blog for a while.
I may even turn it into a culinary blog. I've been to quite a few great restaurants and bars lately, mostly in Tribeca (where my office is for now) and Soho.
Unfortunately I have no talent for writing reviews and all I can say is "that was really good"... I'll never be able to live as a food critic :-)

Over the past weeks,

- My colleagues and I went to a weird small British restaurant in the West Village called Tea and Sympathy. Food was very exotic for me, but I would not say it was very tasty. It felt very strange to me that people would pay this range of prices (it's not cheap) for British food.
- Industria Argentina (Tribeca) has excellent uruguyan meat and subtle Mendoza Malbec to pair with.
- After the meat extravaganza, we went to the Brandy Libray (Tribeca), where we sipped high quality Single Malts seated in leather couches. Very classy.
- at Balthazar (Soho) I tasted Armagnac for the first time, with dessert. Very very French atmosphere. I was disapointed that they did not have Macon La Roche Vineuse on their wine list. When I visited the winery in December they told me Balthazar was their largest US buyer.
- I loved the hip, young atmosphere at Novecento (Soho), and the beef salad, paired with another good Argentinian Malbec.
- Sushi Samba (Village) reminded me a little about Nobu: loud music, trendy atmosphere and excellent service. Plates were beautifully aranged and the Pisco sour felt authentic (at least as what I had in Chile).
- I went again to my 2 favorite wine bars: Vino Vino in Tribeca (very upscale and classy, excellent choice of cheese), and Louis 649 in the East village (go for the Live jazz!)

Gastronomic week

I am back to NYC, after spending a very nice week in France. I went there for Elise's PhD thesis defense and graduation (she defended in English with a lot of talent, and I am proud that she's now officially a doctor), and also met plenty of friends and family.

I saw Paris for the first time in 3 years, found it quiet and clean! This is what happens when you stay too long in Manhattan!

I'm getting used to traveling with crutches now, I have overall spent 4 long flights and 2 rides in the TGV train now.
Indeed, I still have a fake cast (that stupid plastic boot), even though I have spent almost 7 weeks with it since I broke my ankle. The good news is that I'm starting to walk on it. But it's painful... I have my first physiotherapy session tomorrow, again a new experience in my life (after first major climbing fall, first visit at the ER, first visit to a surgeon, first CATscan etc...)

Back in Lyon, I enjoyed so many good and fancy restaurants!!! I don't even remember all the delicious meals I was served.

- Alex, Bd des Brotteaux
- L'Est, chez Bocuse, old Brotteaux train station
- Le Gabion, fish restaurant: New York style decor, very reasonable prices....


- La Maison Villemanzy, Croix Rousse slopes


A memorable gastronomic week... I shall be back visiting soon!!