One of the difficult things (and the thing I like least) about this project is recruiting people to host and scheduling the weeks. It generally requires a certain amount of follow up and though I hand out plenty of nomad business cards, people rarely email me. You can’t blame them, really…wait, so you’re giving me a card so that I can email you so you can come live with me for a week…Right.
There are exceptions, though, and some people get very excited about the idea and actually email me. Anne (and Trevor) fall into that category. [If you do to, it’s thenycnomad@gmail.com] We met at a wedding of a friend (who is the first host of the new year!) over the summer. Anne mentioned that I was deemed an acceptable house guest when she realized I was drinking whiskey at the wedding reception.
Anyway, 3 months after the wedding I arrived at Anne and Trevor’s doorstep. I’d been really excited for this week because my friend Amy couldn’t stop talking about how great her friend Anne is, and specifically her cooking skills. I was also excited because I had a really good time my first trip to Greenpoint and wanted to check out some places I had missed the first time around. Although the idea is to stay in different neighborhoods, its fun and often most interesting to return to a neighborhood and see it through a different lens. And as I often say, its more about the people than the nabe. Everyone has different places they like to go, and just a few blocks can make a big difference.
Food was a highlight of this week. I ate at Lomzyniaka for $6 which gets you an excellent meat loaf plate that can feed a small family. We crossed the bridge into Long Island city for Brunch at Tournesol. Anne had mutual friends of ours over for roast chicken, brussel sprouts, and beet salad and you can see all of this on Youtube where Anne has become the latest Youtube sensation.
I was also fortunate enough to be there for the annual marathon brunch where about 20 friends came over pre-marathon. Deemed sous chef, I put the twist in bacon twists which is a recipe I am officially adopting.
Finally, I took Anne and Trevor, and a couple of friends to an Italian place called Anella that was excellent.
It was one of those weeks when I really integrated with my hosts. Those weeks can be the most difficult to actually move on. I met many of their friends, we went to the bowling alley (Trevor’s in a league), had beers at beerfest at Red Star, and went to a reading at WORD bookstore.
Anne and Trevor were awesome hosts – I miss them and I miss Greenpoint!
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