as usual, we rolled out of bed before the sun rose to get to central park by 8am to pick up our bibs and pins for the nyrr poland spring marathon kickoff (5 mile). the weather was cool and crisp, not a sign of humidity, and the bleachers were partly set up for next weekend's marathon finish. we got a three-mile warm-up in and then slid into the back of a slower corral as not to disturb the organization of the runners who had lined up early.
the race course was a loop at the park, less harlem hill, in the clockwise direction. first mile was just trying to get in the proper pack of runners and it took a lot of shuffling around, a lot of stop-n-go running, but it wasn't terrible given the three sisters hills. legs were feeling warmed up around now, and we pushed the pace for the next four miles (yay for fresh legs - we had run just 6 miles all wk) and squeak out a 7:27 avg pace. getting sub 7:00 was my goal for the last mile and we almost did it for two!
well, one of the reasons was also because there was an annoying guy running in sandals who was basically stalking us for half the race. you'd hear the loud slapping of his sandals against the pavement and every time he saw us, he would look over (why??) and then push the pace again. around mile 5, he blew a nasty snotrocket which i think hit the back of kevin's calf, so kevin lost it and sped up to finish up the last mile far way from the sandal runner.
i guess in a way, the annoying sandal runner actually helped us reach the sub-7:00 goal :)
the hostess/waitress remembered us and seated us at the bar, where we met yuji, the chef and ramen master! i had the big eye tuna belly marinated in sake kasu, which is a leftover-byproduct from sake making, with the onsen tamago and a HUGE piece of uni. kevin got the mackerel marinated in sweet miso with the onsen tamago. the mackerel was sooooo buttery good, the softness melting right as it hit your tongue. the sides were similar to last weekend and overall the meal was just filling enough for a light breakfast.
looking forward to trying yuji's ramen next time!
then we had a nice walk home and got ready for our big lunch-dinner up in poncantico hills! it was my first time taking the metro north hudson line, which runs north from grand central and then veers west along the hudson river, stopping at towns along the the east side of the river. man is the view pretty! it actually reminded me of the running/cycling path along the tamsui river from taipei up to tamsui. and seeing all the towns on our way up, i could imagine how they must have thrived back in the early 1900s when the vanderbilts and the upper echelon society rode their yachts along the river and their guests arrived by train for parties all summer long.
the leaves were changing colors too! i realized that it was the first time i've really see the autumn foliage this year. glad we were able to catch a glimpse of it before the winter sets in.
we had a really nice time at the stone barns, browsing the farmer's market, gift shop, and cafe for some time before our reservation at 2:30. we picked up a couple gifts for lizzie & michael (our sublettors) and kevin picked up another coffee mug for his collection.
for our lunch-dinner, blue hill was really amazing! almost a bit magical? i didn't have any expectations, never having heard much about it other than you get fed very well and leave VERY FULL. we were seated side-by-side at a table by the window facing the main dining room and fussed over by 3-4 different servers. our centerpiece was so pretty - reddening leaves and green flowers in a birch-style white porcelain vase, it reminded me of sogetsu style ikebana.
over the next three hours, we were fed plate after plate of delicious vegetables and small dishes, an assortment of wines, and given a tour and seated inside the kitchen as well! it was a beautiful kitchen, alive with action and buzzing with +20 chefs. and SO clean! kevin commented on the stark contrast between the calm, private feel of the dining room versus the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. we were fed fresh warm ricotta cheese on warm potato bread with kosher salt! i'm not going to include too many food photos here, but i have a LOT.
after countless courses and stories behind the food and some of the interesting inner-workings of the farm (they make their own coal out of some of their compost, and they managed to bake an unedible fennel in fennel bread and make it tender, juicy, and tasty!), they surprised us with two courses of desserts as well as a special treat to celebrate our monthiversary! big thanks to daisy & bram for their wedding gift card which we used at blue hill.
here is a photo of the hudson river on our ride back to the city. kevin fell asleep :)
worst: annoying sandal runner blowing snotrockets. @_@
smile: we shared a taxi with an older, loquacious woman in town from fort worth on our way to the stone barns. she had sharp eyes and was following an intense itinerary of weeklong activities in the city and several daytrips outside of the city. i think both kevin and i thought that with her strong personality, she seemed much more the new yorker than us! lol.
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