Posts Tagged ‘Food’
The East Village
Fuji X100 | 1/300 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400 (view large)
Sunday morning in the East Village. I always advocate getting up as early as possible to start a photo walk. The light is beautiful in the morning, and the streets are a lot less busy, even in New York.
Fuji X100 | 1/250 sec, f/5, ISO 200
Fuji X100 | 1/75 sec, f/2, ISO 200
Bridget was tired, but supportive of our early morning walk. Thanks honey.
Fuji X100 | 1/300 sec, f/5, ISO 200
Fuji X100 | 1/400 sec, f/7.1, ISO 800
Fuji X100 | 1/1,000 sec, f/2, ISO 200
Fuji X100 | 1/280 sec, f/4.5, ISO 800
Bikes! There are bicycles everywhere in New York, and the East Village is certainly no exception. What I love is that they’re all beaters. Some are just left to rust and decay out in the street, making for great photographic subjects:
Fuji X100 | 1/600 sec, f/2, ISO 400
Fuji X100 | 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800
Fuji X100 | 1/750 sec, f/2, ISO 200
Fuji X100 | 1/600 sec, f/2, ISO 200
Fuji X100 | 1/1,000 sec, f/2, ISO 200
Fuji X100 | 1/600 sec, f/9, ISO 800
Now that is a cool little bike. Would have loved to have one of those when I was a kid.
Fuji X100 | 1/1,000 sec, f/2, ISO 200
There was a downside to getting here so early in the morning, however. The wife was really into seeing the little gardens located throughout the neighborhood. Most of them weren’t open until much later, however, so we had to admire them behind locked gates. Squeezed my lens through narrow bars to get these:
Fuji X100 | 1/340 sec, f/5, ISO 800
Fuji X100 | 1/750 sec, f/2, ISO 400
Fuji X100 | 1/900 sec, f/2, ISO 400
Fuji X100 | 1/180 sec, f/3.2, ISO 400
Fuji X100 | 1/950 sec, f/2, ISO 400
My cousin Josh came along. That’s an adapted 50mm f/1.4D Nikkor lens on an Olympus EPL-2 he’s holding. Really nice combo.
Fuji X100 | 1/200 sec, f/3.2, ISO 800
Fuji X100 | 1/300 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800
Fuji X100 | 1/450 sec, f/6.4, ISO 400
Fuji X100 | 1/200 sec, f/3.6, ISO 200
Fuji X100 | 1/300 sec, f/4.5, ISO 400
The light was great and the gardens were beautiful bla bla bla. You wanna know the real reason we came to this neighborhood? Coffee.
Abraço is a tiny coffee bar nestled in the East Village. When I say tiny, I mean it. You could drive right by and not even know it’s there, and once you’re inside, you could literally stand in one place and have arm’s-length access to the entire cafe. I’ve had enough just seeing pictures of the place on blogs like this one. I needed to try it myself!
Fuji X100 | 1/450 sec, f/6.4, ISO 800
The coziness factor of this shop makes for easy conversation over a cup of coffee and/or artisan pastry. Chatted with the locals, took pictures, just chilled out. No rush, it’s Sunday.
Fuji X100 | 1/1,200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800
Fuji X100 | 1/60 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1250
Fuji X100 | 1/350 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400
Meet the cortado. Freshly extracted espresso with just the right amount of steamed milk and foam in my opinion. Not to be confused with a macchiato, it’s perhaps more similar to a cappuccino, but smaller. Enough milk to take the edge off the brew’s acidity while still kicking you in the pants with just the right amount of strength. The flavor was amazing, but it was the texture that was blowing my mind.
Fuji X100 | 1/125 sec, f/8, ISO 200
I’m normally a pretty slow coffee drinker, but I was going though this cortado like a crazy coffee-drunkard. I didn’t want the experience to end.
So I ordered a second one:
Below left is some kind of sparkly, honey-something or other, I forget….bagh who cares, it’s all about the cortado. This stuff gives my local favorite espresso at Four Barrel a pretty good run for it’s money.
Fuji X100 | 1/210 sec, f/4, ISO 400
These are the kinds of experiences I like to have when I travel. Mingling with the locals, photographing neighborhoods apart from the tourist areas. Areas (and COFFEE) like this make me miss New York.
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All Images: Fuji X100, Provia Film Sim (JPEG output)
The One Reason Why I’m a Morning Person
Fuji X100 | 1/60 sec, f/4, ISO 1250
This is definitely what I call starting the morning right. Waking up extra early for the sole purpose of chilling at Four Barrel over a cappuccino? Worth it:
For me, coming here during the week means coming when the shop opens. People trickle in here and there, but it’s certainly not busy.
Later in the morning, however, Four Barrel is bustling. The pour-over coffee station opens up, and people pile in to get their fill of individually brewed cups of coffee. After grabbing my own cup, I head out side to hang out with Suki and Bridge at the public “parklet.” We sip away while watching the Valencia street traffic whiz by.
I’m not a morning person at all actually. I just really, really love coffee.
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Early Morning Images: Fuji X100 | Film Sim: ASTIA (JPEG output)
Late Morning Images: Fuji X100 | Film Sim: Provia (JPEG output)
Seven Years Ago Today
Yesterday was quite special. We started with brunch at Blue Bottle, where for the first time I had a chance to try one of their famous Siphon Pots. Add a Belgian waffle and a grilled cheese sandwich, and whoo, what a brunch:
A few hours of goofing around town, and we settled in at Salt House for dinner:
Bridget easily picked the best dish of the night with her appetizer choice: Kennebec fries covered in Vermont cheddar and short rib gravy. Would have gone great with my NY steak if we didn’t eat them all in like 30 seconds!
Yeah, I know, lots of pics of Bridget. Can’t help but snap away in the direction of the one who I married seven years ago, today. Love you honey, happy anniversary =)
(ok technically yesterday but you swear I’d blog right after a dinner like this!)
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All images: Fuji X100, Film Sim: ASTIA (black and white conversions in LR3)
Dinner at Broken Record
Broken Record – San Francisco, CA | Images: Fuji X100
I’ve been coming to Broken Record for some time now and am never ever ever ever disappointed with the dining experience. I heard some good things about the food not long after they opened, but when we first visited the place, I was a little skeptical. From the outside it just looks like your typical bar, nestled in the middle of a neighborhood where you wouldn’t really expect to find fantastic food…uhhh…
Fuji X100 | 1/40 sec, f/2, ISO 1600
Cross through the bar, where they have whiskey on tap (yes, on tap), and you’re met with a cozy little dining area. Behind the counter, a tiny kitchen where two people crank out dish after dish. Trust me, when your crawfish grits, pulled pork sandwich, beef and bacon burger, or roasted beet salad hits the table, you’ll know this place is special.
Fuji X100 | 1/40 sec, f/2, ISO 2000
Above: cold asparagus with warm prawns and crab meat over a white truffle aioli. Below it a warm chocolate brownie with ice cream. Incredibly good stuff.
Fuji X100 | 1/20 sec, f/2, ISO 3200
The “Nachos Gringos,” pulled pork over waffle fries with a cheese sauce. We get this every time without fail. Oh, and on a photographic note, the Fuji X100′s image quality at high ISO blows me away!
Not bad for a little bar in the Crocker-Amazon area of SF! Don’t believe me? Take a look at the Yelp reviews. Yummmm…
The Broken Record
1166 Geneva Ave, San Francisco
www.brokenrecordsanfrancisco.com
