Flying Fish and Tadpoles

One of my biggest dilemmas is learning to sit still. Given everything going on in my life, I am like a wind-up energizer bunny and then boom - I crash. Perhaps that's why I love driving around upstate and visiting gardens during weekends (or taking an occasional day off to do so). This past Friday, we took a drive up to Stonecrop Gardens in Cold Spring, New York. I stumbled upon Stonecrop Gardens a couple months ago, as I was googling "gardens in upstate New York." The garden opened to the public on April 1 and I'd initially planned a day trip there with Carl as a pre-birthday treat. After learning that little one had no school Thursday and Friday, (in honor of the Pope's visit to NYC), the trip expanded to include little one, her best friend, A.T. and Lady L. (A.T.s mother). In a fortunate twist of fortune, Lady L. and I have become good friends. This means that we are lucky enough to enjoy each other's company while our daughter's happily play together (most of the time, until they get tired and exhaustively fight). I was quite excited about the trip and even more happy about the summer-like weather. The issue of Carl's back was on my mind, since he'd been in significant pain the prior week. Carl was surprised that I was worried. Despite the pre-arrival Pope traffic jams, he graciously made a detour to Hong Kong Station in Chinatown, so I could get my morning fix of iced milk tea. Carl wasn't too thrilled when I came back with the wrong pastry from the bakery next door. He actually got out of the car and went to buy the pastry he'd requested!! Carl has joined me in being exact in his taste about food - a recent development. I remember when he was content with his bagel and a black coffee. But back to the road trip. Without any pre-coordination, Lady L. brought multiple snacks and I packed two coloring books and crayons. At the last minute, Lady L. had also burned some CDs of High School Musical and Vanessa Hudgens (the music of choice for 5-year-olds.) For most of the drive, Little one and A.T. were quite giggly and happy (with Lady L. squashed in between them). They were so engaged with each other, they remained blase about the view from the Bear Mountain bridge. Just before we found Stonecrop, windows began opening and closing with numerous "are we there yet?" queries. Momentarily, we found our turn-off and the girls were happy to get out of the car. Stonecrop Gardens is comprised of several small gardens and greenhouses. Little one and A.T. were extremely thrilled to see tadpoles and "monster fish" (big orange and grey carp) swimming in one pond and delighted to watch as a baby turtle paddled amidst small fishes and tadpole in another pond (near the Bamboo Pavilion garden). Stonecrop Garden was imbued with a very special feeling of tranquility and generosity and after an hour or so of wandering the grounds and greenhouses, we departed with a renewed sense of overall goodwill. We decided to stop in at our favorite cafe, 2 Alices, in Cornwall-on-Hudson, for lunch and tea. In the midst of our excited chatter about our food order, the proprietress put two-and-two together (after I asked about carrot soup). She asked if I had posted a piece on 2 Alices recently, and explained that a friend of hers (who has a website about Cornwall-on-Hudson), had forwarded her my blog. I was quite thrilled. It was exciting for me to directly experience the vastness of the Internet. We were not disappointed with our lunch. The girls had Chicken-Caesar wraps and I had a slice of Artichoke quiche. Lady L. had a slice of the quiche and then switched food with A.T. Carl ate a vegetarian sandwich and finished my Iced Vanilla Chai Latte. I was happy for the excuse to order a hot Masala Chai with steamed milk. In the spirit of truthfulness, the girls also each ate 4 miniature chocolates (before their wraps). They then shared a huge Zabar's chocolate chip cookie. It was a perfect afternoon, and we got back to the city at 5:30. To avoid the Pope-related traffic, Carl dropped me off at the West Side Highway. The walk to my private-practice office was both quick and pleasant. I decided to get a tamale at Pio Mayo (W. 8th street between 6th Avenue and MacDougal). Pio Mayo is a pretty, tiny space which serves exceptional Mexican food. It opened a couple years ago, and has a strong following. I stumbled on it when it opened, and then read about in New York Magazine. The best part of Friday was that we were all re-uniting on Saturday evening for my actual birthday dinner. After reading something about stewed chickens in a New York Times Dining Section, I was intrigued by a place called Palo Santo. Interestingly, Palo Santo was completely Carl's style. It's located in a brownstone at Union Street and Fourth Avenue in Park Slope and completely incongruous with the "suburban" aspect so often attributed to the area. As a disclaimer, I should admit that Carl always get nervous about places I select for birthday dinners. To provide context; it's taken him a long while to get comfortable at Blaue Gans, where we have breakfast every weekend. (It helps that little one loves Blaue Gans as does her Big Sister -when she deigns to arise early enough to join us there.) Anyway, at Palo Santo we were seated at a large wooden table in the back of the restaurant. Our table was adjacent to a large casement window overlooking a small garden with a sculpture/fountain. There were lots of plants and some paintings (which I found very hippie-like). Afterwards, I realized that the overall vibe was akin to eating on the beach in Negril, Jamaica or outside of San Juan, Puerto Rico. That being said, the food was absolutely terrific. There was an extraordinary medley of flavors in everything we ate. While we waited for our group to arrive, we ordered some avocado and tortillas. The avocado was sliced and served with finely diced onions, olive oil and tiny pieces of mild, green peppers. The tortilla were little tiny discs of lightly griddled dough. Carl and the girls loved them. Later, when A.T. and her family came in with The Devster, Carl ordered some more avocado and tortillas but added an order of Tacos (which arrived in a series of three with chicken, and (I think) octopus. The appetizers were pretty much inhaled on the spot. For the main course, Carl and I shared the flying fish which was served with a piquant red cabbage salad, a mild salsa and placed on top of a sweet plantain (still on the leaf). We also ordered the fish soup, which was chock full of clams and shrimp. It was spicy and satisfying at the same time. The waitress described the flying fish as being like sardines with edible bones, and they were very good. Big Daughter ordered the hen with mole sauce and black beans. Little one and A.T. shared a baked pork chop with yucca and a side of rice with mushrooms, beans and cheese which was like risotto. We all had to taste the rice, it was so creamy. Lady L. ordered beef cheeks and her partner, Sir M. also ordered the Baked Pork chop. Sir M. liked our soup so much, he ordered one as well. The desserts were phenomenal. At lunch time, my friend Miss E. and I had visited Batch (the bakery affiliated with P*ong). We shared a Yuzu Meringue, a very rich, miniature chocolate chip type cookie and a chai tea pudding. Both were absolutely amazing. I was a bit scared to eat any more sweets, but after blowing out the candle, I tasted the tangerine pie at Palo Santo and was glad I did. It was tangy, sweet and ethereal. The two little ones serenaded me in Mandarin and English as they sang Happy Birthday. After all the excitement, Little one was overwhelmed and needed to cry for a minute. Big Daughter and The Devster both ordered Apple-Rhubarb crisp with whipped cream, and the two little ones shared a tangerine pie with extra whipped cream. Lady L. ordered the chocolate mousse with tequila and pronounced it strong. I offered Sir M. my Yerba Mate and he was intrigued by the taste. Lady L. compared it to Macha, which we all agreed had a similar texture. As I get older, I find my birthday belongs more to my family and close friends, and that is a true gift in itself. Luckily, Carl did not force us to take the M train home and agreed to a car service. I love driving over the Brooklyn Bridge on a warm evening, it feels like we're on the top of the world.