Shop 'til you drop

For a girl who loves her factory outlets, Woodbury Common is a scene of plastic fanatastic. Sunday was spent entirely at Woodbury Common, an hour's drive north of New York City, and home to a staggering 220 factory outlet shops.The shops are stand-alone "shacks" in a bizarre ski-village type setting amidst the mountains. There are four giant parking lots and enough reduced tags to send any

The Met and GC Oyster Bar

A day at the Met today, a huge feat for any first-time visitor. The Met is huge. The information booth is manned by twelve staff members for pete's sake.We checked in our bags and coats, only to return a minute later to relaim them again. Since the Met was open until late, we instead started off with a trip to The Cloisters, an hour's bus ride away in Fort Tryon Park, Upper Manhattan, and

The Girls Who Ate Everything

Meeting up with other food bloggers is always fun... you know you will have tooooonnnnnes in common: there'll be restaurant gossip, foodie musings, unashamed dessert pinings and whenever there's food, there'll be a simultaneous reach for the camera.I met Robyn for the first time today, a New York City food blogger whose foodie adventures I've been following for some time. She suggested we meet at

The Lower East Side

New York's Lower East Side is packed with history. It's long been home to thousands of hard-working immigrants, and it's estimated that 80% of New Yorkers can trace their roots back to the LES.We visited the Lower East Side Tenement Museum today, a fascinating look into the heritage-listed buildings on Orchard Street. A tenement simply means a building for lots of people, and in the 1870s they

Chelsea Markets: Better than Disneyland

I wandered around Chelsea today, originally intending to check out the Greenmarket Farmers Market, but alas had neglected to notice that it only runs on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and not today, Thursday (doh!).Happiness was restored in the form of City Bakery, funny because Robyn had only just mentioned it in an email to me that morning. Suddenly it appeared before me and I had

Pumpkin, pudding and Prada

It was a day in the Lower East Side today, starting off with brunch at Balthazar, a popular semi-classy bistro. Service was extremely efficient, starting off with beautifully fresh slices of artisan breads. I had the New England clam chowder followed by the pumpkin ravioli with walnuts in burnt butter. The ravioli was divine, plump and soft with bright orange pockets of smooth creamy pumpkin. The

Brooklyn

We returned to New York about 9pm to bitter coldness. DC was so mild and temperate that the reacquaintance with a New York winter was doubly harsh. The crush of people, the traffic, the bright city lights, was also a stark reminder that we had indeed returned to the Big Smoke.Today we headed to Brooklyn, checking out the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and stalking every squirrel we could find (no, we

I see D C

Friday morning saw us wake up at 6.30am to a heavy dump of snow. The stairs outside had a thick carpet of white and the bannister railings were iced heavily as well. As we opened the door to head outside, thick fat flakes of snow swirled down lazily from the skies, looking just like a Hollywood Christmas movie.Filled with childish snow-deprived glee, we stomped our way through three inches of

K-nish? It's de-lish!

New York is one big rush. But it also gets hungry and like the vending machine drink havens found all over Japan, satiation is never too far away.As I battled the crowds along 5th Avenue the other day, the stomach rumbled and the eyes lit up at the prospect of visiting a street vendor. The mobile silver carts here serve everything from pretzels to roasted chestnuts, gyros (yeeros) and hot dogs.

South Street Seaport

I'd been urged to visit South Street Seaport with nodding encouragement from well-meaning New York relatives saying "You should go; all the tourists go there".The terrible T word should have been warning enough but I was in the area so I meandered on down.There's not that much to see really. A couple of historic tall ships, old warehouses and yes, preserved (but non-edible!) 18th and 19th century

Murray Hill Diner, New York

I'm always up for a bit of gastronomic experimenting, but when I'm tired and hungry after a hard day's sightseeing, the adage "When in Rome..." is the one I stick to in a new and unfamiliar eatery.Thank goodness.My second diner meal in New York took place in Murray Hill Diner, a fairly large establishment which looked busy (good), affordable (yay) and with a free table available (get in!).One

Like a geeky tourist

A tourist surveys the view from the top of the Empire State BuildingMuch of today was spent shivering on the observation deck of the Empire State Building. It really felt like -20C, standing outside 86 floors up, and we had to rush back into the warm environs of the gift shop to thaw out on more than one occasion!Despite wearing jackets, gloves, hat and scarf, I couldn't feel my fingers after ten

Tom's Restaurant

My first meal in New York City was at Tom's Restaurant, immortalised first in Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega, but probably more popularly known as the diner hangout for the characters in Seinfeld.I was feeling a little lightheaded as I entered my 26th hour without sleep but I was excited about eating in my first ever diner... from Seinfeld!It was about 6pm as we came in from the freezing cold, a

It's just like the movies!

So after a 20-hour caged torture known as the "long-haul flight", I finally arrived in the Big Apple.My first impressions? It's just like the movies!!! It's so bizarre to step into a city which you feel you know so well after a childhood diet of sitcoms and TV dramas. There are the superwide sidewalks which can fit six pedestrians abreast; the corner shops everywhere with just the word GROCERY or

19 hours as a human pretzel

Being tall has its advantages. You can usually get a good view at concerts, you don't have to take up the hem on your jeans, and you can always reach the top shelf at the supermarket.But when it comes to flying, the vertically challenged have the last laugh (or slumber, lucky things).Checking in for my flight to New York was relatively uneventful. The queues at check-in were a little slow...but

Start spreading the news...

So I'm off. Tomorrow morning I fly out to New York for a month of determined feasting.Who makes the better pizza: John's or Grimaldi's? Is it possible to eat an entire 10-inch high Reuben from Carnegie Deli? Could a Gray's Papaya hotdog really change my life? And exactly how much can I eat before I outgrow my belt?All these questions and more will be answered as your intrepid food reporter goes

Walkley talkie

Foodblogging looks like the latest hot topic doing the media rounds. And too right, for what could be more newsworthy than food?Grab Your Fork scores in a mention in the latest edition of The Walkley Magazine, the media industry mag produced by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance of Australia.The bulk of the article centres on interviews with Anthony from Spiceblog and Sean from Sydney

Selina, Fairfield

"Hallo! You still waiting? You come and sit in the VIP room!"We had been waiting for a table for six be cleared at Selina, a combination Lao and Thai restaurant, when a young man appeared beside us, smiling with enthusiasm.Feeling somewhat pleased at this extension of hospitality, we nodded as we followed him... out the restaurant and to a tiny front room next door."Extra special. For you.

Grab Your Fork in mX

Observant Sydney commuters may have spotted this article on GrabYourFork in today's free afternoon newpaper mX.The article is about the growning phenomenon of blogging, and I was embarrasingly excited when I was contacted last week by mX journalist, Emily Brown.For those regular readers who are particularly interested, email me and I'll send you a scanned copy of the article. There are eight (