I wasn’t in a very photographic mood on Mshel’s third (and last) day, so this entry was going to be a bit sparse. But thankfully she sent me photos she took herself, so some of these gems are hers. If you’re curious about what inspired me to ever buy a DSLR, it was when I used her photos as a guest photographer on one of my most popular series of posts.

Our day started with her doing our family portrait. We all looked pretty happy while our cat tried to get away.

But at least she posed for portraits by herself.

And here’s one of me and Mshel for good measure.

Sant Ambroeus
1000 Madison Ave
New York, NY

Then we drove to the city for brunch at Sant Ambroeus, an Italian restaurant also well-known for a good brunch and beautiful pastries.
I had the spaghetti neri with sea urchin, king crab, and lemon zest. This dish tasted so much of the sea, and reminded me a bit of seafood kare-kare from back home (except I don’t have to work to get the crab).


It was an absolute delight, and became the inspiration for a recent dish I “urged” my husband to make: shrimp al ajillo over squid ink pasta with lemon cream sauce.

Mshel had the lasagna verde with kobe beef, asparagus, and taleggio cheese. I didn’t try it, but doesn’t it seem a bit confusing? It’s like they tried to make it healthy, and then poured a bunch of beef and parmesan on it. Looks delicious though ;).

Mike had a simple olive oil and pepper pasta. It looked lame, so I didn’t take a photo, but he seemed to enjoy it immensely.

For dessert I had the nocciola: hazelnut sponge, hazelnut butter cream, and caramelized salted sliced almonds. Mmmmm. This again reminded me of a dish from back home: sansrival. The hazelnut flavor made it a cross between that and nutella.

Mshel had the profiterol: white sponge dipped in espresso, chocolate mousse,
chantilly cream, and pistachio. Ugh, another winner.

The lady sitting at the table beside us was prompted to say how very adventurous we were due to our indulgent orders, and then her daughter asked if she could touch my hair. I said “Sure!”, and was very proud of myself for not being my usual awkward anti-social self.

Then we took a walk in Central Park to skim off some of the pudge building up around our bellies.

Bethesda Fountain. One of my favorite spots in the city.



As we headed down to Chelsea Market, we came across the colorful man with the pigeon on his head. I’ve seen him several times in Manhattan and Queens. There was an Abercrombie and Fitch model posing for photos in their Fifth Avenue store, and they let this guy through for a photo op.



Chelsea Market


After Central Park, we went to Chelsea Market. I’m always too overwhelmed to take photos there because of the ridiculous crowds, but I did score these Prestat Banoffee Truffles, which were so insanely good I might have blanked out after my first bite.


And Mshel captured these Edgar Allan Poe inspired pumpkins.



Artichoke Basille’s Pizza
114 10th Ave
New York, NY ‎

We met up with Mshel’s friend for dinner. Artichoke’s is currently one of the most popular pizza joints in NYC right now, and so an artichoke pie was a pretty good end to a foodie day.
Their signature pie is made with artichoke hearts, spinach, cream sauce, mozzarella, pecorino romano cheese, and like an inch of soft, carby, glorious crust. Even one slice from this is a bit much though, so we immediately headed home afterwards.

She had a pretty great visit, considering it was only three days. I only wish she could’ve stayed longer, but there’s always next time ;).

Related Post:
Not Bored with Mshel Day 1 and 2: NY Comic Con, Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar, David Burke Townhouse, and MoMA

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