10.10.10. in binary code, symbolizes “42,” which leads to “Answer to the Ultimate Questions of Life, the Universe and Everything.”

What I’m gonna do tonight to celebrate my presence in NYC for 10.10.10? Searching for my answer to the Ultimate Questions? Well…

I’m going out for a big Italian Sunday supper at the James Beard House in West Village. It must be something special.

It’s gonna be fun and delicious. What more can you ask for?

I’ve come a long way in the city and I deserve something nice in life once in a while. And a little bit of a good cause… ^^

Many of these attractions are enticing and luring me to their decorated and aromatic dens on a daily basis while walking by, like the Sirens from Greek Mythology.

Despite these restaurants’ attractive group sing-alongs, I always feel like nothing is more delicious and satisfactory than cooking at home.

I grew up in an environment where my mom always cooked three meals a day starting from scratch everyday, always with fresh ingredients. My mom always used freshly squeezed homemade sesame oil from the best organic sesame available and she also made soy sauce and spicy pepper paste (so-called “gochujang”) herself, cooking without using sugar or any artificial ingredients. She even grew some fresh organic vegetables in the garden. And my grandmother always sent us boxes of juicy fruits harvested from her back-yard orchard every year. I still remember the sweet taste of all the apples, figs, pears, and persimmons around the harvest time each year.

Living and working busy in the city, surrounded by countless restaurants, is the kind of environment that pulls me back away from my childhood experience as farthest as possible. But there is one thing that keeps me on the ground and pushes me back to appetizing home cooking. It’s the farmers market that opens every week all over the city. My favorite usual destination is the Union Square Farmers Market which opens every Wednesday and Saturday, which encourages me to undertake more than 20 blocks of traveling northbound every Saturday. Since saving time is important to me, it has become my key strategy(?) to buy fresh ingredients at the Market as much as possible like mushrooms, apples, apple cider, fresh plain yogurt, vegetables, eggs, etc. and to cook a large amount of food during the weekend. I shamelessly admit that I don’t have many cooking skills and recipes, so I just cook a large amount of stew whatever I feel like making that weekend. If I have the cooked meal stored during the week, I always feel like very safe and sound, perhaps on cloud nine over the whole week, just by peeking inside my big refrigerator everyday.

I happened to know one New Yorker with a similar growing up experience of mine, whose name is Rocco Dispirito, a well known chef living in the city. I saw him at the 53rd New York Emmy Awards Gala earlier this year, who happened to take pictures and have interviews right next to my table. But frankly, I had no idea who he was at that time (sorry, Rocco~). Later I realized that he’s a famous chef who promotes healthy home cooking. I think it’s a real good thing to encourage people to do more home cooking and to have healthier lifestyle. I think I’m gonna say some good words to him when I see him next time, thanking him for his endeavors in promoting home cooking. Every human being really needs that kind of home cooking experience everyday like all moms would do for their kids~ ^^

Hope that you could explore locally grown fresh ingredients for your home cooking experiments this coming weekend…

(Photos, Copyright 2010 by Unjoo Na)

All of sudden, a sign on the side of a restaurant captured my eyes and instantly made my appetite run high through the sky.

The sign was saying loud to me (at least to me): “FREE WAFFLESS”

At that instant, another word dangling at the bottom didn’t even come up to my conscious level. It all faded in the white background in my head.

Upon seeing that sign, I almost ran into the restaurant and tried to claim my right to taste that delicious “Waffles(s).”

Standing in front of the restaurant sign and hesitating on my imaginary bold movement, within that 1.5 seconds, I realized that the sign was actually saying: “FREE WIRELESS INTERNET.” Ooooopsie. What an impact on my brain of not having enough food in my stomach…

Have you ever had this kind of moments of subjective interpretation? Just seeing or experiencing something, arbitrarily interpreting it the way only relevant to my mind’s status? I’m pretty sure I’m not alone and some psychologists would have gotten excited about the phenomena probably a while ago.

Ahhhh… I still want to eat that waffles..s.

Evidence of my "Subjective Interpretation"

Flight of the Conchords – “We’re both in love with a sexy lady” lol

(Photo, Copyright 2010 by Unjoo Na)

If you want to find real machines with these nostalgic-classic games in the city, try to visit the best hot dog place in the East Village, on Saint Marks between 1st and A. The place is called “Crif Dogs,” with a big “Eat Me” sausage sign dangling outside the half-basement space. Bring your real coins when you visit. There is no “Insert Coin” sign to click, but real machines with real coin slots. Hope that they didn’t do anything to these machines while I was not visiting.

There are so many nice things in Lower East Side (LES).  I find something new everyday.  One jewelry I recently found is a petit brunch place at Clinton street.

The food was yummy!!  Except the fact that you should wait about 1-2 hours on Saturdays or Sundays, this place boasts impeccable homemade-type brunch.  I tried blueberry pancakes, among other things.  The warm buttery syrup was awesome and it was specially made in the kitchen (it’s not usual maple syrup).  The texture of the pancakes was so soft that it just melted in my mouth even before I tried to bite.  You think I’m exaggerating too much?  If you doubt, try this place.

It’s on 4 Clinton (btw E houston and Stanton).  There are cute boutique stores around that area, so look around while you are waiting.