Author: Mara L.

Jens moved to a new apartment, and I finally made it to his new neighborhood. And I have things to report. But first: I am thinking of changing the tone of my entries to Jens’ blog. When I first started writing about surviving New York’s food on Notes From Nowhere, I was new here, and in despair about the absence of all kinds of European delicacies. I still miss some things, but some strange transition took place, and I can’t be quite as desperate as I once was. Perhaps I’ve just come to know things so well here that I most basically like them. Thus, I need a new vocation: that of food and restaurant critic. For a start, I’m planning to describe to you every little store and restaurant on the West Side, my territory. A couple of blocks away, it is Jens’ territory.

When I came to see Jens’ beautiful new apartment, he had a little pear tarte, which was in a rather non-descript grey carton. It didn’t bode well, and I was thinking that he had better left it to me to bring something. However, the cake was absolutely perfect, so much so that I asked Jens to show me the place where he bought it: the Silver Moon Bakery at Broadway and 105th Street. This place is a real neighborhood favorite. While you wait in line, you watch the bakers make new things, and it’s clear that this is all fresh, done from real ingredients, and so on. Very reassuring! I bought quite a number of things, with my new task of food critic in mind. My absolute favorite is a fiscelle (that’s a thin, sourdough baguette) with various grains. I came back three times for it already, and only once I was lucky enough to snatch the last one away from the next person in line. Another highlight are the palmiers, again a French classic, a kind of pastry that can be hard and all-too-sugary, or fluffy and melting in your mouth as the Silver Moon Bakery’s palmiers. Various breads are excellent, with a real European feel to them.

Following well-known standards, I shall assign stars, and I’ll give five stars to the best places. The Silver Moon Bakery certainly deserves them. *****

I had a phone conversation with Jens yesterday, which is utterly rare. He prefers email, or the occasional conversation over coffee or dinner. We are both in the Italian Alps, but not quite as close as to make a meeting convenient. Last Thursday, Jens slipped on the ever-so-slippery ice (this is a truly cold winter!). One of the bones in his elbow apparently is broken. He says he can’t type or process any images on his notebook, but he is still up in the mountains for more pictures, which somehow seems to work. He says he’ll get a cast before his return to his calmer, more urban life in Manhattan later this week….

In the light of all this, I asked him to post this photo, admittedly not as artistically deep as the rest of his oeuvre, for the sake of wishing him and everyone else the best of luck for 2009. I saw Jens, and a few other friends, for New Year’s Eve. The piglet was part of the decoration on the dinner table, and in my untiring effort to make Jens photograph things I eat or cook, I persuaded him to make a photo. He thinks it’s a little bland. I think that doesn’t matter, because good luck is always needed. And then, of course, I like little pigs.

There are more photos of the cervo I prepared for New Year’s Eve (I don’t know the English word for this, a kind of game, but I’ll find out!). But that will have to wait…

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to finally leave the apartment, get out into the cold and look at some shows in Chelsea that I had wanted to see for a while. I meant to meet up with Jens later, who was going to some photography shows, but it simply got too cold for me. However, I discovered Brice Marden’s prints, at Susan Sheehan Gallery, which are just utterly beautiful. Here are my two favorites: “Grid 1” (1971), here, and “Beyond Eagles Mere” (2001), here.

So, this morning, with my apologies for not turning up yesterday, I’m sending this along to Jens, hoping that he will post it on his blog…