Imli Indian Restaurant: A Standout Date Spot on the Upper East Side NYC

I know the January cliché is all about dieting and health…but sometimes it’s too cold for that. After all, if there’s ever a time for delicious comfort food, it’s today: Blue Monday. So let me tell you all about an amazing meal I had at Imli on the Upper East Side. Give yourself a cheat day, or stick to your resolve and just indulge vicariously through me!

Imli Restaurant on 1st Ave looks chic and modern from the outside. The menu features inventive cocktails, small dishes, and traditional classics: “urban Indian food”.

Besides being a bit off the beaten path (mad east), it’s got all the fixings of a great place to bring a date. Want to make it not just dinner but a memorable date? Eat a meal at Imli and then take a spin on the Roosevelt Island Tram just three blocks away. That makes it off the beaten path in a special way.

All the food was delicious. The small plates are perfect for sharing and where you’ll find see clear “urban” interpretations.

[Replay Cliché] California Girls Attempt Sledding In Central Park

Originally posted January 2014.
A good reminder to find time for sledding this winter!

Saturday in New York City. A perfect winter day, sunny and cold with snow blanketing every untrafficked part of the city. Three gals finished brunch, barely remembered the plastic purple sled they almost left under the table, and headed off to Central Park.

We three California girls: Miranda, Charlotte, and I all grew up in San Francisco. At this point we’ve survived many east coast winters. We know how to stay warm, we’ve mastered winter accessories (warm must win over cute. Sigh).

Not one of us had more than a clue about sledding! Cluelessness wasn’t going to stop us from trying. Read More

January 13, 2018August 16, 2018

Street Art Saturday: Color on Canal Street

In the gray, gloomy days of January I’m even more thankful for street art than usual. You know that’s saying something! Bless the paint and the artist that make outside colorful all year round.

This art corner on Canal Street is impossible to miss. Come out of the Canal Street 6 train subway station and it will immediately catch your eye.

January 12, 2018August 16, 2018

Ode to an Overcompensating Tangerine

I wandered into Whole Foods on my lunch break

Seeking supplement to the meal I’d brought from home

There you sat, atop a golden pile of your brethren

Yertle the Turtle, but of tangerines

I picked you up and stared surprised,

Your leafy plumage now on full display

Perhaps not Yertle but a citrus Ariana Grande.

Read More

January 11, 2018August 16, 2018

New York Cliché of the Day: NYC on Ice

The Hudson River may not be frozen, but the piers that lead to it are on ice!

I am absolutely fascinated by natural ice! Sure, I’ve been ice skating in Bryant Park plenty of times but that’s manufactured ice. No more interesting than the cubes I take from my freezer. This is the real deal! Large bodies of water becoming solid? I’ll stand on the shore and watch with same fascination as your 5 year old niece watching Frozen for the 200th time.

The cold never bothered me anyway.

January 10, 2018August 16, 2018

New York Cliché of the Day: A Little NYC Give-Away

You know the cliché, one person’s trash is another person’s blog give-away?
No?

When a woman at work said she was getting rid of a bunch of notebooks and did anyone want them? I took one look and squealed, “Yes! Yes! ME! ME! ME!”

It was like someone had made them just for my blog. Perfect little New York Cliché notebooks, just ready to be filled with city observations, musings, and to-do lists. So on brand.

The woman giving them away has no idea this blog exists. So I’m calling this some lovely synchronicity at work.

Hey universe, can this be a sign for a 2018 of writing more and synchronicity? Pretty please?

January 9, 2018August 16, 2018

New York Cliché of the Day: Grand Central is the ONE Romantic Thing Associated with the MTA

if you’re lucky enough to have a commute that ends in Grand Central Station, a bit of beauty awaits just beyond all the train turmoil.

Sure, you don’t have even a New York minute to stop and appreciate it. Still, knowing it’s all around you, as you rush like a maniac, does make the daily grind a little brighter.