saturday neighborhood walk

greg and i were walking east on 17th street when we ran into the start of the dance parade at sixth avenue.

everyone was having a grand time . . 

we had to walk up to 18th street to cross the avenue . . 

some of the costumes were incredibly elaborate.

we stopped at lysee cafe on 21st street (marisa and i had stopped by a few weeks ago, but they were closed).

greg hesitated walking in at first . . it seemed a little too fancy!

perhaps it was . . 

such amazing cakes!

i was stopping by for the buckwheat cookie . . and i was not disappointed.

we continued on our way to the whole foods at 29th street and madison avenue . . and ran into another parade!

this was the 40th turkish american festival parade.

so many food tables! unfortunately, we had already eaten enchiladas at rosa mexicana so we didn't stop. but it was an exciting walk with very intense dancing and very loud music . . (and we made it to whole foods where i was looking for some vitamins that my local health food store didn't have, and which whole foods didn't have either. i think they have been discontinued).

feast of san gennaro

 
greg and i went for a walk at 4 pm to see the feast of san gennaro which began this past thursday.

last night greg's alma mater, florida state university, played boston college and won, 31 to 29. today he wore his hat and t-shirt and a few people called out to him, one of which i caught on this video:

"i like your shirt! i like your shirt!"

"all right! thank you! we just barely survived!"

"one hundred percent!"

mulberry street was so packed with people that we slipped out and walked around the block to mott street and then to grand street, and came upon a grandstand with the ricky tinelli band . . 

(what is cute in this video is that halfway through, the grand marshal pulls her mom away from talking to a friend to sit down with her as the show was about to start.)

this video gives the introduction of the grand marshal for 2023, kathrine narducci, an actress known for her roles in the the sopranos, a bronx tale, godfather of harlem, bad education, and other shows. i've actually never seen her in any of these, but i really enjoyed her heartfelt speech today, and could tell she was having a wonderful time.

the ricky tinelli band sings "i've got the world on a string."

one more song . . louis prima's hey marie . .

more scenes of the carnival games, and greg says he's starting to get weak from hunger . . 

this guy hits the bell twice . . 

the little girl wanted a mermaid doll, which her mom was able to get by ringing one of the lower bells - which happened just prior to me filming this video.

and the ferris wheel . . looking pretty with its neon rainbow lights . . (and greg decided he couldn't handle waiting in one of the very long lines for sausage and peppers - so we began walking home and stopped along the way at a restaurant called the dutch to share fried chicken and broccoli rabe).

holiday fare on ascension thursday

 

 since it's the end of ramadan, i thought i would try making a palestinian dish called makloubeh, which translates from arabic as an "upside down" casserole. there are so many different versions. i chose to make this with chicken and cauliflower and onions (with a little zucchini and tomato). it was very tasty, but not easily turned upside down! i think i had too much liquid and so the rice didn't hold together properly. we've also been enjoying special desserts from mah ze dahr bakery for this holiday. yesterday i had another ma'moul (a shortbred cookie with a filling of walnuts and dates), and today i placed an order for the lamb pastry patties which i'll pick up tomorrow morning. they've been consistently sold out of them whenever i go.

happy new year . . !

 we were invited to brian's family's rosh hashanah celebration where we dipped apple slices in honey in hope of a sweet year ahead. it was quite a feast with turkey, a brisket, potato cakes and cinnamon carrots. the desserts were amazing, also, with two different chocolate cakes, italian cookies and chocolate halvah.

 heading home on the george washington bridge . . 

admiring the night blooming moonflowers . . (well i was! even if they weren't!)