Oat Monkey

     I remember standing near the fountain at Lincoln Center on one of my first visits to New York City and thinking, I'm going to sing there.  I'm going to perform at the Metropolitan Opera.
     Well, sometimes fate surprises you and you end up performing next door to the Metropolitan Opera.  As a puppeteer.  Playing a baby horse.  And it can still be pretty amazing.
      One of the directors of War Horse, Tom Morris, helped us to find the small animal's perspective by making sure that we never sentimentalized his motives.  Yes, we had to bond with Albert, the other main character, but at first, let's face it:  Albert was feeding Joey oats. But really, he was only just another monkey.  So we affectionately referred to Seth Numrich, the actor playing Albert, as "Oat Monkey".
     As it turns out, like Joey, I love oats.  I love them in the morning, in the form of granola.  But at $6 a pound or so, plus 8 grams of fat, who's wallet or waistline can afford to eat it every day?  Plus I hate buying boxes of cereal with all the unnecessary packaging.
      Renaissance Girl's answer?  I buy a large round tub of old fashioned oats for around $3 and then pick up a bag of my favorite granola (Trader Joe's sells Granola and the Three Berries which is about $3 a package or there's always bulk at Whole Foods).  Every morning I pour 2/3rds oats to 1/3 granola and then milk or rice milk on top, maybe with a few raw almonds or cashews sprinkled on top and voila!  The perfect bowl of cereal, more for less money and fat!  Oats area  much better source of wheat to get your carbohydrates in the morning and with the added protein in the nuts, you're set until lunchtime.   
      I always find something I have in common with the characters I portray on stage.  Even the four legged kind.

Pictured below:  Me with David Pegram and Stephen James Anthony as Baby Joey in War Horse at Lincoln Center 2011

Recession Special Wine Club

Here it is, folks! A wine club for those of us who keep going back to the wine store and grabbing the same affordable favorites. And they deliver!

Ted discovered Bacchus, a wine store on the upper West Side, that for $17.99 (plus tax) a month will deliver two different bottles of wine to your door! (check how far they will deliver...)

Last night, they delivered a bottle of Indaba Merlot (already a favorite!) and a 2006 Rock River Zinfadel, which we have yet to try.

So good to know we can branch out with out cashing out!

2 NY Night Out for Two: Less than $80 Each

We are all on tight budgets right now, but we still have to go out on the town every once in a while.

My husband and I recently dined at two New York restaurants, one old and one new, and we didn't spend over $80 for either.

After one appetizer (split) and two entrees and a glass and a half of wine each, we hadn't felt we'd splurged, but we still felt spoiled!

The first was Trattoria Spaghetto in the West Village (232 Bleecker St. near the W. 4th Street ACE stop). It's cash only at this New York staple that has been at this corner location at least since I was doing a show at the Minetta Lane Theater 13 years ago. There is outdoor seating in good weather, the pasta tastes homemade, and there is a lobster entree for $20!

The second is Pio Pio. Though the location we went to is their newest (43rd St. and 10th), there are other places where you can taste this Peruvian Cuisine in a fun atmosphere with good service. Specializing in grilled chicken (surprisingly mild in spiciness), entrees come in generous portions and are meant to be shared. With large potent pitchers of delicious sangria, it is a fabulous place to bring your next group or family gathering.

Bon appetite!

Martini Madness

Sometimes life calls for martinis.

Our close friend, Penny, needed a party and it was time to step up!

But who can afford expensive vodka these days? And who wants to suffer through the bite of the cheap stuff?

Luckily, Penny did her homework. Several sites on line claimed that by filtering inexpensive vodka (Smirnoff, Svedka) through a Brita water filter, it would taste like the upscale vodkas. But somebody had to test it and Penny, her friends Ken and Barry, and I were willing to do the dirty work. You have to sacrifice for science.

First, we tried a bit of the cheaper Vodka before filtering. Though not completely unpleasant, faces puckered. Then, we filtered it through the Brita filter (takes a bit longer than water) and took more sips. We all agreed it was smoother, had less bite, and tasted more "expensive" than the unfiltered!

Eureka!

We guessed that it would be worth it to keep a separate Brita filter for just that purpose.

Then I enlisted my husband (the martini master) to make them (note: shower heavily with kisses and praises all night.)

Pictured Above: Three Kit Kat Girls (Vykky, Heather, and me) celebrating Penny's Birthday with martinis!

Brokelyn

The name of this blog says it all!

I heard about it on NY1 and it's all about having fun while spending less. Sound familiar?

Check it out (brokelyn.com) and me know what you find...

Poor Man's Pate

If any of you are lucky enough to have a killer recipe for meat-loaf (or have a husband who has a killer recipe and sorry, mine won't give his up!), make one up the day before the party and refrigerate it. Before the party, slice it thin and serve with gourmet mustard and tiny gherkins. It's as good as pate, I think, and ends up being the most popular hors d'oeuvre at the party!

Shhhhh, Don't Tell Anyone!

I've just always wanted to write that in a public forum!  How could it not get your attention?

But seriously, don't tell anyone...

..who doesn't read this blog!

I'm talking Chili Thai, the tiny little hole in the wall on 9th Ave. between 48th and 49th!

I've blogged about it before in a previous post entitled Poll, but my husband and I just had a date there tonight and I had to write about it again!

I mean, who doesn't want delicious, fresh tasting, creatively presented fusion food at an amazingly low price?  If you didn't, you probably wouldn't be reading this.

For a grand total of $29.95 (not incluuding tip), Ted and I ordered the appetizer sampler (included the best chicken satay we'd tasted in a long while as well as magical melt in your mouth shrimp dumplings) and then our favorite salad (which would make the perfect lunch, I tell you!) called Yum Neua that has marinated beef thinly sliced atop mint and crisp lettuce, and then split the chicken Green Curry (humongous portions) served with sticky white rice.   

You can order Thai beer from them now, but without a liquor license (a thing to look for in a restaurant, if you're a Renaissance Girl!) they allow you to go next door and buy your own bottle of wine for $10 or less (see my post about wines for under $10) and they bring you glasses and an opener.  So okay, it was $46 at the end of the experience, but if you know how to get more for your value in New York City, you'd better email me now!  

Tips before you go:

• It's often crowded, and I haven't had much luck with reservations in the past so have patience.
• The bathrooms are in the back, THROUGH the kitchen.  But it is always very clean, once you get there.
• Go hungry.

Other favorites:

• Duck Empanadas (their  signature creation)
• Massaman Curry (all curries come with a choice of chicken, pork, beef, tofu, or seafood
• Pad Thai
• Delicious desserts including Mango Dumplings, Mango with Sticky Rice, and you'll never believe that I haven't yet ventured to try the Bananas in Golden Pouch, but that's next on my list!

Go.  Eat.  

And don't tell anyone!

Favorite Wines for Under Ten Dollars

It's going to be a long 8 days.  

Let's weather the remaining week of this never-ending campaign together by sharing our favorite inexpensive wines!  I don't claim to be a wine connoiseur by any stretch, but I do drink a lot of wine, especially when I'm nervous about the future of this Country that we call home.  

Here are some of my favorites:

REDS:

Bogle Vineyards Merlot 

Altos

Avalon

Monkey Puzzle from Chile

  Eyzaguirre Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile (in a little burlap sack)

  Yellow Tale

  Charles Shaw from Trader Joes (Three Buck Chuck)

El Gato Negro

WHITES:

Marques de Caceres, Spanish Wine

Indaba Chenin Blanc

Please feel free to add your favorites in comments on this post:

Poll

There are so many polls out there now. It's easy to get confused with the differing numbers.  But now, results are in: The poll I posted last week showed that 61% of readers of whatwouldleenyado.blogspot.net polled wanted to have more adventures! 

It is interesting to watch the news these days.  As we might expect, people are consuming less, searching for bargains.  In these dire economic times, it seems that the decades of living on credit is over.  People don't feel they can travel or eat out as much.  So I say, come to the light!  Why not make inexpensive living an art form?

Ted and I have been having adventures the entire seven years we've been together and about 50 percent of those years have been economically tight.  By some definitions, even dire.  But tough times have never stopped us from having romantic dates and exploring this city that has become our home.      

First, Central Park.  Worth an entire post by itself!  It has taken  me years of adventuring, but I know my way around this huge park like the back of my hand and still I find new pockets of natural beauty and quirky surprises.  The zoo alone, despite it's size, is well worth a day's visit.  It costs a mere eight dollars for adult admission and you can spend hours in front of the ant exhibit, the snow monkeys,  the penguins and the polar bears.  This biological gem is beautifully designed and it's good  to be reminded about fragile ecosystems all over the world.  Though Tavern on the Green and the restaurant at the boat pond are higher priced menus to avoid, visiting a deli before entering the park can buy you a picnic lunch or dinner that can be enjoyed on Sheep's Meadow (no dogs allowed...) or at the Bethesda Fountain  or while waiting in line for free tickets to  Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theater.  Skating in the winter is cheaper and more spacious in Central Park than at Rockefeller Center and once after a heavy snow, Ted, Maya and I even went sledding above the softball fields!  

Skip chain restaurants.  They are tourist traps and more expensive than in other parts of the country.  But the biggest reason to walk that block or two farther West or East, depending on where you are, is that there are thousands of amazing places to get food from any part of the world, and of course, ordering it to be brought to your apartment is nothing short of a miracle.  Better yet, call and then pick it up yourself to save on delivery tips.  Now, thanks to Ted's sister Peg and her husband Stu, we were able to celebrate an early anniversary once at One if by Land, Two if by Sea down in the West Village.  The service itself was astounding, and I'd never experienced a tasting menu before!  But when we don't have two hundred and fifty dollars to spend on an evening out, we eat at some of our favorite restaurants that have no liquor license.  This means that we can bring our own bottle of wine with us for under ten dollars (like Bogle Merlot), saving almost half the normal bill to eat out.   6th St. in the East Village is lined with  half a dozen Indian Restaurants with this setup.  (My cousin Molly introduced me to this

phenomenon years ago!  Thanks, Molly!)  Chili Thai on 9th Avenue is also in this category, featuring creative and fresh fusion dishes.

One of the best thing to have happened to NYC in the past 5 years is the completion and connection of the bike path that stretches from South Street Sea Port all the way up to the Little Red Light House under the George Washington Bridge.  Adventures along this path include free kayaking on three of the piers in Clinton and the Upper West Side, lunch or dinner at the 79th Street Boat Basin (bring your dog and your bike!), happy hour at the Frying Pan  , a resurrected sunken ship on Pier 66 at 26th Street, and free concerts in the summer.  And why not take a ferry?  Just being on the water and getting different views of the New York Skyline are well worth the low fares.  Ted and I once picked up some takeout  at one of our favorite inexpensive Indian Restaurants, paired it with a bottle of wine from the corner wine store, and parked ourselves at the little built-in table and swivel stools on our very own mini pier on the newly renovated Riverside Park South.  The sun was setting and we had the best river-view in the city while feasting on Indian cuisine!  And all for under forty dollars!

Riding across the George Washington Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge are fantastic adventures that are completely free.  Once accross the GWB, riding up the Palisades puts you suddenly on a low traffic road with  a view of only the river and lots of trees. And in the fall, what a wonderful way to leaf peep for the cost of your picnic lunch!  If you don't have your own bike, bike rental is available all over Manhattan.  You can even rent tandem bikes near the Intrepid museum on Pier 86.  

All of this adventure for a low low price... and without burning oil or adding to pollution!  (not to mention getting a workout!)  Renaissance Girls never miss a chance to multitask.