Well, golly gee!

Jauntsetter is my latest addiction.

A most fabulous travel site and weekly newsletter for New York women, Jauntsetter highlights travel deals, tips and tricks for ladies traveling from the New York area. Each week, they feature a different destination (recent spots include Baltimore and Fire Island) and a different Jauntsetter of the Week. The Jauntsetters are always cool women with great travel wisdom to share, and I love hearing about their experiences, especially those related to food (um, duh).

Earlier this week, Jauntsetter editor Dororthy McGivney posted some musings on traveling solo, inspired by her (current!) trip to Paris. I tweeted her to let her know how much I loved the post, and we got to talking a bit about great things to do in Paris.

And then, the most exciting thing of all happened - Dorothy invited me to write a guest post and share my Parisian favorites with Jauntsetter's readers!

The first half of my perfect Parisian day is already posted over at Jauntsetter, with a second post (all about ice cream, Camille and wine) planned for this afternoon. Go check it out, and make sure to sign up for Jauntsetter's newsletter while you're at it!

Queenie's Treasury

Happy weekend, my doves! This week was a long one at the office (meetings, meetings, meetings), so a bunch of these Treasury items come not from internet research (The last thing I wanted to do when I got home at night was get back on the computer.), but from my daily NPR podcast listening - and my mom!

First up, what I learned on NPR this week. I listen to several NPR podcasts on a regular basis, since it's easier to listen to my iPod than to juggle a book on my daily commute, and Terry Gross's Fresh Air is one of my favorites. Last week she interviewed none other than my food writing idol, Ruth Reichl! Reichl is out and about doing the book tour for Gourmet Today, and the interviews she's been giving have been fascinating. She's been very open about the end of Gourmet and her experience of the news. She and Terry also talk a lot about Ruth's last book, the short memoir Not Becoming My Mother, and about sustainable fishing.

Speaking of sustainable fishing, Reichl recommends using this tool provided by the Monterey Bay Aquarium to keep track of which fish are OK to eat, since those things can change from week to week, depending on weather conditions, season and so on...

Next, the incredibly cool article my mom clipped from Travel & Leisure! Rufus Wainwright, one of my favorite musicians, spent a good chunk of his childhood in Montréal, and offers readers a few of his favorite spots. I'd already been considering a jaunt up to Québec sometime this winter (when prices are cheap), and now I'm all but decided. Rufus could probably convince me to jump off a bridge; luckily, he's more likely to croon something about opera or art.

Finally, another travel-related tidbit. If you're sick of staying in hotels or charmless corporate apartments when you're away from home, why not give airbnb a whirl? You can rent apartments or rooms for short- or long-term stays, and most of the homes I saw were gorgeous, design mag-worthy creations. I'm sure not every property on the site is perfect, but New York for $100 a night - without having to share a bathroom with strangers? Sign me up.

Who's Queenie?

Queenie is me (Meg Blocker)!

I've never been terribly good at the whole internet alias/handle thing, so when I decided to start my own foodblog in early 2007, I went with the nickname my mother gave me when I was little (and has been using ever since).

Queenie Takes Manhattan is dedicated to exploring all aspects of the food world: dining (fine and not-so-fine), cooking and recipe writing, sourcing ingredients, entertaining, great tabletop & kitchen design, and travel.

I've lived in Manhattan since graduating from Bryn Mawr (with a degree in Religious Studies) in 2001, so my writing tends to focus on New York's food scene, but I like to think I travel as much or more than the average bear. Since Queenie kicked off, we've visited London, Paris, India, Manchester, Edinburgh, Napa, Ohio, Sonoma & San Francisco, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Chicago, Maine, and Austin together.

So sit back, click away, and enjoy - and please feel free to get in touch if there's something you'd like to see me blog. I'm always up for an adventure.

Fondly,
Meg, a.k.a Queenie

P.S. - Follow me on Twitter, where I tweet food, technology and life as @queenie_nyc.

P.P.S. - Want to send me an email? I can be reached at megblocker at gmail dot com.

Queenie's Take: Drinking your way through Napa.

Welcome to second edition of Queenie's Take! This week, we're talking travel!

Hall (no stranger to first-class travel experiences) is headed to Napa for a vacation in June, and is looking for some off-the-beaten-path spots to visit. He's been to Napa before, and he's done most of my favorites - Schramsberg, Far Niente, and so on. This time, he wants to try something new. And so I racked my brain, consulted my tweeps, and got down to business.

The question is where to go next? Any 'cult' vineyards that are worth seeing? Any over-the-top oenological experiences there that are hiding under my nose? Or, is there something else that is a must do? - Hall, Christchurch, New Zealand

After rigorous research and vetting (read: visiting a couple of these myself and asking some trusted friends), I think I have some ideas for you, Hall. First up, Frank Family Vineyards. I'm not really sure that Frank Family qualifies as a hidden treasure, since so many people mention them to me, but I love them all the same. Tucked away on a dusty side road just south of Calistoga, Frank Family produces delicious wines (I am particularly fond of their sparkling wines and their cabernet). They also have one of the livelier tasting rooms I've visited, with a casual, easy-going atmosphere.

Next, Reynolds Family. (Apparently, I have a thing for families.) I visited Reynolds Family with - appropriately enough - my mother, when we went to Napa in 2007. Our friends Rick and Aimee had alerted us to the awesomeness to be found at Reynolds, and they were right. The staff were some of the most knowledgable I've encountered in Napa, and the thirty-minute tasting was pure fun. They specialize in reds, and I actually have a bottle of their cabernet that needs drinkin'. Hmmm...

If you are hankering for a twisty drive, impressive views, and a gorgeous tasting room, head for Pride Mountain, which straddles the borders of Sonoma and Napa counties (and has the taxation headaches to prove it, it seems). Perched at the peak of the hill, the tasting room has expansive views of the valleys below, and the wines ain't bad, either. Just remember to designate a driver for the trek back down. (Safety first, kids!)

My friends Caroline and Brian are the ultimate Napa experts, so I trust their every word. They both (separately, so I REALLY trust it) recomment Vincent Arroyo, where the wine is so good that you really buy futures, as opposed to bottles. It sells out before it's out of the barrels. Seriously. And Brian says that August Brigg's Dijon Clones Pinot Noir is the best thing he tasted on his last trip.

So, Hall - I hope that'll do ya good for this trip. Don't forget to stop in at Bouchon Bakery for a caramel macaron, and you're golden.

As for the rest of you - please chime in with your favorite Napa and Sonoma destinations, and, also, with any questions you'd like to see me take on in a future edition of Queenie's Take!

Why me? Here's why.

Dear Readers: This post is my first entry for the Food Buzz Project Food Blog contest. You'll see a few more of these over the next few weeks. If you're a fellow Food Buzz feature publisher I'd love it if you'd click on over via my widget on the left there and vote for me. And if you're not a publisher, you can still vote for me as your Readers' Choice! There will be a Readers' Choice winner in each of the ten rounds. If you don't feel like voting at all, or want to be extra, super-nice to me, post the link to this all over the place, wherever you can. I promise cookies. Smooches!

I love to cook. I love to eat. I love to travel. I love to write.

That's why I blog.

Hearing that someone has loved a recipe I've created, or that they've used Queenie as a travel guide to one of my more beloved destinations, or just that my photos made them hungry? It's really, really cool. And it makes me feel that my blog - something that is, at heart, a narcissistic exercise in sharing my own favorite hobbies with the world - actually does some good.

So, really, why I blog is a pretty simple thing to explain.

But as for why I should be the next food blog star? I feel like this is the sort of question I should have my mother answer for me, so as to appear all the more modest. She's not here right now, though, so let's think about what my mother would say, and see where that gets us.

I love my readers, and I want to do right by them. This means staying on top of what's going on in the food world in general, and in New York in particular. It means testing my recipes religiously before I post them, and being thoughtful about what makes a good recipe to begin with.

It also means taking on the responsibility for educating my readers - however gently and sweetly - about the things I'm learning as I go. This includes everything from what makes a true martini, to how champagne is made, to how to find sustainable seafood, no matter where you live.

I'm serious about exploring the world around me. This blog is well-traveled, both within the five boroughs, and to places further abroad than a MetroCard will carry you. I love to bring my readers along with me on my journeys, and I try my darndest to make sure they know what I've found along the way.

Finally, I'm kind of awesome. I know, I know - modesty. (But, remember, this is what my mom would say, so it's all cool.) I'm warm, I'm funny - or, at least, I try to be - and I'm all kinds of game for pretty much any adventure you can cook up. (Get it? Get it? Puns are awesome, right? If you don't like puns, please forget I made one.)

All in all, I think I'd be a pretty excellent food blog star. But, really, it's up to you now. So I'll end with this:

Pretty please?

Food plus feminism equals awesomeness.

I know, I know...I don't write, I don't call, I don't post photos...it's been something of an insane week chez Queenie, not least because I've been writing some other stuff that I'm very, very excited/nervous/giddy about.

A couple of months ago, my friends Miya and Elisabeth invited me to contribute to their truly awesome new effort, called The Equals Project. Its goal? To create a space where women come together to share stories, ideas and art, all driven by this incredibly true statement from their inaugural post:

We are more than what we can cook, we are more than what we can create, more than our makeup, our jewelry, our aesthetic tastes. We are people with complex ideas, and conflicting thoughts, who read, travel, discuss, do, and make. We are people who are influenced and inspired by the women who came before us, and we aspire to create something greater than the sum of our parts.

As much as I love sharing my food and travel adventures with you here on Queenie Takes Manhattan - and I truly do - I leapt at the opportunity to join a project that would allow me to think and write about some of the other important aspects of my life.

That said, my regular column will feature food in a big way, but with a twist: it's called The F Words: Food & Feminism, and it's all about getting to know remarkable women through conversations about food and the complex relationship many of us have with the domestic realm.

So, yeah! You should come check it out. And you should stick around, because the other contributors are pretty freaking awesome, too.

Queenie's Take: Boston ahoy!

This week's Queenie's Take comes to you straight from Twitter, where I asked people to send their most pressing food and travel questions. So, today we'll be talking travel to Boston, and next week it'll be shopping & cafes here in NYC. Without further ado...

We're in Boston Sunday through Tuesday. What should we do? - Danielle (@foodmomiac)

Good question, Danielle! As a former denizen of New England, I have some Boston favorites to share with you - and since I know you have kids, I'm going to try to focus on stuff that you can all enjoy together!

Boston is one of those towns that brings out my nerdy side - American history, academia, great art - for such a small city, Boston has an incredibly rich cornucopia of stuff to tickle your brain. One of favorite museums is the Boston Museum of Science, with its awesome mid-century-version-of-the-future architecture and its Leonard Nimoy-narrated planetarium welcome. They also have a butterfly garden exhibition right now - something Dylan is bound to love.

My other favorite is the Museum of Fine Arts, which has an absolutely magnificent collection of John Singer Sargent's works (though we have my favorite - Madame X - here in NYC). He's one of my favorite artists, and seeing so many of his pieces together in one space is truly awe-inspiring.

For the adults, a wander down Beacon Hill's Charles Street might be in order. Filled to bursting with great shopping (clothes, home design, and the like) and good restaurants, it's just down the hill from the State House, and makes a nice afternoon walk. My cousin and her husband live up near the top of the hill, and I'm falling a bit more in love with the neighborhood on each visit.

Finally, for me, there was nothing cooler about my early trips to Boston than walking the Freedom Trail. Along the way you can choose to visit Paul Revere's house, Old North Church (in whose steeple hung the two lanterns signaling the approach of the British soldiers), and the USS Constitution. If your kids are anywhere near as geeky as I was (er, AM), they'll be psyched.

As far as food goes, you can't beat Boston for seafood, and for that, there are two spots I'd recommend. First, Barking Crab, downtown. Awesome lobster rolls, great fried clams, and great grilled fish, too. And, of course, there's the all-time classic, Summer Shack. Voted best lobster roll in Boston two years in a row, it's worth the trek out to Cambridge to visit the original location of Jasper White's seafood mecca. We ate here when my brother graduated from college, and I still think about it.

We expect a full report!

Photos courtesy of Pear_Biter, Shooothead, mkrigsman and Dan4th on Flickr.

There's nothing wrong with a burger...or three.

My recent travels have presented me with the opportunity to eat lots of great meals: ris de veau at Bouchon, coq au vin at Bistro Jeanty, steak with Bearnaise sauce as prepared by Nick - and quite a few burgers.

Hamburgers, not cheeseburgers, you understand. Though I've warmed to cheese over the last couple of years (I hated it with a flaming, burning passion from early childhood - odd, given my willingness to eat almost anything else.), I still don't like it on my burgers. So don't even ask.

The burger is perhaps the quintessential American food, something that rang true with me as never before on my trip to Strasbourg last year. Louisa and I met an incredibly charming (I'm swooning at the memory) French man at a bar near the cathedral who had attended UT Austin for university.

By the end of it, he said, people didn't believe him when he told them he was French. He himself only realized how truly Americanized he'd become when he mastered the art of driving while eating a hamburger. And I believe it - I picture him, from time to time, cruising down a two-lane, rural Texas highway, burger in hand, the wind in his hair (because, of course, he's driving a red convertible), and think: "Good lord, how American."

The freedom of the open road epitomized by a hand-held meal. Like Henri*, I associate burgers with driving and travel, and so am not terribly surprised that my first lunches upon arrival in Norwalk, Fresno and Calistoga, respectively, were hamburgers all.

First up, H n' B's Hop in Norwalk, Ohio. I admit, this was my first old-fashioned hamburger hop ever. As Louisa and I pulled up, I looked around for the waitresses in bobby socks and roller skates, but, alas, you now go inside to order off of the hand-written menu.

I went for the hamburger meal (with fries) and a small vanilla shake. After all, I was on vacation, people. Louisa ordered the BBQ beef sandwich and sauerkraut balls, an Ohio specialty of which I'd been ignorant before my visit (look for a separate post on those later). We grabbed a table in the dappled shade of the Hop's wooden canopy and waited patiently for our food and drinks.

They called our names, and we ran up to the counter, salivating. Now, I know it doesn't look like much, but trust me, this burger was awfully good. Straightforward, with robust, beefy flavor, and just the right size. I'm sure I'll get hate mail for this one, but I really don't like a thick hamburger patty - they're hard to eat, messy, and don't leave enough bite clearance for the good stuff, like tomatoes, pickles and onions. The condiments on this were good, but the beef was the standout. Not surprising, given I was in the Midwest, land of excellent beef (though too often also the land of excellent beef overcooked to point where its excellence goes bye-bye).

The shake was thick and delicious, rich and robustly vanilla, and definitely not light on the ice cream. Just the way I like it. Needless to say, I was quite full as we tottered back to the car. Oof.

My next hamburger experience came at a restaurant that is, frankly, the standard by which I judge all other fast food burgers: In n' Out Burger. If you are not yet familiar with In n' Out, you must live east of the Mississippi or somewhere outside of the States. If this is the case, I advise you to buy a plane ticket to parts west as soon as possible - they've got stores all over California, and a couple in Nevada, I think. Go. Go now.

Why are their burgers so good? Well, they're delicious. Oh, ok - so, the meat is never frozen. It's fresh. The veggies? Ditto. Including the potatoes, which are peeled and sliced into tiny little french fries right there in the store. Right there in front of you!

Whenever I visit my mom in Fresno, I make every effort to visit In n' Out for a double meat with fries and a Diet Coke. It just makes me smile. Some people don't like "secret" or "special" sauces - not me. Condiment-loving fiend that I am, I just can't get enough. Onions? Bring it on - I'm not kissing anyone tonight. Pickles? Marry me.

I am, however, undecided in the matter of In n' Out's fries. Yes, they're fresh and taste more like potatoes than any other fast food fry I have ever tasted in my life. But they're a little bit...soggy. Like someone forgot to teach the In n' Out folks the old fry 'em twice trick. But I get them anyway, because I'm a sucker.

Finally, a visit to Taylor's Automatic Refresher in St. Helena. I'm sure it's not the case, but I wouldn't be surprised if people trying to get to Taylor's is the reason traffic in St. Helena is so maddening around lunchtime - it's that good, and that popular. Don't be fooled by the picture on the website - it's mobbed around the clock (though I managed to escape the worst of it by going for lunch at 2:00 PM).

I ordered a hamburger, fries, and (gasp!) a Diet Coke, then grabbed a seat at one of the picnic tables to wait for my name (Megan B.) to be called by the cute boy manning the microphone. The total (around $10) was the highest by far of my three hamburger outings, not surprising given the locale (Napa Valley) and the clientele (those who prefer their down-home food come with upscale trappings, including gourmet pickles and bottles of wine).

Let me start with the fries - Taylor's fries were, hands-down, the winners in their category (for this go-round, at least). Crisp, perfectly salted, and piping hot, they tasted of potato and of summer, and tasted great dipped in mayonnaise (my ultimate test, as ketchup is awfully acidic and can mask weak potato flavor).

Finally, the hamburger. This was a hamburger worthy of its price tag. The Taylor's sauce is mustardy where In n' Out's is ketchupy, and the deeper flavor goes well with the as-close-to-cucumber-as-you-can-be-and-still-be-a-pickle new pickles (my favorites). The toppings were around the burger - the lettuce and tomato below, pickles above, and I enjoyed this pre-packaging of the tasty meat. Not quite as purely beefy as H n' B's, it was still well-seasoned and tasty. Plus, they asked me how I wanted it cooked - and managed medium-rare, even with a satisfactorily thin patty. A feat few can manage, friends.


*Not his real name, but we never asked what it was, and it seemed to suit him best.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, my lovely readers!

I hope that today brings you all kinds of delightful gifts and togetherness, be it family or otherwise. I'll be spending the day with family and friends - a group fairly similar to the one that accompanied me to California to celebrate my 30th birthday, including my best friend, Louisa - and I couldn't be more excited about it. Add to that the fact that I didn't have to travel this year, and I'm practically over the moon.

My mom sent me this shot of my grandparents' Connecticut living room on Christmas morning (I'm guessing it's 1984 or 1985). That there on the left is my first kitchen, which, much like my current version, has no dishwasher. I feel, therefore, that it prepared me well for Manhattan living. Well done, Mom!

What Christmas present do you remember best from years past? And what are you all up to today? Can't wait to hear all about it!

Fresh from the dock.

I'm a big believer in partaking of the local specialties - why else would you travel? And so, I've sampled bone marrow salad in London, obscene amounts of foie gras and tarte flambee in Alsace, champagne in Napa, and now fried perch in Ohio. Sandusky, Ohio, to be more specific - in full view of Cedar Point.

On the last Saturday of my visit to Norwalk, Nick, Louisa, Hunter (their border terrier, with whom I am desperately in love) and I piled into the car to drive out to Sandusky for some fried perch and a sail on Lake Erie.

We pulled up in front of the New Sandusky Fish Company (heartily endorsed by Nick and Lou, as well as by the always-reliable Roadfood.com). While Louisa and Hunter saved us a table outside, Nick and I went inside to order two perch dinners and a sandwich, all with extra tartar sauce. The restaurant is take-out only, and oddly resembles the office suite of a small-town paper goods distributor. That aesthetic consideration aside, the place is awesome. There's basically nothing on the menu but different preparations of fish from the lake, along with fried accompaniments (french fries and onion rings among them). Extra tartar sauce will set you back 25 cents for a small, 50 cents for a large.

We toted our Styrofoam boxes out to the picnic table, where Hunter danced around our feet, hoping desperately for dropped pieces of fish. My sandwich was loaded with light, flaky strips of fried perch. The fish was fresh as could be, mild and tender, and the crunch of the crust against the soft bun brought back memories of my beloved chicken finger subs, the meal that kept me going through years of terrible prep school cafeteria food.

Nick and Louisa got the perch dinner, which came with coleslaw and french fries. The slaw was decent, the fries excellent - crispy, piping hot, and judiciously salted.

We never did make it out of the dock that afternoon, due to a spider infestation followed by a broken bilge pump - but the drive to Sandusky was more than worth it. Plus, I got to hold this on my lap all the way home:

Kitchen Lust: Le Parfait storage jars.

When in doubt, go French. This applies to pretty much everything in life: food, wine, travel, stockings, kissing, and, of course, kitchen storage.

A few weeks ago, I tired of shoving my coffee beans into Ziploc bags and nestling them into the tiny bits of spare room available in my kitchen cabinets. I had some free real estate on my counter (thanks to my mother's donation of an antique secretary for my living room, in which I have stashed, among other things, my mug o' writing utensils), so I decided to monopolize it with two Le Parfait storage jars.

Why two? Well, one for my espresso beans, and one for my regular coffee. The jars are gorgeous - well-propotioned, sturdy, stackable. Just looking at them makes me smile, and the ergonomically friendly latch ain't nothin' to sneeze at, either.

You can find Le Parfait jars on the Fante's Cookware website. Just click here and scroll down till you find the "Le Parfait Canning Jars."

London in the sunshine - really!

So, India was a fascinating place, and I promise to post more about it shortly. But first I thought I'd write a bit about the time I spent in London, crammed full as it was of food and drink.

We landed late on Thursday, after a seven-hour flight from Mumbai. (Did you know that they spray the cabin with anti-mosquito stuff when you take off from India? Serious stuff. Really brought the reason for the malaria pills - and the accompanying freaky dreams - home.)

By the time we navigated the Piccadilly line to the Green Park tube stop and hauled our suitcases out to the hotel, it was too late to get a bite anywhere civilized, so we hit the Burger King in Piccadilly Circus (I had a Whopper), where we dropped about ₤5 each (that's ten buckaroos, folks). And so began the fast and furious depletion of my funds.

The next morning, I rose early and ventured out across Green Park toward Buckingham Palace. I spent the morning walking eastward, ultimately spending an hour and a half on a guided tour of Westminster Abbey (which was wicked cool - I highly recommend it - you get to see things you can't see on your own). I then walked on to St. Paul's and across the Millennium bridge, ending at the Tate Modern, where I promptly queued up to slide down this:

After a stroll through the Tate (and a visit to its fabulous gift shop), I made my way toward Borough Market, stopping for a sandwich and a rest along the way. I grabbed a chicken and bacon sandwich at EAT, which is Prêt-A-Manger taken to a whole new level. Their philosophy is all about good, wholesome, delicious food at affordable prices. I was a bit sad at first that I gave into gnawing hunger before I reached the market, but it was worth it.

Next up, Borough Market. This was my first European outdoor market, and I found it all a bit overwhelming. My hunger sated, I mostly wandered here and there, admiring the displays of game, sweets (Turkish delight, an automatic reminder of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe), and produce. The market sprawls under the London Bridge and the train overpasses, meandering through several glass-topped arches and between stone pillars. It bustles, even at 2:00 on a Friday afternoon.

I grabbed a pint of Guinness in a nearby pub, then headed back to the hotel to change for tea at The Dorchester. Upon my arrival in the lobby, I was so distracted by the plush decor that I didn't notice Johnny Depp walking right past me until a rather uncouth American (go us!) said, rather loudly, "Hey, that's Johnny Depp!" Thoroughly prepared, at that point, for a mediocre, celebrity-spot tea, I approached the host stand.

My travel companions had ditched me for tea and dinner, so I explained that I was on my own, and was escorted to a lovely couch about halfway to the back of the restaurant (The Promenade, ahem). Pink champagne in hand, I proceeded to gorge myself on scones with clotted cream and jam, and finger sandwiches, one of them containing the only egg salad I have ever enjoyed. Bravo! The staff were gracious and lovely, and though there were a fair number of obnoxious tourist types about (jeans and trainers in abundance), civility mostly won the day.

I walked back to the hotel full to the brim and wondering how I would ever make it to my 9:00 PM reservation at Fergus Henderson's famed St. John restaurant in Clerkenwell.

Oh, don't worry - I managed.

Stay tuned.

I'm off - again!

Dear readers, it has been a travel-heavy summer for this Manhattanite - and this weekend is no exception! I'm off to Massachusetts and New Hampshire this weekend. I'll be staying in Newburyport, exploring Plum Island, and making a pilgrimage to my old stomping grounds up in Exeter (where I went to high school) and Portsmouth.

Any recommendations for food or fun? Leave 'em in the comments! And, obviously, I'll be back with a full report next week!

Phillips Exeter library photo courtesy of atelier/Ed Brodzinsky. Portsmouth photo courtesy of Philip Case.

Queenie's Treasury

It's t-minus 13 days to Christmas, folks, and preparations are in full swing chez Queenie. This weekend I'm finishing up my Christmas shopping, writing up a Queenie gift guide and shifting focus to finalizing menus and shopping lists for my pre-Christmas dinner party and Christmas dinner itself.

With that in mind, I thought we'd take a break with some non-Christmasy stuff in today's Treasury. Who's game?

First up, a super-cool, eco-friendly, nifty little find. This felt coffee cozy by Megan Auman (available at her Etsy store) doubles as jewelry. A cuff and cozy in one, all for under $35? Beautify yourself and help save the earth, all at the same time.

Next up, the December issue of Lonny Magazine, which in just two months has taken the shelter mag-starved design blogosphere by storm. Lonny is a monthly online publication chock full of great interior design and fashion ideas, most easily compared to the dear, departed Domino. (Sob.) This month's issue features a few fabulously-styled shop interiors, and talks about how to translate their aesthetics to your living space. Among them is one of my long-time favorites, Kate Spade. Colorful, preppy-modern at its best.

Finally, a giveaway alert! Jauntsetter is launching a Jauntsetter Weddings site, which will feature destination weddings and nuptials-related travel. To celebrate, they're giving away a trip to the Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid. To enter, send them an email describing (with photos!) your awesome destination wedding or fabulous honeymoon. Full instructions over here - good luck!

Queenie's Treasury: The caffeinated edition.

Happy weekend, my doves! I've been on something of a Treasury hiatus for a while, for which I heartily apologize. Between the trip to Maine and my brother's actual 30th birthday last week (gougères, chocolate chip cookies, and Vietnamese lettuce wraps for 100 were involved), it's been a bit nutty on this end. But I'm back, baby, and ready to rock. This week, we're all about coffee.

First up, some great tips from the wonderful women of Food52 (assisted by the folks from Craft Coffee) on how to brew the perfect cup. Some highlights? Store coffee at room temperature, not in the freezer or refrigerator. Grind the beans fresh, preferably with a burr grinder. And make sure the water you use is actually below boiling - otherwise you're going to get a bitter brew.

But, kids - it is, after all, summer. Which means that cold coffee is at least as important right now as the hot kind. Thank goodness, then, for Bon Appétit's no-nonsense recipe for cold-brewed coffee concentrate. Keep a mason jar of this in your fridge, and you'll never find yourself settling for Starbucks again. (My favorite beans for cold coffee, by the way, are Brazil Rainha from Joe.)

And, finally, a little something to help you brew your best on the go. I'm a sucker for Intelligentsia's iPhone app, which contains step by step instructions for a variety of brewing methods - extremely helpful during the summer travel season, when you find yourself confronted with a variety of unfamiliar coffee makers in varying locales. (A rental vacation home in Maine, for example.)

Rise and shine!

Room service for breakfast is one of life's great pleasures. There's something unmistakably luxurious about taking breakfast in your room - you're cocooned a bit longer in your sanctuary, able to read your paper without looking rude, able to ease into your morning peacefully rather than surrounded by the jangle and clatter of cutlery.

When I travel for business, those extra twenty minutes of peace are precious to me, and I eat breakfast in my room whenever I can get away with it. My trip to Mumbai was no exception, and the ITC Maratha performed admirably. Their basket of toast and pastry arrived warm and crusty each morning, and though Indian jams tend to run too sweet for my taste, the butter was fantastic.

And, most important - the coffee was strong, rich and hot, fortifying me for long days of meetings and hand-shaking.

Renewing my vows.

I looked at the calendar today and realized something pretty damn exciting: I have all of next week off from work! I carried over four weeks of vacation from 2008, which means I have a total of nine weeks for 2009. I'll never be able to get through all of it (and, yes, I know, I am wicked spoiled by the vacation policy of my current employer), but I have to use those four weeks or I'll lose them forever!

And, so, back in January, I decided to kick things off with a week-long staycation here in New York. I have some travel planned for later this year (Ohio, Napa and possibly France), but this week will be totally and completely about spending time with my city.

One of the craziest things about New Yorkers is that we tend to spend so much time working our butts off (we have to, if we want to afford the rents) that we rarely take time to pause and explore our city. I can't remember the last time I just wandered around the Village, browsing through shops, or struck out on an exploration of a new neighborhood in Brooklyn, or spent hours wandering the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Next week, I will spend my time doing the kinds of things I moved here to do - and I'd love to hear if you have any ideas for me to try! Here's a few things that are already on the list...

- Tickets to 9 to 5 for Tuesday night - Allison Janney FTW!
- Banh Mi sandwich
- Dinner or lunch at Marlow & Sons
- Shopping for furniture/house stuff in Williamsburg
- Lots and lots of Greenmarket-based cooking
- Lunch and shopping in Chinatown
- An outing to Stone Barns
- Lobster roll at Pearl Oyster Bar

What am I missing, people? What do you want to see? Let me know!

Queenie's Take: In the beginning...

One of my absolute favorite things to read is the Dear Prudence column over at Slate. Every week, Prudie (really Emily Yoffe, a Slate staff writer) takes on questions of etiquette and interpersonal relationships, always with a healthy dose of humor - and horror, when appropriate.

It was while reading Prudie a couple of weeks ago that it hit me - ever since I started blogging as Queenie, I've gotten tons of emails (and phone calls - you know who you are) asking for advice about where to eat, how to entertain, and what to cook. I (try to) answer each question, but I don't share the advice terribly widely.

And, so, I'm very excited to announce "Queenie's Take," a new weekly feature here at Queenie Takes Manhattan! Each Thursday, I'll be taking on a question or three with wit and verve. Now, while I definitely have opinions about relationships, romantic and otherwise, I'll be keeping the official Queenie advice to questions about cooking & baking, entertaining, culinary history, travel, and dining out.

This week, in the spirit of things just starting, I'll be answering questions about jump-starting your kitchen and cookbook library.

And, if you have a question you'd like to see answered in a future "Queenie's Take," just leave it in the comments!

What are the first five cookbooks any beginning cook should buy, and why? - Louisa, Sandusky, OH

Obviously, there's an element of personal taste involved here. For instance, my great culinary loves are French and Italian foods, with a big emphasis on vegetables and pastry. But you might want to cook mainly Vietnamese food or have a thing for traditional English pub grub. So, what I'm going to do is recommend investing in three robust classics, and tell you about two of my favorite add-ons, books that speak directly to my own sensibilities.

1. The Gourmet Cookbook, Ruth Reichl
Setting my Ruth Reichl fascination aside for a moment, this is still a remarkably wonderful cookbook. It's huge (1,056 pages, 1,000+ recipes), but well-indexed and easy to use. The recipes are detailed but straightforward, and the dishes range in difficulty from very, very simple to fairly complex. It's decidedly American in its eclecticism - there are recipes for French classics like bouillabaisse, Spanish ones like paella, and even one for pad thai. More importantly, the book seeks to educate you about the origins of its recipes and techniques. Following in the steps of the great Julia Child, Ruth Reichl knows that cooking is not just about blindly following a recipe, but about understanding why you're doing what you're doing. Which brings us to...

2. Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I, Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle, and Julia Child
It's hard to overestimate the impact Julia Child and her fellow authors had on the American palate. Though she's certainly not solely responsible (Alice Waters comes to mind here), Julia is a huge part of the reason why we eat so many fresh vegetables with delicious, light vinaigrettes; why we make apple pies with fresh apples and homemade crusts; why we once again have chicken that tastes like chicken. Her cooking show and cookbooks exploded the mid-century obsession with factory-based cooking, and are as relevant today as they were forty years ago. Julia will teach you how to roast a chicken, how to make a salad, how to turn a vegetable - and then how to gradually build on top of those basic skills. Along with her husband Paul's impeccable line drawings, her words will teach you more than I can possibly explain. And, lest you be one of those people out there who still believe that French food = fussy, Julia will set you straight, once and for all.

3. The Joy of Cooking, Irma Rombauer
The veritable Bible of American cooking. Where Gourmet is a decidedly modern take on the American canon, Rombauer's book retains the flavor of pre-Julia America, with fantastic, easy recipes for classics like brownies, pancakes, and casseroles. The merits of the latest edition, re-worked for a more contemporary cook in celebration of the original's 75th anniversary, have been hotly debated. For my money, the original is still the best, in all its 1930s frugal practicality.

4. Barefoot in Paris, Ina Garten -and- 5. Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, Lidia Bastianich
Ina's French cookbook simply can't be beat for foolproof, delicious bistro classics. Her gougeres? Simple as can be to make, incredibly impressive when served. The brownie tart makes grown men swoon, and there's little that makes me happier than her creme brulee. She takes the straightest, easiest route to delicious, entertaining-friendly French food, which is pretty miuch my favorite thing to cook, ever. And Lidia! If she isn't the Nonna we all wish we had teaching us to cook, I don't know who is. Like Ina, her food is simple to prepare, but tastes anything but, and is meant to serve a crowd.

What cookbooks would you guys recommend?

What do you consider essential food items/ingredients (spices, etc.) to keep in your kitchen such that you don't have to buy every single ingredient when preparing a particular recipe? - Richard, New York, NY

Like the cookbook question, this depends largely on the kinds of food you like to prepare. I recently unearthed a bottle of chili powder that's survived eight years and three moves without being opened, but you might be someone who'd use it all the time. However, here's a list of things I try to never be without:

Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper: Kosher salt is easier to handle with your hands, and is the salt most often used by cookbook authors and recipe testers. So use it, wouldja? As for pepper - those blends of red, green and black peppercorns are pretty, but the clear, true flavor of black pepper is what you want for cooking.

Butter & canola oil: Unsalted butter, please - you can always add salt to taste, but you can't take it out. Canola oil is more versatile than olive oil - neutral in flavor and with a high smoking point, it can be used for cooking or for salad dressings.

Flour & sugar: Even if you're not a big baker, you'll want to have at least a small box of flour on hand for thickening sauces and soups. Sugar, well, duh!

Tomato paste & Dijon mustard: Both are great secret weapons for creating deep flavor with very little effort, and the mustard is essential for vinaigrettes, too.

Eggs: An absolute must for bakers, these are also great for creating quick, easy dinners (omelets, fritattas, and so on).

Garlic & shallots: Garlic is God's gift to mankind; shallots are more versatile and less acidic than onions.

Sherry & champagne vinegars: Between these two, you can make a huge variety of salad dressings, mayonnaises, and so on - and also add a teaspoon or two to sauces for a bit of contrast.

Baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla extract: These are really for those who plan to bake. Vanilla pops up in pretty much every baked good known to man, so invest in some good stuff. Baking soda and baking powder ARE different, so buy both. They cost about a buck apiece, so you can splurge here.

What do you think? Did I leave anything out that you consider essential?

By the way, a HUGE thank you to all the friends who sent me questions for the first edition of "Queenie's Take." If I didn't answer you this week, have no fear - your question will be included in a future edition!

I'm a nerd, and a sucker for detail.

My latest obsession, as many of you may already know, is Battlestar Galactica. I only got "real" cable (as opposed to randomly-there-when-you-plug-into-the-wall-NYC cable) last year, so I wasn't able to watch the SciFi Channel's re-imagining of the seventies miniseries from the beginning. Since people have been raving about it to me for years, I decided the right and proper thing to do would be to wait till I had time (read: till my shows were off the air for the summer) and watch the entire series on DVD.

Well, I just finished season 2, and I'm in love.

For those who don't know, Battlestar Galactica (BSG, to those of us nerdy enough to tweet about it on a regular basis) chronicles the struggles of a group of 50,000 human survivors of a massive holocaust of their 12 colonies. They've been wiped out by the Cylons, a race of machines originally created by humans to help out around the house (and the factories and airports, one imagines). This group of 50,000 are a society in unexpected exile; things are decidedly low-tech, as far as space travel with gravity goes.

One nifty manifestation of the series' analog sensibility is the ubiquity of the mason jar as drinking cup and all-around handy vessel. I noticed the mason jars about halfway through season one, and it was one of the tiny little touches sprinkled throughout that demonstrate the show's incredible attention to detail.

After all, mason jars were created for canning; it represents our terrestrial connections, our link to the rhythm of the seasons and the need to preserve them throughout the year. They are decidedly low-tech and old-fashioned, and yet the space-faring vessels depicted in BSG all seem to have them in spades. (The image above is of an actual prop from the show.)

Highly practical, as they're darn useful, and hold a generous helping of ambrosia.

Photo of the mason jar courtesy of www.aarondouglasfans.com.

Looking for love in all the right places.

I've been experiencing a touch of wanderlust lately. The itch goes beyond my normal craving for travel; this is more than an interest in exploring a new city or country. This is a yen for change.

I'm not sure yet if all this will end in moving downtown, or to another borough - or to another city. What I do know is that stop #2 on the great tour of 2009-2010 is coming up this weekend: Chicago!

The primary purpose of my trip to Chicago is to celebrate my best friend Louisa's 30th birthday with a culinary whirlwind (including dinners at Trotter's and Alinea) and some good, solid quality time together. The secondary purpose is to see how Chicago suits me. I haven't been to the Windy City since 1996, when I visited Northwestern during my college tour.

Will Chicago be the place I fall in love with? Will I ever be able to live anywhere else, or has New York spoiled me forever? These questions and more to be answered sometime in the next six to twelve months. Yes, I have a tendency to belabor these things, so please don't hold your breath.

In the meantime, if anyone has any great tips for a weekend in Chicago, please share them in the comments! I can't imagine we'll have much capacity for food aside from our epic dinners, but I'd love to know your favorite shopping haunts, sights to see, or coffee shops.

Photo by Spudart on Flickr.