New York City Weekend

Here are some pictures from a trip to New York.  I went to a Japanese restaurant with a friend near Astor Place and while the food didn't compare to what I've had in NorCal and Toronto, it was still a lot of fun.  It's a lovely section of the city and better than the meal were the Puddin' Pops from Puddin NYC on St. Mark's Place.  Sadly, we ate the pops too quickly to photograph.

Saki Cocktails

Salmon Skin Avocado Salad

Not quite as spicy as I had hoped for

"Sputnik Sweetheart"

***

I also chanced upon a new clothing line, Maison Kitsuné, which has a boutique inside the NoMad Hotel in Chelsea.  The store is quite minimalist, but still inviting.  A collection inspired by The Great Gatsby was showcased, which I thought was a lot of fun for a high-end Parisian line in the city.    

The palette above appealed to me

New York Times article on the store

--Pianoesque

New Tennis Sneakers

Hello, and happy Friday! 

So, after much deliberation, I decided to buy the new Roger Federer tennis sneakers.  They were a bit pricey, but I'm a big fan of a previous version and Federer = GOAT.     

Federer at the 2012 Australian Open

                                                      
 Nike Vapor Tour 9

They're essentially a running shoe with the support and stability of a tennis shoe.  When I first saw the colors, I wasn't a fan, but they've grown on me.  I realized, though, that they're a fun fashion item and that I should get another pair of tennis sneakers for practice sessions and training. After all, I don't want to destroy such a cool shoe.

My solution was to get a pair of the Yonex SHT-304R, which I'd had my eye on for a while now.  They're a bit quirky, but very comfortable and as is typical with Yonex products, well-designed and constructed. 

Yonex SHT-304R

I like the details.

Which sneaker do you guys prefer?  That's all for now, but there's more to come soon :-)

--Pianoesque

Sunday Night Ice Cream

Tonight I went to Emack & Bolio's with a friend and took some pictures.  In addition to the ice cream, there's a big assortment of candy, cookies & other sweets.  The vibe is somewhat similar to Ben & Jerry's (though it's actually older been around longer), but with a bit more character.  I definitely recommend it!  

Lanterns 

Vanilla & Cookie Monster Sundae 

                           

The Pianist

--Pianoesque

Weekend Review Part Two: Borromeo String Quartet

Hello friends,

I also had the pleasure of hearing a concert by the Borromeo String Quartet last weekend and, wow, was it terrific!  The musicians played Dvorak's "American" quartet and Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" quartet.  In addition to being out of this world musicians, they're also quite progressive in terms of presenting classical music to audiences in new and interesting ways.  To the point, they used laptops instead of paper scores, using foot pedals to turn the pages.  As Nicholas Kitchen explained, this setup is quite useful as they can easily see the entire score, as opposed to just an individual part.  They also displayed some of the Schubert score on a projector screen for the audience to view and played a recording of another group's interpretation of the Dvorak piece for comparison's sake.  Some people might not like multimedia finding its way into the concert hall, but everything was so seamlessly integrated that I found the experience illuminating and not at all distracting.  A YouTube video can't do them justice, but here's them playing the final movement of "Death and the Maiden" from a different performance.  Enjoy!

http://www.borromeoquartet.org 

--Pianoesque

P.S. I'm looking forward to sharing some of my own piano playing with you guys in the coming weeks.