Marlow & Sons -- American New in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

A friend told me about Marlow and Sons last year.  It generated quite some rave reviews.
Finally, a double date on the first day of 2010 seemed to be a perfect opportunity to cross the boarder and visit this place.
The restaurant shares the same owner with the next door restaurant "Diner" and butcher shop "Marlow and daughters" a couple of steps away.
The restaurant is on the same street with the famous New York steakhouse, Peter Luger;
not the most convenient location from the nearest subway stops.



We walked in at 6 PM on January 1.  There were a few empty tables. 
By the time we left the restaurant around 9 PM, the restaurant was packed.



Ordering food was quite a challenge as many dishes on the menu and specials were in Italians.
We had to ask the waitress to explain the menu a few times before we figured out what to eat.

Ravioli Appetizer 


Salad, one of the specials of the day  (It tasted as good as it looked.)


Beef tongue soup  (Rare ingredients in restaurants. I liked the soup.)


East Coast Oysters


Brick Chicken  (Look the beautiful golden brown color!)


Pork sausages with sauerkraut


Seafood tomato stew  (Not my favorite.)


Apple crumb pie with vanilla ice cream.  (Generous portion and very comforting)


Chocolate cake with sea salt
(Chocolate was too rich and dense and too much sea salt. The contrast did not execute well.)


The front portion of the restaurant is a general store.
The restaurant also opens for breakfast and lunch.

The restaurant does not take reservations.
Come early or be prepared to wait!

Despana -- Pintxos & Spainsh Gourmat store in Nolita

Pintxo:
Originated in the Basque Country, a Pintxo is a typical bar snake consist of small slices of bread upon which
an ingredient or mixture of ingredients is placed and fastened with a toothpick,
which gives the food its name "pintxo", meaning "spike."

The difference between pintxos and tapas being that pintxos are ordered and eaten individually,
whilst tapas are usually a small portion of food to be shared.
In addition, tapas are served on a small dish, while pintxos are generally arranged on bread slices.



Since my Spain trip, I had really enjoyed Pintxos.  A while ago, I met up with a friend at Despanan,
a casual chic Spanish Gourmet store in Nolita for their variety of Pintxo selections. 


The store just opened up a small eating area in the back last December. 


Morcilla con Piquillo: Blood Sausage with piquillo pepper
(I am not really a big fan of blood sausages, but this one is really yummy)


Sardina Picante con Tomato: Hot Sardine with Tomato


Croquette de Bacalao: Home made Cod fish Croquette


There are a lot more we ordered but ate it too fast before we took pictures.
Their dessert Tarta de Santiago, flowerless Almond Tort imported from Galicia, was OUT OF THIS WORLD GOOD!

This is a really wonderful rest stop for a quick bite when you are in the neighborhood.
However, the store close at 7PM from Monday to Saturday and 6PM on Sunday.
Come early before some popular pintxos are sold out!

Cambodia - After thoughts & Tips

Our Cambodian trip was such an eye opening experience.  We truly enjoyed each and every one of the Cambodian people and children that we encountered. 

• Cambodia is definitely a country in need.  There are many ways to give and many debates on what is the best way to help. 
  Some people give donations, some volunteer, others may bring supplies to schools or orphanages....
  It could be very overwhelming and paralyzing when you try to figure out which organization and in what capacity you would like to give.  After returning from the trip and some researches, "Friends without Boarder" that funds Angkor Hospital for Children and "Landmines Blows" are two organizations that we decided to support as a way of giving back to Cambodia.  

• I regret that I did not think of bringing gummy bear vitamins with me.  They would be great treats that actually have some nutritional value for all Cambodian Children we met.

• Websites I found useful for trip planning:
• Trip adivsor forum
• Canby Publications
• 背包客棧

• For those who are debating whether to hire a guide or not, I would strongly advice to hire a guide for one day first and then decide if you would like to continue using his/her service. 

• Tuk Tuk is the best means of transportation within Siem Reap and the Angkor Park area.  It was so much fun! Definitely highly recommended.  Our tuk tuk driver, Bunlong truly enhanced the overall experience for us.  He was very reliable, punctual and we felt that he always had our best interest at heart. 
  For those of you who need a tuk tuk driver recommendation, please contact him via email at bun_angkor@yahoo.com and give him our warmest regards. 

• Bring extra batteries and memory cards for your digital camera.  We took over a thousand photos in 5 days. A tripod is also a good idea if you want to take many sunrise and sunset shoots.  

• To prevent getting sick from food, we avoided the tap water and took Pro-Biotics pills everyday.
  (Hans is also convinced that daily beer intake helped, but I don't know if there is a scientific proof to his theory.)  

For those of you who are planning on visiting Cambodia, I hope you come with an open mind and open heart.
I am sure the journey will be as enriching and rewarding to you as it was for us.