It's nearing summer and that means my favorite fruit is finally showing up in the greenmarkets. I stopped at the Union Square market yesterday morning and picked up a small box on way to work; these were more of the usual kind but I'm hoping the Tri-Star ones I love (smaller and crossed with wild strawberries) will be showing up soon.

Coincidentally, I was reading about Ladurée's seasonal macaron offerings on Serious Eats a few days ago and there was a lovely photo of a Strawberry Guimauve (strawberry shell with a marshmallow filling) one. It's part of their special Incroyables (French for "unbelievable") collection and well, after seeing that, I just had to have one. The other seasonal flavors at the shop included almond, chocolate kalamansi, and cherry blossom. I'm not a fan of sakura flavored items, so I only bought the first two to try as well. It's been a long while since I've last made the trek to Ladurée, so I may as well indulge a bit.

I was down in City Hall Park about two weeks ago and as I cut across it to get to my destination, I had to stop when this caught my eye:

It's not often one sees butterflies so stationary and even rarer that I could get within inches of it with my camera. As it turned out, the park was full of these Red Admiral butterflies. They flitted to and fro on the branches and big blooming flowers.

The last time I saw this many butterflies in one place was at the Conservatory at the Museum of Natural History many, many years ago. Later that day, Gothamist posted about an article about the butterfly invasion and that's where I learned that they usually pass through this area around this time year, but usually about a month later. Even so, I did continue to see them flying about even back in my own neighborhood and elsewhere around the city.

For all the mothers out there:

I looked up and saw this yesterday (albeit upside down) when I was walking through the Union Square Greenmarket. Not sure if it was a message for a particular person but it does seem rather apt for Mother's Day today.

We had a low-key celebration at home yesterday. My mother didn't want to go out to have dinner since the restaurants will be crowded this weekend so I ended up travelling all over downtown picking up a meal and a cake (the strawberry shortcake from Takahachi Bakery was excellent). Not a fun way to spend the afternoon waiting for a bus and hoping the whipped cream would not melt in the warm weather but on the plus side, I bumped into Esther, a high school classmate I hadn't seen in years.

It was a wet, somewhat dreary morning when I trekked out to meet Regina on Tuesday morning. It's been raining nearly every night this week so the ground is still very damp by the time rush hour comes. Even with a slight detour, I still managed to make it to our meeting place on time (though it would turn out Regina would be running a bit late).

Since our tickets for the 9/11 Memorial weren't until the afternoon, we decided to meet for breakfast first and then walk down to the World Trade Center. From a list I sent in advance, Regina decided we should meet at Jack's Wife Freda. I'm pretty happy she chose it since I've been meaning to go there one day. What appealed to her (and to me) was a particular item listed on the breakfast menu.

Drinks were pretty simple; she ordered a latte (served with a chocolate truffle on the side) while I ordered the Nana Tea, which was a mint tea. I was pleasantly surprised to find a cardboard holder around the glass of my tea. And it was pretty cute, with the restaurant logo printed on it. And the tea was excellent: not too bitter or minty but a nice balance between tea and the mint leaves floating in my glass.

We both ordered the same thing to eat:

Green shakshuka! I love shakshuka and am trying to find the best one in the city. This one is different in that it's made from green tomatoes instead of the usual red ones. The end result is a milder and not so spicy version of the dish. Slices of challah bread were served on the side to soak up all that delicious sauce. My overall opinion of it is that it's good but I still prefer the version served at nearby Balaboosta.

There were some pretty interesting items on the rest of the menu. I tried to order the house-cured duck bacon but alas, it wasn't available that day. The shakshuka is the signature dish, so other diners had ordered it as well but I also saw grapefruit with Lebanese yogurt on tables (I contemplated ordering it for dessert) as well as fresh Cantaloupe juice (a tempting option but I wanted hot liquids for the morning). I'd love to revisit and try some of the lunch/dinner options one day.

Jack's Wife Freda
224 Lafayette Street
(between Spring and Broome Streets)
New York, NY 10012

Yesterday was a nice, busy day for me. I took the day off (first vacation day I've used this year, sigh) and met up with Regina to play tourists before heading to show a musical that evening. There was a good deal of eating and walking; at least it stopped raining by late morning and we could enjoy the very warm temperatures.

One of the places we went to was the 9/11 Memorial. Regina wanted to check it out and I hadn't been either since I'm one of those people who do not normally do the tourist-y things in the city. She registered us for tickets and we received an afternoon slot to visit.

On the ticket, it says that the bearer has up to 30 minutes after the scheduled time to show up. Which is fine and all, except that it took us nearly all that time just to find the entrance! I always thought the entrance would be near Church Street, right near Trinity Church and the PATH station. We were totally off the mark. Also, the helpful signs posted in the area that directs people to the entrance were not very helpful at all. Even the map printed on the ticket lies because one cannot take a direct route thanks to the construction at the site.

After we arrived, there was the usual ticketing queue followed by a security screening. It was exactly like going through airport security except we did not have to remove our shoes and there were no large pieces of luggage to hold up the line. Fun times. Really. Since this (today, actually) is the one year anniversary of Bin Laden's death, at least it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

But once we were in, it was a pretty enough place though not necessarily peaceful. The rush of water does help drown out the sounds of conversation if one wants a bit of quiet. There were plenty of tourists around as well as some locals (I saw quite a few businessmen there as well, probably on a long lunch break). Most people were gathered around the pool that's located on the site of the South tower; it's the first one you see once you make it inside. Standing at the edge and looking at the water falling down, the footprint of the tower didn't actually seem that big. The towers were much bigger in my memories though I can't really remember what it's like to be standing next to one of them (I do have some vague recollections though).

There are computers nearby to help friends and relatives of victims locate where a person's name would be located along the edge of the pools. One of Regina's friends lost a relative in the attack and we eventually found her name at the North pool. (We took pictures so she could send them to her friend later on.) A decade on and I'm still very thankful that I did not lose any friends in the attack. For the most part, people were pretty respectful though I do find it weird to be taking a photo with yourself in it because I can't ever see it as a place for happy tourist pictures.

Between the South pool and some stretches of lawn is the Survivor tree, which was discovered in the rubble and nursed back to health in the Bronx before being replanted here. I don't have any close-ups of it since there were many people posing for pictures with it. There's also a Museum located on the grounds but it wasn't open.

We walked by the Visitor's Center after exiting the Memorial and stopped inside. There are the usual souvenirs for sale as well as a video of how the Memorial was designed. Many people were watching it and some others were looking up at something on the wall. I turned to see and there's a timeline of the attacks displayed just beneath the edge of the ceiling. Needless to say, I turned away quickly—I really do not need a visual reminder of that day; like most New Yorkers, I remember where I was and what I was doing well enough.

One World Trade (aka the Freedom Tower) is going up just north of the memorial. And hanging on its base is a bit of Old Glory.

Two days ago, it was hailed as the tallest building now in New York City. It's definitely rising nicely: