ashleyd /

Scenes from Saturday

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Good morning gang!

I’m off to yoga with my girlfriends this morning, a habit we started a few months ago and have stuck to every weekend we’re in town. My legs are in need of some stretches after the 8 miles we walked yesterday during our perfect Saturday.

We started the day off with an hour walk through Gowanus, Park Slope and Prospect Park. As our weekend guest, Matt, has never been to Brooklyn before, one of the weekend goals is to familiarize him with a few of our favorite places in Brooklyn.

 

We took in the Fall splendor in Prospect Park, enjoyed a delicious, Southern brunch at Tipsy Parsons, meandered our way through Chelsea, West Village and SoHo, learned about the Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn Heights’ rich history on a walking tour and finally relaxed with a bottle of red wine, steak dinner and Page One, a documentary about the New York Times.

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Your turn: What did you guys do yesterday?

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ashleyd /

Tipsy Parsons

This has been a fabulous week thus far! My workouts have been right on plan, I enjoyed a wonderful first experience with Blue Print Cleanse, and now my parents are in New York City for the weekend!

Workouts

My workouts so far have been exactly the kick start week I needed after last week’s travel.

Sunday: Strala Yoga STRONG class

Monday: 4 mile run + Strala Yoga STRONG class

Tuesday: personal training workout

Wednesday: 4 miles of speed work+ slow flow yoga at Equinox

Thursday: personal training workout

I want to dedicate a full, separate post describing my Blue Print Cleanse experience. Even though it was only one day I still learned a lot about myself and successfully completed it. While I didn’t have to follow any prescribed post cleanse activities, I did find myself craving lots of fruits and vegetables today, proof from my pictures of today’s meals and snacks.

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Even though I did a very tough workout this morning, which normally leaves me ravenous all day long, this is a complete look at today’s food. My salad is larger than normal because I was trying to eat unprocessed foods today. By having a larger salad, I wasn’t hungry for a can of soup or bread on the side.

After a day of clean eating, I was looking forward to a comfort food dinner with my parents who are in town visiting for a long weekend.

024 We didn’t have dinner plans tonight because we wanted to start the weekend off on a relaxed note. To my surprise, when I walked through the door this evening, my dad had dinner reservations taken care of, complete with a great review from Garden & Gun magazine.

Tipsy Parsons, a new to me Chelsea restaurant, is known for their comfort food served with a dash of panache.

006 The antique filled restaurant’s cute candle lit tables welcomed us in from the cold as soon as we entered.

007 Within moments of sitting down, we were greeted by the waiter and a plate of warm cornbread.

011 The jalapeno honey served on the side paired perfectly with the warm, buttery cornbread and was the perfect way to start the meal. On the side we toasted to the start of a wonderful weekend with some local beers from Fire Island Beer Company.

027 The menu was filled with Southern classics including three types of grits, macaroni and cheese, greens, and ribs. How does a Southern family make one choice? They share!

010We shared three appetizers: slow roasted pork ribs, quinoa salad, and the soup of the day, cream of celery infused with white chocolate.

026 028 025 Sorry about the last picture but unfortunately my camera didn’t cooperate. The appetizer winner was the celery soup; rich in celery and apple flavor but perfectly balanced with the cream and white chocolate drizzle. You couldn’t taste the white chocolate in every bite, but when you did it was a true treat. We shared this huge bowl three ways and each of us were wishing there was another spoonful left when we were scraping the bottom.

The appetizers only made us more excited for our entrees, which were served almost too quickly. The service was impeccable tonight, ensuring that our water glasses were never low and everything was served fresh and promptly.  We asked our waiter what three dishes were Tipsy Parson’s signature entrees and took his advice by ordering each. My mom chose the chicken & dumplings, which were a unique take on the comfort food classic. It was much lighter and herb infused than the original but still filled with tender chicken chunks and doughy squares.

022 My dad chose the Cheerwine braised short ribs, which our waiter promised would be fall off the bone tender. To my surprise, his favorite part of the meal wasn’t the ribs but instead the parsnip puree,

021 Last but not least was my entree, the crispy skate. Unfortunately, I think my mom’s was the best and mine could barely compare. The skate was seasoned perfectly but the sautéed arugula and pasta side was oily and flat. While I was disappointed,  this one dish couldn’t ruin the dining experience.

023 This meal was the perfect way to kick off our long weekend. We’re not planning every moment of the weekend but we do have some fun things on the agenda.

  • Breakfasts: Murray’s Bagels, Alice’s Tea Cup
  • Lunch: Meatball Shop
  • Dinner: ABC Kitchen and Tamarind
  • Sights & Sounds: Tenement Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of the City of New York, Essex Market, and Central Park Zoo.

Are we forgetting any of your favorites?

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