Visiting Junior's in Brooklyn New York

I had the pleasure of visiting the original Junior's Restaurant in Brooklyn, with the Brooklyn Neighborhood Tour this past April.  I have visited their other locations in Times Square and Grand Central Terminal, but always wanted to see the place that started the historic restaurant. 

They have been at this location of Flatbush Avenue since 1950. 

My favorite flower awaited us when we arrived inside. 

A fabulous cake replica of Junior's was something I had to photograph for my readers! 

Loved the guy here at the counter ready to take your order! 

The inside reminded me of the Times Square location, same color theme, very 50's looking. I felt as though James Dean could walk in and sit at this counter at any minute. 

One of the chairs from the old Ebbets Field was displayed on their wall which I thought was pretty cool. 

It looks like a good family restaurant, don't you think? Junior's is famous for their cheesecakes, made different than any other you have tried, so creamy and satisfying. Everything they make here is from scratch, from the pastry to the corn beef and pastrami for your sandwiches. 

I loved all the memorabilia on their walls, this one was dedicated to the Brooklyn Dodgers. 

Many famous people have visited here for a bite to eat and leave their autograph 

You start with homemade beets (my Mom's favorite) and pickles as well as cole slaw. 

We enjoyed 1/2 a pastrami sandwich which melted in your mouth. It was the most amazing pastrami I have ever had, just needed a bit of mustard and that was all. Tony from A Slice of Brooklyn offered alternatives for the folks on the tour who couldn't eat the pastrami. I thought that was quite nice of him, as many times on these type of tours, you do not have a choice. Tony always wants to be sure his guests are happy, and he accomplishes that with each tour. 

My first Egg Cream. It was quite the tasty, I must say. An Egg Cream is 1/4 cup of Fox's U Bet Quality Chocolate Syrup, 1/3 cup of ice cold milk and 3/4 to 1 cup of sparkling cold seltzer. Some on the tour liked it, some didn't, but everyone was thrilled to try something new. I, of course, liked it quite a bit. 

Ahh, the cheesecake is served. I was happy it was just a plain piece, not a fan of the fruit toppings. It is just so darn good. Creamy, light, fluffy and their crust is unique. It is actually a sponge cake at the bottom, the rest is made with the freshest ingredients. When you have a recipe as good as this, you do not tinker with it. 

Cookies galore to take home to family and friends. I love those rainbow cookies at the top right. One of my very favorites. 

The cheesecake selection is quite large. I am not a fan of strawberry or raspberry but they make a beautiful photo, don't you think? 

They also make carrot cake with cheesecake in between, I tried this at the Times Square location on my own visit. Pure heaven. Simple as that. 

Their cakes are pretty fabulous too. Pineapple coconut layer cake is very light and flavorful. I don't think you can go wrong with anything from Junior's. 

*Disclaimer: There has been no monetary compensation for posting this content. Brands mentioned are not affiliates or sponsors of this blog post. I was provided (2) tickets for this review of this tour by A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours.  The opinions expressed are completely my own based on my experiences.

Today's Words of Wisdom: Eat Dessert First

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Modigliani Unmasked September 15, 2017 - February 4, 2018

Modigliani Unmasked September 15, 2017 - February 4, 2018

New York, NY, August 21, 2017- The Jewish Museum presents Modigliani Unmasked, the first exhibition in the United States to focus on Amedeo Modigliani's early work made in the years after he arrived in Paris in 1906. The exhibition puts a spotlight on Modigliani's drawings, with a large selection acquired directly from the artist by Dr. Paul Alexandre, his close friend and first patron. The drawings from the Alexandre collection, many being shown for the first time in the United States, as well as other drawings from collections around the world and a selection of Modigliani's paintings and sculptures, illuminate how the artist's heritage as an Italian Sephardic Jew is pivotal to understanding his artistic output. The exhibition is on view at the Jewish Museum from September 15, 2017 through February 4, 2018. Modigliani Unmasked considers the celebrated artist, Amedeo Modigliani (Italian, 1884-1920), shortly after he arrived in Paris in 1906, when the city was still roiling with anti-Semitism after the long-running tumult of the Dreyfus Affair and the influx of foreign emigres. An Italian Sephardic Jew with a French mother and a classical education, Modigliani was the embodiment of cultural heterogeneity. When he moved to Paris, he came up against the idea of racial purity in French culture - in Italy, he did not feel ostracized for being Jewish. His Latin looks and fluency in French could have easily helped him to assimilate. Instead, his outsider status often compelled him to introduce himself with the words, "My name is Modigliani. I am Jewish." As a form of protest, he refused to assimilate, declaring himself as "other." The exhibition shows that Modigliani's art cannot be fully understood without acknowledging the ways the artist responded to the social realities that he confronted in the unprecedented artistic melting pot of Paris.

In these years prior to World War I, Modigliani largely stopped painting in order to develop his conceptual and pictorial ideas through drawing and sculpture. The works in the exhibition reveal the emerging artist himself, enmeshed in his own particular identity quandary, struggling to discover what portraiture might mean in a modern world of racial complexity. Modigliani Unmasked is arranged thematically, and includes approximately 130 drawings, 12 paintings, and seven sculptures by the artist. Modigliani's art is complemented by work representative of the various multicultural influences - African, Asian, Greek, Egyptian, and Khmer - that inspired the young artist during this lesser-known, early period. When he arrived in Paris, Modigliani - still virtually unknown - met Dr. Alexandre, a young physician. Alexandre amassed some 450 drawings directly from the artist and commissioned a number of portraits. The exhibition includes a selection of drawings depicting Dr. Alexandre, as well as a mysterious, unfinished portrait never seen before in the United States. Probably painted around 1913, it is a stylistic anomaly within Modigliani's oeuvre, more sketchy and gestural than his typical portraits.

Modigliani would visit museums in Paris, including the Louvre and the Musée du Trocadéro, and was mesmerized by the nonwestern art. Unlike most of his contemporaries in the French vanguard, who appropriated such works expressionistically as an abstracted distortion of the human form, Modigliani's manner of using such stylized effects was far more respectful. The influence of masks in particular is clearly visible in the many drawings and sculptures in the exhibition. Prominent in the Alexandre collection are the stylized drawings related to sculptures. Produced between 1909 and 1914, this body of work constitutes a distinct category within the artist's oeuvre and reveals his ongoing preoccupation with identity. Particularly noticeable is his obsessive examination of physiognomy. When seen together, his repeated images of heads and faces reveal minute, calculated variations in the eyes, noses, and mouths. As seen in the exhibition, this group of drawings offer a nuanced commentary on the underlying issue of aesthetics as it relates to race. In 1911, Modigliani began to explore a motif borrowed from ancient art, the caryatid, and a selection of these drawings is included in the exhibition. While in classical art the caryatid is usually a woman, his are male, female, or of ambiguous gender. He also incorporated elements derived from Egyptian art, as well as ancient South and Southeastern Asian sources such as facial features, postures, and tattoos. The exhibition also includes a selection of life studies and female nudes. Among these are of the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, whom the artist met in 1910. Her exotic presence inspired Modigliani to introduce her to Egyptian art. The influences he drew from Egyptian art, such as the attenuation of the figure and the angularity of form, can be seen in the drawings he did of her.

Modigliani's fondness for performance, including theater, street entertainment, and the circus, is reflected in numerous early drawings, often sketched from a blend of life and imagination. The exhibition includes his drawings of the Commedia dell'Arte character, Columbine, as well as circus performers. Many of these works - like others in the exhibition - reveal the acuity of his psychological awareness, which had the effect of transforming simple sketches into portraits. Modigliani Unmasked is organized by Mason Klein, Senior Curator, The Jewish Museum. The exhibition was designed by Galia Solomonoff and Talene Montgomery of SAS/Solomonoff Architecture Studio. Catalogue The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue published by the Jewish Museum and Yale University Press. The book includes an essay by Mason Klein that offers close analysis of Modigliani's portraits and figure studies in pencil, ink, gouache, and crayon, ultimately arguing that the artist demonstrated a modernist embrace of difference, as well as an understanding of identity as heterogeneous, beyond national or cultural boundaries. The 172-page book also includes an afterword by Richard Nathanson. Featuring 165 color illustrations, the hardcover will be available worldwide and at the Jewish Museum's Cooper Shop beginning in September 2017 for $50.00. Audio Guide Produced by the Jewish Museum in association with Acoustiguide, the audio guide forModigliani Unmasked features an introduction by Claudia Gould, Helen Goldsmith Menschel Director, The Jewish Museum, with commentary by Mason Klein, curator of the exhibition, and Sander Gilman, distinguished professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry, Emory University. The audio tour will be available atTheJewishMuseum.org/Audio using the Wi-Fi network, JM-Guest, on personal smartphones. For the comfort of all visitors, headphones must be used in the galleries. Complimentary audio guide players will also be available for loan at the admission desk in the Museum lobby, except on Saturdays and select Jewish holidays. Programs Modigliani Unmasked is accompanied by a series of public programs including lectures, gallery talks, and studio workshops, as well as family programs. VisitTheJewishMuseum.org/Programs for information. Support Modigliani Unmasked is made possible by The Jerome L. Greene Foundation. Additional support is generously provided by Barbara and Ira A. Lipman, the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations, Capital One, an anonymous gift in memory of Curtis Hereld, and the Robert Lehman Foundation. The exhibition is also supported by the Centennial Fund, the Horace W. Goldsmith Exhibitions Endowment Fund, and the Stanley, Marion, Paul and Edward Bergman Family Foundation. The catalogue is made possible by endowment support from the Dorot Publication Fund. The audio guide is made possible by Bloomberg Philanthropies. About the Jewish Museum Located on New York City's famed Museum Mile, the Jewish Museum is a distinctive hub for art and Jewish culture for people of all backgrounds. Founded in 1904, the Museum was the first institution of its kind in the United States and is one of the oldest Jewish museums in the world. The Museum is devoted to exploring art and Jewish culture from ancient to contemporary, and offers diverse exhibitions and programs, and a unique collection of nearly 30,000 works of art, ceremonial objects, and media reflecting the global Jewish experience over more than 4,000 years. Location: 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, New York City Hours: Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, 11 am to 5:45 pm; Thursday, 11 am to 8 pm; and Friday, 11 am to 4 pm. Admission: $15.00 for adults, $12.00 for senior citizens, $7.50 for students, free for visitors 18 and under and Jewish Museum members. Pay What You Wish on Thursdays from 5 pm to 8 pm. Free on Saturdays.

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Breads Bakery

Breads Bakery opened in 2013 and has quickly become one of my most favorites in the city. Their chocolate babka is just heaven on earth. I can't even describe it to you, but if you love chocolate, you need one. Or Two.  

A most recent trip saw some S'mores cookies. They look pretty tasty, don't you think?  

Just look at this pastry??? Those layers of dough look so happy!  

Cheese danish to make you smile from ear to ear  

Creme Brulee' danish is such a good idea  

The chocolate rugelach is pretty amazing - the best I have ever tasted but you can take it up a notch: 

Make a sandwich out of mascarpone, nutella and strawberries  

This really should be not legal but it oh so is !  

The best $38.00 you will ever spend!  

These look like something out of a painting!  

All I can say is, if you have never visited Breads Bakery, you need to do so ASAP. They have a few locations in the city, with the Union Square location being the most busy as was the first bakery.

They also offer classes which I think I will have to do in the very close future. How cool would it be to make your own wonderful pastries like Breads Bakery!

Lincoln Center
1890 Broadway
New York, NY 10023
Sunday - Thursday 7am - 9pm
Friday - Saturday 7am - 11pm

18 East 16th St. NYC (Union Square)
Mon-Fri - 6:30am-9pm
Sat - 6:30am-8pm
Sun - 7:30am-8pm

42nd Street and Avenue of the Americas

Mon - 7am-10pm

Tue-Sun - 7am-9pm

 *Not all menu items are available at our Bryant Park Kiosk.

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Kate Spade on Madison Avenue

I am not sure how many of you follow my Instagram account, if you do not, I would be highly honored if you did! I believe I showed some of these photos on that site but wanted to show all to you since they were pretty cool. I am a fan of Kate Spade and wanted to check out her townhouse shop on Madison Avenue near 68th Street. I was hoping for some unique items that only this shop would have, but they didn't have very many available. They have an elevator, and since I am not a fan of steps, I was thrilled! I didn't expect a fancy couch with a "ooh la la" pillow in the elevator, it so made me smile!!  

These photos were taken with my phone, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, which has a really great camera. I like to use it when I am trying to be quick shooting and it works great every time. I really loved the dinnerware she was showing. I love the fact that her designs make you smile. We all need that at least once a day!  

Fun, right? Hard to decide to purchase just one of these as they both are adorable!  

The whole townhouse is just fun and the way everything is displayed is perfect. If you open that door, and go on the balcony, this is your view:  

Pretty relaxing, don't you think? And Michael Kors is just down below. I hear most of the shopping by the celebrity clients is on Madison Avenue, as it is less busy than 5th Avenue. When I was at this shop, it was pretty empty so I was able to look around with ease. 

Are you a Kate Spade fan? 

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Throwback Thursday "Berenice Abbott"

Berenice Abbott

Pike and Henry Streets, Manhattan

March 6, 1936

I felt pretty lucky to find this photo for our Throwback Thursday edition. So many little details. This photograph is actually owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I think New York City is so great to photograph because every place you turn, there are details all around. I could look at this photo for a good hour seeing so many interesting things. I love the Manhattan Bridge in the background. What a time it must have been to be alive in New York City in 1936. If only the streets could talk.

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