then and now

Mike, Tommy, Matt and Wyatt (1996 & 2007)

new york, new york

I know this post is long overdue, and I probably should have just skipped it and blogged on about India.  However, I just couldn't feel right glossing over what was an awesome trip to New York.  In four days, I ended up sampling tons of NY's finest culinary delights!

Thanks to Eric and Joey, who put me up in their wonderful Wall St. apartment!

The details may be a bit off, but here's what I had while I was in town.

Day 1.  Eric and I grabbed drinks and some awesome sliders and pigs in a blanket at Ulysses, a popular Wall St. hangout.  Then we met up with Gerald and headed up to East Village for some Crif Dogs and Kenka.

Day 2. Ess-a-Bagel for breakfast.  Man, I love NY bagels.  Then to the Greenmarket at Union Square with Gerald and Christina.  After a quick visit to the MOMA, we went for cupcakes at my favorite cupcake shop - Buttercup Bakery.  For dinner, we made the long trip to Fort Lee to So Kong Dong Tofu, a soft tofu stew house (soondubu).

Day 3.  Eric, Joey and I kicked off the day at Joe's Ginger for steam dumplings (IMO way way better than Din Tai Fung), which I then followed up with some Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.  In the afternoon, I treated my high school friends to a food tour around my old neighborhood -Joe's Pizza, Sullivan Street Bakery, Kati roll, Rice to Riches, oysters from Chelsea Market and Pinkberry. Finally, we polished off the night at Chicken and Rice on 6th Ave.

Day 4.  There was no way I was leaving NY without having a cubano from Sophie's.  Prior to that, Gerald and I grabbed bialys at Kassar's in the LES.  Finally, I bought a few sandwiches for the flight at Province Chinese Canteen.

done!

Fall quarter is over! Off to New York!

the big jacket

It's time to break out the big jacket in Chicago. I was trying to hold out as long as possible, but when the weather turned cold last week, and we got a feew inches of snow last night, I had to take the big North Face jacket out of the closet (along with my big boots).

Although I actually really like the snow and winter, I'm looking forward to being back in Pasadena for a long winter break.

new york

A few weeks ago, I purchased a $75 ticket from Chicago to New York, in order to spend some of the holidays with my high school friends. Although I may shorten the trip due to some recent issues, I am still very excited about eating at all of my favorite cheap eats. Here's the tentative list (which will grow over time):

- Kati Roll
- Halal cart on 6th Ave (chicken and rice)
- Cubano from Sophies
- $2 falafel sandwiches
- H&H bagels
- wonton noode soup
- steamed pork and crab dumplings
- roasted nuts
- Katz's pastrami
- pizza, pizza, pizza!

thanksgiving

I'm back in Pasadena for a nice, long Thanksgiving break (we get the whole week off at b-school!). Things have been a bit hectic with a lot of school, work and family thing going on, but overall things are good. I'm sorry for the lame update, but there really hasn't been much new lately. Highlights:

- I've finalized my summer plans and will be in Palo Alto next summer! Although, hopefully, I will be living in Noe Valley again, as I loved my old neighborhood near Dolores and 24th.
- Upcoming trips include a wedding in LA and a trip to India in March, and potentially a week-long trip to Central America next August. I am definitely trying to take advantage of my student schedule to do some traveling.
- I haven't finalized my schedule for next year. I didn't get into the Finance II class I really wanted, so that threw my entire schedule off. I'll definitely be taking Entrepreneurial Finance and Microeconomics, and Global Initiatives in Management, but aside from those three classes I don't know what other two classes I plan on taking. I'm hoping to major in Entrepreneurship, Finance and Social Enterprise.

That's all for now. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving!

another week

Wow, time really flies. This was another busy week, as I was back in Northern California from Monday to Wednesday taking a second look at a couple of firms. I am pretty sure where I will be going next summer, but just need a few more days to mull over my decision.

School has also been busy, as we had a final paper for one of my classes due on Friday. This week has flown by, but not without bumps. Unfortunately, things are so busy, I haven't been a good group member in all of my classes. This is especially true in Finance, where I decided to cut my losses early on and work on other classes. I am the nightmare member in that group, as I have contributed little this entire quarter. Although I did OK on the midterm, I think I'm screwed for my peer evaluation grade. At least my group members for my other teams like me (I think).

In regards to food, it's been a pretty hearty week. On Tuesday I ate at Houston's in SF for my sister's birthday, then on Wednesday I requested to have lunch at thee cafeteria of the firm I was meeting with, just to get the lay of the land. Other solid meals have included dinner at Buffalo Joe's in Evanston on Friday after the school's big marketing competition, brunch at Fox and Obel on Sunday, and a big steak dinner tonight at Kinzie Chophouse.

Hope to have a more exciting report next time!

recommitment

Ok, I know it's been a long, long time since I've last posted regularly, but I'm taking a stand here and saying that I plan on making at least weekly posts to my blog. I can't promise that these will be lengthy, earth-shaking posts, but they'll be better than nothing.

This past week, I flew out to San Francisco with Lauren for a quick recruiting trip (for her). As usual, I ate tremendously well in the city:

Dinner at Jardiniere: This French restaraunt was incredible. The four of us (Lauren, myself, a firm associate and her boyfriend), split four appetizers, three desserts (plus one compliments of the chef), two bottles of wine, and each ordered a different entree and dessert wine (except for me). Although my Berkshire pork entree was only a bit above average, everything else was very much above average, especially their scallop appetizer and ice dessert.

Lunch at Myth Cafe: Excellent sandwiches and sides, similar to my last visit. Lauren and I split the turkey avocado sandwich, as well as a mixed green salad, mac and cheese and home-made chips. That description truly falls short of the true measure of each item. For example, the mac and cheese was served fresh from the oven in its own serving dish with four different cheeses and a breaded top.

To-go dinner from Out the Door: I have yet to try Slanted Door or its takeout version, Out the Door, and a Vietnamese sandwich sounded like the perfect thing to bring onboard for an in-flight dinner. My Saigon roast pork sandwich was amazing. The quality of the pork and vegetables and sandwich size (about 1.5-2 times the size of a standard banh mi sandwich) easily overcame the high price $7.50 (the cost of about three normal banh mis). I will be back during my next trip to SF next week.

Yes, I'll be back for a few more firm visits (plus my sister's birthday) - arriving Monday and leaving Wednesday!

busy busy

Man, these past few weeks have flown by!

- Greg and Kelly's wedding
Congratulations to a fantastic couple! Lauren and I had a blast at their wedding, and as always, it was great to catch up with everyone. As fate had it, the hotel we booked through Priceline was the same hotel the wedding party was staying in!

- OCI
I finished two weeks of Northwestern's on campus interviewing program. Long, but worth it as I am now excited to start learning more about the firms and eventually find out where I'll be next summer.

- Moto Dining Experience
Winnie and I had a great dinner at Moto through a Visa Signature promotion. I took lots of photos, but forgot the details about the food. Luckily, Chicagoist was there as well and had much better notes about the meal.

- KWEST
Tomorrow I leave for one week in the Galapagos!

chicago distance classic

This past weekend I finished the Lasalle Bank Distance Classic, a fairly tough half-marathon considering the heat and humidity in Chicago. I was shooting for under two hours, but just missed it as my body gave out in the last two miles - all I had to run were two 10 minute miles to finish under two hours, but I couldn't do it. I'm still glad I was close to my target time though :)



Now I'm in the midst of interviewing for firm positions for next summer. 10 down and 17 more to go in the next week and a half!