Restaurant Week in New York, so my friend Brian and I decided to check out Water's Edge, in Long Island City, Queens. (Dreamy blogged about it recently, so see her blog for more pix and descrīption.)



As usual, in the outerboroughs, you feel like you're clearing through walls of bricks and warehouses before arriving at the little oases you're aiming for. But on the way to Water's Edge, you do get a peek at the East River and the skyline opposite.




Little cacti inside the restaurant, and a great view of Manhattan. The music they played was perfect with the decor of the place, something similar to old Doris Day. (Feel free to listen as you read).

My friend/Taiwanese gege Brian looking serious even though we had some nice zinfandel and chardonnay. Ever done Toastmasters? (It's a group that develops public speaking and leadership skills.) Brian is a big Toastmasters dude. He's been trying to get me to go since I met him, but I have yet to do it. In fact, I have yet to really check it out. Here's the link for anyone who wants to develop public speaking skills. http://www.toastmasters.org/  Brian's also my source for classical music. More on that if we see a concert soon. Last time, we saw a performance of the Bruch Concerto at Carnegie Hall.



We were wondering if their ferry (which says restaurant/catering on it) goes boating around to cater the food to Manhattan. It would be kind of cool to work on a boat as a caterer.



I like that there's a lot of dark wood and faded silver teapots around.

In the bathroom, they had the toilet paper rolls elegantly hung on brass stands that stood independently in front of the toilet. (Didn't bring camera with me on my trip to the ladies' room.)



Do you know what kind of tree that is?
I went to an apartment in Beijing where two of these trees stood in the living room, and it was very charming.





My beet salad, which was the perfect texture. But what I liked the most:




I thought these dried leaves were placed decoratively around the tomato, but they were actually still connected at the stem. So somehow they were able to dry it without drying the tomato. (And actually, the tomato confused me because it tasted a teeny bit like starfruit. Dreamy, did you have this?)



Veal.




This panne cotta, surrounded by bits of pineapple and topped with a little pistachio, was the best dessert I've had in a while. It was so light, it didn't feel like an indulgence. Apparently panne cotta is "cooked cream" in Italian. I thought there might have been a teeny bit of sour cream mixed in, but Brian thought it was just regular heavy cream. I've found recipes online that have both.



This was a very nice lounge to the side. If I lived near here, it's the kind of place I would go for a drink with a friend often. Actually, my friends Ben and Eumi live near here, somewhat. I've been thinking about Queens as a living option lately.



That's the Queensborough Bridge which connects Manhattan and Queens at 59th Street.



Apparently, you can rent out this boat for private parties too.



In the past, I've usually been driving on the FDR on the other side, seeing the Pepsi sign/Gantry Park on this side from afar.



Unlike in Manhattan, it's so nice when you actually find free parking outside, a block from your destination.