New York City is a whole other world and I’ve fallen in love. With its unmistakable ability to make you feel like the world is at your fingertips, the concrete jungle has enthralled my mind and I find myself reliving my time there often. In this campus snapshot I thought I’d share my visit to the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology and a latte art class I attended. I’ll also include my epiphany on the subway with a stranger, but we’ll get to that later.
Day 1: FIT
After thirty minutes on the bus, blasting 1989 on my headphones, I arrived at Port Authority. I made my way down to the subway and onto the train to Chelsea to meet my friend for lunch. She works just across the street from Chelsea Market (my happy place) so we headed over and ended up at Friedman’s Lunch. It was my second time at the restaurant and I was more than happy to be back.
Its cozy and rustic atmosphere coupled with the ambient lighting and hardwood floors give Friedman’s a welcoming feel the moment you walk in. The one thing better than the aesthetics? The menu. From the apple tarragon chicken salad sandwich to the NY State lamb burger, their lunch menu has something for everyone to enjoy. I chose the B.L.A.T sandwich: crispy bacon with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and herbed aioli all on toasted sourdough bread. My mouth is watering just remembering this. Afterwards, my friend and I spent a few minutes hunting down the Doughnuttery, my favorite doughnut place. Ever.
These mini-doughnuts hold a special place in my heart, and although they’re barely the size of my pinky, their rich flavor coupled with a crunchy exterior and warm, fluffy center certainly make up for it. Soon after, she left for her office while I made my way back towards the subway stop. As I was waiting for the next train, I looked at the signs and realized I wasn’t even in the right place. Looking for a friendly face, I decided to walk over to a girl and asked for help with directions. She happily obliged and decided to take the train with me since her stop was on the way too. As we waited for the train she asked if I had just moved there. I wish. Instead, I told her that I was there to meet a friend and go to the Museum at FIT. On the train I asked if she lived in the area herself and she mentioned that she recently moved to Brooklyn from California, she was an actress. I then asked if she had done a lot of acting in her three months in the city, and she replied, “Well, I’ve found a place to stay and two part-time jobs so if that counts as a lot…” I agreed that it was, in fact, a lot to accomplish and we laughed. I couldn’t help but admire the way she musingly talked about her life in the city. In that moment, I realized that I could see myself living there too. My stop was first and I thanked her for everything, wished her luck for the future, and made my way to the museum. Walking through the glass, revolving door I stepped inside and made my way into the Fashion and Textile History Gallery. The exhibit was Global Fashion Capitals and included pieces from more than 40 designers from 23 fashion cities around the world. The lighting was dim with spotlights on the mannequins and their garments. The first cities introduced were Paris, New York, Milan, and London–the four leading capital cities. Walking through the showroom, the cities progressed to those more recently deemed fashion capitals such as Moscow and Johannesburg.
Every piece was fascinating and beautiful in its own right. The exquisite details ingrained in these designer’s work were admirable and further established why fashion is an art form. My personal favorite was the top and skirt from Patricia Bonaldi’s couture line, PatBo.
The designer, based in Sao Paulo, used “couture techniques, hand-stitching individual plastic petals to create a sea of blooming flowers” on the pieces. Once I walked the gallery’s entirety I made my way downstairs to the Special Exhibitions Gallery that held the Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch exhibit. Expecting the same layout as the previous exhibit, I walked in and was taken aback. Heavy electronic music pulsated throughout the large room as disco lights reflected against the many mannequins lined against the wall, hung on rafters, and standing atop large metal pedestals.
These magnificently off-beat pieces were a stark contrast from the ones I saw in the other exhibit and it was incredible.
The eclectic style of Susanne Bartsch, an event organizer and underground fashion promoter, was apparent in the exhibit, open until December 5th. My take from this gallery? Fashion is not only an art form, but a lifestyle as well. Shortly after I made my way back home, reevaluating my closet on the way there.
Day 2: Latte Art
A few days after my trip to FIT my friend, a barista for WOOPS, invited me to take a latte art class with her in Brooklyn. I jumped at the opportunity to go back into the city and was excited to learn how to make a heart in a drink. From Port Authority we took the train into Brooklyn. This ride was a monumental one for the fact that I could finally stand on the train without clinging onto the person next to me for dear life. I guess the Montclair shuttle drivers taught me something after all. When we arrived at the class’ address we searched for a sign that read Procreate Coffee NYC. Finding none, we decided to walk around the block a few more times. Giving up on our ability to locate the building, I called them. With the owner’s directions we ended up at a door labeled Kitten Coffee. A second later, a man came outside and I promptly asked him if he knew Louis, the man giving the class. I’m not sure what made me put the two coffee chains together, but he ended up telling me he did and to follow him. Looking back at this moment, I’m beginning to question my life choices. The man walked us to the back of Kitten Coffee and unlocked a door labeled “employees only”. There were no lights inside that room and only the flashlight on my iPhone lit the way. It took a few seconds to realize that this dark void was a warehouse and my heart started racing because, quite frankly, being in the middle of a dark warehouse with a stranger is not the most comforting scenario to be in. However, after two minutes of blindly trudging through the darkness, we arrived at a small kitchen with Louis still in the middle of a class. After thanking the man, we decided to wait for the class outside. There we agreed that we were ready to fight for our lives in that warehouse, my mind racing back to the self-defense class I took my junior year of high school and her phone already dialed to 9-1-1. After about twenty minutes of walking around the block we came back inside and introduced ourselves to the others in attendance. We began the class by learning how to properly steam milk by using soap and water.
After a few tries, Louis moved us on to bigger and better things: lattes. The first time I tried to steam the milk I burnt myself on the nozzle, but I prevailed.
According to Louis, steaming the milk is the most important step in creating latte art due to its consistency being crucial to the ability of the foam to properly form. We all took turns steaming our milk and attempting to create any sort of image in the lattes.
As the class came to an end Louis gave us feedback on our work. His most prominent critique was that many of us failed to create the hearts because of our hesitation and inability to push forward. We hesitated pouring the foam into the center of the cup, fearful that we would make a mistake or spill hot milk all over the floor. Yet, without fully pouring, you would never be able to get the heart you want. I saw this as a metaphor for life and instantly admired his noticeable passion for coffee and belief that it truly is an art.
After the class I suggested to my friend that we get dinner at the Momofuku Noodle Bar. She agreed and we headed to the East Village. Luckily, we arrived at the restaurant after lunch and were able to be seated right away. The restaurant had a modern and simplistic vibe to it, the wooden tables were long and designed for everyone to be seated next to each other, the seats just plain wooden stools.
As an appetizer we ordered the shrimp buns, shrimp with spicy mayo, pickled onion, and iceberg lettuce on a savory bun.
For the main meal I decided on the Momofuku ramen with pork belly, pork shoulder, and poached egg.
We were very content. I couldn’t help but look at the dessert menu and screamed when I realized I could order the milk bar truffles. I have, quite literally, been waiting two years to have them and I was not disappointed. We ordered the b’day truffles: vanilla rainbow cake, tossed in white chocolate, and rolled in rainbow cake crumbs. They were rich with flavor and I might get emotional just remembering them.
Afterwards, we stopped by OST cafe for a caffeine kick then made our way back home.
Overall, I’d give these New York visits a 10/10. I live for the very fact that every time I go into the city, I come back out with a new appreciation for something. From fashion to coffee, I feel honored to be able to witness these passions and I can’t wait to head back soon.