Brooklyn, U.S.A. -- Yoga, Cemeteries, and Food!

Welcome (back) to Brooklyn!  I arrived Wednesday late morning, but somehow it took me forever to get to E's apartment, although I made it just in time for afternoon yoga at Kula Yoga Project in Tribeca, her chosen studio.  It had been a while - since the last time I was in NYC, actually - since I did yoga, so it was a little rough but good.  We made a trip to Whole Foods for sustenance, then back to the apartment so E could get ready for her fancy dinner at Boulud Sud, which sadly I was not invited to.  Although when the inviters found out I was in town, they said I should have come!  Damn!

I was tired and planned to go to bed early, but instead stayed up watching Nashville and Homeland until E got home.  I'm early in both shows, but loving both so far!

Thursday started with a run, something I haven't done since I ran the 5K with L - which, by the way, we successfully completed!  I did some work in the morning, then headed over to Green-Wood Cemetery to commune with the famous dead people (of which there are lots).  I saw graves of the following, among others:
- Dewitt Clinton, politician and education reformer
- Leonard Bernstein, composer
- Charles Ebbets, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers
- Henry Chadwick, the "father of baseball"
- Henry Bergh, founder of the ASPCA
- William "Boss" Tweed, political machine unto himself
- William Steinway, crafter of performance pianos
- Samuel Morse, developer of the telegraph and Morse Code
- William Bayard Cutting, financier and philanthropist
- Horace Greeley, newspaperman and politician
- Louis Comfort Tiffany, designer.

And what's more, it's just a beautiful place!

The main entrance gate

 Inside the catacombs, which are closed to entry (I was peeking through the gate)

Doesn't this look like the Shire?

The chapel

After walking for a couple of hours I stopped in the chapel to rest, which, if you happen to be in the neighborhood and find yourself in need of one, also has a charming little restroom.

I left Green-Wood and headed to FIT to meet up with E.  There are a couple of fashion-related exhibits we'd been wanting to see, and FIT was one of our stops.  They have two exhibitions up now, both fairly small: Highlights from the Collection and Ivy Style.  I was thoroughly entertained by the Ivy Style exhibit, and it was fun to see how the conservative designers I'm most familiar with - Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, Tommy Hilfiger, etc. - fit into the picture.  Generally I thought the pieces in the Highlights were more interesting and varied (and some of them were for women, so that helped).

From there we headed to 61 Local for the "Meet Your Maker: Hops and Crops Fest," which was a fundraiser for BK Farmyards, a great local organization which turns otherwise unused urban land into happy, productive farmland.  There were three chefs there who produced five tasting courses (one chef was unrepresented, and one got overzealous and made two things), plus some pie, all of which were paired with beer selected for the evening.  Matchups were as follows:
- Roasted cauliflower with Cayuga farro and green peanut puree, paired with a Southhampton double white ale (prepared by the chefs at Seersucker)
- Soup of three winter squashes with fried sunchokes and spiced honey, paired with a Carton pumpkin cream ale (prepared by the chef at Parish Hall)
- Kale Caesar salad with crusty bread and (he was the overachiever) a hollow bread sandwich (like a pita, only better) with barley, hot sauce, avocado, kale, cucumber, and other goodness, paired with a Ommegang hennepin (prepared by the chef/baker at Scratchbread)
- Chicken meatballs with arugula pesto, paired with a Kelso pilsner (prepared by the chefs at Court Street Grocers)
- Brown butter pumpkin pie, paired with a chocolate porter from Bitter and Esters (prepared by the chefs at Four & Twenty Blackbirds).

All of it was delicious, and we even took some hollow bread sandwiches home with us for lunch the next day!