Beautifully refined vintage absinthe water tower The dark romance of absinthe and its mesmerizing powers are only part of the appeal of the green fairy. The ritual of preparing and drinking it with friends is even more important to me. My first experience with absinthe was when one of my father’s graduate students prepared a syrup that was to be added to pure ethanol, which, of course, Dad had in his laboratory. To be clear, the alcohol was for his research purposes, and it w

Chilling with Sir Winston Churchill during the Hurricane Sandy Blackout Two years ago this weekend, the East Coast was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. You may have been in the middle of the chaos, or watched news stories on TV about the devastation in New York and New Jersey. I did not know the extent of the destruction at the time because this happened to our electrical plant when the brackish flood waters hit, and we did not have electricity for the next six days. We were talk

I am supporting Brazil to win the World Cup! Sorry, USA, but that’s just the way I roll. My family lived in Rio de Janeiro when I was a kid, and I never got over the excitement in the entire city when Brazil scored a goal. When they won a game, it was mayhem in the streets. When Argentina lost, the crowds got even louder! So I was thrilled when I got the news that INSIDERS1 had prepared special handmade products to celebrate the World Cup right here in New York! INSIDERS1 Own

My mother Haydee Seiger I woke up on the Monday morning after Easter, and my heart physically ached. My mom had died on Easter Sunday, and I could hardly imagine the world without her love, her intelligence and her fierceness. It has been hard for me to write about her, not only because she’s my mom, but because she was such an extraordinary person. I hardly know where to begin or end. Haydee Seiger was a self-made woman. Despite standing all of 4’11″, she was a major presenc

Lyon’s Saint Antoine Farmers Market Under the Trees When James and I visit Paris, we rarely venture outside the city. We love our Parisian strolls and haunts. We can occasionally be persuaded to take a day trip or two (Epernay for the champagne, Chantilly for the cream and the chateau, etc.). However, several years ago, the pull of Lyonnais cuisine got the better of us. And so we hopped on a train to the Rhône-Alps region of France. We met up with a wonderful food blogger, Lu

My husband James’ company, Colibri Solutions, develops custom desktop and mobile databases for businesses in a wide variety of industries. He works primarily in FileMaker, which just released their new version 13 platform. To show the advanced features and functionalities of the new version, James built this FREE catalog creation solution, Colibri Catalog. Colibri Catalog allows users to create, print and email all types of photo catalogs – inventories, art and hobby collecti

Silk Rose Jewelry by Michèle Bidault at Flea Marqueta in Spanish Harlem Newsflash: Keep an eye out for my Fall Market Picks segment with Kristin Shaugnessy on NY1! I’ll post the link on Facebook when it’s up on NY1.com! I recently headed up to East Harlem to visit Flea Marqueta, a new market that launched underneath the Metro North rail lines, just outside La Marqueta, one of the original indoor markets from the 1940’s. Flea Marqueta’s founders Sara and Dimitri Gatanas have e

Poilâne Bakery – Saint Germain-des-Prés, Paris Last January, I wrote a story about our adventures in procuring the wonderful French sourdough bread made by Poilâne and sold in New York at the beautiful specialty foods market Agata and Valentina. I published the story and shared it on Poilâne’s Facebook page. I soon received this response: Dear Madam. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. Thank you too for your very kind words about our bread. We would like however

So, it’s almost 2AM. I finished a 13 hour work day (grueling but huge progress made, thanks for asking). I’m trying to ignore everyone talking about the heat because there’s not much I can do about it except take another shower.  I’m not sure what the weather has in store for us this weekend, and I know the heat can be very dangerous. So I thought I would do something different this week. I would love to hear from YOU which markets or market sellers you love and why. Please p

My mother’s wedding bouquet was made of Lillies of the Valley. The last time I had a bouquet of them in my own hands was in Paris a couple of years ago. On May Day, or May 1, vendors sell small bunches of lillies of the valley on street corners. And ladies in the farmers market on Av. Richard Lenoir sell them in large bouquets. This weekend, we found them under the James Durr Farm tent at the Union Square Greenmarket. They have tiny, delicate bell flowers and lush, shiny leav

I don’t care if “bikini season is right around the corner.” When there’s incredible eggplant parm involved, nothing else matters. Do you understand what I’m saying? Sunday Gravy makes slow simmered meat sauce that transports you directly back to Old Italy of 100 years ago. This pasta sauce is so rich that your stomach is begging you to stop while your mouth just can’t do that. I also love seeing the sauce simmering in their gigantic, red enamel pot at the markets. Sunday Grav

If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m a Francophile. In fact, I had my first Aha! moment about what would become Markets of New York City the day we went to a farmers market in Paris, just blocks from the Bastille (Av. Richard Lenoir, for the curious). In truth, Bastille Day wasn’t a particularly happy day, but it was the beginning of the French Revolution which would end the monarchy. So it’s all good, although Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette did know how to throw a fabulous fea

Yukiko and the TESAGE Collection will be at the Independent Designer Pop Shop in Chelsea Market through Monday, July 2nd. Visit www.TESAGE.com to see the bags online, and follow TESAGE on Facebook for upcoming events! If you’re in New York for the weekend because you’re visiting or because you are beach homeless, come with me to these fabulous market events: Saturday, June 30, 2012 Chelsea Triangle French Market: I am THRILLED to have this new food market open in the Meatpack

Honestly, I had the impression that the Chocolate Shows were for tourists. Even the one in Paris, with its gigantic subway ads and enticing images. But then I looked into it a bit more, and I thought maybe I should give it a chance. So this year, I went. And I’m here, as a massive chocoholic, to tell you that it was an incredible experience. I arrived at a peak hour on Saturday, and the crowd was pretty big. But that just made me focus and scout out the chocolate companies I

So here is a photo of My Market Haul for this past weekend.  It doesn’t include all the delicious things I tasted or gobbled up, but I thought it made a pretty collage.  I made it to the markets closest to home on Sunday, namely the Fulton Stall Market and the New Amsterdam Market.  Items in this photo are the following market items: Peaches, Tomatoes and a Maitake Mushroom, Do Re Mi Farms – Perfect! Balsamic Vinaigrette Basico, SchoolHouse Kitchen – Tangy and tasty! Cream So

Fast forward to February, 2011 when Caja’s nameplates adorned the models on no less than 20 pages of this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.  Not to mention the ads I saw on bus stops and in the 14th Street subway station.  Seriously huge deal.  And because SI gives credit where credit is due, Caja’s company name appeared next to each photo. Caja makes a wide range of handcut designs in addition to the name plates.  They make name plate cuffs, which I’ve never seen bef

You know how romantic it is to stroll through the lovely food and farmers markets in Paris?  The family-owned company that has run those markets for generations, The Bensidoun Group, also puts on several markets here in the US.  Their flagship venue is the Chicago French Market, and they also run several other local farmers markets in Illinois, Michigan, and New York.  I met brothers Pascal and Sebastien Bensidoun through my research and writing about markets and my passion f

I have been a tea drinker since I was a small child.  In fact, my mother used to put me down for a nap with a bottle of warm, sweet tea.  Interestingly, she’d fall fast asleep next to me while I stayed wide awake through the afternoon.  Be that as it may, I drink a pot of tea every morning and every afternoon, and sometimes I’ll have a cup of Verbena or Chamomile before bed.  I wouldn’t call myself a tea snob, but I do love a steamy, fragrant cup of carefully crafted tea, I’l

The thing I love the most about Macaron Parlour is their distinctly American twist on the most classic of French classics, the Parisian macaron.  Without sacrificing the incredibly refined and delicate texture of the macaron, Christina Ha and Simon Tung create flavors that would hopefully thrill but just might shock the bakers at Laduree, one of my favorite patisseries in Paris that has been making these light, crispy delicacies since the 1860’s. Ha studied pastry making at t

NOTE:  10/19/2010:  Markets of New York is on a bit of a vacation, so we’re reposting some of our favorite pieces from the past year!  Here’s one from January 28, 2010: James and I went to Paris last week. Again.  People keep asking us why we go back over and over, and for a brief moment we contemplated not returning until next year.  The instant melancholy we both felt was enough to convince us that we’ll visit much sooner than that, probably October.  That should give our c