Last Saturday's Voyage to NYC

This past Saturday, a bunch of friends/entrepreneurs spent the day in NYC. Instances of the dreadful flu knocked out a couple of our comrades, but Sam, Zach, Caleb and I headed on our way. We grabbed lunch at Daniel Boulud's DGBG Kitchen, where we met up with Dominic of Garment Valet, and then made our way into the depths of SoHo to see some compelling art, cast-iron architecture, and furniture design. After parting ways with Dominic, we were joined by Justin, a friend of Zach and Sam of One Mighty Roar / BuildInternet.

We then made our way uptown to Columbus Circle to explore the Museum of Arts & Design where we were enticed and inspired by the current exhibition, Slash: Paper Under the Knife. Highly recommended. After that, we walked up to Verdi Square, one of my favorite general areas in the city... as I made the claimed that coffee taste better the closer you are geographically to The Ansonia. How could that not be true?

We headed back down to SoHo for dinner at Mercer Kitchen, and were joined by Andy of One Blue Brick / Edopter. The conversation was great... the food was so/so. Come on Jean! After narrowing down to the original Pioneer Valley crew, we hit up the Upright Citizen's Brigade for the some hilarious improv. I haven't laughed so hard since Jim Jefferies. After that came to an end, we made our way back to our neck of the woods. Time well spent. Always a good time in New York City.

Meetings in NYC

A week or so a go, I headed down to New York for at meeting at Hachette Book Group. Rather than drive in like I usually do, I took Amtrak from Springfield. I can't wait until the line comes back to downtown Holyoke so I can walk from down the street to the station.

I arrived earlier in the day for a stroll through the city and so I could stop by and say hello to some clients. I headed over to Warner Music Group headquarters in midtown and as I was leaving the building, I bumped into one of the most dapper musicians around, Tim Nordwind from OKGo. We talked for a bit and then I went on my way to EMI / Capitol / Virgin down near the beautiful Flatiron.

Then, I was onto the main reason I was in the city, a meeting with the good folks at Hachette, the second larger publishing group in the world. I met a bunch of the talented people that lead many of James Patterson's online initiatives. I also had the exciting opportunity of meeting James Patterson! Overall, I was very impressed with the way they do things over there.

After the meeting, I had a quick dinner at Brasserie Les Halles and then I was on my way back home. It's always an adventure when I'm in New York, I can't wait to go back.

Day Trip to Albany

Yesterday, Elizabeth and I took a day trip to Albany, the capital of New York. We haven't been there in ages, so we decided it would be a nice place to explore on a nice sunny day. They have an incredibly beautiful State Capitol building. charming housing stock, and a fascinating history. We started in downtown to examine the city's civic buildings and skyscrapers, all top-notch. We more or less had the entire district to ourselves - we saw maybe 2 or 3 people over the course of the first hour. We talked to a nicely-dressed older gentleman who has lived in Albany since 1954 and he said it's always like this; empty. Either way, we were very impressed with the architecture, public spaces, walkability, and surprises around every corner. We took a quick tour of the Albany Institute of History and Art to learn some more about how the city, it's history, culture and to also see some mummies.

After a quick stroll through one of the city's many urban parks, we made our way up to Lark Street. There were a handful of people walking around up this way. We stopped at Crisan Bakery & Edible Art Gallery for some tea and pastries - the cafe had a clean modern interior with some touches of Romanian folk art. After that, we walked a few miles up and down the residential streets of that district. I must say, this city has some of the most beautiful, vivid, historic housing stock out of any Northeast city I've been too, especially for it's small population. Endless blocks of lovely rowhouses. Most of the buildings are the same turn of the century townhouses you'd find in NYC - brownstone, stoops and elegant cornices galore!

We also stopped in Troy, a neighboring city. From the highway, the city looks like your ordinary run-down industrial city, but once you get downtown it's a completely different story. I was completely blown away with the townhouses that surrounded Washington Park. There are tons of eclectic buildings throughout the historic district. Just ask the New York Times, they claim that Troy has "one of the most perfectly preserved 19th-century downtowns in the US" - and to that, from what I've seen, I strongly agree. Although, we saw many vacant storefronts, it seems that many new businesses were opening up. Similar to Albany, we only saw a handful of people walking around the city. Where was everyone on this sunny Saturday afternoon? Hopefully next time we visit, we'll see more life on the streets.

NYC Book Launch

On Monday, I woke up to a foot or so of snow... despite the weather conditions and after finishing up some work, I made my way to New York for some meetings and an event.

First, I stopped by EMI/Capitol Music on 5th Ave. The lobby there is dressed with huge illuminated pictures of their recent hottest artists; Katy Perry, Coldplay, Lily Allen... I've done quite a few projects for these folks. After some greetings, a quick meeting, and such... I left for my next destination and with some great Bluenote vinyl.

I was in the city for the official book launch party for "Student Entrepreneurs: Mentors Matter" - a book that I contributed a chapter to (more on this at a later date). The event was held at PS450, a business-chic place on Park Ave S. It was nice intimate celebration with many fellow entrepreneurs.

After that, a few of us headed out for dinner. We ended up at a nice French bistro in the Meatpacking District called Pastis. As my New York night came to an end, I headed back to good old Western MA.

Twenty First Birthday

Yesterday was my 21st birthday. I started off my day in Boston at the State House. I was invited to a major gathering of government officials and business leaders where the discussion was focused on the state's technology sector. Heads from Google, IBM, Microsoft, Cisco, iRobot and many more filled the room. Governor Patrick posed questions about how the state can position itself to be the leader in tech sector, help the sector flourish, and retain it's brightest companies, entrepreneurs, and students. So far, I've been very impressed with his administration's attention and enthusiasm about the topic.

After the meeting came to an end, I met many new faces and got plenty of "happy birthdays!" On my way out, Governor Patrick asked me, "you don't plan on leaving us?" (referring to the state) and to which I replied, "certainly not, I was born and raised in MA and plan on staying..." The truth is, I do plan on staying in state and I'm really starting to dig Boston, especially because of the many new friends and connections I've made there in the last few months.

After the tech-filled morning, we made our way down to Providence. We checked out some local art at a few galleries, notably the Providence Art Club, a few antique shops looking for decor for my new (but 1870's) place, and explored a few neighborhoods. We also, for the first time, checked out the Rhode Island State Capitol building, designed by McKim, Mead and White. Two state houses in one day, not bad. We visit this city often (one of my favorite small capitals) and try to capture something new each time.

After the adventures, for my birthday celebration/dinner, Elizabeth took me to one of my favorite restaurants, Capriccio. It's the basement of an old marvelous, mansard-roof-having, bank building on the edge of the financial district near the river. Check this place out if you're ever in Providence.

Budapest: Day 2

Today we strolled the main pedestrian street of the city Váci Utca. The street was generously lined with decorative storefronts, cafes, and restaurants. Over head were bridges of Christmas lights between the buildings. It was pretty cold out, so I picked up a small bottle of Unicum, an herbal Hungarian bitter, to ease the winter temperature. We went to Központi Vásárcsarnok (Central Market Hall) and spent hours exploring this bazaar for fresh tasty bites, drinks and hand-cafted gifts. My eyes were instantly drawn to the bold cast iron skeleton of this structure and the light that poured through it. We ate some very filling nokedli, drank Traubi and ended with a warm cabbage strudel. We made our way back towards the famous Karácsonyi Vásár (Christmas Market), a spectacle so festive that it could replenish anyone's faded holiday spirit. Like the Central Market Hall, there were so many mouth-watering choices. We settled for a warm chimney shaped cinnamon pasty called kürtőskalács that was prepared over a glowing brick oven. After taking a nap to rid us of our jetlag, we went back out and had dinner at Central Kávéház, an inviting neo-classical-with-deco-flair styled restaurant with kind service and excellent food. So far, we've only scratched at the surface but so far I love this city.

Budapest: Day 1

We arrive in the great city of Budapest with much excitement. From the airport, we take the minibus to our hotel in central Pest. After getting settled in and resting for a bit, we decide to take a late night stroll within our immediate area, near the Blaha Lujza tér and Astoria stations. The architecture is beautiful yet tells of a destressed past and constant transformation, like any Eastern European city. A lovely pastel-colored building abuts a raw facade of a former glory, chipped away stucco that exposes her brick bones. A few more steps and we're stunned by the grandeur of the New York Palace Hotel. After stopping for a quick meal consisting of donor kebabs and heavily seasoned rice, with Coca-Cola to wash it all down, we jump on the next metro train to bring us closer to the Danube. We stop at one of the city's many landmarks, Parliament, for a visual tease of what's in store for tomorrow and call it a day.

Bean Town, Part Two

The next day, I killed time at the Boston Public Library, designed by my favorite archi-hustlers McKim, Mead, and White. There was a great exhibit of Yousuf Karsh's photography. It was also a great place to charge my dead cellphone and read up some US population statistics (did I mention I was killing time?) After that, I explored the various galleries of Newbury Street while waiting for Elizabeth to come and rescue me. I saw some nice original Warhol prints and Picasso etchings at DTR Modern Galleries. Once she arrived, we had dinner and made our way to our friend Morgan's party at Eastern Standard. Good times. I hope my new car key comes in soon...

Great Time in NYC

Last night, Elizabeth and I made our way to NYC for Inc. Magazine's "30 Under 30" party. We got into the city hoping to catch an early dinner at Veselka, a well-known Ukrainian place on the LES, but some new show starring Jason Scwartsman was being filmed in the restaurant so we temporally crossed that off our list.

After exploring the neighborhood, we headed up to midtown for the Inc. party at D'Or. The club was packed full with many interesting entrepreneurs, guests and the great people who make the magazine happen. I met lots of great people, had great conversations - it was a blast. We headed back down to Veselka for a late dinner of pierogi, golumpki, and blintzes... and then made our way back home.

Another day in NYC

I just got back from another day in New York. I was there to have lunch with Chef Jeff. If you haven't heard of Chef Jeff - he's the New York Times best-selling author of "Cooked," "bad boy of cuisine," and one of the top chefs in the country. His new show, The Chef Jeff Project, premieres on October 12th on Food Network. Check it out!

On the way back I decided to explore Yonkers for a bit. This city has a great character, charming architecture, and a socially responsible brownie factory - I'm sold! It reminded me very much of Holyoke (minus the brownie factory). I was on the search for Greyston Bakery, a business that was founded with a positive social mission. You can read about what makes Greyston so special here. I was under the impression that I could stop by and buy some chocolaty sweets to bring back home - but when I got there, it was only the factory.

I guess I'll be ordering some brownies online. Anyone want some brownies?

Off to New York

Tomorrow morning, I'm off to New York with my girlfriend for a few things. We plan to check out the Tenement Museum on the lower East Side, Smith St. in Brooklyn for food, and sketch comedy at Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre on Monday. On Tuesday, I have some business to tend to.