september new york visit and bento

Visiting my mom last week involved lots of foodie fun. The afternoon I arrived, she prepared a wonderful bruschetta with eggplant and fresh mozzarella and garlic-tomato confit, the perfect snack to enjoy outdoors on a gentle bright afternoon:

Yummy hearty breakfasts this time included blinzes with fresh figs, Greek yogurt and apricot jam...

and a really delish omelet with three cheeses and croutons fried in olive oil

On our day in Manhattan, we checked out the always fun Chelsea Market and newly opened Italian food emporium Eataly. The Chelsea Market is inside the creatively refurbished former National Biscuit Factory building... the pretty old items on display:

 The market today houses an intriguing collection of independent food shops and restaurants, including a great Italian specialty shop with ground pistachios from Sicily, all manner of specialty cheeses, truffle honey, salt and oil

and Sicilian marzipan, so vivid and detailed!

You might also enjoy some yummy avo-sushi rolls at a seafood place across the way

Here's a view of the creative architectural re-purposing of the former factory space with exposed brick walls:

Wildly cute cupcakes at a sweet bakery...

As if that was not enough yumminess, we were determined to visit the recently opened, huge emporium of things edible and Italian, appropriately named Eataly. Dotted throughout its enormous space are cafe/ restaurants with specialized seafood, vegetable, pasta and pizza, meat menus...no surprise, we selected the seafood option. The frito misto or mixed fry of fish and shellfish was really light, crisp and lovely...

As we had lunch we watched fresh pasta being made. I loved the shape and name of these Fiori di Zucca ravioli...so I bought some to cook and bento!

There are goodies everywhere you look...fruit-mosaic pastry:

Mmmmm, nougat with almonds

Bright produce--I took home excellent fresh tarragon, parsley and green figs...

As a lover of fresh, filled pastas these agnolotti caught my eye!

I liked how this packaging evokes Italy's ancient role as a link between the Mediterranean and East:

"Rustic Fig Bread" 

At the recently re-opened NYC coffeeshop chain Chock Full O' Nuts, a nostalgic taste of a childhood favorite--date nut bread sandwich with cream cheese, slightly caramelized just as I remembered it...

Yum!

Hydrangeas changing color in Madison Square Park

Japanese maple in early morning sun, first day of autumn

My visit bento included some of the delightful butternut squash ravioli with pine nuts, red onions and prosciutto, portabella mushrooms, fresh figs and sugar snap peas...