I Built This Newsletter Brick by Brick
Read for both a taste of the past and the future
You guys, the Notes phenomenon continues! I posted another Note of sweet Patches while I was cat sitting over the weekend and it got 175 likes (and climbing‼️). I’m bewildered. Is this a joke? Should I just abandon writing about NYC and send out a newsletter full of cat pics each week? This would definitely cut down on my research and writing time and half my camera roll is pictures of cats already so it would be an easy pivot. If I call the newsletter Big Cat, Little Friend I can even keep the same BCLF acronym. Do you guys like reading about noises in subway grates or would you prefer to just look at pictures of my cats? Let me know 😹
I guess here’s what today’s NYC-related issue is about or whatever, if you even care. Anyways…Lorenzo and I are always on the lookout for new Filipino restaurants and Tadhana opened on the LES not too long ago. With Valentine’s Day coming up, we figured we’d splurge on their tasting menu. And apparently I’ve been very interested in subway art/artifacts lately because I’ve got another subway station spotlight for you. This week - a bunch of old stones in a wall! Riveting I know, please read on.
To be fair, Patches is an adorable little muffin baby and he deserves this internet adoration and then some.
Whitehall St-South Ferry (R)(W) Station Whitehall St & FDR Dr Neighborhood: Financial District Entrance: In front of the Staten Island Ferry
The Financial District is pretty well known for being home to Wall St, which was named after the actual wall that used to run along that thoroughfare. But there have been a bunch of walls present in Lower Manhattan over the years because colonizers were always trying to keep someone out: Native Americans, the British, rats. We don’t really have walls around the city anymore, but the thing about NYC is that it’s always been a place of constant turnover that often quite literally buries its past in favor of modernization. We tend to think of this turnover as a newer phenomenon because today’s modern buildings are so tall and shiny, but NYC has been repeatedly reinventing itself since the 1600s (back then buildings burned down constantly, so constant reinvention was sort of necessary).
A big part of NYC’s journey towards modernization was the construction of our subway system. A couple weeks ago I wrote about one of NYC’s earliest subway lines that ran under Wall St. and this week we’re looking at another early subway station. The Whitehall St-South Ferry station was originally a complex of three separate stations that serviced the (1)(N)(R)(W) lines. These three stations were fine for a while and if there’s one thing the MTA is ok with, it’s operating at a level that’s just fine. A quirk of the South Ferry (1) Station that made it less than ideal was its short platform length and tight turnaround curve; the original platform was only made to accommodate the 5 car trains of the early 1900s, but eventually most trains were 10 cars long. Because of this, folks had to be in the first 5 cars to exit at South Ferry, which sometimes caused confusion for riders. But again, the MTA kind of just shrugged at this in a “if it’s not broke don’t fix it” kind of way until something happened that actually did very much break things - 9/11.
When the WTC was destroyed, it took some subway stations with it. Multiple lines had to be rerouted for years and the Cortlandt St (1) Station had to be completely rebuilt. During the reconstruction period, MTA officials recognized the need to build a more efficient terminal for the 1 train at South Ferry, since it was anticipated that the line would be heavily used in aftermath of the attacks. And so the three separate stations around the South Ferry complex would be combined into one super station! The MTA was budgeted about $400 million, most of which came from a Federal Transit Administration grant that had been earmarked for the WTC's reconstruction, and in Feb 2005 the project began!
But just a few months later construction stopped because somebody found a wall buried underground. Like, only 10 feet underground so barely underground tbh. I used to dig holes in my parents’ backyard when I was younger hoping to find dinosaur bones of ye olde Manorvillesaurus and if I was only digging in Lower Manhattan I would have actually found something (we all had a dinosaur phase, right?). Construction workers uncovered an 8 foot thick 45-foot-long section of a stone wall that may have been a remnant of the original battery at the southern tip of the island from the 1740s and 1750s. That’s old AF! The battery wall was used as a defense against enemies and also provided a barrier against the rough waves that slammed into New York Harbor. During one of NYC’s “reinvention periods” the wall became buried under landfill and was eventually lost when any remaining colonial fortifications were demolished and Battery Park was built in the early 19th century.
So, what’s the big deal with this wall? Well like I said, it’s old AF. Remember when I mentioned that NYC kept burning down and having to be rebuilt? Well because of all of those fires and turnover, we have very little tangible stuff left from NYC’s early early days. That makes this wall the oldest piece of a fortification known to exist in Manhattan and the only one to survive the Revolutionary War period. Along with the wall, a bunch of other little artifacts were discovered: a medal bestowed to Admiral Boscawen by King George III commemorating his role as a naval commander in the British capture of Fort Louisbourg, the wing bone of a Passenger Pigeon, a now extinct species of bird, a glass bottle seal belonging to Benjamin Fletcher who was the British colonial governor of New York from 1692 to 1697, and the base of sugar mold that was a very important tool in refining sugar before the creation of the refineries in the 19th century.
So the discovery of this wall was very cool, on the one hand, and a very annoying thing to construction workers, on the other hand. Obviously they couldn’t just keep blasting away, lest they destroy any other remaining bits of this wall. So they excavated as much of the wall as they could, in some cases removing it brick by brick and reassembling it above ground. Can you even fucking imagine? You thought you would get to go to work and blow shit up and now you’re disassembling and reassembling an ancient lego set (a dream for me, but likely not for everyone). There were worries that this would delay the project indefinitely, but somehow the subway restoration was completed and the wall was safely excavated and the project didn’t go way over budget and that is a slay, my friends.
Now, you can see part of that wall right back where they found it…sort of. If you head into the Whitehall St-South Ferry Station via the entrance outside of the Staten Island Ferry, you’ll see a gorgeous piece of exposed stone on the side of the wall that realtors would love to upcharge you for. I think this is a pretty cool way to display an artifact, by basically putting is back where it was alongside the modern infrastructure. Next to the chunk of wall is a plaque that’ll tell you most of what I just told you, but without the crucial anecdote about me digging for dinosaurs in my parents’ backyard.
A portion of the wall was also on display in nearby Castle Clinton for a time. If you really want to take a trip back in time, you absolutely have to watch the video embedded in this NYT article about the exhibit’s opening. The year is 2006, but why does the video look like it’s 1996? Were we all that blurry in 2006 and we just didn’t know it?
Tadhana 151 Allen St, New York, NY 10002 Neighborhood: Lower East Side Open: Tue-Sat, 6-10pm Order: It's a tasting menu, you get what you get! Also: BYOB!
Filipino food is one of my favorite cuisines and it has been, frankly, devastating watching Filipino restaurants close one by one over the years. Manhattan and Brooklyn have lost a lot of great spots that I used to frequent (RIP Maharlika, Jeepney, Purple Yam, Bilao, Choly). And yes, I know Queens is home to a whole ass Little Manila with a bunch of great spots, but it’s a pain in the butt to go to Queens from Brooklyn. I’m not happy about that, but that’s the way it is until we get that Interborough Express one day. A few new spots have been popping up, but they’re mostly all fancier or fusion spots. Regardless, I’ve been trying all of them and I finally made my way to Tadhana.
Tadhana offers a seasonal tasting menu for $165pp inspired by chef/founder Frances Tariga’s Filipino heritage. They only offer 2 seatings each night; the restaurant is BYOB and as far as I can tell there’s also no corkage fee or anything, which is nice. They do offer a couple of mocktails and sodas, but the mocktails were $16(!) and a little glass of Coke cost $7(!). I joked to Lorenzo that it would be more cost efficient to pull a reverse high school and bring in a bottle of booze filled with soda. The restaurant was also kind enough to text before our reservation and ask if we had any dietary restrictions, something they also followed up with a few times throughout the meal which I appreciated! Their Resy page says they can’t accommodate a bunch of allergies, but I think it’s definitely worth asking anyways because they were super chill with our mushroom/shellfish issues.
Now if you’ve followed BCLF for a while, you know that Lorenzo (and Beef) don’t do well with tasting menus; they’re big boys who like big food. So as soon as we got our first course, Lorenzo was already planning a post dinner meal. We were served a tiny poof of pandesal with a side of Iberico ham and uni topped butter. Pandesal is usually a nice size fluffy bun but this one was absolutely a mini version. Despite its size, it tasted fucking fantastic. Iberico ham is never a bad thing but I did feel like the uni was overkill; it didn’t really add anything to the dish except maybe another $30.
We still had a ton of courses ahead of us though and the next few were really good. I think the reason I love Filipino food so much is its reliance on vinegar; I love bright acidic flavors a lot and Filipino food is never lacking in that. The next few dishes took full advantage of those acidic flavors. A scallop and pork jowl ceviche came swimming in a bright vinegar and basil oil and one of my favorite dishes ended up being a seared piece of snapper in a similar combination of sauces. A sneaky hit for me was the egg custard topped with caviar, and not just because it was served in a dish that looked like a foot. The egg custard was very smooth and slightly sweet and perfectly offset by the saltiness of the caviar. It must be an absolute bitch to cut a hole in and hollow out these eggshells. Lorenzo’s favorite dish was these stuffed chicken wings, filled with a slightly sweet pork meatloaf speckled with golden raisins.
At this point in the meal, Lorenzo was still pre-planning what he would eat for second dinner, but the next few courses would manage to be heavy enough to fill even his bottomless pit of a stomach. The Ka-Sa-Lay Trio (rice-broth-veggie) ended up just being Sa-Lay and was probably the most underwhelming dish. The broth was very similar to the sauces we’d been served previously and, while delicious, it wasn’t very exciting. The tiny chunk of vegetable provided was covered in an adobo sauce that was tasty and had a tiny bit of spice that I enjoyed, but tbh I think the adobo sauce I make is better and Lorenzo agreed. Similarly, the duck dish was good, but nothing really standout and also nothing distinctly Filipino? The pork belly and garlic rice that came next really sealed the deal for us though - it was so good and they actually gave us way more rice than I would have expected! The pork belly was glazed in banana ketchup and of course the first thing I asked was if they made their own banana ketchup (they do). For those not in the know, the USDA recently banned banana ketchup, bagoong (shrimp paste), and lechon sauce (Mang Tomas ILY) because of a certain ingredient and Filipinos are unwell. This was the main topic of conversation at Christmas dinner and I have never been so grateful that I buy in bulk (open to selling spoonfulls of bagoong to anyone in need).
By now, we were actually feeling pretty full but we had dessert ahead of us. The menu promised halo halo (which means mix mix), which is one of my favorite desserts, and I was already pre-panicking thinking of how they would bastardize the dish. For me, halo halo absolutely needs four things: ube ice cream, flan chunks, coconut strings, and unnaturally bright jellies. Imagine my horror when two freeze dried “halo halo” chunks arrived on a pedestal. How was I supposed to mix mix this? Is there flan inside? Our server told us to enjoy these in one bite and noted that folks like to take videos of each other blowing the cold smoke out while eating them. So we finally made it to the Instagram portion of the meal! Lorenzo popped his halo halo in his mouth and said that it did manage to have most of the flavors of an actual halo halo, all the while exhaling little puffs of cold smoke. I ate my halo halo ball and while I did get some coconutty flavor, I just missed all of the textures so much. Part of my love of halo halo is the textural experience! Luckily the meal redeemed itself with the final dish - ensaymada. Ensaymada is a thick, slightly sweet briochey bun and Filipinos love to cover that shit in sugar and cheese. This one came with a generous blob of the most delicious coconut fluff and was topped with shaved cheddar cheese. There was additional chèvre underneath, but I can’t stand goat cheese so I ate around it.
All said, this was a pretty good meal. If you want a taste of very accessible Filipino food (read: no liver, blood stews, or pig ears) then this is a great menu for you. The menu had more hits than misses, but at this price point Tadhana is probably not a place I’d return to for a while. I really miss the swath of more affordable Filipino places that used to line 1st Ave that allowed me to get a quick fix of sisig and halo halo. If anyone would like to give me a lot of money, I have some great ideas for Filipino menus bouncing around and I’m pretty good at making most of them already!
If you’re free this Saturday and want an all day event to keep you busy, you absolutely must check out Hyggehiking NYC's Date Spots. From 10am-6pm, a group will traverse Manhattan and Brooklyn, visiting the organizer’s memorable date spots. You’ll grab food, you’ll make friends, and you’ll take new dating profile photos. This is the dream.
If walking around isn’t your thing and you’d rather stay put on Saturday, pop into Nhà Mình for their inaugural Drawing Class! This first iteration will focus on drawing the plants in their space. BYO drawings supplies, or a suggested donation of $10 for provided materials. Their food is also mad good.
Another Vietnamese restaurant wants to hook you up this weekend - Lucy’s Vietnamese is offering BOGO Pho this Friday! Lucy’s pho is the only one I will eat that doesn’t contain my favorite ingredient - tripe - because it is still delicious even without it.
If you have a single friend who needs a little hype, bring them to Pitched Through Friends on Friday night. You’ll have the opportunity to pitch your single friend to the audience, followed by mingling, games, and prizes.
If you’ve already got a date for Friday night, consider bringing them to Flying Fox Tavern in Ridgewood to watch The Lost Boys. Dress in your 80s best and prepare to enjoy what might be the most erotic scene in cinema.
A little bit pricier, but the Seasonal Depression Soiree on Saturday nights looks absolutely diving. They’re serving a jewish-indian style collaborative menu and you’ll get to pickle some vegetables and fill out fun mad libs.
One of my very good friends, Jenna, is planning to run the 2025 NYC marathon for NYRR Team for Kids. She’s already about halfway to her $3k goal and if there was ever a worthy person (and cause) to support, it’s this. You can donate via this link.
Here’s a silly thing I learned - the DEP has to do some serious planning to make sure we’re all able to flush our toilets during the Super Bowl. Apparently everyone goes to the bathroom at the same time so they have to pull extra water from the reservoirs upstate. The more you know 🌈
Finally - please make sure you are registered to vote in the Primary Elections this June by the Feb 14 deadline! You can check your registration and register for a party here.
Princess Daisy!!!! Still so happy you let me watch that film with you 😍
Loved reading this!
I’ve had the same experience with cat pics on Notes. It’s brought me lots of new subscribers - even though I write about money, not cats - so I’m not complaining 😂
Also, I have a week in Mallorca every year and the other 51 weeks I’m looking forward to my first ensaïmada, so I was fascinated to learn they’re a Filipino fave too.