We’ve been having a really dry rainy season in the Bay Area this year. That’s not good as everyone here keeps telling one-another in the most serious of tones, though all the extra sunshine and dry days are a naughty-to-wish-for-but-who-cares-about-tomorrow winter bonus for us at the WC. We’ve been taking full advantage. Just the other day, we leisurely drove down the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. It was simply gorgeous. And since the weather’s good but we’re not in the touristy part of the year, traffic’s easy and things aren’t too crowded, so you sort of feel that the World is, in fact, waiting on your every whim, but in a good way. Ah! I like it.

welcome to Swanton Berry Farm

posing in front of the Swanton Berry Farm farmstand

Well, I’m rambling here, once again.

Anyhoo, that day we had four in our group. We stopped frequently for pics of the ocean and the coast. I took a lot of ultra-close up shots with my hand-held, which I thought made the beach look like it was Martian or something. Very cool.

Could this in fact be Mars?

which Rover took this picture?

this one almost looks like a close up of one of those dogs with all that extra skin

After our admiration of California’s natural beauty, Swanton Berry Farm was one of those random stops along the way. They’ve a really neat sign at the side of the highway introducing passers-by to the berry farm. It seems that depending on the season, visitors can go pick their own strawberries from their extensive patch. Sadly, winter wasn’t the correct one.

The inside of the little shop is super quaint, filled with colorful rustic agricultural knickknacks and signs that are so in vogue right now. They make numerous jams here. I particularly enjoyed the olallieberry though all the samples that I tried at their little tasting bar were quite yummy. We also got some of their baked tarts. Mmmm.

Swanton Berry Farm interior

exploring the jam tasting bar

workers preparing yummy desserts

fierce art berries

some organic jams from Swanton Berry Farm

Swanton is union run and operated since 1983. Everything’s organically produced. According to their web site they distribute some of their products through various farmers markets. At the store itself, they trusted you to pay on your own and even make your own change. Cash only at the farm stand.

Swanton Berry Farm self-service cash register

no, I didn't know that

pastry case at Swanton Berry Farm farmstand

What made the experience especially memorable wasn’t the charm or the way the funds were handled (or not as the case may be) but the Swanton Berry Farm commitment to being organic and recognizing that they’re part of a larger, regional, national and even international network of food grower/producers and consumer/eaters. I think that this kind of vision is far too rare in the food-universe. They’re setting a great example for all of us. Good for you guys!

Oh, and of course, I did like the jam.

Hegui with the gorgeous views of Rio de Janeiro in the background

I’m so inspired by the blog, Rambling Tart. Krista travels the world in search of the good life, and finds it, it seems, everywhere. Recently she had a really cool story about what she’d do over the Christmas Holidays if she wasn’t visiting family. She would go to London.

I’ve been thinking about that a lot. London is always a great place to visit. But for me, I think that if we weren’t visiting family on the East Coast this season, I’d want to go to Rio de Janeiro.

view of Sugar Loaf from Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro

throngs of tourists at the world-famous statue of Christ

It is such a tremendously beautiful city with so much to see and do. Aside from the famous Ipanema and Copacobana beaches and their equally famous people-watching; the city is full of culture, history, art, breathtaking sights and exciting nightlife. The food is really good and I particularly adore the huge variety of tropical fruits, which are so much more ripe and flavorful than any that we’ve been able to find in the U.S. Plus New Year’s falls in the beginning of summer in Brazil, so it is hot. Mmmm! Getting a head start on a suntan is a great resolution for 2012.

beautiful downtown Municipal Theater

even the gas stations look glamorous in Rio de Janeiro

frolicking wild monkeys play atop Sugar Loaf

view of Lagoa and Ipanema beach from the top of Corcovado

If you had your wish, where would spend New Year’s if you could not see family? Or better yet, where would you go and bring them along?

Happy 2012 everyone! We hope that it will be a great year for all of you.

We were really flattered the other day by our community garden coordinator. Dan told us that he was quite impressed with how well that we’ve done in our “first year” with a garden plot. Many others, he claims, struggle.

Michelle's sunflower is starting to show itself

Well, certainly we’ve been eating kale a lot: to the point where I had to put my foot down when Steven tried to harvest some more this weekend. We’ve had it cooked in so many ways! It is really good, and obviously healthy, but two or three times a week for months is a bit much. Can you believe it? Here I am, rejecting kale, my favorite veggie of all time? Steven says… next year let’s have only one or two plants! I think we agree on that plan. We uprooted a few of the older plants. They’ve gotten overgrown and the eggplants were suffering for lack of sun. We still have plenty of kale though.

We’ve eaten almost all of the lettuce that we’ve grown from the seeds our friend Michele gave us when we
met her in NYC last May. We were both surprised how well it did. We must have had at least two dozen heads. Growing among all the speckled trout lettuce was a single broccoli rabe plant. I am letting it produce seeds so we can try sowing them next year.

our community garden plot

The tomatoes are struggling a bit because of the unusually cold weather and the furious afternoon winds. So far, from the three plants, we’ve had only one ripe tomato. There are many green fruit in various stages of development. If the sun doesn’t shine more, we might have to prepare a large batch of fried green tomatoes. Though I’m still vaguely hopeful that the Indian Summer will come soon and save the crop.

Purslane, sage and chive have all been growing wild. We’ve had sautéed purslane twice already, and Steven’s been drying the sage for winter stews and to burn in the fireplace on a rainy February day. He’s got big plans to dry the lemon thyme and Greek oregano, too. I just replanted the chive and relocated the sage bush to make more room in the miniscule space for other things.

the summer fog looks romantic, but it is no friend to my tomato plants

close up of one of the larger albeit still green tomatoes

The artichoke plants have dried out, but little offspring are growing around them. So no more artichokes for now, but the future looks bright. Amazingly, after a weak start, the Serrano pepper bush is producing. It is always in bloom with tiny white flowers attracting bumble bees and butterflies. I wonder if the honey from the beehives nearby tastes sweet and spicy? We’ll harvest some peppers soon and let you know how they taste.

Michelle’s sunflowers are doing really well. Grown from seeds, the two surviving plants are tall and strong. I love the rich deep orange-red colors of the flowers. They look beautiful and one of the buds is starting to open.

our garden plot neighbor thinks these little flowers are chamomile

My hue, or arruda, as they call it in Brazil, at the entrance of the garden, is growing slowly. I like to touch the leaves to get some of the fragrant oils on my fingers. I can’t describe the wonderful scent, but I love it.

The garden has changed shape. When we planted the first vegetables, they were all sort of placed in an orderly way. As old plants give way to new ones that sense of a ‘manicured’ garden has gone away. It is looking more organic now.

fresh Chinese eggplant

We’re so thrilled to be nominated by Heavenly from donuts to delirium to participate in My 7 Links, an exciting chain-letter kind of thing for bloggers of all sorts. The rules are simple: you get nominated by someone; then you write a post with links to seven of your favorite published stories based on various categories; finally, you nominate up to five other bloggers who haven’t participated before to do the same. What a cool idea!

Since ours is a collaborative endeavor, Hegui, Jasmine and I met to ponder the possibilities over several glasses of wine the other day. I made some snacks as we debated the pros and cons of various posts. We laughed a lot together. At the end of this post I’ll announce the five bloggers that we’ve tagged to be next. There were many more of you than the measly five that we wanted to name, but them’s the rules. So here’s what we thought. Can’t wait to here your feedback about our choices.

Our most popular story has to be vegetarian Szechuan eggplant. The three of us all love this dish. There’s something so elegant about the Chinese eggplant, too, don’t you think? We published this one in 2009 and it has remained the most popular on our site since then.

Mireille Guiliano and me!

So really, this could be in the category of “success that surprised you,” though that one, we all agree, has to be Jasmine’s dinner and meeting with the celebrated lifestyle guru, Mireille Guiliano, of French Women Don’t Get Fat fame.

Portion, pleasure and planning was a wild success that almost wasn’t written. This dinner happened on the same night that the weirdcombo tasting crew had engaged to attend a South African wine tasting event. She couldn’t do both, so almost didn’t meet Mireille to hang with the guys instead.

We’re lucky to live in Northern California. Aside from the graceful benefits of San Francisco, we can easily travel to Wine Country. Sipping vino on balmy sunny days, having charming picnics and enjoying the company of friends and loved ones has to be one of our favorite past times. Inevitably these are beautiful experiences, whether or not we actually appreciate the wine. So for our most beautiful post, we’ve elected Rochioli Vineyards and Winery in Sonoma County.

obviously, this is how rosé got its name

The wines here are quite good, but more importantly for a wine country excursion, this place is stunning. The gardens are spectacular and the views of the Russian River Valley; sublime. This winery has already made a name for itself, and doesn’t really need our two cents. So in the category of “didn’t get the attention it deserved,” I immediately thought of spaghetti with Roman style tomato sauce.

spaghetti with Roman style tomato sauce

I know that every cook has a recipe for tomato sauce for pasta, and we all argue intensely for the merits of our own, but, listen, this one is kick-ass. It is not the tomato sauce of my childhood. This recipe was taught to me by a great friend, Kristen, who had the good fortune of living in Rome for three years with an Italian family that liked to cook. I have no idea if it is authentic or not, and really, I could care less. It is a snap to make and is really yummy. Truly, I make this every Friday for dinner at my house, I like it that well. Of course, nobody else seems to have noticed…

discrete love on a Chaing Mai temple door

But that pasta “controversy” is minor compared with anything related to Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series.

Right around the time we began weirdcombinations, I was completely obsessed with Twilight. If you care to know, I’m obviously “Team Edward.” I just love the series, and have read all four novels several times each. They’re not just for pre-teen girls. Anyway, I ended up writing a bunch of stories looking at various aspects of the books, movies and fan-frenzy connected to all things Bella-and-Edward. The most controversial, of course, has to be sex with Alice and Jasper, as adult themes are involved. When I was in the middle of writing these stories, by chance a met a woman at a party who lives in San Jose, CA. We had a long chat about Twilight and she gasped in pleasure and abruptly hugged me when she learned that I’d written these posts. I was incredibly flattered and a bit freaked out, truth be told. We were complete strangers.

Our nomination for most helpful post might freak you out a bit: edible fish bones. Most people associate these with stinky garbage or perhaps a snack for a tomcat.

edible fish bones

Well, live and learn. These tasty morsels get deep fried, which everyone knows makes all foods taste better. But there’s something delightful about their crunchy goodness that is impossible to resist.

So that just leaves the post of which we’re most proud. That is a toughie, since we’re proud of so many. But after some soul-searching, we’ve decided to end this trip down memory lane with something sweet.

Manjar de Côco com Ameixas

Manjar de côco com ameixas AKA coconut & prune pudding has to be one of the most fabulous desserts ever. This Brazilian classic is gorgeous, incredibly tasty, and will leave you haunted, dreaming of the time when you can have another piece.

So now that we’ve arrived at the end, here are the five bloggers that we wish to nominate for My 7 Links: Devaki from Weave a Thousand Flavors, Karen from Gourmet Food Blog, Lisa from HamptonToes, Tom from Tall Clover Farm, and Wizzy the Stick from Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Punch. You folks are all great.

Located a mere four hours by car from San Francisco, Reno seems a world away. Nestled in a high alpine valley, this playfully tagged, “Biggest little city in the world,” is most famous these days for being the kid-sister to Las Vegas: full of over-the-top casinos and quickie-wedding chapels. In past times, Reno was equally celebrated as the place to go for quickie-divorces and to strike it rich. Last week, this town was all about the 69th World Science Fiction Convention, a joyful fannish ode everything science fiction, fantasy and horror.

welcome to Reno, the Biggest Little City in the World

This was my first WorldCon. As such, I arrived in Reno last week with some mild trepidation. Would I be quizzed on my knowledge of early SciFi, which remains poor? Would I have enough in common with other attendees to not feel out-of-place? Would I have fun? Well, turns out that I shouldn’t have worried so much. This was really a must-do event.

the Blue Meanie at the WorldCon Masquerade

Consisting of five days of various panels, writers’ workshops, lectures, readings, book-signings, parties, video and movie showings, and other miscellaneous events, there was quite a lot to do. I attended several readings: Greg Bear, Brandon Sanderson, Eric Swendin, and David D. Friedman. I heard the guest of honor speech by Tim Powers, a writer of historical fantasies, the work of whom I remain unfamiliar, but have now become curious about.

The panels were especially engaging. “F*** your knight and the horse he rode in on: fantasy series not based on medieval European culture” probably had the most provocative title, though to me, the talk itself fell a bit flat.

“Molecular gastronomy: when you have more gadgets in your kitchen than your mom” had a certain appeal, despite the moderator, Dave Howell’s confession that he doesn’t actually cook that much. This was all about kitchen devices of the future. I liked Keith Kato’s idea that the best thing to have in your kitchen would be “sous chefs: all the Iron Chefs.” After that, the panel and audience alike were expounding on the wonders of immersion circulating cookers with “lab grade temperature control,” large motorized paddles to put in stock pots “like an outboard motor” to prevent burning, magnetic stirrers for candy making, the pros and cons of infra-red ovens (mostly cons as they apparently don’t cook the middle of the food that well), and “anti-grills” which flash-freeze food placed on them, though nobody could quite figure out what would taste good prepared on one of those devices.

rockets and space aliens

“The real revenge of the nerds: Geek as hero” was amazing! But who knew that passionate geeks still felt so ostracized? I thought the days of oppression were way over. Panelists did agree that “the idea of geek as something to aspire to has penetrated popular culture.” Everyone was super into that really funny show, “Big Bang Theory,” and its brilliant depiction of several über geeks. At least one panel member referred to some of the shows more arcane jokes as being “for us.” There was some anxiety expressed by the audience over the possibility of a “geek backlash,” though personally, I don’t see that happening any time soon.

I was vexed when Hugo winner Connie Willis bashed down Sookie Stackhouse as being anti-geek, just five minutes after the panel praised the new mainstreaming geek sensibility as one of inclusiveness. I’m a huge True Blood fan. And if I take a brief moment to geek-out (more than I’m already doing in this story) I am certain that Sookie, with her unwanted mind-reading ability, feels awkward and isolated from “regular people.” So what that she and many of the True Blood folks are positively gorgeous. Good looking and geek are not mutually exclusive. You should know better, Connie!

Stephen Segal and Seanan McGuire, part of the zombie panel

I was fascinated by “What’s up with zombies?” and especially Seanan McGuire, who wrote, under the pen-name Mira Grant, the incredible zombie novels, Feed and Deadline, which follow a group of cool Northern California news bloggers as they chase after the truth in a post-apocalyptic U.S. infested with the living dead. I voted for Feed to win the Hugo award for best novel of 2010. She was robbed! Seanan said that zombies represent “the fear of death, the fear of loss of individuality, and the fear of disease.” Personally they creep me out too much to usually think about it that carefully, but it kind of makes sense.

The Darling Gang

“Science Fiction in the Seventies,” “Science Fiction, gender and social change,” and “Fairy tales and storytelling” all held my interest. I couldn’t agree with Joan D. Vinge’s conviction that folk and fairy tales contain “universal” truths about the human condition throughout time and across all cultures. But who would have guessed that the creative re-interpretation of folk tales in modern ways could be controversial? Movies like the very funny “Enchanted” do this with some success. Yet Ellen Asher was up in arms against co-panelist Bill Willingham with her assertion that writers need to remain respectful of the culture from which a story derives, to avoid causing harm. I still don’t get it at all. What harm are we really talking about here, anyway? Maybe she meant bad taste.

“My trip to Mars” presented by David D. Levine, despite the wild title, was a factual account of his two week stay at the Utah Mars Desert Research Station. There with about a half dozen scientists, he lived in isolation within a tiny structure, exploring what life might be like on the Red Planet. Sponsored by the Mars Society, these folks are real serious about everything Martian. I don’t think that I’d have enjoyed the freeze dried foods and shower-free lifestyle one bit. It convinces me that I’m not in fact space-faring material. Well, to each his or her own.

the odd and wonderful Music of the Spheres

One annual highlight of the convention is the Friday Masquerade. Held in the Peppermill Resort and Casino rather than at the Reno/Sparks Convention Center, this was a fan-based costume show. There were about 25 or thirty contestants, both individuals and some in groups, who graced the stage in remarkable costumes that they created themselves. Judged in several categories from young fans, novice, journeyman to master, some of these were truly stunning. Unfortunately, many of my pictures were blurry as the contestants were moving faster than my camera could handle. The Blue Meanie from the Beatles Yellow Submarine blew my mind! That costume was massively large. I wonder how in the world Lance Ikegawa packed it all into his luggage for the convention? The Darling Gang lived up to their name. All you friends of Dr. Who would have appreciated Amy in the Tardis. I was awed by The Music of the Spheres. Here the photos don’t do the costumes justice. They glittered and literally glowed on stage.

these two are awesome!

There was so much more, with far too many things happening simultaneously to attend everything. Basically, I had fun.

As to the cake part of this cake and culture report, what can I say? A moon pie would probably have been most appropriate, though I didn’t think of that until I came back home. Instead I enjoyed the turtle sundae with vanilla bean gelato, hot fudge, caramel sauce, cocoa nibs, pecans, raspberries and whipped cream from the seafood restaurant, Oceano, at the Peppermill. This isn’t especially science fiction-y, but it is a crazy mix of decadent comforts, all thrown together in one delightful dish, sort of like the WorldCon itself.

turtle sundae with vanilla bean gelato, hot fudge, caramel sauce, cocoa nibs, pecans, raspberries and whipped cream in a futuristic blue light

What could be better than a surprise day trip?

John and I standing a the entrance to the Filoli mansion

soaking up the sun in the Sunken Garden

We’ve a super good friend, John, who told us to free up Saturday for an all-day extravaganza. He didn’t say a thing about our destination until we were riding in his huge Ford SUV on I-280 South of San Francisco. Then he asked the following question:

What started on January 12, 1981 that became a huge gay popular culture icon?

If you’re thinking of the brilliant eighties TV drama, Dynasty, you’d be right! (I guessed it right off the bat.) Turns out the Filoli mansion is the famous Carrington residence that’s featured in the opening credits of that marvelous series. John played the theme music several times on our way to visit the estate. You can see and hear it here:

rear view of the mansion

Filoli grand stairway Can't you just imagine Crystal Carrington coming down those stairs in a white evening gown with huge shoulder pads?

Development of the estate began after the famous 1906 earthquake that devastated San Francisco. The fabulously wealthy Mr. and Mrs. William Bowers Bourn II made a fortune from the Empire Gold Mine, which they owned outright. The historical film at the Filoli Visitors Center estimated that the mine produced about $120 million in gold, and this was a hundred years ago, when money really meant something. These people were loaded and liked to spend. For example, Mr. Bourn purchased an Irish estate, Muckross, for his daughter, Maud, in 1910, for her wedding present. Apparently he liked it so well, that he had Filoli designed in a similar way.

The mansion is huge and filled with fascinating furniture and art. The 16 acres of gardens are in the English style. They were overflowing with flowers when we visited, and many of the fruit trees were bearing. We broke the rules and sampled some pears, apples and really intensely good peaches directly from the Fruit Garden. Wonderful!

The gardens are divided into many different areas with charming walls separating them. We especially liked the Knot Garden which had lots of native California plants and flowering herbs growing in intricate patterns. The Sunken Garden was glowing with hundreds of bright orange zinnias. In the Woodlands Garden, the hush of the greenery was so soothing, I felt as if I’d entered an enchanted place.

The Library at Filoli

Butler's Pantry at Filoli

massive stove at Filoli

The mansion itself is quite stunning. In one room, the Study, there’s a massive safe hidden in the wall where Mr. Bourn would store bags of gold! The Roths, who purchased Filoli in the nineteen-thirties, converted it into a wine cellar. I was hard-pressed to decide which would be better to have in my home: a safe full of gold or full of wine? Hmmm. Tough choice: what would you pick?

The building had inhabitants through the mid-seventies, so the furniture and appliances are sort of a mix of several decades. I especially enjoyed all the paintings, oversized ceramics from Asia, various collections of fine China, and the Library, full of stunning built-in bookcases. The house has a grand staircase that apparently featured in the TV show and the movie. Oddly, the very informative brochure fails to mention the history of Filoli in Hollywood.

relaxing in the Rose Garden

the Knot Garden

romantic entrance to the Woodland Garden

the enchanted Woodland Garden

TIME BEGAN IN A GARDEN

view of the Wedding Place

sycamores at the edge of the Bowling Green

The name is peculiar: Filoli. Apparently, it comes from Mr. Bourn’s credo, “FIght for a just cause; LOve your fellow man; LIve a good life.”

The house, formal gardens and surrounding acreage were donated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1975 “so that future generations could enjoy its timeless beauty” according to the pamphlet that came with the self-guided tour. More cynically, I suspect that the Roths couldn’t bear the idea of maintenance. The mansion had a musty smell that I associate with an aging structure. Plus, we didn’t see any electric outlets in the great house. Can you imagine living in a place without computer access? Ugh.

After our lovely stroll through the house and the many spectacularly lovely gardens, we needed something sweet to tide us through until our late lunch. The café at Filoli had lots of interesting cakes, cookies and various savory dishes. But what could be better than iced cookies in the shape of ladybugs and bumblebees? These were darling to look at and unlike many I’ve tried before, were perfectly fresh. To me, the art of the playful cookies complemented the stunning grandeur of Filoli.

eye catching zinnias

purple hydrangea

wild turkies in the Medow

succulent peaches growing in the Fruit Garden

playful sugar cookies

This is a hidden gem, well worth the short ride from the City. You should consider a visit next time you’re in town.

close up of a mulberry tree in the Fruit Garden

cheery daisies seeking the sunshine

We went to the San Francisco Botanical Garden on one of those rare fog-free summer days that we occasionally enjoy here. Hegui and I are both completely enchanted by the matilija poppy. These shrubs are really quite enormous and the flowers are huge and lovely. They look like cheery sunnyside-up fried eggs, don’t you think? I had intended to take a picture with my new eye-phone, but clearly I haven’t gotten the hang of the thing. Instead I made this movie which I uploaded to U-tube. I love the way the flowers move in the wind: so soothing. Enjoy!

The weather has been good to us in San Francisco lately. Long days with plenty of sunshine. And in a record-setting event, we even had a couple of days of rain recently to wash way excessive pollen and dust floating in the air. Our community garden plot couldn’t be happier.

rainbow trout lettuce

sage and blooming chives

lemon thyme and oregano

In addition to the good weather our garden has been getting our usual TLC: weeding, watering, pruning and some added topsoil (humus) every other day. As result now we have a mini jungle! It is really satisfying seeing that the artichoke plants producing buds, the chives blossoming with cute purple flowers, the kale growing almost wildly, the flowering sweet peas making so many tasty pods, and so on. The Italian parsley has almost taken over and has become a medium-sized bush. I’d no idea that it was as prolific as that; it almost reminds me of mint. This is quite a change from the rather tiny and somewhat sad plants we started nurturing in chilly foggy February.

The new additions to the garden include tomatoes, rainbow trout lettuce, sunflowers, hue and eggplant; and they’re all thriving!

sweet pea

Tuscan (dinosaur) kale

artichoke plants with 'chokes

We’ve been eating lots of the produce weekly and kale really almost too often. We’ve had so much that we’ve even been able to give some away. I am amazed by how much a little plot of land can produce. I think that the dream of becoming an urban farmer has become reality. Compare the progress here and here.

huge parsley plant

purple kale

Have you ever noticed those stunning, mostly wooden, rustic-seeming water towers on the tops of buildings in New York? Even if you’ve never been to the Big Apple, you must have seen these in movies or on television. I love them. Like the Empire State Building, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, and Broadway shows, these are iconic New York. Too bad hardly anyone ever pays attention.

functional and beautiful NYC water tower hiding in plain sight

I’ve been a bit obsessed with water towers since I lived in the City years ago. Whenever I visit now, I always make a point of seeking them out. Of course they’re everywhere. New York requires that every building six floors or higher be equipped with its own. You can read more about it here or here.

More than antiquated decoration, these have a practical purpose. The City water distribution system got devised long before anyone knew how tall the buildings would eventually become. It is not equipped to deliver water that high, so water towers do the trick of supplying water to every building using gravity.

5 Avenue water tower

just like New Yorkers, water towers are everywhere

If you’re watching out for them, they’re difficult to miss. Just look up, far up, and there they are. We went to the top of the Empire State Building on our recent visit and I was amazed to see so many of them on almost every roof in all directions. Of course, Manhattan is a tall town. Look at the next pic. I think it is poetic.

Empire State Building view of water towers

this golden water tower looks almost new

I’m not alone in noticing these underrated architectural wonders. A British artist, Rachel Whiteread, created a really cool one that sits atop the Museum of Modern Art. You can see it quite well from the MoMA gardens. Commissioned by the Public Art Fund in 1998, it was originally displayed on a rooftop in the SoHo area of NYC. The artist called this work “a jewel on the skyline of Manhattan.” It is indeed a jewel: transparent and light, contrasting with the other mostly dark and heavier look of its numerous water tower brothers and sisters.

Rachel Whiteread's jewel like water tower at the Museum of Modern Art

After all this traipsing around New York in search of water towers, what could be better than a little sweet? Fortunately MoMA offers more than art to feast your eyes on. Following our tower-watching and general admiring of modern art, it was time for a bite. Too pooped to leave the museum, we opted for a lovely lunch at the second floor café. It is Italian style, like a lot of New York restaurants. We had some wonderful savory dishes followed by a tiny fruit dessert and a new favorite, affogato. This understated elegant delight is a shot of espresso poured over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Sometimes classic is best for quenching the thirst and reviving the taste buds. Affogato, a bite of berry cake and a tall glass of refreshing water were perfect.

affogato and berry cake make a perfect treat after all this culture

Check out more water tower pictures here