Neuf...and nine reasons why you should go.

Hello, friends.

I know, there was a bit of lag time in between my last post and this one. But, thanks to a few dozen or so friends and family, I'm starting again. One new friend, who I was lucky to meet at Neuf last night, saw a post and kindly suggested I write more. "People want to read what you write, the way you write it," he said. What a compliment and I must oblige. Thank you!

And now onto Neuf, which means nine in French and opened its doors officially this week. It's Joncarl Lachman and Bob Moysan's new spot that offers African-French cuisine with a full-service bar. It's a departure from Noord, their Dutch-Scandinavian BYO in East Passyunk.

Here are the nine reasons why you should go:

1. The gorgeous entry.
My friend Anita and I walked to Neuf, at 943 s. 9th Street, Saturday night into one of my favorite restaurant facades in the city. The space boasts two bay windows that flank the tiled entry way.

2. Bob and Joncarl.
Once inside, we found both owners smiling and greeting us, either from the dining room or the kitchen.

The menus. 

3. There's halloumi!

We debated on the menu a bit but settled on sharing the bouillabaisse and the kusheri salad (with the halloumi). The salad was light and we pretty much devoured it. Too quickly to snap a picture, in fact. 

The bouillabaisse. 

4. The saffron broth.
We also didn't leave much of the bouillabaisse that we shared. The saffron broth was perfect and light but we asked for more crusty bread to make sure we could enjoy every last bit. I think I had a spoon in my hand at one point.

5. Almond joys have nuts. Mounds don't.
The dessert the gentlemen beside us shared was, according to them, "like the inside of an almond joy," that they ate up. This is what I'll be getting on my next trip.

6. Sherry.
We ordered the Paris-Brest which was a light but filling pastry with cream, sherry and cherries. We also had sherry a digestif to round out our meal.

7. The art work.
After dinner, Joncarl stopped by and said hello and we had a long talk with Bob that focused on his art. He told us about the painstaking installation of mini bottles that he staged, photographed and turned into wallpaper. I make the process seem easy but I assure you, it was not. It's a fascinating story and I won't give it all away, but when you go, walk to the bar and check it out.

8. New and very well done.
All and all, it was a great meal, especially considering it formally opened mere days ago on Oct. 1.

9. Happy hour.
I can't wait to pop by for happy hour and another meal, soon.

I hope you check it out and and create your own reasons to go and enjoy.

Your friend, (new or old)
Caroline

Texting, emojis and dating, oh my

Hi friends,
I read this funny NYT article about texting and styles. What's yours?

As a corporate communicator, I have two distinct styles of writing. Professional and fun.

Those who know me, know that I'm the queen of the emoji (mostly to my girlfriends). My favorites include the kissy face, the muscle arm and well, the wine icon. If you haven't checked out Crazy Jewish Mom on IG, do it now. The mom just learned how to use emojis. It's pretty funny.

On the other side of this, my colleagues (past and present) know about my dislike for exclamation points in emails to 35,000 employees. And I think everyone knows that I fall in love with men who use there, their and they're / your and you're correctly. It’s the little things sometimes.

And obvi with texting comes the shortened words. Do you use some of these acronyms?

I’ve never seen most of them but will probably start to use ELOL immediately along with TPS. My dad tends to make up his own texting acronyms. Dads. SMH.

I also spotted HuffPo’s article on text etiquette as we live in the days of digital dating. Check out the dos and donts as written by each gender.

Anyway, happy texting and maybe phone home every once in a while.

TTFN,
xo,YF
Caroline
 

Works in progress.

Hello friends,

Aren't we all works in progress - striving to be brave and better or shiny and perfect? I know I am and so is my writing.

I have had pieces in the works including one titled Christmas Tree(mont) based on my fab dinner at The Treemont in December. The mulled wine deserves its own blog post, to be honest.

Here's the cobia, that you really should try.
 

Another is about our trip to Batard where we indulged in four desserts.

Here's the truffle ice cream.

However, I am making some changes. Consider the blog under construction. I'm not sure what it will be and that's the fun part. Thanks to the encouragement of friends throughout the years (and now I'll name names Holley, Kevin, my mom, my dad, my grandmother, Justini) and their advice to write every day, work on the novel and get back to the blog.

I am.

I signed up for a class from the writer Tyler Knott. I love his writing (that I read on Instagram) and I've decided that it's time to get the dust off of the novel and be brave.

Hemingway also said "write, drunk." So there's that.

In the mean time, I'll get my Treemont blog post started.

And figure out where to eat for my birthday.

xoxo,
Your friend,
Caroline