Wonderful Cookbooks

I love cookbooks. I just do. Maybe it's because I love cooking and books. Duh. Anyhow, I think they make fantastic gifts, coffee table books, additions to bookshelves (even if it's simply for aesthetic purposes), and, of course, they hold utility if you love experimenting with that part of your home.

Here are my favorite:

1. Simple to Spectacular by Jean-Georges. Makes an incredible coffee table book but it's also my favorite cookbook. A fabulous couple recommended it to me and I now swear by it. Simple to Spectacular gives you four levels of difficulty for each recipe. ANYONE can make the first level, which is the most basic recipe. I repeat, absolutely anyone. You then get three more variations, all building up to the fourth, most sophisticated level. Every recipe I have tried has been delicious. It gives you the most simple and elegant way to entertain too.

2. The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I love Ina Garten and most of her cookbooks. This is one of my favorites.

3. Madhur Jaffrey's, An Invitation to Indian Cooking, is a wonderful introduction to the complex world of desi food. Madhur Jaffrey is, of course, renowned for breaking down Indian recipes and has countless books out there. A word of caution - not all her recipes turn out well. Maybe that's because certain Indian dishes were never meant to be written down.

4. Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean by Ana Sortun from Oleana in Boston. Oleana is my favorite restaurant in Boston and Ana Sortun's book takes you on a mind-boggling journey through Mediterranean variations. The book is complicated and requires spices you may never have heard of before - it's a restaurant cookbook after all. I recommend buying the Oleana spice collection if you ever happen to be at the restaurant just so you have everything that the recipes could call for.

And here's another tip for those of you who troll around the web for recipes...I know, I'm often on www.foodnetwork.com looking for ways to use up left-over ingredients. Buy a beautiful recipe binder (many available on amazon) so you can print and file away your favorite recipes.

New York Foodies...

I'm part of a Foodies club that samples New York's best each month. I love incredible, exquisite, creative food and I search for it all over the world. I love hole-in-the-wall finds but I also savor the lauded Chefs. I'm still making my way through the best places in NYC but here are my current top few of the recognizable names.

1. Babbo - call a month in a advance to the day you want your reservation....or know someone.
2. L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon - possible one of the easier venues to dine at, especially for its stature. You can walk in and with a small wait, dine at the counter overlooking this masterful kitchen.
3. Il Mulino - the list of specials is twice as long as the menu. They also offer to make "anything else that you want". Keep in mind that 4-5 antipasti arrive as soon as you sit down, as does the grappa or Limoncello at the end of the evening.
4. Morimoto's - sit at the counter where you can often watch Chef Morimoto at work. The Omakase was delicious but the portions are huge so be hungry or you'll waste some of these delicate creations.
5. Nobu downtown - go for the tried and tested specials and then ask the Chef to surprise you with a little sumthin-sumthin. I generally tend to avoid the Omakase here.
6. Peter Lugar - best steak-house

And I'm not the biggest fan of the following:
1. Adour, the newcomer from Alain Ducasse at the St. Regis - the decor and service are great but the food was just not that fabulous
2. Bouley - great bread selection but I wasn't wowed by the entree selection.
3. Nobu 57 - Food just didn't do it. The sushi was cut a bit too thick which is probably a result of the massive size of the place. Go to the one downtown.
4. Sushi de Gari - what a downer in terms of ambience!

Be Fabulous to Your Body

I have to share the most special place in New York City. Kula Yoga Project, in downtown Manhattan, is my gift to my body and soul at least thrice a week. It's one of the few free-agent yoga studios left in the City. By this, I mean that the instructors are not wedded to a particular school of yoga. The best part about Kula Yoga is that it is an intense total being workout, for your mind and your body. The flow yoga will make every part of your body perspire - I discovered that even the tops of my feet can sweat!! With a rich variety of classes all through the day, you really have no excuse but to stop by after work and give yourself the gift of some quietly intense time.

One note of caution - Kula Yoga is intense! If you're a beginner or if you think you're intermediate (which probably means you're a beginner), start with a Kula Basics class. You'll get your behind kicked and will probably hurt yourself if you do a regular Kula Flow class. Kula Yoga Project was featured in the NY Times for featuring one of the most intense yoga experiences in the City.

One tip - get there at least 15 mins before class starts or you'll struggle to find a spot.

Fabulous Belts

Yours truly went shopping for a fabulous belt last week and recommends the Salvatore Ferragamo reversible belt for about $300 at Bloomingdale's. I bought the wide black and white belt but you can choose red and white/ black etc. Best part about the Ferragamo belt...they'll cut the belt to fit your body perfectly. The belt with the famous Gancini logo is tres chic. Want something more understated - go for the sleeker, normal buckle.

I also love Ferragamo belts for men, btw, whether with the Gancini, which is great for jeans and casual wear, or with the traditional buckle, which looks understated yet sophisticated with suits.

I loved the new Louis Vuitton belt too. I can't find a picture of it online but you can buy it at any of their outlets. It has a round gold buckle with the famous brand etched in black. A fab mix of traditional and funky. The only drawback is that they won't cut the belt down to your size so unless you have a "standard" waist, you're outta luck.

Welcome to Featuring Fabulous!

I've had a fabulous life so far. I've grown up all over the world - India, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Vietnam. And now, in my adult life, I continue to trot around the globe every month, while living in New York City. I have been lucky enough to do, buy, see and feel some of life's most fabulous offerings. I'd love to share these with you, on the off chance that you find yourself in Hanoi and want to know where to eat or want the top three stops on a Tea-Lover's Guide to New York or a pointer to the most exquisite, only-the-connoisseurs-would-know gift for a special someone. And I'm going to include delicacies for all aspects of life, the physical and the ephemeral, those you can eat and those you can only close your eyes and feel, from the best restaurant in Zurich to the best yoga studio in NYC.

With these musing, I hope to bring a little bit of fabulous into your life....