I was walking home from the office and I could hear a deep, male voice talking on cell phone a couple of steps behind me. I started listening when I heard him say "I've hooked up with like 5 chicks since then" to whoever he was on the phone with. He then started talking about some girl that was a "sweetheart" and then some girl named Christina who he still hangs out with and wants to "look for guys and girls together" sometime. He thought this would be weird since she said "some of the filthiest things a girl has ever said" to him but then he went to her birthday where she hooked up with "like five guys" and he didn't care. At this point, I was trying my hardest not to laugh and wanted to get a look at this stud. I slowed down my pace and looked down at a dog (super cute) but then I looked up at him (umm not so cute). He was very tall, but also sloppily overweight, wearing jeans and a white polo shirt through which I could see his love handles bouncing as he walked. He had closely cropped reddish hair, glasses and an upturned nose that appeared too small for his face, especially under his glasses and compared to the rest of him!
Welcome to New York where guys like this can have their pick of women that may actually be semi-attractive depending on how much money they make! Ya I'm good. I think I'll keep on walking!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Me And Commack
I met Giggles and my friends Commack and Tats on Saturday for brunch on Stone Street in the Financial District. Commack and I used to sit beside each other at work and traveled to to Taiwan and Italy together for assignments. Also in a drunken stupor in Puerto Rico (another work trip), I invited him to a Hindu wedding in Toronto, which he actually attended! Tats is a childhood friend of Commack's who I had not seen in at least a year. I texted Commack early that morning to meet up since I was a dud the night before and went to bed early though they had been persistently messaging, trying to convince me to grab drinks. Commack and Tats were on their way to Long Island for a fantasy football draft (one of like 84 they had planned in the next few weeks) and I guess Commack decided to dress up for the occasion. He was wearing baggy cargo shorts and sneakers with a t-shirt with a faded red logo of some kind and a big straw cowboy hat with the picture of some dude printed on the front. "Umm who is that?" I said. What you have to understand about Commack is that he gets extremely passionate when talking about pretty much everything but especially politics, history, rock music and the O.C. (yes, the television show). He pointed at the image on his hat and informed me that it was Dimebag Darell, the former guitarist of Pantera who had been "assassinated" on stage at a concert with his new band, by a crazed Pantera fan that blamed him for breaking up his favorite band. Tats laughed and questioned (rightfully so) Commack's use of the word assassinate for Dimebag since he's not exactly Abe Lincoln! But Commack remained resolute in his belief that he was assassinated, since it was premeditated and Dimebag is a public figure.
(Stone Street where we had brunch!)
I had thought the conversation had ended when I joked "Does that mean Biggie and Tupac were assassinated?" but today I received this email from Commack (both Giggles and Tats were copied):
"Definitions:
Assassination - murder of a public figure by surprise attack - murder, slaying, execution - unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being.
Public Figure - a personage of great public interest or familiarity like a government official, politician, celebrity, business leader, movie star or sports hero.
Just a few links that reference the killing as an "assassination":
http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/dimebag-darrell-assassination-drawing-to-be-auctioned/
http://www.dogmaticblog.com/2009/11/12/the-assassination-of-dimebag-darrell/
http://www.bravewords.com/news/126040"
Tats replied:
"Wow c**** this really struck a nerve with you that we received a full definition."
Most of the time I don't feel like inciting arguments (even friendly ones) with people, since I have my opinions and am confident in them but don't always feel the need to share them. Instead I like to hear what they have to say and file it away in my brain as another point of view. However, today I was getting in there! I replied:
"I suppose if you take the word 'assassination' in its most literal sense, Dimebag was assassinated. However, common usage of the word usually relates to a killing of a public figure for political or financial gain though revenge can be involved as well. The sites you have included are reported by sources where Dimebag would have been considered a significant public figure, however CNN and other mainstream news outlets did not use this word when they reported the killing, reserving the word for royalty and political leaders.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/12/09/nightclub.shooting/
I liken your use of the word assassination to the word 'martyr' which is a person who suffers persecution and often death for the people, a country or an organization, or refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious, political or rights. We can all agree that Ghandi was a martyr (who also happened to be assassinated), but do we consider the punk kids who get suspended for wearing t-shirts with controversial messages on them (usually anti-gay) to school and then go on TV with their hick parents crying freedom of religion/speech as martyrs? While the definition fits, they are definitely NOT worthy of the usage.
We know that Dimebag was a well respected musician, but certainly he cannot be held in the same regard as JFK, Abe Lincoln or Ghandi, whose deaths resonated with millions worldwide and made a mark on history. It is out of respect for these individuals that the literal use of the word is not widely used."
Tats responded "Whoaa", Commack agreed with most of my arguments but still believes Dimebag was assassinated and Giggles, much like during the initial conversation, did not seem interested at all.
(Stone Street where we had brunch!)
I had thought the conversation had ended when I joked "Does that mean Biggie and Tupac were assassinated?" but today I received this email from Commack (both Giggles and Tats were copied):
"Definitions:
Assassination - murder of a public figure by surprise attack - murder, slaying, execution - unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being.
Public Figure - a personage of great public interest or familiarity like a government official, politician, celebrity, business leader, movie star or sports hero.
Just a few links that reference the killing as an "assassination":
http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/dimebag-darrell-assassination-drawing-to-be-auctioned/
http://www.dogmaticblog.com/2009/11/12/the-assassination-of-dimebag-darrell/
http://www.bravewords.com/news/126040"
Tats replied:
"Wow c**** this really struck a nerve with you that we received a full definition."
Most of the time I don't feel like inciting arguments (even friendly ones) with people, since I have my opinions and am confident in them but don't always feel the need to share them. Instead I like to hear what they have to say and file it away in my brain as another point of view. However, today I was getting in there! I replied:
"I suppose if you take the word 'assassination' in its most literal sense, Dimebag was assassinated. However, common usage of the word usually relates to a killing of a public figure for political or financial gain though revenge can be involved as well. The sites you have included are reported by sources where Dimebag would have been considered a significant public figure, however CNN and other mainstream news outlets did not use this word when they reported the killing, reserving the word for royalty and political leaders.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/12/09/nightclub.shooting/
I liken your use of the word assassination to the word 'martyr' which is a person who suffers persecution and often death for the people, a country or an organization, or refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious, political or rights. We can all agree that Ghandi was a martyr (who also happened to be assassinated), but do we consider the punk kids who get suspended for wearing t-shirts with controversial messages on them (usually anti-gay) to school and then go on TV with their hick parents crying freedom of religion/speech as martyrs? While the definition fits, they are definitely NOT worthy of the usage.
We know that Dimebag was a well respected musician, but certainly he cannot be held in the same regard as JFK, Abe Lincoln or Ghandi, whose deaths resonated with millions worldwide and made a mark on history. It is out of respect for these individuals that the literal use of the word is not widely used."
Tats responded "Whoaa", Commack agreed with most of my arguments but still believes Dimebag was assassinated and Giggles, much like during the initial conversation, did not seem interested at all.
In Search Of The Magical Tennis Courts
On Saturday, while me and Giggles were waiting for two hours for a tennis court in Hudson River park, a couple of young guy told us about some other courts under the Williamsburg Bridge. They said that they didn't have to wait and when someone asked for their permit from the Department of Parks and Recreation, they pleaded ignorance and played on. We decided that we must find this magical place where one does not have to devote an entire afternoon for the opportunity to play an hour of tennis.
Me and Giggles met Sunday at noon for food at Congee Village, an amazing Chinese restaurant that's not in Chinatown or Flushing, but the Lower East Side to fuel up for our search. When I arrived, the restaurant looked like a mish-mash of tiki hut type decorations, complete with bamboo, seashells and fake plants. However the waitstaff were all oddly dressed in plaid vests, more suited to an Irish/Scottish pub. While I waited for Giggles, I browsed the several positive reviews from numerous publications, including the Michelin guide, which were posted in the entrance and began to get excited for my meal. Giggles arrived soon after and we were seated immediately. We shared an order of the salt and pepper squid and Giggles ordered the congee with duck, pork and chicken, while I had the vegetable chow fun noodles. The squid came out first and even though I was a little scared by the oil soaked paper, the dish was surprisingly not greasy, but light and crisp and perfectly seasoned and bright green sliced jalapenos for heat.
Giggles's congee...
My veggie chow fun came out last and it was GOOD. I have had many a chow fun disappointment in NYC but this was not one of them! The chow fun noodles were fresh and not gummy, like those at some restaurants that use dried noodles, with lots of crunchy vegetables. I drank Diet Coke with my meal since it's absolutely not possible for me to eat Chinese food without it and sipped on the jasmine tea after my meal. During our meal I received a reply to a text had sent last night to my friend Brooklyn to see what she was up to:
"Hey girl, u was wasted and in bed by 12 :("
"I meant I was wastes"
"Wasted"
I replied:
"Dude are u still wasted? Lol"
I insisted she meet up with us later after recovering from her hangover. I had a lot of noodles leftover but had to decline packing it up to go since I planned to be out all day (I felt guilty, but assured our waiter that I enjoyed my food). Overall, Congee Village is a no-frills restaurant, that serves yummy food at really cheap-o prices. There are also apparently karaoke rooms available, which I saw no sign of on my visit.
We were on our way to find the magical courts when we discovered we didn't have any tennis balls! Giggles had blasted one into the Hudson River the day before and the other balls were dead so she threw them out and I forgot to stick a new can in my bag. So we used Giggles's new iPhone to locate a sporting good store and luckily there were two close by on Essex. At the first store, they charged $8 per can of balls. Ummm what? Have they been signed by Rafael Nadal? At the second store, we asked the salesman how much the tennis balls were and when he said $3 we were stunned. "I can charge you more if you want" he said. As we were leaving, across the street from the store there were.....
Tennis courts! These were far from magical courts with a worn out surface, net made of fencing, broken glass and children playing handball and basketball all around - but they would do. We hit for only a half hour since it was unbelievably hot in the direct sunlight and the heat was emanating from the concrete like an oven. We retreated to the shade and sat drinking our 1.5 liter bottles of water and decided to continue our search for the magical courts since they seemed so perfect that surely they must be nicely shaded too.
But first, we stopped to check out this artisans market next door filled with intricately hand-crafted jewelry, vintage and new clothing as well as a variety of tasty food options (Korean beef tacos and Thai chili macaroons looked interesting). I found a cool necklace and Giggles enjoyed a Taiwanese shaved ice treat piled high with cubed mango and mango sorbet. We also saw former MTV host Su Chin Pak filming something, dressed like a LES hipster in skinny rolled up jeans and Chuck Taylor's. She was in a stall with some strange photographs (I really just got a glimpse of one of some fat people on the subway) and spoke with a stoner-like drawl about how the markets are a good place to find cheap, local art and then said "It's NY, you can throw a rock and hit an artist." I seriously hope they edit that line out.
After walking beneath the Williamsburg Bridge and over the FDR, we spotted the magical courts. There they were, well maintained, a perfect shade of green with bright white lines. However when we got to the entrance there was an evil little man sitting around and checking for people's passes! Feeling rejected and sweaty, me and Giggles sat on a bench by the East River and took in some beautiful views.
From our bench...
We saw a couple get up from a bench closer to the water and Giggles yelps "It's the weird guy!" I was confused (I know a lot of weird guys) but then recognized the worn, navy blue Vans sneakers. It was vintage-y guy from last Sunday at the Hudson River Park tennis courts with the math book! And he was with his lady love from last weekend too! If we had run into Mr. Paisley Cuffs that day too, I would have taken it as a sure sign to move to a new city.
We finalized plans to meet Brooklyn in Union Square to see a movie and started to walk up that way. "Can we get a cab!" wailed Giggles, but I knew insisted on walking. As we made our way through Alphabet City, we spotted a community garden. Like a sanctuary in the city, the garden was full of flowers and greenery, a koi pond and several quiet spots to sit and just be.
We also saw this adorable kitty perusing the compost pile for his dinner...
As we carried on, me and Giggles walked through Tompkins Square Park where there was a jazz festival....
Me and Giggles finally met Brooklyn outside the theaters and saw The Other Guys which was hilarious - who knew that Marky Mark was funny! After, we had dinner at Rohm Thai. I ordered my usual meal at Thai restaurants - a summer roll and the green curry with tofu and vegetables with brown rice. I think they forgot the tofu in the summer roll so although it looked appetizing, it tasted like a salad wrapped in rice paper with a bit of sauce thrown on top. Giggles's duck roll was a much better option judging from her's and Brooklyn's reactions. I did not try this starter since I'm still not eating meat.
The curry was better though the sauce could have been more viscous and there were only four cubes of tofu (why are these people so stingy with the tofu!), but the sauce itself tasted good and had some decent heat! Giggles had the shrimp in basil sauce (she always gets the basil sauce) and Brooklyn had the mixed seafood that came with salmon, mussels, shrimp and squid in chili sauce that made her cough a little.
Dinner was good and all me and Giggles wanted to do was get home to our respective apartments and shower! Although the journey to the magical tennis courts was long and ultimately ended in disappointment we did manage to see some really cool stuff! The artisans market, views of the Williamsburg Bridge by the East River and the community garden are all examples of the amazing sites the city has to offer. Every weekend is an opportunity to see or try something new and sometimes the best way to find it all is completely by accident.
Me and Giggles met Sunday at noon for food at Congee Village, an amazing Chinese restaurant that's not in Chinatown or Flushing, but the Lower East Side to fuel up for our search. When I arrived, the restaurant looked like a mish-mash of tiki hut type decorations, complete with bamboo, seashells and fake plants. However the waitstaff were all oddly dressed in plaid vests, more suited to an Irish/Scottish pub. While I waited for Giggles, I browsed the several positive reviews from numerous publications, including the Michelin guide, which were posted in the entrance and began to get excited for my meal. Giggles arrived soon after and we were seated immediately. We shared an order of the salt and pepper squid and Giggles ordered the congee with duck, pork and chicken, while I had the vegetable chow fun noodles. The squid came out first and even though I was a little scared by the oil soaked paper, the dish was surprisingly not greasy, but light and crisp and perfectly seasoned and bright green sliced jalapenos for heat.
Giggles's congee...
My veggie chow fun came out last and it was GOOD. I have had many a chow fun disappointment in NYC but this was not one of them! The chow fun noodles were fresh and not gummy, like those at some restaurants that use dried noodles, with lots of crunchy vegetables. I drank Diet Coke with my meal since it's absolutely not possible for me to eat Chinese food without it and sipped on the jasmine tea after my meal. During our meal I received a reply to a text had sent last night to my friend Brooklyn to see what she was up to:
"Hey girl, u was wasted and in bed by 12 :("
"I meant I was wastes"
"Wasted"
I replied:
"Dude are u still wasted? Lol"
I insisted she meet up with us later after recovering from her hangover. I had a lot of noodles leftover but had to decline packing it up to go since I planned to be out all day (I felt guilty, but assured our waiter that I enjoyed my food). Overall, Congee Village is a no-frills restaurant, that serves yummy food at really cheap-o prices. There are also apparently karaoke rooms available, which I saw no sign of on my visit.
We were on our way to find the magical courts when we discovered we didn't have any tennis balls! Giggles had blasted one into the Hudson River the day before and the other balls were dead so she threw them out and I forgot to stick a new can in my bag. So we used Giggles's new iPhone to locate a sporting good store and luckily there were two close by on Essex. At the first store, they charged $8 per can of balls. Ummm what? Have they been signed by Rafael Nadal? At the second store, we asked the salesman how much the tennis balls were and when he said $3 we were stunned. "I can charge you more if you want" he said. As we were leaving, across the street from the store there were.....
Tennis courts! These were far from magical courts with a worn out surface, net made of fencing, broken glass and children playing handball and basketball all around - but they would do. We hit for only a half hour since it was unbelievably hot in the direct sunlight and the heat was emanating from the concrete like an oven. We retreated to the shade and sat drinking our 1.5 liter bottles of water and decided to continue our search for the magical courts since they seemed so perfect that surely they must be nicely shaded too.
But first, we stopped to check out this artisans market next door filled with intricately hand-crafted jewelry, vintage and new clothing as well as a variety of tasty food options (Korean beef tacos and Thai chili macaroons looked interesting). I found a cool necklace and Giggles enjoyed a Taiwanese shaved ice treat piled high with cubed mango and mango sorbet. We also saw former MTV host Su Chin Pak filming something, dressed like a LES hipster in skinny rolled up jeans and Chuck Taylor's. She was in a stall with some strange photographs (I really just got a glimpse of one of some fat people on the subway) and spoke with a stoner-like drawl about how the markets are a good place to find cheap, local art and then said "It's NY, you can throw a rock and hit an artist." I seriously hope they edit that line out.
After walking beneath the Williamsburg Bridge and over the FDR, we spotted the magical courts. There they were, well maintained, a perfect shade of green with bright white lines. However when we got to the entrance there was an evil little man sitting around and checking for people's passes! Feeling rejected and sweaty, me and Giggles sat on a bench by the East River and took in some beautiful views.
From our bench...
We saw a couple get up from a bench closer to the water and Giggles yelps "It's the weird guy!" I was confused (I know a lot of weird guys) but then recognized the worn, navy blue Vans sneakers. It was vintage-y guy from last Sunday at the Hudson River Park tennis courts with the math book! And he was with his lady love from last weekend too! If we had run into Mr. Paisley Cuffs that day too, I would have taken it as a sure sign to move to a new city.
We finalized plans to meet Brooklyn in Union Square to see a movie and started to walk up that way. "Can we get a cab!" wailed Giggles, but I knew insisted on walking. As we made our way through Alphabet City, we spotted a community garden. Like a sanctuary in the city, the garden was full of flowers and greenery, a koi pond and several quiet spots to sit and just be.
We also saw this adorable kitty perusing the compost pile for his dinner...
As we carried on, me and Giggles walked through Tompkins Square Park where there was a jazz festival....
Me and Giggles finally met Brooklyn outside the theaters and saw The Other Guys which was hilarious - who knew that Marky Mark was funny! After, we had dinner at Rohm Thai. I ordered my usual meal at Thai restaurants - a summer roll and the green curry with tofu and vegetables with brown rice. I think they forgot the tofu in the summer roll so although it looked appetizing, it tasted like a salad wrapped in rice paper with a bit of sauce thrown on top. Giggles's duck roll was a much better option judging from her's and Brooklyn's reactions. I did not try this starter since I'm still not eating meat.
The curry was better though the sauce could have been more viscous and there were only four cubes of tofu (why are these people so stingy with the tofu!), but the sauce itself tasted good and had some decent heat! Giggles had the shrimp in basil sauce (she always gets the basil sauce) and Brooklyn had the mixed seafood that came with salmon, mussels, shrimp and squid in chili sauce that made her cough a little.
Dinner was good and all me and Giggles wanted to do was get home to our respective apartments and shower! Although the journey to the magical tennis courts was long and ultimately ended in disappointment we did manage to see some really cool stuff! The artisans market, views of the Williamsburg Bridge by the East River and the community garden are all examples of the amazing sites the city has to offer. Every weekend is an opportunity to see or try something new and sometimes the best way to find it all is completely by accident.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Old Friends, New Friends
I met my friend Smiley and her new Boo for dinner on Saturday night in Long Island City and brought Giggles for fear of being a third wheel. Me and Smiley had gone to pre-school together and were BFFs in first grade since we were the smallest in the class and it all kind of made sense. She is part of most of my childhood memories which included trading school supplies at recess, school dances in the library and sleepover birthday parties watching horror movies in our basements. We drifted in high school but then re-friended each other in university since we were at the same school, even living together in our third year. My memories of this period consist mainly of binge drinking and a couple of male strippers, dancing to Shania Twain in our living room (just to be clear, it was a birthday party and there were other people there). But after we graduated, we went our separate ways again keeping in touch sporadically. A couple of years ago my parents had run into her parents and told them that Smiley was moving to NYC at which point I reached out to make sure she didn't make some of the crazy mistakes I made when moving from Canada to the US. While we are both busy with our jobs and both constantly traveling for work, we manage to make time for each other when we can coordinate our schedules.
When I had mentioned dinner to Giggles at the tennis courts earlier that day and the fact that it was in Queens she had seemed hesitant to accept the invitation. But being a trooper, she agreed to come. In case anyone is wondering how I met Giggles, we met at work and became quick friends when we traveled to Thailand together for an assignment. We were both reasonably new at the company and to NYC and bonded over our newness as well as a particularly traumatic massage experience our first day in Bangkok. We all met at Tournesol, a small french bistro just one subway stop from Manhattan on the seven train, where Smiley and Boo had their first date. Boo made reservations at this restaurant declaring that dinner in the city on a Saturday night is "amateur hour" and we all nodded in agreement - long waits, crappy service and a large bill for all your troubles.
We were scanning the menu when the single diner sitting beside me leaned over and dropped his comment card in front of me to give a "preview" for the meal ahead of us and strongly recommended the French onion soup. In fact when the waiter took our orders he said "They'll all have the French onion soup." Smiley looked visibly annoyed a this point. We did not get the French onion soup, but instead Giggles had the chicken liver salad, Smiley and Boo shared a lovely looking brie filled tart topped with figs and I had the carrot soup.
Do you know how I know this is great soup? I did not add ANY salt and pepper, something I normally do with most of my food. The soup was smooth and not too sweet, with chopped celery and carrots and what I think was balsamic drizzle. Sometime before our first courses, the lone diner piped up again! This time to ask how we all knew each other as we seemed like interesting "couples". At first we laughed and joked that me and Giggles are lovers, but his leering made me quickly say "Sorry to destroy your fantasy but we are just friends." As if this wasn't enough, he then passed out business card for his girlfriend (I can't imagine the poor soul dating this dude and quite frankly why was she not there with him!) which was for some website where you get cash back for your everyday purchases and she in turn pockets some cash too. Out of curiosity, I kept the card and logged on the site and it looked like some Amway-type garbage - no thanks!
For the main courses, Smiley had the pollack in parchment, Boo the grilled salmon (I think), Giggles the grilled calamari with avocado and cucumber salad and for me the goat cheese aumoniere with pistachio and beet that was almost too pretty to eat (but of course I did and it was fabulous).
The aumoniere was crisp and flakey and filled with creamy goat cheese atop sliced beets, orange segments, sliced grape tomatoes and crunchy pistachios. Everyone appeared to enjoy their mains and Giggles mentioned we should bring Frenchie here for a meal. During dinner, as we sipped refreshing rose wine and talked about work, travel, family, effeminate straight men and all the wacky people with which me and Smiley had attended school. We also discussed how Smiley met her man, on Chemistry.com, which Boo described as a dating website designed for five year olds. We exchanged stories of online disaster dates on Match (all) and EHarmony (Giggles) and then Smiley volunteered Boo for one very special story of his experience with a woman he met on Craigslist (I always assumed this site was for random hook ups). Up front he admitted he and this lady did not exactly have long-term mind (and I was correct) to which Smiley looked shocked and exclaimed "I did not know that!" She dissolved into laughter as she would not have brought up this story had she known that detail, which had apparently gone unmentioned in prior tellings. Boo met his potential booty call at a bar for drinks, which she chugged, then asked multiple times "Soooo are you attracted to me?" This was followed by her throwing up the drinks in the bathroom and then making him order a pizza which she ran out on - pretty epic. I had only met Boo once before at a bar on Canada Day, surrounded by wasted Canadians transplanted in NY drinking Labatt Blue and singing loudly to Celine Dion, Justin Bieber or whatever the hell was playing. Bottom line, it was loud and we didn't get the chance to really talk. But now that we have, I could tell he was a very cool person and quite compatible with Smiley.
The dessert menus were placed in front of us and we decided to split the creme brulee and the bread pudding. I also had a coffee and Smiley a glass of port. Here is the creme brulee we destroyed....
And the yummy bread pudding we also killed...
We hopped on the subway back to the city and quickly said our goodbyes when me and Giggles got off at Grand Central before the doors closed. "That was fun!" said Giggles, and it really was! On my way out of the station, I was stopped by a group of Chinese tourists asking for directions to Macy's at 11:30 pm. I told them the way with the qualification "Ummm you do know it's closed now" - weird. I walked home thinking about how interesting the results often are when you merge old and new friends. You hope they'll get along but at the same time not so much so they decide to reveal all your embarassing stories (well some are fine)! I've been lucky as the old and new have mixed seamlessly and I attribute this to the fact that the majority of the people I choose to surround myself with are just easy to be with and open minded. Old friends are a comforting connection to your past and who you used to be, while new friends reflect where you are now in your life and hopefully - the new friends will someday also be referred to as old friends.
When I had mentioned dinner to Giggles at the tennis courts earlier that day and the fact that it was in Queens she had seemed hesitant to accept the invitation. But being a trooper, she agreed to come. In case anyone is wondering how I met Giggles, we met at work and became quick friends when we traveled to Thailand together for an assignment. We were both reasonably new at the company and to NYC and bonded over our newness as well as a particularly traumatic massage experience our first day in Bangkok. We all met at Tournesol, a small french bistro just one subway stop from Manhattan on the seven train, where Smiley and Boo had their first date. Boo made reservations at this restaurant declaring that dinner in the city on a Saturday night is "amateur hour" and we all nodded in agreement - long waits, crappy service and a large bill for all your troubles.
We were scanning the menu when the single diner sitting beside me leaned over and dropped his comment card in front of me to give a "preview" for the meal ahead of us and strongly recommended the French onion soup. In fact when the waiter took our orders he said "They'll all have the French onion soup." Smiley looked visibly annoyed a this point. We did not get the French onion soup, but instead Giggles had the chicken liver salad, Smiley and Boo shared a lovely looking brie filled tart topped with figs and I had the carrot soup.
Do you know how I know this is great soup? I did not add ANY salt and pepper, something I normally do with most of my food. The soup was smooth and not too sweet, with chopped celery and carrots and what I think was balsamic drizzle. Sometime before our first courses, the lone diner piped up again! This time to ask how we all knew each other as we seemed like interesting "couples". At first we laughed and joked that me and Giggles are lovers, but his leering made me quickly say "Sorry to destroy your fantasy but we are just friends." As if this wasn't enough, he then passed out business card for his girlfriend (I can't imagine the poor soul dating this dude and quite frankly why was she not there with him!) which was for some website where you get cash back for your everyday purchases and she in turn pockets some cash too. Out of curiosity, I kept the card and logged on the site and it looked like some Amway-type garbage - no thanks!
For the main courses, Smiley had the pollack in parchment, Boo the grilled salmon (I think), Giggles the grilled calamari with avocado and cucumber salad and for me the goat cheese aumoniere with pistachio and beet that was almost too pretty to eat (but of course I did and it was fabulous).
The aumoniere was crisp and flakey and filled with creamy goat cheese atop sliced beets, orange segments, sliced grape tomatoes and crunchy pistachios. Everyone appeared to enjoy their mains and Giggles mentioned we should bring Frenchie here for a meal. During dinner, as we sipped refreshing rose wine and talked about work, travel, family, effeminate straight men and all the wacky people with which me and Smiley had attended school. We also discussed how Smiley met her man, on Chemistry.com, which Boo described as a dating website designed for five year olds. We exchanged stories of online disaster dates on Match (all) and EHarmony (Giggles) and then Smiley volunteered Boo for one very special story of his experience with a woman he met on Craigslist (I always assumed this site was for random hook ups). Up front he admitted he and this lady did not exactly have long-term mind (and I was correct) to which Smiley looked shocked and exclaimed "I did not know that!" She dissolved into laughter as she would not have brought up this story had she known that detail, which had apparently gone unmentioned in prior tellings. Boo met his potential booty call at a bar for drinks, which she chugged, then asked multiple times "Soooo are you attracted to me?" This was followed by her throwing up the drinks in the bathroom and then making him order a pizza which she ran out on - pretty epic. I had only met Boo once before at a bar on Canada Day, surrounded by wasted Canadians transplanted in NY drinking Labatt Blue and singing loudly to Celine Dion, Justin Bieber or whatever the hell was playing. Bottom line, it was loud and we didn't get the chance to really talk. But now that we have, I could tell he was a very cool person and quite compatible with Smiley.
The dessert menus were placed in front of us and we decided to split the creme brulee and the bread pudding. I also had a coffee and Smiley a glass of port. Here is the creme brulee we destroyed....
And the yummy bread pudding we also killed...
We hopped on the subway back to the city and quickly said our goodbyes when me and Giggles got off at Grand Central before the doors closed. "That was fun!" said Giggles, and it really was! On my way out of the station, I was stopped by a group of Chinese tourists asking for directions to Macy's at 11:30 pm. I told them the way with the qualification "Ummm you do know it's closed now" - weird. I walked home thinking about how interesting the results often are when you merge old and new friends. You hope they'll get along but at the same time not so much so they decide to reveal all your embarassing stories (well some are fine)! I've been lucky as the old and new have mixed seamlessly and I attribute this to the fact that the majority of the people I choose to surround myself with are just easy to be with and open minded. Old friends are a comforting connection to your past and who you used to be, while new friends reflect where you are now in your life and hopefully - the new friends will someday also be referred to as old friends.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Shop 'Til You Drop
Yesterday, me, Frenchie, OCD and Ms. Diva decided to make the pilgrimage an hour upstate to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, destination of shop-a-holics the world over. We departed from the office at noon and took the subway to the Bronx to free Ms. Diva's SUV from a parking lot surrounded by barbed wire and which has a car-alarm like signal every time you step into the lot. They also sell ice in both blocks and cubes 24 hours a day in case anyone wants to build an igloo at 3:00 am. As soon as we piled into Diva's SUV, Frenchie uttered "Oh no" in her Frenchie accent at the realization that the back seats were positioned at a perfect 90-degree angle. Frenchie, dreading an hour car ride in discomfort, wrestled with the seat to get it to recline. Ms. Diva jumped out of the driver's seat and attempted to wrangle the seat as well, while OCD grabbed the driver's manual from the glove box to figure it out. I tried to adjust my own seat, but soon gave up and sat yogi-style. Once we were on the road, me and Frenchie were able to eat our salads that we had purchased by the office (Diva and OCD had eaten at the office), but I was sad to discover that mine had gone soggy in the trip from the office to the Bronx and I only got through half (and I was hungry). Meanwhile, we were all being whipped around in the car from Diva's weaving around and heavy foot on both the accelerator and brake. "Eh, calm down" Frenchie said, fearing whiplash induced chronic back pain from both the jarring stop-and-go driving and the very erect car seat.
En route, OCD spotted a couple large dogs sitting in the back of a car. "Awww" we all said. OCD, stone faced, recalled that the other day she was at someone's home with her husband when an adorable pup wandered over to her and started sniffing, then to her horror, sneezed on her leg. She described in detail how she felt the canine sneeze droplets spray onto her bare leg and I could picture her being calm on the exterior (as usual) but FREAKING out on the inside. Her husband had pet and played with with the dog so when they got home, OCD did not allow her man to touch her or anything in their apartment until both of them had been scrubbed with anti-bacterial soap and water.
We finally made it Woodbury at around 2:00 pm and set out to do some serious damage. We decided to split from Ms. Diva as she is a seasoned, almost maniacal shopper with a sense of style entirely dissimilar to the rest of us. This is primarily due to Diva being of tall, long-limbed, Naomi Campbell-esque proportions and her adventurous sense of fashion. Both Frenchie and OCD are rather conservative in their clothing choices, favoring classic pieces, though OCD with her slim, marathon in training figure sometimes surprises with some beautiful but unique pieces. My style is trendier than Frenchie and OCD but not nearly as bold as Ms. Diva. I'm in a weird phase, where I look young enough to pull off some of the styles I adored in my twenties, but am starting to add a bit of sophistication and polish to the mix to make it a tad more age appropriate.
We decided to meet at 5:30 pm at the food court to recharge and then do the rest of the stores together. Pre-snack shopping went slowly, as we ducked in and out of stores trying on items ending up with only 2 small bags each by the time we reached the food court. We were in line for the filthy bathrooms (OCD was not happy) when an insanely petite and curvy woman walked past, with a painted on t-shirt, boobs up to her chin, headlights flashing and her big round butt bouncing in her thin stretchy shorts. This was followed by an equally petite, not nearly as buxom, older woman who growled to her companion "I don't know why you would want 'pink' on the back of you shorts with an ass that large." I looked at the the stranger in line beside me, who's mouth was agape and died laughing. We met Ms. Diva who was ripping through an ice cream sundae, surrounded by multiple bags, but definitely short of her usual haul. We raided the food court for high-carb, sugary snacks and then back to shopping!
The first successful store after our break was Lululemon, our favorite store for overpriced gym clothing, but at the outlet the prices were actually great. Three out of four of us left with bags.
Our next major stop was Banana Republic and again three out of four of us left with bags. Then we all briefly split up again, meeting up at BCBG and then moved onto Saks Off 5th. At the end of the day I got a lot of great things! And Ms. Diva managed to get not one, but two items with leopard print. A skinny belt and an off the shoulder, Betsey Johnson dress with a sash at the waist, in addition to the loads of other items she scored. While my shopping was not quite as high-end as Oprah's friend Gayle on her trip to Woodbury detailed in this article on Oprah.com (she dropped $245 alone on an Oscar de la Renta belt!), I spent a bit more than that and got the following:
En route, OCD spotted a couple large dogs sitting in the back of a car. "Awww" we all said. OCD, stone faced, recalled that the other day she was at someone's home with her husband when an adorable pup wandered over to her and started sniffing, then to her horror, sneezed on her leg. She described in detail how she felt the canine sneeze droplets spray onto her bare leg and I could picture her being calm on the exterior (as usual) but FREAKING out on the inside. Her husband had pet and played with with the dog so when they got home, OCD did not allow her man to touch her or anything in their apartment until both of them had been scrubbed with anti-bacterial soap and water.
We finally made it Woodbury at around 2:00 pm and set out to do some serious damage. We decided to split from Ms. Diva as she is a seasoned, almost maniacal shopper with a sense of style entirely dissimilar to the rest of us. This is primarily due to Diva being of tall, long-limbed, Naomi Campbell-esque proportions and her adventurous sense of fashion. Both Frenchie and OCD are rather conservative in their clothing choices, favoring classic pieces, though OCD with her slim, marathon in training figure sometimes surprises with some beautiful but unique pieces. My style is trendier than Frenchie and OCD but not nearly as bold as Ms. Diva. I'm in a weird phase, where I look young enough to pull off some of the styles I adored in my twenties, but am starting to add a bit of sophistication and polish to the mix to make it a tad more age appropriate.
We decided to meet at 5:30 pm at the food court to recharge and then do the rest of the stores together. Pre-snack shopping went slowly, as we ducked in and out of stores trying on items ending up with only 2 small bags each by the time we reached the food court. We were in line for the filthy bathrooms (OCD was not happy) when an insanely petite and curvy woman walked past, with a painted on t-shirt, boobs up to her chin, headlights flashing and her big round butt bouncing in her thin stretchy shorts. This was followed by an equally petite, not nearly as buxom, older woman who growled to her companion "I don't know why you would want 'pink' on the back of you shorts with an ass that large." I looked at the the stranger in line beside me, who's mouth was agape and died laughing. We met Ms. Diva who was ripping through an ice cream sundae, surrounded by multiple bags, but definitely short of her usual haul. We raided the food court for high-carb, sugary snacks and then back to shopping!
The first successful store after our break was Lululemon, our favorite store for overpriced gym clothing, but at the outlet the prices were actually great. Three out of four of us left with bags.
Our next major stop was Banana Republic and again three out of four of us left with bags. Then we all briefly split up again, meeting up at BCBG and then moved onto Saks Off 5th. At the end of the day I got a lot of great things! And Ms. Diva managed to get not one, but two items with leopard print. A skinny belt and an off the shoulder, Betsey Johnson dress with a sash at the waist, in addition to the loads of other items she scored. While my shopping was not quite as high-end as Oprah's friend Gayle on her trip to Woodbury detailed in this article on Oprah.com (she dropped $245 alone on an Oscar de la Renta belt!), I spent a bit more than that and got the following:
- Chelsea Flower emerald green, slouchy silk blouse from Barney's Outlet
- Work appropriate, pink and deep purple floral printed, cap sleeved, silk blouse from J Crew
- Dri-fit t-shirt that says "Your Pace" on the front and "Or Mine?" on the back from Nike
- "Mindful" shorts with a thick waistband and adorable pleating on the front (in gray and black) and a non-slip headband from Lululemon
- A tribal printed, tulip skirt and gold bracelet with a tassel from Banana Republic
- An orange, silk wrap dress from BCBG
- Large, gold framed sunglasses by Chloe from Off 5th
Any regrets? None. I love everything I purchased. Ms. Diva dropped us off near the entrance to the Queen's Midtown Tunnel and even though it was almost 11:00 pm, we were hungry not having had a proper meal all day. Since we were in my 'hood I took Frenchie and OCD to Vezzo, a favorite of me and Giggles. Frenchie had the chicken caesar salad, OCD the shroom pizza on nine-grain organic crust and no cheese and me the el greco pizza on the nine-grain crust with jalapenos. OCD, not normally a pizza eater loved the cracker-thin crust, generous toppings and perfect portion size that leaves you satisfied but not stuffed. Frenchie was happy with the salad, particularly the yummy grilled chicken and my pizza was delish as per usual.
I was exhausted and happy and fell asleep almost as soon as I got home. Outlet shopping is like a sport and a game plan is imperative to ensure a successful trip. You need to time the trip correctly to get good sales and selection, hit all your key stores and stay on budget! But despite the insanity of shuffling from store to store tripping over foreign shoppers bickering excitedly in their respective languages and hauling huge suitcases full of treasures, the trip is about serious girl bonding time. We encourage each other to try on something new, find things that each other might like, compliment each other in our dressing room fashion shows and laugh when things just look all wrong! I need to make another trip in the fall to update the cold weather wardrobe, but I need to let my bank account recover a little first.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Dinner Parties in New York
In general, most New Yorkers tend socialize at restaurants for the simple fact that most people do not have apartments large enough to have more than 4 people over at once or even the space to have a dining table. Occasionally, a friend will have a rooftop on which a dinner party can be held, but more often these gatherings involve cramming your best friends on your couch or whatever other creative seating you happen to have (desk chairs, end tables etc.) and everyone eating awkwardly with plates in their laps. Nonetheless, Stamps was up for the challenge as she actually has an apartment with a dining table! She invited me, Guiness and Soju for a last minute dinner party Thursday night, having acquired $20 worth of organic produce from a group of hippies that truck it in daily from a farm in Vermont (I'm sure it's more legit than it sounds). I was running late having gone to the gym when I received a desperate text from Stamps:
"Hate 2 b a pain but cd really use a small bag of ice & gallon of water."
I grabbed a bottle of wine from my stockpile for Stamps, stopped at the store around the corner for the ice and water and after waiting anxiously for 15 minutes with heavy grocery bags in hand, grabbed a cab to the West Village. When I arrived, Guinness and Soju were standing in the entrance keeping Stamps company as she finished preparing our feast in a kitchen that measures approximately 2 X 2 feet. The only way we could assist our host, as clearly none of us were fitting into the kitchen with her, was to get the bottle of wine into an ice bucket. Our first course:
Tomato and mozzarella salad with basil. Always a crowd pleaser. Me, Guinness and Soju perched around the table and munched happily, while Stamps continued to cook. For our main course:
A delicious vegetable medley of green peppers, yellow summer squash and cherry tomatoes. I ate the veggies along with some ricotta-filled ravioli topped a with fresh tomato sauce (there were also some "spongy" - as described by Stamps - turkey meatballs, which I did not partake in):
And a goat cheese and sun dried tomato tart with a flakey phyllo crust (an experiment by Stamps) :
While we ate, the soundtrack to our meal was a mix of gypsy kings-like instrumentals, some bands unknown to me of British/Irish origin and Lady Gaga. As "Alejandro" played I commented that this is currently my dad's favorite song to which Guiness said "My dad used to like Bananarama." I looked at Soju to see if she had any clue who Bananarama is since she would have been an infant at the height of their popularity, while Stamps and I being children of the 80's would have been in our pre-teen, acid washed jeans and tied-up oversized t-shirt phase. Guinness on the other hand would have been heading to college. Stamps broke into dignified, mock Irish-accented version of "Cruel Summer"and Guinness attempted to recall additional songs by the band and referred to some "penis" song that was popular. Huh? Maybe Bananarama released a racy, special edition for the Irish market? We eventually figured out he meant the song the song "Venus". She's got it, yeah baby she's got it....
For the last course:
Prosciutto with melon and.....
Yummy peaches! We left shortly after the last course as it was a school night. The West Village was rocking with a gross, chubby couple pawing at each other against Stamps's building (I think they were making out, but he could've been suffocating her) and hoards of kids noisily running around tipsy. While drunk nights on the town are fun, a chill evening with good food, conversation and friends is much more my speed these days. And if there's a table, other than a coffee table, to eat at - well that's just a bonus!
"Hate 2 b a pain but cd really use a small bag of ice & gallon of water."
I grabbed a bottle of wine from my stockpile for Stamps, stopped at the store around the corner for the ice and water and after waiting anxiously for 15 minutes with heavy grocery bags in hand, grabbed a cab to the West Village. When I arrived, Guinness and Soju were standing in the entrance keeping Stamps company as she finished preparing our feast in a kitchen that measures approximately 2 X 2 feet. The only way we could assist our host, as clearly none of us were fitting into the kitchen with her, was to get the bottle of wine into an ice bucket. Our first course:
Tomato and mozzarella salad with basil. Always a crowd pleaser. Me, Guinness and Soju perched around the table and munched happily, while Stamps continued to cook. For our main course:
A delicious vegetable medley of green peppers, yellow summer squash and cherry tomatoes. I ate the veggies along with some ricotta-filled ravioli topped a with fresh tomato sauce (there were also some "spongy" - as described by Stamps - turkey meatballs, which I did not partake in):
And a goat cheese and sun dried tomato tart with a flakey phyllo crust (an experiment by Stamps) :
While we ate, the soundtrack to our meal was a mix of gypsy kings-like instrumentals, some bands unknown to me of British/Irish origin and Lady Gaga. As "Alejandro" played I commented that this is currently my dad's favorite song to which Guiness said "My dad used to like Bananarama." I looked at Soju to see if she had any clue who Bananarama is since she would have been an infant at the height of their popularity, while Stamps and I being children of the 80's would have been in our pre-teen, acid washed jeans and tied-up oversized t-shirt phase. Guinness on the other hand would have been heading to college. Stamps broke into dignified, mock Irish-accented version of "Cruel Summer"and Guinness attempted to recall additional songs by the band and referred to some "penis" song that was popular. Huh? Maybe Bananarama released a racy, special edition for the Irish market? We eventually figured out he meant the song the song "Venus". She's got it, yeah baby she's got it....
For the last course:
Prosciutto with melon and.....
Yummy peaches! We left shortly after the last course as it was a school night. The West Village was rocking with a gross, chubby couple pawing at each other against Stamps's building (I think they were making out, but he could've been suffocating her) and hoards of kids noisily running around tipsy. While drunk nights on the town are fun, a chill evening with good food, conversation and friends is much more my speed these days. And if there's a table, other than a coffee table, to eat at - well that's just a bonus!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Why I Never Delete Phone Numbers
This past weekend, while out at dinner with friends, I received the following text: (Note that all bolded text in the following entry are the official court transcripts of an actual text message conversation taken from my Blackberry)
"Michelle? Its gregory burke not sure which michelle this is.."
I did not recognize the number and realized this must be someone I met when I still had my old phone, which in a freak accident, I tossed down my garbage chute. Poor thing didn't stand a chance in the compactor! Typically I never delete phone numbers so I can identify the sender of drunk texts, but I lost all my numbers in the garbage chute incident. I have received drunk text messages from this number before but have always ignored them. However, since I had already consumed a couple of glasses of wine, I decided to continue the text conversation:
"I actually don't know who u are. I am Michelle tho."
"Lol. Wow. Michelle who. Are u from NY? I'm wondering where I met you oh well I'm currently producing music. Looking for another michelle...nice to reaquaint anyway"
Whoever this guy was, it bothered me slightly that he spelled reacquaint wrong. His job certainly didn't clarify things for me. Did I get wasted, somehow acquire musical talent and impress him with my skills?
"U are actively recruiting Michelle's? Lol"
"Lol. Sure why not"
"What kind of music are u producing?"
Ignoring my question completely he wrote:
"I have three michelles, one of which is a witness in court monday"
"That's not me"
"Lol so she was the one I'm trying to locate but sure y not collect michelles...haha funny"
The "collecting Michelles" line really wasn't that funny or clever and not even close to my best material. He finally answered my question.
"Hip hop poetry looking for musicians to collaborate with Oh u like house music"
What! Where did this assumption that I like house music come from! I decided it was time to burst his bubble, plus my meal had arrived.
"I'm not very musical - I'm a freaking auditor. House music? Why u say that?"
"Oh your not a musician. That's cool. I'm just letting u know. Wasn't trying to recruit you. Lol nevermind. I thought when u said -- 'that's not me' I didn't get it - now I understand"
I was hungry so I ended things:
"About to eat dinner - lovely to meet u lol"
"I'm wondering did u audit me, lol - funnny how your number found its way in my phone. Lovely to meet you as well. Enjoy -- I'm going to eat now too."
After racking my brain for who this person could be, I remember one night last summer, when I met this cute guy at a bar on the Upper East Side called Ziggy's named Greg. He had a Yankees baseball cap on and had a nice smile, though he was admittedly a bit of a guido (it's New York, you can't avoid them!). I remember exchanging numbers and noticing a huge crack on the screen of his phone. However, I don't remember a thing about our conversation, so I cannot be sure that this is the same guy. The only conclusions I can draw from our text exchange are:
"Michelle? Its gregory burke not sure which michelle this is.."
I did not recognize the number and realized this must be someone I met when I still had my old phone, which in a freak accident, I tossed down my garbage chute. Poor thing didn't stand a chance in the compactor! Typically I never delete phone numbers so I can identify the sender of drunk texts, but I lost all my numbers in the garbage chute incident. I have received drunk text messages from this number before but have always ignored them. However, since I had already consumed a couple of glasses of wine, I decided to continue the text conversation:
"I actually don't know who u are. I am Michelle tho."
"Lol. Wow. Michelle who. Are u from NY? I'm wondering where I met you oh well I'm currently producing music. Looking for another michelle...nice to reaquaint anyway"
Whoever this guy was, it bothered me slightly that he spelled reacquaint wrong. His job certainly didn't clarify things for me. Did I get wasted, somehow acquire musical talent and impress him with my skills?
"U are actively recruiting Michelle's? Lol"
"Lol. Sure why not"
"What kind of music are u producing?"
Ignoring my question completely he wrote:
"I have three michelles, one of which is a witness in court monday"
"That's not me"
"Lol so she was the one I'm trying to locate but sure y not collect michelles...haha funny"
The "collecting Michelles" line really wasn't that funny or clever and not even close to my best material. He finally answered my question.
"Hip hop poetry looking for musicians to collaborate with Oh u like house music"
What! Where did this assumption that I like house music come from! I decided it was time to burst his bubble, plus my meal had arrived.
"I'm not very musical - I'm a freaking auditor. House music? Why u say that?"
"Oh your not a musician. That's cool. I'm just letting u know. Wasn't trying to recruit you. Lol nevermind. I thought when u said -- 'that's not me' I didn't get it - now I understand"
I was hungry so I ended things:
"About to eat dinner - lovely to meet u lol"
"I'm wondering did u audit me, lol - funnny how your number found its way in my phone. Lovely to meet you as well. Enjoy -- I'm going to eat now too."
After racking my brain for who this person could be, I remember one night last summer, when I met this cute guy at a bar on the Upper East Side called Ziggy's named Greg. He had a Yankees baseball cap on and had a nice smile, though he was admittedly a bit of a guido (it's New York, you can't avoid them!). I remember exchanging numbers and noticing a huge crack on the screen of his phone. However, I don't remember a thing about our conversation, so I cannot be sure that this is the same guy. The only conclusions I can draw from our text exchange are:
- He knows a lot of Michelles
- His spelling is not so great, though it's not really fair to judge this based on text messages
- The legitimacy of his job is in question (who produces "hip hop poetry")
- He is having legal issues and has been audited in the past
- The first 4 reasons are enough to not ever text with him again!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Open Letter To The Kickboxing Instructor Sub At NYSC - 36th And Madison
Dear Kickboxing sub,
How wrongly I judged you when I walked into class today, took one glance and your oversized, slightly meaty form and thought about turning around and hitting the treadmill. You kicked my ass in a way that made me think that you secretly knew about my weekend of gluttony. From the sit-ups, wind-sprints, mountain climbers, heavy-bag work and sparring, there is no part of my body that will not be aching tomorrow. I thank you for the workout and as further punishment for my misjudgment of you and free eating, I spent an additional half hour on the treadmill after class.
I'm sorry!
Michelle
How wrongly I judged you when I walked into class today, took one glance and your oversized, slightly meaty form and thought about turning around and hitting the treadmill. You kicked my ass in a way that made me think that you secretly knew about my weekend of gluttony. From the sit-ups, wind-sprints, mountain climbers, heavy-bag work and sparring, there is no part of my body that will not be aching tomorrow. I thank you for the workout and as further punishment for my misjudgment of you and free eating, I spent an additional half hour on the treadmill after class.
I'm sorry!
Michelle
Rainy Sunday
On Sunday, I met Giggles, Frenchie, Stamps and one of my favorite couples, Guinness and Soju, for dim sum at the Golden Unicorn in Chinatown. The key to dim sum is to arrive early for if you arrive at noon you'll be part of the mob scene waiting for your number to be called ("Num-bah Foh-tee See-x"). We met at 11:00 am and were quickly seated. Giggles's friend joined us a bit later and Frenchie asked how they knew each other to which Giggles admitted they had been brought together by eHarmony. Unfortunately they did not end up as happy as that annoying couple on the commercial (Ann Marie and Lee I think) but they now do dim sum. Meanwhile, Stamps was aggressively in pursuit of pork buns (cha siu baau) asking the bewildered man in his strange green blazer who usually takes the drink orders "Can you send over the cart with the pork buns?" She was fidgeting impatiently and her eyes darted wildly, scanning the restaurant to find a cart stacked with steamer baskets and willing it to come to our table. Finally, Stamps and pork buns were united and we secured 3 servings. Guinness helped himself to one and was in the midst of inhaling the precious delicacy when someone at the table (I can't remember who) pointed out he was eating the wrapper which he had neglected to remove. He looked incredulously at Soju and said "Why didn't you remove it!" apparently having lost the ability upon marriage to not eat the paper. He was not alone as eHarm, not having learned from Guinness, also managed to eat the paper. After, we had thoroughly gorged ourselves, Guinness had presents for the ladies, fulfilling our sweet discounted Avon product orders as our personal 40-something, male Avon consultant (he works in the head office). We ooh'd and ahh'd over eye creams and bath gels while eHarm looked baffled. "We're having a Tupperware party next week if you want to join" said Stamps to eHarm.
After dim sum, Giggles, eHarm, Stamps and me walked across the Manhattan Bridge. I would not do this again as the scenery is so-so and the sound of the subway barreling down the tracks right next to you every two minutes is LOUD! Here are some of the sites:
Chinatown:
Graffiti:
We dropped off eHarm at the subway and set out to explore DUMBO, which is a silly acronym for "Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass" and also happens to be the trendy Brooklyn neighborhood du jour. We stopped for a beverage at Baco Cafe - chai tea for Stamps, iced coffee for Giggles and sparkling water with lemon for me.
We also met this dog sitting patiently outside a furniture store:
We were in a cute shop when the skies opened up and it started to pour. I saw the drops when I left my place this morning, but I was running late and refused to go back upstairs to get an umbrella. My jaw dropped as the rain was really coming down. Giggles needed a washroom and ran outside to find a restaurant/bar with only her tiny, pastel-pink, polka dotted umbrella to shield her from the rain. After making a couple purchases (I got an awesome $15 silver and turquoise beaded ring), me and Stamps squeezed together under her umbrella and ran to two different bars along the street in search of Giggles, but both places were closed for weddings. Finally, at the end of the street, there was a Mexican restaurant called Pedro’s where we sought refuge and texted Giggles to meet. Giggles stumbled into Pedro's with a new, much larger umbrella purchased at a barber shop. We sat at the bar until the rain subsided and ordered drinks – a Michelada made with Negro Modelo for Stamps, Margarita on the Rocks with salt for Giggles and a Corona with lime for me. Views from my barstool:
Look at that rain...
Love the hot chili lights....
When the rain had stopped, we headed to the Brooklyn Bridge to return to Manhattan, stopping to buy chips for Giggles as she was getting a bit drunk off her one margarita. It rained again while crossing the bridge and Giggles handed me her pretty pink umbrella, which I gladly accepted despite mocking it earlier.
Dinner time! After we briefly crashed in Giggles’s apartment and recharged with Austin Powers on TV and drinks – vodka and Perrier for Stamps, tea for Giggles and tea for me – we took a cab to the East Village to try the pizza at Motorino. Pizza is very important to me and through the years my pizza tastes have evolved from the mini-frozen discs you nuke in the microwave, to big-chain pizzas to really great wood/coal oven pizzas with artisanal cheeses and organic ingredients. We waited for close to an hour in the rain, huddled together under our umbrellas, for the chance to eat at the best new pizzeria in NYC according to Time Out New York magazine. It was well worth it!
For appetizers, I ordered the sweet corn and Stamps and Giggles had the warm, spicy octopus and potato.
The sweet corn was perfectly cooked with a beautiful grill marks, brushed with oreganata butter and topped with grated pecorino. I had a bite of the spicy octuopus which was well seasoned and tender. We then eagerly waited for our pies – Soppressata Picante for Stamps, Prosciutto di Parma for Giggles and Margherita for me.
This was the Eat, Pray, Love dining experience I was waiting for! This authentic napoletana pizza had a thicker doughier crust on the periphery, but was thinner and floppier beneath the toppings, so I attacked my pie with a knife and fork and when I drew closer to the crust, I picked it up and ate with my hands. The crust, oft discarded by pizza eaters to the side of the plate, had a lovely smokey flavor and slight char from the special wood burning oven used by Motorino which was different than that of the pizzas baked in traditional NY coal burning ovens (think Lombardi's). The sauce was well balanced and the globs of fresh mozzarella were soft and stringy. There were specks of fresh basil and good garlic flavor which I chose to enhance with several generous shakes of red pepper flakes and a bit of salt. I was in pizza heaven and polished off the entire portion, including the crust which was too delicious to waste. Giggles and Stamps also enjoyed their pizza though they lack my ridiculous pizza eating capabilities and were unable to finish. I can think it's safe to say, we will be back!
It was a long day with my ladies and we finally parted ways - West Village for Stamps, Financial District for Giggles and Murray Hill for me. The delivery guy took pity on me and ran out onto 1st Ave in the torrential downpour to hail me a taxi, as he was already soaked (chivalry is not dead!). I got home, showered, put on my favorite pink and white striped pajama pants and called my parents. It was a weekend of friends, relaxation and carbs, which is all amazing - but now I needed a dose of family.
After dim sum, Giggles, eHarm, Stamps and me walked across the Manhattan Bridge. I would not do this again as the scenery is so-so and the sound of the subway barreling down the tracks right next to you every two minutes is LOUD! Here are some of the sites:
Chinatown:
Graffiti:
We dropped off eHarm at the subway and set out to explore DUMBO, which is a silly acronym for "Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass" and also happens to be the trendy Brooklyn neighborhood du jour. We stopped for a beverage at Baco Cafe - chai tea for Stamps, iced coffee for Giggles and sparkling water with lemon for me.
We also met this dog sitting patiently outside a furniture store:
We were in a cute shop when the skies opened up and it started to pour. I saw the drops when I left my place this morning, but I was running late and refused to go back upstairs to get an umbrella. My jaw dropped as the rain was really coming down. Giggles needed a washroom and ran outside to find a restaurant/bar with only her tiny, pastel-pink, polka dotted umbrella to shield her from the rain. After making a couple purchases (I got an awesome $15 silver and turquoise beaded ring), me and Stamps squeezed together under her umbrella and ran to two different bars along the street in search of Giggles, but both places were closed for weddings. Finally, at the end of the street, there was a Mexican restaurant called Pedro’s where we sought refuge and texted Giggles to meet. Giggles stumbled into Pedro's with a new, much larger umbrella purchased at a barber shop. We sat at the bar until the rain subsided and ordered drinks – a Michelada made with Negro Modelo for Stamps, Margarita on the Rocks with salt for Giggles and a Corona with lime for me. Views from my barstool:
Look at that rain...
Love the hot chili lights....
When the rain had stopped, we headed to the Brooklyn Bridge to return to Manhattan, stopping to buy chips for Giggles as she was getting a bit drunk off her one margarita. It rained again while crossing the bridge and Giggles handed me her pretty pink umbrella, which I gladly accepted despite mocking it earlier.
Dinner time! After we briefly crashed in Giggles’s apartment and recharged with Austin Powers on TV and drinks – vodka and Perrier for Stamps, tea for Giggles and tea for me – we took a cab to the East Village to try the pizza at Motorino. Pizza is very important to me and through the years my pizza tastes have evolved from the mini-frozen discs you nuke in the microwave, to big-chain pizzas to really great wood/coal oven pizzas with artisanal cheeses and organic ingredients. We waited for close to an hour in the rain, huddled together under our umbrellas, for the chance to eat at the best new pizzeria in NYC according to Time Out New York magazine. It was well worth it!
For appetizers, I ordered the sweet corn and Stamps and Giggles had the warm, spicy octopus and potato.
The sweet corn was perfectly cooked with a beautiful grill marks, brushed with oreganata butter and topped with grated pecorino. I had a bite of the spicy octuopus which was well seasoned and tender. We then eagerly waited for our pies – Soppressata Picante for Stamps, Prosciutto di Parma for Giggles and Margherita for me.
This was the Eat, Pray, Love dining experience I was waiting for! This authentic napoletana pizza had a thicker doughier crust on the periphery, but was thinner and floppier beneath the toppings, so I attacked my pie with a knife and fork and when I drew closer to the crust, I picked it up and ate with my hands. The crust, oft discarded by pizza eaters to the side of the plate, had a lovely smokey flavor and slight char from the special wood burning oven used by Motorino which was different than that of the pizzas baked in traditional NY coal burning ovens (think Lombardi's). The sauce was well balanced and the globs of fresh mozzarella were soft and stringy. There were specks of fresh basil and good garlic flavor which I chose to enhance with several generous shakes of red pepper flakes and a bit of salt. I was in pizza heaven and polished off the entire portion, including the crust which was too delicious to waste. Giggles and Stamps also enjoyed their pizza though they lack my ridiculous pizza eating capabilities and were unable to finish. I can think it's safe to say, we will be back!
It was a long day with my ladies and we finally parted ways - West Village for Stamps, Financial District for Giggles and Murray Hill for me. The delivery guy took pity on me and ran out onto 1st Ave in the torrential downpour to hail me a taxi, as he was already soaked (chivalry is not dead!). I got home, showered, put on my favorite pink and white striped pajama pants and called my parents. It was a weekend of friends, relaxation and carbs, which is all amazing - but now I needed a dose of family.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Good and Bad Couples And More Eats...
I made plans with Giggles Saturday morning to grab brunch and play tennis at the Hudson River Park for 1:00 pm. While walking across 34th street to catch the subway to the West Village, two girls approach me and ask "Do you know where the store Strawberry is?" I am horrified as I in fact knew the exact location of the store and also that such an awful store is named after one of my most favorite fruits. I looked at the girls in their painted-on American Eagle jeans, tank tops adorned with studs and elaborate hairdos. One girls hair was large and wavy and the other sported intricate up-do with one thick white-blond streak in the front of her dark locks. I decided they must be looking for outfits for some really fun night out.
I call Giggles when I get out of the subway. "You're already there?" she said, informing she had not yet left her place in the Financial District and it was five minutes to our meeting time. I found a Starbucks, ordered a grande shaken iced green tea with one Splenda. Giggles is often late and does some crazy stuff (refer to previous post), but I must emphasize here that Giggles is not a ditz. Giggles is one of those highly intelligent, hard-working individuals that exerts so much energy at her job that she suffers from brain lapses outside of work resulting in her doing ditzy things.
While waiting for my order, a girl asks me if I live "here". I assumed she didn't mean the Starbucks and said I live in NYC, but not in the West Village and asked "Why?" She said excitedly that she had just moved to the city and has a couple hours to decide on an apartment nearby and wanted to know what to do. I told her I love the neighborhood and would consider living in this area if it were closer to work. A common theme in my life is strangers approaching me. I believe it's because I never really acquired the "stay the f**k away" face that most New Yorkers use as a defense mechanism to get though the day with maximum efficiency and retained my friendly Canadian tendencies.
I sat with my drink and continued reading "The God Deception" by Richard Dawkins, which I am really liking despite the heavy subject matter (the argument for atheism - good times). I looked over to a couple tables over and saw the girl talking seriously with a woman who appeared to be her mother. I think back to my apartment search when I arrived from Toronto, running all over the city with a broker named Doug who ended up finding me the place where I still live. Even though I was paying Doug a ridiculous commission for his services, the scope of his services seemed to be well above and beyond the norm. This included waiting in line first thing in the morning at the Social Security office to hold my spot while I commuted by bus from my aunt's home upstate, where I was temporarily staying. He told me about his girlfriend but also took me for pizza, showed me pictures of his puppy and when I signed my lease, he made me hold it up and smile for a photo. It's hard for me to believe that I have been living here for just over four years.
When Giggles showed up we headed to Westville, but saw a huge line and instead opted for a restaurant across the street called Diablo Royale. I ordered the huevos rancheros with eggs over medium and Giggles opted for the breakfast tacos. There were nacho-looking snacks on the table, but when we bit into them, they were not nachos but fried tortilla dusted with cinnamon and sugar, reminiscent of the cinnamon twists at Taco Bell.
Definitely more dangerous than nachos!
The huevos rancheros were delicious with perfectly cooked eggs layered over a crispy tortilla and black beans and topped with tangy ranchero sauce, sliced avocado, pico de gallo and cotija cheese. There was also a side of potatoes which I barely touched as I was stuffed from the eggs (which I also could not quite finish). While finishing up, we overhear a dude at the next table say "I don't mean to be a Debbie downer, but is there still that salmonella problem with the eggs?" This never even crossed my mind while ordering.
We walk to the tennis courts and see a huge line occupying BOTH the benches. But as luck would have it, several people got up and left, unwilling to wait. We ended up sitting next to a floppy-haired, vintage-loving young guy reading a book (think Michael Cera in Juno and pretty much every movie he's in!). We made small talk with him during which I glanced over at his reading material, a tennis tips book that appeared to be from the 1970's as all the players in the photos held wood rackets. We were further fascinated when he whipped out a book on algebra/geometry and started eating a large slab of cake. He was waiting for his tennis partner, a girl, and had purchased the cake for her but decided to eat half. By the time the court was available (just over an hour wait), she still had not arrived and I felt sad for him and his boring book. We took the court and played, but kept looking over repeatedly and him saw him still alone on the bench probably solving quadratic equations or something. But there is a happy ending. As we were leaving we saw the guy and his lady swatting at tennis balls and she was just as cutely vintage-y as he is. "She looks smart" said Giggles. As one of my coworkers says "There is a seat for every ass." Note to self - never eat huevos rancheros right before tennis (damn was I full).
We walked past the dog park and witnessed this cuteness:
We walked from the West Village to the South Street Seaport (Giggles got her nails did on the way) and managed to work up an appetite again. We ate dinner on the patio at our old favorite Nelson Blue and ordered a ton of food. Mesclun salad with a side of mac and cheese for me and lamb chop lollipops and corn and zucchini fritters for Giggles, with a side of fries to munch on. There was an older couple that looked to be on first date beside us that looked completely mismatched unlike the vintage-y couple from earlier. He was a flashy pompous lawyer (according to Giggles who was eavesdropping), with salt and pepper hair, wearing overpriced jeans, driving mocs and a striped shirt with flipped cuffs which displayed a hideous paisley print. On the other hand, she was a demure lady with carefully bobbed hair and a wardrobe plucked from the racks of Ann Taylor in black cropped pants, neat light green blouse, black cardigan and sensible flats. She listened politely to his stories and delicately nibbled on mussels and fries while he tore through a pot pie of some kind. When our "buffet" arrived pompous guy looked at our spread and rudely declared that he felt "inadequate" that he has eaten so little and his dinner partner looked confused in a "why is he talking to them" kind of way. We told him it was an unusually active day (over an hour of tennis and LOTS of walking), but clearly from his flashy, Mr. Fancy duds this was not the only thing over which he was feeling inadequate. I snapped a photo of our dinner with my Blackberry and he said "Do you always take pictures of your food?" Umm no jackass! We should have pulled the lady aside and said "He's not the seat for you ass! Not a Felipe!", but that would've been insane.
We ate our meal and watched the sun set over the Brooklyn Bridge. Our food as per usual was delicious, but while me and Giggles order lots, we generally don't finish everything! Giggles geting ready to dig in:
The aftermath:
(the waiter took away the leftover picked-at corn cakes)
I call Giggles when I get out of the subway. "You're already there?" she said, informing she had not yet left her place in the Financial District and it was five minutes to our meeting time. I found a Starbucks, ordered a grande shaken iced green tea with one Splenda. Giggles is often late and does some crazy stuff (refer to previous post), but I must emphasize here that Giggles is not a ditz. Giggles is one of those highly intelligent, hard-working individuals that exerts so much energy at her job that she suffers from brain lapses outside of work resulting in her doing ditzy things.
While waiting for my order, a girl asks me if I live "here". I assumed she didn't mean the Starbucks and said I live in NYC, but not in the West Village and asked "Why?" She said excitedly that she had just moved to the city and has a couple hours to decide on an apartment nearby and wanted to know what to do. I told her I love the neighborhood and would consider living in this area if it were closer to work. A common theme in my life is strangers approaching me. I believe it's because I never really acquired the "stay the f**k away" face that most New Yorkers use as a defense mechanism to get though the day with maximum efficiency and retained my friendly Canadian tendencies.
I sat with my drink and continued reading "The God Deception" by Richard Dawkins, which I am really liking despite the heavy subject matter (the argument for atheism - good times). I looked over to a couple tables over and saw the girl talking seriously with a woman who appeared to be her mother. I think back to my apartment search when I arrived from Toronto, running all over the city with a broker named Doug who ended up finding me the place where I still live. Even though I was paying Doug a ridiculous commission for his services, the scope of his services seemed to be well above and beyond the norm. This included waiting in line first thing in the morning at the Social Security office to hold my spot while I commuted by bus from my aunt's home upstate, where I was temporarily staying. He told me about his girlfriend but also took me for pizza, showed me pictures of his puppy and when I signed my lease, he made me hold it up and smile for a photo. It's hard for me to believe that I have been living here for just over four years.
When Giggles showed up we headed to Westville, but saw a huge line and instead opted for a restaurant across the street called Diablo Royale. I ordered the huevos rancheros with eggs over medium and Giggles opted for the breakfast tacos. There were nacho-looking snacks on the table, but when we bit into them, they were not nachos but fried tortilla dusted with cinnamon and sugar, reminiscent of the cinnamon twists at Taco Bell.
Definitely more dangerous than nachos!
The huevos rancheros were delicious with perfectly cooked eggs layered over a crispy tortilla and black beans and topped with tangy ranchero sauce, sliced avocado, pico de gallo and cotija cheese. There was also a side of potatoes which I barely touched as I was stuffed from the eggs (which I also could not quite finish). While finishing up, we overhear a dude at the next table say "I don't mean to be a Debbie downer, but is there still that salmonella problem with the eggs?" This never even crossed my mind while ordering.
We walk to the tennis courts and see a huge line occupying BOTH the benches. But as luck would have it, several people got up and left, unwilling to wait. We ended up sitting next to a floppy-haired, vintage-loving young guy reading a book (think Michael Cera in Juno and pretty much every movie he's in!). We made small talk with him during which I glanced over at his reading material, a tennis tips book that appeared to be from the 1970's as all the players in the photos held wood rackets. We were further fascinated when he whipped out a book on algebra/geometry and started eating a large slab of cake. He was waiting for his tennis partner, a girl, and had purchased the cake for her but decided to eat half. By the time the court was available (just over an hour wait), she still had not arrived and I felt sad for him and his boring book. We took the court and played, but kept looking over repeatedly and him saw him still alone on the bench probably solving quadratic equations or something. But there is a happy ending. As we were leaving we saw the guy and his lady swatting at tennis balls and she was just as cutely vintage-y as he is. "She looks smart" said Giggles. As one of my coworkers says "There is a seat for every ass." Note to self - never eat huevos rancheros right before tennis (damn was I full).
We walked past the dog park and witnessed this cuteness:
We walked from the West Village to the South Street Seaport (Giggles got her nails did on the way) and managed to work up an appetite again. We ate dinner on the patio at our old favorite Nelson Blue and ordered a ton of food. Mesclun salad with a side of mac and cheese for me and lamb chop lollipops and corn and zucchini fritters for Giggles, with a side of fries to munch on. There was an older couple that looked to be on first date beside us that looked completely mismatched unlike the vintage-y couple from earlier. He was a flashy pompous lawyer (according to Giggles who was eavesdropping), with salt and pepper hair, wearing overpriced jeans, driving mocs and a striped shirt with flipped cuffs which displayed a hideous paisley print. On the other hand, she was a demure lady with carefully bobbed hair and a wardrobe plucked from the racks of Ann Taylor in black cropped pants, neat light green blouse, black cardigan and sensible flats. She listened politely to his stories and delicately nibbled on mussels and fries while he tore through a pot pie of some kind. When our "buffet" arrived pompous guy looked at our spread and rudely declared that he felt "inadequate" that he has eaten so little and his dinner partner looked confused in a "why is he talking to them" kind of way. We told him it was an unusually active day (over an hour of tennis and LOTS of walking), but clearly from his flashy, Mr. Fancy duds this was not the only thing over which he was feeling inadequate. I snapped a photo of our dinner with my Blackberry and he said "Do you always take pictures of your food?" Umm no jackass! We should have pulled the lady aside and said "He's not the seat for you ass! Not a Felipe!", but that would've been insane.
We ate our meal and watched the sun set over the Brooklyn Bridge. Our food as per usual was delicious, but while me and Giggles order lots, we generally don't finish everything! Giggles geting ready to dig in:
The aftermath:
(the waiter took away the leftover picked-at corn cakes)
Thought of the day? There may be a seat for every ass but sometimes you want to stand - and other times you should stand and run away from the dude with the paisley cuffs.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
An Eat, Pray, Love Evening Out
My coworker Skips organized an Eat, Pray, Love evening out which was a nice way to end the work week. He had emailed a very detailed itinerary for the evening's events which included the movie at 5:00 pm, followed by an Italian dinner at 7:30 pm and then drinks at 9:30 pm. The email also included a link to purchase my ticket in advance for the early evening showing of a film that was released a week ago (I did not) as well as stern warning that the restaurant only takes cash and American Express - all in all a very Skips-like email. I walked from my apartment to the Loews Village 7 theatre to meet Skips and Frenchie, the only movie-goers as either the time was too early, they had seen the movie or in the case of Skips's boyfriend, he preferred to stay home and watch the Yankees game. Once in the theatre I had won the preview bet, correctly guessing six previews. I was texting before the movie and Skips raised an eyebrow dramatically (also very Skips-like) and said "Are you going to do that the entire movie!" I didn't intend to but was completely unable to do so since I dropped my Blackberry in the pitch-black theatre during the opening scenes in a fit of laughter and could not locate it until the end of the movie despite Frenchie's use of her new iPhone as a flashlight. We watched and laughed with Frenchie uttering her signature "Oh Lo-ord" in her Frenchie accent several times and Skips audibly gasping both when Liz's hot ass Italian tutor makes his first screen appearance and when Felipe croons to Liz "Eith-arrr you luuuve me or you luuuve me not!" For my thoughts on the film itself, see the previous post.
(Somewhere in this photo there was a woman by herself with a large, turquoise feather in her hair)
While walking to dinner to Cucina di Pesce, our friend Giggles came flying out of a Starbucks yelling "Hey guys!", trying not to trip over her cascading, full-length sundress as she scampered after us. Giggles informs Skips that she had gotten the meeting time wrong and arrived an hour early to the restaurant. At the realization of her error, she camped out at the Starbucks to wait. "I think the name of the restaurant changed" she said. But that was not so as she not only managed to get the the meeting time wrong but also the location of the restaurant, which was all very Giggles-like. We were joined at the restaurant by Skips's boyfriend and Stamps, my companion to the pizza truck earlier this week.
I was ravenous having just watched Julia Roberts eat her way across Italy, but there was not a waiter to be found in this restaurant once we were seated. We eventually ordered and I had decided on the fresh mozzarella salad and rigatoni melanzane (eggplant), replacing the rigatoni with spaghetti. My first course was so pretty with layers of soft mozzarella, tomatoes and mixed greens and topped with marinated red onions, a balsamic drizzle and side of sliced ripe avocado. Let me tell you it tasted as good as it looked and I ate every last bit.
Everyone enjoyed their first courses which also included fried ravioli and grilled calamari. The main course received mixed reviews. Frenchie complained her Seafood Fettuccine was overcooked and tasted like it had been microwaved repeatedly, but Giggles thoroughly enjoyed her stuffed trout and side of spaghetti with olive oil despite a couple near death experiences with the fish bones. My pasta was also far from al-dente with a watery marinara. The heap of creamy ricotta, some salty grated parmesan, generous amounts of fresh-ground pepper and several glasses of Montepulciano allowed me to eat my meal, but it was definitely NOT the religious experience in a bowl of pasta I was looking for after watching Julia gorge herself.
Before:
After:
After surveying the dessert tray, we split the tiramisu, mocha cheesecake and some chocolate concoction for dessert that ended the meal on a high note. I also had a delicious double espresso.
My favorite was the cheesecake.
After dinner we were joined by couple others at Swift for a couple drinks, which was overrun in typical fashion by NYU students. They have an extensive beer selection and dinner menu which includes cerviche. Stamps wisely recommends never to consume cerviche or raw fish of any kind in an Irish pub in the East Village.
Only Skips, Frenchie, Giggles and I manage to keep the evening going with dancing at Central Bar, where we danced to hip-hop with a crowd of drunker NYU students. Giggles found herself the target of a young wasted, spiky haired admirer who was making her very uncomfortable with his extreme close talking. After humoring him briefly, Frenchie abruptly sent him on his way and we watched him proceed to lurk on the periphery of several groups of girls trying to find a warm body willing to accept his awkward gyrations, but was rejected at every turn. Likely not a Felipe looking to woo his Liz, but more realistically an NYU freshman who had arrived to the city early, desperate to lose his v-card.
I leisurely walked home from the East Village back to Midtown, relishing in the warm summer air, as well as sites and sounds of the city. I love my long walks and use the time to let my mind wander. On this walk, inspired by the movie, I thought about where I should go on my next non-work related trip. Argentina? Croatia? I guess I'm also looking for inspiration, though I am inspired daily by my amazing family and friends. Thanks everyone for a great evening out!
(Somewhere in this photo there was a woman by herself with a large, turquoise feather in her hair)
While walking to dinner to Cucina di Pesce, our friend Giggles came flying out of a Starbucks yelling "Hey guys!", trying not to trip over her cascading, full-length sundress as she scampered after us. Giggles informs Skips that she had gotten the meeting time wrong and arrived an hour early to the restaurant. At the realization of her error, she camped out at the Starbucks to wait. "I think the name of the restaurant changed" she said. But that was not so as she not only managed to get the the meeting time wrong but also the location of the restaurant, which was all very Giggles-like. We were joined at the restaurant by Skips's boyfriend and Stamps, my companion to the pizza truck earlier this week.
I was ravenous having just watched Julia Roberts eat her way across Italy, but there was not a waiter to be found in this restaurant once we were seated. We eventually ordered and I had decided on the fresh mozzarella salad and rigatoni melanzane (eggplant), replacing the rigatoni with spaghetti. My first course was so pretty with layers of soft mozzarella, tomatoes and mixed greens and topped with marinated red onions, a balsamic drizzle and side of sliced ripe avocado. Let me tell you it tasted as good as it looked and I ate every last bit.
Everyone enjoyed their first courses which also included fried ravioli and grilled calamari. The main course received mixed reviews. Frenchie complained her Seafood Fettuccine was overcooked and tasted like it had been microwaved repeatedly, but Giggles thoroughly enjoyed her stuffed trout and side of spaghetti with olive oil despite a couple near death experiences with the fish bones. My pasta was also far from al-dente with a watery marinara. The heap of creamy ricotta, some salty grated parmesan, generous amounts of fresh-ground pepper and several glasses of Montepulciano allowed me to eat my meal, but it was definitely NOT the religious experience in a bowl of pasta I was looking for after watching Julia gorge herself.
Before:
After:
After surveying the dessert tray, we split the tiramisu, mocha cheesecake and some chocolate concoction for dessert that ended the meal on a high note. I also had a delicious double espresso.
My favorite was the cheesecake.
After dinner we were joined by couple others at Swift for a couple drinks, which was overrun in typical fashion by NYU students. They have an extensive beer selection and dinner menu which includes cerviche. Stamps wisely recommends never to consume cerviche or raw fish of any kind in an Irish pub in the East Village.
Only Skips, Frenchie, Giggles and I manage to keep the evening going with dancing at Central Bar, where we danced to hip-hop with a crowd of drunker NYU students. Giggles found herself the target of a young wasted, spiky haired admirer who was making her very uncomfortable with his extreme close talking. After humoring him briefly, Frenchie abruptly sent him on his way and we watched him proceed to lurk on the periphery of several groups of girls trying to find a warm body willing to accept his awkward gyrations, but was rejected at every turn. Likely not a Felipe looking to woo his Liz, but more realistically an NYU freshman who had arrived to the city early, desperate to lose his v-card.
I leisurely walked home from the East Village back to Midtown, relishing in the warm summer air, as well as sites and sounds of the city. I love my long walks and use the time to let my mind wander. On this walk, inspired by the movie, I thought about where I should go on my next non-work related trip. Argentina? Croatia? I guess I'm also looking for inspiration, though I am inspired daily by my amazing family and friends. Thanks everyone for a great evening out!
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