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!