Happy Moanday: Hunger Pains
Another weekend, another weekend of delicious food. Dave, Steve, and Jenna were all in New York this weekend, which gave me an excuse to go out to eat (which I do, like, nevah). On Saturday, Dave and I had a picnic on Governor's Island, and then all four of us met up for pre-dinner drinks at Grey Dog Coffee in Union Square. After that, we had dinner at Basso56 (recommended by Rebecca), which was just so fantastically delicious we all left round and happy. I had smoked buffalo cheese and lobster-filled crepes in a creamy tomato sauce (just typing that is making me salivate) and finished things off with some tri-colore gelato. So amazing.
On Sunday, Dave and Steve ran off to watch soccer while Jenna and I went flea marketing (I bought a cat-shaped salt shaker, in a bid to start off a collection of spice rack chotchkeys). With no reservations for brunch, we decided to just wander around until we found some place good, and I told Jenna my tricks for picking out restaurants: stay away from tourist-heavy areas (like Times Square), avoid places with lots of families (who care more about convenience than quality), and look for places populated with cops, businesspeople, or people sitting by themselves with the newspaper. Jenna pointed out a little cafe-bakery near the market and, as soon as we saw three people buried in the Sunday Times, we knew we were at the right place. It was charming and cutely decorated, and the tattooed hipster working the counter fried us up some waffles in minutes. We were about to leave when Jenna passed their impressive display of cupcakes, and, deciding that it was fate, we bought two.
Little did I know that my funny honey would surprise me later with a huge Oreo cupcake from Crumbs--it is a pleasant day indeed that involves two serendipitous cupcakes. Dave and I came home from Manhattan to make some salmon and salad (I used my favorite balsamic-honey-orange glaze recipe), and I collapsed in a happy food-wine-cupcake coma. It was really very nice.
But! Now I'm back to reality, and the reality of cooking for myself. I'm feeling something big and filling, after my disappointing foray into chilled melon soup. Chicken tikka masala sounds pretty good, or possibly fancy mac n cheese. I'm also experimenting with grilling on the pan and in the broiler, to, I believe, good effect. Last week I made hamburgers and fries that were simple, delicious, and much healthier than anything you'd get at Burger King. This week I'm headed back to Bostontown, where Dave and I are planning a touristy weekend full of all the fun Boston things we don't usually get to do (duck tour, aquarium, Daily Catch)--should be fun!
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