Slacker

It's been ages. I'm embarassed, ashamed, etc. But I'm also back from the land of no blogging, ready to share my tales of the last few weeks.

The past month has been busy. June 13-14, we went to NYC. Two weeks later (that was two weeks ago), we went back. And then the following weekend (July 4), we went to the Cape. This most recent weekend we were home (and therefore ill-equipped with an excuse for the lack o' blog but I'll do what I can to make up for it).

To start with the beginning - NYC. It was fabulous again, as always, like the glamorous friend who is too overwhelming to step out with on a regular basis, but who is always there and ready when you want to get dolled up. We enjoyed a feeding frenzy of decadent treats, starting with a lunch at Daisy Mae BBQ. They have a street cart and a cafeteria-style restaurant that features long communal tables and restroom keys on giant keyrings. As you can tell from my expert detail, we visited the restaurant.

I think the key to getting your money's worth at Daisy Mae is to bring an enormous appetite or, if you're not in the mood to eat till you feel ill, bring friends and split a couple meals among the group. With giant tubs of meat and sides coming in each meal, no one will go hungry. The food is delicious, and the sweet tea in a mason jar is pure heaven. Don't forget to leave room for the frozen custard (like soft serve, but much thicker and maybe less sweet), but again, it's a treat best split with someone else.

For dinner that night, we headed down to Katz's Deli, where that famous scene from When Harry Met Sally was filmed (you know--"I'll have what she's having"). Everyone who enters the door gets a ticket, and when you place an order at the counter, they write the cost of your meal on the back of the ticket. If you lose your ticket (or pretend to lose it after losing your head and eating all the pastrami in the house), you face a hefty fee.

Because we weren't all that hungry after our awesome BBQ lunch, we decided to split a pastrami sandwich (at $16 a pop, splitting is not such a bad idea even if you are hungry). We also got a side of potato salad and some pickles. When you place your order, the man who prepares your sandwich gives you a little plate of the meat that you ordered for your sandwich; we observed others contributing to the tip cups for this thoughtful gesture and followed suit. From our first nibble of the fatty, amazing, mouth-watering pastrami, thoughts of BBQ were driven from our head and we quickly forgot that we weren't very hungry. The restaurant seemed full when we entered but we were able to nab a table in the back; the cafeteria-style serving encourages people not to linger after their meals are complete.

Our sandwich was pure heaven, if your idea of heaven is a sandwich so full that you can't fit it into your mouth and whose filling falls out onto your plate (mmm...like a second course). Needless to say, dessert was not necessary after that meal.

For our second day in NY, we passed the time at a food show, which is worthy of its own post, so I shall save the details for another time.

We enjoyed one more fine meal at an Italian restaurant called Cellini, which I chose randomly while walking back from Pinkberry one afternoon while B was working. (FYI - Pinkberry has new flavors, coconut and passion fruit, and a swirl that combines the two. Passion fruit was *amazing*; this time I got it without any toppings and was not disappointed with my purist decision.)

Well, not entirely randomly; I think it had a Michelin sticker in the window, and if it's good enough for Michelin, it's good enough for me. It reminded both of us of a European restaurant for a few reasons. First, our fellow patrons were all American (har, har), and second, it had great ambience. Of course, we were eating at 6 PM and the restaurant was crowded, so we knew we couldn't be in Europe. Yay for familiar dining customs.

For my entree, I got the envelope pasta filled with a combination of meats and cheeses (and maybe even a--gasp!--vegetable or two). It was pure heaven, as was my caprese appetizer. B's homemade ravioli looked delish as well, but its seafood interior convinced me to enjoy it from afar. The Black Forest cake for dessert was probably good for those who like it, but I don't like the Kirsch flavor, so it was not the highlight of the meal for me.

All in all, it was another great NY trip, made even better by two Pinkberry outings. We're hoping to head back later in the fall with my family to enjoy more of the NYC experience (and maybe Pinkberry will have a new flavor by then...).