Dinners of Champions

Starting on Saturday, Seth and I have had friends in town from Texas (hi Berries) and London (hi LoBalbos). Naturally, when friends fly in, we eat. A lot. When picking the restaurant for Saturday night (Berry night) and last night (LoBalbo night), we thought carefully about what our friends like and what they may miss eating in this area since both couples have spent time living in either New York, New Jersey or D.C. For the Texans, we chose seafood (with a side dish of bagels); for the Londoners, meat. (Frankly, knowing Brian, I am not sure there was any other choice). This morning, as I sat on the train bemoaning my hangover and early start time at work, I reflected upon what was consumed this weekend. Behold.

Saturday night - Aquagrill (split amongst 6 people - hi McGowans):

Peppered Tuna Carpaccio (two orders - the second order came at the end of the night when Austin decided he wanted it for dessert)
Maine Lobster Salad
Crispy octopus appetizer
Seafood plateau royale
Chilean Sea Bass
One Pumpkin Souffle
One Chocolate Souffle
Lots of bottles of wine

Monday night - Minetta Tavern (split amongst 4 people):

Lobster Bisque
Pate
Black Label Burger
Cote de Boeuf for two
Bone Marrow
Side Salads
Jacque Torres Chocolates and Coffees (strong enough to make anyone grow hair down there)
Countless bottles of wine (the LoBalbos know how to drink!)

During the meal at Minetta, we split all of the dishes. The waiter was incredibly nice and managed to form that mess of an order into a four course meal and made it easy enough for us to share. We apparently sounded like such food nerds, he asked us if we were "in the business." We replied that our only business was the nerd business and after that he stopped coming to our table. We didn't get home until close to 1:00am from this meal and this morning, the alarm felt like 1000 screaming voices in my left ear.

As a side note, I would like to tell a little story. Our apartment faces a very busy avenue in NYC. Because of that, we run our air conditioner at night to drown out the extraordinary noises that can creep through our windows. We run the air conditioner for two other reasons. (1) Our apartment is about 85 degrees in the winter given the extreme tactics that building management takes to heat it. (2) Seth sweats. Last night, Seth's metabolism was apparently working so hard to digest all that food, that the air conditioning wasn't enough. So, in his wine induced stupor, Seth believed that the only solution to this problem would be to open the window. I spent half the night wondering why the trucks were so loud and worrying that our guests wouldn't be able to sleep. When I finally realized the window was open and asked Seth about this interesting fact, Seth replied "Oops." Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe making your wife believe that a truck was actually driving through her bedroom is a very good reason to buy said wife a present.

But, I digress. Despite my extreme discomfort this morning, I wish that both meals could have lasted for days. Three hours with such good friends is never enough time, especially when such great people live so far away.

But what I have decided is that, while it is always sad when your best friends move to far off locations, it is a testament to those friendships how little the distance matters. In the wise words of Mary Ann, "we may have a few less shopping trips, but that's what the internet is for." Cheers to that, a few thousand miles can't keep us apart! We miss you Berries and LoBalbos but that only makes our friendship stronger.

Happy Trails to North Carolina

A few weeks back, Seth and I took a long weekend trip to Durham, North Carolina to visit some of Seth's college friends. (Incidentally I now claim them as my friends - sorry Seth but they are just that fun). We had the pleasure of staying with Shane and Jen and my new boyfriend, their son Gage. Gage is the type of child who makes you want to have children (no one is permitted to show this to my family, they are not allowed to get any ideas). He is smart, funny and literally soaks in EVERY SINGLE THING you say and do. You should have heard the number of times we said "Crap, not around Gage!" I wish I could still learn as fast as Gage does.

Exhibit 1: Aunt Jamie's Contribution - We taught Gage to put on his sunglasses and say "I'm cool!" The next time someone put on sunglasses he ran over, put his on and said "I'm cool too!" Trust me, that did not get old.

Exhibit 2: After a weekend of meat, we thought it best to have sushi on our last night there. (Sorry to the Rogers family for the aftermath of Seth eating that much meat). Gage just picked up some chopsticks and went to town. I think he uses better them better than I do.

Exhibit 3: This picture does not involve Gage, although I do recommend that Jen and Shane show this to Gage to teach him what not to do. Seth ate this entire plate of meatloaf for dinner on Saturday night. I still have no idea where it all goes. And I try not to think about it.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

This weekend we drank in the holidays at some lovely parties, went to Target in a snowstorm, and were delighted (horrified) by an impromptu fake knife attack during brunch. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

Laughing in the face of ominous warnings by the weather reporters that the snow apocalypse was coming, Seth and I made our way to Helen and Sean's annual holiday party with visions of enough food for 200 people dancing in our heads. The snow was not keeping us from Helen's stromboli. When we left our apartment, the snow wasn't really sticking, so naturally we detoured to Target to get our fix. (Don't judge, you don't even know how much you miss Target until you can't go on a regular basis - there is something very comforting about those aisles and endless items you don't really need to buy). You might think that going to Target the Saturday before Christmas is crazy talk. You would be right. The snow scared off most, but the real crazy people didn't seem to be deterred. But I needed hot chocolate and Seth needed, well, nothing as it turns out. The entire Target trip seemed to revolve around my snacks and beauty supplies. It ain't easy looking this pretty.

By the time we left Target, the snow was in full force. We made it to Helen and Sean's in one piece thanks to our trusty Zipcar. Drinking commenced. The snow scared off most guests, but the group that made it out was badass. We saw some old friends and met some very fun new ones (who might just be our doppelgangers). Seth had plenty of bud lights, I had wine and we ate enough food to feed a small army. What else can you ask for?

Always the pinnacles of good judgment, we slept over and found ourselves snowed in this morning. At that point, what else can you do but walk to brunch? Normally, brunch is fairly uneventful (well, the amount Seth can eat is an event but we usually fly under the radar). This morning, the gods had other things in mind for us. The normally quiet town of Montclair saw quite the controversy when a man (and by man I mean a dude easily in his 40s) pretended that his friend sitting next to him stabbed him in the side and he was dying at the table. He stood up, screamed at the top of his lungs, clutched his side and fell to the ground. I thought he was having a heart attack. The entire restaurant came to a screeching halt, while everyone stared horrified at the table. (Of course this fool was sitting right next to us). A woman cried (yes, cried), someone shouted to call 911. And then ... wait for it ... the genius stood up laughing and expecting applause. I don't think I have ever seen more disgusted looks during brunch. All of this on a Sunday in New Jersey. The spectacle made us miss New York, so we bid our farewells and headed back home to see what awaited us.

At last count, eleven inches of snow fell in NYC (eleven inches that are rapidly turning into black sludge wreaking havoc on my shoe collection.) Sadly, we didn't really get to see that beautiful moment when it snows and shuts down the city, making it look peaceful and quiet. Instead, we came back this afternoon to witness some of the worst plowing and enormous piles of snow obstructing sidewalks and crosswalks. Makes me proud to pay all those New York City taxes. To cap off the weekend, we decided to avoid contact with all other people, make chili and watch movies (Jamie) and football (Seth). The chili turned out quite delicious, if I do say so myself. Now if only all of my shopping was done...

The Austin Chronicles Part 2 - aka Jamie for Heisman!

With another food fueled trip on the way this weekend (Durham, here I come!) I realized I never finished writing about the great Texas adventure of 2009. Given the amount packed into the remainder of the trip, I felt it was best demonstrated through pictures. Behold.

Saturday morning. Hangover. Migas. First funny sign of the day, click for a closer look (don't forget the hilarious vegetarian sign from the bbq crawl). We love you too Magnolia Cafe and your delicious salsa.

Notice the tiny car next to Austin's huge truck. We had bets about whether we could fit the smart car into the truck's bed. The hippies owning the smart car glared at us silently.

After some rest and recovery (i.e. the boys slept and the girls shopped) we headed out to tailgates. I have never seen a more intense tailgate of my life. This school bus stopped us in our tracks, then made us jealous because of the amount of beer and food being consumed.

Look closely - the geniuses behind the school bus rigged a device so that no one had to walk anywhere to throw out their beer cans. Beer is priority here. Although professional bbq served at tailgates came in a close second. At tailgates. Made by regular people (well, football fans anway). Seriously.

Texans respect their women by designating pink porto potties. They were quite clean, I might add. Thank you UT for making it easier for me to drink more beer.

Hilarious sign #2. Seth tried to order a mai tai and got kicked out. For some reason, Sean and his imaginary friend were permitted to stay.

This chili was as hot as it looks. I regret standing within 10 feet of Seth for the 24 hours after he consumed this entire dish.

Texans love their flag - it extends 30 yards into the field. There was even a choreographed danced with the flag that I can't begin to describe.

The band played Bon Jovi in recognition of our attendance.

Conclusions:

(1) We are super cute.

(2) Texans love funny signs.

(3) Texans love their flag even more than funny signs.

(4) Bevo is my new mascot.

(5) MJ and Austin sure know how to plan an amazing weekend.