if you’ve not been even an occasional reader here at ceF, let me just tell you that i am from new york city.  and that it is my city.  i own it.  yup.  it’s mine.  and i’m in love with my city and my city loves me back.  we speak the same language.  i understand ny in all her splendor and lack thereof.  but i don’t live there anymore.  and sometimes that makes me kinda sad.  although not always.

and really after a full on week, i’m glad to be home in nashville. my bed, my kitties – my kitchen.  one more restaurant and i will literally bloat away on a sea of salt and butter…  but that’s what happens when you just show up in ny just a few times a year.  all the fulfilled desire gets crammed into mere days.  and then i need to recover.  physically and financially.

oh but the memories…

i got my hair cut, hit the guggenheim and the whitney, bought a few pretty things, rode in central park, saw three of my oldest and closest friends and spent time with my mother.

and i ate.  well.  and i am here to tell you all about it all so you might want to get comfortable.

i flew in thursday evening and within 10 minutes of arriving at the apartment, we had ordered chinese food. 

steamed shrimp dumplings, spareribs, shrimp in lobster sauce along with shrimp and scallops (sounds like an order out of forrest gump) in some kind of brown sauce with vegetables – and brown as opposed to white rice although this option is only of the last 10 years or so. 

i miss really good chinese food showing up at your door in no time flat.  and sunday night chinese – well, it’s how i grew up.  it’s also how i dined many nights when i was in my 20′s living in my first solo apartment.

the chinese was really good and hit the spot - and knowing what lay ahead of me, this was the perfect ny welcome dinner.

as the grand official start to my whirlwind trip, friday afternoon my mom took me to the dining room at ‘the modern’.  we sat by the window overlooking the sculpture garden.

but before we get started here - a word about the bread.  unreal.

 

the amuse bouche… a nettle soup

my mom’s lunch began with a honeydew melon salad with watermelon balls, oven roasted tomatoes, goat cheese wrapped in ravioliesque cantaloupe and some kind of little baby mint leaves that were sublime – finished with a balsamic drizzle.

for her second course she had the chorizo-crusted chatham cod with white coco bean puree and harissa oil

 

i started with a goat cheese ricotta gnocchi with alaskan king crab and fennel

and then for me it was roasted monkfish wrapped in pancetta with simmered green tomatoes and savory almond galette

as for the dessert, well it was quite simply a pistachio parfait, passion fruit ravioli with coconut tapioca and ten flavor sorbet

but wait… if you order now not only do you get dessert but you get a box of chocolates and a plate of little assorted thingees too!

the next day, saturday was a glorious day for me.  i did the 6 mile loop in the park and then feeling pretty good about the whole park vibe and being alive and out amongst my peoples, decided to do another 4.  but about a mile in, the heavens opened and it poured down rain so hard that the stinging in my eyes made it hard to look out in front of me.  but i survived quite nicely and when i made it back to the apartment although i was totally soaked i just kind of reveled in the whole experience.  

after drying off, i fixed an h&h bagel with gravlox from zabar’s and then headed off to the guggenheim.  they were in the midst of installing a richard prince show but i got to see a cool exhibit by richard poussette-dart that i thoroughly enjoyed.  it really made me want to break out the brushes, paint and easel that i keep threatening to do.  perhaps this winter…

after that i took myself down madison to about 77th finding the coolest sweater ever created, and then worked my way back uptown.  when i reached 85th at about 7:30 pm i turned into pino luongo’s ‘centolire’ for dinner.  alone.  i haven’t fine dined by myself in as long as i can remember.  and the experience was empowering and fun – and delicious.  pino luongo is all about down home tuscan cooking and well, did anyone see bourdain’s episode in tuscany?  the meal he had at the end with the italian grandmother cooking for everyone… that right there – it’s my fantasy embodied and although i’ve hit italy a few times, i’ve never met an italian grandma quite like that one but am now officially in search of one, or more specifically, that one.  i’m going to come looking for her so put the word out.  thank you.

at centolire i began with their baked stuffed artichoke and then i asked them to do a half order of the braised octopus with a warm potato salad.  both dishes were very good, made even better by a wonderful glass of amarone.

moving on to sunday was a much anticipated brunch at prune.  i so love this place and can’t wait to go back for dinner.  we began with a plate of merveilles.  a fried scone with lemon and orange zest.  perfect with a cup of coffee.

from there i had sausage & oysters.  grilled handmade lamb sausage with 3 malpeque oysters on the half shell with broiled tomatoes and grilled peasant bread.  i loved it.

tim had the fried oyster omelette with remoulade sauce.  the other sauce was a dish of powdered sugar with tabasco sauce and when mixed together was the perfect finishing touch of sweet and spicy.

later that afternoon after perusing the whitney (where they also had 2 floors closed due to new installations) and seeing a great show by rudolph stingel my mom and i ducked in to ‘lady m‘.  they were voted #1 cheesecake by ny mag.  but i went with their signature mille crepes cake and a double espresso!

ok boys and girls.  time to stretch.  everybody stand up from your seats.  hands above your head and reach for the sky.  c’mon!  really stretch your body from the core and reach high!  there… feel better?  phew.  i know i do.

monday was dinner at ‘lavagna‘ – also in the east village.  one of my best friends works there so we went early on a monday and got the royal treatment.  but first, a few hours earlier while on bleecker street i spotted the famous magnolia bakery and couldn’t resist trying a cupcake from the place that seemingly started the cupcake craze.  but i tell you this - and you’ll rarely ever hear this kinda statement from me – ‘cuppycakes‘ in franklin, tn kicked magnolia’s ass from here to yonder – bigtime.  and they deliver!

but back to lavagna… we began with a pizetta of wild mushrooms, fontina and white truffle oil

then the two next courses were pan seared scallops with parsnip puree and crispy pancetta

and a wood oven roasted artichoke with white bean puree and cremini mushrooms

the photo doesn’t serve this pasta well.  it is what brought lavagna to the dance.  and it was excellent.  rigatoni with sweet fennel and spicy sausage, peas and tomato cream… really a perfect combination of flavors.

and then, the roasted baby rack of lamb with corona beans, broccoli rabe and rosemary jus

and finally for dessert a chocolate hazelnut cake with whipped cream.  not fancy but solid and delicious…  a great send off.  thank you lavagna. 

which finally brings us to tuesday’s lunch in the dining room of le cirque where i began with a half order of spaghetti alla chitarra.  the seafood was impeccable in this dish.  truly outstanding to the point that it was unlike anything i’m used to having. 

my friend had the grilled branzino

and i had the duo of crab – a crab cake and a crab salad.  how’s that for really pretty?

and so ends my september ’07 culinary tour de force through manhattan.  nyc inspires me like nowhere else.  but more than anything.  more than the food, the shops, the culture – it’s the people.  i love new yorker’s.  they’re kind and cool and helpful and funny and smart and quick.  really quick.  and i love that.

but before i sign off here i present to you a piece de resistance of sorts. 
the final mouthful on the drive to laguardia.
eaten in the taxi, over my carry on bag on my lap. 

i present to you, the pumpkin doughnut from ‘doughnut planet‘. 

another perfect ending…