Restaurant week and stifling heat

Written on Tuesday: 

I currently look like a little boy and his grandpa, all at once.

I don't know what made me wear these brown plaid bermuda shorts today (and having been to Bermuda a mere month ago, I can attest first hand that these are, in fact, considered formal wear - I'm not wearing the high socks though, so maybe it doesn't count). I really don't like plaid, but I wanted to be casual - hence looking like a little boy. Also, I'm wearing a 4 sizes too big thick brown cable knit sweater - hence looking like his grandpa. Sometimes I really wonder about myself.

Oh and here's another fun fact about shorts. Since it's summer and hot as balls outside, I wear them. This does not mean that you should stare at the heinous scar on my left knee. Seriously, if you're going to stare that hard, please just ask. Also, making offhanded comments about how bad of a scar it is, isn't really the nicest thing in the world to do. I will tell you what happened if you want. I will even login to my facebook and show you the pictures. Or I will lie to you and tell you that I was bitten by a small shark on a trip to the tropics at the end of last year. And somehow I managed to get away without it biting through my leg, just kind of sinking its teeth in and ripping. I swear you'll love the story, so stop staring and ask. Or, don't stare.

And another thing. I don't like "in between pizza". Either it's gotta be piping hot where my mouth will get burnt, or completely cold. The flavors are different. Don't be in between. Don't be THAT slice, it's just wrong.

Written Wednesday:

After work yesterday the Mexican and I decided to partake in New York City Summer Restaurant Week 2011. We decided on The Water Club. Might've been one of the best decisions we've ever made.

Every year, there's restaurant week and I always miss it. For one reason or another I cannot get someone to go with me and spend $24.07 for lunch or $35 for dinner - prix fixe, at these magnificent restaurants that would normally cost WAY more than what the prix fixe is. This year, I was/am determined to go to as many restaurant week meals as I possibly can.

From 2-5pm yesterday I had Customer Service training. It was pretty stupid, but I also developed a tiny friend crush on the instructor. I wanted him to be my new best friend. In all honesty, I still do. If he were a bit taller, I might have a legit crush on him. He's just an all American boy. Raised in Connecticut, college at Cornell in Ithaca, worked for Nestle in Wisconsin and now works at the same institution as me. Considering I was raised in the Northeast, went to school an hour away from Cornell in Binghamton, and went to Nestle's Chocolate Fest in Wisconsin when I worked there, we have quite a bit in common (we are meant to be besties). However, I don't know how to break the ice with men who are shorter than me. This is a general rule. I'm much better at talking to taller men. Shorter ones, I guess I just feel like I will automatically be talking down to them, so I don't even bother. It's probably a bad thing. Maybe my "vanity" is what keeps me from meeting lots of new people, because I judge. I judge a lot. Sorry, that's the way it works.

Anyway, my vanity is a topic for another day really, but I want to get back to my restaurant week experience.

So at 5pm, the Mexican and I met outside of the building and began our walk towards the bus/restaurant. The Water Club is on the East River between 23rd and 34th street. That's right, 23rd and 34th; big range, eh?

We started to walk down 2nd avenue because we were planning on taking the bus and so we kept walking. It was balls hot out yesterday. Like, uncomfortable, felt like you were melting and couldn't breathe, walking through hot jello type weather. So we're walking along, and there's no bus coming. We must've walked 20 blocks before finally being able to get on the bus. It felt like a lot longer than that. Also, we tried to stop for fro-yo and there was no one at the counter, so after waiting for 5 minutes with no service, we left.

We got off the select bus at 28th street because the place was on 30th. This was a stupid stupid idea, because we walked to the East River, past the Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital, in a really shady neighborhood, just to find out that we had to walk all the way up to 34th street to cross over the FDR to the East River.

The Mexican and I were melting. I'm surprised we weren't just a puddle when we finally got there, but we did arrive.

It was magnificent. High ceilings, even though it was on a boat. One wall was all windows, and we got to look out over the river and watch everyone else. They had fresh home made biscuits and corn bread, two pieces each of which the Mexican and I ingested, rapidly. So fast that after we finished the first piece and the server asked if we would like another, by the time he found the bread man and told him that we wanted another piece, we had already gotten and consumed another from an alternate bread man. It was slightly embarrassing. We were probably the youngest people in there, I mean it was 6pm, but still. There was this young couple there too, but we still don't know why they were at this classy restaurant and what they could've possibly been celebrating. They were ordering off the normal menu where appetizers were at minimum $13, and the salad was a wedge of lettuce with some stuff on it (classy, I guess?).

The server convinced us to order wine, and I magically ordered the best Riesling I have EVER tasted. It was like rainbows and butterflies in delicious alcoholic beverage form.

We couldn't pronounce the name, so I took a picture of it to search for it.

The meal was also just as glorious.

Tuna Tartare (with Roe) in a golden gazpacho with an avocado mousse

Lamb three ways, the rigatoni is stuffed with creamy lamb

Le Piece de Resistance, the Pina Colada Panna Cotta with toasted coconut, mango sauce and assorted fruit.

I was so incredibly full after this meal that it hurt, but it was marvelous.

I went to another restaurant week place today for lunch with my mom and her childhood friend who is visiting from Austria, Le Perigord. The decor was a little old style for me, but the food was quite good. I had a warm fresh pea soup (they both had delicious pate), bay scallops with vegetable risotto (some of the scallops were a touch over cooked, but still delicious), and chocolate mousse with a vanilla creme and berry coulis (heavenly). It was my treat. I actually felt like an adult taking my mom and her friend out to lunch, also it didn't hurt that I took an almost 3 hour lunch. I felt justified because I got to work at 8:15am this morning, which reminds me....

Last night, I fell asleep at 10:30pm. Food coma, plus gym in the morning makes for deep deep sleep, but it was SO hot that I had to turn my AC on at 2am this morning. I really really really hate waking up sticky. It was unfortunate and made it hard to get out of bed at 6am. However, I'm really trying the early rising thing and it's working pretty well. Morning gym Tuesday/Thursday, Chiro Monday/Wednesday/Friday with afternoon gym. It doesn't mean much if I eat the way I do, but shut up.

I will probably put together a more meaningful post tomorrow, because there are some things I've been thinking about lately that I need to get off of my chest, even if I vented to Mo about them earlier.