Breathing Room

Once the majority of our busy season wrapped up, there was a bit of a collective sigh of relief. Part of this relief was expressed through cupcakes. M. made these cupcakes using the holiday gift she received from M. (not herself M. but another M. all together).
They are sunflowers! Complete with lady bugs and spearmint leaves.
And L., as the coordinator of team spirit/fun/rewards organized two lovely things. One: champagne at lunch and two: a masseuse. The masseuse gave us each 20 minute shoulder and back massages.
It was a really wonderful Friday. Thanks to M. and L. for much of the hard work but also another considerable thanks goes to the bosses of me and their generosity and expression of all of our hard work.

Meatloaf c/o Brigid's

On Monday or Tuesday I met up with N. at Brigid's. I tried their meatloaf. It was good but not great. Their beer was, as always, various and good.

Brunch c/o Aqua Grill

On Sunday I headed into Manhattan for brunch at Aquagrill. During our late night gab session, L. and I suddenly realized how excellent an idea it was to get oysters together. Years back, in college, I almost forced L. to come with me ( I was visiting her on Long Island) while I had a few oysters...she was disgusted by the whole thing. But! Things have changed! She's on board! So after learning that the Grand Central Oyster Bar is closed on Sundays, we settled on Aquagrill as our brunch spot. I went there three or so years ago with M., A. and S. and fondly remember the sybaritic dinner and subsequent Belgian ales of that night (unfortunately this was during the great camera scourge of 2006, so no photographic evidence exists). I started with a virgin bloody Mary.
Then a dozen oysters: 2 Sisters Points (plump and sweet), 2 Malpeques (briny but good), 2 Mill Points (I made no note, thus can tell you very little...which suggests I didn't fall deeply in love with this oyster), 2 Duxbury (another plump oyster with a clean finish), 2 Ninigrets (I have a star by it but no description) and 2 Kumomotos (one of my all time favorite oysters).
I also had a brunch appetizer, the crispy salmon skin salad with warm exotic mushrooms, roasted garlic and greens. It was quite nice. The skin's texture and taste paired with the warmth of the mushrooms and fragrance of the garlic was quite delightful.
And a nice cappucino to round off a lovely, if whirlwind, day and a little in NYC.

So Bad, It's Good

As we walked home in the cold snowy night we passed a place with the option of buying fried chicken at 1-2 in the morning. J. encouraged K (who banged the hell out of his elbow earlier in the night) and I (who stupidly wanted to wear my only pair of heels in the snow) to continue trekking back to their apartment and promised that he would soon follow with delicious fried chicken. This he did do. It was delicious, in that 'it's very late' kind of way. The mashed potatoes that came with, not so much. Ditto for the biscuits and macaroni salad....ESPECIALLY the macaroni salad. I don't know where this food came from exactly, but I believe palace, fried and chicken were all in the title.

Whispering Fabulous In A General Direction

After cards and conversation it was decided that going out was the way to go. So, out we went. Our first stop was crowded and wasn't really a stop (we walked in the door, we walked out the door) then we we to Turkey's Nest Tavern for a drink. K. made friends with a character while J. and I bonded over, well, we bonded and it was fabulous. J. also tried some sort of frozen absinthe concoction that didn't look good (but that's because I don't like the taste of absinthe, so no matter what form it comes in, it won't deceive me). Then, on the opposite side of the bar spectrum, we went to Sugarland. My first dance-heavy gay bar experience. I did not dance.
J. and K. posed.
K. and I took a series of unflattering photographs.

And I don't know what this was. Playing with a scarf/thinking about jackals?

Brunch in Greenpoint c/o K. & J.

After completing my work and spending a little more time with L., I headed on over to Greenpoint to eat some brunch prepared by K. In a strange moment of strangeness I managed to see B. on the G train platform as I, on a G train, pulled away from the station. B., a friend from high school who no longer lives in NYC, and I just stared at each other as we got farther and farther away. I was glad, when I emerged from the subway, to receive a message from her confirming my non-crazy status. Too bad that's the closest we got to one another ;). K.'s brunch consisted of mimosas, creme brulee French toast and balsamic potatoes/brussels sprouts...and a taste of a very tender pork dish he had made earlier in the week.

It was all quite tasty. I envy K. his kitchen island. Afterwards we played about nine million hours of cards. I don't think I won, but that's okay.
This was also the night that a person from my past called me on the telephone (you know, as opposed to on the street or on the shoe horn). You ever have those people? People you've lost along the way, and not without a modicum of bitterness or hurt feelings? Well, this person would certainly, absolutely, qualify as such a lost person and to hear his voice and speak to him (without bracing myself for my own tears or his recrimination) was refreshing, if odd. I couldn't help thinking how much more his phone call would have meant to me a few years earlier (we haven't spoken in, gosh, six-ish years). Nonetheless it added a little narrative flair to my weekend and made me feel like things have balanced out. Though it stirred up a whole range of conflicting emotions, memories and sentiments, I am glad that it happened.

New York Is The New Baltimore

The Friday of the last Indian lunch was a day unlike the many days that came before it: manageable and calm. After a weekend or two of 6-8 hour days, I was looking forward to not having to come into the office. What I was unclear about was how best to take advantage of regaining my own time. I have adjusted to Philadelphia a bit more as the months go by, but I'm still struggling to get myself out into the city in order to meet a larger social network. This is, in part, due to my own laziness and lack of interest in most things and should be fought. But, that Friday I didn't feel like dealing with the fact that I have very few non-work friends, I just wanted to hang out with people who knew me, who liked doing and talking about the same kinds of things. So, through all this internet communication we have in the world, when L. suggested I come to New York and K. backed her up, I decided that was exactly what I was going to do. So I got out of work, went to 30th Street Station, bought myself a roundtrip SEPTA/NJ Transit ticket to Penn Station and awaaaaay I went. Once on the train, I got a call informing me that I would have some work on Saturday, which was tricky. But not that tricky! I simply woke up super early (after staying up quite late with L., just shooting the shit) and worked 'remotely'. In order to really get excited about this, however, a bagel was needed.

Unfortunately, this bagel, though it came from the same place as my best bagel of 2008, was a bit of a let down. The cream cheese not as wonderfully lox-y but still unnaturally pink. Ah well, it still allowed me to get what needed to be accomplished done.

Last Work Lunch

Our busy seasons have definite end points. This meal marked the last of our busy-busy-free-lunch-for the office season. I tried the Lamb rogan josh, lambs with tomatoes and whatnot...and found that I liked it very much. I will, in the future, order it more often. Lamb, of course, is a relatively heavy meat but many Indian sauces make lamb even more rich. This sauce, while hearty, wasn't so thick or creamy, and the tomatoes somehow lightened up the whole flavor profile. My new favorite.
I realize this was a Friday. Thanks, as always, to the generous bosses of me.

Also, I watched the inauguration yesterday and may have cried a little. Not a lot. A little.

Salad & Pasta c/o Luigis

Another day, another salad and pasta dish from Luigi's. This time I tried their tortellini with a creamy pesto sauce. It was not my favorite. I mean, I have a tendency to eat too much fatty stuff, but when even I feel like the dish I'm eating is just plain fat-iculous, well...you know it's trouble. I would have been happier with a simple pesto, without the cream component.
The dragon got all up in my face about this sentiment.

New Things c/o King of Tandoor

Another day I had to stay late in order to complete all my work. I was not alone. We ordered from King of Tandoor, I thought I would try something new. I tried the chicken dumpakt. It was like an Indian version of chicken pot pie, only without any dough on the bottom, and naan being the crust on top. There were large cinnamon sticks in the concoction which was an interesting taste in such a hearty and savory dish. Not necessarily something I would need again, if I were to try this again, I'd try it in the restaurant to see how it is served when aluminum containers aren't the primary serving method.
The dragon attempted to ice skate. Nothing really happened on that front.

Two in One

Another day, feeling kind of delivery-ed out, a number of us went to Whole Foods to pick up a bite. I put together a weird mixture of things from their salad bar and determined that I didn't really like to do that.
The next day we ordered from Mugshots. I had the Capone? Turkey, ham, pesto and tomatoes with cheese maybe, grilled. It was quite good. Overpriced but a nice combination of flavors.
The dragon turned his back on me. And I cried.

Dinner c/o J. and J.

I was working a lot back in the days leading up to Christmas but I found a way to escape the office for a Sunday, or Saturday?, night of dinner and drinks with J. and J. as well as their friends F. and T...and of course S. and N. (the kids) were there as well. S. was ceratinly a sicky, but not so sick that we didn't have a little photo shoot. This time he told me what to take photographs of...for example, he wanted me to take a photograph of his hand touching the sour cream spoon.
Then he wanted me to take a series of pictures in which he jutted out his lower jaw and, not in this one, puffed out his cheeks.
Dinner was a chicken chili with any number of lovely accompaniments (pineapple, sour cream, guacamole etc).
Thanks to all for the nice change of pace from office life.

Another One Gets A Bite

What I assume was the next day brought another round of lunch to our respective desks. The office was pleased with Luigi's, and so we ordered from them again. This time I split a rugala salad and ordered a panini. The salad was as tasty as it was the last time (fresh, relatively quality, mozzarella always helps).
The panini, however, was a bit mystifying. Mainly because it was much more of a sandwich than a panini. It may be that my definition of a panini is mistaken (grilled sandwich). Though the foccacia was quite good, the dish itself was not grilled at all and had lettuce. Blurgh.
It was a little soggy as well.

Ziti and Salad c/o Work and Luigi's

Another busy day at work and we ordered lunch from Luigi's Fresca.
I split a rugala salad with my coworker L. and ordered baked ziti. The baked ziti was good, and well portioned. I believe I was able to stretch the dish into at least three additional meals.

Lunch c/o King of Tandoor

Another day we ordered Indian for lunch.
It was an army of Indian food.
I tried the lamb shaag, tender lamb with spinach and spices. I like King of Tandoor's food; it has served me and my coworkers well during long days and late nights. I have never been inside the restaurant itself, however, and I should really make it a point to support them outside of the time that my work is crazy.
The dragon used the garlic naan as a nook in which to hide.

New Years Day

I didn't really pay a lot of attention to new year's eve. On new year's day I worked a bit then went on a little walk, going down streets in my general neighborhood that I haven't seen before.

I also walked on streets that I am familiar with. If I understand correctly, this building is being torn down in order for the new Barnes Foundation space. Once, when I was walking to the library to play Scrabble, I passed a group of 20-30 well dressed, older for the most part, people in nice suits and dresses. With signs, protesting the movement of the collection. I don't really know much more than that, but it certainly was funny to see such 'high-heeled' folks with placards in their hands.

Gyro Sandwich c/o Zorba's Tavern

Another work day I ordered the gyros sandwich from Zorba's. This was my second taste of this sandwich. The first time I liked it and wondered if it was supposed to have a french fry in it. This time, it is clear, that it was indeed no stranger to a little fried potato. There was a lot of lettuce on the sandwich. I need to try other gyros to know the difference in ratios/proportions.

Can't see the forest for the dragon.
This sandwich seems like it happened a very long time ago.

Smoked Salmon Wrap c/o Mugshots

This sandwich is c/o Mugshots and was not overly impressive. My limitation is that I know good smoked salmon when I try it, but I can't quite explain it. It should have a true smoke element and not be overly 'fishy'. The smoked salmon in this wrap wasn't tripping the 'good smoked salmon' wire in my brain taste synapses, or whatever.

Thanks to my employer for buying the sandwich:)