beXnlog

Surprises

1) 99% of real estate agents are bad people. Open houses suck.

2) O took me and be to lunch today - he's completely right - the "crispy nuggets" at Vegetarian Palate (off Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn) are better than the "crispy soul chicken" at VP2 (on 4th St in the West Village)! Vegetarian Palate is a similar kind of place, serving a lot of Chinese and American fake meat dishes, but overall the food is better. The crispy nuggets used the same kind of fake chicken but the breading isn't as hard and is less oily. The serving is more generous, too. We also ordered tangerine beef and Peking duck; both dishes were yummy! I would definitely go back to try more things.

3) Knitting shops are very crowded in wintertime!

4) I should sit in cafes and drink espresso more often.

5) I was very gullible and fell for an extensive birthday surprise dinner trick! P organized a dinner at Otto; it was so nice to eat with P, A$, Ishle, Doey, Anjali and be. P was telling me about her recent meal there and it sounded so good. I'm really glad we had a chance to eat there, although it had nothing to do with it being Mario Batali's place (i don't hate him, but i'm not a fan).

You're first served crusty sourdough bread and thin crisp breadsticks. We started with a side of marinated beets and some broccoli with pecorino cheese, which were refreshing and tasty. The whole table ordered different pasta dishes and everyone seemed to enjoy their selections a lot. be loved his Pasta alla Norma Tomato (Roasted Eggplant, Basil, Bufala Ricotta) and my Linguine con Rapini Pesto (Broccoli Rabe, Pine Nuts, Garlic) was hearty and good. They really do cook the pasta "al dente," which at first i thought was too hard but then got to enjoy the more i ate.

The curiously delicious finale to the evening was to be found in the olive oil gelato! be and i shared an order of Olive Oil Coppetta (Olive Oil Gelato, Blood Orange & Pomegranate, Capezzana Olive Oil & Maldon Salt), which arrived in a martini glass with two little spoons. The olive oil gelato was so smooth and rich, savory and sweet. The crushed sea salt sprinkled on top really accentuated the tangy oranges. I didn't think i'd like this dessert so much, but it really was delicious! Thanks dudes, for such a nice surprise and the food-related gifts!

posted by beXn @ 10:44 PM