Stranded in NYC

I am stranded in New York, with it's 11 inches of snow, but there are so much worse places to be stranded. I am, luckily, not stranded in an airport, a pirate ship, or on a desert island. I am stranded in beautiful, snowy, picturesque Manhattan.

I had planned to be here one night anyway, to catch up with my best friend from college and some others; but never expected the adventure and snowy hijinks!

The food, however, I had high-standards for.

J picked the restaurant - Public, just a short walk from my hotel (blessedly short, which the walk after dinner was NOT).

The restaurant has that whole "New York" thing going on. Trendy decor, b-list celebrities, adorable waiters and waitresses, and good food.

Last night I began with Kobe Beef TONGUE.

Yes! Tongue, my first foray in to offal. It was delicious. It was accompanied by crispy chickpeas, middle eastern spices and babaganough (actually, it was hummus, but I'll forgive them mixing them up).

J had the Tazmanian Trout Tartar with Daikkon and a raw quail egg on top. SO DIVINE!

For the Mains I had the lamb on goat-cheese polenta (pictured below), and J had the venison. His dish won for taste, though mine, with it's citrus-y saucing, was prettier. I'd never had venison before and his was AMAZING! J also ordered some brussel sprouts for us that were much tastier than the ones I had at the ball 2 weeks ago (which were my first taste of brussel sprouts ever!)


Our bottle of Mt. Difficulty nearly gone, we plowed through dessert (for me) and a spanish cheese tray (for he). SO GOOD!

Then out in to the snow to go to meet friends at Odessa but..wait..oh no! We had lingered too long over our dinners and were a full hour late, and by then the snow had chased them home! J made the best of the situation by ordering HOT CHOCOLATE and CHEESE PEROGIES for me since I had been walking about in the snow in nothing but layers of sweaters (my coats are all in Baltimore - for what do I need with Winter coats in Egypt?) and my wool pashmina, which left me looking not unlike a little old Eastern European woman in a babushka lost in the snow.

Best of all, I got to spend an entire evening with my very very good friend and today I get to do it all over again!