Saturday, December 5, 2009

Food for Thought

Oh, we have eaten well here in New York. We have had pastrami at Katz's Delicatessen, one of the places that celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain listed among the "13 Places to Eat Before You Die" in a magazine article earlier this year. I will spread out the remaining 12 rather than face a retirement with no further goals.

Katz's is an odd place. There are guys at the door handing you tickets as you walk in and telling you not to lose them or you'll end up paying $50. But when you see how many people there are and how crazy the place is, it makes sense.

This is the restaurant where Meg Ryan did her fake orgasm noises in the movie "When Harry Met Sally". That's the scene where Rob Reiner's mother in the background tells the waiter, "I'll have what she's having." In fact, we chowed down one table away from Meg Ryan's table in that scene. We knew because there's a big sign over the table telling everyone. I suspect the staff just got tired of having to tell everyone who asked about it.

As for the critical issue, the pastrami was excellent, but I suspect Bourdain is about the only person in the world who could not find another place to be in his 13 places all for the sake of a pastrami sandwich.

Along the way, we also ate at a great Cuban restaurant, an Irish pub, and a generic cafe in the neighborhood here.

Yesterday we returned to the cafe, the Pink Pony, for brunch. I had a sandwich and LK celebrated a return to her childhood by having hot chocolate and french toast with fresh fruit. Everything looked pretty good, but I noticed she left a bit of the fruit. I understood.

Last night we had a wonderful evening catching up with old friends Kevin and Pamela, whom we haven't seen in a couple of years. We went to Telepan, a trendy restaurant about halfway up the west side of Central Park.

We all did the four-course fixed price menu. The price was a real bargain, and even though our waiter told us the portions were smaller, none of us could have eaten another bite by the end. I had foie gras, scallops, sea trout and a cheese plate. Oh yes, and some very nice chardonnay. Yummy.

Having feasted and shopped and walked and done a museum and Broadway show, we've squeezed heaps into our New York holiday. We're now packed and ready to check out on our way back to Walt and Terry's in New Jersey. Apparently, we left an ounce or two of vodka and scotch when we visited last August.

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