fine dining, pt. II

Tuesday was the day of Katy's dinner party. We decided the theme should obviously be "Mardi Gracias" because we knew we wanted a burrito bar and margaritas. Trader Joe's has finally made it to the East Coast so Corey, Katy and I left the warm cocoon of her apartment for Union Square. Our shopping plan: get everything we could at TJ's and any lingering list item would be picked up at Whole Foods. On our way to the grocery store, we stopped for a light lunch at an old haunt, Zen Palate. This place is perfect for health foodies and suited our needs perfectly; our soy-laden lunches would give us the energy we so desperately needed to survive Trader Joe's.

We hit up the store around 1:00 pm on a random Tuesday afternoon. In any other city in the country, we would've been met with a near-empty store all to ourselves. Not so much in New York. We gathered our groceries and found the end of the line which was unnervingly close to the entrance of the store. We stood in line to check-out for an hour. During this time, I got a massive migraine headache that took hold of me and would not let go. After a frantic trip to Whole Foods, we hopped in a cab and rushed me home. Thankfully, the headache was bad but the recovery short and I woke up in time to have a cup of coffee before starting on our burrito feast.

Baker came over for the cooking portion and helped us make some killer (in flavor and tequila content) margaritas. Before we knew it, the guests had gathered and the fun had started. It was a great night due to Katy's masterful skills as a hostess.

Wednesday:

We began the day with bagels delivered from the nearby deli and strong Top Pot coffee (a Seattle import). After filling our bellies, the three of us headed to Chelsea to see Baker's show. I was so proud of my dear friend for creating these large, colorful, vibrant paintings and getting a gallery in Chelsea to take note. What did we do to celebrate? We got Corey his first piece of NYC pizza. I daresay it lived up to expectations. The sauce had some zest to it, the cheese pulled a mile high, the crust left the bottom of the slice with a little crunch to it. Corey was in heaven and Katy and I's stomach's growling in anticipation for our own lunch.

We traveled uptown to French Roast on the Upper West Side. Katy and I dined on salads and frites while Corey left our waitress convinced he had a alcohol problem because he insisted on "drinking his lunch." Of course, we knew the truth: he was still basking in the glow of his pizza. We walked our lunch off while traveling through Central Park to meet Baker at the Met.

After strolling through some key exhibits, it was obviously time for our afternoon cup of coffee. Katy took us to Le Pain Quotidien, a place that she also took me to in Paris. We all ordered espresso drinks and a sweet treat. Katy got an airy meringue, I ordered a multi-grain blueberry muffin, Corey an apple turnover and Baker indulged himself with an artful creme-filled donut.

The four of us wandered down from the Upper East Side all the way to Katy's apartment. After a very proper cup of Early Grey tea, we bid farewell to Baker and ordered a whole lot of Chinese delivery. It was an amazing thing to have food brought to our door, a luxury I had totally forgotten about. The three of us were exhausted and content, watching a new episode of Lost and letting the busy day roll of our backs.