My wife and I spent last night in New York City. We dropped our girl off at my parent’s house and made the hour and a half drive up to the Big Apple. We were in town for a performance of Jack Goes Boating, a new play starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman (my favorite actor) and dinner. We arrived in Lower Manhattan through the Holland Tunnel rather early, with the intention of wandering around the streets of New York – easily one of my most enjoyable pastimes. My wife, being very pregnant right now (she is in her 32nd week), was not able to stroll as aimlessly as she would have liked so we used the subway a bit to cut down on the number of blocks we needed to traverse between the Public Theater and our dining destination, a wonderful place called The Harrison in Tribeca. We stopped off at Other Music, one of the most legendary independent record stores in the country and a place I, for some reason, had never visited before yesterday, and bought a few records. We also had time to stop off at a nail salon allowing my wife to relax (and get warm – it was about 40 degrees in NYC on Friday) and have a manicure while I flipped through the Village Voice.
At The Harrison, I ate what may have been the most complete, imaginative and healthy meal I have had in months. I started with a pork belly enchilada, a small yet tasty dish that was light and delicious. My main course was the special of the night, a pan roasted (the best way to cook fish) filet of Pollack over top roasted Savoy cabbage with Serrano ham and a celery root puree. I added a side of potato puree to complete one of the finest two course meals ever to enter my belly. We both turned down dessert (even though there were some amazing-sounding dishes on that menu!) because we did not want to ruin that satisfied-yet-not-bloated feeling that we both felt after our dinners.
We have never been the type of folks to visit chain restaurants or to take the easy way out when ordering food, but even with that said, it had been a very long time since we sat down at a place that serves challenging dishes with unique and diverse preparations. It was a lovely time with my wife, enjoying great food, great service, and a great play in the greatest city on Earth.
I swear that I would be fit and trim if we were able to live in Manhattan. I love to walk big cities and there is no bigger or better for strolling around that New York. The city is my dream retirement spot, hopefully the Powerball numbers line up for me at some point!
Before this fine meal, I feel like I have been eating nothing but ham and eggs. We had our big family Easter dinner and egg hunt last weekend since some of my close relatives will be vacationing starting tomorrow. We had the classic Ham with a side of hard-boiled eggs and were sent home with leftovers, ham and egg salad for sandwiches. I think I can go about two months without eating another piece of ham!
Happy Easter everyone!
Until Tuesday…
Enjoy the rest of your Holiday weekend!
Dad’s Losing It articles are published every Saturday and Tuesday. Follow Jeff’s journey during the rest of the week in the Dad’s Losing It Forum. In the Forum, Jeff discusses his individual workout routines and soundtracks, among other tidbits and musings from the week.
Jeff is a Family Fun blogger. Read more of his posts here.