Back from the big apple

I'm back and just about caught up on my sleep. I subsisted on about 5 hours per night whilst in the US, no, not due to excessive partying (though there were a few late night chats) but mainly due to pesky jet lag. How frustrating to wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to nod off again. Still, I managed to keep it together until I got back to France and have had a couple of great nights sleep and a morning nap or two (on my days off!) since I have been back.

So by hook or by crook I managed to keep to my challenge 95% of the time. Breakfast at the hotel was a tad tricky. After all, I wanted to keep wheat & dairy free but also to eat well and healthily! Fresh fruit and eggs saw me through. We either had a very late lunch, of a shared salad and later dinner, or an afternoon snack of nuts & apricots and an early dinner, which worked well.

The new thing it seems to me in NYC is the 'small plate' and this made it really easy for us to eat well and healthily. Firstly any bread was sent away from temptation. Smart move - that pita bread at Pylos smelt heavenly. I didn't even get to see it, the warm inviting cushion wrapped in a napkin was despatched before our resolve was tested! Likewise, the toasted pain de campagne accompanying the heavenly brandade de morue and chicken liver pate at Il Gottino was (largely) ignored. They didn't seem to think we were too crazy!

So at Pylos we ate:
Greek almond & lemon soup, aubergine appetizer, hummus, octopus (2 ways grilled & braised). A great atmosphere and a super waitress. Phenomenal food.

At Il Gottino:
Brandade de morue (plus half a piece of toast), chicken liver pate, marinaded fresh anchovies, brussel sprout & walnut & pecorino salad (1% of my lapse!), braised beets with horseradish, endive wrapped in prosciutto. All fabulous, a lovely place.

At Crispo:
Stuffed baby peppers, err...2 other appetisers that escape me right now.
2 shared salads: Bresaolo with artichokes & pecorino, Parma ham with fennel & parmesan (another 2% of my lapse). Half a biscotti. Lovely setting, but slightly offputting server and much more noisy than the other 2 places. However all the food around us looked and smelled very good. Some lovely private areas for groups and the garden space (but undercover) was magical for a party.

At Lumi:
Asparagus, orange & mache salad (delicious & pretty) and chicken livers with broccoli rabe sautéed with garlic. Perfect for our last meal.

So I'm back with a case of new clothes, having had a girlfriend makeover, new makeup thanks to the nice Macy's girl, and I weigh 1 kg less to boot. We walked a LOT! We also went to Gospel Easter service, took a trip to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and saw the Frick Collection. We had an evening of improv comedy and a visit to Zinc Bar to hear some jazz whilst sipping a cocktail.

I'd call that a great success, no?!