Photographically Challenged Eating

I have very few photos to share, because I keep forgetting I have a blog!  Unless I'm cooking, I often forget my camera.  But I can't let two amazing meals from this past weekend go unmentioned.  That would just be wrong.

Friday night: Moustache Pitza.  Katie and I went on an adventure to the West Village on a very, very cold night to check out this restaurant and then to go to a friend's birthday party in the neighborhood.  Let me just say that we had a legume FEAST, which expanded in my stomach later and rendered me incapable of finishing even a single beer.  A Blue Moon, at that.  Pathetic.  Anyway, dinner was worth it.  Amazing.  Check out the menu -- we ordered hummus, a spinach and chickpea salad, the chicken kebab plate (with the most incredible lentil puree), and a seafood pitza.  Sound like way too much food for 2 people?  It probably was.  I kid you not, my coworker asked, "So were you there with a big group?  Like 10 people?"  Er, yeah... But we had no problem polishing off every last morsel.  SO GOOD.  I think my favorites were the  spinach and chickpea salad (ah, memories of Espana) and the pitza, plus the lentil puree!

Saturday night: Foodie event at Buttermilk Channel!  

[photos from www.buttermilkchannelnyc.com]

Alex and I have a laundry list of foodie restaurants to visit, so we've started trying to do one every weekend.  I loved everything about Buttermilk Channel from the space to the decor to the popovers.  It was such a lovely dining experience.  Maybe I could live without the wait and the sketchy subway station.  They focus on fresh and seasonal ingredients, which always makes me happy.  Alex, Joanna, Katie, and I all ordered different things, which is so rare for us!  We shared baby turnips and brussels sprouts with mustard and bacon as an appetizer (with popovers! drool!), and I had a perfect Kelso Honey Nut Brown beer.  I love sweet dark beers.  For my entree, I had the duck meatloaf, which is just totally out of character.  But I've gotten into the habit of asking for waiter/waitress recommendations, especially if a restaurant is well known for a certain dish.  This was a much appreciated recommendation.  The jus (Joanna's word of the night) was outrageous.  My friends ordered the scallops (my runner up), the lamb salad, and a soup/salad combo.  We're good sharers, so I had a bite of everything. Delicious!  We decided to go nuts and ordered dessert too!  Bread pudding, pecan pie sundae (GAH!), and 4 spoons.  And not a drop left behind.  Alex, do you have my duck photo?  [As a side note, I adore ducks.  Not sure why, but they're just the best animal.  I felt a little sad eating one.  But not that sad.]

Two of the things we ordered were featured in the website gallery!  My duck on the left (except replace the green stuff with parsnip puree and a darker jus), and the pecan pie sundae on the right.

  

After dinner we waddled back to my apt, where my roommate was having people over for a holiday party. We continued to eat (oops), although in our defense we only attacked the fresh fruit.  Sooo, I ate a lot this weekend.  It was amazing.

Sunday I continued the foodfest at my parents' house, where we celebrated Chanukah with brisket and latkes!  Brisket is not a photogenic dish, but here is my dad manning the latke pan.

Blackberry photo.  Blech.  But awesome latkes!  These were classics: potato, onion, matzo meal, and a horrifying amount of canola oil.  Mmmm tastes like Chanukah.

This weekend may include a visit to  Locanda Verde as the foodie adventure of the week.  CANNOT WAIT!  It's Robert DeNiro's newest and Alex and I are pumped.  Hopefully it will fit into the plans!