Sensory overload

Sometimes I need to get away from it all to recharge. Nowhere quiet for me though. I need lots of stuff. Too much almost.

Friday I arrived into New York a wee bit jetlagged. (I have great difficulty sleeping on planes. Well, only if I'm sitting in coach.) I decided that the answer, after checking into the hotel, was lunch and a nap. (Oh, and sorry there aren't really any food photos so the descriptions will have to do.) Lunch was at the hotel restaurant -- lobster bisque with creme fraiche and tarragon oil, and an omelet with Yukon gold potatoes, mushrooms and goat cheese.


After my nap, it was off to MOMA. And what a pleasant surprise. From 4-8 on Fridays is Target Fridays. That's right. The folks of one of my favorite stores sponsor a free night at the museum. I loved the museum and know that I will have to go there many more times in my life.

On the walk back to the hotel, I started reading restaurant menus. After deciding which one sounded the most appealing, I headed in and asked if they had a table. (It was around 8:00 pm on a Friday evening.) I was told, "Of course," and the coat check person asked if she could take my coat. After being seated, I was presented with a tray of crostini with an olive tapenade and some sort of eggplant dip. There was also some sort of amuse bouche with goat cheese. My appetizer was a salad of peekytoe crab. The crabmeat was mounded in a round topped with a thin layer of pureed avocado and some frisee. This all rested in some sort of grapefruit sauce surrounded by grapefruit segments and avocado chunks. My entree was the crispy duck confit on a bed a mushrooms and broccoli rabe. And finally for dessert I had a lemon tart with a poppy seed crust and pomegranate sorbet.

During the course of the meal, I began chatting with the couple seated next to me. The wife seemed surprised that I had just happened upon the place. "You know this is one of the top five chefs in New York?" Huh. Yep. Count on me to pull off a maneuver like this. Oh, and the restaurant was db bistro moderne. If I lived in New York, I would go there often.

Saturday I met up with David Dust, Mistress Maddie and the Boy Toy to head to the Metropolitan. But Mistress Maddie had a little suprise for me.

Sand tarts! And yes, some actually made it home with me.


Loads of fun at the museum. Then we had to head in so that David could rest. He had some sort of plague or pox or something.


Saturday evening started off at David's for cocktails and Chinese delivery. After exiting the cab, I had some random carriage driver yelling at me as I crossed the street in front of him. "Hey gorgeous! Gorgeous! You want a ride?" It was so tempting I almost had to ditch David et al.

David will tell you that after the food and drinks that we headed off to a club. I'll believe it when I see photographic proof of such. I was thoroughly impressed on Sunday morning that I had put my clothes neatly away on Saturday night though. I was equally surprised that I had left my phone at David's. I never do that.

By 11 (I awoke at 8), I decided that they had to be starting to get up so I headed back to David's so that we could all head to brunch at his restaurant. Where we had hair of the dog in the form of mimosas. Served by a guy who looked like Grant Show's character in "Swingtown."

Then it was back to the hotel for a quick power nap before heading off to meet up with Lisa B and HFCG at Les Halles for dinner. Just the kind of mellowness I needed to prepare for my return home. Even if the place was packed.

So after 15 hours of traveling -- running a fever and with a sinus headache -- I am back home. And I'm feeling much better today. Nothing like the combination of Drixoral, moutrin and hot & sour soup. Sometime in the night my 102 fever broke and my temperature is normal once more.

And I'm completely recharged. Especially after finding a couple of "surprises" in my mailbox. And I'm also trying to figure out when my next trip to New York will be. I hear rumors there just might be a Dust Bunny convention...

Note: Yes, I am reposting. Because I totally screwed up Lisa's URL. I thought I was better but I'm really not. But I do have a doctor's appointment for tomorrow.