Girl About Town

Evening! Please excuse the tardiness of this post… our internet’s been a little shaky today and I’ve had terrible trouble getting my photos uploaded. In any event, I hope your weekend is going swimmingly! Mine is off to a great start so far, but for the next few minutes or so, I’ll have to live a day in the past!

Yesterday morning I woke up, made a quick breakfast, and took it back to bed to watch Grey’s Anatomy. Breakfast in bed is one of my favorite things, and why shouldn’t a person start a workday doing something enjoyable? If 20 minutes is all the luxury I have time for, I’ll take the 20 minutes! What’s your breakfast routine like?

I was in the mood for a variety of textures, so I made a yogurt mess.

In the mix:

• 0% Fage Greek yogurt
• 1 banana
• Trader Joe’s mini blueberry bran muffin
• flaxy peanut butter
• stevia

In the middle of the middle of a fast-paced morning, I found a spare moment to unwrap and devour a vegan energy bar.

The lunch I packed had several components.

• Coconut Tempeh Curry
• Salad with kale, spinach, soaked goji berries, celery, carrots, grape tomatoes
• sliced cucumber, salted
• clementines

Danielle and I were both members of the Tupperware Club!  And I was very happy to see that our office refrigerator was stocked with club soda… I rarely buy it, because I can’t stand paying for water.

As soon as the clock struck 5, I raced across town (trying to be ever-so-graceful while schlepping my computer, lunch bag, and plastic tote filled with various sundries… even on my lightest days, I have at least two awkward bags!) to meet my friend Howard for a pre-ballet dinner at Arpeggio Food and Wine, a lovely restaurant on the ground floor of Avery Fisher Hall. We sat right next to the window and looked out at the new renovations around Lincoln Center.

Almost immediately after being seated, we were brought rolls and butter. I had a small bite, but my appetite was still absent due to a late lunch, and I wanted to save room for the main event.

We sipped glasses of Albariño, I white wine I’ve enjoyed ever since I worked in a restaurant where it was the house varietal.

We ordered the prix fixe, which came with appetizer, salad and dessert. I started with the Arpeggio salad: mixed greens, pears, dried cherries and blue cheese.

We both ordered the Ocean Trout with truffle roasted cauliflower and black lentils. What came out was actually salmon (with no explanation for the change offered) and the cauliflower didn’t have any particular “truffle” taste to me, but it was still very good. We were in a rush, so I only had time to eat half.

For dessert, I ordered the pear and lemon sorbet duo. The pear was delicious! I’m such a chocoholic that I often forget how much I enjoy fruity desserts. This was quite light and fluffy, but I only ate about 2/3 as I knew there were more treats to come.

Howard ordered the bread pudding. I had a bite… it was good, but not quite my style. I felt the butter ooze out as soon as I bit into it!

We saw three ballets: the first was Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht (the New York City Ballet is famous for its Balanchine program), Peter Martins’ Naïve and Sentimental Music, and Alexey Miroshnichenko’s The Lady with the Little Dog (inspired by the Chekhov story). It’s been years since I’ve been to the ballet; it’s a truly magical experience.

Our tickets granted us entry to a special reception and talk-back with two of the dancers. It was really interesting to hear about their “real” lives! Not many dancers make it to the principal level, simply because of injury. Like many sports, ballet is very hard on the body. At the reception, I had another glass of white wine as well as a brownie bite and chocolate-marzipan petit four.

There may have been a few clementines consumed when I got home… what will I do when these guys are out of season?!

Hope to see you later with full-powered internet! Have a great night