Remember in my last post how I was all, "Important moments blah blah blah, and memories blah blah, hold tight to blah"? Yeah... well, it's not like we didn't already know this, but it turns out most of those important moments and memories are going to revolve around my favorite four letter word... which starts with an 'F'...
FOOD.
I should be hanging my head in shame because my last month in Manhattan will not revolve around frequent trips to Central Park or The Met or... I don't know... Broadway shows (although, I probably should try to fit a few of those in). But I'm not (hanging my head in shame, that is), because I have accepted myself for who I am. Eating and discovering new foods will always be my favorite activity, there's just no two ways about it. But! I don't feel guilty about spending my time researching the best restaurants, or seeking out the most decadent desserts in every city I visit (or, um, live) because food is a big part of every culture. Towns and countries are often known for their unique specialities. And you know what? I am going to stop justifying myself right here and now because guess what? The Travel Channel has FIVE SIX shows devoted to food (if you count Three Sheets, which is devoted to the alcoholics among us... and since alcohol is something we consume, heck, I'm counting it!), so I'm totally not in the minority.
Moving on...
Tuesday I discovered a new place in the city called Eataly. Like Italy, but Eataly... get it? OMG, my peeps. HEAVEN. I won't go into the details because you can just read the NY Post article if you are interested (which, you should be), but I will say that it is an amazing experience and I intend to return several times before I leave NYC.
Behold, the most divine gelato I have ever had in this great city (and let me tell you, there's some good stuff out there):
I had to get a medium because I couldn't try just one flavor, are you kidding me? I went with pistachio and hazelnut and that was not a mistake. I can't stop thinking about it. The quality of this gelato is right up there with the gelato I had in Bolgna Italy (WAY better than the gelato in Florence or Rome) and if there was one thing that would make me not want to leave the city, this would be it. (OK, that might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but... you get my drift.) I also brought home some awesome tomato pesto sauce and a loaf of rustic bread with prosciutto and provolone. I'm just gonna tell you right now- Shawn and I ate an entire loaf of bread... in one night.
So that was Tuesday.
Yesterday we went to this place called Ninas' Argentinian Pizza. I wanted to go there because they have something called Lucky Gnocchi and it is served only on the 29th of every month. My line of thinking is- if something is only served once a month, it must be good! I have been wanting to try the Lucky Gnocchi for some time and since yesterday was my last 29th of any month here for a while, I made it a priority. We went to the restaurant with Shawn and his cousin, Evelyn.
Evelyn and I both ordered the gnocchi, which was served in a bowl on top of a plate and I was all, "Ooooh, fancy schmancy," not knowing that there was a very specific reason for this.
The gnocchi was great and I was eating the shiznat out of my serving when all of a sudden Evelyn points to my bowl and says, "Hey! There's a dollar under your bowl!" And lo and behold- there was!!! And then we found a dollar under Evelyn's plate too!
PEOPLE. I was bowled over!!! (And yes! I am going to use that phrase!) I could not get over it. Free money?! With my food?! (I mean, I know. Technically that dollar was included in the price of my meal, but I don't like to get technical.) What a treat! I love surprises! Turns out the dollar is a gift to the patron to ensure their prosperity! (I'm keeping mine, we are gonna need that prosperity in California!) And the whole Lucky Gnocchi on the 29th thing is an Argentinian tradition. And here I thought it was called Lucky Gnocchi because you could only get it once a month! I don't know which I was more excited about- the one dollar bill or the one night a month gnocchi.
It's the simple things that make life worth living.
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