Caro(lyn)line in the City.

Ever see that show?  During it's mid-90s run, I acquired the show title as an unfortunate nickname.  What is with kids and their obsession with nicknames?  Anyway...

We spent this past weekend in one of my favorite places... NYC!

We left bright and early Saturday morning and headed straight into Manhattan for brunch at Ai Fiori in the brand new Setai hotel.  One word.  AMAZING.

Clockwise from top left:

Oysters for the husband.  I don't do oysters, aphrodisiac or not ;)

Olive oil cake

Sweet polenta with marcona almonds and currants.  Delicious.

Ricotta and marscapone tortelli with a red wine glaze.  Again, delish.

View of the contemporary dining room overlooking 5th Ave.
Veal angolotti.  Incredible.

Unpictured:  A bottle of  rose champagne

And because I'm a giant dork (and I had 2 glasses of bubbles and a glass of Riesling in my system) I took a picture in the bathroom.  ha.  It had mirrors on opposite walls, so you know, when you look in one, you see a thousand.  It amused me ;)

After brunch, we did a little shopping and met up with friends for a drink at a funky little hole-in-the-wall Irish pub, complete with stereotypical Irish-New Yorker bartender.

Three vodka and sodas later we headed back to the hotel to clean up for dinner.  Our 8:00 reservations at Aureole turned into an 8:15 since someone just had to curl her hair.  Ahem.

This dinner with husband's two best friends and their girlfriends was one of the more memorable I've had.  The food was truly amazing.  It was all so delicate and flavorful. 

Sorry for the shitty pictures... it was dark and we didn't want to use the flash.

Clockwise from top left:

Hamachi with mint, cilantro, red onion and guava.  So light and yummy.

Ruby Red Shrimp w/ curry meringue, kaffir lime and coconut jus.

Husband's entree:  Dry aged rib eye with ricotta cannelloni and red wine jus.

Cannoli Sundae

Dark Chocolate Torte

My entree:  Alaskan black cod w/ creamed spinach and brown butter.  Melt in your mouth, creamy good.

Unpictured:  Two bottles each of champagne, gruner and syrah.  We don't like to drink at all.

The waitstaff took such great care of us... three courses, dessert and the first bottle of bubbles were sent out on the house.  Helps that husband is friends with the GM :)

Before leaving, we got a tour of the kitchen and got to meet the very talented chef.

After dinner we headed to the bar at the Gansevoort.  Not my scene.  Way too crowded and loud... I can't hang like I used to.  So sad.

After one pathetic drink at the Gansevoort, we headed across the street to someplace a little more my speed.  A place where we could actually sit at the bar and have a conversation:  Primehouse.  I don't think I had a single drink there though... it was after midnight at this point and if you've been following this post, you'll recall that I've been drinking basically all day. 

 

Couldn't leave without a cute picture!

After stopping our taxi a block and a half away from our hotel to grab a late night slice of cheese pizza (4th meal!), we ended the night in our shoebox-sized room around 1:30.

Sunday was a wine and restaurant trade show at the Javits Center.  Too bad we were far too hungover to really enjoy it.  We ended up cutting the day short and heading back to Albany early.  The ride home wasn't complete without a pit-stop at Woodbury Commons though!  Saks and Kenneth Cole missed me :)

So.  Long weekend full of good food, drink, friends and fun.  Now it's Monday evening and I'm still recovering.  I can go to bed at 7:30 tonight, right? ;)