friday night.

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Friday night went something like this:

1. Dinner, Union Square Cafe.  Still as wonderful as the first time I ate there, some 14 years ago.  We split a plate of oysters and an heirloom tomato salad with red onion, balsamic vinegar, and goat cheese.  From there, it was a shell steak for CLD, and lamb chops for me.  All delicious, all food coma-inducing. 

2. Donny’s private reception at the James Beard House for his current exhibit of food photographs, Foodaissance.  You should all check it out!  If possible, head upstairs to the second floor bathroom — panelled mirror madness!  After checking out the photos and congratulating dear Donny, we wandered around the house, marvelling especially at (what else?) the kitchen.

3. Realizing that we’d skipped dessert at Union Square Cafe so we could make it in time to Donny’s opening, we decided to do the splurgey, extravagant, not-exactly-our-New-York sort of thing, and made our way to Gramercy Tavern, where we waited patiently for two seats at the bar to open up so that I could introduce CLD to the only dessert I’ve ever found myself craving pretty much constantly — and this, from someone who doesn’t really like sweets — the chocolate pudding with sea salt caramel, creme fraiche, and toasted brioche.  It is an extraordinary dessert, sweet and chocolatey and salty all at once.  Since we were already there, and were having that sort of great Manhattan food night, we finished everything off with a wee bit of Epoisses, unctuous and creamy and just about perfect.

Friday night rocked.
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