Whaddya think, you’re on vacation or something?

Hi lovepies! I’m so sorry for slacking on my duties yesterday, but Ari and I were having such a nice time enjoying the sunshine (and admiring Mr. Jackman) that there just wasn’t an extra minute! So, without further ado, I’ll backtrack to Saturday night.

We celebrated with a little Robert Mondavi Cabernet before heading out to dinner.

We wanted to have a nice dinner, so we headed over to Basta Pasta.  The restaurant is Japanese Italian fusion, and the best meal you’ll get for under $20 in New York. This is, honestly, some of the best pasta I’ve ever had. Every time I go there I get the same thing, but each bite is pure heaven. The pasta is handmade, and the kitchens (one for savory, one for dessert) are exposed so you can watch the magic happen (and salivate).

I ordered the handkerchief pasta with mushrooms and ricotta.

It’s light, fluffy, and even after finishing every scrap, I didn’t feel stuffed or bloated.

After dinner, we headed home so I could raid the freezer.  I found some Breyer’s Vanilla Carb Smart ice cream, which I topped with a nice hunk of peanut butter.

We were both so tired from not having slept very well the night before (and I’m sure the vino helped) that we went to bed really early and slept in late.  For some reason, when I’ve gone more than 12 hours without eating, I either get really hungry, or I feel like I don’t need to eat anything for a while.  We didn’t end up eating until 3, but I felt fine!

We got some iced coffee to kill time while we waited for our table to be ready at Alice’s Tea Cup.  This was Ari’s first time having it… he put his qualms with drinking coffee cold aside, but refused to use a straw.

We were in that weird limbo between “brunch” and “lunch,” and because I always have to get the same thing, we waited an additional 20 minutes after we sat down so that I could get my usual “Light Fare.” It’s a little pathetic that I always order the same thing here, but why mess with a good thing?

The Light Fare comes with 1/2 sandwich or salad and a bowl of soup (chickpea artichoke) and a light and fluffy hunk of herbed bread.

I ordered the warm pear and endive salad; the pears and onions are carmelized and topped with a soft, crumbly stilton.  I dream about this salad.

We went to see Wolverine (thumbs up!) then home to pick up some of my things (like my laptop) and have dinner.  We’ve been so naughty about eating out, but it’s only been two days and obviously this can’t continue forever.  I’m really craving a home-cooked meal, though… I haven’t had one in almost two weeks!

I snacked on some radishes while waiting for our delivery.

We ordered from a new local Thai restaurant: “Virgin” Summer Rolls with tofu, mint, carrots, rice noodles, lettuce, and a peanut plum dipping sauce:

We split two entrées: black pepper grilled whirmp with water chestnuts and romaine:

And three mushroom stir-fry with silken tofu.

I had it with a little brown rice (and a lot of Sriracha):

A few hours later I had a bowl of heaven: Haagen Dazs low-fat Vanilla Raspberry frozen yogurt with hot fudge and one of Anna‘s PB&C cookies.

Well, now it’s morning and I’m thinking about either going back to sleep or getting some breakfast.  Touch choice.  Have a great Memorial Day!

Whaddya think, you're on vacation or something?

Hi lovepies! I’m so sorry for slacking on my duties yesterday, but Ari and I were having such a nice time enjoying the sunshine (and admiring Mr. Jackman) that there just wasn’t an extra minute! So, without further ado, I’ll backtrack to Saturday night.

We celebrated with a little Robert Mondavi Cabernet before heading out to dinner.

We wanted to have a nice dinner, so we headed over to Basta Pasta.  The restaurant is Japanese Italian fusion, and the best meal you’ll get for under $20 in New York. This is, honestly, some of the best pasta I’ve ever had. Every time I go there I get the same thing, but each bite is pure heaven. The pasta is handmade, and the kitchens (one for savory, one for dessert) are exposed so you can watch the magic happen (and salivate).

I ordered the handkerchief pasta with mushrooms and ricotta.

It’s light, fluffy, and even after finishing every scrap, I didn’t feel stuffed or bloated.

After dinner, we headed home so I could raid the freezer.  I found some Breyer’s Vanilla Carb Smart ice cream, which I topped with a nice hunk of peanut butter.

We were both so tired from not having slept very well the night before (and I’m sure the vino helped) that we went to bed really early and slept in late.  For some reason, when I’ve gone more than 12 hours without eating, I either get really hungry, or I feel like I don’t need to eat anything for a while.  We didn’t end up eating until 3, but I felt fine!

We got some iced coffee to kill time while we waited for our table to be ready at Alice’s Tea Cup.  This was Ari’s first time having it… he put his qualms with drinking coffee cold aside, but refused to use a straw.

We were in that weird limbo between “brunch” and “lunch,” and because I always have to get the same thing, we waited an additional 20 minutes after we sat down so that I could get my usual “Light Fare.” It’s a little pathetic that I always order the same thing here, but why mess with a good thing?

The Light Fare comes with 1/2 sandwich or salad and a bowl of soup (chickpea artichoke) and a light and fluffy hunk of herbed bread.

I ordered the warm pear and endive salad; the pears and onions are carmelized and topped with a soft, crumbly stilton.  I dream about this salad.

We went to see Wolverine (thumbs up!) then home to pick up some of my things (like my laptop) and have dinner.  We’ve been so naughty about eating out, but it’s only been two days and obviously this can’t continue forever.  I’m really craving a home-cooked meal, though… I haven’t had one in almost two weeks!

I snacked on some radishes while waiting for our delivery.

We ordered from a new local Thai restaurant: “Virgin” Summer Rolls with tofu, mint, carrots, rice noodles, lettuce, and a peanut plum dipping sauce:

We split two entrées: black pepper grilled whirmp with water chestnuts and romaine:

And three mushroom stir-fry with silken tofu.

I had it with a little brown rice (and a lot of Sriracha):

A few hours later I had a bowl of heaven: Haagen Dazs low-fat Vanilla Raspberry frozen yogurt with hot fudge and one of Anna‘s PB&C cookies.

Well, now it’s morning and I’m thinking about either going back to sleep or getting some breakfast.  Touch choice.  Have a great Memorial Day!