Sweet, sweet freedom.

Nah.

It was fun, the whole thing. I got worn out, but I’m glad the German came for a visit. Ten days is long to be a host/guide. Next time, for whoever that might be, I’ll convince them to do a couple days in DC or Philly in the middle so I can get a break. Also, more care needed to clear co-guests. Skinny Italy basically wrecked the second half of this visit, unfortunately.

Yesterday I worked all day and met the German and Skinny Italy for dinner around 6p.

“Ver do you want to go? I vill treat you for zee final dinna!”

Easy choice for me: Giant Burritos.

I have a favorite place, practically literally a hole in the wall (I swear to your god it actually has holes in the wall) that serves burritos so big they last two days and are exquisitely delicious. The chicken they prepare is crispy yet juicy, and the full combo of sauce and bread is in perfect proportion. Best $9 you’ll ever spend, guaranteed. I’ve yet hear a single person say otherwise, and I’m batting 1000% on this one so far.

I invited another coworker to join to relieve some of the difficulty of navigating Skinny Italy’s accidental fantastically annoying ongoing commentary. And it worked! They chatted so I could mostly debrief with the German about her trip and her impressions of NYC and had a great time doing so.

We ate, the girls finishing about 1/3 of their food footballs and me finishing all of mine, and then we walked over for digestion coffees on Bway and then over to Riverside Drive for a stroll. No lightening bugs yet, but all the other ingredients of a good last evening in NYC were there for my guests. The air was warm but not sticky, the breeze was steady and refreshing, the moon was nearly full. A few people were out and as it got dark, it got increasingly lovely. We walked slowly and then sat up on the wall along Riverside Park and talked about NYC and what it’s like.

Eventually we walked back to campus and I went back to work while they headed home (it was about 10p) and it was then that I said my goodbyes to them both because today I’m at work and tonight I have a thing, possibly a date.

Date?

I’m not sure. I was invited to go to David Burke Kitchen by a girl I’ve chatted with a few times. We talked about food and this was insisted upon and now we’re going to see if she knows what she’s talking about. I have my doubts, but I’m game.

I’m not a foodie and I hope it’s not too expensive because it’ll really be wasted on me. Here’s the scoop on me: I like coffee and raw almonds, pancakes and oatmeal, scrambled eggs and toast with jam, and pizza is my favorite food overall. Hamburgers are a close second. I like guacamole and sushi and yakitori and other BBQ and I like adding chocolate nibs to things. Most other things are below these favorites, and usually much more expensive.

For instance, a reporter friend of mine from China took me to the “best French restaurant in NYC”, a place called Bouley over in TriBeCa. The inside was extremely decorative, almost like the set of a play. People were all clinky and shimmery and I could see why I was asked to dress nicely. It was as you’d imagine, you know, almost cartoonish.

The food was good. It was fine. But was that little plate of shrimpy, vegetabley, saucey, crispy slushy stuff truly worth twelve large pizzas? Not in this or any other universe. Maybe it would taste great on TOP of a pizza…

If people have to be trained appreciate the genius of Bouley, or any other “gourmet”, then it should be avoided. It’s a farce, another thing weak people can use to pretend they matter more. Not that senses shouldn’t be trained– they should be! But not on something so inconsequential, for fuck’s sake. It’s food. Berries and breadcrumbs being ground into mushy saliva paste and into your poop shoot. Most other art is different. But even the most superiorly decorative and “geniously” combined dishes don’t make you think new things, gain perspective, or generate new ideas. Food doesn’t shake your certainties about life and purpose and leave you scrambling to figure something out. Food is nutrition. Some is delicious, some sucks, and our taste senses are easily tricked by a few simple chemicals. So eat what you like, and appreciate things that taste good to you, but don’t get carried away. A perfect apple pie you make at home is no less delicious than the $45 cherrie flame bleu chantra la la la at that place from the TV show. Trust your senses, not your egos and beliefs. Chances are you’ve been duped. You can beat that crap out of your life. Experts fail double blind wine tastings where the $20/bottle beats the $180/bottle all the time. It’s basically at chance levels most of the time. Put Bouley corn up against Cafe Habana corn in a double blind and see who wins.

So David Burke Kitchen tonight. Date or not, I’ll take pictures.

My interesting story from yesterday requires more thought. It’s tricky.

Movie and story to come.