Summer Bounty

I strongly encourage all of you to go to a burlesque show if you haven't done so already, whether you're on a date or not.  Not only were we treated to tunes from the New Orleans Jazz Vipers, but we got to see some fabulous ladies parading their goods with a healthy dose of flair, glitter, pasties, creativity, and laughs.  I'd have to say my favorite was Nasty Canasta, if only for costume creativity -- she did her routine to Harry Belafonte's Day-O, and let's just say that bananas and tarantulas were represented.

After burlesque it was on to Tapeo 29, which I'd like to hit again -- we were so late that we were only to enjoy their late-night menu, which consisted of nuts, cheese, chorizo, and olives.  "We'll take it all."  Finally, we topped of the evening with a pit stop at Winnie's for a karaoke fix (because, really, isn't everything better with a little karaoke?).  On our walk there we passed the Wing Kei Noodle Company, where they were hard at work after midnight on a Friday, making noodles.  It simply radiated whiteness out onto the street.

Saturday was spent shopping for the evening's dinner party.  For some reason, it is literally impossible for me to stick to a shopping list when I hit the farmer's market or Whole Foods.  So I've got the few ingredients I need to make the main course (fresh pasta, yellow and red tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, garlic), but so many other things catch my eye and make it back home with me.  Blueberries, corn, an out-of-this-world lemon artichoke pesto, tomatillos, cilantro, jalapeno.  Sigh.  We had an absolutely amazing dinner party, with Vivian supplying antipasti treats from DiPalo's, Melissa bringing a salad complete with peppery arugula, hearts of palm, artichokes, pine nuts, and  sungold cherry tomatoes (I had bought some of those, too), Jenn rounded out the meal with fresh berries and homemade whipped cream.  Jenn and Melissa also took care of the wine, which was the educational component of the evening.  It was old world vs. new world wines -- we did two blind tastings of the same grape, one old world (Europe) and one new world (everywhere else) and decided which one we preferred in each pair.  The new world won both the whites and the reds, but we drank the losers anyway (god forbid anyone should feel bad about losing).

Sunday night Matt helped me eat the leftovers (I still have some, mind you, but that'll be dinner on Tuesday night).  It's always good to know you have friends around to help you out in these situations.

Comments

[Beth]

Day-O ...

Bet it's still hard to beat the Muppets' version, done with Harry himself and the world's biggest fake banana. I like to watch it with the girls, even though they insist on pronouncing tally man "Taliban," which really changes the whole spirit of the song.

[john]

Had to check who hugh was lusting over and found you - if you like burlesque shows try the low key sshow at the Riffifi bar east 11th street on thursdays.