Oh My Polenta

With only 3 days left to take advantage of Brooklyn Dine-In week, my boyfriend and I hopped to it.  Last night we 3-course-mealed it at one of Park Slope’s darlings, Tempo, a restaurant & wine bar on 5th avenue.  Now, polenta’s not usually my go-to in the appetizers department (I’m more of a beet & goat cheese salad girl, or anything with egg and cheese.  Mmm, cheese) but I happened to read Chowhound’s Top 5 Best Dishes at Brooklyn Restaurants last week, and Tempo’s polenta was on several people’s lists.  I respect Top 5 lists, and this time was no exception.  My boyfriend ordered the Tuscan farro salad.  It was respectable.  Yummy, fresh.  Respectable.  Nothing wrong with being a respectable dish, but if you were a dish, wouldn’t you rather be polenta with wild mushroom ragu and fontina cheese?

Those lost boys always get me

Usually, when I have a Sunday night to myself, free of rehearsal or work, I cherish it.  This usually involves a couch, a sweet treat, and a netflix.  However, last night, despite all Sunday odds, some friends and I ventured out to…Bushwick!  With cookies in hand and a couple magazines in my purse (you just never know how long the subways will take.  As a precaution, I carry at least 1 snack and 3 hours worth of reading material with me at all times) we landed at the Bushwick Starr to see The Centrifuge‘s production of The Forgetting of Things, an interpretation of the Peter Pan story.  My boyfriend played a lost boy, Captain Hook, and Smee.  Made us very proud.  It’s always a funny thing to watch someone on stage who you know so intimately.  Like, by being in the audience, you’re all of a sudden not any closer to that person than anyone else watching the show.  But more on that another time.

One of my favorite elements of the play was the sound design.  In some of the darker and more twisted moments of the show, emerged some music that reminded me of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  Sounds of strings followed by a mash up of various Peter Pan sound bytes.  Audio clips from the Disney version, and the Mary Martin movie, and some of the score from Hook.  I have to say, that I grew up on all 3 versions, but Hook holds a special place in my heart.  It was like  Ladybugs.  Or A League of Their Own.  Always on TV.  And when it was on, you better believe that my little brother and I were glued to the tube.  It wasn’t uncommon for us to chant “Ru-fi-ohhhhhhh!” to each other in the den, or reenact the Lost Boys’ massive imaginary food fight (if anyone could explain to me what those colorful globs were, please get in touch).  But, without fail, the part that got me every time was the “Oh, there you are, Peter.”  Where did they find that kid?  Sigh.  Grab a tissue.  Bangarang.

*And also my penny wishes, please

 

There are a lot of things I really love about New York.  Sometimes it’s those Woody Allen moments (if you’ve ever found yourself walking on the upper east side while listening to Django Reinhardt, you know what I mean). Or how often I find myself in the middle of a Seinfeld episode (what are those ladies at the nail salon saying??). Or the deli egg sandwiches.  

But my favorite thing about New York is how easy it is to convince friends to visit.  Sure, you have to be willing to keep your couch up to “crasher’s code”: clean-ish blankets and at least 1 extra pillow, but depending on who you keep company with, you might be able to get some free treats out of it (thanks for the s’mores, Arie, Todd and Lockman!)  This past week, our friend, Cece, and her boyfriend, Tim, were visiting from L.A. and London respectively.  Cece and I have known each other since high school, and it was wonderful to get to know Tim during this “holiday”.  In addition to being an adorably sweet couple, they are also adorably sweet collaborators.  He’s posted some of their work on his website–she writes the words, he designs the illustrations.  That’s one of their pieces above.  Fittingly, it’s adorably sweet.  I want one for above my bed.  Something you should know about me is that I really take those wishes to heart.  Birthday candles take me a while.  You only get one a year, so I figure those are of more value, than the bi-monthly eyelash ones.  Simple math.  Honestly, my fear is that if I’m not specific enough, the wish granter won’t have any idea what I’m talking about and then I have absolutely no shot at getting my wish granted.  My wishes usually sound something like:

“Please let my friends and family lead happy and healthy lives, filled with love and adventure.  (What if the wish granter can’t determine my friends from my acquaintances?  Panic).  My close friends.  (The wish granter probably can’t grant all of them happy and healthy lives filled with love and adventure.  Panic!) You know, like specifically, Sal, Jasmine, Erin, Peter, Jack, and Charlie.  (Now I gotta lock it in, or else it won’t count.  Review.)  Okay thanks in advance, but just to review…”

Cece and Tim, it was great seeing you, and thanks for the free treats!

There once was a man from Peru

Blogarick #1

There once was a girl, up at three

Twas difficult for her to slee(p)

“I could start a blog,

or go for a jog…

The running thing’s not really me”.