Shmancy.

Restaurant Week seems like a good idea in theory.  You finally get to eat at that fancy place you've walked by a hundred times, sweaty palms pressed against the window, looking longingly at all those rich people eating caviar-this and truffle-that. 

The day arrives.  8PM reso for you and your closest friends. 

Bread basket:  Amazing.  Granted, I was famished.  I was about 30 seconds away from gnawing on the table legs.  I even said to one of my friends, "Is this one of those fancy places where you don't get bread?"
Appetizer:  Good.  Not great.
Entree:  Awful.  Had I ordered it during any week without "Restaurant" in the title I would have sent it back.  And listen, I don't send meals back.  But this was bad.  (See the episode of Next Food Network Star where Wolfgang Puck teaches Jyll to make risotto.  And I quote, "This is not a risotto.")
Dessert:  Itwasokay.

Basically, it all comes down to company.  And I have a pretty amazing group of pals in which to not enjoy my meals with : )

Other than that, I think a 3-course meal for $35 in NYC still sounds appealing, but clearly you can't expect the same quality.

City on fire.

from a rooftop in Gramercy

Spent the 4th walking the High Line, cooking-out with friends in the East Village, and watching the fireworks from the roof.  Despite the heat, it was a wonderful holiday.

Closer to 30

I'm officially closer in age to 30 than 20 now.

Being halfway through my 20's, I can say with total confidence that this decade is shaping up to be the most difficult, the most fun, the scariest, the awesomest decade in my life. I cannot wait to say the same thing about my 30's.

Here's a shot from my fave plave in NYC during my birthday. Compliments of this guy.

c/o Brian