Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Eatin' Good in the Neighborhood

Forewent (is that a word?) both franny's and the W (whose room service menu includes an entire page FOR DOGS) for Pam Real Thai Food, the best Thai joint I have found in Manhattan (I have yet to venture to Queens, where it's supposed to be really great). The four of us ordered, to start, fried calamari, which was served without the tentacles and in longer rings than you'd get at, say, a bar, and with a slightly viscous sweet chili dipping sauce. We also shared curry puffs, which were very similar to samosas (though lacking peas) and came with a thinner, brighter, more vinegary sauce. Then I went with my old standby, Pad See Eil, because I find that whenever I order something else there, even if it's delicious (and it usually is), I miss it. The wide rice noodles that fall in folds and stick together, the thick, dark sweet soy sauce, the tender stalks of Chinese broccoli, the scrambled egg, the crispy but not over-fried tofu--it drives me nuts. I was not disappointed, but admittedly envious of Steven's choice, which also consisted of wide rice noodles but tossed with chicken, cabbage, and a blended spicy red sauce instead. Jo got a third wide noodle dish with chicken, red peppers, and basil, and her co-worker had the larb gai (minced chicken) and Som Tum (shredded green papaya with a dense kind of green bean, peanuts, and tiny dried shrimp--another of my favorites).

Breakfast the next morning was: a slice of Boule bread with almond butter, a (perfect, if I do say so myself) fried egg, and a cup of English Breakfast tea, which I can never seem to finish.

Lunch: A very vanilla turkey-and-cheddar sandwich on a whole grain bread, with lettuce, tomato, and honey mustard. Half a pickle. A bag of Baked Lay's Potato Chips. A Diet Coke, which gave me a headache.

Dinner at the Grisly Pear, where my dear friend Becky was hosting trivia night: Sam Adams Winter Lager. A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad veggie burger. It was bloated and mushy with chunks of broccoli and topped with something called "cilantro cream," whatever that means, and on a sesame bun with a lifeless slice of tomato, some greens, and shredded carrots. The fries were decent at least. They were even better in the form of the cheese fries the other people on my team ordered--theirs came with cheddar and, oddly, rosemary.

Breakfast this A.M.: Another slice of Boule bread with almond butter. A very ripe banana. Three baby carrots. English Breakfast tea.

Lunch: In Bryant Park, delightful leftovers from Andrea's dinner party last night, which I rudely missed. Courtesy of Cook's Illustrated, butternut squash risotto with sage, which had a distinctly wine-y flavor in the best possible way, peas with cream and leeks, and a tangle of apple crisp made with lots of brown sugar and granola. Impressively good.

1 comment:

V said...

How's the relationship?