Didn’t expect snow when we landed at 10 this morning in Des Moines. Hope it melts soon. I got up at 3:45 a.m. for a 6 a.m. flight from LaGuardia.
Yesterday we braved the Bronx Zoo – and my friend who had the idea conveniently neglected to tell us that an Egyptian cobra had gone missing from the Reptile House. No joke. Which may explain why the place was so empty. I thought it was the cold weather and a March Monday. The good part is we had the place almost to ourselves – and we did not chance upon any cobras (although we did see some snakes, safely behind glass enclosures.)
I wandered around the charming narrow backstreets of the Meatpacking District, passing by various foodie havens included The Spotted Pig (restaurant) and Murray’s (cheese shop) for a few hours before meeting my brother and his lovely wife at Barbuto – a fashionable restaurant on Washington and 12th Streets. The crowd was a little too self-consciously fashionable for me and the ambiance a little too stark (post car-garage interior) but the food, by bigname chef Jonathan Waxman – was terrific. And the company, the best! My brother loved the roasted chicken, which had skin that was crispy without appearing breaded or battered or even fried. I had pot roast atop creamy white polenta that I initially mistook for mashed potatoes. Delicious. The side order of potatoes appeared to be prepared similarly to the chicken – very crispy but also not greasy and served with fresh dusting of Parmesan and sprigs of Rosemary. Yum.
TakeBetsywithyou 