Saturday in the City

mario_batali
Originally uploaded by andrewkist.

American TV cracks me up.

For one thing, I had forgotten how intense the Food Network can be - but that addiction was never really too far away. Second of all, the infomercials are amazing. Just yesterday I saw ads for pyjama jeans - so called because they look like denim but are made of pyjama fabric and the ad ASSURES me that I can wear them anywhere, anytime. Riiiight. Then there was the little reusable press-stud snaps that you stick on to the bottoms of your jeans so you can hem them effortlessly (so you can wear your pyjama jeans with heels OR flats). Genius. But ever the glutton, my favourite ad is the chef basket. It looks like a lobster pot made of chicken wire, and it has so many uses - its handles never get hot, so you can handle it straight out of the pot, with no fear of burning yourself. You can cook pasta in it, you can steam veggies in it, and it all folds flat and stores in a drawer. Inspired.

Such silly TV viewing conjured up quite an appetite, so it was very timely that we visited Mario Batali's "Otto" enoteca pizzeria last night. Don't ask me where it is because I just followed like a little duckling. K told me the neighbourhood but I forget. We had dinner with a couple of Aussie friends in from London, and a few of their relatives/friends. It was great - we just ordered a heap of different dishes and shared them. We had a fennel salad, plates of cured meats, some pastas and pizzas, washed down with some lovely red wine.

Walking back through the streets to find a taxi home, I was really grateful for my new, long down-filled winter coat. NY is still recovering from a really heavy snowfall the other day, and a winter chill is still in the air. Just as the food coma overtook me, I fell into bed and a fabulous deep sleep. Love it.