Where will you be?

The much-anticipated event listings are now official for Fashion’s Night Out, set for September 8th!
 For those not in the know,
Q: What is Fashion’s Night Out?
A: Fashion’s Night Out is an unprecedented global initiative created in 2009 in a partnership between American Vogue, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, NYC & Company, and the City of New York to celebrate fashion, restore consumer confidence, boost the industry’s economy, and put the fun back in shopping.

Events take place in every city worldwide, so be sure to check local retailers and see what’s in store for September 8th.  If you’re in New York, you know very well to plan your night out — you may start on the Upper West Side and at the end of the evening find yourself in SoHo.
One of the best and favorites is Bergdorf Goodman; the department store has an incredibly detailed and star-studded schedule you won’t want to miss.  However, if you’re one to meet and mingle with designers, go to Saks Fifth Avenue, chat, play Pictionary (like last year with Chris Benz, Peter Som, Prabal Gurung, and Zac Posen).  Henri Bendel may be smaller in comparison but the New York icon certainly throws a chic, classy cocktail event!  I personally look forward to the Marc Jacobs Carnival along with 3.1 Phillip Lim, but again, who knows?  We’ll also see if the Boyfriend braves price tags at Harry Winston.

More, please

Sometimes you receive subtle reminders of how much you love someone.  For me, that reminder took the form of a box of four cupcakes hailing from Chicago.  Ever since my disappointment with Sprinkles New York, I’ve found and raved about trying More Cupcakes.  Opportunity presented itself with last week’s Chicago trip but alas I didn’t have enough time!  The Boyfriend arrived home yesterday with a large bag and box in hand and I was so touched by the sweet surprise and thoughtfulness.
So, what drew me to these cupcakes was the variety.  More Cupcakes offers not only sweet treats but also savory, specialty, and cocktail.  Impressive, I know.  I figured if the flavors were that adventurous, the relatively more traditional ones must be damn good…  So far I’ve only had the chocolate hazelnut and loved it!  A dark chocolate cake with creamy but light hazelnut filling and whipped chocolate ganache; it was the right amount of sweet but still decadent.
Conclusion?  I crazy love the Boyfriend!

Flashbacks

Happy June!  I hope everybody had a wonderful, sun-filled Memorial Day weekend, mine was more or less eventful; I simply lazed and ate my way through it — there was really no better way I would’ve preferred.  Though last week I hit flashback mode: This time last year the class of 2010 was graduating!
Last Chance Dance, with the Best Friend
Senior Soirée, with the Roommate (more on her later) and the Boyfriend
We have come quite a ways in one year.

The “ultimate cheesesteak”

Named Philadelphia’s favorite, John’s Roast Pork was a location that reminded me of Johnnie’s Beef in Chicago — a stand on the outskirts of a big city with hungry, waiting crowds.  And like Johnnie’s Beef, I was very satisfied with my divey eats.
Cheesesteak with sharp provolone, onions and banana peppers
The publicity and James Beard Foundation Award did not lie.  I came to Philly for its cheesesteak (the Boyfriend, for its roast pork sandwiches but I obviously tried some anyway); I had quite a few in the past but none of them came close to this one sandwich.  There’s something comforting about gooey provolone over 12 ounces of thinly-sliced, grilled beef and onions, and John’s Roast Pork has got it right.
Roast pork sandwich with sharp provolone and spinach
I must admit I was disappointed that the namesake sandwich was not as expected.  Maybe it’s personal taste, but I didn’t like the funkiness of the pork, and the spinach could not reach the bar set by the garlicky broccoli rabe at DiNic’s.  If you want roast pork in Philly, go to Reading Terminal Market and head toward DiNic’s stand.

Blood orange

Although Best Thing I Ever Ate suggested Osteria for its pizza, the highlight of this meal was the dessert — even the Boyfriend had to agree, and that’s really saying something.
Lombarda – baked egg, bitto cheese, mozzarella, and cotechino sausage
Delicious though it fell short of Pulino’s circa Nate Appleman.  Still, it was the second best artisan pizza I’ve had.
“Genovese ravioli” with capon and parmigiano
Pork shank osso bucco with saffron rice crema
Funny story — knowing how I am about texture, the Boyfriend decided to serve my first forkful of marrow without fair warning.  Don’t get me wrong, it was very tasty, but it felt on my tongue sent chills up my spine.  He finally gave me bread buttered with marrow.
Blood orange crostata with 63% manjari chocolate
The perfect marriage: tart blood orange, light cookie-like pie, and bittersweet dark chocolate.  Love, love, love!

Italian landscape

Sadly no, I’m not in Italy while the Boyfriend attends meetings, but I sat for an early dinner at this cozy eatery downtown called the Meatball Shop, specializing in — you guessed it — Italian meatballs.  I’d say this was a great example of a restaurant doing one thing and doing it really well.
The first thing that caught my attention was the cup of markers on the table, then I saw the menu.  It was clever: mark off what to order in any combination, which means a new meal every time you return — believe me, you’ll want to.
Naked balls – four meatballs served with focaccia bread; spicy pork in pesto
Simple salad – arugula and apples; side

(More photos).

3/8/11

The Boyfriend may have been disappointed to lose to Watson in a game of Jeopardy at IBM’s Investor Day — what exactly did he expect when competing with a computer? — but we totally “geeked” out with details over hibachi.  And then there were pauses when we would just look at each other with silly, happy faces reminding us of how we’ve felt for the past 19 months.