R&R NYC Style

Last week involved a whole lotta busting my butt and several extra hours at work. All of those hard efforts, however, paid off with the culmination of two successful events. I even got my picture taken with a certain someone who talks not only foreign policy, but football and classical music, too. If I ever get it scanned I will email it around. I have to say not bad for a girl from Binghamton, NY.

This past weekend I made a trip up to NYC for an alumni event. Besides reconnecting with some old friends I spent a year with in Germany after PENN, my highlight was definitely waiting in line with my sis Stephanie while she patiently waited for 30 minutes to buy 2 pickles from Gus' Pickles stand in the Lower East Side. She actually stood in line with some 20 people or so. As we walked away crunching our sour pickles heading in the direction of Il Laboratorio del Gelato on Orchard Street a mother and daughter couple asked us what all the fuss was about and whether the pickles were indeed worth it. I have to say the garlic taste was real, not so much like Vlasic in a jar. Whether or not it was worth 30-40 minutes standing in line, I don't know. Our culinary tour was just beginning though... Nearly done with our pickles, we then proceeded to get gelato. I should interject my story at this point to clarify that neither Stephanie or I are pregnant. All I can say is yes, we women are fickle beings, but I'd argue men are as well! Back to ice cream, I tried dark chocolate and green tea while Steph had mexican cinnamon, dulce de leche, and one other flavor that currently escapes me. I heartily recommend mexican cinnamon. The dark chocolate was pretty delicious, too. Of course, any visit to New York just isn't complete without a sushi outing. Every time I meet up with my friend Jen we always seem to find ourselves at 63rd and 1st at Totoya where we sample some of their eclectic rolls. This time I went for a tuna roll with shavings of coconut. It was definitely unexpected, a cool spring flavor for the start of summer.

So, after a lot of hard work, a little play is necessary. Seeing my sister and old friends while hopping around Manhattan was just what I needed. There's nothing like the NYC subway with pumping techno music and break dancers to break you out of the DC politics bubble. Ahhh, a breath of fresh air...yes, in NYC!