youth on tap

all this talk about getting old - a seemingly endless obsession - is finally dissipating! yes, it's true that this morning i DID organize our pill drawer ("jane, is this ambien or vytorin?"), going so far as the label the tops of the bottles with the appropriate medication so we don't accidentally OD on something. also to ensure that i'm not on tamoxifen and jane isn't taking plavix!

and yes, all of our peers have had their own brushes with physical peril - cancers, heart ailments, and all manner of plagues (boils, frogs, etc.). so what to do? we counteract all of this with our own brand of medicine ... the city and it's young population.

last night, furtively typing on our laptops while indulging in smoked mozzarella and pesto tartlets, summer vegetable bisque, and warm tomatoes, we decide it's time for a drink. off we go at 8-ish to the lower east side, and plunk ourselves down amongst the pretty and hunky twenty somethings, trying desperately to fit in!

ahh, spitzers' corner. street-front seating, al fresco, wide plank benches, and fifty beers on tap. throngs of generation X'ers (do they still call them that) coming and going, lounging at the long tables. jane and i order up some on tap specials and sit back, enjoying the vibe. a benefit of our seemingly self-imposed exile.

we suddenly realize that our own offspring will probably be sitting here before we know it ... and laugh hysterically that one night we'll walk into one of these hip spots, only to find jared and marlee out with a bunch of friends.

who will be more mortified - them or us? i think i know the answer!

nice to be feeling young again!

maria, callous

today is perfectly lovely and productive. organized. pleasant. jane is really, really feeling well - so much better than chemo treatment number 3, really not at all beat up like last time!

so much so, that we decide to go to the lower east side for asian at kampuchea, where jane has been wanting to eat for a year - it's nothing fancy, but cute - perfect for wednesday night out with the kids. maria calls to say she'll join us, so an added bonus! we are downtown in 35 minutes, incredible, and park just outside the restaurant. we visit a gallery, see the shops, and sit down for a bit in the very quiet space.

the menu is limited - both in number of choices, and by the fact that almost every one of the (few) dishes has both pork and tiger shrimp ... we don't eat either (kosher restrictions, jane's allergic to shellfish, etc.). when we inquire as to whether they could simply leave it out, we are told NO! the chef is philosophically opposed to altering the palette of the dish.

huh? no, better we should keel over from a reaction. and it's not like there are a hundred vegetarian choices on the menu! very callous, indeed!!!

now if this were momofuko - packed to the gills, and all pork items 'baked into' the steamed buns, etc. - it's pretty hard to substitute if something is integral to the dish. but really - a soup? which already has a million ingredients? you can't leave out a couple of shrimp? ugggghhh.

and believe me, kampuchea is NO momofuko. at any rate, a positively lovely time is had with maria and alicia - we miss daniel and matthew - and we're so happy to lay eyes upon them! jane tucks into 'inoteca for an affogato (espresso over ice cream) after dinner, and the boys - who have otherwise been delightful - decide to have an all out brawl in front of our friends. totally embarrassing and immature, making steam come out of my ears! so much for a happy ending to the day!

assassination of gandhi

my dear friends. have you ever had a curry in a hurry? delhi belly? rajasthani biryani?

tonight, we continue the wednesday evening tradition of family night out - a time to chat, relax - sort of a mid-week pick-me-up if you will. early on in the school year, we realize that this is the night where we are all open at an early hour, and that we can sneak into the city for a dose of life, maybe a book-reading, and some noodles. we hold steady to this routine, until jared becomes a wrestler (yes, i agree).

now that the 'sport' is finished, we've reinstituted the evening out. but instead of the lower east side, we contemplate suburban hicksville on this rainy evening. jane needs a hit of full on flavor, and is craving indian - and this area is known to have the best. but instead of house of dosas, a regular spot, she researches, she emails, she investigates, and comes upon another establishment, even going so far as to chat up the owner.

hmmm ... there's something fishy in kerala. or in goa. this place is horrendous! the decor, tacky, but not in a wallpaper sort of way. the proprietors - well, jewish mothers seem positively aloof compared to the invasive hovering at our table. cleanliness - forget about it! katz's deli looks mr. clean sparkling compared to this eatery. and the food. gives new meaning to the term rubber chicken dinner. clumped rice. twice dead lamb. chicken biryani? chicken biry-accchhh-i!

does not bring forth fond memories of dining under the stars at devi garh some two years ago (exactly) ... a brilliant setting, twinkling lights from both the village below and the stars above. no, this place is positively awful!

i actually totally lose my cool, scream at jane who is going to have chemo in two days! this is NOT my idea of a family evening out, and i'm amazed that we're not all stuck in the loo on the verge of collapse! the bill - $150 (for garbage). so after berating jane for insisting on trying this spot, i do something that neither of us have ever thought of doing in our wildest dreams. i have her call the restaurant and tell them that the food was absolutely inedible. they hastily offer to not put the charge through on the credit card - an equitable resolution although i think they still owe us for pain and suffering!

the rest of the day ... hmmm. we actually see a doctor! i'm used to getting news of some sorts on an hourly basis these days - but nothing for weeks now! so we make it to the surgeon to discuss the progress of healing, what happens next, and getting jane's torn earlobe fixed (don't ask). it's all good, and we even have room for dessert - consisting of bumping into a close friend coming in as we are going out (lovefest as breasts are compared in the office bathroom). again, don't ask.

that is the only dessert to be had - don't venture down the road of poisonous mango ice cream tonight ... hope we live to tell the tale! capped off by andi asking for a billion homemade valentine heart shaped shortbread cookies with red and white icing, for class tomorrow ... sweet!