gourmet gourmand

if there's one thing that new york city undeniably has to offer, it's a mountain of good food, hiding in the quiet corners on weekday nights.

with that in mind, i met up with my dear friend, aaron, for a veritable food explosion downtown on rivington at inoteca.

my understanding of italian has diminished since college, leaving me with the same vocabulary as most common folk (namely "ciao" and "bella" and, of course, "bravo")...so, when the menu was all italian with no descriptions, we forced the waitress to explain every dish to us.

the evening menu went as follows:

• cipolline & thyme bruschetta
• ricotta fresca & pomodoro bruschetta
• alla toscana bruschetta
• their special salad consisting of some sort of barley-like substance
• grilled mushrooms, mozzarella, pesto & spinach panini
• agnello, market peppers, baby squash & pine nuts

all the bruschetta was fantastic, as was the salad. the panini was a safe choice and rather scrumptious (the waitress' favorite word forever) in its cheesy, pestoy, mushroom & spinachness.

the lamb was so rare if was bleating at us...and super-gamey in all its organicness. still lovely, but not something i could eat heaps of.

after being full beyond human comprehension, we decided that the best thing to cure fullness is crepes...so, off we went to creperie where i indulged in a banana, nutella & whipped creme crepe covered in confectioner's sugar.

it was getting late, so we decided to walk and eat...

i tell you, walking many blocks while attempting to eat a sumptuous crepe delight in the midst of being so full you can't breathe is...a challenge.

by the end, i had the crepe in my hands, managing to curl everything up in tube formation, and was jamming it down my throat...not wanting to waste any of it.

needless to say, my trip home was uncomfortable...my body could barely bend, so sitting became excessively difficult. then i took a loooong nap on the way home and here i am.

totally worth the agony of losing the ability to sit.

so, aaron, merci beaucoup, mon petit papillon, for a wonderful dinner.

we shall indulge again soon.

...and, watch out! i'm going out to eat again tomorrow.

...but i'm promising myself, no eating till i can't breathe.

that was just ridiculous.