About two weeks ago, Pd and I took some time off work and just ... took a day. Between work, the kitchen renovation and the Spanish Inquisition, it's hard for us to find time to do stuff together — for instance, in wat is now (frighteningly) becoming an annual tradition, the Spanish Inquisition had a meltdown at the One of a Kind Show last weekend, so shopping was aborted, again — so we decided to just take the time.
Mind you, we had decided to do this in September. It takes us a little while to gather momentum sometimes.
Anyway, we finally made it to Momofuku (the noodle bar) for lunch. Pd works up in midtown and it's not exactly the most baby-friendly place ever, so we haven't been able to go until now. Which was sad. And it's so good! I have been a little bit obsessed with Momofuku since we went there in New York. And I am obsessed with ramen generally, so it really is a bit of a pilgrimage. It's not "authentic" ramen, of course, but it's so good that that's really beside the point.
I had forgotten how good his pork is. We make the pulled pork from the Momofuku cookbook at home, and it's excellent, but it is nothing to the pork belly at the noodle bar. Which is probably one of the many reasons why David Chang has a Michelin star and I don't.
Now all I need is a Uniqlo, and maybe a Shake Shack, and I will never have to go to NYC again.
...
Speaking of food: I made my first from-scratch dinner in the new kitchen last night! The kitchen isn't finished, not by a long shot — there is a wee problem with the exhaust hood, which will be solved by us punching a hole in something that shouldn't have holes it in (i.e., a wall) —by the by, why does it always come down to that? — and elsewhere there was a bit of a measuring fail — but it's functional. I can cook, mostly. (There are some things that are missing, and some other things that are homeless. And, also, until last night, there were power tools on the counter.) I am still hoping that we can get the whole thing finished — like finished finished, like all-the-i's-dotted-and-t's-crossed finished — by the holidays. And that might even be a reasonable hope.
In any case, we are close enough that I am starting to plan our mid-winter feast. We decided that the best way to thank our friends for their help in our renovation was to use the thing they helped us with, and so: feast. It's going to be gloriously decadent. In fact, just planning the menu got me so hungry that I had to cook last night; take-out wasn't going to cut it. And then there's the menu for our holiday open house ... oh, yes. I am absolutely a glutton, and I have missed this.
