Monday, March 11th, 2013

Good morning!  Fantastic weekend here in NYC!  Gorgeous weather & nice adventures. 

If you'll recall, Friday was a blizzard. 

No, seriously....a blizzard....

On Saturday, we met Brian's mom & her friend for brunch at Fulton Pub - one of our favorite places.  It was 55 and sunny.  I wore sunglasses.  I really wanted the pancakes but I did not want the pancake carbs so I got a cheddar omelet with a nice, big arugula salad on the side.  It was delicious and I was not one bit disappointed that I passed up the pancakes.  It was a wonderful lunch & great catching up/hearing about Costa Rica!  Brian's mom also brought us some Costa Rican coffee.  Now we have Hawaiian from my parents trip and Costa Rican from Brian's.  What I want to know is when do I get to start going to these places?!?!? 

After lunch I ran 7.5 miles in a t-shirt & shorts and did Ab-Ripper X - which is a fitness DVD that I love.  It was glorious.

On Sunday we tried the Costa Rican coffee - it was delightful.  I won't ponce on about the cedar notes and smoky goodness but it was really, really, good coffee.  We haven't tried the Hawaiian yet because we need to get it ground. 

Then we went to the Bronx to get some legit Italian food in little Italy.  The way there was just too stereotypical.  It was just too much!  When we got off the subway there was immediately a guy selling pit bull puppies out of his jacket in front of a shop that exclusively sold pigs feet.  TOO MUCH!  We wandered ridiculously through the Bronx for awhile until we reached Fordham University & Little Italy.  People were looking at us like we had 3 heads - not kidding.  Brian walked me by the house that he lived in when he lived in the Bronx and when we intercepted Little Italy everything changed.  It became like a little quaint town you'd run across in the suburbs somewhere.  Really cute & charming.  Lots of people out drinking espresso outside cafés, waiting in line to get brunch, and meeting up with family for a Sunday meal. 

We walked around for a bit - so many great looking restaurants.  Then we went to Tino's, which was Brian's favorite place to go when he lived there.  We got chicken parmesan, rice balls with gravy (marinara), and spinach lasagne.  They gave us big chunks of crusty bread to get all of the last bites of sauce.  I suspended vegetarianism for the day and ate it all - and it was the most incredible Italian food I've ever had.  Ever.  Period.  The cases at Tino's were filled with cheeses, prosciutto, olives, anchovies, and hot food.  They also were making pizzas in the back in a little brick oven. 

After we ate lunch we went to Palomba's Bakery.  We split a Cannoli and each had a cappuccino.  It was loud and charming.  The café was filled with big families having a Sunday treat - all speaking different languages.  Everyone there spoke Italian and called us "hon," and "sweetie," and brought us our food on a little silver tray.  I know I'm raving a lot but I really love Cannoli's in general.  This cannoli, though - was, again, the BEST cannoli I've ever tasted.  The ricotta filling with smooth, sweet, thick, and had just a little bite.  It was absolutely incredible.  I mean, this place was the real deal.  I would traverse pigs feet stores every weekend if it meant I got a cannoli from Palomba's.  We savored our cannoli & cappuccino and then got a half pound of cookies to take home.  Before we left, we stopped at one more bakery and got a small loaf of jalapeño cheddar bread (which we ate all of later that night - swathed with big hunks of butter). 

When we got home we took the dogs on a big walk, then watched The Walking Dead - which is a show I'm obsessed with.  I ate a sweet potato for dinner and then went to bed. 

I was still full this morning. 

Carpe diem,

J