i'm not going to offer any words of wisdom or little gems that i've discovered in my thirty years on earth--just a standard weekend recap full of birthday meals and good times :)
with my birthday falling on a friday this year i decided to take the day off and start the weekend early. the weather couldn't have been nicer all weekend--sunny, bright, and comfortably warm. spring was in full force. sunshine and blooms. <3 MAY <3
i started the day with a morning run ::pat on the back:: then got ready for an afternoon of hanging out with kim. picking her up from the train and what do i see? birthday balloons! you can't help but smile when you get balloons :) we spent the next two hours enjoying sushi lunch at kiku and chatting away.
of course we needed something sweet after lunch, so we decided to check out a new frozen yogurt place in sono, yobama. it was tough deciding which flavors and toppings to try without totally pigging out (and paying an indecent amount of money), but we managed to keep things under control. the flavors were all pretty good and distinct without tasting artificial, and there was quite a selection of toppings (over fifty, maybe?). here's what i went with:* coffee with brownie bites and kit kat bits
* oreo with oreo crumbles
* birthday cookie (kinda had to, right?) with fresh strawberries
* swirl of chocolate and peanut butter
* extra toppings: mochi and a single mini peach gummy bear
after finishing our yogurt creations it was time to catch the train to the city. more chatting on the train then we said our goodbyes and parted ways at 125th. i met sean at bryant park, and we headed downtown to blue hill for a fancy birthday dinner. we were seated at a corner table and started off with some cocktails. i had the noble bee (i think) which consisted of gin, honey, hops, and blood orange. it was excellent (i had a second one later~). i don't remember exactly what was in sean's cocktail, but i think it had rum, cinzano, something else, and a walnut for adornment.
for dinner we decided to splurge and get the extended farmer's feast:
* amuse: beet burger on an almond bun
* blue hill coppola
* mini baguettes with butter, lardo, beet salt, fennel salt
* chilled asparagus soup
* stone barns butter lettuce, asparagus, fiddlehead ferns, and pickled cauliflower
* soft shell crab, stinging nettles, daikon, and asparagus
* this morning's egg, collard greens, bacon, and king oyster mushrooms
* hudson valley chicken thigh, livers, and hearts, 502 squash sauerkraut, ramps, claytonia, and hazelnuts
* braised lamb belly, ramps, green rhubarb, asparagus, and mustard greens
* stone barns honey, elderflower, ginger, and buttermilk sorbet
* rhubarb, goat cheese and pink peppercorn yogurt sorbet
* petit fours: homemade strawberry marshmallows, passion fruit blondies
everything was wonderfully fresh and tasted like spring. so lovely and delicious. well done, dan barber; you're awesome.
saturday was family dim sum in brooklyn at east harbor seafood palace. a new place for me but jade and kavin had been a few times, so it came well-tested. our table was near the kitchen so we got first dibs on all the food :) yesss. super fresh.
after dim sum we spent some time in park slope. toby was pretty excited for the visit and then even more excited for the bonus walk to prospect park. all the flowers and trees were in bloom; just beautiful. i love spring!
sunday totally felt like a bonus day. why don't we have more three day weekends?? i went for another morning run then hopped on the train into the city for book club brunch (book #7: the age of miracles). met up with the girls at hundred acres in the village. cute brunch spot, but we missed out on sitting in the back garden area. definitely next time. between the four of us we had mimosas, cinnamon rolls, breakfast sausage, soft scrambled eggs with spring veggies and cornbread, wagyu beef chili with eggs, and goat cheese-sage bread pudding with poached eggs. and if that wasn't enough, a little sweet surprise from dominique ansel's bakery: dka and canneles. thanks, ladies!
what a great way to welcome a new personal decade: amazing birthday meals and lots of quality time with some of my favorite people in the world. so much love. thank you to everyone for another beautiful birthday.
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