Wednesday, September 29, 2004

The Restaurant I Ate at Last Night XXXI

Sunday night, Deb and I went to Sal Anthony's at 55 Irving Place. A wonderfully old-school Italian family restaurant, the upstairs section attracted a bevy of patrons, some of whom seemed straight out of a John Waters movie. We had the dramatically faded Hollywood beauty with Jackie O glasses and a bouffant. We had a wicked eyeliner, aging goth wearing a silver cross. We had a little girl wearing a blue sequined dress -- that matched that of the doll in the high chair next to her. And we had the cutest of elderly couples directly within our line of sight. The food was wonderful. Simple breads with butter. Melon and prosciutto and mozzarella with tomato and basil for appetizers. And two fusilli entrees. Go for the prix fixe menu if you get there in time. Even dessert -- spumoni ice cream pour moi, and an enormous cheesecake for Deb -- is worth tasting.

And last night, I explored the Meatpacking District for the first time since I moved here, braving the rain to meet some folks at Pastis for coffee, drinks, and dinner. Eminently trendy, the section also has quite a bit of history, and I'd like to return when the downpour isn't a torrent. Conversation and camaraderie was good with the likes of Jason Calacanis, Tom of the Media Drop, and CJ Hughes, a contributor to the New York Times. I had the omelette with fine herbs and french fries -- arguably the best omelette I've ever had.

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