What recession?

On Saturday, Amy & I met her pal Claudia for dinner at Marea. We knew going in that it’d be a pricey meal; after all, the restaurant is in the shadow of Masa, the most expensive dinner in NYC (which has a $200 fee if you don’t cancel your reservation with more than 48 hours’ notice(!)).

The meal was phenomenal; I’ve learned to appreciate fine dining this past decade, and my Marea experience was easily a top 5. Both my dates were heavy-duty foodies, and they too were floored by the meal. You can go check out the dinner menu here. For the record, I ordered:

  1. Ricci (sea urchin, lardo, sea salt)
  2. Sgombro (pacific jack mackerel, eggplant caponata)
  3. Polipo (grilled octopus, insalata di riso, fava, yellow tomato)
  4. Cotechino (not on the online version of the menu, but it was a pork, cod belly, wine sauce and maybe some cinnamon, in a mind-blowingly perfect risotto)
  5. and a chocolate panna cotta for dessert.

But as I said, it was a pricey meal. I won’t be so gauche as to discuss the final tab, but I will share with you the exchange I had with the Thomas the bartender when I was looking to get a gin & tonic before the meal.

GIL: I’d like a G&T. I notice you have Old Raj back there.

[THOMAS reaches for bottle]

GIL: Hold on. I had a G&T with that at Tabla once, and it cost $17. So, would you mind just ringing one up first, so I can see what it runs?

THOMAS: Sure! I’ve never served on with that gin before. [touch-pads for a few moments, then turns to look at GIL with shocked expression on face] Uh . . .

GIL: Twenty-two dollars for a gin & tonic?!

THOMAS: That’s what it says . . .

GIL: I’ll have a Hendricks & tonic, thanks.

THOMAS: You want cucumber with that?

GIL: Slightly bruised, thanks.

I’ve never felt relieved to pay $12 for a G&T before. (But it was the first bar I’ve been where they have Q Tonic on hand.)

Throw me a bone

After giving me the double kick in the nuts of closing down both the New York Sun and my favorite Thai restaurant in NYC last year, the universe offers up a handy made-for-Gil-Roth moment: the My Year of Flops writer reviews With Nails, the film diaries of Richard E. Grant.

Plus, the makers of the awesome Q Tonic were so happy that I offered some feedback on their product that they just sent me a 4-pack of the stuff!

It seems the cosmos has made a New Year’s resolution to be nicer to me! (I promise I’ll get around to reading The Wah-Wah Diaries.)

What It Is: 11/17/08

What I’m reading: You Know Me, Al, by Ring Lardner. A pal gave this to me for my birthday a few years ago. I haven’t read it, but I noticed that it’s available on Manybooks for my Kindle, so I loaded it up for this trip. Oh, and I finished Book Two of Montaigne’s essays, which means I’m heading into the home-stretch. Zowie. But I was too busy this weekend to write about it, so Monday Morning Montaigne is on hiatus this week.

What I’m listening to: Radio Retaliation by Thievery Corporation, La Radiolina by Manu Chao, and OK Computer by Radiohead. But not Radio Radio by Elvis Costello.

What I’m watching: Ricky Gervais’ standup special, the first half of Dog Day Afternoon, and The Savages. Gervais was a hoot, but I found it even funnier that I have no idea who “he” is, in relation to his two best-known characters.

What I’m drinking: G&Ts with this Q Tonic, a high-end tonic I picked up. And boy, are they awesome. Down with corn syrup!

What Rufus is up to: Probably pining away for me by now. And it looks like he convinced one of my neighbors to adopt a greyhound when her husband retires and they get a new dog.

Where I’m going: Atlanta for the AAPS meeting. In fact, I’m in Atlanta right now!

What I’m happy about: I had The Realization about the novel I should write. Now I gotta get writin’!

What I’m sad about: Being away from Amy & Rufus.

What I’m pondering: Whether I was tempting fate by time-stamping this post for Monday morning right before getting on a plane Sunday.