Somehow not starving

We slept in again. After 4 shows over the weekend, we were perhaps a little over stimulated. Margie said she didn’t feel like shopping, so I felt it was safe to stroll 5th Avenue. Wrong! She suddenly felt like shopping. We went into the 10 floor Lord and Taylor, and she was very excited by the whole floor of shoes (#3) but didn’t buy any. She did find a gown on floor #6 (petites), which fortunately had a cafe I could hang in too, run by some famous jam and pastry maker. She also bought a hippie blouse at another store, and a t-shirt at yet another.

It wasn’t a total bust for me, as I got to go to my favorite little deli for lunch on 42nd St. near 5th Avenue. I think it is called the 42nd St. Deli, imaginatively enough. It is next door to McDonalds. Anyway, they had fresh turkey today, so I got a warm turkey sandwich. Margie got a freshly made salad with all of her favorite vegetables.

You would think we would have gained like 10 pounds the way we have been eating. But actually I am on my last belt hole, and I mean the smallest belt circumference. It must be all of the walking. I didn’t confess yet that we ate the entire cinnamon babka the morning after we purchased it! That is about a half pound of babka apiece! Cinnamon babka is like a giant thin cinnamon roll dough, rolled up, without all of the super sweet and disgusting icing, so in other words, perfect. Ours was made by Lilly’s Bake Shop in Brooklyn. I would provide a link, but Site Advisor did not bless it, so google at your own risk. Anyway, I just warmed a slice of babka in the microwave for a few seconds, and it was good. So I cut another slice for Margie and for me. And on and on, until it was gone! Cinnamon babka is not the lesser babka! Maybe we will go get another at Whole foods tomorrow, or perhaps try the chocolate one. Oatmeal is getting boring…

It is always fun watching New Yorkers in action. One guy ran after a police tow truck today. I guess it was his vehicle lodged on the back of the truck. He yelled at the guy in the truck, who shrugged and turned onto 5th Avenue and drove away. Another time *two* guys who were not together tried to cross 5th Avenue just as the light was turning red, so there were two cars, a black limo and a cab accelerating to get through the intersection. The guys stopped midway between the two lanes, and the two cars sped right by, one behind the guys, and one in front. No honking or shaking of fists, just an understanding that if either decided to make a run for it, or back-track, they would be dead and the cabbie would be in trouble and probably lose their medallion.

For dinner we went to La Masseria, our favorite Italian place in the theater district. The food is so good, and the waiters so Italian. Anyway, Margie started with the Fritto Misto del Mare, lightly breaded calamari, shrimp, and scallops, with a light tomato sauce. She mostly just drizzled lemon juice on the perfectly cooked fish. I had a Spinach salad with pear slices, nuts, with a Gorgonzola dressing. There were also little chunks of Gorgonzola in the salad. Delicious. For our main courses, I had Gnocchi al Taleggio e Radicchi, which was potato gnocchi in a creamy Taleggio cheese sauce, with Radicchio. Not the best thing for me to eat, but it sure was tasty. I don’t know how they get their gnocchi to be so tender and delicious. Last time I had their ravioli, and it was perfect too. Margie had fettuccine with duck, one of the specials. The homemade fettuccine was so light, it reminded me of versions I have had in the north of Italy. For dessert I had the crème brule, and Margie had Amaretto coffee. We also shared a perfect Chianti during dinner, a half bottle of Machesi Mazzei Chianti. Anyway, for those who visit NYC and want one special dinner in the theater district, La Masseria would be my recommendation.

Our evening show was “In the Heights”, last year’s Tony winner. We really enjoyed it, and bought the cast recording at intermission. Great music, energetic cast, and good sets and special effects make this show one of the best we have seen. Margie liked it more than Billy Elliot. The audience was very badly behaved, again, and the ushers did nothing to stop them. Prior to the show, flashes were going off all over the theater. During the show, the constant chattering and Iphone usage was really distracting, too. But the show more than made up for the rude Monday night audience.

3 Shows to go, and the Tony nominations come out tomorrow!