Lupa, NYC

I woke up this morning a little bleary from my special day. The P-Man and I decided to head back down to Soho to finish shopping...but before that, I had to eat breakfast. We decided to get ready and start walking down Broadway toward Macy's department store, and see what we could see. About 3 blocks from Macy's, I saw it. Jimmy's Coffee Shop. If you are a breakfast person, if you see it, you know it's right. Jimmy's was a find. As I swung the door open, I could smell the grease. There were beige Naugahyde booths as far as you could see. A good breakfast was not far away. We sat down and before long we had a cup of hot coffee and a fried egg sandwich. I had ham on mine, and the P-Man chose sausage. They were simple and filling, and perfect. After breakfast we headed down to ABC Carpet and Home. The P-Man and I are still decorating our apartment, and ABC had 9 floors of inspiration. As we were finishing off the last floor, we were hungry AGAIN...and it was 2 pm...so we headed down the stairs to a restaurant located in the store called Le Pain Quotidien. It was a nice open space with 3 communal tables. We sat down, and decided on a snack to get us through until supper. This was essentially a bakery, although many people around us were eating wonderful looking salads or tartines, lovely little open faced sandwiches. I had an organic buttermilk scone made with steel cut oats and flax seed, served with fresh ricotta drizzled with honey, and homemade apricot preserves. The scone was hearty and substantial and slightly warm. The ricotta was super creamy and sweet with honey. The apricot preserves were absolutely wonderful. A combination of tart and sweet, they paired beautifully with the cheese and scone. Another taxi, and we were back in Soho. More shopping, and then, LUPA!!
I love Mario Batali, and have been looking forward to dining in one of his NYC restaurants. We had a 6 pm reservation, and were a bit early, so headed over to a bar I had read about in a magazine. It was called Minetta Tavern, and we got there at 5:10, and took a seat at the bar. The place looked like a movie set, with the checkerboard floor, and the red leather booths, and the 3 bartenders dressed in white coats, kind of like pharmacists. We ordered a glass of wine, and looked at all the photos on the wall of Eddie Minetta with a variety of celebrities such as Rocky Marciano, in 1941. As Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra played in the background, the crowds started to arrive. By 6 pm, the crowd at the bar was 4 people deep, and we had to go. A couple of blocks to the West, and we were at Lupa. It was a tiny, unassuming place that was already half full. We sat down and ordered some wine and one of the most delicious appetizer platters I have ever eaten. It was all vegetable. 6 different items, from olives, to roasted beets with pistachio butter, to brocolli rabe with ricotta, to treviso with honey and walnuts. After we devoured that, it was on to pasta. I ordered the special, which was a sort of elongated gnocchi with lamb,with a bit of spice. The P- Man ordered the papardelle with chicken ragu. My pasta was tender and delicious, with the most flavourful lamb, I have ever eaten. I am at this moment trying to figure out, when we can go back again, before we leave on Sunday! The P-Man's papardelle must have been good. When I looked up from my lamb, to have a sip of wine, IT WAS GONE!! The P-Man needs to work on sharing! No coffee or dessert...we were too blissed out. Lupa...I LOVE YOU!!