Winter Break 2010: Gluttony Rules!

(Note: this posting has nothing to do with teaching whatsoever. Hurray!)

My body is screaming at me to stop. And yet I must go on.

There are a few hidden gems of being a NYC teacher. One is Winter Break. Just when you think you might go absolutely bonkers with the snow, the cold, and of course, the kids, a sweet little week in mid February appears. And because of this salvation, you're able to make it until the next respite: Spring Break.

Some people go away to wonderfully warm places like the Bahamas. Me? I tried to eat my way through my home town, New York City. And what follows is a short list of my most memorable gluttonous experiences.

1. The Pork Pot at Asia de Cuba. I will probably never go to this restaurant again because it's way too expensive, but for a bougie Restaurant Week bargain, it was absolutely perfect for a week-off-from-school lunch. And of course it helped that I enjoyed it with a fellow fabulous teacher. The gimmick with this place is that they do Cuban "flavors" with Asian "preparation." Oh and they give you big ass portions so you can share. The pork was our main entree. And it was really f***ing good. On top of a braise of bok choy, it's salty, tender fattiness was pretty freaking divine. And we couldn't even finish the whole thing. Josh would never have let that happen.

2. The BLT sandwich at Choice Market. This event happened because of what we saw on that janky The Best Thing I Ever Ate show on Food Network this past Sunday. The theme was bacon and we were underwhelmed by the hosts' "best things" UNTIL we saw Ted Allen's pitch for the BLT at Choice. This is because 1) BLTs may be my most favorite sandwich ever and 2) Choice is kinda near our house. So a plan was hatched. A major hitch in the plan: I decided to go try this sandwich on the one day of the week when it snowed. All day. So I walked a mile in the wet, pelting snow for a sandwich. Was it worth it? Yes. Though the little bugger was a bit on the salty side (which for me is saying a LOT), it was as expertly prepared as Ted Allen promised. Bacon win. (But doesn't bacon always win????)

3. The Coconut Cake at Asia de Cuba. This gets a mention for its sheer size. Gluttony epitomized. It was good but it was more insane. Don't think we finished a quarter of it. Again, Josh wouldn't have let that happen.

4. Large Cappuccino and Scone at Financier's Patisserie. This is because of the foam. Oh when you sprinkle the sugar on it and slowly soaks in.......Yeah, this made me feel European and appropriately sophisticated in all matters breakfast. And dunking the scone in the foam. And it crumbles off a bit. Ahhhhhhhhhh.

5. Bone Marrow at Henry Public. This almost didn't make the list because I'm 90% sure it gave me weird dreams last night. And yet, in a posting about gluttony, how could I not mention it? It was appropriately fatty and salty and tasty and yet that's not why it made the list. It made the list because it's freaking BONE MARROW. Meat Butter. It is everything you're not supposed to put in your body and yet I happily did. It felt old school and deviant and wonderfully wrong. It felt like everything I should be doing on vacation. Glutton win.

So there it is for now. I'm gonna to party through my body's screams for greens and tofu and continue doing what I do until this vacation officially ends on Monday morning. Edamame and string cheese will be back in my diet soon enough. But today: I think I need to find an almond croissant...