Quick Side Note

While February goes by very quickly at the Bungalow, March is definitely a blur. We don't really get around to doing much here because we simply aren't home. Mike is following my 'Eers and I'm usually at a local dive doing the same ... only locally.

But with this life away from the Bungalow comes wonderful experiences such as this past week's Big East Men's Basketball Championship tournament. My local dives were forsaken when I joined Mike in the Big Apple for four days and nights of Big East Basketball. * Sigh * we have been living the good life. The 'Eers brought home the trophy and I brought home dark circles under my eyes. When in New York you have to go hard or go home.

Which brings me to Saturday. It was almost a bust because of torrential downpours and gale-force winds. Undeterred, I set out to have a good day.

How does this relate to a blog about our house? In a very loose way, my dinner Saturday night brought feelings of warmth and hominess that some often find hard to find in the big city. Eli and Chris were kind enough to take me to chef Marc Forgione's Forge. I sat and gazed around me until I finally decided the place looks like it belongs in a Pottery Barn catalog. It was wonderful. I'll just link the restaurant's site here and let you see for yourself. Check out the menu page. I started with the Watercress & Endive Salad with beets three ways, goat cheese carpaccio and walnut oil. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Then I moved on to the Beer, Butter and Bacon Braised Suckling Pig with red cabbage and smoked whipped potatoes. All I could think of with the first bite was Irving Berlin singing "Heaven .... I'm in Heaven ...." Then I finished with the Affagato Hazelnut Ice Cream Sundae.

Here is a pic of the main dining area in Forge. Eli, Chris and I sat at the table under the big mirror. Poor Mike. He couldn't join us for the meal because he worked his fingers to the bone in Madison Square Garden all week. I made sure to order something I thought he would like to salute his efforts.

Our fabulous meal was wedged between this at 2 pm:

and this at 9 pm:

I dare you to describe a better Saturday spent in New York City!