the boys take on the fabulous food show

so, this past weekend, we somehow ended up doing a couple of things at the fabulous food show. on friday, i got to be a "celebrity" judge for the time warner cable "twc eats" pumpkin recipe cook-off. the winning entries were all wonderful and it was nice to find out that everyone else is still a better baker than i am. on saturday, ryan, mike, and i handed out samples of marigold fare at the taste of the neighborhood booth. we served grilled black bean raviolis with chorizo and cilantro creme fraiche. we also had the good fortune to share the booth with chris, jason, and danny from tremont tap house, one of my favorite bar/restaurants in the city. between the bunch of us, we managed to have a bit too much fun and a couple of beers, but isn't that what this sort of event is all about? well, regardless, that's what it was about for us. apologies to anyone who may have gotten the plates on which i wrote "this is poisoned" or "e.coli rules" before returning them to the pile to be used the next day. like i said, too much fun.

the big apple

in my seemingly neverending quest to pack as much human experience into life as possible, i took the opportunity afforded me by a saturday off from marigold to spend halloween weekend in new york city. to the right you can see the crappy aerial photo of manhattan that i took out of the plane window on the way in. halloween night was a blast in and around time square with everyone (yours truly included) dressed for the holiday and the bars jam-packed with revelers. our hotel had a huge party that went until 4am...i know, i stayed to make sure it was true. : ) saturday meant a long walk up to central park, the metropolitan museum of art, some (very little) shopping on fifth avenue, lunch at bouchon bakery, and a very touching visit to strawberry field, the john lennon memorial in central park. in times like these, it's interesting to think back to a time when someone so famous would put so much of his reputation on the line to support love, peace, and understanding. that night, we went to see mel brooks' "young frankenstein" on broadway, apropos of the weekend, and finished with some late night outdoor dining at pastisse in the meatpacking district...i'm always a sucker for french bistro food. sunday saw more beautiful weather, a great brunch at a place called simply "eatery", apparently a local favorite in hell's kitchen, a visit to moma, and a final stop at a hole-in-the-wall bar to watch a little football before heading off to the airport. travel is important because expands your view of the world and yourself. it also teaches you how reasonable drink prices are in cleveland.