G'Damn Life is Good.

It all began at the vineyard.

I woke up Wednesday morning and headed to the vineyard. The air was crisp and the sun was reluctant to shine, but there were still 10 pickers who rallied to do their part. We cut grapes for 3 hours, shot the shit, then headed in for a delicious lunch cooked by the Natali Vineyards owner, Ray. Grilled chicken breasts that were stuffed with fontina cheese, spinach and pine nuts - grilled vegetables, grilled potatoes, good bread, and LOTS of wine. We drank and drank and ate and ate and laughed and laughed. Chuck, one of the vineyard guys, busted out some of his homemade "Monkey Shine" which really put us all over the edge.

Chuck is pretty cool and always experimenting with wine. He tried to make a banana wine which kinda flubbed, so he saved it by adding a few bottles of the liqour 99 Bananas, and poof - MONKEY SHINE was born. Goes to easy and puts a big smile on your face.

Stabley dropped me off at home...I drank some coffee, packed my bags, and then I was in the car and off to North Jersey - my old stomping grounds. I met Gina at GREEK DELIGHTS {i mean, OBVIOUSLY, its always the first place I go to when I pull into town.} Paco hooked us up with a kickass greek salad, hummus, extra pitas, spanakopita, and Chicken & Lamb grilled shiskabobs with tzatziki on the side. All of this for $26! We ate and ate and drank the bottle of wine I 'earned' while picking earlier that day. Afterwards we headed back to Gina's house to get some shut eye. In the morning we woke up and Gina made me "ghost" pancakes...because she's just so damn cute like that!!! Her Mom packed me a brown lunch bag full of snacks, because she's just so damn cute like that, and we were off to Montclair. G had to go to work, and it was POURING rain and beginning to snow- so my plan to spend the day walking around NYC were kinda shot. Therefore I visited some old friends in town and spent the day just relaxing and catching up. Took the train in around dinner time and met Miss Emily Corkill @ Momofuku. There are 3 different Momofuku's in the city, and we went to the Noodle Bar. It's located on 171 First Ave between 10th and 11th. It had a good vibe, delicious food and yummy drinks. As for the bill, well - it was no Dollar Dumplings, but Emily and I left full and happy with a $70 tab. We started with Dark & Stormy Slushies which were just UH<>

Em and Me, sucking down Dark & Stormies.

Here's a bit bout Momofuku:

q: what does momofuku mean?
a: lucky peach

q: what kind of cuisine is it?
a: we try and serve delicious american food.

"ethnic crossovers also occur when distinct elements meet in a single recipe.
This country is, after all, a huge melting pot. why should its cooking not illustrate
the american transformation of diversity into unity?" - wolfgang puck.

q: how often does the menu change?
a: daily.

q: where do your ingredients come from?
a: we use local farms with sustainable practices for as much as possible.

q: are there desserts available?
a: yes, we have house made soft serve ice cream.

We left the warmth of the restaurant for the freezing, rainy cold streets of NYC. Stuffed, cold and having to pee-like-a-race-horse {I drank 50 glasses of water, trying to cool my mouth down after eating their DELICIOUS by oh-so-hot spicy noodles}, we opted to take a cab home. Hooray! We put on PJ's, cuddled up on the couch, drank sparkling Malbec, watched TV and Emmy painted my nails. Sleep.

This morning Emilila has left for work, she's a slave to the advertising industry, and I am sitting in her toasty apartment...blogging away and scheming my next move. Gina is headed into the city to meet me, and in the meantime I think I will head to Vanessas "Dollar" Dumplings and have some fried pork dumplings for breakfast....MmMmMm, breakfast of champions. G'damn, life is good.