Milk and Roses, Always.

I arrived in NYC at 7pm last night. I met Emily at her office in manhattan and then we hopped the subway to Brooklyn. We had dinner at the MANHATTAN INN, in Greenpoint. It was spectacular. The evening atmosphere and ambiance was by-far the best I've experienced yet. Cozy, comfortable, dark, and inviting. This will be my favorite winter spot- curled up in a sweater, eating by candle-light...enjoying live music (thanks to the grand piano that the room is centered around) drinking carefully crafted cocktails. Last night Em and I sipped the Bramble On: gin, lemon and fresh blackberry purée. We started with grilled asparagus in a smoky romesco sauce as well as an order of roasted blue potatoes with a spicy chipotle sauce. Dinner was papparadelle pasta with wild mushrooms, grape tomato confit, artichoke purée, capers and topped with a sunny side up egg. We also split the grilled calamari salad. For dessert was elderberry brioche pudding with rum ice cream. Fabulous. Such a great evening with my great friend Corkill...the bill coming out to a modest $87: we left full and a bit buzzed. Not bad for NY. We headed up the road to Emmy's apartment where we cuddled into bed and listened to some BIRDY before falling asleep. (FYI: BIRDY is a 14-year-old pianist from the UK, who makes ammmazzing music. Her album doesn't come out until October 10th, but you should check her out on YouTube.) Em was up and out at 5:30am to catch a flight to her meeting in Atlanta. I woke up around 7 and then mozied down to my favorite cafe, MILK & ROSES. They did some renovations and now, believe it or not, it's even Better than before. Ugh. Epic. Two delicious Americanos and now here I am at Port Authority to catch my 10:30am bus home. It was short and sweet, but just what the doctor ordered. Thank you Brooklyn for giving me what I need once again.