Can't Stop the Serenity 2007, a benefit for Equality Now.

MoCCA Art Fest 2007...



...with Spano,...



...Asgardian,...



...(l to r:) Tim Fish, Richard Ruane, Brett Hopkins,...



...a pair of bright purple sneakers,...



...and this guy.

Who said it? Out of whose mouth did arise the words, "Crisco-bottom, sloppy pig-boy"? Guesses in the comment section, please.

Under the Volcano, Murray Hill.

I still haven't forgiven John for getting me hooked on Top Chef, but what's done is done, and tonight John, Sunny, Jina and I head to Perilla, Harold Dieterle's new place in the Village. Really nice space, uncluttered and clean. Though quite a bit larger than I was lead to believe (and relatively quiet when we arrive), the place gets filled to capacity seemingly the moment we sit down.

For starters I get the duck meatballs. A raw quail egg in the center of the bowl adds untold layers of flavor and texture to the jus. It tastes so good I want to cry. John gets the raw hamachi, which is both meaty and refreshing. Very nice, indeed.



For main, I choose the grilled rack and breast of Colorado lamb, served over dandelion and cippolini onions with a parsley root mousseline which is so sweet, creamy, buttery, it's almost like caramel. The food-induced crying continues.



Some kind of fight.





We keep joking that we want a Harold sighting (John even lays it on pretty thick with the waitress with the whole we-flew-in-all-the-way-from-L.A.-crap), but by the time we get to dessert (chocolate and cardamom ice cream, which nobody likes but me, and the sticky coconut cake with basil-watermelon salad and a small scoop of frozen perilla yogurt, which we would gladly just sit and eat all night) we pretty much give up...when suddenly, out of nowhere, there he is. Pencil behind his ear, sitting at a table, chatting up some people he apparently knows, one of whom we joke looks a lot like Tom Colicchio. We look again. It IS Tom Colicchio!

Alright, so Colicchio has like five places in town, and obviously after the show the two would probably stay in touch (or at least maintain a professional interest in the other's career), but still, come on, what are the chances?



Drive-by photo of Colicchio on our way out.



Great night for all.

John, Sunny, and Jina are in town for the New York Licensing Show.



It's Sunny's birthday, too. John takes us all to Tavern On the Green.

A whole big bunch of us go to see Vampire Cowboys' revival of Living Dead in Denmark (which is awesome) at Theater Row. Afterwards a few of us end up at Anotheroom in Tribeca. All these pictures are of Christina because she's pretty and also because she hasn't yet appeared on this blog.

It's welcome home/happy graduation for Izzy, with Ken and Shannon, at the Spotted Pig in the Village.



There's been a lot of press about this place since it opened, most of it strictly Page Six stuff, or the fact that among the several investors in this place are Jay-Z and Mario Batali. Jay-Z and Mario Batali. Riiight. What next, Martha Stewart and Busta Rhymes presenting an MTV Award together? Preposterous.

My frittata is nice. Shann and Iz's burgers are bloody though they distinctly ask for medium-well. I can't remember what Ken orders. We split two desserts between us: the walnut, chocolate & amaretto cake, which is either too subtle for me, or is just plain dry and flavorless, and the lemon and lime tart, which I think is entirely too loud and in-your-face. I'm hoping that the two desserts will somehow be able to meet in the middle, but we all know desserts don't always work that way....



Shann and Iz want to go to nearby Magnolia Bakery for cupcakes ("for research") afterwards, followed by record-and-jewelry-bin diving at the street-fair. Nice day to be out.


[6/10 edit: Ken had a Cuban sandwich, and it looked good.]

For Dave.

Kelda, Jim, Laura, and Johnny at Lolita Bar, LES.

Happy birthday to Lloyd and Ellie (and anniversary of their meeting, too).



Plus, Kelda is in town from Tacoma.