Back in New York after our girls weekend in Cape Cod, I went to cheer for Peter at a Tuesday night 5K in Hoboken. It was right on the water, a good group of November Project friends were running - and DAMN everyone killed it! Jeanie and Pete Kruse both won awards!
Peter was finally feeling like his speed was coming back after being so sick in May. 6:38 pace? Yup, I'd say that's fast.
And Emily was having a ball running one of her favorite races on her home turf!
After the race there was beer and wine and a band which we enjoyed for awhile before heading out for some Taco Tuesday food and beverage up the street.
On Thursday, Peter took me out for a delicious dinner at Soccarat Paella Bar in Chelsea. Named after the crispy, crunchyness that forms in the cooking of paella, Soccarat definitely lived up to its name. The crunchy/burnt race was definitely our favorite part.
We opted for the Arroz Negro - the rice is black from the squid ink! I was hesitant at first, but Peter wanted to be adventurous and I was sold on the shrimp, calamari, scallops, and fish that it included.
This paella was massive - yet we were not deterred. Essentially, we finished the entire thing. Paella here is charged per person ($25-$33) with a 2 person minimum.
Pre-paella we ordered two appetizers.
Peter's choice were the bacon wrapped dates stuffed with cheese, almonds and a roasted apple puree. Not that they weren't my choice too - I had just been trying (and failing) at cleaning up my diet. Obviously, I ate my share of bacon wrapped dates.
My one request was "NO patatas bravas." I find them horribly cliche and boring.
So I chose the Milhohas de cordero - lamb terrine, spinach, potato and red peppers. To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect. I just knew I liked lamb. And spinach, potatoes and red peppers.
Well, turns out I ended up loving it (and Peter was a fan too). Except we couldn't figure out exactly what we were eating. I later asked my dad to explain what a terrine was and he said sometimes it's held together using gelatin. UGH. I was hoping that wasn't how ours was made. I told him it seemed like there was an egg-y consistency, and he said that could be it too - so that's what we're going to go with.
Obviously there was a pitcher of sangria included in the meal.
Followed by a walk along the High Line! I always love taking pictures there, especially right before sunset when the lighting is juuuuust perfect.
('Ows about we plow the froth off a coupla cold ones?)
We headed back to Manhattan, met up with Melissa, and entered the yet to be moved into apartment of Alex for some NYC Tri poster making/beer drinking/pizza eating. I was a happy camper.
Naturally, when the pizza was eaten, the poster board was all used, the beer was all drank - we headed to a nearby bar.
(ILY)
It was PACKED and super hot, so we didn't last for very long, but I'm never one to turn down water sand and sun. Or bagels.
(Jeanie is STRONG)
(Are you a running model or something?)
And Emily was having a ball running one of her favorite races on her home turf!
After the race there was beer and wine and a band which we enjoyed for awhile before heading out for some Taco Tuesday food and beverage up the street.
On Thursday, Peter took me out for a delicious dinner at Soccarat Paella Bar in Chelsea. Named after the crispy, crunchyness that forms in the cooking of paella, Soccarat definitely lived up to its name. The crunchy/burnt race was definitely our favorite part.
We opted for the Arroz Negro - the rice is black from the squid ink! I was hesitant at first, but Peter wanted to be adventurous and I was sold on the shrimp, calamari, scallops, and fish that it included.
This paella was massive - yet we were not deterred. Essentially, we finished the entire thing. Paella here is charged per person ($25-$33) with a 2 person minimum.
Pre-paella we ordered two appetizers.
Peter's choice were the bacon wrapped dates stuffed with cheese, almonds and a roasted apple puree. Not that they weren't my choice too - I had just been trying (and failing) at cleaning up my diet. Obviously, I ate my share of bacon wrapped dates.
My one request was "NO patatas bravas." I find them horribly cliche and boring.
So I chose the Milhohas de cordero - lamb terrine, spinach, potato and red peppers. To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect. I just knew I liked lamb. And spinach, potatoes and red peppers.
Well, turns out I ended up loving it (and Peter was a fan too). Except we couldn't figure out exactly what we were eating. I later asked my dad to explain what a terrine was and he said sometimes it's held together using gelatin. UGH. I was hoping that wasn't how ours was made. I told him it seemed like there was an egg-y consistency, and he said that could be it too - so that's what we're going to go with.
Obviously there was a pitcher of sangria included in the meal.
Followed by a walk along the High Line! I always love taking pictures there, especially right before sunset when the lighting is juuuuust perfect.
On Friday I enjoyed a "Summer Friday" which meant I got out of work at 2 p.m. instead of 5.
After getting some stuff done at the apartment, I met up with Peter and his coworkers near Penn Station and a nice new outdoor area for some oil cans (aka Foster's!)
Later that us and the girls met up with Jess because her mom and grandmother were visiting from Ohio! We went to Rosa Mexicano and enjoyed a few more drinks. It was so nice getting to meet them.
After some sleep we woke up and made our way to the Brooklyn Brewery for a day of beer tasting. The line was pretty long and it was HOT out. Eventually, we got in and had a half hour to kill until our tour. We bought some beer tickets and got to sampling. 5 beers is $25, which wasn't bad considering the quality of the beer! We tried three before we went on the tour.
Our tour guide killed it. He was great, we learned the basics of a brewery tour, and also some fun stories that pertain specifically to Brooklyn Brewery.
Afterwards, we finished two more beer samples.
The bar area is pretty cool because you can bring your own food in and people had huge spreads with games. It would be a fun place for a birthday party!
On our way out we perused Smorgasburg and got some odds and ends as the packed up. We sat down by the water for awhile and it was really nice enjoying a view of the skyline, looking at the city that I have spent barely any time in during the last couple of crazy weeks.
We headed back to Manhattan, met up with Melissa, and entered the yet to be moved into apartment of Alex for some NYC Tri poster making/beer drinking/pizza eating. I was a happy camper.
Naturally, when the pizza was eaten, the poster board was all used, the beer was all drank - we headed to a nearby bar.
Sound like enough fun and activity for a weekend?
Nope. Still had Sunday, and we got up quite early to make our way to Peter's family's house on Long Island.
After a stop for bagels (we were on Long Island, so DUH) we hit the beach!
That night Peter's dad grilled tons of meat, prepared one of his A+ salads with fresh ingredients from the garden, and his mom baked a killer strawberry rhubarb pie. The caipirinhas (cat purinas as I like to pronounce them) were delicious and the conversation was easy and entertaining as usual. I really do enjoy spending time with Peter and his family - they're cool peeps.
I left that night with some cucumbers from the garden and my own rhubarb to experiment in the kitchen with!
I also left with some pictures of this pretty guy.
And with THAT another summer week came to a close.
