Good morning from chilly New York City! I finally turned on the heat yesterday. It officially feels like November now.

Last night, I met friends for dinner in Hells Kitchen. Italian was on the menu, so we walked into L’Allegria on Ninth Avenue, where I’d never been before. One thing I love about my neighborhood is how any restaurants there are—I’ve lived here almost 4 years and there’s still plenty I haven’t tried.

It was kind of the perfect thing for a mellow Thursday night. It’s hard for me to say no to half-off bottles of wine and good company—we shared a bottle of Sangiovese (one of my favorites). I may have had half a glass too much, but hey, life is short. And I have plenty of time to rehydrate today. 

I ordered a salmon dish which came with sautéed spinach, frisee salad and roasted potatoes. The salmon itself was covered in some kind of potato crust, kind of like a potato pancake. 

The portions were huge at this place—after I’d eaten enough to feel satisfied, it looked like I’d barely made a dent. Except for the spinach. I could probably eat garlicky spinach every day for the rest of my life and not get sick of it.

Somehow, we spent almost 3 hours in this place. Haha part of that involved Anders’ search for his wedding ring. To put it in his words, he learned that, “yes, he will unscrew pipes in public restrooms if he thinks his wedding ring’s down there.” Carrie obviously found it very romantic, which it was, especially in context. The ring was under the table, luckily.

I spent the rest of the night working on Biochem review for Monday’s exam. Sometimes wine makes me sleepy, and sometimes it makes me quite the opposite. I covered a lot of ground, but I have this feeling I’m already f*cked for the test. Carbohydrate metabolism I can wrap my head around, no problem, but for whatever reason, even when I’m not going through major life changes (more on that at a later date), lipids are hard for me to understand.

Anyway, I’ll spare you the rambling. If you need me I’ll be at my desk writing about reactive oxygen species and alternating between coffee and water.

What are you up to this weekend? Any good restaurant meals lately?