you could've just asked....

Dinner at Ponte Vecchio last night for Vineel's birthday. We were originally supposed to go to Rocco (not Rocco's on 22nd Street, rather the original one in Noho), because Vineel had eaten there before and liked it, but it was closed.

The food was fine, but not great. Standard dishes like gnocchi in pesto and penne alla vodka. Small portions, bad house wine, and really slow and confused service. And it really wasn't any cheaper than Bar Pitti, my favorite place right around the corner, would have been. For dessert, we were going to head over to Otto for olive oil ice cream (rapture), but the waiter wanted to put a candle in something, so we stayed. The zabalione with berries may have made up for the rest of the meal. Light, rich, not at all runny -- possibly the best I've ever had.

mmm, vitello tonnato

It's true, I do love a good lobster roll, but vitello tonnato is my absolute favorite dish. Delicate, creamy, caper-tangy, tuna-fishy, and really not that hard to make if you have a food processor and know what you're doing. So why don't more restaurants offer it more often? Get it while you can.

I think I can, I think I can

Oh, dear God. Help me here people. I've been saying forever that I want to move to DC, and I've always claimed to want to be a food writer. So what did I see posted on MediaBistro today? An opening for editor of the Washington Post's weekly Food section!

I want it! I can do it! I love their food section, I read it every week!

Only one problem. Every job I've ever had has been offered to me. I have never successfully applied for a job. I don't know how to do it. I am hyperventilating just thinking about this. My reticence to sell myself in this way is exactly why my career is in the shape it's in: rather good, but not really what I want to be doing, or where I want to be doing it.

Funny, in most other aspects of my life, my policy has always been "why not?" or "it doesn't hurt to ask." But in two very important realms, love and career, I do the exact opposite, exactly where it matters most.

Really, I'm the ideal candidate for the job; I just have to convince them of that. I think I do have excellent experience; I just hate applying for jobs.

the moon is made of cakes

Tonight I'm going to Mooncake Foods for dinner. I've been talking about it since it opened, every time we're thinking about a cheap but tasty alternative for dinner. But it's all the way over by the Holland Tunnel, so we've never managed to go until now. I'll let you know how it goes.

TK got all excited at the concept of mooncakes, though they don't actually serve those, just allude to them. As she explained the Moon Festival to me, I imagined an interpretive dance to worship the moon, with cakes in the dancers' hands. (This year, the Moon Festival will be on September 28.)

Get out the VOTE

Okay, so maybe I don't quite get the connection between a website contest and registering to vote, since you can enter the contest and still not register. But here's what I do know:
1. You should register to vote
2. You should vote on November 2 (I'd prefer it if you vote for Kerry, my hometown boy, but of course it's up to you)
3. You should wish me a happy birthday on November 4, while I might be celebrating, I might be crying into a beer, but I'll probably be waiting for the results of the recounts.

Fresh eggs

Anyone want to buy a chicken house? Comes complete with chickens....