Eating in the City

Walking to the restaurant known first for long lines, second for amazing pizza, there was a man a few yards ahead of me who suddenly turned and yelled and was running towards me. Ignoring the strong cold wind that was forcing me to focus on my steps I looked up and saw a black had being thrashed by the wind coming towards me. I grabbed it as it rest at the base of a tree and handed it to the man who was followed by a younger man. The gentleman reclaimed his hat, thanked me and commented on the fact that it took three people to get his hat.

When I got to Grimaldi's, preparing myself to stand outside in this cold Northeastern weather and was surprised that there was no line, just a line of empty chairs and a sad unused rope. I stepped in side and passed and empty table to join my friend at the table she'd snagged minutes before.



A similar thing happened last month when I wanted to go to al di la but was warned of the wait and no reservation policy. KE was walking home in the rain to where I was waiting and noticed there was no line. We walked over and were sat right away.

This brings me to my new theory and philosophy about eating out in New York City. Eat out in the winter at the well known local joints that have lines on days when the weather is terrible. In the summer, cook at home when the produce is fresh and trips to the farmer's market are fantastic sun filled mornings. So far this has been unintentionally working out- we'll see if it works when I'm seeking it intentionally.