Da Silvano

Da Silvano is most often mentioned as a stomping ground for bold faced names, but is also one of my favorite places for an over indulgent weekend lunch.  The Tuscan trattoria has been open since 1975 and still has an energy in the air that buzzes with excitement.  The dichotomy of the laid back staff that feel like the Italian cousins you never had, and the crowd clad in fur is as puzzling as the menu, which showcases specials in Italian with little translation.  The best pick for lunch, if you are a veggie-lover like I am, is the simply but delectably prepared artichoke.  It comes out whole and drizzled with lemon and oil, with the leaves ready for plucking.  Its impossible to eat gracefully, so if you're there to pick up a shout out on Page Six its probably not your best bet (luckily a non-issue for me so I could happily go swimming in this artichoke and go unnoticed).  For a heartier lunch, the Spaghettini Puttanesca is equally delish.  Try to score a table outside and maybe you will catch a heated interchange between the owner of Da Silvano and his former friend and current owner of neighboring restaurant, Bar Pitti.  Nothing like Italians cursing over big bowls of pasta to make you feel like you're on an authentic visit to the old country!

A Soapy Tribute

ABC has pulled the plug on iconic soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live announcing that after over 40 years both programs will be ending within the next 9 months.  This may prove to be a difficult time for the die hard readers of Soap Opera Digest.  After a recent episode of All My Children, KathyNYC wrote in:

'Ryan lost his true love Greenlee, only to move on in a few days. Now he realizes that Kendall really loves Zach after all, and it's "oh well, time to move on again" and he is grinning like an idiot with Erica. What kind of grown man has two new relationships less than 6 months after the death of his true love? That is just sick.'

This is awkward.  I'm not sure who is going to clue Kathy in that Ryan is a fictional character played by a 17-year-old looking to be the next Kelly Ripa.  Though I was not allowed to watch soap operas growing up, I too was just like KathyNYC.  When my nannies chatted on the cordless phone with their boyfriends, I snuck countless episodes of soapy fun.  What did these coveted hours teach me?  A few golden rules that will sadly no longer be passed on to future generations so must live on in this walk down memory lane instead:

Soap Life Lesson #1: You are resilient and have many lives.  For example, any day of the week your Ferrari could careen off of a cliff and everyone will write you off as dead.  Then, you will show up at your own funeral with a face full of bandages and there will be a dramatic unveiling one layer of gauze at a time.  Luckily your ex-husband is a plastic surgeon and will fix you right up and as you heal you will rekindle your love.  This also leads into life lesson number two: old flames die hard.

Soap Life Lesson #2:  Old flames die hard.  Just like Luke and Laura from General Hospital, one minute you could meet the brother of a prostitute who is your boyfriends ex-girlfriend and the next minute you are the victim of a horrible crime and falling in love with your attacker,  while married to your childhood sweetheart.  Exit childhood sweetheart, enter attacker as the love of your life.   If this sounds super confusing that explains why soap operas run for almost half a century.

Soap Life Lesson #3: Anything worth arguing over must conclude with a slap or a glass of water to the face.  Not to be mistaken with when things get really heated and a man from your past is called in to  'take care' of the situation.  This generally results in a miscommunication by way of the opposing party being buried alive.  Shortly after, a lone pale bony hand will emerge from the dirt in the shape of a claw and this signals trouble.  Queue life on the run.

Soap Operas have provided us with invaluable building blocks, but its probably time to retire our Antonio Sabato Jr. calendars and move on to the next chapter, which according to ABC is reality based lifestyle television.  I'm not sure if learning how to cook gluten free risotto and be our best selves is as exciting as hit men and love triangles, but I'm willing to find out.  Soap Life Lesson #1, you are resilient and have many lives.

Mazel!

This past weekend i left the city and headed to Westchester County.  After only an hour on the train I found myself amidst horse farms, rolling green grass, and estates with manicured shrubbery that did not have one stray leaf out of place.  I was going to my first Bat Mitzvah since my days on the Bar/Bat Mitzvah circuit many moons ago.  And let me tell you, times have changed my friends.  The reception was set in a carriage house behind a country club with hanging lanterns, lovely flower arrangements, and a great view of the property.  No hint of barren dance hall with stray streamers from my days.  In addition to the grown up venue, the 13 year old boys and girls were like miniature New York City adults.  Now that they essentially make adult clothing for kids, teenagers wear what ladies on the town are wearing, just many sizes smaller.  I could have easily shared a cute mini skirt with just about any gal in the place.  Apparently awkward attire is no longer a staple for the awkward years.  Even more surprising was the demeanor of all the kids there.  For the lady of honor, each friend wrote a short note to express congratulations and share some of their favorite classroom memories.  The notes went something like this:

'You are fabulous!'...'You look stunning today'...'You're gorgeous, don't let anyone tell you otherwise!' 

With their mature words and clothes, you would have thought we were toasting someone on the charity circuit at the Pierre in Manhattan.  It was refreshing to see that even though kids may grow up too quickly these days, they are exchanging girl on girl recess hate crimes for thirty-something eloquence and support.  Oh, and one more great thing about Bat Mitzvahs today...they serve drinks to the adults.  Who knew!  Games of Coke and Pepsi and dance motivators are so much more fun over Amstel Lights.

Yerba Buena Perry

Friday night old high school friends got together for guacamole and cocktails, with a side of dinner.  We chose the trendy but delicious Yerba Buena Perry, the West Village version of Julian Medina's Yerba Buena on the Lower East Side.  Yerba Buena Perry boasts Latin American fare with a great cocktail menu.  The black and white tiled floor, mahogany ceiling, and white chairs and banquettes create the perfect atmosphere to sidle up for a three hour dinner - which is exactly what we did.   The taco special with pulled pork was mouth watering and the Malbec braised beef short ribs with black bean salsa was just as impressive.  I didn't opt for the arepa this time, but its worth noting they are highlighted in New York Mag's Best of New York 2010.  Dinner was accompanied with Cholulas, a lime cucumber cocktail spiced with a floating green pepper.  Clearly nothing I would come up with in my own kitchen, but their mixologist is apparently as renowned as the world class arepas.  Aside from the great food, drinks, and of course company, it was refreshing to be met with the antithesis of West Village restaurant snobbery.  The wait staff checked in on us throughout the night and when we had to wait slightly longer than usual for our main course, we were met with a sampling of desserts and a fresh set of cocktails on the house.  Perfect end to a perfect night - although I definitely regretted that last cocktail.

Donkey of the Week

The donkey of this week is meaningless research.  The Today Show just aired a segment featuring a new book entitled 'It's Always Personal: Emotion in the New Workplace'.  The show did a real deep dive into how emotions are handled at the office today.  Shocking results were unearthed.  The author found that women under 40 are ten times more like to cry at work than men over 40.  In other news we already know, drinking has negative affects on your GPA according to the American College Personnel Association.  Shouldn't we be re-allocating resources to research the real head-scratchers like cancer or why Michael Jordan's father was mysteriously killed in 1993?