Slacker City

I haven't technically been slacking, per se, but I've had out of town visitors, Beth and Edgin. Boy, oh, boy, did we have a fun filled weekend! I love being a tourist in my own city (especially because I've only been here a little while) and I love taking out of towners to the fun restaurants, that I think only the "locals" have knowledge of.

Thursday, I took Beth and Edgin for an after work drink in Grand Central Station. This building is old as the dickens and the details are spectacular. The bars are popular after work venues because some commuters have a long commute home. Anyhoot, we went to Oysters Bar and had a nice glass of wine and a little snack of fried calamari and oysters.

Friday, I planned a super secret dinner at a totally awesome, hip place. This place is like no other. I didn't tell Beth and Edgin where we were going because I didn't want them to look it up. We went to La Esquina, in SoHo, and I'm not going to mention much because I want to take others there and I don't want to ruin the essence of the place. I will say it's a Mexican restaurant, delicious foods, hip ambiance.
Next, we went to The Volstead and met up with Melanie and Anna's boyfriend Adam. Oh yeah, Anna went to dinner with us, as well as Live In and his colleague.
The Volstead is a place where you go for a few drinks, but not to stay and party all night. Plus, they have FUNFUNFUN DJs so, we, DANCED!!!

Saturday, I had a tiny bit of a hangover, nothing a little coffee, bagel, fruit, and ibuprofen couldn't cure.

We spent Saturday exploring the Brooklyn Bridge, scarfing down Brooklyn Pizza and Brooklyn Beer before we headed to the Museum of Sex. Yes, we did. It was interesting, one could say. Not a place to take your mother.
We *tried* so hard to go to Grimaldi's, but the line for the best pizza in New York was over an hour and a half long. Dang. So we went around the corner to a place called The Pizza. The pizza was delicious, but I thought the crust was too thin and it became a tad bit soggy from the sauce. My favorite pizza places are 1. Bleeker Street Pizza and 2. Cafe Daniello on 2nd Ave.

Saturday night, the Live In and I went to a restaurant around the corner, Ocean Grill. I love all of the BR Guest Restaurants, my MOST favorite being Blue Water Grill. I will need to dedicate 3-4 posts on it!
I ordered Crab Encrusted Mahi Mahi with Coconut Rice and I had a Roasted Beet Salad with Macadamia Encrusted Goat Cheese. Both dishes were good, but nothing to have again.
The presentation was beautiful though:

Sunday I had a Long Training Run through the New York Road Runners. The training runs are only $10 and I must say it is a very well organized event, complete with fuel and water stations and pace leaders. Totally worth it! You can choose to run between 6-20 miles and today I ran a little over 13.
Central Park is a hilly B$#&* and I forget it every. single. time. My legs were sore/jelly by mile 6, but I soldiered on! I started out with the 9:30 pace group, but I think we ended up running a 9:00 pace, so I slowed down a bit and ended up with a 9:38 pace after the first loop. The second loop, I waited around for the 10:00 pace group and we ended up running most of it at a 9:45 pace. Even passerby runners, were looking at their pace watches and said, that's a fast 10:00. It sure was. I gooed, then finished by running the rest of the way home.
Post run, I refueld with a Green Monster (best refuel ever).

Tonight, we ate grilled BBQ Chicken, Corn and Zucchini Quinoa (from the NYT-link below) and grilled corn. Dessert is Mocha Almond Fudge Coconut Milk Ice Cream.
It feels so good to fuel properly.
I think all the cheese from the pizza did a number on my stomach-which is why I limit the amount of pizza I eat.

I'm off to watch Entourage, then to bed so I can read my new book, Love Is a Mix Tape! Thanks, Stacey for the read!

Edgin and Beth, I had a great time and I'm glad you guys came to visit!!

Link to Recipe: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/health/nutrition/07recipehealth.html?ref=fitnessandnutrition


Good night!