Tag Archives: portobello

Celebrating Every Day

Last Tuesday, my mom came into the city to get Bailey. I was supposed to go to the beach on Wednesday, and then I was going to head up to Maine on Friday morning.

I ended up getting a call that afternoon for the freelance gig I’ve been at for the past week, and I’m heading to Philly for the Healthy Living Summit this Friday, so he’s been in NJ since last Wednesday.

I’ve missed that little dude, so I hopped on the train tonight to head home to see him. And my parents, too, I guess.

We went to my favorite NJ restaurant, Portobello. 

My mom is really good at always finding a reason to cheers, so tonight we cheers-ed to my recent races and the freelance gig.

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They brought us out salad, and my dad and I split our favorite appetizer, mozzarella and carrozza. It’s basically a fried Italian grilled cheese with mozzarella, and it’s pretty amazing, especially since I only have it once every few months.

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For my entrée, I got farfalle with lobster and sundried tomatoes. It was good, but something was definitely a bit off.

I was pretty bummed the sprint tri didn’t give out medals…

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…so my mom got a medal made for me, which she gave me at dinner!

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Bailey got a medal, too. He’s not quite as accomplished an athlete as his buddy Murphy, but he definitely joins me for 3-mile jaunts when the weather is temperate, so he earned his little medal, too.

What would you cheers to tonight?

And what distance do you consider legit enough to earn a medal?

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Today is my dad’s birthday, so I headed home last night to celebrate with him.

But not before having lunch with one of my favorite people in the world, Emily. We’ve only known each other for a little over a year, but she already feels like family, and I’m really lucky to have a friend like her in my life. I <3 the Internet.

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We grabbed sandwiches and took them up to my roof. I got (my usual) turkey, avocado and pesto on multigrain with lettuce and tomato.

I had to get my dad a birthday present, so I took a walk with her. I wanted to buy him something for his camera. B&H, in my ‘hood, is closed on Saturdays because its owners are Orthodox Jews who observe the Sabbath. I found Adorama, in Chelsea, and didn’t even think to check the hours because surely they weren’t both owned by Orthodox Jews observing the Sabbath. So, of course, I walked down there and they were closed. (FYI, I checked out their site when I was linking to it, and their overstock section has lots of great deals on cameras.) My mom and I ended up stopping at a camera store on the way home, and I got him this bag.

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Slightly more stylish than his current camera bag, but still manly and functional.

When I saw Emily earlier in the day, she asked if my parents and I were going to our favorite Italian restaurant. Yes. She asked if I was going to split my favorite appetizer with my dad.

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Also yes. It’s mozzarella en carozza, Italian for “mozzarella in a carriage.” In English, that’s a mozzarella sandwich fried and breaded. Or you can just call it awesome. That’s what I do. There is not one healthy thing about it, but it is amazing. I used to kill one of these appetizers on my own; now I just have one of the wedges.

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They brought us out salad. Nothing special at all about this salad.

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On the menu, the penne primavera with chicken looked the most appetizing to me. I wasn’t particularly craving white pasta, so I got it with whole wheat fusilli. I was pleased to see, for my gluten-free friends, that the restaurant now has gluten-free pasta. I’m pretty sure that the whole wheat pasta was new, too.

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It’s not a birthday without cake, obviously. I was proud of my mom for finally just getting a small cake.

I’m lucky to have a supportive family nearby during this rough time, so I’m skipping the polo match I was going to attend to chill with my family today.