phyllis comes to town

My mom arrives around 1; I always love when she comes to visit.  She is independent, neat, and not demanding — the perfect guest.

I’ve asked her to bring her iPad so I can teach her a few things.  She is proud that she uses one, but hasn't quite mastered its functions. After two years of owning one, she is still saying, “I really should take a class.” Recently she asked, "How do I send an email that someone sends to me to someone else?"  And today she tells me she’s having a problem with the device. “I put the thing down and that’s what comes up.”  I have no idea what that refers to. It is not like we have the iPad open and she is showing me what that is.

After a quick lunch, my mom leaves for “Bloomies,” and I resume my marathon call with Sean, from Apple.

Around five, my mom comes home, and I pose the simple question, “What do you feel like doing for dinner?” 

Usually this leads to a lengthy discussion.  First, do we order in or go out (we never cook)?  We quickly decide to go out.  Then comes the more complicated question of where.  Typically it takes hours to decide on a place that offers choices my mom and I both like, is nearby, and is reasonably priced.  Tonight it takes no time at all.

I suggest 83 ½, an Italian restaurant that describes itself as “a combination of classic Italian cuisine and modern presentation.”  We were there last summer; the food was excellent, but the menu was limited and the restaurant empty. We decide to try it again, after finding a 30% off coupon on Savored NY.

Tonight’s experience is unlike the one from last year.  The menu has expanded and the restaurant has become more popular.

We start by splitting a salad of burrata cheese, tomato, and roasted peppers.  I wish I had the culinary vocabulary to describe the incredible mix of tastes in the salad.  For a main course, I order the “duck breast, with grilled fresh peach, goose berrys and sweet onion.”  It might be one of my top ten entrees ever (not that I have a list).  My mom loves her spaghetti with turkey meatballs, and we are entertained watching all the exquisitely plated foods exit the kitchen for other diners.

The chocolate mousse we have for dessert is also among the best I’ve ever had.   By the end of the meal, we are in conversation with the couple to our left, and the family to our right.  The family’s young daughter has sophisticated taste; she orders mussels and then the tagliatelle with duck ragù.  Alexander at her age still shunned condiments of any kind, once even ordering “French toast without the French.”

It’s nice having my mom in town.  And, we may even have found a restaurant we both love, making our restaurant choice easy for the future.  Unless, of course, I give in and let her choose a Jewish deli for dinner.