Man-hattan

Kelly & I are in NYC right now. Just got here yesterday & it is hot as HELL. I should be used to this having lived in Memphis for 8 years, but it still doesn't help. Our driver was taking us over the Brooklyn Bridge & just happened to mention that it was 102 degrees! We didn't let that deter us from doing some exploring on foot. We happened upon Morrell Wine shop next to Rockefeller Center. We must have looked like vagrants because one of the wine stewards followed us & stood near us to prevent shoplifting! Hey, I can't blame her, I probably was soaked with sweat & stinky so....But after she engaged me in conversation & learned my tastes we were having a good time & I was spending too much money on really good wine. Kelly made a very interesting observation that "New York has places like this Morrell in one of their most heavily touristy areas. Memphis has rib & burger joints & shops that sell silly bobble heads or other crap. That shows you the different plane that New York is operating on."

For dinner last night we made reservations at Perilla in the West Village. We are huge Top Chef fans so naturally we wanted to eat at Harold Dieterle's (the 1st Top Chef winner) restaurant. The decor & layout were very beautiful. However, on this boiling day it seemed as though they didn't have the air conditioning on. That wasn't pleasant, but we got over it. The second strike was the poorly made sidecar cocktail. Kelly was not happy about it but he drank it. It needed more lemon & more sugar on the rim to balance it out. However, as soon as we sat down at our table we were very excited about the menu in front of us. Kelly decided on the spicy duck meatballs for a starter & I chose the halibut cheeks. Both were outstandingly delicious. The meatballs came with a raw quail egg on top that melted into the broth. Fantastic. My cheeks were seared crisp on the exterior with a juicy interior. For our entrees I had the roasted duckling breast & Kelly had the ricotta ravioli with fiddlehead ferns & truffle butter. Oh my goodness...We chose very wisely. Both dishes were perfectly cooked with delicious layers of flavor. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Manhattan. Just call ahead & ask if the a/c is working.....& don't order a sidecar.