Business, Beets and Bevvies with Friends

 40 Days in Brooklyn:  Day 31

Thurs Oct 20th. Today I had a business lunch scheduled in the city and Chris and Lawrence were flying home. I left first so we said our goodbyes at the apartment. It was sad but I’m thinking it won’t be so long before I see them again. We promised to try harder at staying in touch and I really hope we do.

Lunch was at the Grey Dog on Carmine Street in the West Village.  I had the Quinoa Bowl with roasted brussell sprouts, leeks, almonds and cranberries and I added avocado for a little extra protein and good fat. It was delicious—the quinoa was really good and fluffy. And the meeting was pretty good too.

After lunch I went back to Brooklyn to clean the apartment, change the sheets and do some laundry because my cousin Tom was coming in from Baltimore that night. Yes, I am that popular. But first, I was having dinner with my friends Stephanie and Scott.

Westville East. Is that a paradox? Or an oxymoron?

That night, I took the train to the East Village and we met at a little restaurant called Westville, known for their farm-to-table veggies. There, I had a chicken breast with a veggie plate of roasted brussell sprouts, asparagus, mushrooms and for anyone who knows me this will come as a surprise—roasted beets.

Ewwwww.

Now I have had a serious aversion to beets for my entire life. My parents pickled their own beets when I was little and whenever they opened a jar there was always this disgusting white stuff on top. Add to that the awful smell, the blood-like color of the beets/beetjuice and my father chasing me around the house with a piece dangling off the fork like the giant buffalo liver in Dances with Wolves. Nothing about this scenario ever once made me think “Ooh, I bet that tastes good!”

But Todd made me promise to have at least one experience a day. Today it was beets. Surprisingly, they weren't bad. They also weren't pickled so that may be it. I'm thinking roasted is the way to go. My Dad will be so proud of me for trying them.

After dinner, we walked down the street and stopped to take photos in front of Katz’s Deli, an institution for New Yorkers and Seinfeld-lovers alike.

Scott and Stephanie. Cute together but not dating anymore. Sigh.

Me and Stephanie. Cute together but this shot sucks, Scott!
No Katz's sign, blinding headlight on right and this is the best of 15.
What the—?

Stephanie takes good photos with my phone. Thanks Steph!

Then we decided to have one last nightcap at a place called Mr. Purple, a rooftop bar and restaurant on the 15^th floor of the Hotel Indigo on the Lower East Side. 

The view was beautiful.

The company was great.

And the night ended way too soon.

Next thing I know, it was time for me to go. I had pick up Tom at the Megabus station at 11 pm.  So I kissed the kids goodbye and took an Uber to the station. Tom was already there when I arrived. We took the subway back to Brooklyn and hit the hay.