Life has gotten away from me (what life? HAH). Last Friday I headed down to NYC to volunteer at the Joy of Sake event . The way the event was set up bottles of sake, categorized by type, lined tables in the center of the rooms; food tables offering small bites were placed along the walls. I was actually working at the table for Kyo Ya, an East Village restaurant that specializes in kaiseki, helping them keep the table stocked. I don’t think the chef totally believed me when I said I didn’t need to take a break because I was having fun, but it was entirely true. Sadly, my work ethic caused me to miss some supposedly amazing pork belly. So it goes. If I come into some money I will definitely make a visit to Kyo Ya though.
Friday night was spent in Brooklyn at a friend’s birthday. I had an amaaaazing everything bagel Saturday morning at a coffee shop in Bushwick that I can’t remember the name of but that I can guarantee I wasn’t hipster enough for. It was part of my general pattern of weekend spontaneity (Look Ma! No bus schedules!). The bagel may not have lived up to an Absolute bagel (I will always have a soft spot for Absolute bagels) in terms of internal texture, but the mixture of toppings was top-notch. Sometimes it seems like people forget an everything bagel isn’t just poppy and sesame. It needs salt! And onion!
Aside than getting to taste some excellent food, another benefit of volunteering at this event is that the partial bottles are divvied up at the end of the night among volunteers. I came back to Ithaca with 9 bottles of varying levels. This presented its own issues. Luckily, plenty of people offer to help you with your issues when they consist of 9 bottles of sake that need to be consumed. Now I’m thinking of gently peeling all the beautiful labels off and making an art project of it. Maybe when I have a life again.
