unexpected treats

Having visitors is always fun, but having your family visit is even better. My cousin, Elizabeth, lives in DC and came into town Saturday evening. I had spent the day in Hackensack, New Jersey supporting a friend in a competition for school. We both arrived back in the city about the same time and we were both drenched. It was one of the largest longest thunderstorm New York has seen in a while. So instead of heading back out into the rain we ordered in dim sum, watched Man on Wire and Love and Other Drugs.

Elizabeth celebrated her birthday earlier this month so as a belated birthday treat I took her to Alice's Tea Cup (go figure, I know). But honestly, out of everyone I know, I've been wanting to take my cousin for over a year because she is obsessed with tea. We both tried new teas and both were delightful. After feasting on scones and poached eggs we walked down to the farmer's market before getting ready for the symphony.

We strolled through the park on our way to Carnegie Hall to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO). Absolutely wonderful. An unexpected treat that was beyond words. This was Music Director and Conductor, Riccardo Muti's first three Carnegie Hall concerts with CSO and to a sold out New York audience, he was shown an abundance of praise, as was deserved. I have heard Cherubini's Overture in G Major once before and loved it, which of course I did this time as well, but what stood out to me the most and were the flutes and clarinets in Liszt's Les preludes as well as the bassoon and contrabassoon in Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5. Thank you, thank you to my aunt and uncle for the tickets. Elizabeth and I enjoyed ourselves immensely and will never forget our day or the music.

After the symphony, we headed back to my apartment to relax before dinner. We left about 7:30 to make it down to the West Village for our 8 o'clock reservations at Annisa. We were seated promptly along the back wall of the restaurant and greeted by our waiter shortly after. We looked over the menu and although everything was tempting, we each made our decisions pretty easily. Liz chose the lamb and I chose the veal tenderloin, which was hands down one of the best things I have ever eaten. That is, until we had dessert. Seriously, we could have ordered every item listed, so we asked our water what he suggested and without hesitation he recommended the "pecan and salted butterscotch beignets with bourbon milk ice" and the "tower of caramelized banana and peanut butter with coconut sauce." The coconut was very mild, which was nice since neither of us are big coconut fans. We had such a lovely time at dinner and indulged like royalty. I highly recommend Annisa to anyone and everyone. Cheers!