Zelia chides me for never wanting to go
out. Or more specifically, never wanting
to go out for dinner. Last night she
calls and suggests dinner. I decline. I may spend money on a shearling coat, but I
do try and cut back on restaurant food. Clearly
it’d make a lot more sense to eliminate the coat than a nice dinner.
Tonight we are seeing a movie, The Words. I suggest dinner at Shake Shack since I’ve
never been. Danny Meyer, a high-end restaurant owner, developed this low-end hamburger-fries-and
shake place about eight years ago in Madison Square Park. Two years ago a Shake Shack opened on the
Upper East Side.
Zelia’s response to my suggestion is this: “How long have you known me?” In other words, I’m not spending a Saturday
night going to a casual eatery with no waitress service and everyone there
being under 25. But being sensitive to my budget, she recommends instead a
highly rated pizza place in the East Village, Numero 28.
We go to a 6pm movie in Kip’s Bay, and bump
into Shari and her family…unusual given the early time and location. The movie is complicated, clever and
enjoyable. Our plan was to walk the mile
or so to the restaurant, but it’s raining too hard when the movie ends. We take a cab a few blocks, and by the time
we get to Numero 28, the sky has cleared.
At the restaurant we meet up with a couple of Zelia’s
friends, both Brazilians. For the most part, the animated conversation stays in
English. The restaurant is outstanding;
the pizza lives up to its reputation. I
am relieved when no one orders dessert (and I get to save a few calories). One of Zelia’s friends insists on picking up the tab. It’s a great night out. I even learn the word for thank-you in Portuguese.
I'm home just as it starts to rain again.
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