My Birthday Weekend
As those of you who have been longtime VittlesVamp readers know, I like to go all out for my birthday.
This year was no exception. And since my b-day fell on Saturday, I decided to embrace Friday night and all day Sunday as part of the celebration.
The birthday mania kicked off on Friday evening with a "trip back to Spain," in the form of dining with three friends at Murray Hill's Pamplona restaurant. We began with a bottle of Tempranillo and a flurry of tapas, moaning in particular over the Pincho de Chorizo y Gambas, which paired spicy sausage with delicate shrimp, mounded atop crunchy toast points slathered in creamy goat cheese. As our main we asked the chef to prepare the classic dish of Paella for four. We weren't disappointed with our pick. The rice was tender and fragrant with saffron, garlic, roasted red pepper and onion, graced with chucks of braised short rib, thick slices of chorizo and gorgeous seafood. We capped off the meal with a dessert plate that featured addictive cinnamon-sugar dusted Churros and quickly hailed a cab to make it to the next stop on the birthday express: Pegu Club.
Attempting to ward off the pain that was about to approach at the strike of midnight, I had asked several buds to join me at this swank cocktail lounge for drinks and revelry.
A good plan indeed.
Several Earl Grey MarTEAnis and Whiskey Smashes later, and I realized that turning another year older might not be so bad - especially if I had good pals and good cocktails to help soften the blow.
Midnight came and went. I bid adieu to the swank lounge and entered my big day with a smile on my lips, a slight buzz and a handsome male companion by my side.
Hmm...Not bad at all...
The "real" day held many pleasures as well, a trip to the Russian Baths most definitely being a highlight. A few hours with a couple of gal pals - Queen Celeste and Joy - sauntering in an out of baking hot saunas and steam rooms, dipping into an icy plunge, floating in a indoor swimming pool and kicking back in a bubbling jacuzzi, and the years were melting away.
Fresh from the Russian Baths, we took our youthful exuberance further uptown to the popular East Village hot spot The E.U. to join a few more gal pals for a proper fete. From the still-warm-from-the-oven Pretzel Bread brought to our table to the sparkling flutes of Cava to the perfectly grilled Octopus to the luscious Quince Tart with Cinnamon Ice Cream pictured above, it was a marvelous dinner. Drinks at a nearby club just gilded my already tipsy lilly.
To complete the weekend, Sunday was a much more low-key affair - but not without its charms. A half-hour of luxurious, relaxing, foot rubbing attention at Angel Feet with my friend Leah proved to be the perfect late day respite. And, with our tootsies well-coddled, we braved the rainy weather to sidle up to the bar at Employee's Only for a proper cocktail and a gab session.
Within a few sips though, all the partying and relaxing took its toll. It was time to head home for a good night's sleep.
What can I say? At my age, beauty sleep is important!
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...