First Weekend of the Summer:
The first weekend in new apartment after a move to a different planet, four miles deeper into Brooklyn. My Brooklyn enclave boasts no "grocery stores" - only neighborhood markets… lots of them… populated with women of Mediterranean descent squeezing tomatoes and picking over cherries. The produce is beautiful, abundant - and cheap! However, boxed cereal, prepared hummus, and frozen conveniences are not in abundance - so begins my affair with Fresh Direct (NYC's stellar grocery delivery service). Fortunately, the combination of a $40 minimum order from Freshy-D and the super-abundance of sexy fruits and veggies have greatly improved the quality of in-home snack attacks!

Most recent fruit obsession has all the honey-dripping sexiness of a perfectly ripe mango in a user-friendly package - the mango-nectarine… for more info see http://www.melissasfarmfreshproduce.com/index.jsp?prdId=503.

Amy's Visit:
Day One: Amy arrives in the wee hours of the morning after a stereotypically nightmarish cab ride complete with white wife beater clad, belligerent, NY cabdriver. What a way to start a visit!

Day Two: Begin with a traditional NY breakfast… bagels. Being familiar with generosity of the average bagel man when it comes to cream cheese, Amy opts for necessary adornments “on the side.” Not me, I go all the way with a "schmeer" and bacon to make it a meal.

Later, an impromptu visit to my friend, Chef Ian Chalermkittichai, scored us a dinner table at the Soho-fashionable, modern Thai restaurant, Kittichai in 60 Thompson (the boutique hotel complete with glitterati cult). (http://www.kittichairestaurant.com/open.html) But first, a pedicure and a little reconnaissance (checking out the space where Amy will film a quick segment with a certain Food Network celebu-chef).

Dinner at Kittichai outstanding as always - warm, attentive service, luxe corner booth and a multi-course tasting of the best of the evening's appetizers. Banana blossom salad was a mutual favorite, as was the spicy seafood soup featuring Louisiana prawns, but the big hit of the night was a pork tenderloin carpaccio-style with tiny sweet mushrooms, loads of black truffle slivers, and a hint of exotic calamansi zest (a Southeast Asian lime-like citrus fruit). After an over-the-top selection of desserts, our host sent us (with fresh ginger and lemongrass cocktails in hand) to A60, the private roof garden lounge with a surreal view of NYC - via a slightly awkward elevator ride with Kirsten Dunst. We ended the night with a much-needed walk home, grateful for having great friends in "Thai" places. (What's life without bad puns?)

Day Three: Begins bright and early over coffee in Soho followed by quality time spent in a tiny chocolate shop during a huge thunderstorm. Kee's Chocolates' (http://www.keeschocolates.com/) founder Kee Ling Tong is a genius at combining the most exquisitely pure flavors of passion fruit, black sesame, ginger, saffron, or Thai chiles with the finest chocolate. (Located at 80 Thompson, just up the street from Kittichai). A chocolate/aphrodisiac guest appearance on Dave Does for Food TV made excellent excuse to eat chocolate for breakfast.

Shopped our way up-town and opted for an early start on the evenings meal… eating our way through the Time Warner Building! Noble effort, but were only able to hit three of the outlets in this consummate foodie paradise. A whirlwind visit to the new Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck)… not your mama's grocery store! Wine and a sandwich at Bouchon Bakery… like Bouchon in Napa Valley plunked down in a high-end mall in NYC with great view of Central Park. Cocktails and nibbles at Bar Masa, the elegant home of the most expensive (but tasty) little cucumber salad I've ever experienced. Fun time, and a worthwhile experience, but I admit that I would have rather spent the same money on the yummy gourmet delicacies at Whole Foods and cooked an unforgettable meal at home.

From Columbus Circle to an outdoor show (Broadway Under the Stars) in Central Park… a lovely thought but the weather was not to be trusted. Maybe a walk from the Upper West, down Broadway to Times Square before turning in - and while we're at it, maybe visit another NYC institution… Gray's Papaya, for hot dogs and a tropical drink… that is, after a quick pit stop at the liquor store for a small bottle of rum in a classic little brown bag! It's not such a long way from one extreme to the other here. Besides, there's something to be said for hot dogs and brown bag pina coladas under the stars! Slumming continued as we proceeded down Broadway through Times Square with a cone from Tasty-Delite - fat free and sugar free! (Like air, only sweet). One last stop before turning in to Amy's conveniently located digs in the Roosevelt Hotel (http://theroosevelthotel.com/)… Swedish fish and Diet Coke, anyone?

Can already taste the sequel: 1930s-style French, Pommes Frites, and Chinatown? Let us not miss Milk and Honey, (http://www.mlkhny.com/)!