Wrote an entire post that got deleted somehow. Grr. So, here goes take two. As with the last post, I am noting, for the record, that this post will do absolutely nothing to convince my father that I do not, in fact, spend all of my free time jaunting about the city eating and drinking.  That said, I do it to keep up with the scene about which I write, but I do it mostly as a way to catch up with friends, who share similar passions (probably why we get along so well).  The weekend started off on Friday with post-work cocktails at Pegu Club with @daisy17 & @jordanarothman and then moved on to tapas at Tertulia, which is quickly becoming a neighborhood favorite.  I need to gather a large group to get their paella and also go sometime to their chef's dinner.

Saturday I slept late and shopped for provisions, produce and flowers at the Greenmarket. Once home, after lingering over coffee and the paper for a bit, I met up Karen once again for our maiden voyage to Smorgasburg, a food-only market by the Brooklyn Flea folks, where we joined up with Jordana and Daniel, and later John P. I had a decadent CT-style (all butter, no mayo) lobster roll from the Red Hook Lobster Pound followed up with a People's Pop made from Stumptown coffee, cream and sugar — have to try to recreate those at home. Delicious. Next we walked over to Maison Premiere (where Vince joined us), where we lingered in their beautiful back garden over oysters, drinks and conversation. For the grand finale, the majority of us headed back to Manhattan, where we had a drink at Employees Only while we waited for dinner at Red Farm, another new favorite. Their dumplings are outrageous, as is the rib eye!

Sunday morning I went for a much-needed run, then headed up to Yankees Stadium with fellow USBGNY members where I was utterly spoiled from all future baseball games by sitting in a swanky suite. Truly luxurious!  Pictures from the game are here. After the game, a small group of us went out for drinks and nibbles, stopping at Pete's Tavern, Death & Company and Dram.

 
Monday, the bonus day, I relaxed at home, did laundry, and made a batch of cold sesame noodles using sauce I had gotten from the Shorty Tang folks at Smorgasburg (see, Dad? Relaxing! Cooking! Being domestic!). Those were my contribution to @BeerGuy1's barbecue later that afternoon/evening; the food was fantastic — that's what you get when the team behind Hearth is manning the grill — and featured falling-off-the-bone smoked ribs and these beauties pictured above, among other delights. I made one final stop before heading home to bed: back to Maison Premiere to visit a friend who was guest bartending from New Orleans. He made me a perfect French 75 on my last trip there and decided that his French 75 would be a perfect way to cap off an amazing Labor Day weekend.