After sleeping for 11 hours, I geared up and wandered across the Seine to the Jardin du Luxembourg, where my Dad told me that he saw many Parisians jogging.  I got completely lost on the way there, but had a lovely walk, and after a good run I wandered back along a different route, taking in the sights and sounds of the city on my way back.  I landed back in the ‘hood just in time to wander through the market, catching a whiff of some delectible roast chicken as I walked through.  I was tempted to buy some scallops, as they were gorgeous, sitting in their shells, but I passed, and headed home for a shower. 

Carlos had invited me to join him and some friends at the racetrack that afternoon.  As we attempted to coordinate, I realized just how much I take my cell phone for granted.  Dad and Joan had given me a calling card, so I was able to use a payphone to call Carlos’ cell phone, but of course he couldn’t call me back.  He was off having brunch, so I wandered around some more, stopping for a falafel sandwich along the way, and checked in with him every so often to check on his progress.  Despite the telecom difficulties, we finally were able to meet up at the Hippodrome at the Bois de Boulogne.  I opted out of the gambling, but enjoyed watching Carlos and his friends lose all their money (probably about 10 euros combined). 

After the races, I returned back to the apartment to warm up and got ready for dinner.  I decided to take a chance and headed to L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon.  Arriving at 9:30 on a Sunday night, I was dismayed to hear that I’d have to wait for over an hour for a seat.  Apparently, in Paris they eat as late as we do in New York, even on school nights.  After a short walk and a half a glass of wine in the  adjoining hotel lobby, the hostess called me in — I don’t even think it was 1/2 hour.  I sat at the sleek bar and examined the menu.  I decided to stick to the tasting portions, so I’d be able to try more dishes without getting too full.  I began with the foie gras (take that, Gothamist commenters!), and got a glass of sauternes to accompany it.  My next course was a delicate lobster  ravioli with black truffle butter atop green cabbage.  I had to sop up every drop of the sauce with my bread — yum.  At that point, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to go for another tasting course, so I chose conservatively, and headed straight for dessert, a pair of pots au creme — one chocolate and one vanilla — accompanied with a glass of moscato.  The entire restaurant is bar seating, which is nice — I ended up chatting with the couple to my right in a mix of French and English about their dining adventures in New York — Daniel, Jean Georges.  Clearly I should hang out with these people the next time they come to town.  The bartenders/waiters were very friendly as well, and for whatever reason, they not only comped my moscato, but gave me another glass on the house.  I took a cab home and, pleasantly full, slept quite well.

As my mom pointed out in an email, I must be very busy this week since I haven’t updated the blog.  She’s right — I’ve been busy and tired, so I apologize for the slow posting.

Well, not my car.  A rental car.  I (and my passagers) survived my first time driving around and out of Manhattan — somehow I managed to make it this far without doing it.  It went just fine, for the record.  OJ was full of friends, fun, food, music, a great run in the pine-scented air, and a fantastic video that Jay made to commemorate our 10th annual OJ. 

Upon returning home on Sunday, I was able to sneak in a power nap before heading off to my judging duties at the Vendy’s — you can find out who won on Gothamist.  It was an incredibly fun event, and I got to see a cross-section of my world: mom, beach house folks, public interest law folks, food people — they were all there.  I somehow managed to take very few pictures the whole weekend, but I’ll get them up soon.

After going to the FoodCandy meetup and meeting some lovely new folks, I made myself a simple dinner before heading off to Stephanie’s birthday soiree Friday night.  Due to the acoustics at the bar, however, it was a little hard to catch up with anyone or, more accurately, nobody could hear me.  I have one of those voices that simply does not carry in a loud bar.  On my way back home, I got a text message from Luke, and we were able to chat (quietly) over a glass of wine.  Saturday, I was up early to head to Rhinebeck for Yael and Jonathan’s wedding, which was great fun — congrats again to both of you!  The Lovely Miss Katie and I were both in attendance, as were my dad and Joan — I even convinced my dad to dance with me.

Finally, I spent yesterday relaxing before cooking yet another fantabulous meal with Jimmy.  This time around we made a pumpkin and sage risotto topped with seared scallops and a sage and truffle butter.  To go with we made oven roasted tomatoes with herbed breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese and roasted zucchini and onions.  The grand finale was individual molten chocolate cakes with whipped cream (and the very last of my aged Havana Club rum). 

I’ve been putting off writing about that meal all day because I’ve been fasting for Yom Kippur, but now I’m off to a breakfast, so I figured I handle it with less than 45 minutes to go until eating!