weekend in nyc

I visited a good friend in the city and we had a marvelous dinner at an informal place in Brooklyn, "The Big Fork". The owner, his wife and friends had done all the refurbishing of the small space with it's brick wall, funkly lighting and tiled kitchen. The food was fresh, imaginative and oh, so delicious. And the wine list offered a well-chosen selection of wines by the glass - I chose a lovely gruner velt-liner. I shared the first course with my friend, grilled squid, sparklingly fresh. It was accompanied by a mound of quinoa and some grilled pineapple and the juxtaposition of flavors, textures and tastes was perfect. A perfectly prepared duck breast with a confit of fruits and served with a black rice cake was rich and succulent and the individual apple tart with a cakey crust was the ideal finish. Now i am intent on grilling squid on my soon-to-arrive, state of the art gas grill. As is typicl of NYC restaurants the bread was terrific and refills appeared without our asking.