Hey Readers,

In case you missed it, yesterday was the big day. I turned in my book! Read all about it here.

Then, instead of going out to celebrate, I felt like making spaghetti cacio e pepe (we ate it with wine, to make it more celebratory.) Read all about that HERE.

In the week leading up to these two major events (well, only of those is a major event) I discovered this delicious snack at Citarella:

I'm not one to buy snack foods (in fact, if you were to come over to my apartment right now, there'd be nothing to eat...but lots of stuff to cook with.) But these snacks called to me. Especially because I love Everything bagels and I also love pretzels.

True, these were a little bit too wholesome--no fat, no sugar, blah blah blah--but I liked them so much, I finished the bag in less than 24 hours. I may even buy them again, so watch out!

* * * *

Many years ago I purchased the movie "My Dinner with Andre" which, every so often, I'll watch. Ok, I haven't watched it in 5 years, but regardless, I remember that, one of the arguments Andre makes to Wally over the course of the movie is: you can't live mechanically.

I'm very aware of that as I go about my day. Are my routines too set in stone? Am I eating the same meals week after week, month after month?

When that happens, I take it upon myself to try something new. Which is how I wound up at The Original Sandwich Shoppe of New York:

I was just walking past it (I'd tried to go to Taim, but the wait was too long) and so I stumbled inside.

At first, I was wary. Would this just be another Subway sandwich kinda place? But then, after ordering the #1--turkey with herb mayo--I knew i was in good hands when they asked if I wanted the bread toasted and, here's the kicker, if I wanted white meat or dark meat turkey or a combination. I asked for a combo.

And here's the sandwich I recieved:

It was mighty tasty--especially the fresh turkey meat. A rich reward for not living mechanically!

* * * * *

Over the weekend, we splurged on two meals. One was at Market Table. We had brunch there (something that I enjoy because of all the sunlight that streams through the windows).

Here's Craig's omelet with fontina, bacon and spinach:

And here are my pancakes with strawberries:

Actually, we shared these. I neatly put half of Craig's eggs on a separate dish. Craig savagely slid a pancake and a half on to his plate with the eggs. Opposites attract, I suppose.

Finally, on Sunday night, we went to Company, Jim Lahey's pizza spot in Chelsea.

The pizza was great as always (we shared the Flambe & the Margherita (see this old post for pictures of the pizza there)), but the real star of the show was this salad:

That's a salad of shaved asparagus and avocado dressed with lime juice and mint---the greenest salad on Earth!---and it was a very winning combination of ingredients. Can't wait to try it at home.

Ok, newsletter readers, I'm glad to be back in action. Look for next week's newsletter at the regularly scheduled time on Monday morning.

Until next time....

Your friend,
Adam (The Amateur Gourmet)

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