What I Would PAY To Remember, by SteFleiss

THURSDAY, 11.02.06...
***Disclaimer: rough estimate spends due to brain damage from liver soaking this week).

$24 - Whole Foods. Work petty cash for office snacks. I usurped the snack curating role this week, effectively replacing the shitty dry vegan cookies and fake chocolate that my hapless coworker would always buy with flavor-bursting nachos and a ghetto charcuterie. Also snuck in a lunch for myself of the mixed pea shoots salad. (What I imagine fresh spring grass to taste like for a starved cow). Could live off this and sashimi for the rest of my life (and I might be 50 lbs less).
$59 - Club Monaco. 2 identical jersey dresses on sale; high waist with smart pockets. One in dark teal, other in black. Would have bought it khaki too but the material and construct looked the cheap truth in a light color. I am a sucker for repetition when I like something.
$70- Ltaf bday dinner @ Congee Village Paid for 1 stomach (mine) and 3 livers (Luke and Hagen included). Was able to teach the waitress what a double jack on the rocks is. Personally consumed congee w/abalone, smatterings of 3 lbs geoduck- 2 lbs sashimi and 1 lb hot pepper fried (sashimi was a 4 on freshness and bite on a scale of 10; fried is always tasty), fried pork ribs, sauteed snow peas, sauteed water spinach, house special chicken + multiple renditions of the happy birthday song in Engrish then Chinese blared on the speakers, sung as "Happy Birssday.." Most I have ever spent there, but it was probably the excessive alcohol and the Geoduck (at ~$24/lb). Also first time with leftovers.
$80 - St. Jerome's Bar. Lots of whiskeys and a few shots of Jaeger for the bday boy Tristanbul.
$16 - Cab fare home, dropping Vinh off first.
TOTAL: $249

Also notable, I drunkenly set my oven on fire when I tried to broil the leftovers of Congee Village to warm up for hungry, overworked, adorable chef. Extinguished with my vintage plant puffer spray. We left the charred remains outside on the balcony as a gift of penance to the kitchen gods.

WEDNESDAY, 11.01.06...
$10- Wichcraft Breakfast. Iced coffee and the onion frittata in a ciabatta role. The gourmand's hangover special, only ordered as a reward if you find drunkenly misplaced $10bill in your pocket from the night before. Tasted zesty with tomato spread, but the smooth veneer and elliptical mold of the egg was redolent of Automat. Wouldn't order this again.
$1- Cape Cod Russet chips. Burnt dirty potato flakes of heaven. First time eaten in months. Bad sign, must fight the relapse of my genetic chip eating predilection, inherited from my lil brother. Reawakened my desire to visit the Cape Cod Chips factory (map on the back of the bag)
$0- Kasadela. Exquisite and homely izakaya dinner from the bespoke restaurant, on my man's hard earned dime.
$25- To S-Random for the extra ticket for The Knife show at Webster Hall. Show was fun but felt canned. Could have used more surround sound, longer set (lasted like 45min it felt). They were disguised like gimp teletubbies and danced like such.
$140- Momofuku Ssam Bar Couldn't resist a 2a.m. meal on the late night menu to celebrate WeeBot's return to town. 1 bottle of Cava (was a rose, and was a bit too fruit forward) so next ordered the Cuvee Blanc. Each was around $34-38. Noshed on Colonel Bill Newsome's Country Ham. Dreamy flavor, shaved like prosciutto. Spicy tripe needed to have more of its namesake in the dish. Overruled by beef shards instead. Lil RayRay ordered a brussel sprout dish I forgot shortly thereafter about. Oh wait, it had apples julienned on top.
$40- NYC MTA. Subway card to last me through 2 more weeks in NYC prior to Thanksgiving in Cali.
TOTAL: $216