being irish, rocks

Why hello there my sweet strangers! How I have missed you :) despite the fact that I adore blogging and being a part of this glorious community, I have to admit that my own world often gets in the way of my personal contributions. I like to think that maybe, sometimes, I need to simply fully live my life rather than just write about. Does that make any sense? I hope so because when I do come back after a longer break than expected, it makes the upcoming post that much more special and exciting. Now, I know you understand/agree with that one, right? Right ;).

Are you ready for this?  Okay, first thing, I feel like I've been going out a.k.a drinking a lot lately. And the truth is, maybe I have more than usual, but it also means that I'm socializing more, thereby confiding in my friends and taking more of an advantage that I am 21 years old. Nothin' wrong with that! Let's begin with my Tuesday evening at the Metro Café & Wine Bar.

It was not my first time here. The reason I never mentioned it however, was because even though it was just as great then, I had forgotten my camera and I felt it deserved proper documentation. So here it goes... that atmosphere is cool but laid back; on the food front, this cute little cafe, tucked in the midst of the flat iron district, has it all. There is the standard American fare, Ethnically-inspired dishes, Burgers, Dim Sum, Pizza, Eggs, Pasta, and Meaty/Fishy entrées. Literally, something for everyone; And this fact extends to their drink menu which ranges from various wine flights, tastings, glasses, bottles etc. to drink specials and an extended beer menu.

This time, Steph and I arrived first and sat as we waited for Catherine. In the mean time, we ordered an appetizer, crab cakes to be exact, and devoured it. I don't often eat these kinds of things but the Metro Café's are out of this world :) yum beyond belief.

By the time Catherine came, we had also already had a standard 6 oz. serving of wine and then proceeded to order our individual wine flights. It should also be noted that Catherine additionally ordered the largest martini ever. So, basically, we had a "table o' booze," and the pictures above don't quite give it the ridiculous justice it deserves ;).

Last time I went for the Pinot Noir tasting, my favorite variety, but I wanted something new, something different this time around, and tried the Latin Flight. Number seventeen. It was fantastic, and, with my scholarly-training, I especially appreciated how detailed their descriptions were. Not to mention that I love anything that may-be-able-to-be-considered a potential souvenir.

Since I had hardly any greens that day I ordered their extra-large mixed green salad as my dinner. I ate a tasty Empower Glo Bar on my way down and was consequently not as hungry as planned. 

I did, however, split the daily cheese sampler with Catherine as well. To be honest, I made this choice partly because I wanted to expand my foodie connoisseur status and partly because I knew that I would become hungrier as I drank my wine. There, I said it.

Although I did thoroughly enjoy the cheese, only two of which were made from cow's milk, I would have taken the delicious French bread all on it's own and day, with or without el queso.

Good food, good wine, great conversation, and amazing people. I had the best time and I cannot believe that I almost let my mediocre day cancel it all together. I love these two Syracuse grads oh so very much and can't wait until we can do these kinds of dates "on the regular."

Afterwards, I ended up going back to their new place and crashing there. Six hours later, they awoke me on their way out the door to work. Oh what a happy St. Patrick's day! I leisurely got myself cleaned up and ready and fully intended on walking through this gorgeous sunshine to a bagel shop for a classic NY breakfast. Unfortunately, my hunger got the best of me, and I gave into a bowl of breakfast cereal while still at their apartment. 

Soon after, I worked my way across town, only to be stopped by these festivities, the St. Patrick's Day parade. I stood there for a while, soaking all that Irish spirit in, but after a while, the drunken crowd began to annoy me... it was 11:30 a.m. and I still hadn't gotten my coffee yet.

So I preceded to the west side to do so, in addition to meeting this sisterly beauty. My uncle bought us tickets to see Memphis on Broadway so the Alvarez girl pair, once again, spent our afternoon in a theatre. I am such a musical junkie, and such a big fan of this one.

I made sure not to go in on an empty stomach though (I've made that mistake one too many times) and grabbed a slice at Two Boots in Hell's Kitchen beforehand. I wanted veggies (surprise, surprise) so I settled on the Earth Mother, a whole-wheat Sicilian crust topped with fresh vegetables. 'Twas so delicious, and vegan.

Following our Rockin' & Rollin' on Broadway, Deanna and I were home just in time for dinner. I, was starving to say the least, and actually ate a large chunk of homemade Irish soda bread as the table was being served. I am one of those people that feels shaky, headachy, and weak when I go without food for too long... on the plus side, it constantly keeps me eating, I guess :).

For as long as I can remember, my mom has always put out a traditional Irish spread on the day of St. Patrick: soda bread, corn beef, cabbage, and root vegetables. She herself is half-Irish (with a little Scottish mixed in somewhere), and I, therefore, am a quarter-Irish, even if I don't look it.

Point is, I deserved to be kissed I annually find it in my heart and soul to enjoy the traditional meal. I've even found that each year I enjoy cooked cabbage more and more, which I'd like to assume is a palate-maturity thing. Evolving as such, also means that I am obviously of drinking age, and although my parents usually prefer wine, today was a green beer kind of day. 

We graciously obliged to the festive calling and each enjoyed a bottle of Harp Lager. FYI: My mommy, completely decked out in green, is in the background of the photograph.

Rather than go the standard green and Patty way, I dressed up in my Guinness attire, as I so shamelessly self-photographed for you at McArthur's. I got the tee in Strasbourg last year, on the surprisingly incredible Irish celebration that ensued on March 17th, 2009. To update the look, I added a temporary shamrock tattoo underneath my eye this year. And on that note, I truly hope that I'm a cooler person than I seem right now ;).

Please ignore the fact that this picture is horrendous and focus on the beverage choices of my friends and I: Laura went for a limited-time green Bud Light bottle, Chrissie chose the unconventional Blue Moon, and I settled on the classic yet expected, Guinness. I will say it was served nearly perfectly, shamrock and all; I can't get enough of that frothy, dark goodness.

And there you have it, the transcendent trio, two of whom are spectacular pieces of my most wonderful high/middle/elementary school memories, and the new additions above them, from my invaluable college experiences. If nothing else, this is an immensely exciting time for me right now, and I am just thankful for those people that I am lucky enough to share it with.

May the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends beneath it never fall out."

Whether you celebrated it, or not, I hope you had a very happy St. Patrick's Day, and Eve (ha, as if there is such thing). The next 48 hours for me will be spent packing, cooking, wandering through Brooklyn, pot-lucking at Leslie's with other fabulous NYC bloggers, and finally, making my way to FitBloggin' for the weekend. I'll see you in Baltimore :).