Lady in Red

 

I went all out with the red today.  I woke up thinking I'd wear this comfy red dress bought on deep, deep discount ages ago at Lord and Taylor.  But my initial thought was to top it with one of the many Chanel-esque neutral jackets that hang in my closet.  Instead as I reached into my closet, I spotted this red jacket and since the red in the dress went perfectly with the red in the jacket, I decided to go for it.  Plus, how much do you love the animal print inside of the jacket?

I accessorized with my Chanel pearls and my very Verdura Kenneth Jay Lane cuff bracelet, neither of which can I ever get enough of.  I felt just the right amount of festive for the beginning of the upcoming holidays.

On a very different note, the last two evenings have been two nights of complete food decadence; one if by land, two if by sea.  While I was totally remiss in taking pictures to share with you the absolute deliciousness that were my dinners for the last two nights, I must do my best to fill you in.

Last night, on a last minute whim, I met some friends at the relatively new Island Creek Oyster Bar owned by and run by many of the same familiar faces from years of bellying up to the bar at Eastern Standard Kitchen. The space is unbelievably gorgeous and the food couldn't have been better.  You can't go to a place named after an oyster without partaking in the house specialty.  So we had several different varieties of oysters.  I'm personally partial to the East Coast briny, salty varietal so I skipped the melony, creamy West Coast options and they couldn't have been better.  Topped only with a drip or two of mignonette, I appreciated every ounce of ocean I tasted with each oyster.  Then Tommy the GM was kind enough to send over a dish full of goodness from the sea of fresh clams, mussels and tiny little scallops in the shell swimming in the most delicious wine broth that was just begging to be sopped up with the grilled bread.  Finally it was onto my very large lobster roll that I forced myself to finish.  It was too good to leave any leftover but boy was I full.  Just when I think I couldn't eat another bite, my friend offered me a bite of her oyster slider.  Now I'm a purist when it comes to certain things, oysters included.  I like my oysters raw and pristine and without much else so I refused the offer.  But when the thoughtful folks who work at the restaurant were kind enough to bring me out my own oyster slider, that was just an offer I couldn't refuse. And I must say this fried bundle of oyster goodness atop a brioche roll was so delicious I decided I might just make a meal of a few of these on my next visit.  The night ended with a hot buttered rum which was total dessert in a glass.

So now onto tonight.  I was bellied up to the bar with my friend Elisha at Hamersley's where you'll find the two of us often.  Sometimes going somewhere often means you end up sticking to the regular.  But tonight we veered and shared the cassoulet, the green salad with goat cheese and a mashed potato cake.  No one does a cassoulet better that Hamersley's and tonight did not disappoint. And by the way it's a huge plate of food.  The two of us couldn't think of finishing all the food we ordered.  The dish was chock full of pork, garlic sausage and duck confit and it was all so tasty.  I do have to say though that I really love Hamersley's duck confit.  They usually have it on the appetizer menu and I regularly order it as my meal with a salad. 

So that's it for my land and sea eating escapades for the last two nights.  Wish me luck fitting into anything in my closet tomorrow morning!