how many trips to the CIA...

can you take in one long weekend?  Appears the answer is 3 and it would have been 4 if they were open on Sunday maybe?  Jean, Greg and Helen are here for the weekend and they went on a tour Friday afternoon to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, then we all went back Friday night for dinner with them at American Bounty and then on Saturday morning we went back to browse in the store.  I was hoping for another treat of some sort, but the bakery was closed.  I did score some really good tea, but no baked goods.

This is more of a picture of the restuarant - right before I got the lecture about "no flash" allowed.  Golly gee.  You will see that the plate in front of Greg has been polished off...  Caesar salad I think?  The table you sit at does not turn over during the night so getting is pretty tough - we made reservations back in September for a Friday night - nothing was to be had Saturday night at that point. Very popular and now we know why.

 Saturday we managed a couple outside shots when we made our return trip

The food was out of this world at dinner and I had a few new things I'd never heard of or tried before.  Fois gras (ok stop gagging if you really know what it is - I didn't at the time!) and farro.  I'm now reading what fois gras is and it's probably good that I didn't know much about it at the time.  It was very tasty little bite of yum.  I'm sure this will bring P-E.t*A running.  It's a culinary school so I'm sure they are treated well or they wouldn't be serving it there.   Uncle Greg much enjoyed it as well.  Farro is a grain and was much like like a large risotto.  Creamy Butternut Farro with carmelized pumpkin and onion with arugala on top.  Very good! The salad was also excellent with grilled figs, blue cheese and pecans.  Yummo.  Overall a great dining experience.  Oh wait...  dessert.  Lemon meringue pie with the most yummy meringue ever.  Almost like marshmallow toasted on top. The melting chocolate cake was also yummy.  Way too many yummy's here....  There was lots of rolling into bed that night.  Fully bellies.  Didn't eat much until the next night.
Saturday night we hit up Cibo Noche down the road in Marlboro and had another great meal - found out he's a CIA grad.  Homemade pasta's and chili-lime salmon were hits.  The topper for dinner was nitrogen ice cream and sorbet.  Yes, nitrogen can be used to make some pretty stinking good icy treats.  The chef/owner came and sat down with us to see how we liked everything and we got the low down on how it's used to make the icy treats.  oh my.  We had pumpkin ice cream and Lane ate my serving!  Jean got broken cannoli's and that was mighty yummy too.   The whole experience was great because we got the family room.  Huge table for 10 filled the whole room.  Lane was on his best behavior and chowed down on the pasta - just a little left behind on the floor...
So in between some intense shopping at Toys r Us and the outlets ....  and eating we did manage to take a walk in the orchard.  And Greg is making a Sunday chicken dinner at home tonight.