A WD Wednesday Post –

Last Wednesday kicked off what honestly turned into a full blur of a week. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately,I barely cooked. It was my birthday week, and I decided, you know what? The actual day already passed, but I’m still celebrating this weekend, so why stop now? Cooking took a backseat.

Food wise, it was very much a “whatever I’m craving” kind of week. I grabbed a pepperoni slice from the pizzeria by my job. I had a chopped cheese because sometimes you just need a quick chopped cheese, no explanation required. Then at some point, we ordered Domino’s… because of course we did.

Then came the weekend and the main event. We went to Tavern on the Green, and it was absolutely lovely. I ordered the filet mignon special, not realizing it was 14 ounces. When it hit the table, I was genuinely shocked. I was like, why is this thing massive? It came with mashed sweet potatoes and spinach, and honestly, everything complemented each other so perfectly. Everyone else ordered a mix of things, some got chicken, some lamb chops, someone had fish (I think it was branzino), and yeah… that’s about all I remember at this point.

Before the entrées even came out, we went in on appetizers. We had tuna tartare with chips on the side for our gluten-free girls, a grilled vegetable dish with hummus that was so simple but so good, and bread plus gluten-free bread, which was appreciated. And then there was the grilled octopus, which is always a win.

By the end of dinner, we were absolutely stuffed. But obviously… dessert still happened.

We ordered three desserts for the table, not knowing that Tavern on the Green also brings out a classic birthday cake situation, vanilla cake, sprinkles inside and out, candles, the whole thing, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was adorable and honestly so good.

Then came the tiramisu, which is my favorite, so I guess the girls chose correctly. After that, we fully splurged. There was a gluten-free strawberry shortcake or cheesecake situation (major win), and a crème brûlée that was chef’s kiss. At that point, we were beyond full, but no regrets.

After dinner, we headed to a bar/lounge spot I’ve been to a million times. I don’t even know if the name ever changed, but it’s the same location in the Columbus Circle mall, same lounge vibes. The drinks were extra, extravagant, and very delicious. Then we somehow ended up at two… actually three more bars and finally called it a night.

I woke up the next morning with the worst hangover. Truly humbling. I cannot be doing this anymore but also, it was my birthday dinner with the girls, and it was so much fun.

Hangover recovery mode kicked in immediately: bacon, egg, and cheese, plus a Gatorade. Then I ordered ramen because I needed soup heavy, comforting ramen with chicken and veggies. It hit exactly the way I needed it to. Later that night, we ordered Domino’s again because… survival.

The following day, I grabbed Dunkin’ for breakfast, had another slice by my job, and when we got home, we ordered chicken and rice because that just felt necessary.

And that pretty much sums up this week of heavy eating. I definitely haven’t stopped binge eating, but it’s hard when you go straight from the holidays, eating nonstop,  into New Year’s, and then right into your birthday.

I really do want to get back to cooking though. I love cooking. It feels better, you know what you’re eating, and I always feel less guilty after. Plus, eating out gets expensive, and you never really know everything that’s going into your food.

So yeah, this was my little wine-and-dine-on-Wednesdays rant.