Sunday, September 27, 2009

Peaches and Cream





It's been a funny year for me.  People I know have come to live in NYC, people I haven't seen for a really long time have visited NYC and some really important people in my life have left NYC.  One came back.  One is thinking about coming back.  And one just left.  Being a New Yorker myself, whenever people leave this city (including myself a few times) I always think of the passage in the Allan Gurganus book "Plays Well with Others" where the narrator says (die hard fans please forgive my loose quotation here)..."there are four days in the life of a new yorker.  the day you first see it.  the day you move there.  the day you move away.  and the day you move back."

This, of course, pertains to non-natives.  But,  I'm just sayin'...seriously.  It is hard to live here.  It is hard to not live here.  But, sometimes you just gotta go.  And people say oh, things will stay the same, we won't change, the city will always be here, we'll always be friends.  And I'm here to tell you that is not always the case.  People change.  New York changes.  We move on, we forget, we don't answer the phone or return that email and then all of a sudden you realize it's been a week or a month or a year and you loose touch with someone you love.  I mean especially in the restaurant business, we work day in day out with people for years and the second they leave it's as if it was all a dream.  But.  Every once in a while.  Every now and again, you get caught between the moon and New York City, you meet someone and you know in your shriveled black heart, down in your little broken toes, you know that you will know that person forever.  

And I know that at some point.  Like, when I'm 103 and she's 91 that Megan Uber and I will still be stuffing our faces with peanut butter filled pretzels and looking for the next bottle of Champagne.  I mean, we'll have to buzz for the nurses to bring it.  And Uber's got a small bladder so we'll have to have the catheter changed first but there are things you know.

So, yeah.  I know this is supposed to be a food/drink blog.  And it is. But that's just it for me.  People are food and wine.  Not in a soylent green sort of way.  But, for me all of my memories of people get all twisted up with my memories of food and where we were when we ate something or what bar we had that drink in.  And this is how it is for every body in my life.  If you mention some one to me, I almost instantly think of a food or beverage I associate with them.  I never realized it until I began working on a book about my food and beverage memories but that's how it is.  

And when I started thinking about Uber leaving and thinking about obvious things like how much I'd miss her, I started thinking less about her (sorry babes) and more about the food and drinks I connect her with in my memories.  Well, okay not less.  I take that back.  I'm trying to say that a lot of my memories of our good times co-star some things and it's not about that party or that joke or that song or that book.  I mean, that's obvious.  We're good friends we got that shit too (last day at TTR, love sticks, shorty got low, lolita).

So because I like to write about food and wine and booze...and because I will miss you...I do miss you, I wanted to also write about you.  Because I know things, Uber.   Like:  the day I knew we were clearly starring in our own tv series in our brains was years ago.  I walked into the office and asked very casually "what's up peaches?" and you replied very casually "what's up cream?"  That was it.  I was like, who the hell does this bitch think she is?  I mean, sure, there was the fact that we would race to see who could spin around faster in her swivel chair, or the fact that you would get in a cab and go pick me up a lobster roll all the way downtown, or compile lists of late night restaurants without batting an eye.

I also know that I was there the first time you tried an oyster.  The FIRST oyster!  I love that day.  I love that you love oysters now!  See, now you go try to have champagne and oysters and see who the hell you think of, huh?  Me.  That's right.  Yeah, whatever!  Sure, you'll think of some dude too but at some point you will get all tipsy and you'll trick someone into ordering a bottle of Selosse and everything will get all fuzzy as the flashback approaches and you'll think of my shiny red hair and tell some charming story about how hilarious and pretty I am...I know.

I mean, really.  Brighton Beach...I think of love sticks and that dude who had the chest hair growing in the pattern of a bulletproof vest.  I think of eating cherries and melting chocolate covered almonds while drinking Fontsainte rose.  Delicious.

Christmas, I think of poo-lar bear pooping little black licorice jelly beans on the floor and I think of the fact that I totally tried to pass off the fact that I hadn't put anchovies in the deviled eggs or pork in the greens that I gave to your brother!  oops.  What do you want from me?  I was drunk.  It's christmas!  Baby Jesus, the Grinch, poo-lar bear and shots of Applejack.  C'mon ya'll.  And for the record...Uber's brother does not believe in dinosaurs so he pretty much had it coming okay?

I think of snack packs of dried fruit from that magical mystery place you always tell me the name of but I can never remember and I'll never have them again because I can never remember the name. Damn you!

I think of our pretend slumber party where we were just going to drink champagne and eat ice cream.  And I think of Adulterated Ice Cream flavors.

I think of our other pretend slumber party: the coat check at work.  I love that place!  There's always cookies and mini-peanut butter cups, bananas and apples, cherries (when seasonally appropriate of course), coffees, teas (iced for me and hot for you and sascha), yogurt, leftover family meal, bagels, and how whenever I drink the kombucha drinks I get all hyper and crazy. Or whenever I eat cupcakes that Linda brings I get all hyper and crazy.

I think of our almost slumber party where we waited so long for a certain cigar smoking italian wine importer to leave the restaurant that we were passing out from exhaustion and hunger and all we had to eat was a banana and some crumbs of potato chips that we shared.

I think of our real slumber party that began with oysters and mussels that we had been dreaming about all day and ended with shots of jameson's on my shag rug.

I think of gummie candies and crab chips.  No wait, that's boo.  No wait, that's you too!

I think of the el diablo and the grape smash and how years have gone by and we still want them! And I think that we're at the end of concord grape season and I don't even know if Ricardo made any grape smashes this year?!

I was at Mas farmhouse last night.  And I looked over at the corner table and I thought of Austin's bday.  And I thought of the fact that I climbed over Schmoo and Austin to threaten to kill you with a fork.  Because?  Because.  Because, you said you didn't like corn.

What can I say lady?  I'm not gonna say "don't change".  I'm not gonna say "you'll be back".  But, I do miss ya.  And I hope you have fun.  Or had fun.  Whatever, isn't Boston like 3 blocks long?  Aren't you done with it yet?  Just kidding.  

But remember one thing lady, save room for love. 

PS  seriously what the fuck is the name of that place with the dried fruit?






1 comment:

Linda S. Silberman said...

Awesome writing Carolyn! So good to see you blogging again. I am so honored to be in your world... it is time for more champagne for us and we will toast the beautiful Megan while she caravans around the world and we will joyfully await her return.
much love...
Lundy