St. Patty's Day Outing

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day.  A time to wear green and eat everything under the sun that has either beer or potato as a key component.

I spent my St. Patty's Day surrounded by green at the Botanical Gardens in NYC.  They are running an Orchid Show from March 3-April 22 and I wanted to check out the blooms.

Luckily, my friend and I arrived at 3PM, just in time for a talk on the proper care of orchids.  It was really interesting to hear about all the quirks of this delicate plant.  We went through the greenhouse where the Orchid Show is exhibited and marveled at all the ferns and flowers.  (I promise to upload more pictures when my camera isn't broken.)

Related announcement: I'll be writing a future DIY post on the vertical herb garden.  For those of us with limited kitchen/outdoor space, this could be a real life (and money) saver.

When we'd had our fill of hothouse flowers and their beautiful buds, we headed back home, but our stomachs were rumbling.  We picked up some yummy macaroons at Financier and ate dinner at the Grand Central Oyster Bar.  Unfortunately they were out of Guinness Battered Fish and Chips, which we had both decided on, but we were not disappointed with our meals.  To start, we had oysters, as one might expect: 2 each of the Otters Cove, Onset Beach, and Watch Hill.  Our favorite was the latter whose taste was more subtle and bright. The other two had a more briny taste, as if you opened your mouth in the middle of the ocean. For the main course, I had the Fried New Bedford Sea Sallops, with tartar sauce and french fries.  The scallops were that perfect mixture of firm, but juicy, though I didn't care much for the breading. My friend ordered the Sauteed Chatham Scrod Filet, ,which was served over brussels sprouts, parsnips, apple wood smoked bacon, and chive oil with a citrus gremolata.  The filet was tender and flavorful; the brussels sprouts were amazing.  For anyone who doesn't like this vegetable, you really just need to get them seasoned right and they're amazing.  (Maybe I'll do a post on how to make great brussels sprouts!)

Once home, we munched on macaroons: flaky on the outside with a gooey, fruity filling.  What an awesome day!  There's nothing I wouldn't recommend doing.