Forage (2) / The Revenge

John had never been to any type of Forage event and he had been intrigued by my urban forage. Never one to shy away from something new, we rode our bikes down to 24th and B'way, parked at The Y, and headed over. We were joined in line by our friends Anna and Jerry and shortly thereafter, Kaya, Sue and Pete.

Prior to the last three's arrival John and I had already scoped things out. The first bite was a mini cupcake - a chicken and waffle cupcake to be precise. I know, I know, it sounds nasty - that is until you start to think about real fried chicken served with the most delicious maple-y waffle - the sweet and the salty - and oh boy. So my first reaction was probably like everyone else, "your kidding, right?" The baker, a large African American woman, was sitting alone with nary a sole in sight. John said, "gotta try it" and he chomped down into it. "Oh my god". Gimme that! I polished the rest off. "Oh my god". Soon we were surrounded.
What?
What?
Oh. My. God.

It was the perfect blend: a tid-bit of crispy salty fried chicken (a tiny nugget or two) on top of a moist, delicious maple flavored cup cake. De-vine.

Next I went back to my favorite guy from the first forage, the Cone Daddy. Cone daddy is pure vegan. He makes a crispy cone (shaped just like and ice cream cone) of flax seed and fills it with a melange of ingredients. My very first cone was his specialty, the spicy Thai. This time I tried his Italian, with a pesto and tomato mixture. Then we scoured some more, checking out what everyone else was eating. We tried:
- home made Sasparilla
- home made ginger ale
- deep fried savory and sweet raviolis
- raclette (melty cow cheese over little potatoes)
- vegan "bacon" hot sauce
- Nicaraguan food
- seafood Paella

and no - we were not eating like we were still in NYC (okay, well, maybe a little) - but it was SOOOO good.

At around 7, we wrapped things up. We had been invited to Diana and Phillip's house for a dinner party.

No. We did not eat a second dinner. We did join our friends at the table for conversation and wine, and then drinks, and then more drinks, and then my chocolate cupcakes with the salted caramel butter-cream frosting. Yes - that was to die for.

John, sadly, felt like dieing too, but not from the cupcakes. I think this was more from the "most delicious" Manhattans that Phillip had been making all night for John. I assumed the role of designated driver early in the evening.

Apparently John's cocktail glass had a hole in it because Phillip just kept filling it up. John was in heaven - socializing, drinking, dining - all things he had been deprived of for nearly two years. This happiness came to an end around midnight. Just like NYC for me, john became intimate with an inanimate object. No longer did I have to experience the ridicule of my NYC experience. I was grateful that this vindication occurred so shortly after our return.

Free at last! Free at last! Free at last!