Last Sunday I didn’t meet Phyllis for our miles early. We were both exhausted and my BF Michael was here anyway. So Michael and I slept in (past 9am!) and lounged around which was fantastic. I cooked a nice breakfast with crispy bacon and a fluffy omelet with sautéed mushrooms, spinach, and a few medallions of herbed goat cheese. We ate well. Fortified from our breakfast of champions, we decided later that afternoon to take a nice stroll around the neighborhood and enjoy the day. We were in one of those “I have errands to do, but let’s wander around anyway” kind of moods. So we did pop into Bed Bath for some replacement household items but the browsing in Madewell, Vince, Rag & Bone, and Club Monaco were passerby decisions with no dice on the still overpriced sale items.
It got late enough that we were both sort of hungry. So we happened by Pasha, an Upper West Side Turkish restaurant I was dying to try and Michael gave the thumbs up when he saw the menu. Thankfully they did not disappoint! We sat outside and snacked on lightly fried calamari, a super healthy salad, and a small baked zucchini and dill pancake that came to life with a crinkling of added sea salt. Not completely stuffed from our late day meal, we purposely beelined it for Van Leeuwen just a few blocks away.
I remember back in 2008 when you could only score a Van Leeuwen cone or cup from one of their roving yellow trucks that favored the spot in Central Park adjacent to Tavern On The Green. So having a scoop shop right in my neighborhood these days is quite a treat. Michael and I indulged with a double cup of the Peanut Butter Brownie Chip ice cream and I can honestly say that I got lightheaded from the wave of deliciousness! Wow that was some rich and creamy coolness. He loved it too, so in no time flat we decimated the cup. Smiling and satiated, we browsed the rest of the offerings on Columbus Ave. and eventually meandered our way back to my place.
Later that night we were talking about what a fun, low-key day we had together and I realized that it was the first time in over a year that I was able to live a stress-free Sunday and feel “normal” for a while out of the house. We didn’t have an agenda. We didn’t wear masks. We didn’t talk about work or the virus. The weather wasn’t sweltering or raining cats and dogs. It was an easy day and that felt so nice for a change! I didn’t realize how much I missed a super chill Sunday that didn’t involve Netflix.
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