The Boys at Becco

Last night we went to Becco, an Italian restaurant in the theater district. Marty wanted to being Mark and Harry there because they have an all you can eat pasta special, and they can eat a lot of pasta.

For $22, you get a choice of Caesar salad or antipasto and pasta. Last night's three offerings included a spicy red sauce with chopped basil on a bed of taglietelle, gnocchi made with bel paese cheese in a rich cream sauce and shrimp sauteed with olive oil over linguine topped with bread crumbs. The guys all got seconds and liked the red sauce the best. I limited myself to one portion and preferred the shrimp dish.

After scarfing down fresh biscuits for breakfast (recipe from The Joy of Cooking which I just purchased a new copy of), Harry and I headed for The Museum of Natural History. Harry had just finished reading Catcher in the Rye and said that it was one of Holden Caufield's favorite places to go because there's a certain permanence to these exhibits. We also discussed our impressions of the book, which Harry noted was about teenage angst. He also said he identified with J.D. Salinger's most famous character.

We spent 2+ hours at the museum, making sure to see the enormous suspended whale and the dinosaur exhibit. Harry wanted to see the native American Indian exhibit because that was Holden's favorite. He also wanted to see the Asian Peoples exhibit since many of his friends are from that neck of the woods. We decided to get authentic New York pizza after that and found an Original Famous Ray's. There are 100 original Rays in NYC, but Harry claims his favorite is Not Rays in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Harry had two slices: a plain (because you have to start with a plain) and an everything. I wanted the fresh mozzarella and tomato pizza even though it came on a whole wheat crust. Whole wheat may be healthier, but pizza should always be on a white crust. We also shared an order of garlic knots.

Now that I've talked about food ad nauseum, I'd like to end with coffee. A most disturbing article in today's New York Times says that coffee production in Colombia is down due to climate change. Colombia produces and exports arabica beans which are apparently more climate-sensitive than those produced in Africa and Indonesia. If you want to read more about this unsettling situation click here. All the coffee I buy is produced in Costa Rica by Cafe Britt. I buy in bulk so I save on price and get free shipping. I'm willing to pay more for Britt. I just enjoyed a rich cup of the the light roast.