Our Tale of Two Cities by two manhattan kids: catherine & rachel

October 27, 2010

There are some decisions that you make in life which are wise and others that are not. Depending on the personality of the decision-maker, the ratio of wise to unwise decisions can vary.

Courses of action are sometimes selected with prudence as the motivating factor (i.e. by asking oneself: “what’s the ‘responsible’ thing to do” or “which choice is more likely to help me arrive at my desired long-term outcome”). Other decisions are arrived at impulsively, typically from fleeting or ephemeral desires. The resulting events that unfold when decisions are made in this manner typically have high pleasure and pain scenarios associated.

Last night, I made a decision belonging to the second category.

With my Statistics midterm coming up on Thursday and a profound pit in my stomach associated with my serious lack of statistical mastery, I made a decision to put off studying in exchange for a trip to The Purple Pig. Naturally, I brought my Statistics book to the restaurant (in the interest of full-disclosure I should add that the same book enjoyed a lovely weekend of sun and fun in Florida when I brought it there as my date to the wedding that I attended last weekend - it was never cracked, of course).

The Purple Pig (on Michigan Avenue in Chicago) was recently named one of the ‘10 Best New Restaurants in America’ by Bon Appetit Magazine. Cue the high pleasure portion of last night’s rash decision…

A half-bottle of Antinorri Chardonnay got things off on the right foot. A quick scan of the menu and it became clear that some tough decisions were going to have to be made. Ali - my dining partner and accomplice (also my superior at the art of statistics) - and I rose to the occasion and selected a handful of delectable-sounding dishes.

First to arrive: shaved brussel sprouts with a hint of parmesan…nice, light, flavorful. Next: eggplant caponata with impeccably toasted bread and just the right quantity of sourdough flavor (oh and a smear of goat cheese, yes)…this was insanely good. On deck: a fried devilled egg with greens…unusual but tasty; I wouldn’t order it again but was glad to have tried it. Up next: an open faced BLT with a fried egg in top..holy cow! This was easily the best bacon I’ve ever eaten (though my impulsive decision compatriot, Ali, informed me that it ranked second to the bacon at famed Brooklyn steakhouse, Peter Luger’s - I will have to try it and decide for myself). The final dish before the piece de resistance was a plate of chicken thigh kebabs with fried smashed potatoes and tzatiki…literally there are no words. This installment was beyond delicious.

Finally, despite a healthy level of stuffedness, we were presented with a dessert menu. Six neat offerings were listed and two shined: one dominated by nutella, the other distinguished by ricotta…I voted for the Sicilian Iris - a fried brioche stuffed with ricotta and chocolate) - and won. Shortly after selecting this dessert, a small plate arrived with a plump doughnut-esque dessert on it. Ali cut the perfectly round and covered-in-cinnamon-and-sugar delicacy in half, releasing a feint trail of steam and allowing ricotta carrying chocolate chips to seep out of this perfect doughy vessel. The confection was divine - perfect in every way (excluding it’s nutritional value). You would be hard pressed to find a better dessert anywhere…period.

In life, we make trade-offs (I’m learning a lot about these in my Management class).  In this case, the couple of studying hours sacrificed to go out to dinner would likely not have yielded much more knowledge had they been spent doing stats problems, and so I feel good about the decision I made.  That said, here’s hoping I do okay on my exam tomorrow!

-R