All You Can Eat Pasta?

At Becco, it works.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Scott and I went to the new Broadway Hit, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.  We planned to have dinner after, and I was craving Italian.  I suggested the massive chain restaurant at the top part of Time Square craving the bread sticks and all you can eat salad, but Scott suggested we have dinner at Lidia Bastianich’s restaurant, Becco instead.

Becco is a massive space, steps from Times Square and conveniently located in the Theater District at 355 W. 46th street.  There are at least three dining rooms that I could tell.  Although pretty busy, we were able to get seated without a reservation – probably because our show started at 7 PM instead of 8 PM and we were let out early.

Becco has a nice selection of wines, including an impressive list of wines that were all priced at $25 a bottle.  This was a nice surprise so we ordered a bottle to share although it was a Tuesday night!  Next, we decided to start with an order of burrata, which is Scott’s favorite and oh-so delicious.

Looking around us, there were happy patrons with all types of dishes served to them.  Fresh fish dishes, rack of lamb, home made pasta, which is one of their main draws.  Scott and I decided to order the Rack of Lamb, which was cooked perfectly and priced well at $29 as well as the pasta special which includes a choice of cesar salad or antipasti as well as an all you can eat trio of pasta.  That night, there was a fantastic gnocci with a creamy pesto, a delicious fettucine with a veal ragu, and a decent penne with basil marinara for $22.95.  This is all served table side and all you can eat.

Rack of Lamb

All you can eat pasta trio

Scott (who is one of my favorite eating partners of all time) and I were gluttons that night.  We finished off practically everything and even had seconds of the fettucine with veal ragu.  So while the all you can eat is definitely the draw of this place, if you’re a local wanting to stay away from the average American tourist who loves to eat a lot, or the post-theater crowd, then Becco is probably not for you.  For me, this sure beat the chain restaurant I had suggested earlier.

You Went to School to Learn, Girl….

Michael Jackson sang it best… “ABC…all about love dear.”

And love it is… I am in love with ABC Kitchen.

This restaurant is a cool, Jean Georges place, located on an obscure block north of Union Square, near ABC Carpet and Home.

A friend recommended this place to me and said it was one of her favorites in the City… ever.

I was told it was practically impossible to get a reservation. I had some luck though…  I called the week before and took an 11 pm seating on a Saturday night.  Not a big deal though, since my group and I were planning to see La Cage Aux Folles on Broadway first.

My party of four walked in on time for our reservation.  The place was dimly lit, almost glowing, with lots of seating at the bar and a cute dining room.  It was sort of a sweet romantic vibe and I leaned in to give my guy a kiss.

The only downside of an 11 pm reservation in NYC is that you don’t want to eat too much that late before going to bed.  Nevertheless, my group and I were able to order some yummy dishes from their seasonal menu to share (although we skipped on appetizers).

I plan to go back to ABC Kitchen again.  This place has delicious, beautiful food, a great wine list and ambiance.  Beyond that, I just want to try more dishes and sample some of their appetizers and salads.

House Cut Fries; Tomato, Buffalo Mozzarella, and Basil Pizza

 

Pasta with Heirloom Tomatoes

Sea Bass

 

Akaushi Cheeseburger with Herbed Mayo and Pickled Jalapeño

ABC Kitchen

35 W. 18th Street (between bway and S.Park Ave)

I’m not hungry, but I want to eat…

That’s how I feel at the moment.  I miss the smell of it and the taste.  And I miss chewing.  But surprisingly, I’m not that hungry.

I’m on Juice #3 of Day 4.  Yesterday was my first day of all juice and I was pretty miserable yesterday.  It didn’t help that one of the other cleansers in my office and major foodie, (he hangs with Mario, for god’s sake) made me sit in front of the computer with him looking at food web sites and new restaurant openings for an hour.  After that I spent the next hours booking myself for food dates.  Shake Shack on Sunday with B, S and S.  Soon Dobu on Tuesday night with M, S, G, and A.  Chicken Wings at Cercle Rouge with A on Wednesday.   Everyone in the office seemed to have had delicious lunches yesterday… mac and cheese, sushi, Baba Ganoush, and I could smell it!  I’m not sure if it was the cleanse or just because I’m starving but my sense of smell was heightened.  I was pretty miserable.

I was certain I was gonna cave when I went home last night.  But, I excercised will power.  Instead, I drank my Cashew Nut Milk right when I got home (skipped the last green juice yesterday).  I took Sammy out to the park for an hour to spend time with her then went home and had some water.  After that, I went to bed… at 8.  And slept until this morning at 7 AM.  My dreams were crazy last night.  I don’t usually remember my dreams, but I had nightmares, and I woke up feeling sort of upset and sick.  And hungry and dehydrated.

So I had some hot water with lemon.  Drank the cashew nut milk that is for tomorrow night this morning and all of a sudden felt better.   Then I weighed myself and realized I also lost another pound so that’s 4.5 total.

The past few days have been a roller coaster.  It’s Friday now, Day 4 and the other 3 cleansers in my office and I are so happy to be finishing soon.  (Actually, one finished yesterday, one finishes tonight, and 2 of us finish tomorrow)!!   This hasn’t really disrupted my life that much, besides last night when I passed out so early because of lack of energy and I was so hungry.  Besides that, I’ve been able to go out with friends (drink Pellegrino instead of alcohol) and work. No intense exercising though.   I only cheated once with ½ an avocado on Day 2 and the rest of the time I felt pretty satiated.

Other results/side effects that I’ve had:

-          Dry mouth

-          No, um, “movements”

-          Lots of peeing

-          Feeling of utter euphoria

-          Feeling of utter hunger

-          Weight loss

-          Clearer skin

Things I’ve learned this week:

-          Your stomach only carries 1/5 of a cup when empty but can expand to 8 cups!

-          You should poo every time you eat (i.e. if you eat 3 x’s a day, you should go 3 x’s a day)

-          I really like fresh juices

-          There are yummy vegan and raw recipes and I crave these more right now than I do a glass of wine or meat or carbs

I have 1.5 days of juice left but am thinking of spreading these out until Sunday morning.  I have plans to go out with friends the next couple of days and would like to eat with them so am thinking of some light salads or fruit during these meals.

I’ll write a wrap up at the end of the weekend when this is all over.  And of course, after the last colonic

High-Energy

That is how I describe my mood the past two days I’ve been on the Blueprint Cleanse.

I’m on my second day of JTD (Juice Til Dinner) and starting tomorrow, Day 3, I’ll be on juices only for 3 days.  Starting the cleanse yesterday wasn’t too bad.  I tried to be good and follow the guidelines BPC sends you to prepare you for cleansing.  I cut out meat and stuck with fish for 3 days before I started.  I incorporated a lot more salads and vegetables at every meal.  The one thing I didn’t do was cut out the coffee, sugar, and alcohol until yesterday.

Day 1 went by fast.  I had my first green juice around 9 AM, followed by the PAM (pineapple, apple, mint) yum, around 11 AM.  I consumed juice #3 (another green juice) around 1 PM and #4 (the spicy lemonade, also yum) at 2:30.  At 4 PM, I had the snack.  Seriously, the PAM, spicy lemonade, and snack bars were so good.

After I had the snack, I was either on a crazy sugar high or was really feeling the benefits of the cleanse, because I felt so loopy and giddy, it was unreal.  Normally at this time, I want a salty snack or a coffee because I’m falling aslweep.  By the time I got home last night, I was pretty hungry though.  So I had the delish, raw, vegan meal BPC provided, spacing out each “course” and starting around six pm.  Surprisingly, I felt really full and satisfied pretty much all day.  I felt sort of burpy, but not really gassy most of the day and didn’t go #2 at all on Day 1.

I woke up early this morning and my tummy felt flatter even though I hadn’t gone #2 yet or even had the urge to.  I weighed myself and it seems I lost 1.5 lbs.  Nice.  I drank some green tea and rushed out of the house for an 8 AM appointment for a colonic.  When I got there, I was starving.  After a few sips of the # 1 green juice, I felt better and all hunger went away.

I was really nervous for the colonic, since I’ve never had one before.  Apparently, colon therapy is good for you and helps you to remove toxins or parasites.  It can aid in treatments for various diseases.  Also, only about 10% of Americans have normal colons (according to autopys) and colonics help to promote normalcy if you have any digestive problems at all. Also, colonics are recommended in general if you are partaking in any cleanse.  It helps to get rid of the bad and frees up room inside for digestion of all the yummy juices and raw foods we’re eating on the cleanse.

A colonic, for you newbies, is basically, where a technician or a doctor inserts a plastic tube about 1/2 an inch up your behind.  The tube has 2 branches.  One for flushing with water and one for releasing.  Basically, water is flowing in and out of your behind constantly, for about 40 minutes.  My tech, Doris was great and despite the whole experience being extremely uncomfortable, it never hurt.  <ok, if you are my friend and/or you don’t want to hear about (my) poop, then you should probably stop reading now>.   It was nuts!  It seemed like I was literally going to the bathroom or felt like I was going for 40 minutes straight, there was so much pressure.  The other thing is because she knows where the colon is shaped under my belly, she’d rub different spots to expel gas or to keep things moving along when the colon turns inside.  The whole experience ended with a massive pile of bile (from drinking alcohol) and other waste getting massaged/flushed out of me… pretty nasty.  When you’re done, they direct you to the bathroom where you sort of sit on the toilet and it all comes rushing out.  Almost like explosive diarrea.

After I was done, I was afraid I’d lose it (literally) on the subway on the way to work but I was fine.  The best thing is my tummy felt lighter and less bloated all day.  I pretty much felt amazing all day.  And as twisted as this sounds, I’m looking forward to my second colonic on Monday, to flush out everything as I finish the cleanse.

So now I’m home.  I weighed myself again when I got home and it appears I lost 2 more lbs since this morning.  I must have had 2 lbs of poop come out today

And tonight is my last day of the “food” before I start 3 days of cleansing juice only.  I do have to admit I cheated tonight and ate 1/2 an avocado when I got home (one of the BPC’s cheat foods).  I was pretty hungry when I got off the subway and I figured this is my last day of eating so I might as well go balls out.

So far, I have no regrets at all about starting this thing.  If I feel half as great on Saturday as I do today, then it will all be worth it.

The Blueprint

What do you think about when you hear the word “cleanse”?  I think the word cleanse has connotations of being washed clean and purified.  And that is what I intend to do over the next week, starting June 1.

I jumped on the cleanse bandwagon, when my friend Scott said he was going to cleanse for a few days before heading to the beach in June.  He sent me the link to the cleanse he was thinking about… one that his friends have done in the past, called the Blueprint Cleanse.

I did some research on the site and on the internet in general.  Cleansing is recommended as part of a regular heath routine to promote well being, inside and out. It is supposed to rid your body of impurities and repair your immune system.  It’s also recommended if you’ve gone on a recent binge of food/alcohol and to get you back on track (like I have the past few weeks)!

I myself am planning to ease into a 5 day cleanse by doing a partial juice/food cleanse for 2 days (Juice til Dinner), and then a Foundation cleanse for 3 days.  The Blueprint site mentions that “A three-day Cleanse helps the body rid itself of old built up matter and cleanses the blood. A five-day Cleanse starts the process of rebuilding and healing the immune system.”

To prepare for the cleanse, my friends and I are going to get Colonics of course.  Some folks that have had colonics say they’re the most amazing (although uncomfortable) thing they’ve done in a while.  We do this prior to cleansing so you get a jump start on washing out the built up matter in your digestive system making the intestines free to absorb all the vitamins and nutrients you’ll get in your juices..

I’m really actually excited to start this cleanse.  I’m looking forward to increased energy, fresher skin, and maybe even dropping a few pounds.  I plan to chronicle the next week of the cleanse for any of you who are interested in reading about it or trying it on your own.