Yesterday I went to yoga class (after our company meeting and a sick amount of fried and buttered hors d'oeuvres at Cipriani). Even though I haven't formally done a yoga class for maybe four months, I still had a decent amount of strength and was able to pull off the warrior and plank poses without much strain in the thighs. Yay for subway steps!
We only went into child pose once during the class, which is so unlike the yoga classes I used to take at the Y, which is a family gym with perma-beginner classes. I tried to do a headstand and failed (something never even offered in the classes I used to take), but I think I could definitely do one in the future! I could also do a shoulderstand. I totally thought I was going to pull my back, but I was able to walk this morning, thank God.
Shoulderstand!
Back to the company meeting. I adore Cipriani (only ever been to the one at 42nd st). We had our company holiday party there. It has the most amazing service and food, and the venue is unparalleled, an old bank with high Corinthian columns and the original teller stations still intact in the middle of this gigantic bank. When you walk in a fleet of white-suited people come at you with a hanger and take your coat. No standing in line for coat check!
Their food is amazing--last night I had these great mini-burgers, which were my favorite, and I hate burgers. They were stacked with a quarter-sized bun, a ball of top-quality beef, a tiny bit of cheese, and a dollop of ketchup. The omission of the second piece of bread was a clever choice, I think, appealing both to the low-carb people (perhaps? are there any of those left?) and making the familiar burger slightly unrecognizable. Mini burgers/tacos/grilled cheeses/reubens seeem to be all the rage when it comes to cocktail parties, so I thought making the sandwich open-faced a nice tweak on that trend.
The cone of calamari: hot, lemony, decadent taste of oil. NOT chewy. Since calamari is so awful for you, I only like to eat it if it's prepared perfectly, otherwise it just feels like a waste of fried goodness. Liked that they gave me a whole cone, which I gobbled before it cooled.
Tomatoes and fresh mozzarella on a stick with thin matchsticks of basil sprinkled on top. I had three since it was a "veggie"
I steered away from the chicken croquettes at first because they looked like little brown fried balls. I finally tried one and was pleasantly surprised it didn't taste too greasy. The chicken filling, while not dry, relied on the fried coating for its richness, which made it a nice complement.
They also had mini ham and cheese sandwiches that many people spit out. The cheese was swiss, but I could tell that they used a flour roux (that they might have screwed up since I could taste the flour...) to change the consistency of the cheese. Seems like a needless way to embellish a ham and cheese that backfired, but I still really admire the kitchen there.
...I'd also like to point out that right after that I went to my yoga classes. Doing all those forward bends was a little hard, as I was afraid the meal was going to come right up. Oh hors d'oeuvres for dinner, I think it's hilarious that this underpaid media girl lives on free cocktail party food, all at places like Cipriani...
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