I had the most incredible experience on Wednesday. After a long day of meetings, I was invited to dinner with a group of about 25 NJ folks to Carmine’s in Times Square before they were headed out for a group outing to go watch Jersey Boys (so touristy). Being the anti-cultural/anti-touristy person that I am, I turned down the invite to Jersey Boys but of course took them up on the offer to go to this group dinner.
If you’ve ever been to Carmine’s you know it’s family style, and they bring all the dishes out onto these humongous plates. No joke, I think the person coordinating this dinner over-ordered by like 25 people. We literally had like 10 courses. For each group of 5 people, they first brought out salad, then fried calamari for appetizer, then another appetizer plate of sausages, stuffed mushrooms, mussels, clams, fried cheese, etc; then they brought out some delicious penne pasta, then angel hair pasta with garlic tomatoes; then they brought out parmesan chicken, then some really good marinated chicken, then steak (!!!), and a side of steamed spinach. Then we had a dessert plate of chocolate cake, ice cream, chocolate covered strawberries, etc. Not to mention the pitchers of beer and bottles of red and white wine that never ran out at the table. It was incredible.
What was even more incredible was that understandably we did not finish all this food, given most everyone got completely full after course 3. I have to admit even I thought it was too much food, which really says a lot. By the end of dinner, there were plates and plates and plates of food that were literally untouched. The people at my table were overwhelmed by the amount of leftovers, and they started to discuss what to do with all this food. “Well, we can’t take them with us… how are we going to take all this food in with us to Jersey Boys? I think L has to take it all since she’s going straight home.” Clearly that was the plan I had in mind all along, but I had slowly throughout the course of dinner been planting that idea into people’s heads… like INCEPTION. http://inception.davepedu.com/
I am so good.
It was raining that night and it was impossible to catch a cab back home, but with both hands carrying two very, very heavy bags of 7 large aluminum trays of leftover food, I was determined to bring it all home, even if that meant sweating in my nice suit and heels that would have to get dry cleaned the next day and getting soaked as I walked several blocks to the Times Square subway station and awkwardly smelling up the entire subway car with Italian food as I took the NRQ and L back home to Stuy Town. It was hard work, but worth it. The look on my roommates’ faces when they saw the 7 aluminum trays full of delicious Italian food was as if they had just seen the biggest tits they’d ever seen in their entire lives on a tiny 5’0″ girl. Yes, they got a foner — a food boner.
This is how much food there was when I brought it home:
Carmine's Leftovers
After 4 days, there are just 4 trays left now. Roommate L has eaten 3 of them by himself. I am slowly making my way through the leftover angel hair pasta with garlic tomatoes. I thought this would be enough food to last us like 3 weeks, but apparently it’s going to be more like one week. That’s still ok.
Poverexic in NYC 