Summer's End

Well, the end of the summer is finally here...I'm done with my extern, have been since last Thursday. My last day was pretty uneventfull. Did my job, Chef Neil shook my hand, thanked me for my work and offered his references and help finding a job when I graduated. Pretty uneventful. Friday, also extremely uneventful, as I pretty much did not get out of bed all day. The rest of my time has been a bit more constructive. I met all the people at work Saturday at the Bellvue bar for drinks, which was a lot of fun. Steve and I have seen several movies, had a picnic in Central Park and basically just wandered around the city. We're planning to go out to Montauk, which is the last stop on the Long Island RR, and to go to MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) sometime this week. I also want to meet Melissa for a glass of wine sometime before I go home. Which is only one week away...

Sorry! Sorry!

I've been told several times lately that I've been remiss in my blogging duties. So here goes the grand up-date. I only have 3 more days of work...yup, that's right. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. And I've been moved to garde manger (pronounced gar-mon-jay), where I'm responsible for several dishes. I have a tuna tartar, a red and white tuna sashimi, oysters, an heirloom tomato terrine, and a gazpacho. It's quite a bit more work, but an invaluable asset.

Tomorrow, Monday, I'm going to trail at Daniel. I'm really excited, mainly to see the kitchen, to watch the work. It should be a relatively easy day. I just wish my allergies weren't bothering me so I didn't sound like a goose.

Oh, and for all of you keeping track of my celebrity sightings, we saw Jimmy Fallon at the Bellvue bar a couple of weeks ago after work. Pretty boring actually, except that they have a really good jukebox so Adam (our am-fish-cook and avid classic rock fan) could totally rock out, kareoke-style.

Half-Summer

As I'm coming closer to the end of my extern, I've been thinking a good bit about what the summers been and where I'm going next. It feels like a half-summer for me. It's hot and humid, so it must be summer. But all of the things that have previously signified summer to me, swimming, the outdoors, my dogs, gardens, the fair, are absent. I spend as much time as I can outside, but that's still not much.

A couple of weeks ago, I did get to spend enough time outside to get a tan. Emily, Emily (my friend Emily's roomate), and I went to the Bronx Zoo, which was really cool. It's really quite big, with lots of really good animals. My highlights were the baby flamingo (which was small, white and fluffy), the puffins (always), and the sea lions (also with babies). So, basically, either small cute animals, or ones that I had seen in Alaska. They also had a really good tiger exibit, and a butterfly house that was amazing. Just a big greenhouse full of flowers and butterflies. The Emilys and I walked around and ate a good bit of ice-cream and bought souvenir cups. And it's only a 40 minute train ride away.

Unfortunately for me, Emily left for home yesterday. She's taking her little break at the end of her extern as opposed to the beginning like I did, so she's spending time in Cinncinnatti with her twin sister before Katie (her sister) starts law school. I miss having someone to force me to get out of the house on Sundays. I just lay around reading. Well, I'll see her in a month at school.

As for where I'm going, I'm going to talk to Chef Neil to see if he can get me a trail at Daniel. A trail is our version of the interview/entrance exam where you go work for a day and watch service. Daniel is considered by some to be among the top restaurants in the city, and one that consistently turns out the best cooks of any restaurant in the US. It also has 4 stars, a book written about it (with plenty of foul language, for those who may be tempted to read it), and a very good chef, Daniel Boulud. I'm just going to check it out, see what it's all about, without having to pay for a meal.