i loved your words! i just came across your blog through alice gao's post about this same dinner. i live in europe, in the bright city of lisbon and i love new york. i was there a couple of times and the last one was this x-mas. everything moves really fast, but even in the city you can find peaceful neighbourhoods where you seem to be anywhere but new york. but again, my favorite part was i believe, brooklyn! :) have a lovely day! twiggs