You can stop holding your breath, now.

 I know. My many, many readers have been eagerly awaiting details on where and what I ate in New York for days, now. It was selfish of me and completely unacceptable to keep you waiting this long, dear readers, but to be honest I still haven't finished digesting my whirlwind 36 hours of culinary excitement even 3 days later. And in case you are wondering why there was no Champagne Thursday this week... well, it's because I'm still hungover from Champagne Monday (which I urge you not to try at home).

Let's start from the beginning. Sunday night after flying in I was feeling a little bit thirsty--parched, in fact--and water was simply not going to do. Now, I am an old pro at navigating the Brooklyn and downtown food scenes, but put me on the Upper West Side and I may as well be in Guam. Luckily my friend Neil knew that I like wine (shocker) and having spent time in Tuscany himself, he knew where to get the good stuff. We had a fantastic meal at Salumeria Rosi, complete with a prosciutto sampler (that's right) and other goodies.

Later Sunday night, already feeling like a porchetta myself, we decided to just go the whole hog and go out for dessert. Again, Neil comes through. Ouest is one of those places I had always heard about in that mythical, faraway land called the Upper West Side, and for good reason. It was a) beautiful, in an understated, Union Square Cafe sort of way  b) homey enough to be offered gougeres fresh from the oven once we sat down at the bar, and c) known for its mindblowing panna cotta. Needless to say, it was a revelation. Neil had to forcibly stop me from licking the bowl.

Monday morning I woke up from a delicious panna cotta dream and took a guilt-ridden long run on the west side path. Before my errand*, I had just enough time to grab one of these, if only to remind myself why Chicago is superior in many, many ways to New York:

After my errand*, believe it or not, I was thirsty again. I headed to B Bar for a drink, and then, upgraded to Temple Bar for one of these:

In case you can't tell, or you are completely uncultured, that is a classic champagne cocktail... hence, Champagne Monday. After whetting my appetite with these aperitifs, came the serious business-- dinner.
Why not go all out? Spend it all? Since these are words I live by daily, we went to Falai... the high concept, high end italian restaurant from chef Iacopo Falai. I have been dying to go here for... ever. And, of course, it lived up to the hype.
     What to order in a place so unusual and yet familiar? Where the menu is teasingly vague and the dishes that come out of the kitchen leave you whispering exitedly like you just spotted Rob Pattison in the bathroom? The pasta sampler, of course.
      This was no ordinary pasta sampler, mind you. It was four small portions of handmade, traditional pastas combined with untraditional ingredients, along with amuse bouches in between courses to keep you guessing. These included Gnudi, Linguine, Pappardelle, and Pici, followed by a ricotta passion fruit souffle for dessert. I would have trouble describing each, and I dont have my own pictures, but here is a start:

Falai. It's tiny, but it packs a punch.

An Amuse Bouche. Cant remember what was in it, but just look at the presentation!

Pappardelle with Mushroom Ragu. Oh. My. God. Where have you been all my life?!

Gnudi. As in "naked". As in Ravioli without its clothes on.

More on Falai later. I'm still too faclemped to talk about it.

* My errand in New York will as yet remain unnamed. There may be big news to share soon, however. Stay tuned...