On the advice of my friends

As I think I mentioned, I have such a horror of "mediocre middle" restaurants - places with mediocre food for too much money - that when I first moved to the Upper West Side, I learned to cook rather than risk boring meals. Fortunately for me, I have friends in the neighborhood who've taken me to local watering holes, so that I have options.

Friday night, I went to Cafe Ronda for dinner with a friend. I pass that place regularly, but never even looked at the menu, or I'd've known they serve tapas. We had the sauteed shrimp, with a brilliant sauce, and a mixed tomato salad to start. I'd come back just to try some of the other tapas. Our skirt steak was delicious: I'm a sucker for flavorful, grilled beef.

I've similarly been past Patsy's a gazillion times, but never went in because I usually eat NYC pizza by the slice. I had guests in town however, so I took them there. The pizza was far better than I expected. Usually I suffer the crust - I'm not a bread fan - but this crust had such a perfect consistency, I snagged it off the plate of my young companion. Admittedly, this was partly because I was so disappointed with the pasta, I'd rather eat the sausage and broccoli with her crust ends than the pasta. oops.