Jury Duty = Good Food and Wine

So I had the privilege as a U.S. citizen to "volunteer" my time for the greater good, aka get suckered into mandatory jury duty.  At least I don't have to report for duty for at least another 6 years.  On the bright side, it meant two days off from my day job and an excuse to wander around Chinatown/Canal Street to find good eat.

My first day of Jury Duty was this past Monday, which was the Chinese New Year.  Now you'd think I'd pay homage and have a Chinese lunch.  But I had this craving for pasta, so I walked down Mulberry Street on my search for an Italian feast.  Walking down Mulberry reminded me of walking down Charlotte Street in London, where I'd get accosted by restaurant managers trying to persuade me to eat at their Indian restaurant.  At one point during my trek,  I had an Indian man trying to sell me on an Italian restaurant, and it just didn't fell right.  Finally, I saw a beautiful restaurant on the corner of Mulberry and Broome called Grotta Azzurra.

My meal was spectacular.  $9.50 for lunch, pasta and an entree.  To start I chose the rigatoni with pancetta, tomatoes, cream and vodka.  It wasn't heavy, just right!  And the waiter brought me warm semolina bread with butter.  I should have asked for olive oil, but sometimes butter is just too good to pass up.  I chose chicken parmigiana for my entree that came with broccoli and roasted potatoes.  It was a feast and in Midtown near my office, this meal would have cost me over 30 bucks.  Also, I don't think Frank Sinatra music would have been playing the entire time I was eating.

Oh, and, I couldn't have this amazing meal without a lovely glass of red.  I selected a Sangiovese wine  - I'm beginning to test out the Italian wines.  I chose the Melini 'Borghi d'Elsa' vintage 2006.  It went down smooth and had bold flavor.  According to the bottle description, there are scents of iris, raspberries and spices.  The dry wine had an aftertaste of toasted almonds and fruit.  All in all it was an excellent choice - a nice $7 glass.  Now the lunch, included a 20% gratuity, for a total of $21+.  I normally bitch about gratuities included in bills, but the waiters were so nice and I had a such a great lunch by myself.  AAAH it was great, and then I had to head back to Jury Duty base camp.

The following day I finally decided to eat Chinese.  For a lovely grand total of $7.25, I had a small cup of egg drop soup with a general tso's chicken and white rice.  If you're ever in Chinatown, China Village Restaurant at 94 Baxter Street is where it's at for lunch.  I mean when the Chinese go there for lunch, it has to be good!