When love came to town

We really are so blessed. Despite living so far away from home, in the last year, we've had 3 visits from family already: my parents just after Sophie was born, my sister and brother-in-law last month, and my cousin Terri-- as part of her Eat-Through-the-Eastern-Seaboard quest-- came through Ann Arbor with her friend, Amanda over the weekend. It was so nice to have her here and showing her the places I've only been able to talk to her about- the university (well, the law library specifically), downtown Ann Arbor, Zingerman's...

Speaking of which, I'd like to think that Ann Arbor (well, Southeast Michigan writ large) held it's own in the food department. We have no where here as fancy as Thomas Keller's Per Se in NYC (where the girls have already eaten TWICE at), but Slow's in Detroit, Zingerman's Deli, and Blimpy Burger sure made up in sheer deliciousness and stick-to-the-bone goodness what they lack in haute cuisine-ness... I think the Deli particularly impressed them both, where promptly after her first bite of the #13 (Sherman's Sure Choice), Amanda exclaimed, "This is sooooo good!" And who knew that the key to kick-ass grilled sweet potato? Lemongrass.

All in all, it was just wonderful to have had Terri around over the weekend. We've always been really close (sometimes-- ok, almost always-- I think we share a brain despite being born 9 years apart- we both believe that the New Radicals was a Band That Could Have Been Great, that the smell of new books should be inhaled, and that Tai Wah bak chor mee-- minced pork noodles-- should have its own altar from which to be worshipped.)

Have a wonderful last day in NY, dear cousin, and I hope Peter Luger satisfied!