Boring stuff:
Laundry, I was out of socks and underwear
Cleaned my room, dusted and swept every nook and cranny

Less boring stuff:
Went to target, bought socks and underwear so I don't run out of it so fast. Hahaha!
Headed to Bed, Bath and Beyond to look for the scalp massager I saw in Ana's house,
then Barnes and Noble (again) where I scored myself this...

and this...

I bought Arkham Asylum mainly because of Dave Mckean's awesome art. He produced the most horrifying image of The Joker that I've ever seen.
Plus I just re-watched Batman Begins last night and am still in a Batman high. I hope Christopher Nolan won't let Heath Ledger's death hinder him from continuing his work on the Batman franchise. Mr. Nolan is a supremely awesome filmmaker. Has anyone seen the trailer of his latest film Inception?

Ellen Page is in it! YEY!

Not too boring stuff:

Having read enough about Scott Bryan from Anthony Bourdain's books, an entire chapter was dedicated to Bryan alone in Kitchen Confidential, I decided to seek out the chef that New York culinarians have been raving about. I know nothing about him except for what Bourdain mentions in his books. One episode I saw of No Reservations had him working at Veritas but a quick web search told me he no longer works there. He apparently left Veritas two years ago and wandered around who knows where until he eventually found his way back to NYC, in Apiary in the East Village. Reviews for Apiary were a little on the blah side when it opened until Scott Bryan was hired to replace the existing executive chef. The website could use a little work and the place might be able to use a bit more press so I was a little apprehensive about my trip there tonight. I was hoping against hope that Bourdain's description of him then would still hold true today.

I went there with No Reservations (hehe) and was sat at the bar, which I didn't mind at all. I came prepared with reading material since I was going to be dining solo. They extended their restaurant week menu until the end of the month so I was able to score a 3-course dinner at a fraction of what it might have cost if I ordered a la carte.

TUSCAN WHITE BEAN SOUP black kale, tomato parmesan, extra virgin olive oil
I was annoyed after I swallowed a spoonful of this. Why? Because THIS is what I wanted to make when I made this. Although I did end up with good soup, theirs was PERFECT. The waiter said the soup was too thick to be served with bread but if I wanted some, they would give me anyway. I was glad I said yes because I used the bread to wipe every ounce of liquid off that bowl.

ROASTED ORGANIC CHICKEN celery root puree, glazed carrots wild mushroom jus
When ordering off restaurant week menus, I am more inclined to order the boldest looking item on the menu because I want to see what the chef can do with not-your-usual ingredients. I was planning to get the duck leg confit but changed my mind to the chicken due to a recommendation from a New York Magazine article I read prior to my visit. I was also curious as to what he could make out of such a boring ingredient. I remember reading somewhere that "chicken is for people who don't know what they want to eat."

After visiting Bar Boulud with Mica a few weeks ago, I was expecting miniature portions. I was given more that I prepared myself for. I actually walked out of there pregnant, barely able to breathe through my layers of clothing and skinny jeans. The server set my entree down and immediately I knew I was going to enjoy it. The aroma of the roasted chicken made my eyes flutter and I had to smile. Not bothering with my usual taking-pictures-of-what-I-eat and I immediately dug in. After my first bite, I put my utensils down and grabbed my phone.

"MICA, PUTANGINA KAILAN ANG DAY OFF MO? KAILANGAN KITANG DALHIN DITO."

The mashed potatoes that came with the dish tasted like it was supposed to, only it had the consistency of a mousse. It was light and creamy, fluffy without being too starchy and went perfectly with the chicken. It was a very simple and ingeniously prepared meal. Chicken here, is no longer for the boring foodies.

VANILLA PANNA COTTA raspberry coulis
I've never had panna cotta ever and I loved this one. I'm a fan of leche flan, creme caramel and creme brulee so this was right up my alley without being too sweet. I ate it slow, letting each spoonful linger in my mouth.

I am so going to be back this week. Mica has to try it. Heck, YOU ALL HAVE TO COME AND TRY IT.

Oh, and funny little thing was halfway through my meal, a group of people came and sat by me at the bar. They were speaking tagalog so I looked beside me and saw...Rajo Laurel. He must have been here for NY Fashion Week.

I was supposed to watch Shutter Island after dinner but tickets were sold out so I headed on home where I soaked my feet and gave myself a mani/pedi while watching dvds.

It's funny. After my recent break-up, one would think that a blog entitled "Heartbroken" would be dedicated to a long post on a supposed love that's been lost. Instead, the title has been reserved for my feelings about ANTHONY BOURDAIN BEING IN MANILA.

*insert weeping Kari here*

I woke up and found out this news on a friend's Facebook status message. I quickly googled it and confirmed that he IS in the Philippines. WHY? OH WHY of all the times for him to be in my country could I be in New York?!? Which is ironic since NY is his hometown. I will not hide it, a tear fell while reading a post I found online about his visit to Cafe Ysabel. She had photos!!! I.WANT.TO.CRY.

And here I was thinking, "Hey! I'm finally in New York! Maybe I'll rifle through my copy of Kitchen Confidential and check out the places he mentioned in the book. Maybe I'll see him around!" NOT!

Anthony Bourdain, THE man, THE food rockstar of our generation. My hero. The man who fueled my desire to travel the world and who taught me that there's just so much good food to be had to waste one's time being a vegetarian, is in my home country. This made me very, very sad.

Another ironic thing is, just last night, after staying up watching episodes of his show, No Reservations on my iPod, my last thoughts were (I kid you not), a mental note to blog about where I would take Tony if he were to visit Manila. What would I make him try? I started ticking off items in my head until the list of dishes lulled me to sleep like a child counting sheep.

*wipes a tear*

Updated:
Bourdain has a blog. How could I have ever missed this? I've been sad that he hasn't written a book since A Cook's Tour. So this should provide me with good reading material until he decides to write one again.