I’m feeling like a jet-setter today after a quick trip out to New York City for a Friday meeting at the College Board. Out Thursday and back Saturday, I was on non-stop flights from one coast to the other. The plane was one of those with over half the seating set up for business class and first class passengers. It was a bit surreal to be a part of that lifestyle (I was in the back, of course). I tried to look like I fit in, reading pdfs on my Macbook and opening random Excel files.

The College Board is located in Midtown West, so they put us up at the Sheraton on 7th Avenue. I checked in at the same time as 7,000 high school students and their chaperones. I was in the peak tourist area of New York City at the height of tourist season. I’ll admit, I did succumb to New York fever and caught a Friday night performance of Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical. Oh yeah.

I didn’t get to pick and choose the restaurants for this visit. The College Board treated us to an Italian meal Thursday night at a restaurant called Trattoria Dell’Arte, located on 7th Avenue. I was pretty nervous about this meeting and dinner, so I didn’t take many photos at the restaurant, nor did I truly soak in the details. There was a space to sit outside and several different rooms within the restaurant. It was a bustling New York scene for sure. I remember large ceramic body parts mounted on the walls–an eye, an ear, a nose, surrounded by artist sketches of human figures.

I was about to order the grilled prawns when I heard someone discussing the antipasto bar. Lots of people just order an antipasto plate for dinner. This place is famous for it. You go into the other room and pick what you want, or you can let the server choose for you. Now this seemed more interesting than my usual dinner experience, and I think I can take credit for convincing our dinner party to get up and go to the other room with me.

I later lamented missing out on the eggplant, but I can’t say I was disappointed in my selections. You pay according to the number of items you choose, and the server convinced us six was the best deal. I had the broccoli rapini, shrimp and scallops, baby roasted artichokes, grilled fennel, veggie lasagne, and fava bean salad. The table ordered a pizza appetizer, which had a perfectly crispy-thin crust. And of course, we sampled three of the desserts. I liked the tira misu best.

Trattoria Dell’Arte was far from cheap, so I’m not sure I would have gone there on my own. There are so many other restaurants to visit in New York, I may not have the opportunity to return again. What a joy to be treated to a nice meal on my first solo trip to the Big Apple.

PS: I had drinks at Sardi’s before the show Friday night. Sometimes it’s fun to play tourist.