We celebrated our anniversary with pork belly

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August 13, 2013 by E.

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of my engagement to A.  This time last year, we were traipsing up the East Coast, stuffing our faces with lobster and seafood, and I was perpetually in awe of this new shiny thing attached to my left hand.

A. has decided he can only remember one anniversary at a time, so our dating anniversary (which we still celebrated back in March) was trumped in favor of our engagement anniversary, which will be then be succeeded by our wedding anniversary when February 2014 finally rolls around.  I am all in favor of this arrangement because by the time we actually do get married, I’ll have celebrated 3 anniversaries in less than a year.

We celebrated the engagement anniversary by doing what we do best: eating.

I opted for Daikaya, the trendy new Chinatown place I’d been reading about.  The restaurant is divided into two floors, each with their own menu and personas.  We made reservations for the top floor, the Izakaya, rather than the downstairs floor, the ramen shop.  From my limited understanding of Japanese language and cuisine, an izakaya is an establishment serving drinks and bar snacks.  Like the Japanese version of tapas. We liked a few of the dishes and really loved all the rest.

I broke my vegetarian streak to munch on skewers of grilled pork belly and Brussels sprouts covered in a spicy soy mayo.  They were so worth it.  While I was eating, all I could think was I’m sorry Babe, I’m sorry Wilbur, OMG THESE ARE GOOD, I’m sorry Babe, I’m sorry Wilbur, A. BETTER NOT EAT THAT LAST BITE, I’m so-

Anyway.  I’m still dealing with the residual guilt, but I also wouldn’t turn down those skewers if they were offered to me today.

I wish I had taken a picture, but the lighting was too dim, and I refuse to use a flash in a restaurant to photograph a plate of food.  Even if that food is heavenly brined, slow-cooked then grilled porky flavorful goodness, paired with perfectly charred and seasons sprouts.

So Daikaya was clearly the highlight of my Monday.

I would say it was the highlight of my week, but tomorrow we’re going to see the much-raved-about, Tony award winning musical, The Book of Mormon.  Back in March, when I was still funemployed, I waited anxiously for the tickets to go on sale.  I sat in front of my computer all morning, through website crash after crash, waiting in endless digital queues, and finally, after 3 hours, managed to get tickets.  That kind of effort demands a good payout, right?  I’ll certainly let you know!