Asian, French, Russian, Turkish, and some Polish

This weekend was in some ways about a mix of cultures. Both meshing cuisines, people, and customs. On Friday night, Jacek came to visit for the weekend. His only requests were that we ate good food and watched Battlestar. I had gotten wonderful recommendations both from the New York Times and from my parents about a French Asian fusion restaurant in Thornwood called Ace. It sadly, was not the experience we were hoping for. We were seated 30 minutes late, served mediocre tiny portions of food and were basically ignored our entire time there. Granted, the company was good, but sadly the food and service were not. I enjoy mixing foods from different cultures. It usually leads to a very interesting medley of tastes. Sadly, this attempt failed.

Saturday morning we woke up slowly, and then headed into the city to hit the Russian and Turkish Bath house down on 10th between 1st and ave A. I had been multiple times with Miss Courtney and some others. The best thing about this place- that has been around since the 1800's, is the mix of old eastern european men with the trendy nyc crowd that also frequents the baths. There are 4 rooms with various temperatures, all designed to make you sweat. It is coed on most days so everyone is lazing around in their bathing suits. It definitely offers a unique experience and relaxes my muscles perfectly. It was a bit too humid for Plosk. Jacek enjoyed the experience...since he is in fact "european." And I like the place for its dingy and quirky vibe.

Alice then met us at the Life cafe in Alphabet City where we ate lunch, and slowly got our strength back. And we then headed back to westchester to take a trip to Dave and Busters. Alice now joined us for the evening as well and what took place was a fabulous night with good friends laughing and enjoying the company. Oh yes, and shopping. Jacek allowed me to help him buy new clothes since he is a self proclaimed fashion victim. It was like having a full sized doll. "Go try this on." But he bought some nice stuff. In fact we all left with something which was lucky.

While out, Alice also told me and Plosk some very entertaining information. A bit over a year ago Alice invited me to go to her wedding. Obviously Plosk was already going, but I had only hung out with her a few times. Although we got along very well, it was still a bit surprising. Ah ha! She had ulterior motives! She was trying to set us up at her own wedding! She invited me in the hopes that he and I would become a couple. She told me, "You know someone for a decade and you want good things for them. I wanted you and Gary to be an item." It appears as if all our friends and family were waiting for us to take the plunge. Well, good on them for seeing what was only a matter of time.

Dave and Busters was a blast, and then, we were all sleepy. Alice and Jack opened the wine, and I fell asleep about 12ish. But it was a really lovely weekend. Honesty and friendship are quite appealing. There is a great deal of it at 11o1. I'm quite lucky.