Living Large in the Big Apple

"Food, food, food. That's all you ever post", a friend comments one day on my Facebook page.  While another says: "How do you stay skinny eating all of the time?". And my personal favorite: "Are you getting fat out there in NYC?". Ah friends. Can't shoot 'em, can't live without them.

Of course if you follow me on facebook you would assume all I do is eat, cook, throw parties and have cocktails with friends.  And you wouldn't be far from the truth. In defense let's look at the factors and elements at hand:
1. I live in New York City. Manhattan. The Big Apple. Gotham.  You don't get that many names as a city if you don't have a lot to offer and something to do, eat or drink all of the time.
2. I didn't move here to memorize cable TV channels.
3. I/we don't have kids. We have to fill my time with something (can you say ChildFreeNYC Meet Up Group?)
4. You post pictures of your kids, I post pictures of the things I eat and cook with and for friends.  We both are sharing what makes life good for us.
5. "Foodie" doesn't come close to describing how I live my life. It's almost a pedestrian insult at this point.  Why I'm not on Top Chef I don't know.  I just choose to make it hobby and not a J-O-B.  But honestly my passion for food, the art and science of it go well beyond the average so-called "foodie". Its an obsession, a passion and a way of life. As MDHK likes to quote me saying once while in Rome, "The ultimate goal here is food".

I will have to admit that sometimes when I see the insane amount of eating, cooking and drinking that I do as per my facebook posts I have to wonder; "Why am I not fat in NYC?".  But then I look down at my wickedly sensible (for me), extremely worn street worthy shoes and remember my digital response to the many inquiries about my weight management (which I can only assume come from a very genuine and thoughtful place of concern for my well being). It goes something like this:

"I don't have a car. No one in NYC does really. I walk everywhere.Why wouldn't I? Even taking the subway requires a lot of walking and lots of stairs. On average I walk 3+ miles a day. With out of town guests it's more like 4-6 miles a day."  You add to that the fact that EVERYTHING you purchase has to get home somehow.  That means I'm also a pack mule carrying everything from printer paper to toilet paper, groceries, extra clothing layers, dress shoes to change into, you name it.

So the next time you see me checking in at Momofuku, posting a pic of a burger from Back Forty, or singing the praises of Vanessa's dumpling Happy Hour while knocking back a beer at Drop Off Service or stopping off at a party at Macao. Rest easy. My arteries will give out before my waistline.