This was a week that moved in every direction at once — a rainy pizza lunch in Tribeca, a last-minute dinner with my daughter near Grand Central, oysters and steak frites in Fairfield, a National Tequila Day dinner that turned into an impromptu watermelon marg bar, and an afternoon at the polo club that felt like a mini trip to Argentina without leaving Connecticut. It ended with wallpaper glue on my hands and pizza in my lap, which felt about right. Some weeks are quiet. This one had a pulse the whole way through.
Monday: The Last of the Leftovers
Monday was the kind of day that asks very little of you, and I was happy to let it.
There’s a rhythm to the start of the week that leftovers understand better than almost anything else. No decisions to make, no pans to dirty, just the tail end of a weekend still doing its job on a Monday. It’s not glamorous, but it’s honest, and honestly, some of my favorite dinners are the ones nobody had to cook twice.
Tuesday: Rain, Meetings, and a Slice That Couldn’t Decide What It Wanted to Be
Tuesday brought one of those gray, low-sky NYC days where the whole city seems to move a little slower under umbrellas.
I wanted something quick between meetings, so I ducked into Marinara Pizza on W Broadway for a cheese slice and a buffalo chicken slice. The first bite of each was genuinely promising — that instant, greasy-paper-bag satisfaction that only a New York slice delivers. But a few bites in, something shifted. The crust started reading less like a neighborhood pizzeria and more like something out of a freezer case, the kind of base you’d expect from a big chain rather than a corner spot. It wasn’t bad. It just never quite lived up to that first impression. Good, not great, and an honest reminder that the first bite of a slice can be a little bit of a con artist.
📍 Marinara Pizza | 130 W Broadway, New York, NY ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wednesday: A Marathon Day, a Rescued Dinner, and a Carbonara Worth the Detour
Wednesday was back-to-back NYC, and it was a grind from the first meeting to the last.
No breaks, no real lunch to speak of — just some snacks I’d smartly packed and, of course, a stop for Eataly gelato, because there is always time for that, even on the worst days. By the time I made it back to Grand Central, my plan was simple: catch the train home. Instead, I found out my daughter would miss it, so I hopped off and turned a missed connection into dinner.
We ended up at Bucatini on 45th Street, just steps from Grand Central, and it turned a frustrating day into one of the better meals of the week. I started with a Black Manhattan, which felt like exactly the right reset after a day like that — dark, a little bitter, a lot restorative. The calamari appetizer came next and was excellent, cooked with the kind of light hand that keeps it tender instead of rubbery. We both landed on the Bucatini Carbonara, and it delivered — rich, silky, a touch creamier than the traditional Roman version I usually go for, but very good all the same. Sometimes the best dinners are the ones you didn’t plan on having.
📍 Bucatini | 2 E 45th St, New York, NY ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thursday: Oysters, Steak Frites, and a Fairfield Favorite
Thursday brought me back over to The Sinclair in Fairfield, which has become one of those dependable spots that never seems to miss.
I went with the blue point oysters to start, briny and cold and exactly what a Thursday night calls for, followed by the steak frites. It was excellent as usual — and I say “as usual” because that’s the real compliment. Consistency is underrated. The Sinclair has that easy, downtown energy that makes it work for a quick weeknight dinner or a longer night out, and Thursday leaned into the former without losing any of the quality.
📍 The Sinclair | 1229 Post Rd, Fairfield, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Friday: National Tequila Day Turns Into a Watermelon Marg Bar
Friday, it turned out, was National Tequila Day — and once I saw that, there was really only one direction the night could go.
I started with a traditional margarita, classic and clean, the kind that reminds you why the drink has stuck around for so long. Then I remembered we had a watermelon sitting on the counter, and that was that. Out came the blender, and suddenly everyone at the table had a watermelon marg in hand instead. It’s funny how one small ingredient can flip the whole mood of a night from routine to a little bit festive.
On the food side, I kept it simple and let the grill do the talking — NY strips, roasted potatoes, and broccoli. Nothing fussy, just a good sear on the steaks and a fun night in with the family. Some of the best nights don’t need a reservation. They just need a blender and an excuse.
Saturday: Argentina vs. USA at the Polo Club
Saturday was our annual trip to Farmington Polo Club, and it’s quickly become one of the highlights of our summer calendar.
This year’s match was Argentina versus USA, and the club leaned all the way into it with an Argentine barbecue to match the occasion — smoky, char-forward, and clearly built for a crowd that takes its grilling seriously. We got a table for ten and settled in for the full afternoon-into-evening experience with friends and family, watching the ponies work the field while the food and conversation kept pace right alongside them. There’s something about a polo match that makes an ordinary Saturday feel like an event, and this one delivered on every level — the setting, the match, the barbecue, all of it.
📍 Farmington Polo Club | 162 Town Farm Rd, Farmington, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sunday: Wallpaper, In-Laws, and a Well-Earned Pizza
Sunday was a working day, but not the kind that happens at a desk.
We spent the afternoon hanging wallpaper in the in-laws’ bathroom, and it made a bigger difference than I expected — one of those small renovation wins that instantly makes a room feel finished. As a thank-you, or maybe as strategy, they got us Riko’s Pizza on Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield. I have a feeling they figured that if we stopped to eat, we’d never pick the tools back up again — and honestly, they weren’t wrong. The pizza was a well-timed reward for an afternoon of paste, seams, and steady hands.
📍 Riko’s Pizza | 1920 Black Rock Turnpike, Fairfield, CT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Closing Reflection
This week didn’t have one single meal that defined it. It had a little bit of everything — an average slice on a rainy day, a rescued dinner that turned out better than the original plan, dependable oysters and steak on a Thursday, a tequila-fueled Friday that took an unplanned watermelon detour, an afternoon of polo and Argentine barbecue, and a well-earned pizza after a day of manual labor.
That’s the thing about weeks like this. They’re rarely about one big meal. They’re about the small, scattered moments — a missed train that becomes a dinner with your daughter, a blender that turns a normal Friday into a party, a polo match that makes a Saturday feel bigger than it is. Not every week needs a headline. Some just need to be lived, one meal at a time.