It’s currently pouring snow outside, so I figured I would make a couple updates. Nothing like a blizzard to give you time to do fun things.

We stocked up on food, but when it started snowing, we really needed some comfort food. We have a favorite place in Little Italy that we go to for comfort food - Joe Benny’s Focacceria. This is a great little place to get the best meatballs and the best focaccia that we’ve come across. Joe’s family comes from Sicily, so he knows how to make great food.

We were definitely in need of comfort food. A bad day (I had jury duty, ugh), we were supposed to go to NYC on the train (which was canceled due to weather), and then the blizzard hit. So we walked over to the Focacceria. Joe was open - a friendly face and a big smile and hello, which was wonderful. Sort of like "Cheers", but with an Italian flair and heart! A bottle of Planeta 2009 Burmese to start, which is a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Big, bold, and just what we needed to warm our souls. A couple toasts to our bad day, and things started getting a little better. I had the Sicilian Stack, which is a tower of roasted eggplant on a slice of tomato with prosciutto, burrata mozzarella, basil and balsamic - yummy! Ernie had a Sicilian salad with lots of tomatoes, yellow and red peppers, basil and cucumbers with a light olive oil and basil. Again, yummy!

A bold combination of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

And then the focaccia! Mine had fennel sausage (with a little bit of heat), burrata mozzarella, and tomato sauce. Ernie’s had Joe’s fabulous meatballs with burrata mozzarella and peppers along with tomato sauce. Both were perfect with the Burdese wine. We savored our food, and we also got a chance to chat with a bunch of neighbors in Little Italy. And then dessert - cream puffs covered with either a cheesecake cream or a chocolate hazelnut cream. Oh my! A perfect way to end a rather crummy day and prepare for the snow. Then best of all, we walked home, snow blowing around us, just those few blocks.

Bringing home the two halves of the focaccias. These are going to be good for lunch!

Nothing like a good bottle of wine to go with great, simple food and great company. Just what we needed! Enjoy the snow!

Oh my - that's a lot of snow, with more anticipated!

Ducks trying to keep their heads out of the blowing snow.