Buon' Amici

Wednesday April 18
The next day, Andi and Joel threw a cocktail/wine party to celebrate the dedication. Joel and Michael headed out for a Rangers' game (they won—the Rangers that is) and once again Andi took everybody out, this time to a spiffy local restaurant, Buon' Amici (Thanks, Andi!).
There was one brutta sorpresa: "Osso buco" that wasn't. Holt was somewhat bewildered to be presented with lamb shanks, yet again. Holt queried the dish and the waitress drew his attention to the fine print which read "osso buco di agnello," Now, these were good lamb shanks in a slow-simmered sauce, but "osso buco" does not mean lamb shanks, and saying "osso buco di agnello" is like saying "London Broil of chicken." Tasty, but not quite what he had in mind.
The kitchen seemed to have a Humpty Dumpty attitude to words.* So the other lovely but curiously named dish we had was "open ravioli": two pasta sheets draped over a sauced filling, generous with lobster and asparagus. Again, "open ravioli" is like "closed buccatini," a contradiction in terms, howsoe'er nutritious.
Wine and conversation flowed freely with Marian and other old friends, plus cousins we barely even knew we had (all of whom, like Robert, went to Vassar - obviously, an inherited Vassar gene in the Burrell clan). For dessert, a slab of Junior's cheesecake went the rounds. It's the best in the world, says all of Brooklyn - you got a problem with that?

*The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."

"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be the master--that's all."