I think I gained 40 lbs this week

 And it's all Karlen's fault. I took her to Hill Country Chicken in the Flat-Iron District, which I love. Part of the dining room is pictured above. Isn't it adorable? It's totally the kind of kitchy-kitchen I would love to have some day, but unfortunately, Ryan wouldn't. He likes sleek, modern kitchens like we have now. Oh, well. At least I've discovered Hill Country Chicken and can enjoy the scenery there!

 Here we have, clockwise from the top, fried-cheesy-mashed-potato-casserole, a hill country club (fried boneless breast, bacon, avocado & spicy ranch sauce), an extra side of spicy ranch sauce, a side of hot sauce, and some fire-n-ice pickles. They also have Boylan's soda on tap, and free refills.

 Karlen relishes the casserole, which is a layer of mashed potatoes, a layer of "double-fried" french fries, and slathered with pimento cheese. Mmmmm. Then we needed to burn that off:

 I'd been looking for an excuse to visit the High Line. It's a state (or maybe just city, not sure) that was formed on top of an old, elevated railway line. We walked the whole thing, which was like, 15 blocks, but totally didn't seem like it because it was so beautiful. (And totally not full of stop lights & traffic)

 I apologize for accidentally keeping the blue-ish filter on. It was actually a really pretty day.

 There is weird, random art. I love it.

 And then we decided to reverse the good we'd just done. Yeah. Sprinkles helped us with that. Carrot for Karlen and pumpkin for me.

 Then I took this picture for Lara. It was on 60th St. in the Gold Coast.

 There was a LOT of walking. We were still hungry. We made our way to The Meatball Shop in Williamsburg. They have 4 different variations of meatballs and a daily special, which I had, and is pictured below. It was a bolognese ball made of beef, mortadella, steamed carrots & cream. Decadent. I got them "naked" style, which is just balls in bowl with a little piece of foccacia. They come topped with your sauce of choice, and I chose pesto. I also had a side of corn & rissoto.

 Karlen had the spicy pork balls with classic tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese on a baguette. It came with a side salad.

Thankfully, we were within walking distance from home and thankfully, Karlen is in to walking (she walked THE WHOLE Appalachian Trail!). More adventures to come. Tomorrow, we're going to PS1/MOMA and a small batch tour of the Brooklyn Brewery. Tune in to see it all!