Take the Cannoli and Courvoisier

Where is the best cannoli in the city? Somewhere on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx? I wish I knew. The ones I’ve tasted in Manhattan have been just okay. The gold standard of cannoli for me was at my grandmother’s funeral dinner. There are four things that I remember from that day. Grandma looked like she was sleeping; my oldest sister cried; it’s fun to twirl spaghetti with a fork and spoon; and you shape cannoli shells with a clothes pin. Just wrap the dough around an old fashioned clothespin, bake and fill with delicious cream.The closest cannoli to my apartment is at Three of Cups (corner of E.5th St. & 1st Ave.) It’s the neighborhood place I go when I don’t know where to eat. The portions are large enough to share, and they give you free focaccia! Watch out though, sometimes they’ll charge you $2.50 for seconds of bread. That’s actually a good thing because of my bread addiction. The additional charge prevents me from ordering more. There’s also a salad with watercress and endive that I like a lot. It’s a mountain of cress with thin shreds of endive, walnuts, gorgonzola cheese, and polenta croutons. Those “croutons” tend to be a bit mushy so I always think it’s eggplant, and I think eggplant would actually be better. But nothing’s perfect. Mica and I ate there last month with her parents and the Fusilli Bolognese and Rigatoni a la Vodka was rather salty, but because we were seated between 6 and 7pm (Mon-Thur), 20 percent was knocked off the check, so the offense didn’t seem so bad. It worked out fine; the leftovers mixed with home cooked pasta were perfect! Three of Cups isn’t a dining destination, you won’t dream about the food later. Rather, it’s a solid choice if just want to enjoy the company of your friends and eat a decent meal. The picture above is from Sunday dinner with Derrick. He says it encapsulates everything that's good about life: drinking, eating, and licking. I think it looks like a cannoli eating contest. Where do you go when you want to enjoy the good life?