Dinner with Queen Noor

Last night, Queen Noor and I met for dinner, at our beloved eating spot, Fatty Crab. The name is an oddringer for sure, but don't be deceived - this Malaysian seafood find is one of our faves.

If there were a term I'd use to describe Queen Noor, it would be global frenzy. I have never known anyone who travels more vastly and more frequently than her - in her eternal quest to keep life stimulating and inspirational. Over the last few years, I've learnt that at any given point in time, Queen Noor could be anywhere, from with her family in Bombay, to white water rafting the Zambezi, or exploring Iceland or Argentina.

But the more I think about it, the more it strikes me as odd in a heart-string-pulling kind of way, that Queen Noor has always been around for the significant haps in my life. I first met her when Doobs and I were in Barcelona to celebrating my birthday all those years ago. And then as it turned out, despite all her convoluted whirlwind travels around the world, Queen Noor found herself in back New York celebrating my birthday three years ago, and then to celebrate our wedding a year ago, and then again to attend our reception last month. That's Queen Noor for you in a summary. Not around all the time, but around just enough that she's an integral part of all those significant moments in our lives.

Which brings me to yesterday, when we met for dinner. As soon as she hopped out of the cab, I said, "Wait, I have to show you something first! Come with me."
I'd wanted to show her the Highline, the fantastic new park that's opened in the city. I knew the artistic union of the chic modern design and historic setting would be right up her alley, and so I'd wanted to surprize her with the view.

I guess I'd intended to walk her up the steps to the elevated park, and do a dramatic "ta-da!!" with all the flair and flamboyance that she commands in life.
But when we were still a block away, Queen Noor turned to me, "Are we going to the Highline?"
I was stumped. How the hell did she know about the Highline, when she didn't even live in this city.
"You know about it?" I asked, disappointed that my surprize had been pre-empted.
"Of course I know about it! It's fantastic! Let's go spend some time up there and catch the sun set."
How in the world someone who has only been in this city for the last three weeks would have already seen the Highline, which only opened a couple weeks ago, is beyond me. But there you go, that darned Queen Noor had one-upped us again.

Still, it was a beautiful evening, and a beautiful park, and not to be ruined by my own crushed sentiments. We spent half an hour strolling around the park, and then headed over to dinner.

Which brings me to Fatty Crab, our "spot". Over glasses of wine and the general chaos of West Village restauranterie, we rolled up our sleeves and dug into the crab. There's no delicateness here. It's not a date place. It's all about having a glass of wine, getting down and dirty with the food, and catching up with old and dear friends.