And now I'm in New York!

Rome was good -- saw St. Peter's again (I never get tired of it or Micheangelo's Pieta) AND Jay and I climbed to the top. We also visited the Baths of Caracalla -- built by the Roman emperor of that name and immense.

But the highlight of the trip was dinner with our friends, the Sforzas, whose daughter attended school with Jay in London a couple of years ago. They and their other daughter welcomed us to their home in northern Rome and served us a home-cooked Italian meal: lasagna, goat cheese tart and cannoli for dessert, accompanied by a nice chianti (No Hannibal Lecter jokes, please!). Mmmmm.

Anyway, I'm in New York on my own for my mother's 80th birthday. My brother Jeremy, his girlfriend Gina and I went out for dinner last night. We went to Blue Smoke, a fantastic barbecue restaurant that has become a family favorite. The restaurant, which is on 27th Street between Park Avenue and Lexington, is owned by Danny Myer, who owns a number of four-star New York dining spots such as Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Cafe.

We had a great time. My mother loves Blue Smoke's Kansas City ribs. Gina had baby back ribs and my brother and I split a sampler plate: ribs, smoked chicken, pulled pork, and a hot and spicy sausage link. For sides, we had collard greens, warm barbecue potato chips, mashed potatoes with some fried onions and a starter of fried green tomatoes.

By that point, I did not have room for dessert, but mom and Jeremy were able to put away tollhouse pie (They were crushed to learn that Blue Smoke was not serving their favorite dessert, goo-goo pie.).

My brother teaches high school English, including journalism (which runs in the family). Gina is a charming, lovely high school French teacher.

Jeremy and I both fell in love with Italian-American women. Gina comes from Sicilian and Reggia Calabria stock, while Diane is Neapolitan, Reggia Calabria -- and Ukrainian (the Italian grandparent and the Ukrainian grandparent met in New York's Lower East Side).

But I digress.

Barbecue is not easy to come by in London and I love it. In addition to Blue Smoke, my mom or varioius friends and I ate at

-- Virgil's, another barbecue spot (44th Street just east of Broadway)

-- the Second Avenue Deli on 10th Street and 2nd Avenue (matzoh ball soup and pastrami)

-- Angelo & Maxie's (decent New York steakhouse on 52nd Street just west of Sixth Avenue)

-- Manganaro (classic New York Italian sandwiches. I went for the meatball hero. On Ninth Avenue between 37th and 38th Streets)

-- Ollie's Noodle Shop, part of a chain of good Chinese restaurants that specialize in bowls of noodles. Good dumplings, too. Forty-fourth street just west of Seventh Avenue.

I also met my blogging goddess, Amy Langfield of Amy's New York Notebook for drinks, along with her most charming husband, Martin Langfield.

Amy, whose blog inspired me to start blogging myself, advised me to add more addresses and other information to my blog. So I have. Thanks, Ms. Langfield!