We had another all-day marathon Leadership Committee meeting today. It ran from 8:30 am - 5:55 pm. Since it's a new year, we're back to having our dinners again afterward. This time it was at Pipa, a Spanish restaurant in the ABC Carpet building a few blocks north of Union Square on 19th St. The place specializes in tapas, which to me is nothing but slightly fancy party snacks, but there were a few entree-type items on the menu.

Of all things, I ordered the shrimp pot pie and no appetizer. There was also some bistec served on a bed of mushrooms with a veal stock reduction for sauce that sounded really good, too.

I was sitting next to a guy who ordered an appetizer shrimp cobb salad that was huge, so he shared it with me. It was good, but I only had a few bites. They didn't skimp on the shrimp. I figured the pot pie would be plenty for dinner, and far better than anything Stouffer's my mom used to leave for the babysitter to pop in the oven when I was a kid. It was, but the crust, far from being flaky as advertised on the menu, was rather undercooked beneath the very top layer and sort of had to be pulled apart. But the inside was really good and creamy. Fortunately, the entire "pie" wasn't much bigger than a ramekin, or there's no way I could have eaten the whole thing.

I've read mixed reviews of the place. It was pretty good, but not stellar. For Spanish food, I actually prefer Bolo, but I suppose this was a little different. The mojitos were good. I'd never had one before and was wondering what all the fuss was about, so when a bunch of others ordered them, I ordered one, too.

I skipped out at 8:05, before dessert, to catch an 8:44 train, which got me home around 10:00. Most of the suburbanites do that, and the out-of-towners who come in for these meetings stick around later. The day's long enough as it is, and we have an Operations Committee meeting tomorrow that'll run from 8:30 through lunch time. I really hate these meetings. They drag on forever.

Enough for tonight. Time to hit the sack. I can't wait for this holiday weekend when we can celebrate Valentine's Day for real. I vote Italian, but French will do if L'Allegria's booked.