Al Di La Trattoria, 248 5th Ave., Brooklyn

In the course of my endless, if somewhat hopeless, networking to look for work, I had lunch with a very pleasant and interesting independent consultant, Sarah, in Park Slope this week. We may have the chance to work on some projects together so it was both fruitful and enjoyable.

My food was terrific, and perfect for the day of heavy rain. I had a steaming bowl of cheesy polenta topped with mushrooms, braised greens, and a little broth. I loved it. Sarah had tagliatelle with ragu that also looked truly delicious. She told me that it is really hard to get into Al Di La for dinner but we got seats at lunch no problem and stayed for probably almost a couple hours.

Rice Thai, 311 7th Ave, Brooklyn

Some time ago I joined the Prospect Park Track Club. I ran a few of their races and the people are always so friendly, and I like them. They have regular (monthly?) meetings that I haven't attended before, but since I have stopped running for the winter, I decided to go to last night's meeting just to stay current and maybe get some human interaction. Such is the life of a new, unemployed New Yorker: I will go all the way to Brooklyn, in the rain, for human interaction.

The meeting was quite short and I didn't see anyone I knew there, so I didn't have a conversation with anyone, but that's okay. On the way home I stopped randomly for dinner at Park Slope's Rice Thai. I had a Thai iced tea and red curry with tofu. I have decided it's time to start trying to observe Meatless Mondays again, in the interests of saving the planet. Back when I did this "regularly" I was never very good at remembering it was Meatless Monday before getting halfway through, say, a roast beef sandwich, but at least I was trying, and I intend to start trying again.

The curry was good, but nothing special. Rice was a dollar extra, which I always find kind of annoying. The steamed tofu in the curry was perfectly fine, and it had the requisite bamboo shoots and basil (although why were eggplants added?). I wish the green bell peppers had been red instead.

Tomato & Basil, 226 4th Ave., Brooklyn

When Pat was out of town last week and I was lonely and bored, I made many plans for us for this week when he would be back. He accused me of "overscheduling" us, but we are New Yorkers, damn it, and we must go out and have some fun.

Last night's fun was a comedy show called "Mr. Coconuts," at Union Hall in Park Slope. This was recommended by my friend Ann, who is a fan of Mr. Coconuts' blog. There were five comedians including the host, and for the most part they were genuinely funny. We arrived a little later than planned so we had to sit in the second row, and Pat was nervous about being the butt of any jokes, but the hipster sitting next to him pointed out that we were safe because the first row featured three old ladies who were clearly comedic material. They started giving each other uneasy and disapproving glances as soon as the second comedian began joking about being gay, and after his set they left, saying to the host, "bedtime for us!" After that the jokes about them were merciless, obviously, and just lucky for them that they were not there to hear them.

We were late because Pat had come from a work function and we still needed a bite before the show, so we went to Tomato & Basil pizzeria, right above the Union St. subway stop. We each had 2 slices; mine were the Grandma Slice and a tomato and mozzarella slice. The first was quite good and the latter was excellent, with a lovely crisp crust.

Coco Roco, 392 5th Ave., Brooklyn

Pat and I stumbled onto something fantastic to do this weekend: a recreation of the Minnesota State Fair at a hall in Brooklyn! http://mncultureclub.com/statefairaffair

I really thought this would be better in concept than in reality, but I was wrong in the most wonderful way. People were even lined up to get in.

We arrived just in time to see Minnesota Sen. Al Franken take the stage to judge a "food on a stick" contest, and it was hilarious. The most creative (but according to Sen. Franken, bad-tasting) entry was "Boundary Waters on a stick," a gelatinous blue and green blob that was actually quite evocative. Pat and I spotted a sample of that on the stage after the judging was over, with one bite taken out of it, and we believe it was the very sample that Sen. Franken tasted. We did not take it home as a souvenir.

The mob to taste the various foods on a stick was daunting but I secured sticks for me and Pat with balls of cheese curds and wild rice shaped like snowmen, and it was not only tasty, but brilliantly clever. What a great execution. It would be perfect for the actual Fair.

Then we witnessed the sculpting of sticks of butter (and, in some cases, lard, which was not authentic but apparently the organizers were challenged to find blocks of butter) into Minnesota-inspired shapes: a leaping fish, a tractor, the collapsed Metrodome, and Bob Dylan, for example. It was all great fun. Clearly I need to look into more events organized by the Minnesota Culture Club.

Afterward we walked into Park Slope, which I had visited without Pat when I first got to New York, so very long ago. Ha. We picked Coco Roco for dinner just on a whim, and were very happy with the food. As soon as we sat down we got a dish of delectable fried plantain chips with dipping sauces, and odd scrumptious dried corn kernels. Then he had a chicken sandwich and I had a pork sandwich. YUM. I am sure I don't need to tell you I am already salivating at the thought of the leftovers I will enjoy for lunch tomorrow.

Murray's Bagels, 500 6th Ave., Manhattan

I savored a sesame seed bagel with kalamata olive spread, and a cup of hot apple cider, at Murray's Bagels on the upper edge of the West Village. All good.

It was again freezing, so I wasn't really up for much walking around, but I saw the upper part of the Village, including a short foray up the High Line. That was a little bit of urban joy that I hope to see more of on a day when my lips aren't whipped numb by the wind. What little I saw of the West Village was very appealing, with snazzy housing that really looks like New York (in contrast with the Park Slope and Chelsea streets that could have been in a pleasant but mundane elsewhere) and some hip-looking stores and eateries. I wanted to burst into Christian Louboutin even before I could make out from the sign that it was, in fact, Christian Louboutin, but then I checked my fleece-pants-and sneakers-wearing self and determined to save it for another day.

It looks like you could run or bike along the river.

Walking back through Midtown, I had this thought: you know how the internet is like all the world's stores virtually in front of you, and you can get anything you want? Well midtown is like all the internet physically in front of you, and you can get anything you want.

Smiling Pizzeria, 323 7th Ave., Brooklyn

I had a slice of mushroom pizza at the Smiling Pizzeria in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood, and it was delicious. I got that crisp-to-the-tip crust I craved. It could have been a little hotter, but I was happy.

People kept telling me I want to live in Park Slope. They raved about it. I was disappointed. It was pretty boring. It has some great features - wide streets, block after block of pretty housing, Prospect Park looks great for running - but there wasn't much about it that said "New York" to me. And the Atlantic Avenue subway stop is in a pretty dodgy place (though there are other stops in the neighborhood).

So I wasn't expecting much when I took the train a few stops away to the York St. stop in Dumbo, but I was immediately pleased when I emerged from the subway. It just feels cool. Cool shops (Trunk, Zakka Corp) and cool-looking restaurants and clubs. Someone was filming actors in period costumes. Someone else was doing a photo shoot with a fat, skanky-looking model. I walked to the waterfront and the view of Manhattan was spectacular. The buildings look like cool places to live.

I walked back through Brooklyn Heights to get to the subway, and while not cool, Brooklyn Heights is darned close to Dumbo, which made me like Brookyn Heights too. The park there (Cadman Plaza) is too small for great running, though. It seems like after they finish work on the waterfront (supposedly this summer), that could be a good place to run, but I couldn't tell for sure.