Please consider giving to the Hue Society fund raiser to bring its members to Italy for Vinitaly next month. They are opening new chapters in Verona and Houston, where Tracie and I will be hosting a party for their founder Tahiirah and team next week. DM me for details.

Writing on the fly this morning as I pack up after a week in New York City and head back to Texas.

But just had to share these pics from another incredible meal at Lucciola on the Upper West Side (right by where I used to live).

It was my third time at the restaurant and once again it just floored me with how good it was and how entertaining and engaging on so many levels.

The restaurant has become the unofficial NYC outpost of Champagne house Billecart-Salmon and they offer three different wines by the glass.

You can’t eat at Lucciola without the mandatory pinsa (flatbread) with mortadella and aged Parmigiano Reggiano.

Squid ink risotto topped with poached quail eggs, an homage to Andy Warhol’s 1982 “Eggs.” This was one of the best things I’ve eaten all year.

As Chef Michele Massari was preparting the dish, he bluetoothed Polaroids to a printer on our table. How brilliant and fun is that? I loved every minute and bite and the media experience made the dish even more thrilling.

Pasticcio made with maltagliati — cuttings from the kitchen’s pasta. This dish tasted like “going home.” Emilian comfort food. So good.

We were there because Lucciola is a big fan of Amistà Nizza, a winery I’ve been working with for the last year or so. The wines are extraordinary. Luca D’Attoma is the winemaker. Great people, superlative wines.

That’s my friend and Amistà owner Michele Marsiaj (right), who met me for a few days of dining in the city (we even spotted Rita Moreno at the restaurant from the night before!).

And that’s Chef Michele Massari. I think that he is one of the greatest chefs of our generation and one of the most creative and compelling interpreters of Emilian cuisine today.

Thank you Michele for a wonderful dinner and thank you chef for an unforgettable dinner!

Now it’s time to get my butt back to Houston. Wish me luck and wish me speed. Thanks for being here. I feel blessed to get to do what I love for a living.