Not that I especially need reasons to hate Verizon, but the technical problems I was having with my phone service Tuesday afternoon were particulary aggravating because sitting around trying to get a customer rep to give me a straight answer prevented me from making it out to a lunchtime reception at Esca, where chef David Pasternack was celebrating the publication of his first cookbook, The Young Man and the Sea, with co-author Ed Levine and celebrity guests like Mario Batali. The folks at Artisan rubbed it in by sending me photos, and, sure, I can try making dishes like the crudo and razor clams (inset) at home, but somehow I don’t think it’s going to be quite the same.