OUR NEW YORK CITY WEEK - WOW!!

Spending a good part of 6 months in our home in Naples, FL and escaping the New York Winter was a blessing.  We love Naples, it’s a lush environment with an excellent weather forecast almost every day, has beautiful beaches and pristine communities with golf, tennis, pickleball, bocce, fitness centers, resort style pools, mahjong, canasta and bridge games in the club house, performing art centers, great restaurants and bars and much more.  Our community (Grey Oaks) features a lifestyle like no other and is suited for most. 

Returning home to Huntington, Long Island was welcoming and it was nice to connect with friends and family.  We hosted Easter Sunday at our home, a small crowd, 16 adults and 13 kids (11 were 5 and under.) Lots of action, noise, fun and sweet happy faces.

Bella Vista

Beautiful Bay Crest, Huntington, NY

Vince then planned a week in New York City at our apartment with an array of experiences and diverse activities scheduled in the best city in the World.   Lucky me, lucky us!

New York City:

Our New York City week started at the Tin Building, located at the historic South Street Seaport; it is a food hall and marketplace inspired by world renowned chef, Jean-George.  It offers an array of culinary experiences including a market with farm-fresh produce, meats, fish, seafood, cheeses, gelato, chocolate and multiple restaurants with open kitchens.  Featuring global cuisine, fine dining and quick bites, with also takeout and delivery options available.

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House of the Red Pearl was our choice this Monday evening.  Chinese inspired, hidden behind the Mercantile shop offering Chinese marinades, dips, spices, teas, etc.,  a beautiful and soothing restaurant, excellent service and a wonderful menu of small plates and delicious entrees, just the right portion size. We began with a drink each, from the specialty cocktail menu.  Vince had a Hot Chinese Mustard martini with crispy wonton crackers and I had a Lychee martini,  Delish!  The food menu was excellent, so many choices for us to enjoy.  We ordered a chili pork and shrimp wonton appetizer and a veggie spring roll wrapped with tofu skin.  Excellent choices.  We shared two entrees, Chicken with broccoli in a garlic ginger sauce and a spicy chili garlic noodle dish with sesame & garlic.  We thoroughly enjoyed the tastes, the unique flavors and the experience at this upscale yet casual Asian dining restaurant with Jean George’s flair.

Dumplings

Veggie spring roll

Chicken with broccoli

Some of the other restaurants at the Tin Building include:

The Frenchman’s Dough - an Italian restaurant with a French twist serving fresh pasta dishes and pizza.

T. Brasserie – French fare using the finest and freshest ingredients.

Double Yolk – A charming counter bar serving breakfast sandwiches and burgers at lunch.

T. Café – A casual café serving coffee, pastries, salads and sandwiches.

Our next stop was a speakeasy hidden bar on St. Marks place, in the East Village, named PDT, Please Don’t Tell.  Go down steps of Crif Dogs (a hotdog joint).  Instructions are to go into the phone booth, pick up the orange phone, dial 1 and someone will open a narrow back doorway from the phone booth leading to a speakeasy, a dark room witha narrow bar and several tables/booths lit by candle. Reservations are recommended.  A specialty cocktail menu with very different martinis and drinks are  offered.  Vince had an old-fashioned with a bacon infused bourbon, Vermont maple syrup and bitters.  I went out of the box and had a very unique espresso martini with rum, dulce de leche and macadamia nut. 

Superman in waiting

Hot dog joint - all kinds of toppings

PDT bar

A very cool evening, to begin our full week of activities in NYC.  Can’t wait for tomorrow!

Tuesday afternoon we had a tour of The 42nd St. NY Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations

• It stands for freedom and open access to knowledge for everyone.  It is recognized as an unprecedented example of private philanthropy for the public good. (80% privately funded, 20% government funded)

• Has provided access to books and information for over 125 years serving millions.  Founded in 1895, with 92 locations in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island.

• This landmark building houses more than 15 million items including medieval manuscripts, contemporary novels, baseball cards, comic books and much more.

• Across 5th Ave. on 40th St. is the largest circulating branch, with state-of-the-art amenities, computer access and a free rooftop terrace available to the public.

• Through an open competition, Carrere and Hastings Architecture became the firm chosen to create the design for the largest marble structure in the United States.

Main lobby/Astor Hall

Front steps on 5th Ave. with lions on either side

Astor Hall is the buildings grand entrance hall and is clad with white marble and features soaring archways, a vaulted ceiling and hand-carved details.  You may remember this scene by the dramatic stairs in the original Sex in the City movie, at the wedding of Carrie Bradshaw (which never happened).

The Lions stand proudly before the majestic beaux-arts main entrance of the building and are a symbol of the library’s role as a source of inspiration and strength.  The library founders originally named the marble lions as Lady Astor and Lord Lenox (even though both lions are male) and  were appropriately adopted as the Library’s mascots. They were later nicknamed “Fortitude ” and “Patience” to reflect the qualities New Yorkers hold, especially through challenging times.

Treasures is an exhibition hall on the 1st floor and displays the original copy of the Bill of Rights, Virginia Woolf’s walking stick (very unusual, her cat paw was at the end of the stick), Shakespeare’s First Folio, Charles Dickens’s desk and chairs, the Jerome Robbins’ diary and the original Winnie-the-Pooh and Friends book.

DeWitt Wallace Periodical Room holds the Library’s extensive collection of current and historical periodicals.  The public has access to over 200 periodicals and 22 domestic and foreign newspapers representing the entire idealogical spectrum.  The room was named for the founder of Reader’s Digest, who spent countless hours in this room in the 1920’s reading and condensing articles from the Library’s collection to feature in his publication.  The room is dressed with murals that depict NYC buildings from the turn of the 20th century that once housed newspaper and magazine publishers.  A deep history of The New Yorker magazine can be found at the Library with archives of manuscripts, memos, artifacts and cartoons.  This publication (5,057 issues) has informed our understanding of almost every aspect of society:  war and violence, race and gender, the environmental movement, the distinctiveness of American fiction writing, and more.

DeWitt Wallace Reading Room

Tonight we went to The Mark Hotel:  An upscale boutique hotel on Madison Ave & 77th St.  We first had a martini at the intimate bar in the lobby, with great people watching.  The elegant dining room was bustling, had a nice hum, not too loud with cool music piped in.  The menu was quite varied and offers something for everyone, from a $47 hamburger, to a $118 New York strip to a kale salad at $35.  We ordered broccoli rabe and calamari to start. Vince had a fettucini pasta dish and I had Farroe salmon with bok choy.  Everything was delicious, but I could prepare (as could you) the same dinner for 1/5th of the cost.  But, dining at another Jean George’s restaurant in such a beautiful setting, is worth it.  Gee, I wonder how the beautiful couple next to us finished out their first date.  Lol

The Lobby Bar at The Mark Hotel

Delizioso

Jean George's Restaurant at The Mark Hotel

We began our next evening at the Campbell Bar in Grand Central Station at 43rd St. & Vanderbilt Ave., a very cool bar up the stairs and hidden through The Cipriani restaurant.  A business crowd, good looking and festive, this space was the private office of John W. Campbell, a Jazz Age financier.  The Bar showcases many of the 13th century Florentine-inspired design intricacies, including 25 foot hand painted ceilings, a grand stone fireplace, Campbell’s steel safe and original millwork.  Vince had a few surprise guests, friends there, which was so fun. Loud and bustling, we had one drink and soon made our way to our next stop, after a brief informative talk by Vince about The Grand Central Station Terminal, some history and interesting facts.

Columbus Citizens Foundation (CCF) is a private Italian club located on 69th St off Central Park South, prime real estate. It is a non-profit foundation to celebrate and preserve Italian American heritage and achievement. The CCF supports deserving and talented Italian American students with scholarships.  It also organizes the annual Columbus Day Parade in New York City.   We have been members for over 10 years and have had several celebrations there, surprise 60th birthday for Vince, ladies evening for a few of my birthdays, business meetings, holidays, and dinners for small groups.  The club has several floors and rooms of ornate décor, fireplaces, ceilings, moldings and artwork.  The Taverna is the restaurant which has a very authentic Italian menu, fine and traditional Italian cuisine, with superb service and accommodation for its members and guests.  The highlight of the evening was Romeo, the Maitre’d, who gave us a brief tour of the kitchen; clean and shiny, simply functioning with minimal staff. We all had a wonderful dinner including:  assorted appetizers of Polpetta (meatball), burrata with salad & beets, clams oreganata.  We had a small tasting of their cavatelli Bolognese (sooooo tasty) and I had the veal pizzaola, Vince had filet of sole almondine. Delish.  The club serves a large bowl of fresh fruit after dinner, a very traditional way of serving as in Italy along with mixed Italian cookies and biscotti.  What a wonderful meal it was. All around, it was a memorable evening for all.

MOFAD – 55 Water Street, Dumbo, Brooklyn, NY

The Empire Building, a historic warehouse complex in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn is now a food hall (TimeOut Market) with restaurants of different cultures and food experiences.  Some of the dining places are:  Pastrami Queen, Okiboru, The Maiz Project, Ess-A-Bagel, Doughnuttery, Sugar Hill Creamery, The Rogue Boba, and more.  It’s worth a visit, try a few different experiences from a specialty cocktail, to a sandwich, dish of pasta, taco or thai dish, ice cream, tea or coffee and much more.

MOFAD, on the 2nd floor is a unique museum experience dedicated to the universal aspect of human existence, food and drink.  MOFAD brings the world of food and drink to life with special exhibits to inspire generations of curious eaters from all backgrounds. MOFAD has a concept which brings information, curiosity, connection, storytelling and innovation all revolving around food and diverse cuisine.  What strikes me are the adjectives used to describe food; culture, universal, personal and fun.

In our current world with our youth often characterized as “foodies,” the current exhibit will appeal to them, as well as the traditionalists.  We enjoyed the exhibit:  Flavor:  The World to Your Brain.  When we eat, our brain is flooded with sensory information – how our food looks, how it feels, what sound it makes, and mostly how it smells and tastes.  Flavor is what makes us love food and drink.  Our sense of taste comes from the taste receptors/buds (between 7 and 15) in our tongue.  The 5 main corresponding tastes are sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami (common foods are rich in umami, like fish, meats, eggs, cheeses, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc.) 

Eating triggers complex feelings, the parts of the brain that handle emotion and memory.  Smell is closely linked to memory, which is why certain scents can bring up incredibly powerful memories from our childhood.

The exhibit takes a scientific approach to the design of flavors and what happens in our brain when experiencing different flavors, natural and/or artificial.  The food industry relies on food additives to make their packaged products taste better, thus manipulating flavor.  The flavor industry is an example of how humans have transformed food throughout our history.

The Brainwave Bloom is an exhibit that measures brainwaves and the effect a Hershey’s chocolate kiss has on your brain.  It gives 4 measurements before and after eating the chocolate, indicating your level of relaxation, creativity, focus and processing.  Very interesting and worth trying.  Be open to the concept and results. 

Our next day we took a break; I made a fresh green salad with tomatoes and some hummus on the side.  Felt like we needed something natural and organic, after several days of cocktails, wines and amazing foods.  In the evening we went to our local Sicilian restaurant, Norma’s.  It’s a lovely casual trattoria with a simple but delicious menu.  Vince and I shared a bottle of Sicilian red and 3 classic Sicilian appetizers:  eggplant caponata, arancini and a stuffed artichoke.  Just right! Very sweet evening. Grateful for each other.

Norma's - look at that fabulous espresso machine

Vince had another special evening planned for our last night in the city.  It was a surprise.  We took an Uber to the King Cole Bar in the St. Regis Hotel.  Another beautiful upscale bar with great people watching.  Since 1925, this bar has operated and is the originator of the bloody mary. It was originally called the red snapper cocktail, but the elite clientele did not like that name. Bloody Mary became the name and it remains l today. The backdrop behind the bar is a very colorful mural of King Cole.  As the story goes, there is a secret in the painting, that only the bartenders know.  Of course I had to find out what it was: The painting depicts King Cole on his throne and sitting uncomfortably and the servants around him appear to be bothered. They have their hands up to their face.  Maybe you guessed it, King Cole “passed gas.” 

Old King Cole was a merry old soul.......

Surprise, good friends of ours joined us for a cocktail then dinner.  It was a wonderful surprise.  We had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Il Postino.  It has a very sophisticated Italian vibe, feels like Milan to me.  They have a cooking station in the restaurant where they finish off the dishes in a hot skillet.  The menu is terrific and the specials are abundant and what they are noted for.  We shared three apps:  stuffed zucchini flowers, salad with burrata and clams oreganata.  I ordered completely out of the box, a double cut grilled veal chop, it was cooked perfectly and tasty.  Vince had a fusilli dish with a marinara sauce and our friends also had pasta;  fusilli with wild boar sauce and spinach stuffed ravioli in a light cream sauce.  Some biscotti, espresso and gelato were shared and we were all extremely happy with our meal with wonderful and friendly service. We had a very beautiful and enjoyable evening.

Our week in the city came to a close.  Not bad for an Italian gal and guy from Brooklyn.  Feeling blessed for Vince and his planning and the experiences we shared in our favorite city.  The moral of the story is:  you need to embrace life and what’s available even when you deal with life stresses and sadness and as I always say, “What are you waiting for?” NYC is vibrant, safe and has so much to offer at all levels.  There are free tours available, special deals at restaurants, so many places to walk and explore, food establishments with unique concepts, bars with character and history and the finest hotels and restaurants one can enjoy. 

www.jvsimpatica.com

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