Gotham Gal

Stepford Wives Vs. Teen Romance?

My friend was asking me if I had read the article in the NYTimes 2 Sunday's ago, "Whatever Happened to Teen Romance?" and what did I think. Then, I saw the Stepford Wives this past weekend and thought about the article and what will become of the teens of today.

The Stepford Wives premise is about a town in Connecticut where all the husbands turn their wives into robots by installing a microchip in their brains. This way they can keep a perfectly clean house, take care of all their sexual needs on demand, never fight, look perky and perfect and be the ultimate wife/mom etc. All the women in the movie who were "programmed" were at one point all high power executives of major firms or top scientists or renowned authors. Their husbands didn't like not being as powerful, smart and capable as their wives so they them took over and made them subservient. In the end, of course, the woman prevail.

Then, I thought about the article the other week in the NYTimes, "Whatever Happened to Teen Romance?" I was most bothered in the article about the teenage girls that were happy to allow the teenage boys engage in sex without having any pleasure of their own but just allowing the boys (most of who they never see again) be in the driver's seat per se. THe article on one hand was encouraging that young women were feeling empowered to experiment sexually but on the other hand it was upsetting that the people written about had no interest in developing intimate relationships with another person.

Every generation experiments with sex in their own way. Every generation of parents freak out at how their teenagers are behaving. Now we have the internet that allows people to connect and meet people that might not necessarily be in their own community. Scary on one hand but fantastic on another. How about a kid in the midst of rural America who feels completely disconnected from their life at home but can go online and talk to kids that have the same interests (let's say Heavy Metal fans) and can feel that they are not alone.

I would hope that this generation is still interested in committed relationships and partnerships down the line so that they can enjoy and understand intimacy at a different level than just sex. Then, you go to a movie like Stepford Wives and you see men being intimated by their successful, take control of their own lives women. On one hand these teenagers are controlling the way they want to experiment with sex but then on the other hand how do they actually feel about having sex, not really getting any satisfaction from it but giving all that to the other person. Is the power of women's decisions to be whatever the want moved us 2 steps forward but 1 step backward? Are these young women confused about being in control by perhaps not feeling good about it at all?

Also, what is the media teaching young women of today? Wear no clothes, think of yourself as a sexual object but on the other hand take over and run a company. Mixed messages. No wonder these young women are confused.

The Letters in the NYTimes this past week in reference to this article were interesting. One particular quote summed up the article best for me. "My daughter is still deciding whether to be a top brain surgeon or a stay home mother of 3." Both are fulfilling but which one do I really want to do? Can I do both? The good news is that this next generation will make their mark like every other generation has of the past but will be able to choose, equal to men, whatever they damn well please.

Yujin

I can't figure out how they are making money over at Yujin. It is always empty but the food is excellent. They have a decent amount of space. There is a warm vibe in there. The lighting is really good and the seating is very comfortable. The good thing is, reservations are absolutely not necessary. The prices are a bit high for a local neighborhood restaurant but that is sort of what it has become, I guess.

We wanted somewhere the other night which wasn't a scene and you could walk in and hear. It was the perfect spot. We shared everything. We started with the Crispy Soft Shell appetizer where the crab is piled high the middle, cooked perfectly and surrounded by vegetables and a japanese butter sauce. I think we have ordered that before. It is delicious. We also had a eel, lobster and shrimp roll which was rolled up in a vegetable with edamame around the edges. The eel and asparagus tempura roll is also delicious. We had one of the specials which was hamachi sliced thin in a spicy vinagarette sauce. The hamachi was like butter. Main courses were also good. The chilean sea bass was cooked perfectly with a light wasabi sauce. The lobster is cut down the middle, grilled and served with a perfect triangle of rice and a warm ponzu butter sauce. It is wasn't that fact that I was out for dinner instead of home, I would have picked away with my fingers. The other dish we ordered was a chicken tempura. I was really impressed with this one. I didn't think it would be that interesting. The chicken was juicy, crisp and cooked perfectly and surrounded with a variety of vegetables. They serve it like chicken fingers piled up. Really really good.

Dessert? Why not. We split 2 desserts. Coconut ice cream over a delicate cookie. Very refreshing. We also had a small chocolate cake that oozed out chocolate sauce served with a dulce de leche ice cream. It took us about 3 seconds to polish those off.

All and all, really really good. I just don't understand why the place isn't busier? I do hope that they make it because Yujin gets written up and noted for their food but for some reason the clientelle isn't there. I'm usually out of there by 10pm so perhaps while I am sleeping, the place is rocking.

Wilco

I think my entry into heaven is getting better these days. We took our kids to 6 Flags on Sunday and last night I went to see Wilco with my husband at Irving Plaza, his favorite band of the moment. Last time I was at Irving Plaza was to see Lauryn Hill give a concert for inner city kids that Mouse, the non-profit that I chaired, perform.

Wilco was fantastic. I admit, I am a huge fan too. But, I am either getting older or shorter. The warm-up band did not come on until 9:15ish so Wilco wasn't going to come on until about 10:30. Yikes. Way past my normal bedtime. But, I persevered. We found a place in the corner where I could basically see the stage instead of a bunch of nodding heads. So, that was a bonus.

A few things about this concert were great. We had missed the day to buy the tickets, so we found a seller on Ebay. We hooked up with her right before the concert and went in with her group. The security is pretty tight so you must go in to pick up your ticket and then once you do that, no leaving. Once you leave, you can not return. A bit of a bummer because we could have come back around 10ish but c'est la. The other thing is that Wilco's new album, A Ghost is Born, is not coming out for 2 more weeks but the majority of the audience knew the songs already because they have been streamed over the Internet for a few months already. My husband had downloaded Wilco's fourth concert of this tour over Bit Torrents which took about 20 hours but he was able to put that into his MP3 player in 20 minutes. So, we were listening to the music in advance. I will absolutely buy the album to support the band and I want the studio version. But, through the Internet, we pre-heard the music and got our tickets. Awesome.

Jeff Tweedy who is the lead singer and writer is incredibly talented. His voice is distinct and he plays the guitar like a true rocker. I am generally all about the sound. I took piano for years, taught guitar and played it too and don't have the ability to hear the words and memorize them - although I wish I did, so the music is what moves me. I love the sound of Wilco. You can hear the influence of the Beatles and Neil Young.

If you have never heard their music, I strongly recommend the last 2 albums, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Summerteeth. As I have been listening to A Ghost Is Born (the new album), I'd get that too!

Bivio and the Chocolate Bar

Restauranteurs in New York seem to be growing and capitalizing on their successes these days. The owners of Bot and Bottino opened another B restaurant in the West Village called Bivio. Bot never worked out but Bottino has been around for quite some time in Chelsea. I always liked Bottino. The food is always good. There is a nice vibe in the restaurant and the garden is lovely. I have probably had more lunches there than dinners because they have the best food in the area around the Chelsea art area.

Last Saturday night, we walked into Bivio around 6:30ish. We had our son, so going out late was not happening. The beautiful thing about Saturday night early, is that you can literally walk into any restaurant and have dinner. I felt like I was doing the early bird special. The staff could not have been nicer. It is a real hipster neighborhood restaurant. Sarah Vaughn was the music of the evening. The bar circles around in the front so wherever you sit, you can pretty much see everyone in the restaurant. There is a blackboard wall which posts all the specials of the day. Making the restaurant feel incredibly intimate and cozy. I also like the logo they used for Bivio. Very modern.

We started the evening off with a mixture of the antipastos. The blackboard highlights what else is available besides what is on the menu. We ordered the proscuitto di parma, hunks of pecorino cheese and nice sized marinated artichokes. It was delicious. Not too heavy and we could all share. We also got the gratin of roasted asparagus with tiny pieces of proscuitto melted into parmigiano. This was a bit on the oily side. Conceptually a great mix of foods but the parmigiano ends up only sticking to the top few stalks. They should really consider mixing the cheese through out the asparagus but regardless, the taste was good. We also had the calamari which was browned, crispy and flavorful. The appetizers were really good.

Main courses came. We basically decided, like the appetizers to split up stuff. We had the fish of the day which was a branzini fish that had been filleted and roasted to a crisp served along side with potatoes and broccoli rabe. Perfect. We also had the zitti with a red tomato, eggplant and roasted pepper and ricotta salata cheese. The eggplant pieces were chunky which made the sauce rich and tasty. We literally licked everything off the plates.

We passed on dessert and took a stroll over to the Chocolate Bar which is a tiny store that serves chocolate bars, chocolate popcorn, chocolate truffles, chocolate candies etc. You basically can not go wrong. We had a bit of a tasting. We had a oversized reeses type peanut butter cup, an oversized reeses type peanut butter cup filled with peanut butter and jelly, and another oversized type reeses peanut butter cup filled with peanut butter, caramel and nuts. Over the top! We could not help ourselves and picked up the chocolate covered popcorn which was really really good. We also had to split a peanut butter cookie which was rich, crunchy and chewy at the same time. I have always liked this place. I actually picked up each of our kids a shirt. We are all chocolate people. "chocolate boy" for our son and "chocolate girl" for the girls.

After an evening of serious stuffing ourselves, we strolled over to the video store and picked up Dr. No. Classic James Bond. Our son is obsessed. Diamonds Forever is on the que for the following night...

Better Burger

Saturday morning we were all converging in Chelsea before checking out some art for Dad's office. So, where are we going to eat lunch? Let's check out Better Burger

The idea behind Better Burger is health food oriented. Interesting concept..right? I liked the feeling of the restaurant immediately. Very clean with a hip forward feeling vibe. I felt like I was in a European fast food place. The polka decor is fun. They even ask you with small signs to take only what you are going to use which is good for the environment and nothing goes to waste. I liked that too.

We checked out the menu. Chicken and pork burgers too. Stir fry veggies with tofu. But, we are at a Better Burger, so when in Rome...The fries are made in ovens. The burgers are organic meat. Hey, let's just order it and see what every one if talking about.

So, we all ordered the burger, fry combo with a smoothie. My husband actually had the pork burger special so we didn't all have the same thing. Maybe we ordered wrong, but it is a burger joint.

Why is this place doing well? The burgers are horrible. I can't figure out what organic place the meat comes from? The fries taste like the fries you put in the oven from Oreida after sitting in the freezer for months. The ketchup has a weird after taste. Although, the smoothies were delicious. The berry berry smoothie was the best. But, the food, yuck!

So, next time I have a burger and fries, I am sticking with my original game plan. If you are going to have the bad stuff, do it right. Fried french fries with a big juicy burger. I find it hard to believe that Better Burger is actually capable of expanding this operation. Are there that many people out there who are so organically driven that they have lost their sense of taste?

Winding Down

It is that time of the year, summer is just around the corner and the school season is winding down. I can't help but think of that "Summer Feeling" by Jonathan Richman everytime the school year ends. One of the joys of having kids if you can continue to have the feeling of elation when school ends.

This week has been quite the kids line up. One night we went to a school event to see our son perform the drums, his musical end of year presentation. We got to see all the kids. Some were really good, most were not but they were all very cute. Another night we went to the au revoir party for the school head. Andrew has head of the school for 16 years, so this event was attended by all. Another night we had 2 potlucks. One for our fifth grader that was all curriculum based so we could see what she has accomplished this past semester, then dinner etc. Our 2nd grader's potluck was literally food and and watching the kids run around for a few hours. So we spent time going back and forth all night. Next week we have another potluck for our 7th grader and we get to see her legally try a case for the end of year project. Do you think this will end?

Tonight, Harry Pottery here we come. I bought tickets a week ago. Next week, I pack up the kids for 8 weeks of sleep away camp. Yikes.

So, you can see why I can't wait to lie on that beach and truly feel that "Summer Feeling".

Thalassa

I could eat Mediterranean/Greek food any night of the week so I was really looking forward to eating at Thalassa.

We went with a few other couples. One of the couples had been to Thalassa a few times already. They also live 6 blocks away.

There is a nice vibe in the restaurant. The decor is simple and chic. White and cool. They have a variety of fancy drinks. Our friend ordered the mango martini which looked beautiful. They also have a wine list chocked with Greek wines. We had a recent "sommelier" grad in our group and she ordered 2 delicious wines.

The waiter could not have been more helpful. He helped us order, made recommendations and even put one fish in the middle that we could all split.

I started out with the grilled octopus and plum tomatoes and also the greek salad. Split that with my husband. The salad was really good. Big juicy yellow and red tomatoes, slices of red onions and hunks of feta cheese made on the premises. The octopus salad was also good. The octopus was sliced, grilled and served with pieces of tomato. Someone else had the scallops that were wrapped in kataifi which looked like small fried potatoes and served with a balsamic reduction. The plate was really beautiful although I did not taste.

For a main course, I had 2 different types of shrimp grilled with tastes of the grilled red fish served in the middle of the table. I did not find the shrimp that good. They longer shrimps were small and had literally no meat on them. I would not recommend them to anyone for dinner. Too much work for such little food. The larger shrimp were good but I would have preferred to see large headed shrimp. They must not have had them but should have not had them for the offerings then. The red fish was good and simple. We also had some side vegetable dishes because all of the fish is served by itself. I had some sauteed broccoli rabe which was just your basic veggie. Could have been more flavorful. My entire take on the fish was that everything was good not great and not that different. There is something about the places in Queens that serve fantastic simple greek food for about 1/4 of the price and it tastes so much better. The prices here are high and although it was solid, it wasn't "wow".

We also ordered 3 desserts to share. The toasted almond baklava with rose petal ice cream. It had a good consistency but I would have liked more flavor. We also had the chocolate crepes which were heavy in chocolate and another dessert that was like a custard. None of them drop dead have to have. I would have liked to see a layered phyllo dough with custard in between each layer which is one of my all time favorite Greek desserts.

They gave us each a little box of something sweet on the way out. Inside there was a hunk of gooey lemon candy dipped in confectioners sugar. Not that good. I left it.

The last 2 restaurants that I have been to in Tribeca have been disappointing. It is too bad because there is a community growing down there at leaps and bounds. I would guess that over the next few years, we will see some really top notch chef's open a lasting restaurant such as Grammercy Tavern or Babbo which will keep the customers coming down. Although, Chanterelle actually stands in that category and has been there forever. As we left Thalassa last night, we said that we must go back to Chanterelle soon. It has been too long since our last meal there.

Coffee

Coffee is a very personal thing. You can get coffee served in a variety of ways. Decaf, full on caffeinated, espresso, cappuccino, additional flavorings, etc. I could go on forever. Who would have thought that coffee bars have changed the world?

I grew up in a household where coffee was taken seriously. We fresh ground the beans each morning and used the Melita drip pot. You woke up smelling the coffee aroma circulating through the house. Also, we all learned to drink our coffee black.

I have gone through a variety of methods of making coffee in the morning. I prefer the french plunger. I think the coffee tastes the most intense and robust. I have recently purchased an electric drip which grounds the beans for you. I only bought it for when we have more people over for breakfast than just us. The biggest plunger is only 8 cups and that's not enough for Saturday and Sunday mornings.

I admit, I am not a fan of Starbucks. I like their chai tea but not their coffee. It tastes burnt to me. There are a variety of good coffee places in my neighborhood. Porto Rico on Bleeker not only sells every bean known to mankind but they do make a pretty good cup of coffee too. The other hotspot is Jack's on West 10th Street. Not only does he make a good cup of coffee by stir brewing, he sells good side sweets. That is an important feature for the afternoon cup. I prefer the biscotti but it is always fun to see how good everything else looks. Today I went to a new place, Joe's on the corner of Waverly and Gay. This place has the best coffee so far. Each cup is self made in some new fangled way of brewing it. Very impressive taste. Rich and incredibly full of taste.

So, as I amble around the village, on the search for the perfect cup of Joe...I will be going back to Joe's to have my next afternoon fix.