Gotham Gal

Eating at the Modern

Today was my second look at the new MOMA.  The lines are still there.  The place, physically is a bit overwhelming.  I sort of got lost on different floors trying to find my way back to the escalator.  I never understand why there are exit signs clearly labeled over doors and when you go through that door you enter a small room with no exit.  It is frustrating.  Luckily, there are many guards who are happy to answer questions, like where am I going?

It is quite incredible the amount of fantastic art there.  I strolled around before and after lunch because today my girlfriends and I went to the Modern for lunch.  We  couldn't find the restaurant at first and asked a security guard to point us in the right direction.  He asked us if we meant the "fancy restaurant".  I guess so. 

You can enter the restaurant from outside, so you actually do not have to be at the MOMA which makes total sense.  The restaurant is totally modern.  No surprises there.  The layout totally reminded me of Fred's at Barneys when it was in the basement.   I wouldn't be surprised to find out that they used the same architects. 

To the left is the picture of the bathroom. My mother said even when I was a kid I used to check out every bathroom at a restaurant.  The sinks are meant to be shared by men and women and each door can be used by anyone.  Very clever. 

The menu has 3 parts, 4 including dessert.  The sections are numbered, 1 and 2 and 3.  The first 2 are appetizer portions and I mean small appetizer portions.  Number 3 is the main course which is clearly stated that their main courses are 1/2 size portions of a normal main course.  Hmmm.  The wines you can by in 3 ounce glasses, or regular glasses or a bottle.  They are big on portion control here.  If you have a big appetite, I am not sure that ordering something from 1, 2 and 3 wouldn't fill you up.  Maybe the lunch menu is different from the dinner menu.  I am not sure. 

Two of us started with the artic char cut into small pieces with caviar roe over the top and sliced daikon.  They even had a special plate made for it.  Glass that is rounded with a square piece in the middle that sinks down about 1/2 inch.  Really well done.  Others had the grilled shrimp - 3 of them with a small salad on the side.  The other appetizer was a grilled octopus over a bed of potatoes. 

We all opted for 1 and 3.  I had grilled diver scallops with a poppy seed crust, shaved Parmesan and a small bit of salad.  Only 2 scallops.  Not exactly a main course.  Someone else had the sea bass with a pistachio crust.  The last entree was chopped liver in 3 small balls served over a beet sauce.  Not that great.

Dessert we split fried dough and sauces and a chocolate tart and all had coffee.  Great cups. 

Perhaps my level of expectations were too high.  I thought that food was solid but not amazing.  I really liked the vibe there.  Danny is a master at creating wonderful atmospheres with high end service.  He has done it again and my guess will continue to do so.  His eye for detail is impeccable.  I am not sure how he is visiting each of his restaurants every day and making the rounds but knowing Danny he has figured it out.  He is the ultimate host.  The portion control thing is one on hand great because I think as Americans  portions are way too big but on the other hand the portions here are so small it is sort of strange.  Hmmm.   

Next stop to the MOMA, I'm checking out the cafe. 

I Shopped Them All

There was an editorial in the New York Times today named "I Shopped them All" by Letitia Baldrige who happened to be the social secretary and White House chief of staff for Jacqueline Kennedy. 

The article was about the demise of the large department stores.  Federated Department stores purchased May Department Stores last week.  The merger will surely close a variety of department stores owned by them that are now competing against each other in the same market.  It was bound to happen.

My first job out of college was working for Macy's.  I went through the Macy's training program.  You began with a 3 month intensive seminar and then were placed in store line.  At this point you begin to move up the ladder.  I began as the Cosmetic manager in Kings Plaza Brooklyn, got promoted into an Assistant Buyer job in moderate women's sportswear, got promoted to an Assistant Store Manager in New Rochelle and then got promoted to become a Buyer of Large Size Women's sportswear.  I was there through a very interesting time. 

I began in 1983 when business was booming.  The "One Day Sale" became a new way to generate business.  It was exciting.  Business peaked in 1984.  The Gap and other stores such as the Limited started to explode.  Department stores were now sharing their market share with other retailers.  So in turn the Department stores decided to borrow heavily and make themselves into private entities instead of publicly traded companies which meant that they were being held to different expectations.  They needed to generate better profits. 

Sales people were cut, buyers were no longer given free reign to sink or swim because management became so concerned about profits that they micromanaged every facet of the organization.  Soon, theft was up because less people were on the floor.  This affects your bottom line.  Instead of trying to create something different, management started to think that looking like a Gap was the way to go.  Inventories were bloated because stores started producing their own merchandise overseas in bulk which was costly and wasn't exactly the right product by the time it hit the stores.  I could go on and on.  It was unfortunate.

Personally, I moved on once they became private.  Buyers weren't getting stock, just being asked to work harder to make the owners benefit.  Not for me. 

I remember when Department Stores were wonderful places to shop.  Exciting cutting edge merchandise was making its mark on the floor.  When you are able to buy the same pair of shoes in any country in the world, I am not so sure you would be able to create the same type of excitement anymore on the floor. 

Everything is a cycle.  The small boutique shops around the city have the most interesting inventory.  The sales people are personal and help.  Even high end stores like Barneys don't have the same type of customer service, although they should.  The only department store that still does a great job is in Paris, at Bon Marche but it is just one store not several. 

What will be the next department store?  Is it an Apple Store crossed with a Starbucks crossed with a Prada crossed with a Baby Gap.  Who knows?  That is one of the most wonderful things about Capitalism.  New ideas can be generated and executed and businesses can grow.  It will be interesting to see what happens to the Federated of the future. 

MASA

The question asked about MASA is generally the same.  It is worth it?  Is anything worth it?  Could I have bought 2 pair of jeans instead or a really awesome top or dinner for 5 instead of one?  The answer is yes but I would never have had the opportunity to experience MASA.  So, the experience and the taste extravaganza was absolutely worthwhile.

We were a group of 6.  We were seated at the bar.  It was good and bad.  The good was that we were literally hanging out with Masa while he prepared and chatted with us the entire evening.  The bad was that it is hard to converse with 6 people at a bar. 

The decor is serene.  The bar is made from one tree.  It is beautiful.  I didn't walk around but there seemed to be 3 other rooms that you could eat in.  Each are private with a curtain separating them from the main room.  The whole place is very zen.  You could tell that care went into each decision on the decor. 

We began with cocktails.  All fresh cocktails with different juices.  I had a Yuzi martini.  Vodka, citron, sake and fresh yuzu.  The other 2 drinks people ordered were the Kinan which was made from kumquats, orange, vodka, sake and a splash of cranberry.  The other Gingertini with vodka, plum wine and ginger.  All were a beautiful color and delicious served in a heavy martini class. 

We started with a sea clam that had been poached in sake.  You ate the clam and then sipped the juice afterwards.  The bowl that it was served in was designed by Masa.  He had his hand in everything.  The design of a variety of the food dishes we ate out of were really earthy and interesting. 

The second treat, which was incredible.  Actually, everything was incredible.  Each morsel I would say, "wow, this is unbelievable".  The second treat was chopped toro in a small ball topped with a mound of fresh caviar, served on the side with small pieces of toast.  Next on the list, prior to all the sushi that started at one point, was a spring lean bonito served chilled with sliced vegetables and yuzu.  Divine.  Next up, baby sardines cooked in olive oil and water chestnuts.  It came out of the kitchen sizzling.  Miso ginger soup with a cooked seaweed.  It was the cleanser to the raw fish that started flowing from Masa.

I can't even begin to recall what was better than the next.  Each piece was an explosion in your mouth.  He is a master with the knife.  A few things hit my favorite list.  Barely cooked Nantucket scallops on warm sushi rice, toro hand roll with daikon sprouts, barely cooked tuna (he had carved out of the tuna in between the raw pieces for eating that this part should be cooked) over warm rice, herring sliced with a soy based sauce, baby Japanese scallop, yellow mackerel, spring octopus.  One was better than the next.  The absolute creme de la creme was the sea urchin.  Unbelievable.  Buttery, large portion served sushi style with warm rice.  I'm dreaming about it.

I talked to Masa a bit.  He lives about a block from the restaurant.  He grew up outside of Tokyo.  His father was the local fishmonger where he would work after school.  When he finished High School, he went to Tokyo and began to work in restaurants.  He then opened up his first restaurant there and realized the success would be in coming to the U.S.  His brother owns a Japanese restaurant in Tokyo.  His parents are retired and now live in Tokyo too.  He appears to be a very quiet unassuming man, like a monk, but his success would make you believe otherwise.  He was charming and has certainly made his mark.

I would go back in a heartbeat.  The best sushi I have ever had, hands down.  I asked Masa as we were leaving, how am I supposed to home and eat dinner tomorrow night after experiencing this?  He just laughed. 

Digital Cameras

I started with the good old fashioned camera that took film.  I actually went with the toys and got a 35 mm camera.  It takes fantastic pictures.  My family decided I should get with the digital program and bought me the digital version of my 35 mm camera so that I could use all the lenses.  Great gift.  I love the camera.  It takes incredible pictures, instant gratification, but doesn't fit into my purse.  It is a major thing to schlep the camera around, so I decided it was time to buy a tiny one so I had something available at all times.

I did some research and decided that the Sony DSC-P150 was the way to go.  First of all, it has 7 mega pixels which I think is important particularly for printing.  My husband has a camera with 3 or 4 mega pixels and the printing quality is ok but not great. 

I ordered the camera on Amazon and unfortunately it was back ordered.  In my need want it now, I went to B & H to make the purchase.  B & H did not have it in stock but recommended that I purchase the Olympus C-7000 Zoom Digital Camera.  The zoom was very key and the camera also had the 7 mega pixel I was looking for.  So, I bought it. 

The Olympus is one of the worse cameras I have ever used.  I returned it 4 days later.  Every time you took a picture, unless everyone was perfectly still and I mean perfectly still, the picture was blurred.  Not a little blurry but you would see streaks across the shot.  Why?  I have no idea.  It amazed me that such a high end camera could take such bad pictures.  Now I had to get back to B & H to return.  I hate returning but had no choice.

I found the Sony, on line at Circuit City and had it in 2 days.  The camera is fantastic.  I wish it had a zoom lens but I am sure that accessories are out there.  The camera grabs the picture, regardless of people moving.  You can set up the camera based on the light such as snow, sun, or clouds.  Very smart and very compact. 

So, we're off on vacation in a few weeks.  Taking all the camera gear - including the 35mm but I am thrilled that I finally found the right one one for my pocket.  Why would a digital camera with the technology available vary so widely?  I learned my lesson.  Stick with the camera you decide on in the first place, and just hunt it down.

Aquavit

The newsletter says "After 17 wonderful years on 54th street, Aquavit is now settled a stone's throw away at 65 East 55th Street."  I say, congratulations and hallelujah.

I have never liked the old space of Aquavit.  It was stuffy.  The waterfall did nothing for me.  The place didn't flow.  The new place is absolutely fantastic.  Even if you don't like the food, it is worth having a drink at the bar. 

The restaurant is light, airy and extremely modern.  The cafe in the front room is comfortable, groovy and modern.  There is a huge bar that separates the front room from the back room.  Before the bar there is a group of funky leather chairs and couches straight from Arne Jacobsen, the egg chair, the swan lounge and swan chair.  I love it.  Behind the bar and seating area are large square glass looking vases filled with vodka and different hunks of fruit.  There is one with large peeled grapefruits, another with pineapple hunks, another with cranberries.  I wanted to take a large ladle and taste each one. 

The back room is has 2 tables that can be expanded for parties of 10.  There are booths and tables.  The lighting can be set for different moods.  Very modern yet warm and inviting.  There is also a private party room in the back for 40 people that has a drop down screen. 

I loved my lunch too.  First of all, I grew up with not much in the refrigerator but there was always a bottle of pickled and sour cream herring.  Weird right, but a totally Jewish thing.  My friend, whom I met for lunch, grew up with the same thing. 

We started with a cherry tomato anchovy salad with a lemon vinaigrette.  Delicious.  The china is a perfect compliment to the modern vibe.  The salad came in a square soup like dish.  Our places were rectangular and white.  We also split a raw salmon tartare that was cylinder in shape.  Next to the tuna was a whipped white goat cheese and then next to that was a spicy tandoori mustard.  3 separate pieces that worked together on a long white plate. 

Our main course was the Herring Plate.  We couldn't resist.  3 different herrings.  Each served in a separate small square soup dish resting on a large square plate.  Presentation is really clean here.  The curry herring with apples, the vodka herring which is laden with cream and roe and the pickled herring served with horseradish and scallions.  All delicious.  Something I haven't had in a while.

We had dessert too.  A long square plate with chocolate painted through the middle of the plate from one end to the other.  Looked like it had been painted with a brush.  The dessert had a small scoop of hazelnut ice cream on one side.  The other side had a layered chocolate tart, circular, layered over a sugar based cookie, the next layer was a slice of pineapple and the next was a crunchy chocolate caramel cookie.  Incredible but at the same time light, not too heavy.

I rarely eat in that area, but am definitely going back for drinks and dinner.  Just being inside that restaurant was a treat without even eating.  I'd just go to sit at the bar and have a drink.  What a fantastic addition for midtown.  Glad to see that after 17 years a restaurant like Aquavit can have enough foresite to move into the next era.  I am sure that they will be here for another 17 years in this space.  Bravo!!

Diamonds

Taking a walk down West 47th street between 5th and 6th avenue is a "must-do" for anyone who lives in NYC or is visiting.  The Jewelry District is a place to behold.   It's unique. 

We have a jeweler that we have used, and turned many friends on to, on West 47th street.  Going up to her office is a trip.  You need to be let through 2 doors to get in.  Security is high everywhere because god knows how many millions of dollars of gems are lying around.  Big vaults, etc.  She has taken me on back room adventures into some buildings on 47th street to get things fixed.  It is a trip not only meeting the people but seeing the small confined spaces they work in and the jewelry crafts that they have mastered. 

I was there today to fix something that broke.  She showed me some 7 carat, flawless diamonds for some customers.  They were absolutely spectacular.  To see a diamond solo is a treat.  I asked her how business was.  She said the diamond market is going through an interesting surge in pricing.

For the past 100 years, diamonds have risen in cost about 2-3% a year.  This year, diamonds have gone up 12-14%, and roughly 25% over the past 3 years.  Low end diamonds are readily available and have not risen really in price but the high end diamonds have.  Large companies, like Tiffany, have been buying up the market.  She is having trouble finding high end flawless diamonds for customers.  She can't even get a 2 carat, high end diamond for $15K anymore.  Why?

The world is changing.  China has woken up.  As democracies have been created in pockets around the world, the classes have changed.  There is a strong middle class in China that wasn't there 10 years ago.  There is also a very high market is places like Korea that wasn't there either.  So, the demand for flawless high end diamonds have risen in Asia and other countries around the world which has taken away from the supply for the United States.  Companies like Tiffany are going in to the market and buying as many high end diamonds as they can find and holding them as the market rises which makes access harder for smaller jewelers. 

As the dollar sinks and our economies become more in line with other countries around the world, it will be interesting to watch the prices of consumer goods, particularly high end consumer goods.  Supply vs. demand is basis economics of prices going up but what will happen in the art world or the antique/modern furniture world?  There is a limited supply.  As consumers in other countries gain the ability to live and consume like Americans, what happens to the value of goods.  Diamonds have risen in price.  What else is rising from the merging of economies?

We are entering a new world.  It will an interesting time to watch as other products are affected by the change in the new world economy. 

Coffee Lids

I love good design.  There is a honey jar that we buy weekly from Citarella which is from California.  The bottle is made of plastic and formed in an upside down triangle and a flip top lid on the bottom.  Never ever a drip.  The bottle is easy to use and no sticky honey anywhere but where you want it.  Brilliant!  Good design always begs to ask the question, how come someone didn't think of this sooner?

Today I was at the Grey Dog with Emily (our daughter) getting our weekly fix of Chai Tea's and a sweet and our tea's had new lids.   First there was the lids that you had to use your teeth to make a hole to drink out of.  Then there were the lids that you could pull back but caught your lip when you drank out of them.  Then there were the tops that were elevated with holes in them so you could just sip easily.  These lids sloshed a bit when you traveled but once you got beyond a certain point it didn't make any difference.  They were a step in the right direction and brilliant at that point.  One place we went to would put a small sticker over the top of the hole so it wouldn't slosh or burn you but then you couldn't drink freely.  Today, the lid has finally reached perfection, in my eyes.

This lid, if any of you haven't seen it yet, is an elevated white lid, with a hole for drinking (just like before) and a small piece underneath that you can move back and forth that allows you to close up the hole or open it up when you need.  On the lid it says travelers cup.  I love it!  You can get your coffee, keep the lid closed and just slide is open a bit when you want to take a sip and shut it afterwards.  Brilliant design.  Hey...how come I didn't think of that?

New Magazines

Why have I seen so many new magazines?  The amount it costs to start-up a magazine is astronomical.  The chances of success are slim.  We have entered a new world of on-line media which is exploding with personalized content daily.  So, why are there a variety of new magazines entering an old medium in this day and age? 

I am a magazine reader.  I have my favorites, way too many, that I receive every month.  I am also a hound for trivial information for your head.  God knows why.  I get Gourmet, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, New York Magazine, The New Yorker, Elle and Vogue.  I sometimes pick up Travel and Leisure, and the kids get Teen People and Teen Cosmo.   I know, ridiculous.  But, I also read the New York Times cover to cover everyday and read a variety of my favorite blogs.  I love the blogs. 

As the future becomes the present, the next generation will become (or have already) on line readers for their information than in print.  I seriously doubt my kids will read magazines even though they do now.  They get the majority of their information online.  Information online, to them, is like picking up the phone and getting someone on the other end.  It is normal day to day life and has never been anything but that. 

The 3 new magazines that have passed my desk recently are Tango which is a magazine for relationships.  It is horrible.  Bad content, poor layout and too spread out on the audience they are supposedly trying to track.  That won't last.  Vital Woman is another one I just received.  It is like Lucky (a magazine all about purchasing the latest fashion items) but for extremely wealthy people.  The pages are so busy that it gives you a headache reading them.  Breathe is another new one.  Their audience is wealthy yoga people.  Hmmm. 

Bottom line, if you are starting a magazine today, yes there is always a new void to fill in a multi- billion dollar industry so wouldn't you think the magazines would be spectacular looking, well laid out, content that was intriguing, 21st century in design, etc.  None of the new magazines I have seen are.  The new blogs I have seen are.  That is the future.  Bring the success of analog magazines on line.  Aggregate fantastic content written by journalists or every day people, like me.

Listen, Oprah is a really well done magazine.  It isn't that old.  They spent time, money and intelligence in creating something that filled a void, had a great brand that could be extended but at the end of the day there is content in that magazine worth reading and it looks good. 

So, if a new magazine is going to start up with money being poured into it.  I recommend using the web, it's a helluva lot cheaper and the chance is your readership will expand regardless because the future is on the web. 

Who are we anyway?

Tom Watson had a great blog yesterday named We live In Public.  He wrote about the morality of America and how they are losing to big business.  I had been having these conversations for awhile.  I just don't get it.

"We" pretend as a nation, that we are morally just.  "We" vote for candidates that our god loving people.  "We" as in the majority.  "We" pretend that we believe in the "Leave it to Beaver" life but the reality is we aren't living that.  We are talking out of two sides of our mouth.

The hits on TV are reality shows.  Porn is booming.  "We" get to see a families trade spouses, plastic surgery being done, weight loss competitions, American Idol, cover of Sports Illustrated magazine model being picked, finding the next fashion maven and the newest is finding the undiscovered artist.   I can't even name all of the shows out there.  Americans love trying to become a star and putting themselves out there in the public eye.  That and being morally just does not go hand in hand.  The content is being created by "we" yet "we" are voting for people that are repulsed by the content "we" are creating. 

I too remember Josh Harris covering every part of his apartment, including the toilets, with cameras.  You could see what he was doing through the web, any time of the day or night.  He was and I am sure still is, an incredibly forward thinker.  Who would have thought this was the wave of the future? 

The FCC is attempting to create a society of decency but that is not what is driving our businesses.  The Oscars were bland.  The Superbowl half time was bland, thanks to a flash of boobs last year - shame, shame.  Yet, Americans are interested in themselves creating trashy, outlandish, sexual, seamy content and being the next star.

Big disconnect between what "we" are putting in office and what "we" are consuming.   At one point, you'd think the Conservatives who are pretending to be prudes will come out of the closet.  We are living in very strange times.