Gotham Gal

Josh Rouse

We went down to see Josh Rouse at Castle Clinton last week.  Another part of the American Express series of live music around the city.  It is really a wonderful thing that they put on.  Free music, great locations.  There really is nothing quite like sitting outside, in the midst of a small forum that has large buildings looming above listening to live music. 

I had seen Josh Rouse at Town Hall and was sort of bummed after wards.  I love his music.  There hasn't been a week that has gone by in over a year where I don't put on some of his music but the concert was a bore.  He made up for it last week.  Perhaps it was the outdoor thing.  Not sure. 

Josh Rouse could be the James Taylor of this generation.  His songs are simple, clever and fun.  I'd love to see him at a large outdoor forum like Summer Stage.  Maybe next year?

Sfoglia Restaurant

My Mom  has been staying in New York this summer far up town.  She said that she had found a great restaurant uptown that we must make the trip for.  Sfoglia Restaurant.  Soon after wards, they were written up and getting a reservation has not been so easy but she's been back three times and last night was her third.

The restaurant, located at 92nd and Lexington, has a great vibe.  Decorated like a old Italian farmhouse.  One table has a beautiful bowlful of yellow and purple peppers, another had sunflowers, something different on each table.  Wooden tables and banquettes with pillows.  It doesn't feel like 92nd and Lex. 

The service couldn't be nicer.  We had brought a bottle of wine because they didn't have their license when my Mom went.  Now they do but they charged us $20 for corking ours.  Fair price. 

We started with different appetizers and split pastas to begin.  Fred had the caponata.  On a small plate, a tiny bowl of caponata which was delicious and tiny home made chips on the side for dipping.  I had the green bean salad.  Short cut green beans tossed with walnuts and fairly ample sizes of pecorino cheese tossed with a vinaigrette.  It was good but the beans were a tad overcooked and the pieces of cheese could have been shaved and not so dense.  It was very filling.  My Mom went with the slices of mozzarella, tomato, watermelon and pesto.  Clever and an interesting combination.

For pasta we split the classic Bolognese sauce over papparedella pasta.  I love the thick noodles of papparadella pasta.  Also, their sauce was delicious.  Large chunks of meat in a creamy red sauce. Really good.  We also split the spaghetti that was tossed with a light olive oil based sauce, lots of peperoncini and shaved ricotta salata.  This was also really good.  The bread that we got at the table was perfect for dipping up the last remains of sauce.  The bread comes to your table hot and literally melts in your mouth.  A real winner.

Entrees were mixed.  Fred and I had the fish of the day.  Black sea bass served over braised summer greens and mushrooms that were really spicy and had a weird tasting marinade.  The fish was over cooked too.  I barely ate mine.  My Mom had the Tuscan chicken which was good.  Half a chicken baked under a brick which made the chicken really juicy and simple with a light lemon flavor. 

When we first sat down the waitress asked us if we wanted to order the dessert that you have to order in advance.  She barely described it and we all said yes.  It was a total wow.  An open tart with sliced peaches and figs roasted in the oven with two scoops of cinnamon gelatto served on top.  The mixture of peaches and figs was really good and the crust was fantastic.  Perfect split for 3 people.

Sfoglia changes the menu every 2 weeks.  That is pretty ambitious but it will certainly keep patrons coming back.  My guess is sometimes there are really winners and other times there are not but that's OK.  The meals taste and are served like good old fashioned home cooking.  Certainly my green bean salad was.  The plates are simple.  Nothing fancy, just basic good food.

I will certainly go back if I am in that area.  The menu will be different but the service and vibe will remain the same.  Also, the prices are pretty good, for NY standards. Yum.

I Love this town

Sunday was a day where we had no kids and the city was at our finger tips.  What fun!

We began our day at 1:30 in the afternoon.  That alone was a joy.  We had lunch at Little Owl, my new favorite haunt.  All good.  Omelets with mushrooms and shaved truffles, english bangers, scrambled eggs with chorizo and asparagus, fruit salad and of course a few bottles of rose wine.  They could add to the menu a basket of breads and muffins...just a suggestion. 

Afterwards we drove up town to see the 75th year show at the Whitney.  So glad we went.  3 floors of art that has been in the basement for many many years.  Each floor was a time period of modern art.  What was amazing is the artists that were shown and when the Whitney purchased them.  This museum has been true to their mission of collecting emerging modern artists.  Great vision from many curators who were responsible for buying each of these pieces of art.  Worth the trip to see the show.

Next, we drove back downtown to the Soho House where our friends belong.  What a trip.  We sat upstairs by the pool, lounged and drank.  The scene is more Los Angeles than New York.  Lots of good looking buffed people in bathing suits lounging and schmoozing.  You can't help but wonder, as you stare, who are these people.  It was fun.

Our friends decided they were going to go home and relax, not us.  We walked down the street after going home and found a seat at the bar at Babbo.  Delicious, as always.  We split the spicy black squid ink pasta that has peppers, shrimp and other seafood.  All good.  We also split the skirt steak that is served with a spicy salsa.  Perfect for a summer meal.

Afterwards we strolled around Washington Square Park and made our way home.  What a glorious day!

The Spotted Pig

It has taken me way too long to get into the Spotted Pig.  I liked it the place the minute we entered the door.  Great pub like atmosphere.  Intimate, small and packed.  Some of the grooviest wait staff I've seen. 

We walked in and were seated immediately.  Pure luck.  Maybe because it was only 2 of us. 

The menu has a few different sections.  Bar food, pastas, entrees, appetizers.  We went for a mixture.  Roll mops off the bar menu sounded interesting.  Rolled filleted sardines with a toothpick stuck in the middle and creme fraiche on top.  Delicious.  A bit like herring but the creme fraiche really changed the entire experience. 

We also split 3 appetizers.  A fairly nice sized piece of mozzarella served alongside of red peppers.  Truly spicy.  The peppers were delicious.  The mozzarella could have been a little creamier.  The other was grilled squid over a salad of roasted chick peas, greens and beans.  Absolutely delicious but again incredibly spicy.  I wasn't prepared and had to track down someone to give us more water.  We didn't want to chug down our wonderful red wine from the Langaduc region.  The other appetizer was a salad of roasted radishes, small baby arugula with a warm anchovy type vinaigrette and shaved ricotta salata.  This was excellent.  I'd like to make that one at home. 

For a main course we split a hamburger.  Great burger.  Juicy and topped with melting Gorgonzola cheese.  Wow. 

We left happy as a clam.  I only wish that they took reservations.  Summer time is the perfect season to walk into restaurants and get a table.  Unfortunately, other seasons are much more crowded.  If they could only spill that ambiance onto the sidewalk with a little bar to order drinks, I'd hang out and wait.

Visiting Day

Saturday was a rainy visiting day.  First rainy day in 8 years, not bad odds.  I have mixed feelings on visiting day.  On one hand it is fantastic to see the kids since they are gone for 8 weeks but on the other hand it isn't necessary.  I know they are having fun otherwise, I would have heard from the camp. 

I have been reading a variety of articles on kids and camps over the past few weeks. Parents want to keep their kids nearer to home then they had in the past.  Less interest in sending kids away for 8 weeks.

More and more, among younger parents,  I see parents trying to navigate their kids lives for them.  How to do the homework, calling the parents of a friend who they are having problems with, etc.  Lots of new camps that are available are focused on singular sports so that a kid can excel at that sport in their school or add it to the resume for college.  Even intensive SAT training summer programs.  More new camps dedicated to achievement in the summer vs. kicking back and having fun. 

The competition is harder each year to get into the college of your choice.  Why?  Because the parents of this particular generation have created it.  Pushing harder and harder to make sure their kid has every tool imaginable to get into the college of their parents choice.  It is remarkable. 

Recently I saw a quote that I believe is the perfect quote for raising kids.  The best legacy you can give your kids are roots and wings.  I couldn't agree more.  Give them roots to know where they came from, values they can believe in and fall back on.  By giving kids roots, it allows them to spread their wings.  Feel confident in making decisions by themselves, go to camp and learn to be independent, how to navigate their own issues among friends and school work, grow into the person that they want to be.

The overbearing parents who keep their kids too close to home are doing their kids a huge disservice.  One day those kids turn 18 and they are lost in the world because they were never given wings just big huge strangling roots.

Gustav Klimt

Leonard Lauder, recently purchased The Dancer, for his museum, the Neue Galerie.  The story of how this particular piece came to the United States is fascinating. 

Before WWII, the Bloch-Bauer family was a prominent Viennese family in the sugar business.  The husband, who collected Klimt, commissioned him to do a painting of his wife.  In 1938, the war came and the families entire state was seized by the Nazis.  They Bloch-Bauer's died soon after around 1945. The Bloch-Bauer's had no children but had bequeathed their entire estate to their niece.  Their art ended up at the Vienna Art Museum after the war ended.

The family, who is now in America, continued to make attempts to recover what was rightfully theirs.  In the 1990's, the Block-Bauer heirs finally succeeded in having the work declared stolen and the paintings were returned to them.  True perseverance.  It was then that Leonard Lauder purchased the famous painting of Adele Block-Bauer for $135 million. 

I went to see the painting.  It is truly magnificent.  You don't want to leave the room.  I didn't have a chance to listen to the history but will return in the fall before exhibit closes with the kids to listen to the tape and hear the story. 

Adele is a goddess  in this painting.  Her head, which is painted completely different than the rest of the painting, makes her look like royalty.  I guess she was royalty at that time.  Layers of gold flows through the painting creating her dress and seat to look as if it is one.

If you are in NY, it is a must to go see.  I am not sure when there will be a chance to see this painting again in person.  Is it worth $135 million?  Only time will tell.  But what is $135 Million among a captured audience of New Yorkers?

Boot Camp

I am in my 9th month of boot camp.  I'm falling apart but am still going.  My lower back is failing, my right arm is a bit off.  Perhaps I am just a sucker for pain.  I have promised to shake it up this fall by mixing some yoga or pilates in twice a week to reduce the pounding.  We'll see how it goes.

So, why do I return?  Today, there were 2 guys there around there mid-30's.  They were dying.  We were doing arm exercises.  We had radial tires over our head.  We were doing a bunch of repetitions.  When we were done, this guy turns to me and says "You kick ass" on this stuff while he is huffing and puffing. 

I guess that is why I go back.  Gotta love it when a guy who is probably 10 years your junior tells you that "you kick ass".   

Neo and a return to Ono

I made a journey to the Upper Westside last night.  I met two old friends at Neo.  A sushi joint at 83rd and Broadway.  Consistently I have found the food on Upper Westside like the Hamptons.  Good but not great.  Why is that?  There are plenty of people up there who would pay for good food.  Is it the water?  I have never been able to figure it out. 

The service was shaky.  Our waitress forgot we had ordered something but regrouped and brought it over.  Neo is an attempt to knock off some of the classic Nobu dishes.  Doesn't work, at least for me.  They should attempt their own creations.  At the end of the day, it is a local sushi haunt.

I returned to Ono for dinner.  I realized there is a reason why restaurant critics go a few times before writing up the experience.  I was so disappointed the second time around.  The sushi wasn't as fresh.  The bar had the music up so loud that it was hard to think.  We tried two appetizers this time.  Barbecued tuna on a stick.  Sticky ponzu sauce, well done tuna and all and all not good at $16.  We also had the  classic from Nobu, popcorn shrimp tempura.  Way too much tempura.  Very bready.  Alas.  Maybe lunch is just the trick.  Blue Ribbon Sushi is always great for lunch but have never had the same type of success for dinner.  So, who knows.

Scope Hampton

I missed Scope Hampton the last couple of years because it was in South Hampton.  What can I say, driving from Amagansett to South Hampton in the middle of the summer is insane.  But, Wainscott, I can handle that. 

So glad we went.  Galleries that are all about emerging artists.  The galleries were not only from the New York area but also from Europe.  As you roam through each booth, I always find some threads to piece together.  What is happening in the younger art world.  Lots of influences from the East.  Lots of layering, Japanese like designs that create a multi media feel.  As always, I could have walked out with a handful of things.

I'll share my few favorites.  Lyos Weir Ort is a gallery on 25th street that I had never been in.  After this show, I will most definitely be going to their space.  I really liked the majority of artists that they represented.  Matt Haffners work were dark but really interesting.  Incredibly prolific.  They also had another artist that I should have taken down the info.  Horizontal black and white paintings of professionals without their heads and shoulders.  You can totally feel the body language from each painting without seeing the heads and shoulders.  Fantastic.  They also were showing an artist who usually doesn't show with them named Lenny Wilson.  He had made shoes out of a variety of fabrications.  It appealed to my sensibility for good shoes and funny objects.

A woman from Bethesda, who actually doesn't have a gallery but represents artists was there.  Lots of artists from South America.  I particularly liked the boxes that had different molds of objects with tiny red roses inserted into them.  The painting on the left was of two women boxers that I liked too.  The artist is Ana Patricia Palacios.  The women who represents these artists has a company called Douz and Mille. 

Sara Nightingale, who I have written about before was there.  Her booth was great.  She has a variety of artists that I think are all terrific.  So terrific that 2 of my friends bought work from her.  Check out the Andy Warhol piece in the picture.  David Gambel is the artist.  We actually bought one of those.

The one piece I would have liked to have bought is from an artist named Martin Kruck.  I can't get it out of my head.  The gallery is called Metaphor located in Brooklyn.  Beautiful almost serene pictures of the open sky with the back of children's heads digitally altered into the picture.  I particularly like how it is shown and sold with 9 different pieces.  I will be back to check out their gallery too. 

All and all, a wonderful afternoon activity. 

Harbor Bistro

Ricardo's has been an empty shell for at least the last 5 years.  Someone finally took over the key and a new Hampton's restaurant is born.  Literally 2 seconds past East Hampton Point, on the same side, is Harbor Bistro. 

The setting is very mellow and beach like.  There is an area inside with air conditioning, a pretty ample sized bar area and a large space for eating outside.  Who knew that the setting would be so beautiful.  The tables all over look a serene harbor.  Just gorgeous.  Watch the sun set.  Check the boats going out for an evening sail.  Tranquil. 

Now let's get to the heart of the matter, the food.  The menu is eclectic.  Appetizers run the gamut from Mongolian ribs to deep fried duck rolls with mango sauce.  Salads, four of them, have their own section.  There are also four pastas.  Fish and Meat.  I saw a beautiful veal chop coming out of the kitchen layered over truffle mashed potatoes and asparagus.  I could smell the truffles.  It looked beautiful but I have a hard time eating that heavy in the heat.  I am actually surprised that more of the restaurants out here don't do a special summer menu that is oriented towards light recipes.  Maybe more people like to eat hearty every night than I realize.

We both started with a salad.  Fred had the wedge.  A wedge of iceberg lettuce, red onions, blue cheese dressing and bits of bacon.  Just what you would expect.  I had the house salad.  Lots of green over a layer of delicious tomatoes and a light balsamic vinaigrette.  Nothing spectacular but a good salad.  We weren't that hungry, at least I wasn't.  I had the Mongolian ribs, the appetizer, for dinner.  Presentations were consistently beautiful coming out of the kitchen.  The ribs were layered in the middle of a square white plate with green oil underneath the ribs.  The ribs were sticky, fell off the bone and were quite tasty.  A bit too salty but good.  Fred has the seafood pasta.  Ziti with shrimp, clams, mussels, tuna and salmon mixed with a light vodka sauce.  Again, good not great.  Fish does not belong in a seafood pasta.  It falls apart and gets overdone.  If they had eliminated the fish, it would have been much better. 

I overheard a few people having problems with the kitchen.  Not rare as they had ordered, that type of thing.  I am not sure how long the place has been open but my guess is they are still working out the kinks. 

On the views alone, I will return.  Typical Hamptons fair.  Good not great.  But I am willing to give Harbor Bistro another shot.  My friend has gone a few times now and is a bit fan, so I'll be back for more.