Category: Art

More Portland: Art & Food

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ART

In 25 years, we had never been to the Portland Museum of Art before this visit.  This time we rectified that with a pleasant walk along Congress Street to the museum.  It’s an impressive complex of several buildings and we wandered through the special exhibit featuring Georgia O’Keefe and three other women artists who all worked for a time in New York.  I also liked seeing furnishings and paintings from their permanent collection including several by Frederic Church and Childe Hassam and others.  And I explored the historic home, also part of the museum, with its intriguing patterned carpets and wallpapers which appealed to me.   2016-07-14 12.54.15 2016-07-14 13.13.29

EATING

Restaurants in Portland run the gamut from seafood places galore to a number of ethnic options as well as more usual Italian and French fare.  Here’s a sampling which represents where we dined last week.

Gilbert’s Chowder House

Reliable for chowder, of course, as well as lobster rolls and fried haddock along with the requisite French fries and cole slaw.  Good, but not exceptional.

Petite Jacqueline

A French bistro in a large, airy space with big windows.  We enjoyed the special of the day, chicken fricassee over rice, fish en papillotte in a butter caper sauce, salads (beet and green), and a lovely shared creme brulee to top it off.  Raspberry and chocolate colored bar stools add a punch of color.

Sisters Gourmet Deli

We had lunch at this inviting café on Congress Street. You order at the counter and they call you up when it’s ready.  Nice assortment of wraps, sandwiches and salads. Chicken salad with almonds and grapes on greens passed muster as did the Santa Fe chicken salad.  2016-07-14 11.46.35

Piccolo

This newish tiny Italian place on Middle Street was able to squeeze us in for a 5:30 dinner.  The chef and others are alums of Daniel Bould’s restaurants in New York and they deliver the goods!  We sampled mostly from the small plate sections of the menu and were delighted with our choices:  heirloom tomato salad with coins of delicate mozzarella; squash blossoms stuffed with salt cod (baccala) which were simply delectable; crisp baby octopus presented in a small skillet; chickpea fritters; stubby pasta with lamb ragu tinged with mint and orange, and a dessert of strawberries and micro basil on a sweet round of cake.

Fore Street

Highly touted and the place that initiated farm to table in Portland, Fore Street is at the edge of the Old Port.  It’s in an old warehouse with rustic beams and several wood-fired ovens. Tables are at a premium so reservations should be made in advance unless you want to join the 5:00 pm line-up and find out at 5:30 how long the wait will be. You can do your waiting at the bar then!  Fortunately, I had made a reservation several weeks ago, granted for an early 5:45 seating, but far preferable to waiting in line.

The menu is extensive with lots of beef and pork, but also fish and chicken. We began with a lovely Jet Star tomato tart for me (luscious, warm, almost poached tomato slices on a rich croissant-like pastry and topped with an herb-flecked egg of goat cheese) and the sweet corn and mushroom salad for the Chief Penguin. He then had the roasted foie gras with accoutrements and I the spit-roasted half chicken. No small chicken either so he got a third of my portion. The chicken was slightly smoky on the outside and very tasty, and the foie gras a hit—how not to savor this delicacy!  Service was brisk almost to the point of being hurried. I’m thinking they want to turn their tables as many times as possible each night!  Instead of dessert, we opted to take home a small box of their house-made chocolates.

Note:  All photos by JWFarrington (some rights reserved)

 

Manhattan: Arts & Flowers

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PORTRAITS

Bad pun in the title of this post, I know, but couldn’t resist. A new exhibit at the Whitney, Human Interest, contains 200 portraits —paintings and sculpture from its extensive collection.  Lots to see and a lot to take in on one visit, including a larger than life-size sculpture that is a candle, so we went twice. First on Sunday when it was fairly crowded and then again on Monday morning when most of the visitors were school groups and for the first hour it was delightfully calm. I had a long conversation with a volunteer, Pamela, who is a dancer, writer, lover of art, and especially passionate about the Whitney and the excellence of its curators. Here’s a sampling from the exhibit:

Artist Cindy Sherman portraying herself in yet another guise
Artist Cindy Sherman portraying herself in yet another guise
Self portrait, Beauford Delaney, 1965
Self portrait, Beauford Delaney, 1965
One of several spider women by Liz Craft
One of several spider women by Liz Craft
Synecdoche by Byron Kim; each square is a different person's skin tone including his
Synecdoche by Byron Kim; each square is a different person’s skin tone including his

BLOOMS

We didn’t get to the New York Botanical Garden last fall so it was a high priority for this visit. We got rained out a few days, then delays at Grand Central and on Metro North made waiting wise. Finally, all seemed propitious and we made the trek. Long walk from our apartment to the 6 Line at Union Square, subway to Grand Central, then a search for the ticket vending machines (they are tucked back against a recessed wall and initially we walked by), followed by a quick dash to just make the 9:25 train.  Stated time to the Botanic Garden stop in the Bronx is 20 minutes, but more like 25 or 30. Nonetheless, we crossed the street from the station and were at the garden entry gate just at the 10:00 am opening.2016-05-27 10.55.19

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Lovely expanses of green lawn and many trees. We first toured the small art exhibit on Impressionism in the garden in the Mertz Library, then walked areas of the grounds (think lilacs, peonies, and roses), ate a simple sandwich in the café, and ended our inaugural visit admiring the gorgeous traditional flowers (poppies, lupine, foxglove, and iris) in the Impressionism garden display in the historic domed conservatory. A relaxing way to while away a morning or afternoon. Looking forward to an encore visit in September.2016-05-27 10.55.42 2016-05-27 00.19.32 2016-05-27 12.08.18

 

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Note:  All photos by JWFarrington (some rights reserved)

Manhattan Meandering: Fashion & Food

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AT THE MET

A good friend came into the city for the day and she and I were engrossed for several hours viewing two exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was a rainy Friday and the corridors were packed with people. Fortunately, the first exhibit hall was less crowded so we could get a close up view of the paintings. Vigee le Brun was a French artist who lived from before the French Revolution into the 1840’s. Initially dismissed because she was female, she became popular in her day and was portrait artist of choice for many royals including Marie Antoinette. After her death, her work seems to have been overlooked or ignored for many years. Certainly, she was unknown to me until this exhibit. Some of the portraits were really stunning and I also enjoyed seeing the several self-portraits she painted over the years.

The Costume Institute exhibit, Manus ex Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, was dense with museumgoers which made seeing the gowns occasionally challenging.  It is a fascinating study of the hand crafts (embroidery, pleating, beading, feathers, etc.) involved in the creation of haute couture over the years along with the use of the latest 3D printing to create nylon mesh and other unusual fabrics. Gowns by the Houses of Chanel, Dior, and Lagerfeld shared space with very edgy ones by the likes of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano.  The alcove spaces and the ethereal background music gave the whole experience a church-like feel. This exhibit runs until August and is definitely worth seeing.  For more info see The New York Times’ review article which also includes photos.2016-05-06 15.35.11

Flying Saucer Dress
Flying Saucer Dress

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FASHION IN FILM

Following on the fashion exhibit, we went to see Andrew Rossi’s new film, First Monday in May.  Note that Rossi also directed the compelling documentary, Page One: Inside the New York Times, about the challenges of staying relevant in the age of the Internet.  First Monday is a sumptuous, gorgeous look behind the scenes at the creation of the Met’s 2014 costume exhibit on China and the extravaganza of a gala that precedes the opening.  Stars here are Anna Wintour (her dresses and suits are almost as much fun to see as all the historical and contemporary gowns) and curator Andrew Bolton.  Running through the film is the idea that fashion equals art, and that it is only in recent times that fashion has been recognized and accepted as such. Visual treats!

 

DINING

Three new places for cozy dinners.

Café Loup on West 13th St. We sampled the chicken with tarragon and the fish and chips and were happy with both at this white-walled French bistro.  Also good were the mesclun salad and the house green salad.  It was crowded the night we were there with what looked to be lots of academics.2016-05-08 19.25.04

Doma na rohu.  A rustic German restaurant on 7th Ave with wood tables and an inviting bar.  Happy hour specials include the usual beer and wine and also pretzels with sausage and mustard.  Skip the veal schnitzel (dry and unadorned), but do tuck into the great sides—German potato salad, reminiscent of my grandmother’s version; very tasty browned spaetzle; and the so-called bowl of greens—a salad with cubes of beets, cherry tomatoes and a few slices of cucumber.

Trattoria Pesce Pasta.  On Bleecker Street, this is comfort food incarnate and perfect when you’re tuckered out from a long day—for us, said long day included a bus trip to Bethlehem and back.  We skipped salads and just enjoyed the sole with artichokes and sundried tomatoes (very saucy and not fancy) which hit the spot.   Sides were a choice of sautéed broccoli or spaghetti with red sauce. One of us was healthy and the other couldn’t resist the pasta which was surprisingly good!

 

All photos by JWFarrington (some rights reserved)

Header photo:  Jackson Square

 

 

Tidy Tidbits: Inside & Out

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BOOK OF THE WEEK

Mary McGrory:  The First Queen of Journalism by John Norris.

Although this is a biography, it is perhaps even more a rollicking review of presidential campaigns and Congressional politics from the McCarthy hearings through the Bush eras, all as viewed from the perspective of columnist Mary McGrory and her colleagues.  Brash, yet elegant, Mary McGrory was a wielder of words and winsome charm.  She contrived to never have to carry her own luggage and was both chummy with and critical of presidential and politician friends from Jack and Bobby Kennedy to Gene McCarthy and Mario Cuomo.  Her column in the Washington Star ran for almost thirty years and when that newspaper folded, she joined the Washington Post, but never found its culture as pleasing as the warm, family-like atmosphere at the Star.  A pioneer in the field, her talent and dedication smoothed the way for other women columnists like today’s Maureen Dowd and Gail Collins.

ART WALK

Having house guests can be an incentive to visit a new place.  With my sister and brother-in-law from North Carolina, we took advantage of the Art Walk at the Ringling College of Art and Design.   This small private school is situated on the northern edge of Sarasota, and its charming campus, tucked just off Tamiami Trail, is a mix of attractive Spanish architecture and more contemporary buildings.  For this event, six of the campus’ galleries were open and free to the public.  Included were a display of pieces from the Basch Collection of art glass, a tour of the letterpress lab, and the opening reception for an exhibition of works by alumnus Amer Kobaslija.  Faculty were also on hand to try to entice us to sign up for their continuing education courses, everything from creative writing to zentangle (a new structured way to create art) to metal working, to publishing interactive books online.  The morning downpour was over, the weather had cleared and walking around this snug campus was a different way to spend the late afternoon.

ON THE SMALL SCREEN

Thanks to the Chief Penguin, my treadmill workouts are now enhanced by watching the Spanish drama, Gran Hotel, available on streaming Netflix.  Called the Spanish “Downton Abbey,” and set in 1906, it is the story of the Alarcon family who own and run an elegant country hotel.  The matriarch, Dona Teresa, rules with an iron will and is not averse to employing chicanery, secrets, and lies to get her way.  Add in her beautiful daughter Alicia, a wayward son (Javier), the unexplained disappearance of one of the maids (Cristina), a waiter (Andres) who is the son of the head housekeeper, and the arrival of a young man (Julio) seeking answers about Cristina’s disappearance, and you have the makings of an entertaining and diverting stew.  Full of murders, mysterious letters, and implausible coincidences, it keeps getting better and better.  There are three seasons and I’m now into season 2 or about halfway through the 30+ episodes.  It is subtitled, but I don’t find that at all a problem, even while striding along on the treadmill!

 

Header Photo: Morning on Manatee Beach (copyright JWFarrington)