Tag: Manhattan restaurants

Potpourri: Cypresses, Cold War & Meals

JWF Leave a comment

TREES IN ART

Van Gogh’s Cypresses (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Wheat Field with Cypresses

The last exhibit we visited in Manhattan this month was the small, but fascinating, collection of Van Gogh’s Cypresses.  Probably Van Gogh’s most famous painting is The Starry Night.  When we saw it here, we were made aware of the tall dark cypress trees on the left.  Something I hadn’t paid attention to in the past nor really noticed.  

Two Poplars in the Apiles

Other paintings from Van Gogh’s time in Saint-Remy, Provence highlight not only the brooding cypresses, but also show off poppies in a field (cypresses in the background) and in a canvas luminescent in yellows, two straight poplar trees.  The exhibit was crowded and occupied only a few galleries but was well worth the visit.

GERMAN DRAMA

Line of Separation (Amazon Prime)

Anna with her father (WGBH)

Line of Separation is a German series set in the divided town of Tannbach after WWII.  A brook splits the town between the Nazis and the Americans.  Families are at odds with one another, and past actions and differing political views make for tension, anger, and violence.  Young Anna, a young aristocrat, takes command of her family’s estate after the death of her mother when the Nazis threaten.  

Tannbach is a fictional village modeled after a real one.  There are two seasons of six episodes each.  We have watched Season 1 and found it a gripping piece of postwar history.

Deutschland 83 (Amazon Prime)

Martin with his aunt (The Hollywood Reporter)

In Deutschland 83, Martin Rauch is an ordinary border guard in East Germany.  He is recruited as a spy by the Stasi and sent to West Germany to infiltrate the army and gather NATO intelligence.  As Mauritz Stamm, he is the chief aide to a high level general.  Inexperienced and naïve, his bungling at the job makes for a series of close calls.  It also provides American viewers a different look at the Cold War years before the Berlin Wall came down.

This 2015 series starts out slowly but becomes more intense in the second and third episodes.  There are 8 episodes in all.  For those who get hooked, there are two more series which we have not yet watched:  Deutschland 86 and Deutschland 89.

DINING BITES

Valerie (Midtown)

Valerie, a comfortable dark bar and restaurant on W. 45th Street was just right for lunch with a friend.  We were seated in the back and, all was quiet initially until a boisterous crowd arrived, making conversation more challenging.  Nonetheless, we enjoyed the entrée salads we each had, two with ahi tuna and mine a tasty Caesar with freshly grilled chicken strips.  I’d go back, but probably book for 11:00 or 11:30.

The Bar Room (East 60th St.)

This visit the Chief Penguin and I dined at several bar cum restaurants.  The Bar Room was one where we dined twice.  The first time the back tables were quiet, and the happy hour drink prices most appealing.  We sampled the bar fries and indulged in lobster rolls, almost as good as in Maine.  On our second visit, we went for the guacamole, fries, and the fried chicken bites.  All tasty snack treats.  It was much more crowded and thumping music was an accompaniment.  Go, but proceed with caution!

Imli (1st Avenue, Upper East Side)

We returned to Imli after not having dined there for several years.  They offer delicious Indian fare in an airy, contemporary space.  We liked it so much we ate here a second time.  The tandoor chicken is nicely spiced, the veggie samosas large, the lamb logs a bit different, and the very spicy paneer as billed.  We happily took some home for lunch the next day! 

Barbaresco (Lexington Ave.)

Barbaresco is one of our regular go-to Italian restaurants.  It isn’t overly expensive and we like the vibe.  Recently we tried a couple of their daily specials and were delighted.  Vitello tonnato (thinly sliced veal with tuna anchovy sauce) has long been a favorite of mine.  The version I had here, topped with arugula and cherry tomatoes, was one of the very best ever!  

Vitello Tonnato

Note: Unattributed photos by JWFarrington (some rights reserved.) Header photo is Van Gogh’s Field of Poppies.

Manhattan Meals: Eating Around

JWF Leave a comment

Italian cuisine dominates the dining scene today, but here and there you can locate a good French bistro. I’ve also discovered that many folks on the Upper East Side eat early.  By 6:30, tables at small restaurants will all be taken. Here’s a selection of Manhattan restaurants we’ve enjoyed this past month, most that I haven’t previously covered.

Brasserie Cognac

This is a small French restaurant that was always full when we would walk by. Over the Memorial Day weekend, it was practically empty enabling us to easily book a table. We weren’t in the mood for a big meal and found the appetizer section of the menu much to our liking. My goat cheese and tomato tart on puff pastry was scrumptious while the Chief Penguin ordered and liked their famous tuna tart.

Sample of goat cheese and tomato tart

He followed his tart with the salmon croque monsieur which was rich and mouth-filling. I opted for the spinach, pine nut and parmesan salad which was enhanced by a generous number of avocado slices. With these two smaller dishes, delicate gougeres, and some wonderful holey olive bread, we were very content!

Jean Claude 2

This cozy French bistro is popular and we were pleased that we arrived a bit ahead of our 7 pm reservation.  The Chief Penguin ordered the beet and endive salad graced with a few walnut halves which was both very pretty and very tasty.  He then had the skate which was on the dry side, while I sampled the roasted cod over vegetable risotto and a yellow pepper puree, a yummy combination.  Bread pudding is his one weakness (to quote a TV character who had many “one weaknesses”) and this rendition was appropriately satisfying.

Barbaresco

This is one of the many Italian restaurants around.  Brick side walls and a sea of white linens on small tables make for a charming ambience.  Service is old style male waiters who recite the specials with dramatic briskness.  Listen carefully or you’ll need a repeat.  We shared a Caesar salad which was just right.  I then ordered the special swordfish entrée, Livorno style or bathed in a tomato-based sauce with capers and black olives.  It came with a vegetable medley and some roast potatoes. The Chief Penguin tried their veal saltimbocca which was good, but not the equal of the version we get in Maine. In addition to meat and fish entrees, there’s a good selection of pasta dishes.  This is another very popular eatery and one will visit again.

Tony’s Di Napoli

This red gravy+ Italian restaurant is a locus for family groups.  We dined here the night before Mother’s Day and thought that was the reason for all the tables with families with small children.  Apparently, not; this is a regular occurrence.  It’s a boisterous dining experience so avoid it if you were looking for a quiet meal. That said, the service was pleasant and efficient and our food very good.

Most dishes are offered in half and full portions with full designed to serve 2-3.  Believe the menu, they are large and will!  We ordered the full Caesar salad and would have been equally happy with a half portion.  It’s prepared table side and the dressing was a lovely balance between piquant and mellow and not over garlicky.  We then ordered half portions of veal saltimbocca (Chief Penguin), which here was topped with some sautéed spinach, and the veal piccata.  The latter was lovely with just the right tang of lemon in the sauce.  

The crusty bread was perfect with the veal dishes, but if you wanted potatoes or a veggie, then you had to order a side.  They have a full bar (one Old Fashioned coming up!) and wines by the glass. In the interest of full disclosure, it was good enough that we returned the next night (it was raining and the restaurant close by) for another dinner, and this time asked to sit upstairs which was a less frenetic scene.

The Beach Café

We had no dinner plans and decided to just stroll and see what might tickle our fancy.  Almost a misnomer with its dark wood interior, dark bar and tables, Beach Café on Second Avenue feels cozy and perfect for a cold winter’s day.  But they have outside tables and a whale on the wall that evokes Nantucket or some other east coast beach.  We opted for inside and were most pleased with the service from waiter Nick, a poised young man with a welcome beyond his years.  My pan roasted salmon with broccoli and mashed potatoes was perfectly prepared.  Even the broccoli was just the right amount of doneness.  The Chief Penguin’s chicken compagna platter could have easily fed a lobsterman and came with a side of spaghetti with a slightly spicy and smoky sauce.  

A.O.C.

This West Village French bistro is a longtime favorite of ours and never fails to please. We like it so much, we often order the same entrees time and again. This time I tried the roast chicken rather than the chicken paillard and substituted mixed vegetables for the french fries. The chicken was perfectly done with nicely crisped skin, and the vegetable medley of carrot cubes, spinach leaves, asparagus tips and green beans was healthy and flavorful. The Chief Penguin again opted for the merguez sausages with fries and enjoyed them as much as on previous visits. We don’t care for mussels, but if you do, they are one of their specialities.

Via Carota

I have enthused and enthused about this favorite of ours so suffice it to say, we returned for a third meal and were once again delighted! Alas for us, it has been discovered and wait times are long—-unless you deign to dine at unfashionable times, which we do.

Note: Contents and photos ©JWFarrington.

Manhattan: Tulips & Art

JWF 1 Comment

TULIP TIME

With the cold, somewhat snowy March followed by cool April weather, the trees here are just leafing out. But, there are tulips galore!  I love the little fenced square and rectangle gardens along the streets with their big bold tulips. Jefferson Market Garden was also a riot of tulip beds. Makes for a lovely spring!  Usually we come in May and any remaining tulips are bedraggled and beaten down.

AT THE WHITNEY

American painter Grant Wood is arguably best known for his portrait of a farm couple called “American Gothic.”  Actually it’s meant to be a father and daughter and if you look closely, you can see the difference in their ages.  Most people just assumed it was a husband and wife.  

Wood painted farm scenes and the rural folks of his native Iowa, but he did it from an idealized perspective based on memories of his childhood and his view of a simpler time.  Lots of rounded shapes and flat surfaces.  

Early in his career, he made the requisite European tour and this exhibit includes several impressionistic works from that time.  

But I was also taken with his “Women of Revolution,” a less than admiring portrait of three women of the DAR.

What comes across here and what I enjoyed most was getting an enlarged sense of the variety in Wood’s oeuvre. The exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art runs into early June and is well worth a visit!

 

GRANDPARENTS’ DAY

The Chief Penguin and I had the pleasure of experiencing Grandparent and Special Persons’ Day at Brearley, our granddaughter’s school.  Fortunately, all four of her grandparents were able to attend.  It’s an impressive place and it was great to hear and see how these kindergarten girls are being empowered to be creative, bold, and caring individuals.  

RETURN VISITS

We will eat a lot of meals out while we are in the city.  Here are several places we’ve re-visited.

Lenox Hill Grill.  The all-American comfort food you would expect from any respectable diner. Grilled ham and cheese with fries and a tuna salad sandwich with cole slaw on the side made for a quick tasty lunch.

Amali. Now billing itself as “sustainable Mediterranean” with a new menu with more veggies and small plates, it’s easy to avoid ordering an entrée.  We had prosciutto, chorizo, and buffalo blue cheese, followed by chickpea and cauliflower croquettes with a spicy salsa, grilled asparagus and green onions, and fluke crudo.  All delicious, with Greek and Italian overtones, and mostly healthy!

Gradisca.  This Italian restaurant on W. 13th Street was jumping on a Thursday night and service was slower than we’ve experienced in the past.  But, the pasta was as wonderful as always!  One of the specials was farfalle with little chunks of zucchini and shrimp in a light lemon cream sauce; another was Mama’s homemade beef tortellini that we watched her make at a side table in the dining room.  And our friends B. and A. were pleased with the cavatelli with eggplant.

Note: All photos by JWFarrington.

Winding Up New York: Mostly Food & Film

JWF 1 Comment

For our last week in Manhattan, we sampled a few new restaurants and took in one more film.  We also had the pleasure of taking our granddaughter to pre-school one morning, more afternoon time at the playground plus a Friday night family dinner at Mario Batali’s super kid-friendly restaurant, Otto.  They have pizza and pasta dishes to please every palate.  Lastly, a visit to the new Whitney Museum.  More about that in a future blog.

Eating (A few more West Village spots)

I Sodi.  An early entrant on the West Village restaurant scene, this tight small space, bar on one wall and tables on the other, is wildly popular and deservedly so.  Their sage and ricotta ravioli were divine and the splayed Cornish hen grilled under a brick straightforwardly good.  The orange tart with chocolate gelato was the perfect finish.

Po.  A small Italian place, not as cramped as I Sodi, but equally good on the food.  Service here is polished and friendly and everything a notch up from some other small restaurants. Duck ragu over long pasta and the linguine con vongole were both superb as was the beautifully presented goat cheese tartuffo over slivered endive and radicchio.  Reservations here are accepted 30 days in advance; we got in the same day only because of a phone cancellation moments before!  Beginners luck, you might say!

Piadina. Another West Village cozy Italian dining spot with a slight tilt toward seafood.  The sole accompanied by broccoli rabe and slivered endive with cherry tomatoes was lovely. Short menu and friendly staff.  Cash only.

Malatesta. This became our neighborhood hangout where we ate three times!  Crowded, noisy, and very popular, with indoor and sidewalk seating.  We liked their homemade pastas and the salads. Go early for a seat inside and remember they too only take cash!  Strange to me in this age of cards for everything, but there’s an ATM 2 doors away.

Watching

The Martian.  Space movies are not my usual cup of tea, but I was persuaded to see this one and was glad I did.  From the opening scenes, I was captivated.  We paid the extra for the 3D glasses which put you right in the red Mars scape, but the film would still be good without them.

It is an intelligent film that portrays astronauts who are well trained and who think creatively.  Matt Damon, as Mark Watney, dominates the screen with his amazing ingenuity coupled with a nice guyness, a sense of humor and a let’s get on with it can-do attitude. Combined they make his dire situation bearable and engaging for the audience.  The crew who unknowingly leave him behind alive are a dedicated and perhaps unbelievably harmonious team.  Note that the mission commander is a woman, Capt. Lewis, played by Jessica Chastain.  The technology that Watney, the crew, and the ground staff have at their disposal is impressive, but it is still nail biting time as the days pass by and a rescue has not yet happened.  As a viewer, I knew what the ending had to be, but it’s a long tense time getting there.  See it!

Reading

Not My Father’s Son by Alan Cumming.  I have enjoyed watching Cumming as the manipulative Eli Gold on “The Good Wife,” am bemused at his dramatic way of introducing “Masterpiece Mystery,” and had known a bit about his other acting roles and that he performed at Feinstein’s in New York.

I found this, his memoir of his childhood and what he learned about his absent maternal grandfather and his father, a searing read.  He is honest and brave and unstinting in his portrayal of his more vulnerable, injured self.  Severely abused both physically and emotionally by his father, it’s a testament to his own spirit and to his mother’s love that he was able to emerge in middle age relatively whole and intact.  I got so caught up that I read it through in less than a day.  And, by the way, Cumming is a very good writer—graceful and nuanced, even when describing awful events.

Header photo:  www.kimberlybelle.com