Tag: Via Carota

Notes from Manhattan: Film & Food

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FILM

Marriage Story (Netflix and theaters)

This is a painful, and at times excruciating, excavation of a marriage unraveling.  As the film opens, it’s clear that there will be no grand reconciliation.  Instead Charlie and Nicole initially intend to handle their divorce themselves amicably, but, perhaps inevitably, the tensions and the disagreements lead them each to consult and hire high powered divorce lawyers. Their first lawyers are well played by a consoling Alan Alda and a falsely cozy Laura Dern.   After all, this is a successful bi-coastal couple, he a theater director and she an actress.  

Angry words and hate-filled invectives are tossed out, but, what makes it a convincing and compelling film is the moments of unexpected tenderness and even humor.  When Nicole cuts Charlie’s hair, you are touched.  Although they can no longer live together, these two still care about each other and are concerned about buffering their young son, Henry, from hurt as much as possible.  The final scene is a real punch to the gut.

Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson are superb as Charlie and Nicole, and while each party is partially to blame for the impasse, you might find it difficult to take sides, although I did not.  Reviews indicate that this film is semi-autobiographical as director Noah Baumbach was divorced from his first wife, an actress, in 2010.  Highly recommended!

FOOD

“Early Bird Special”

When you say “early bird special,” some folks will think of tired food served to past-their-prime senior citizens at 4:30 in the afternoon.  As a senior citizen myself, I will admit that when we are on our home turf, the Chief Penguin and I eat earlier than we ever did before.  In the city, not so much so.  Unless we want to dine at our all-time favorite West Village restaurant, Via Carota.  To snag a dinner table at this very popular eatery, you must arrive around 5:00 or submit to waiting in line or adding your name to a list and returning an hour or so later.  Ever since Via Carota received mention in a New Yorker column and their green salad was featured in the Sunday New York Times Magazine, their popularity has only skyrocketed.  They don’t take reservations.  Why would they when they are always guaranteed to fill their tables!

The other day, we arrived at 11:00 am, just when they opened, to have an early lunch.  We were not the only diners and well before 12:00, the aforementioned line had already formed.  The grilled artichokes with slices of lemon and onion are a standard order for us; with them we alternate between the mouth-watering Meyer lemon risotto or a pasta entree. 

 This time, it was the tagliatelle with Parmesan and prosciutto.  A mound of homemade pasta noodles arrived, covered with a thin blanket of prosciutto and showered with Parmesan threads.  Simply sublime, this dish is a tangle of a soft, but springy pasta strands coated in butter and cheese with a hint of nutmeg.  Add in the saltiness of the prosciutto and you have perfection.  The Chief Penguin dubbed this our “early bird special” and that phrase now has new meaning.    

Note: Text and photos ©JWFarrington. Header photo taken at Rockefeller Center.

Manhattan Moments: Eating & Reading

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Via Carota

For us, no visit to New York would be complete without at least one meal, and preferably two or three, at Via Carota.  This temple of rustic comfort food in the West Village doesn’t take reservations so we find ourselves eating at very unfashionable times.  We tried to have dinner here on a recent Saturday night, but it was Saturday, a lovely afternoon, and folks were out, so no luck even right at 5:00 when the menu changes from lunch to dinner.  Instead we opted for lunch another day and being early (before 11:30), we easily got a table.

Grilled artichokes with lemon and aioli

Some menu items are de rigeur; that means we began with grilled artichokes (exceptionally sweet and lovely this season) accompanied by a newer treat, ramps and prosciutto over a square of grilled polenta (perfect!), and followed by an all-time great, roasted chicken with lemon and herbs. 

Ramps, prosciutto and polenta

 These dishes beg lots of chewy bread and a crisp Italian white.  It’s a somewhat indulgent lunch with most everything bathed in olive oil, but life is short!

For another take on this marvelous eatery, here’s an exuberant essay from the New York Times’ Magazine about their towering green salad, which we’ve also enjoyed a time or two.

RECENT READING: MAIN LINE CLASS

The Beneficiary:  Fortune, Misfortune, and the Story of My Father by Janny Scott

If you lived in the Philadelphia suburbs in the 1980’s and 90’s as I did, you’d be hard pressed not to have read about Robert Montgomery Scott and the family’s palatial estate, Ardrossan, on the Main Line.  The house was storied and Scott descended from a family legacy of wealth and distinction marked by both achievement and failure.  

For fourteen years, Scott was president and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art which put him regularly on the society pages.  And his mother, Helen Hope Montgomery Scott, was considered by many to have been the model for Katharine Hepburn’s character in the film, “The Philadelphia Story.”  Janny Scott’s memoir is a depiction of a monied American upper class in its heyday with multiple properties, horses, a multitude of servants, exotic travels, and an affinity for British manners and mannerisms.  Their grand mansions are almost as important characters as the individuals.

Beneath the polished surface, however, this is a generational saga riddled with alcoholism, suicide, and affairs.  Janny’s father was an alcoholic, but the extent to which this dominated his entire life, was something she only fully realized when she read his secret diaries. He bequeathed these journals to her, but they were stowed away and their location undiscovered until some years after his death.

Ms. Scott researched the family’s history, interviewed numerous relatives, and has written their collective story with tenderness and a clear eye.  She doesn’t sugarcoat reality, but she also states when she doesn’t know or what she didn’t appreciate at a particular time.  I found it all fascinating and very much appreciated the family tree at the front; with names repeated in successive generations this aid helped me keep straight which Edgar or which Hope was meant. (~JWFarrington)

Notes: Robert Scott photo from nytimes.com; other photos by JWFarrington.

Manhattan Dining: From Low to Haute

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DINING OUT IN MANHATTAN

We ran the gamut on our recent visit to Manhattan from lunches at diners to meals at moderate and splurge-worthy restaurants.

We were initially dismayed to see that the Lenox Grill on Lexington had closed.  While it wasn’t the best diner in the world, it was reliably good, convenient to where we wanted to be, and never so crowded you couldn’t get a table.

Here are some notes on where we did eat most recently.

DINER LUNCHES (Upper East Side) 

E & J Luncheonette

This old-fashioned diner on 3rd Avenue is probably the best one we tried.  We’d eaten here in the spring and it was very popular.  They serve a satisfyingly good grilled bacon and cheese, with the usual cole slaw and optional French fries.

Nectar Café

This cozy, I’d call it snug, little place operates on a cash only basis and you wonder where they’ve tucked away the kitchen!  But, if you don’t mind being cheek by jowl, then the food is very good and the service friendly.  I liked my tuna salad sandwich on multi-grain toast.

Gracie’s Corner Diner

Don’t bother.  This large diner on E. 86th Street has an extensive menu, and perhaps it was because I was tired of sandwich and so-so salad fare, but I was decidedly underwhelmed. Like so many diners, quantity was the byword here, bypassing true quality.  I ordered a green salad with grilled chicken on top, huge with a strange house dressing on the side and lots of chicken, but with little flavor.  The corn beef Reuben was open face and smothered with a thick layer of cheese and, frankly, didn’t look that appetizing.  The CP didn’t eat much of it either.

Gina Americana

This little hole-in-the-wall burger joint boasts a row of American flag posters in frames and other flags around its walls.  Bypassing all the varieties of burger meat and toppings, we opted for items from the Mexican Connection section of the menu.  The guacamole was excellent and the chicken quesadilla and the chicken taco very good—the only surprise was the lack of any salsa or hot sauce whatsoever!  Lime wedges came with the taco and the guacamole.

 

MODERATE DINNER FARE  (Upper East Side unless noted)

Island

Embracing a New England nautical flair, Island is a very popular spot for locals and the occasional hotel guest from down the block.  They cater nicely to folks of all ages, even kids.  We dined here two nights and found the chicken paillard, chopped Cobb salad, and fried calamari all to our liking!  The calamari was all rings and perfectly cooked.  The Cobb salad was not the usual mass of large pieces of lettuce and great gobs of avocado and chicken, but rather a nice melange of chopped greens with the chicken, avocado, bacon and blue cheese in appropriately sized small pieces.  The sum was definitely greater than the parts!

Little Frog

Very friendly French place and reliably good.  We like the charming and urbane maître d’ (who think is also the owner).  The cheese fritters were a wonderful starter, the salads are good, and the braised short ribs were sublime!  Perfect for a chilly evening.

 Table d’Hote

Snug little restaurant on the Upper East Side about the size of a tearoom and very popular.  We enjoyed lunch here so much we returned for the perfectly executed comfort food dinner!  Little gem romaine salad with an oregano vinaigrette and then roast organic chicken served with silky puréed potatoes and some mini carrots all in tarragon jus.

Jing Fong  (Upper West Side)

This Chinese restaurant on Amsterdam sports dim sum on its sign, but the night we were there there were no carts, just what was on the menu.  To be fair, the menu includes a wide variety of dumplings, a number of which our large group sampled.  They were good.  We also ordered a chicken and vegetable dish, beef and onions, steamed buns, and for the two kids, several orders of soup dumplings.  Very busy on a Friday night so best to make a reservation.

Via Carota  (West Village)

I consider this a very special place even though it isn’t at all fancy.  In fact, it’s almost rustic with its wooden floor and wooden tables and chairs with the menus rolled up in a back pocket.  We eat here at least once every time we come to New York and dig into several must-have dishes:  grilled artichokes, and either Meyer lemon risotto or the chicken with lemon.  All the pastas are delectable, the salad is a perfectly tangy mound of greens, and it’s hard to go amiss with any dish you order.  They don’t take reservations so we often arrive unfashionably early, whether lunch or dinner.

Pascalou

Disappointing. We really wanted to like this French restaurant as the menu was very appealing.  Our waiter had a twinkle, our table upstairs was quiet, and everything was going fine.  The first courses, salad for me and pate for him, were acceptable, but then the service deteriorated.  It was almost an hour between courses and one entrée had clearly been cooked the day before, and the other wasn’t quite done the way I had requested.  The place was full so I hope others had a better experience.

 

SPLURGES

Paola’s

A traditional white tablecloth Italian restaurant serving both lunch and dinner.  It’s another popular Upper East Side dining venue and reservations, at least for dinner, are essential.  Salads are fresh and tasty and the pastas and veal shine.  I’m especially fond of the veal-stuffed agnolotti dusted with black truffle.

 Boulud Sud 

This is Chef Daniel’s (as in Boulud) Mediterranean restaurant and it’s an elegantly simple dining room offering impeccable service.  We’ve had lunches here in the more distant past, and this trip went for the prix fixe dinner before going across the street to Lincoln Center.  Everything was delicious from my saffron linguini with lemon and bottarga to the grilled dorade on a red pepper emulsion to the  light chocolate gateau with an oval of sorbet.

Cosme

Superb Mexican-influenced cuisine on 21st Street.  The dining room is what I’d call chic industrial with high ceilings, exposed metal, and light wood tables and finishes.  Most of the dishes on the menu are not familiar so you, like us, might need some translations.

We tucked into the herb guacamole (chunky style with an aromatic bunch of herb leaves) to go with the slightly astringent margaritas.  We then followed with branzino that was light and delectable and the house specialty, duck carnitas, basically a whole duck deconstructed and then put back together under the skin and served with two sauces and blue corn tortillas.  For dessert, we ordered the meringue filled with corn mousse (very different, but quite tasty) and a combo of a pastry ball and a ball of orange sorbet.  This restaurant is definitely pricy so be prepared to spend a lot, but it’s definitely worth it!

 Note:  All photos by JWFarrington except for header photo of an E&J sandwich from foursquare.com

West Village Rambles: Food for Body & Mind

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Since our arrival in Manhattan a week ago, we have spent considerable time with our delightful granddaughter, but we’ve also been walking and exploring, making a bit of the West Village our own. And walk we do—one day we did two long walks for a grand total of 25,000 steps. A new record!

For us, much of life revolves around food and, consequently, we are sampling cheese and deli items from Murray’s Cheese and Gourmet Garage, braving the bustle that is Eataly, and dining at restaurants new to us.

Some recent standouts of cuisine are the following:

Via Carota. This casual Italian place draws from all regions of Italy, has a comfortable vibe and at night is very lively. We had lunch here our first day—a yummy lemon risotto and a  plate of gnocchi with a piquant gorgonzola sauce—and liked it so much we returned that night for dinner. This meal, we shared some grilled artichokes (slightly and appropriately charred) and also grilled chicken with a lemon vinaigrette. All with some good white wine by the glass. Just perfect!

www.thenewpotato.com
Via Carota (www.thenewpotato.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gloo. This is a new French bistro, only  open a month or so, on Carmine Street and hasn’t really been discovered. We were its first Open Table reservation. The owner is from France and has several restaurants there, but this is his first U.S. venture. The space is small with a quiet ambiance.  I loved the upside down tomato tart to start (very pretty, looking somewhat like stacked red grapefruit sections) followed by a very satisfying boneless chicken breast in a cream sauce with small mushrooms served alongside mashed potatoes. Hard not to savor this comfort food!

Casa. A Brazilian eatery on Bedford Street, Casa has a small bar, about a dozen tables, and a mullioned window wall. Our entrees were excellent—fish fillet with lemon caper sauce and a slightly spicy, herby tomato stew of chicken and shrimp —both served with rice. My only advice, if you’re over fifty, go early! There are only hard surfaces and the noise level after 7:30 made conversation hopeless.

Casa (www.pinterest.com)
Casa (www.pinterest.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Culture Notes

On Thursday, we were at one of the first performances of Therese Raquin, a play based on Emile Zola’s novel of the same name ,and starring Keira Knightley. (The preview the night before had been cancelled due to Knightley having suffered a minor injury.) The set was minimal and the staging stark, but very effective given the themes of passion and guilt. Knightley as Therese was excellent as the seemingly meek and docile wife who later exhibits extreme passion and emotion. The supporting cast was also very good, especially Matt Ryan as her lover, Laurent, and Judith Light as her mother-in-law.

I really enjoyed Lily Tomlin in “Grace and Frankie” and today seeing her in Grandma, I thought she was fabulous. Playing Elle, a grieving, unemployed academic who is angry at most everyone and everything and demonstrates it, Tomlin takes on the challenge of helping her pregnant granddaughter Sage (played by the radiant Julia Garner) when she unexpectedly shows up. The film is an odyssey of visits to Elle’s past lives—old friends and acquaintances and old loves—that culminates in some touchingly funny and poignant scenes between grandmother, daughter, and granddaughter. (I loved seeing the career-driven daughter on her treadmill desk.) Each of these women is strong in her own way. Not a perfect film, but one with sharpness, wit, and heart. Rated R, partly for the strong language.

 

Cover image: www.everettpotter.com