I am SO enjoying your trip!

Hi, Patrick!

Really enjoying your excellent TR!

Am making notes of restaurants for a proposed visit later this summer for two specific exhibits:

Richard Serra at the NY MOMA - it's rare that an artist has the observer physically participate in his art, and

Picasso, Braque and Early Film in Cubism at the PaceWildenstein. I never truly understood all the "broken, jagged" pieces of some of Picasso's art until I saw an interview on Charlie Rose.

There is sooo much to learn and to enjoy - always!

Have you been to either exhibit? Very envious of you being able to spend a whole month in New York!

Thanks very much for your very enjoyable TR!

Hi Patrick, Great report, good info for me and I live (not in the summer) in NYC. I am in Sag Harbor for the summer and can recommend American Hotel for dinner before Bay Street theater. Somehow the early dinner there is much better than eating there anyother time. Plus, they do have a pre-theater which is really a bargain...and in the Hamptons! I have not tried the new Italian but wll do so very soon, if before next Wed. I will post a note.
We have never had anything good at B. Smith's. Service at Zen is terrible. I like the coffee at the coffee shop in the little "mall" up the steps between the AGI and the 5 and 10.
I hope the show at Bay Street will be good/ok. The quality varies greatly. Please let us know..we will go if you recommend.
Also saw "Duce". If they had read the phonebook it would have been more interesting but Angela is still excellent.
The weather should improve by Wednesday. Enjoy your stay and we will enjoy your postings.

I just looked at the directions to Baron's Cove in Sag. I think it is better to go our way...
Long Island Expressway (495) to Exit 70 (Route 111). Turn right at end of ramp.
* Route 111 to Route 27 (Can't miss it, Route 111 ends there).
* Route 27 toward Southampton/Montauk.

* Route 27 becomes 3 lanes (one in each direction and a center turning lane).

* On Route 27 at the THIRD traffic light TURN LEFT onto North Sea Road/ Sag Harbor. It is at a big intersection with a furniture store on left, little stores on right.
(If you pass P.C. Richards you have gone too far.)

* Stay on North Sea Road following the Noyac signs and North Sea Road will become Noyac Road . On North Sea go straight through (on the green) a traffic light …which means slightly to the left. Later you will come to a right turn where North Sea becomes Noyac Road… make the right turn onto Noyac Road. Do NOT go straight to the Stop Sign. Follow the signs.
Continue on Noyac for about 8 miles until you come to an intersection with a row of apartments on left (they have for-sale signs) ( It is shortly after you pass Cromers on the left...a very popular large deli) and you see a beach on the left. Make left turn (marked, I think, for Sag Harbor), drive past the beach, Long Beach, very nice. Continue until a traffic circle, make the right turn and Sag Harbor is about 1 more mile. You drive over the bridge into Sag and will make the first right (not into the parking lot) to your hotel.
Going this way you avoid the terrible traffic on Route 27 and it is shorter.

to answer a question above, we missed the Kips Bay Show House. I had copied the information and we headed over there our second week here, only to discover I had failed to note the closing dates -- the week after we arrived.

Looking at the options for Long Island, but hoping to just get something to eat after the show on Thursday. If we do a nice lunch on the way out, we will not be ready for a 6 PM dinner (we never eat that early anyway). But I suspect we'll be lucky doing bar snacks that late in Sag Harbor, so not counting on a full dinner late at night.

Deck type places for casual seafood and/or lobster rolls sound perfect for our couple days out there -- rather than more gourmet dining experiences.

Patrick, as always enjoying the amazing and delicious adventures of you and Lee - looking forward to more and will keep your friend in my thoughts and prayers -

The deck places for casual seafood are more prevalent in Montauk and the Napeague stretch b/w Amagansett and Montauk. For bar snacks after the show (I assume you mean you want to eat after the show on Wednesday not Thurs., yes?) La Superica is a Mexican place diagonally across from the theater (I don't remember you eating much Mexican though). The Corner Bar, directly across from Bay St. has decent burgers but I haven't tried anything else there. There's a bistro called JLX on Main st near the theater that's "ok". There's a very homey pizza parlor further down on Main ST. called Conca D'Oro that has good pizza (but for table service you have to order a pie) and good gorgonzola salad.

I had lunch at the new Italian, Tutto Il Giorno yesterday. I'll give it a tentative thumbs up based on 1 try. We both had frito misto (calmari, small shrimp, zucchini etc.). When the plates came, the portion sizes (for ~$18, can't remember exactly) looked a bit meager, but it turned out to be plenty for me. DH felt if they'd given a bit more it would had seemed generous rather than "mean". I thought it was very good and so did DH. We sat in the bar area by the window which faces out to the bay across the street. Despite the chef's pedigree, the place is not fancy (or large). Wines by the glass were $8-11 including prosecco. You should be able to find some appetizer type things there although I suspect they will be busy since people are curious to try it.

The Beacon is a very good restaurant in a pretty setting on the water right near your motel, but I don't think they're open during the week yet, only on weekends.

Forgot to mention that Wolffer Vineyard has live music on Thurs. evenings from 5-7:30 pm. Their wine is not bad but the setting, esp. if it's warm enough to be outside, is really terrific. http://www.wolffer.com/store/index.cfm

There are lots of options for dinner in Bridgehampton which would be close to the vineyard and not far from Sag Harbor. Alison's is very good and has bouillabaisse as their special on Thurs.
http://www.alisonrestaurant.com/about.html

Finally, I agree wholeheartedly with elainee's directions, but I think it's easy to get lost going this way. The directions the motel gives are much more straight forward.

Thanks so much for your wonderful posts; I'm enjoying them so much. Could you tell me where you found your New York apartment and if there's a website? Thanks.

WEEK FOUR (plus) Sunday, June 3 to Tuesday, June 12:

Sunday: Ellen (Bug'swife on Fodors) called in the morning and suggested we meet for brunch in Soho at the Cub Room so we did. Had a nice time and good food (despite the not so great service). It was nice meeting her husband (StageBug -- hence her screen name), one of the few people I've ever met even more obsessed with theatre than I am! Afterwards we walked much of the quieter end of Soho and the Village, before eventually heading back to the apartment. Rain this afternoon off and on, but managed to stay relatively dry with umbrellas getting to the 37 Arts theatre on 37th near 11th for the new musical, IN THE HEIGHTS. This musical is moving to Broadway in the fall -- a mainly Latino beat musical about life in Washington Heights, NYC. It has an element of hip hop (OK, so I'm not a fan) but this was easily followed lyric wise. Very good and very energetic show with great staging and dance.
Pouring rain when we came out but we managed to get to Pesce Pasta, a wonderful little trattoria right behind Port Authority. Had wonderful pasta dishes with seafood, some nice wine, and really liked the place.

Monday: really nasty weather, pouring most of the day, and didn't feel like doing much, but about noon took the subway to 42nd Steet, had a really cheap lunch at one of those fast-food Japanese places called Yoshinoya (but what made me thing the "bowl" would be noodles with other stuff, not rice?). Then saw the movie, WAITRESS -- so fun.
Afterwards (still raining) took the subway back to the apartment where we watched our Netflix of Hitchcock's 39 STEPS -- "homework" as we are seeing the play of it in London next week.
Dinner tonight in the Meatpacking district at Paradou -- OK, not as exciting as some of the reviews I had read. I thought it odd that they refused to sub a potato gratin for a mashed potato as listed with my entree, even though both sides are listed as the same price and offered as regular sides.

Tuesday: Lee did another "get up, shower, and dress early" so we went off to Breakfast at the nearby Renaissance Diner on 9th. We then walked through much of the south end of Central Park, ending up exiting the west at 86th. Stopped at Sarabeth's for lunch. Made the mistake of doing salads, which were simply OK, instead of the much raved about breakfasts and bakery goods. My misnamed salmon cobb salad had no blue cheese, no tomato, no bacon, and seemed to be canned salmon. I have no idea what the similarity with a cobb salad was supposed to be.
Walked all the way back to our place, but stopped at the movies across from Lincoln Center to see the beautifully filmed GOLDEN DOOR, about Sicilians emmigrated to American.
Decided to go do cocktails upstairs at the Renaissance Hotel before our show RADIO GOLF, which we throroughly enjoyed, but would agree with the critics that it wasn't August Wilson's best play -- but sadly his last. Dinner afterwards was on 9th at Brasserie 52, quite good -- and fantastic frites.

Wednesday: Today we talked with our friends and clients in Massachusetts and made the decision we won't be going up there at the end of our stay, but will go to Long Island instead, so went to AAA near Lincoln Center to get a Tour book and maps. We also checked out the exhibit of set models at the Metropolitan Opera Gallery. Then headed by subway to harlem for great barbeque at Dinosaur. Lee ordered a "big ass pork plate" but we asked our big booty waitress if they had a "small ass" plate. She replied "honey, there's no such thing as a small ass in Harlem".
After lunch we walked 125th Street and visited the beautiful but small Studio Museum of Harlem -- hardly worth the effort -- we were looking for another floor and something else to see, but the tiny collection of children's "refrigerator art" and some photographs.
This evening we had cocktails at Marseille before seeing the wildly staged EURYDICE at Second Stage Theatre. It was sort of what Cirque Soleil would be if Cirque were a play. There was even water on stage.
After the show had dinner at Chimicurri Grill on 9th. Quiet and pretty small place, very friendly and efficient service. My steak came with "burned cauliflour" which I discovered was -- guess what -- burned cauliflour. It must be an acquired taste. Steaks were OK, Lee's a filet pounded thin and cooked way beyond his "rare", but how could a 1/4 inch steak not be? And my hanger steak was delicious, but jaw tiring from the chewing. The chimichurri sauces were great.

Thursday: Both yesterday and today, I headed two blocks up and stood in the box office line for JERSEY BOYS. No luck either time, despite being the first one in line -- they simply had no cancellations. Had a wonderful lunch at Dervish Turkish today, including the best "Turkish" salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and LOTS of mint and dill. Lee had suffed cabbage with garlic yoghurt, and I had a wonderful lamb and okra stew. We loved this place and the their two course lunch is a super bargain.
Next we went to the Neue Gallerie at 86th and 5th for the current Van Gogh exhibit and the pride of their permanent collection, a wonderful Klimt. We couldn't get in to the upstairs cafe for dessert and coffee, but they offer the same things in the little cafe downstairs. I had the BEST coffee ever in NYC -- true Viennese coffee, and Lee had some wild rhubarb concoction of a dessert.
In the evening took the subway up to Amsterdam and 82nd to the wonderful Asian restaurant Rain. Shared several great dishes. We really liked this place -- where we had once gone several years ago and left when they said there was an hour wait. We made reservations this time.

Friday: We liked our dinner at Pesce Pasta so much Sunday night, we returned for lunch today -- the owner recognized us, and treated us as if we were regulars, offering his private dessert wine (he's actually Spanish, not Italian). Afterwards went to the movie KOCKED UP, laughing a lot. For dinner we went to Bobby Van's Grill on 50th -- really wonderful steaks, with sides of hash browns (the waiter said he's Irish and he knows potatoes, so we followed his great suggestion) and sauteed spinach. I think so far this may be my top New York steak house experience so far.
Then we headed to our weekly After Party at West Bank Cafe and once again, lasted until it ended at 2:30, toddling home to bed at 3 PM.

Saturday: Finally ate at Thalia right downstairs in our building. Great brunch -- $12.95 each including bloody mary. I had a wonderful frittata and Lee loved his roasted banana and fresh strawberry pancakes. Saw the wonderful Audra MacDonald in 110 IN THE SHADE at the matinee. Yes, she was wonderful, and really enjoyed the show, which I've never seen staged before.
In the evening we headed a block away to Tout va Bien for a wonderful French dinner -- coq au vin for me, cordon bleu for Lee. Despite till after evening shows had started, the place was filled all evening.

Sunday: Up to 73rd and Columbus for brunch at Arte Cafe -- but ended up ordering and splitting to pizzas, very good ones at that. Following that we saw an off Broadway play by an unknown playwright at Second Stage Uptown -- called THE BUTCHER OF BARABOO, the biline is "a Wisconsin housewife's husband is missing and her meat cleaver is very clean". Very funny and very dark comedy.

Had to watch the Tony awards, so did a very New York thing. We actually ate in tonight in front of the TV, ordering Vietnamese from a nearby delivery place. Very good.

Monday: Ate our third breakfast of the trip out -- this time at Ellen's Stardust Diner, kind of fun with singing waiters. Spend the morning walking, and also got a box, packed it and shipped stuff home (all my Playbills which I'm not about to carry around Europe and my crashed laptop). Had a cheap lunch at a new Chipotle on 48th using a "get one free" coupon that came to the apartment in the mail.
Went to Chelsea for the 5 PM showing of LA VIE EN ROSE, the Edith Piaf movie which is simply stunning, then keeping with the theme headed to Les Halles on Park for steak frites.

Tuesday: final laundry day -- which we did at the apartment this morning. Then headed to the village for lunch at Lupa -- I HAD to have their buccatini Amatriciana once this trip -- along with some of their great antipasta, sliced meats. Stopped to see OCEANS THIRTEEN.
This evening having our final dinner at Bistecca Fiortina on 46th. Right now waiting for the rain to slack off so I can make it the two blocks back to the apartment from the internet cafe

Tomorrow morning we pick up a car and head out to Long Island for a couple days before flying to London on Saturday.
How quickly a month seems to go when you're having fun -- and we have done that!

I've so enjoyed reading these each week. Thanks for taking the time to write them.

NeoPatrick - Marvelous month in Manhattan.

Loved all your little details and so much valuable information which many of us will find so helpful.

Your report was so much fun to read.

Have a safe journey to London.

Sandy

Aargh, I was watching the posts but had a crazy few days so I missed the new plan and as I write you are on your way to Sag Harbor! 6pm at The Corner Bar for bar snacks will be perfect (it is our favorite place, simple, local) You can walk there from your hotel, right accross from Bay Street. You should also stop in The American Hotel for a glass of wine at least-expensive but so classic. Mclaurie, B. Smiths hasn't gotten any better, sorry to say. Cyril's is certainly the place to go on the way to Montauk. On Shelter Island we had a great meal at The Vine Street Cafe (631-749-3210) small, French. I had one of most memorable meals ever in Jamesport at The Jedediah Hawkins Inn. They serve lunch-you might want to consider that on your way back Friday. You would leave Sag Harbor, take the ferries over Shelter Island and head west via the North Fork (so beautiful, you can get an idea of what The Hamptons USED to be). The restaurant will be right on your way. http://www.jedediahhawkinsinn.com 631-722-2900. Hmmm...dinner Thursday night..Bobby Van's in Bridgehampton never disappoints and is sometimes amazing. I don't know, places in East Hampton are just too over the top for me. The food at The American Hotel won't knock you out but the dining experience is always sublime (and you can have that extra glass of wine and walk back to the hotel) Oasis is at the marina just up the road in Sag Harbor/Noyac and we enjoy that (631-725-7110) Can't wait to hear what you think of our neck of the woods!

mariasch, he's already been out to the Hamptons years ago and I think stayed at the American Hotel. I also love Jedediah Hawkins Inn. I've yet to try the Frisky Oyster in Greenport. Have you?

Since I ahve been reading this thread I went to Tutto (Sag Harbor) on Sunday...too late for lunch but it looked very nice. Just called for dinner reservations for Sunday...they do NOT take reservations. Can you think what a mess this restaurant will be???" Many people,waiting...drinking..getting unpleasant. It is a small place. What a shame!
Patrick, please let us know how the show was??

I have not been to The Frisky Oyster in Greenport but I hear good things about it. I'm still trying to get to Claudios-I want to sit on that outside deck on a summer evening-but friends say the food isn't so great. I'm going alone if I have to this summer!

Yes, I agree about the no reservation thing at Tutto. Friends wanted to go tomorrow night but I don't have the energy for what I fear will be a scene-might have to wait for the fall to visit.

It is a perfect night here-a dramatic beach fog-filled evening. Hope our visitors have a great evening!

Patrick - hope one day I'll have the time and money to do something similar like you and Lee.

I saw the play last night. It was very very good but... there's lots of curisng (the "f" word), some nudity, lots of smoking which seemed to bother a number of people and the show is long--almost 3 hrs. I recommend it though.

The food at Claudio's is not worth the trip, but if you're going anyway, it's fine.

NeoPatrick - my mouth is watering at the thought of all the wonderful meals you've had this last month!

Hope you are enjoying it all and continue to enjoy the rest of the trip.

maclaurie, You were refering to the show at BayStreet?? That sounds so different from the reviews. Was it depressing? The first show at BayStreet last year was good, but the second...now I hesitate to get tickets. Sounds as if you recommend it, but do respond and give more info. Thanks!

I haven't seen reviews but I thought it was very good theater and so did my DH. Depressing? No more than life is. People have their hearts broken, families fight etc. There are some laughs. It takes place in Ireland and it's one of those eccentric families. It's not for everyone, but I really agree with your assessment that it's hit or miss there, and we thought this was very good.