Uptown, downtown: two nights in New York City
Dec 30th, 2011, 03:11 AM
#1
Original Poster
Uptown, downtown: two nights in New York City
Last week I was visiting my mother for a few days in a New York suburb, as I do fairly regularly. My husband Alan was visiting his father in a different New York suburb, as he does fairly regularly as well. But we don't get into the city much these days. I saw a great rate for a hotel on www.Quikbook.com and got the idea of meeting up for two nights in New York. It turns out that the day after Christmas there were good rates and plenty of hotel availability, but the next day the prices went through the roof and there was no availability at the hotel with the rate that initially attracted me.
After some deliberation, we decided to spend one night at the Shoreham Hotel, which had the special rate of $139 plus tax, and then move for the second night to the Park South Hotel at a rate more than twice that. I figured the two rates canceled each other out.
Purists might take issue with calling this the uptown, downtown report, as the Shoreham is at 55th Street, not all that far uptown, and the Park South is at 28th Street, not that far downtown. My father used to live at 7th Avenue and 54th Street, and he considered everything above 59th Street and below 34th Street the suburbs. So I'm borrowing a bit of his perspective.
The change of scenery prompted an itinerary based around the two areas, so I lined up tickets and restaurants and museum exhibits and drove into the city Monday morning. I had called the Shoreham and asked about their parking arrangements and was told there was valet parking and that the garage was two doors down from the hotel. The rate was $45 per day, and if you park for a minute over the first 24 hours you are charged for the second day as well. I asked the name of the garage and was told it was Central Parking.
Central Parking has garages all over the city, and its website at www.nyc.centralparking.com offers discount coupons. So I arrived armed with my coupon and left my car at the garage and checked into the hotel.
Since I was early, I did not know whether there would be a room ready yet and was prepared to leave my bags at the hotel and check in later if necessary. But the guy at the desk told me there were some rooms ready if I wanted them. There were two rooms with queen beds that were "smoking optional" and there was one room with a king sized bed that was designated a handicapped accessible room. He explained that there was a large bathroom but no tub, just a shower. This sounded fine to me, so I took the handicapped accessible room and went upstairs to wait for Alan.
The Shoreham appears to have been molded together out of two separate buildings side by side on 55th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues). One of the buildings appears to be new, and one of them appears to be older, judging by the interior layout. There are two separate elevators. Our room was in the older section. It was somewhat confusing navigating the lobby and the corridors, which felt a bit like a hall of mirrors. I did manage to stumble into the correct room and was a little surprised by the layout.
The bathroom was one very large space with a shower fixed to one of the walls with no barrier or curtain of any kind and a drain in the floor. I have encountered such shower rooms a few times in various places and have not been thrilled with them, but I figured it would be all right. I probably won't make that mistake again.
When Alan arrived and tried to take a shower, he found that the floor did not slope toward the drain and the entire bathroom floor flooded. While he was dressing to go out, I used all the available towels to mop up the floor. But hey, we're in the city, it isn't raining yet, we can do whatever we want, life is good.
So we headed out toward the Museum of Modern Art, walking two blocks down 5th Avenue with several hundred other people. With the winter sun in our eyes, the crowd took on an oddly silhouetted appearance. With the wonderfully nostalgic aroma of chestnuts emanating from the food carts, we made our way down the street in fits and starts as the crowds alternately pushed us along and blocked our way. It was a relief to turn down 53rd Street, away from the blinding sun and the swarms of people and enter the museum.
After some deliberation, we decided to spend one night at the Shoreham Hotel, which had the special rate of $139 plus tax, and then move for the second night to the Park South Hotel at a rate more than twice that. I figured the two rates canceled each other out.
Purists might take issue with calling this the uptown, downtown report, as the Shoreham is at 55th Street, not all that far uptown, and the Park South is at 28th Street, not that far downtown. My father used to live at 7th Avenue and 54th Street, and he considered everything above 59th Street and below 34th Street the suburbs. So I'm borrowing a bit of his perspective.
The change of scenery prompted an itinerary based around the two areas, so I lined up tickets and restaurants and museum exhibits and drove into the city Monday morning. I had called the Shoreham and asked about their parking arrangements and was told there was valet parking and that the garage was two doors down from the hotel. The rate was $45 per day, and if you park for a minute over the first 24 hours you are charged for the second day as well. I asked the name of the garage and was told it was Central Parking.
Central Parking has garages all over the city, and its website at www.nyc.centralparking.com offers discount coupons. So I arrived armed with my coupon and left my car at the garage and checked into the hotel.
Since I was early, I did not know whether there would be a room ready yet and was prepared to leave my bags at the hotel and check in later if necessary. But the guy at the desk told me there were some rooms ready if I wanted them. There were two rooms with queen beds that were "smoking optional" and there was one room with a king sized bed that was designated a handicapped accessible room. He explained that there was a large bathroom but no tub, just a shower. This sounded fine to me, so I took the handicapped accessible room and went upstairs to wait for Alan.
The Shoreham appears to have been molded together out of two separate buildings side by side on 55th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues). One of the buildings appears to be new, and one of them appears to be older, judging by the interior layout. There are two separate elevators. Our room was in the older section. It was somewhat confusing navigating the lobby and the corridors, which felt a bit like a hall of mirrors. I did manage to stumble into the correct room and was a little surprised by the layout.
The bathroom was one very large space with a shower fixed to one of the walls with no barrier or curtain of any kind and a drain in the floor. I have encountered such shower rooms a few times in various places and have not been thrilled with them, but I figured it would be all right. I probably won't make that mistake again.
When Alan arrived and tried to take a shower, he found that the floor did not slope toward the drain and the entire bathroom floor flooded. While he was dressing to go out, I used all the available towels to mop up the floor. But hey, we're in the city, it isn't raining yet, we can do whatever we want, life is good.
So we headed out toward the Museum of Modern Art, walking two blocks down 5th Avenue with several hundred other people. With the winter sun in our eyes, the crowd took on an oddly silhouetted appearance. With the wonderfully nostalgic aroma of chestnuts emanating from the food carts, we made our way down the street in fits and starts as the crowds alternately pushed us along and blocked our way. It was a relief to turn down 53rd Street, away from the blinding sun and the swarms of people and enter the museum.
Dec 30th, 2011, 06:10 AM
#3
Original Poster
I am not a huge fan of the rebuilt Museum of Modern Art, but then again I do not adapt well to change. I still can't call the place MOMA, even though when I have mentioned this before I have been told the museum has always been referenced by this acronym. I am here to tell you that is not the case, that I was going there long before anyone thought to use an acronym or even to call New York the Big Apple (something I also refuse to do). But the building strikes me as having been built to handle the enormous crowds it attracts rather than to be user friendly, and it reminds me of an airline terminal in the enormous portions of it that are given over to traffic control rather than to the exhibition of art.
As for the galleries themselves, my main complaint is the lack of seating. There are very few benches inside the galleries, and the ones that are there are all overflowing with tired people who have been waiting for ages to find one. Most of the rooms are quite large enough to accommodate benches, and I can not imagine the principle that has eliminated them.
To be fair, this is a problem that besets many museums, especially new ones. I have a friend who is the director of a museum, and as he was giving me a tour I remarked on the lack of seating. He said there were plenty of benches, and he pointed me in the direction of the corridor. He seemed surprised at the concept that I might want to sit in the gallery itself so that I could look at the art without spending the entire time on my feet. I can not be the only person with bad joints who goes to museums. Sorry for the rant.
We were at this museum to see the de Kooning exhibit. There were a vast number of paintings, sculpture, and drawings displayed, and it was very interesting to follow the many styles through which de Kooning's work evolved during his long productive career. We did not get the audio guides because they were all out of them and there was a long line waiting for them. It would have been useful to know more about what we were seeing. Fortunately there were a number of very knowledgeable people expounding to their friends throughout the exhibit, and I did a good bit of eavesdropping.
After the de Kooning exhibit, we split up. Alan went to see the photography exhibit and I went to the paintings in the permanent collection to touch base with the works I had grown up visiting. What I learned on this visit: the Picasso painting "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" refers not to the French city of Avignon, but to the street in Barcelona named Avignon on which there were many houses of prostitution.
One thing we remarked in the museum was the large number of tourists from other countries, which we estimated at about fifty percent. New York is filled with visitors from abroad, and many of them seem to make their way to the Museum of Modern Art.
After leaving the museum by the 54th Street exit (which I had completely forgotten about during our trek down 5th Avenue against the sun), we decided to look for a bar to duck into for a drink before dinner. We didn't have to look far, and we headed into Connolly's pub across the street from the museum. This was a nice escape from the crowds. There was an ex-pat Irish newspaper on the bar and an Irish accent to be heard among the bartenders and many of the patrons. The bar looks like it has been there forever, but a newspaper clipping on the wall described the move from its previous location across the street when the Museum of Modern Art expanded several years ago.
We spent a relaxed hour here and then walked the few blocks to dinner at Basso 56, an Italian restaurant on 56th Street just west of Broadway. I had eaten here last year with some friends and we all enjoyed it. Alan and I both liked our meals a lot. The seared scallop appetizer and my lamb shank with porcini mushroom risotto were terrific, as was Alan's orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe. Prices were quite reasonable. www.basso56.com
As for the galleries themselves, my main complaint is the lack of seating. There are very few benches inside the galleries, and the ones that are there are all overflowing with tired people who have been waiting for ages to find one. Most of the rooms are quite large enough to accommodate benches, and I can not imagine the principle that has eliminated them.
To be fair, this is a problem that besets many museums, especially new ones. I have a friend who is the director of a museum, and as he was giving me a tour I remarked on the lack of seating. He said there were plenty of benches, and he pointed me in the direction of the corridor. He seemed surprised at the concept that I might want to sit in the gallery itself so that I could look at the art without spending the entire time on my feet. I can not be the only person with bad joints who goes to museums. Sorry for the rant.
We were at this museum to see the de Kooning exhibit. There were a vast number of paintings, sculpture, and drawings displayed, and it was very interesting to follow the many styles through which de Kooning's work evolved during his long productive career. We did not get the audio guides because they were all out of them and there was a long line waiting for them. It would have been useful to know more about what we were seeing. Fortunately there were a number of very knowledgeable people expounding to their friends throughout the exhibit, and I did a good bit of eavesdropping.
After the de Kooning exhibit, we split up. Alan went to see the photography exhibit and I went to the paintings in the permanent collection to touch base with the works I had grown up visiting. What I learned on this visit: the Picasso painting "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" refers not to the French city of Avignon, but to the street in Barcelona named Avignon on which there were many houses of prostitution.
One thing we remarked in the museum was the large number of tourists from other countries, which we estimated at about fifty percent. New York is filled with visitors from abroad, and many of them seem to make their way to the Museum of Modern Art.
After leaving the museum by the 54th Street exit (which I had completely forgotten about during our trek down 5th Avenue against the sun), we decided to look for a bar to duck into for a drink before dinner. We didn't have to look far, and we headed into Connolly's pub across the street from the museum. This was a nice escape from the crowds. There was an ex-pat Irish newspaper on the bar and an Irish accent to be heard among the bartenders and many of the patrons. The bar looks like it has been there forever, but a newspaper clipping on the wall described the move from its previous location across the street when the Museum of Modern Art expanded several years ago.
We spent a relaxed hour here and then walked the few blocks to dinner at Basso 56, an Italian restaurant on 56th Street just west of Broadway. I had eaten here last year with some friends and we all enjoyed it. Alan and I both liked our meals a lot. The seared scallop appetizer and my lamb shank with porcini mushroom risotto were terrific, as was Alan's orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe. Prices were quite reasonable. www.basso56.com
Dec 30th, 2011, 09:44 AM
#6
Original Poster
After dinner we walked to the August Wilson Theater on 52nd Street to see Jersey Boys. Alan had wanted to see it in Boston last year but we didn't get around to it, and it was one of the few shows that wasn't dark on Monday night. We both found it entertaining but somewhat lightweight, and we weren't sure why it has been such a blockbuster hit. But it was fun tapping our feet to the familiar songs from our youth, and the singing was good. Our seats were at the rear of the orchestra and had a somewhat obstructed view of the upper part of the stage. This had been disclosed when I bought the tickets and it was printed on the tickets as well. It turned out not to be terribly important, but we did miss some of the video that was shown up above the action on the stage.
Back at the hotel, we asked for extra towels to replace the ones I had used to mop the floor, and we called it a night.
Tuesday morning we had breakfast at the Astro Restaurant, a diner down the street from the hotel on the corner of 55th Street and 6th Avenue. Then we headed down to 44th Street to see the dead sea scrolls exhibit at Discovery Times Square. I had not been to this venue before. It is housed in the former New York Times building. There are currently two exhibits showing here: the dead sea scrolls and "CSI: The Experience". I suppose you could sort of make a case that the two concepts are related-- both have to do with piecing together bits of evidence to discover things about the past. I had bought timed tickets on line through www.BroadwayBox.com for a five dollar discount off the admission price.
We decided to get the audio guide for this exhibit. It was very interesting, although it wasn't always clear where the numbers were on the exhibits to choose the recordings to listen to. There were different explanations on the signs throughout the gallery, so it was valuable to read them as well as listen to the audio guide.
The centerpiece of this exhibit is a selection of fragments of the dead sea scrolls, which are shown around a circular case. There is no beginning or end to this circle, and it required a bit of assertiveness to break into the line to get close enough to see the fragments themselves. The fragments are rotated every two weeks to prevent damage by exposure to too much light, so the ones on display at any time will vary. During the time we visited, one of the items on display was a fragment of the most complete and best preserved copy of the ten commandments. This was put in a separate room with its own line so that everybody could actually get close enough to take a good look for a brief time. This had incredibly tiny writing, and it is hard to imagine the ancient scribes writing in such a painstaking manner with what must have been very fine writing implements.
The rest of the gallery is filled with a fascinating array of artifacts dating from the time of the writing of the scrolls, including household altars and figurines that indicate the differences between popular domestic religion and that set out in the documents that have been handed down through the millennia. There is a very interesting film showing the history of the scrolls since their discovery in 1947, including pictures of the original scholars piecing the bits of parchment together with things like scotch tape and gum, while cigarettes hung out of their mouths as they leaned over the documents in bright sunlight. Today's scholars are experts in preservation who are busy removing the scotch tape and gum to save the ancient parchment.
The exhibit continues through April 15, 2012. http://www.discoverytsx.com/exhibiti...ad-sea-scrolls
Back at the hotel, we asked for extra towels to replace the ones I had used to mop the floor, and we called it a night.
Tuesday morning we had breakfast at the Astro Restaurant, a diner down the street from the hotel on the corner of 55th Street and 6th Avenue. Then we headed down to 44th Street to see the dead sea scrolls exhibit at Discovery Times Square. I had not been to this venue before. It is housed in the former New York Times building. There are currently two exhibits showing here: the dead sea scrolls and "CSI: The Experience". I suppose you could sort of make a case that the two concepts are related-- both have to do with piecing together bits of evidence to discover things about the past. I had bought timed tickets on line through www.BroadwayBox.com for a five dollar discount off the admission price.
We decided to get the audio guide for this exhibit. It was very interesting, although it wasn't always clear where the numbers were on the exhibits to choose the recordings to listen to. There were different explanations on the signs throughout the gallery, so it was valuable to read them as well as listen to the audio guide.
The centerpiece of this exhibit is a selection of fragments of the dead sea scrolls, which are shown around a circular case. There is no beginning or end to this circle, and it required a bit of assertiveness to break into the line to get close enough to see the fragments themselves. The fragments are rotated every two weeks to prevent damage by exposure to too much light, so the ones on display at any time will vary. During the time we visited, one of the items on display was a fragment of the most complete and best preserved copy of the ten commandments. This was put in a separate room with its own line so that everybody could actually get close enough to take a good look for a brief time. This had incredibly tiny writing, and it is hard to imagine the ancient scribes writing in such a painstaking manner with what must have been very fine writing implements.
The rest of the gallery is filled with a fascinating array of artifacts dating from the time of the writing of the scrolls, including household altars and figurines that indicate the differences between popular domestic religion and that set out in the documents that have been handed down through the millennia. There is a very interesting film showing the history of the scrolls since their discovery in 1947, including pictures of the original scholars piecing the bits of parchment together with things like scotch tape and gum, while cigarettes hung out of their mouths as they leaned over the documents in bright sunlight. Today's scholars are experts in preservation who are busy removing the scotch tape and gum to save the ancient parchment.
The exhibit continues through April 15, 2012. http://www.discoverytsx.com/exhibiti...ad-sea-scrolls
Dec 30th, 2011, 10:34 AM
#7
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My favorite reference is to the "smoking optional" room. I've heard of rooms that are "non-smoking" where you are not allowed to smoke, and I've heard of rooms that are "smoking" where you are allowed to smoke. But "smoking optional" seems to suggest something other than "smoking" -- does it suggest that in a typical "smoking" room you are REQUIRED to smoke, but in this new named "smoking optional" room you are allowed not to smoke if you don't want to?
Dec 31st, 2011, 02:06 AM
#8
Original Poster
We emerged into the Times Square mobs and decided to have the lunch we both miss a lot-- hot dogs with sauerkraut from the guy on the corner. There are chairs and tables on a pedestrianized stretch of the street, where we sat while eating. Still not raining yet despite an ominous forecast, and not too cold out, so this was fairly pleasant.
After lunch we went to the Shoreham to retrieve our bags and our car. There was a pretty long line of people at the garage and three guys working very hard to get everybody in and out. It took quite a while; I became friendly with some folks on line. Two women and I were watching a family with a very tired crying little girl and feeling grateful as I always do that it was somebody else's responsibility. It is easy for me to ignore crying children as long as they are not my own, and it is quite a while since they have been my own. One of my new companions was talking about growing up in a family where the children were arranged in a line like steps when they were going out and they would each get a little swat to remind them to be good, but that she didn't think she had been scarred for life by the experience. I pointed out that she was now telling strangers about this on the street.
When my car finally emerged, I sang a little hallelujah chorus, waved good-bye to my new friends, and went to get Alan,. who was waiting with the bags at the hotel entrance. Time to drive downtown. It was just starting to rain.
The Park South Hotel on 28th Street near Lexington Avenue has a parking arrangement with a garage two blocks away, so Alan dropped me at the hotel with the bags to check in while he parked. I have stayed at this hotel several times and really like it. It is located in two side-by-side older buildings that have been beautifully renovated. The corridors and rooms are decorated with old black and white photographs of New York. We had a very nice room overlooking 27th Street. We got settled and then headed out into the neighborhood.
We went around the corner to Kalustyan's, at 123 Lexington Avenue, a spice and specialty food store that has been around since 1944. Our goal was to find the brand of mango pickle that Alan has been hunting down for several years. His mother used to buy it at a middle eastern market nearby on Third Avenue, when this neighborhood had a number of middle eastern shops and restaurants. We used to come to an Armenian place nearby for dinner when I was a child, the Palace d'Orient, but that is long gone. Now this part of the Murray Hill neighborhood is given over to Indian shops and restaurants and is known as Curry Hill.
I had looked at the Kalustyan's website to see if they carried mango pickle, and they had eighteen different types listed, including a homemade one on their own label. So we went in hopeful that we could find the one Alan likes. He has looked in Indian stores all over Massachusetts and found they only carry one brand and it is the wrong one. But I had been right to check out this place, they indeed had it, in small bottles and the great big ones. We bought four of the big ones. And then a couple bottles of the one under the Kalustyan's label. And then some olive paste. And some Chinese five spices seasoning. And when we run out of it, we can always order more from the website. http://kalustyans.com/
After lunch we went to the Shoreham to retrieve our bags and our car. There was a pretty long line of people at the garage and three guys working very hard to get everybody in and out. It took quite a while; I became friendly with some folks on line. Two women and I were watching a family with a very tired crying little girl and feeling grateful as I always do that it was somebody else's responsibility. It is easy for me to ignore crying children as long as they are not my own, and it is quite a while since they have been my own. One of my new companions was talking about growing up in a family where the children were arranged in a line like steps when they were going out and they would each get a little swat to remind them to be good, but that she didn't think she had been scarred for life by the experience. I pointed out that she was now telling strangers about this on the street.
When my car finally emerged, I sang a little hallelujah chorus, waved good-bye to my new friends, and went to get Alan,. who was waiting with the bags at the hotel entrance. Time to drive downtown. It was just starting to rain.
The Park South Hotel on 28th Street near Lexington Avenue has a parking arrangement with a garage two blocks away, so Alan dropped me at the hotel with the bags to check in while he parked. I have stayed at this hotel several times and really like it. It is located in two side-by-side older buildings that have been beautifully renovated. The corridors and rooms are decorated with old black and white photographs of New York. We had a very nice room overlooking 27th Street. We got settled and then headed out into the neighborhood.
We went around the corner to Kalustyan's, at 123 Lexington Avenue, a spice and specialty food store that has been around since 1944. Our goal was to find the brand of mango pickle that Alan has been hunting down for several years. His mother used to buy it at a middle eastern market nearby on Third Avenue, when this neighborhood had a number of middle eastern shops and restaurants. We used to come to an Armenian place nearby for dinner when I was a child, the Palace d'Orient, but that is long gone. Now this part of the Murray Hill neighborhood is given over to Indian shops and restaurants and is known as Curry Hill.
I had looked at the Kalustyan's website to see if they carried mango pickle, and they had eighteen different types listed, including a homemade one on their own label. So we went in hopeful that we could find the one Alan likes. He has looked in Indian stores all over Massachusetts and found they only carry one brand and it is the wrong one. But I had been right to check out this place, they indeed had it, in small bottles and the great big ones. We bought four of the big ones. And then a couple bottles of the one under the Kalustyan's label. And then some olive paste. And some Chinese five spices seasoning. And when we run out of it, we can always order more from the website. http://kalustyans.com/
Dec 31st, 2011, 02:09 AM
#9
Original Poster
Thanks for the comments, I'm hoping to finish up by the end of the year. Should be able to, since the whole trip only lasted two days.
Patrick, I am going to try to avoid any hotels with mandatory smoking rooms. I'd have to cheat.
Patrick, I am going to try to avoid any hotels with mandatory smoking rooms. I'd have to cheat.
Dec 31st, 2011, 07:27 AM
#13
Original Poster
One of the reasons I like the Park South Hotel is the bar. There are comfortable chairs and sofas around a fireplace at the front of the hotel's restaurant, the Black Duck. We spent an hour or two before dinner sitting here with drinks and watching the weather outside get worse and worse. I was happy we had picked evening activities that kept us within a five minute walk of our hotel.
Dinner was at Dhaba, an Indian restaurant at 108 Lexington Avenue, between 27th and 28th Street. This is located in a colorful and attractive storefront, with a lively crowd and pulsing Indian club music that kept my toe tapping. We really enjoyed our meal and found an interesting variety of unusual selections on the menu. There are many Indian restaurants on this block, including two side-by-side kosher Indian vegetarian restaurants. Dhaba appeared to be the one with the most buzz, at least that night. http://dhabanyc.com/
After dinner we walked around the corner to the Jazz Standard, a jazz club in the basement of the restaurant Blue Smoke, at 116 East 27th Street. http://jazzstandard.net/red/ The restaurant has excellent barbecue, which we have had on previous visits, and the full menu is available in the jazz club. Tonight we were just there for the music. People were lining up while waiting for the doors to open for the second set. Because of the rain, people were packed into the entryway. This made it challenging for those who were leaving after the first set to get out of the building. Eventually the line started moving and those who had been waiting started down the stairs. A little lady behind us with a southern accent came to the realization that she had been standing in the wrong line. "We're not here for the jazz, we're here for the food." Oops. Meanwhile I was wondering why anyone from the south would be going to a barbecue restaurant in New York.
We got into the club and were seated at a table for two right next to the stage. I like being able to read the music off the musicians' stands. Tonight's act was Richard Bona with Mandekan Cubano, an astonishing band playing Afro-Cuban jazz. This was one of the best performances I have ever seen, enjoyable in the extreme. Unfortunately this group has not recorded together. They are playing here all week, and we are hoping that will give rise to a recording, maybe on New Year's Eve. We bought Richard Bona's most recent CD, but it is an entirely different kind of music. He is an incredibly versatile musician, originally from Cameroun, and after the concert we saw him conversing with patrons of the club in three different languages.
We walked back to the hotel through the somewhat diminished rain. This had been a terrific day.
Breakfast is included in the hotel's rate, so we ate down in the bar, which was filled with people. We estimated that about eighty percent of the guests at this hotel were visiting from abroad. A young couple from Austria was sitting next to us. We chatted with them about their impressions of New York. The young woman was marveling at the diversity of people and ethnic neighborhoods they had seen, in sharp contrast to her experience at home in Austria. The guy had been to the US before, including a road trip out west, where he was amazed by the large open spaces driving through Nevada.
There was a nice assortment of mini-pastries, fruit, and cold cuts, as well as cereal and other breakfast items. I had forgotten how much I like prune danish. I had forgotten such a thing exists. I will do my best to forget again.
We walked a bit of the breakfast off with a short stroll around the neighborhood. Diners in this neighborhood charge less than half the price we had paid for breakfast the day before uptown. The hot dogs on the corners cost less too.
Back at the hotel we packed up and checked out. It took Alan just a few minutes to retrieve the car, and we were headed up the FDR drive in no time at all, shaking our heads at the signs for the newly named RFK Bridge, competing with the old signs for the Triboro Bridge.
I don't adapt well to change.
Dinner was at Dhaba, an Indian restaurant at 108 Lexington Avenue, between 27th and 28th Street. This is located in a colorful and attractive storefront, with a lively crowd and pulsing Indian club music that kept my toe tapping. We really enjoyed our meal and found an interesting variety of unusual selections on the menu. There are many Indian restaurants on this block, including two side-by-side kosher Indian vegetarian restaurants. Dhaba appeared to be the one with the most buzz, at least that night. http://dhabanyc.com/
After dinner we walked around the corner to the Jazz Standard, a jazz club in the basement of the restaurant Blue Smoke, at 116 East 27th Street. http://jazzstandard.net/red/ The restaurant has excellent barbecue, which we have had on previous visits, and the full menu is available in the jazz club. Tonight we were just there for the music. People were lining up while waiting for the doors to open for the second set. Because of the rain, people were packed into the entryway. This made it challenging for those who were leaving after the first set to get out of the building. Eventually the line started moving and those who had been waiting started down the stairs. A little lady behind us with a southern accent came to the realization that she had been standing in the wrong line. "We're not here for the jazz, we're here for the food." Oops. Meanwhile I was wondering why anyone from the south would be going to a barbecue restaurant in New York.
We got into the club and were seated at a table for two right next to the stage. I like being able to read the music off the musicians' stands. Tonight's act was Richard Bona with Mandekan Cubano, an astonishing band playing Afro-Cuban jazz. This was one of the best performances I have ever seen, enjoyable in the extreme. Unfortunately this group has not recorded together. They are playing here all week, and we are hoping that will give rise to a recording, maybe on New Year's Eve. We bought Richard Bona's most recent CD, but it is an entirely different kind of music. He is an incredibly versatile musician, originally from Cameroun, and after the concert we saw him conversing with patrons of the club in three different languages.
We walked back to the hotel through the somewhat diminished rain. This had been a terrific day.
Breakfast is included in the hotel's rate, so we ate down in the bar, which was filled with people. We estimated that about eighty percent of the guests at this hotel were visiting from abroad. A young couple from Austria was sitting next to us. We chatted with them about their impressions of New York. The young woman was marveling at the diversity of people and ethnic neighborhoods they had seen, in sharp contrast to her experience at home in Austria. The guy had been to the US before, including a road trip out west, where he was amazed by the large open spaces driving through Nevada.
There was a nice assortment of mini-pastries, fruit, and cold cuts, as well as cereal and other breakfast items. I had forgotten how much I like prune danish. I had forgotten such a thing exists. I will do my best to forget again.
We walked a bit of the breakfast off with a short stroll around the neighborhood. Diners in this neighborhood charge less than half the price we had paid for breakfast the day before uptown. The hot dogs on the corners cost less too.
Back at the hotel we packed up and checked out. It took Alan just a few minutes to retrieve the car, and we were headed up the FDR drive in no time at all, shaking our heads at the signs for the newly named RFK Bridge, competing with the old signs for the Triboro Bridge.
I don't adapt well to change.
Jan 8th, 2012, 08:10 AM
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Great report Nikki -
I felt the same way about Jersey Boys - but it is a huge hit so we are in the minority. We liked it, and like you tapped our feet - I seem to remember feeling very cramped in the theater.
I felt the same way about Jersey Boys - but it is a huge hit so we are in the minority. We liked it, and like you tapped our feet - I seem to remember feeling very cramped in the theater.
Jan 12th, 2012, 02:41 PM
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Great report!
Any night out that involves a curry followed by jazz sounds good to me.
Kalustyans also sounds intriguing especially as I love mango pickle. I once tried to make my own rather unsuccessfully as it didn't set but tasted OK.
Any night out that involves a curry followed by jazz sounds good to me.
Kalustyans also sounds intriguing especially as I love mango pickle. I once tried to make my own rather unsuccessfully as it didn't set but tasted OK.
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