NYC: GOING WITH THE FLOW IN THE SNOW!

Lucky me -- back to the Big Apple again after last October's visit (see previous post).  This time the hubby is in tow as the principal reason is a bat mitzvah celebration on his family's side.  Of course I took the opportunity to schedule in a few fabulous meals and two Broadway shows plus an exhibit at the Met, all crammed in to four nights/three full days of non-stop action. Never were the words "man plans and God laughs" more fitting than experiencing NYC's second largest recorded snowfall, beginning the night before the event.  For much of the eastern seaboard, it became a series of plans changed, plans canceled, plans uncertain until the last minute, and everyone going with the flow.   Our original plan stayed in place for the first 24 hours: we checked into our hotel -- The London on W. 54th.  A benefit of traveling to snowy cities are the reduced rates, plus this hotel's location is superb for access to pretty much everything. We landed in time to have dinner at the exquisite Le Bernardin, the flagship restaurant of Eric Ripert, garnering three Michelin stars, the 18th spot on the World's Best List, and pretty much every other accolade out there.  The dining room is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen.  Service was impeccable but never snobby, even when I altered the chef's recommended preparation of a dish. The four-course tasting menu is practically a bargain compared with others in this caliber .. Per Se (east coast sister to The French Laundry) used to be there but has apparently slipped (see review) and is more than twice the cost. The nearly all-female sommelier staff (6 in all) were very knowledgeable with a neatly-edited list focused on certain varieties -- heavy on white and red burgundies.  I asked what percentage of patrons bring in their own wine and the answer was: "None.  It is not allowed."  It was a spectacular meal in all aspects.  No wonder it is the toughest reservation around.  Hamachi sushi   Seafood pasta with shaved truffles  Beautiful salad with apple Amazing white tuna and waygu beef Black walnut dessert   The all-white blossoms towered in the center of the room   The Met visit included taking in the Costume Institute's exhibit featuring international style/fashion icon Jacqueline de Ribes.  The hubby was about as interested in this as having a tooth extraction, but he makes an effort to be a willing participant for which I am grateful. What's unique and special about this woman is her attention to detail -- a dying art. Few women have the time, means and interest to concern themselves with always appearing "just so." We live in an era of people getting on airplanes in flip-flops and tank tops. It's not so much about the designer clothing, but rather the caring about one's appearance which seems to be sadly diminished.  Enough said ...      The gowns are timeless and look fresh today as they did 30 years ago The gown which she is shown wearing to a costume ball was on display Not part of the exhibit but I was inspired to shoe shop after ... Bergdorf's still had their post-Christmas sale going on! Friday afternoon was when the plans for Saturday and Sunday began to change so rapidly it was hard to keep up.  The bat mitzvah scheduled for Saturday late afternoon with evening party got moved to Sunday.   We made a beeline for the box office at Lincoln Center to change our Sunday matinée tickets (The King and I) to Saturday evening, plus change our nearby dinner reservation as well. So far, so good.  We informed the hotel we would be staying through Sunday instead of spending one night in Westchester and coming back to the city for a night.  No problem there. We LOVED the hilarious Something Rotten  (second time for me) and departed the theater to a light dusting of snow as predicted late Friday evening.  Saturday morning was something entirely different as the snow was really coming down.  Nonetheless, the hubby hightailed it down to the box office to get matinée tickets (phenomenal seats!) for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (again a repeat for me) --  as even in a snowstorm Hamilton is impossible.  Not 90 minutes later as we showed up at the theater we were informed our show -- and all of Broadway -- was cancelled due to the weather. In fact, the entire city was shutting down save for the hotels and the restaurants within the hotels.  Hello Jonas, the blizzard of 2016.  Frankly I don't see why so many folks had to be hugely disappointed. In some cases the tickets are next to impossible to get; people traveled long distances for special occasions that they may never have again.  The actors were already in place; you could hear people cheering as they exited the stage doors to go home. Couldn't the productions just have a big slumber party if folks connected with the shows couldn't access their normal means for getting home???  Snow piled up in Times Square with the  die-hards still trying to get tix before alerted to the closings Why the smirk?  Because in the hubby's  native Ohio, two feet of snow is called "spring."

Fortunately our dinner that evening at Nougatine was spared (cannot say the same for the hotel's umbrella which the wind literally dismantled). This is the more casual companion eatery to Jean-Georges at Columbus Circle.  Even that was all upside down as the casual side was overwhelmed in order to accommodate hotel guests (the restaurant is in Trump International Hotel, but you-know-who had nothing to do with this!) so we were seated in the formal dining room with our choice of menus. Anything goes in the face of a blizzard..

One of my favorite shots ... perhaps the  driver needed to make a hasty retreat. Below as we're walking down Central Park South back to the hotel.  I would have killed for those cross-country skis.

we had a great time with the hubby's family, most of whom live in the northeast or Florida so these visits are regrettably less frequent. Congrats to Lauren, the bat mitvah girl, and her family. It's not easy undoing and redoing an event for which the planning begins more than a year in advance.  

With the hubby's cousins Andrew, Nancy (mom of Lauren) and David Stone. Below are the beautiful grounds of Elmwood Country Club in Westchester County

As for the experience of being in the "center of the storm," we actually thought it was quite an adventure ... Shout out to JetBlue for getting us home on time Monday even with all the clean up!

THE GIRLS TAKE MANHATTAN: BROADWAY BINGE

Most every parent I know says the same thing:   The older your kids are, the harder it is to carve out time with them.   They move out (God willing); they have a significant other; many go on to have their own children.  So it was music to my ears when daughter Hannah proposed we plan a fall trip to NY for essentially a Broadway binge. 

Her timing was good -- the hubby is totally preoccupied in October with the seasons:  end of taxes, college football and baseball playoffs.  He probably won't even notice we're gone. November is out as he and I will be out of the country for 10 days (blogs to follow of course).  So from this evolved a way to spend time together, view fall foliage, and make a considerable contribution to the Great White Way (aka Broadway).

But hold on a minute.  She is very gainfully employed and making a good living.  No reasonable person would consider me and the hubby stingy in the parental category, but there are limits.  So her willingness to contribute $$ in a meaningful way was a big factor in the planning and further sealed her status as an adult.

A couple of giddy travelers taking a one-and-done selfie 
and our view shown below

Hannah furnished the list of her top choices (all of the marquees are above) and I procured the tickets. Hamilton was obviously the hardest to get -- not fabulous seats but we were happy just to be in.  And was it ever worth it.  I knew little about the show except for obviously it is about Alexander Hamilton (other than Benjamin Franklin, Hamilton may be the most important American who was not a President), but who would think that nearly three hours of rap music centered on American history would be so wonderful.  It was downright joyous to see school kids outside the stage door mobbing the show's stars. Whatever it takes to spurn interest in our country's history works for me. Fun Home has terrific acting and clever staging; Something Rotten is hugely entertaining and hilarious a la Mel Brooks (and should have won the Tony over Fun Home but I didn't get a vote); An American in Paris has a score that makes me swoon along with the most beautiful dancing. Finding Neverland had me crying at the end.  But the Curious Incident was just mind-boggling.  The young star is phenomenal in an extraordinary role (his Broadway debut).  Again the tears fell (and fell) ... 

Stage door post performance with (from top):  Brian D'Arcy James, John Cariani, Tony winner Christian Borle

Upper:  Hannah edging her way to Finding Neverland star Matthew Morrison in the huge throng; Bottom:  From Curious Incident Keren Dukes and remarkable lead Tyler Lea

Top to bottom:  Jonathan Groff, Javier Munoz and Daveed Diggs.  Diggs mobbed by the kids at left.

A couple of exceptional meals: Untitled, restaurateur extraordinaire Danny Meyer's latest outpost at the new Whitney Museum of American Art, and Jams, from NY-based/California-style chef Jonathan Waxman.  Both restaurants are open spaces with lots of interesting sights -- Untitled is the ground floor of the museum and completely glass-enclosed; Jams was jammin' (I apparently coined that phrase -- the hostess had never heard it used before) at nearly 10pm for our late-night/post theater supper.  For the best pizza, go to John's Pizzeria on W. 44th ...

Clockwise, from upper left: black bass; roasted cauliflower; chicken salad;
cheese offerings and sticky toffee pudding

Clockwise from upper left:   Pancakes with salmon & caviar on corn pudding (insane);
burrata with proscuitto; roasted vegetables; signature roast chicken with tarragon sauce

L-R: Barnard student Sofia and her mom (my long-time friend) Julie Shuer; Hannah and me atop the Whitney

The new Whitney is in the ultra-happening Meatpacking district of Manhattan. Lots of residential construction going on in the area, plus high-end shopping and restaurants.  What I especially loved about the Museum are the views -- whether taking the glass-enclosed indoor stairs facing the Hudson River or the outdoor stairs with panoramic views -- the sights are endless.  Of course, that doesn't even take into consideration the art:  enormous installations on white walls, to me very similar albeit a good bit larger than the LA's new Broad (see my last post).  Directly outside the structure one can either take an elevator or stairs to the High Line, which originates at that point and goes north 1.45 miles with lots of interesting things along the way or to just stop for a bit.  I loved my first visit to both and fully intend a return trip.

From top left:  View of the Statue of Liberty from the museum, looking down on the High Line
and different views as we walked along

It was great fun having lunch with my newish friend David Patrick Columbia who is the brainchild behind the New York Social Diary, a daily must-read for me.  We dined and talked at length at Michael's on W. 55th where David has an ideal table for meeting and greeting -- essential to his profession.  GM Steve Milligan is key to running a hectic lunchtime crowd, whether Michael is there or not...

NY cousin David Stone joined us for pre-theater dinner at Scarlatta

Hannah is already looking forward to part deux of The Girls Take Manhattan with another list of shows.  I couldn't be more thrilled that my kid still wants to spend quality time with her mommy ...