I know you all are dying to hear how it went. 😉
As some of you know, this whole trip was meant to be a surprise for Sailor Boy, and encompass a bit of birthday present with a bit of anniversary present. Because he’s got a lot of work (what with that whole law school thingy he’s been doing) I broke down and told him last Sunday night. Understandably, he was very excited.
So, Saturday morning, we got up, packed, and drove to New York. Until we hit the Lincoln tunnel, we didn’t even see much traffic. Once we arrived on the island of Manhattan, however, it took an hour to get the ten or so blocks to our hotel. We checked in, dressed for our evening out, and headed out on our whirlwind New York City adventure.
Note to readers: I, um, forgot a camera, so all these pictures are generics cribbed from the internet. Deal with it.
Our first stop was the Museum of Modern Art and utilized the VIP passes I got from Random House. Sailor Boy is an AbEx freak, so we spent a good amount of time staring at Pollock and Rothko and Kandinsky and trying to make something of it all. (He’s much better at that than I am, though I kind of like how pretty Kandinsky is. Also, Jasper John’s “Green Target” is cool). I got to see Picasso’s “Girl Before a Mirror,” which I’ve always loved on prints. We both enjoyed an audio installation piece featuring about forty speakers arranged in a circle in an empty room. If you sat in the middle, you heard a chorus, but each speaker emitted a single voice. Very cool.
Afterwards, we dropped by the uber-chic bar in the museum restaurant, The Modern, and had a pre-dinner drink. Sailor Boy had an excellent beer called “Sugar Hill” and I ordered a cactus pear margarita with spiced salt rim. But when we got to the restaurant for the evening, we wished we’d held off on our liquor choices a little longer.
My editor at Bantam Dell, Kerri Buckley, recommended this wonderful, cozy restaurant right around the corner from MOMA called Beacon. (Seriously, this book had better sell well, or I don’t know where I’ll be getting my New Yorker insider info and other perks.) Beacon’s schtick is that they’ve got this wood grill that they like to cook everything in. And I mean everything. We started out the evening with sangria made with wood-roasted fruits. The roasting imparted a delicious charcoal/caramel hint to the drink. (See what I mean about wishing we’d held off on the drinks? I could have had more of that!) Because we had a show to catch, we ordered the pre-theatre prix fixe, which was three courses and still left us stuffed. Sailor Boy began with a plate of roasted oysters in a creamy garlic and tarragon sauce, which were yummy, but a bit outclased by my appetizer, the roasted (natch) pumpkin and apple soup. Best presentation ever! The soup was served with a side of spiced spun sugar on a stick — basically a giant white ball of cotton candy flecked with red peppers, which my server upended in my bowl, where it dissolved instantly. The soup itself was outstanding, but that presentation catapulted it over the top. For entrees, we had a lovely, rich rabbit and roasted parsnip risotto with carrots and olives and a heavily seared (i.e., crusty black on the outside) filet that I liked more than Sailor Boy did. It is ever thus with us — we order entrees, then end up switching plates once they arrive. Dessert was chocolate cheescake (yawn) and a yummy lemon custard tart. The service on the parts of both our waitress and the sommelier was uniformly fabulous, and the atmosphere couldn’t be beat. This picture, above, doesn’t do the restaurant justice. At night, the lighting is subtle and golden, and the restaurant was seasonally decorated with a harvest motif. Portis head was on the stereo and we were seated at arguably one of the best tables in the house, the corner booth visible upstage center, right below where the chandelier hangs in the picture. It was an amazing meal, and I am so grateful to Kerri for pointing out such a perfect place and making me reservations!
Speaking of over-the-top, onto Spamalot! It was a fun show. It’s not a “big” show, mind you, with enormous sets and gigantic casts and epic storylines that will tear your heart out and leave it bleeding in your chair through intermission. It’s Monty Python. You laugh, you enjoy the spectacle, and then you go home. I laughed the whole time, but I wouldn’t say it blew my mind. Tim Curry (who has the most divine voice) hammed it up, as he is wont to do (I have a theory that he was playing Arthur less as “clueless” and more as “senile”), David Hyde Pierce utilized some that Yale training of his and his performance was the greatest departure from the MP style — a fact that I appreciated and Sailor Boy did not. I think SB is a bigger fan of MP than I’d thought. He was mouthing the words to the movie along with the actors. Alan Tudyk was divine, and ripped, which I don’t think Joss Whedon ever took advantage of. It was like how we only ever saw Simon with his shirt off at the very end of the movie (and the series!). Alan Tudyk, hottie. Tudyk also has the role that required him to do the most with the classic Monty Python characters (French guard, Knights who say Nyii!, etc.). The final lead was a new character, the Lady of the Lake, played by Tony award-winner Sarah Ramirez. She held her own next to these boys but her role, as well as her performance, was much more classically “Broadway” — probably because it had been written for this show rather than cribbed from Monty Python. There were a bunch of new musical numbers and, true to form, they *never* missed an opportunity to make a joke. Ever.
After the show, we went home to our hotel, the darling Amsterdam Court, which is a moderately priced little boutique in the theatre district. Man, I’d stay there again in an instant. The rooms are miniscule, but really, who needs space — you want space? Don’t go to Manhattan! Comfy, clean, with a fabulous staff and an art-deco-meets-the-seventies style all its own. I really enjoyed myself and think it’s my new favorite hotel in the city. Sailor BOy and I cracked open a bottle of ’96 Veuve Cliquot Chateau La Grande Dame we’ve been saving since our sale and savored it. It’s a phenomenal wine, and I’m glad we finally had an occasion to enjoy it.
Zee next morning… we woke up, packed, checked out, then hurried down the street (one note about the Amsterdam — do not trust whoever sets their clocks) to meet Kerri and her boyfriend at Eatery for brunch. (No, this is not a picture of brunch. This is a picture of when we first met in June.) I love how no one in New York looks at you funny if you order alcohol for breakfast. What a town! Anyhoo, it was lovely to finally meet Kerri’s boyfriend, who actually helped out with a line in my book, and to introduce Kerri to Sailor Boy, because if there is anyone I talk about more than Deidre to SB, it’s gotta be Kerri. And, natch, everyone got on like a house on fire. Dan and Kerri played “the name game,” Kerri’s boyfriend told us all about cool computer animation schtuff, and Kerri gave me my ::gasp:: second-round revisions on SSG. Towards (oops, I mean toward as all the editorial notes on my manuscript point out) the end of the meal, I realized that I was no longer wearing my Maggie award (modeled above). I freaked the fuck out and SB and I dash back to the hotel to see if anyone found it. Cue exhaustive search on the part of the Amsterdam Court staff. Have I mentioned lately how much I love these people? Seriously: stay there! Well, I got it back, and I fixed the clasp, and I think I might actually wear it a little less often lest I lose it on the streets of Manhattan again.
You know, I visit New York every few months now and I always have the grandest old time, but that old truism is so correct. I know if I were back there (cf. residence circa Sept. 2001 – May 2002), I wouldn’t like it, but still, it’s fun to visit. Next time I must seek out the mythical Shoegasm Deidre keeps telling me about. Find Your Grail indeed.
3 Responses to my exquisite weekend