An Englishman In New York

[elyse]

I will, thank you. Have a good one. Fireworks in the park tonight is it?

I wish! When they do that, I just sit on my bed and look out the window. Fireworks are eye level here. Very cool.

I shall be listening to fireworks from afar.

Edited July 4, 2003 by elyse (log)

[Andy Lynes]

I've delayed posting on this thread as I've been planning a magnificent and exciting report. However, as I'm suffering from a mild case of ongoing writers block and a severe case of lazyitis, here are the edited highlights:

Thursday: dinner at China 46 - located on the same lot that Tony Soprano buries his bodies (probably) just off the New Jersey Turnpike. This was a revelatory meal of Shanghai cuisine for a Brit raised on the sort of Anglicized Cantonese food that constitutes "going for a Chinese" in the UK (i.e. crispy duck pancakes, prawn toasts, beef in black bean sauce and pounds of corn flour and MSG) . I couldn't possibly describe the food with the sort of knowledge and insight that Jason does on this thread, but suffice to say I developed cravings for fried dumplings that I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to satiate now I'm back home.

Everything we ate, and we ate a lot, was very good indeed and expertly chosen by the Perlows, from the spicy capsicum noodles to the lion's head meatballs, through the braised duck and fresh pea shoots. Terrific service and excellent value, in fact one of those restaurants where it’s difficult to see how they are making a decent profit. Excellent chocolate ice cream on the way back to Jason and Rachel's at the hilariously named "Custard Thing" in Bergenfield.

Friday : a breakfast of perfectly cooked fried eggs, bacon and coffee care of Rachel, then off to Manhattan to meet up with Steven and Ellen for a $20.03 restaurant week lunch at Danny Meyer's Eleven Madison Park. I recognised what seems to me to be a quintessentially New York dining room from its use as a location in "Sex and The City” (a programme I mainly watch to see where they are eating out at. Oh, and Kristin Davis is fairly easy on the eye as well I suppose). A fantastic space, three satisfying courses of beef cheek with salsify and rhubarb, monkfish cooked on the bone with cauliflower veloute (he shoots! he scores!) and a light dessert of raspberry parfait with champagne granita made for a highly enjoyable meal.

In fact, I couldn't have been happier if Danny Meyer himself had come over to say hi and tell me that he had seen my stuff on eGullet and would I like to accompany him around a few of his restaurants he needed to check out, maybe have a beer and try some BBQ at Blue Smoke and just generally hang out. Which strangely enough was pretty much exactly what happened.

After which Fat Guy and I stopped for a pair of light beers each at McSorely's, followed by a wander around the Lower East Side in 97 degree heat. It was a journey punctuated with various and very necessary stops for refreshments , including more fried dumplings in a tiny shop front Chinese. Then it was on to a party very kindly thrown in my honour at Lissome's place. It was great to meet so many interesting and entertaining people and feel so welcomed and all due to a shared interest in food and drink. I showed my true colours by convincing Elyse it would be a great idea to make a dash for more beer half way through the evening, but it was a very hot night. That’s my excuse anyway.

My first experience of Korean food followed at an all night BBQ place somewhere midtown (Jason, can you help with details here?), but by this time I was in no state to appreciate its finer points, due mostly to jetlag and the afternoon heat catching up on me. Pickled cabbage and strong Korean liquor at around 5.00am UK time was just a little too much for me.

(Saturday and Sunday to follow...)

[Jason Perlow]

We ate at Kang Suh restaurant, which is on Broadway on 32nd street I think.

And you only ordered the light ales at McSorleys? The light is basically just a palate cleanser for the dark. You're supposed to start out dark, then light. You order them "Two and Two" or "Four and Four" depending on how many people you got.

[Andy Lynes]

Well, it was following on from the Blue Smoke Ale which was darkish.

[jhlurie]

We ate at Kang Suh restaurant, which is on Broadway on 32nd street I think.

And you only ordered the light ales at McSorleys? The light is basically just a palate cleanser for the dark. You're supposed to start out dark, then light. You order them "Two and Two" or "Four and Four" depending on how many people you got.

At least (presumably with Shaw there) he didn't make the rookie mistake of asking the surly Irish guy "what kinds of beer do you have?" That's always a joy to watch in McSorley's... from a safe distance.

[Andy Lynes]

No, he sensibly let Fat Guy do the talking.

[elyse]

I showed my true colours by convincing Elyse it would be a great idea to make a dash for more beer half way through the evening, but it was a very hot night. That’s my excuse anyway.

I do believe it was more to shut me up in my lamenting the diminishment of beer.

[Jason Perlow]

No, he sensibly let Fat Guy do the talking.

Good God, Shaw ordered them this way? Dumbass.

[Andy Lynes]

Saturday: following the excesses of Friday, a necessarily light breakfast of watermelon and pineapple, courtesy again of Rachel, preceded a visit to Central Park via the impressive AOL Time Warner Center building works at Columbus Circle, for a coffee and a wander in the blistering heat.

The 150 year old park looked stunning. A truly magnificent example of urban design, it never fails to take my breath away. I made my way via the Guggenheim to Fat Guy’s apartment for a life saving coke and bowl of cherries. I had the privilege, and it has to be said rather odd experience, of sitting for a few minutes shoulder to shoulder with Steven, Momo at my side, typing away on adjacent computers posting to eGullet, the 3,000 miles distance that would usually separate us reduced to a few inches.

I had been looking forward to my first real New York style hot dog, and the original Papaya King at 86th Street and 3rd Avenue did not disappoint. A pair of dogs with sauerkraut, mustard and ketchup and a papaya drink for $3.99 hit the spot. A cross town bus took me to the American Museum of Natural History for the rather disappointing chocolate exhibition. However the museum itself is really quite stunning, in particular the mammal dioramas with their “anatomically correctly mounted specimens”, beautiful and disturbing in equal measure.

A brief subway ride to Soho found me quite by chance outside our own Matt Seeber’s place of work Fiamma. I ordered a beer and enquired if Matt was in the kitchen which happily he was. I was treated to a backstage tour of the very smart restaurant and watched for a few moments as Matt sent out some very appetizing looking plates from his mission control like position at the centre of the enclosed in pass, including a veal chop liberally sprinkled with truffle. I left him to get on serving the 300 or so more customers he was expecting that night.

Sipping (guzzling?) Brooklyn Lager and nibbling tapas in Bux’s idyllic Soho roof garden, I felt like I’d stepped into a Woody Allen movie. Then, the main event of the evening, dinner at Blue Hill with Jason, Rachel, Bux, Esilda and Bond Girl.

A great deal has been written about this restaurant on eGullet and I’m not sure I have anything original to add. Chef Michael Anthony appeared at the bar to say hello before the meal. He struck me as a gentle, shy man, subdued in manner. His food struck me the same way. Highlight of the meal was the smoked lobster with beets, and the fine selection of wines, including a Gruner Veltliner and an Alsace Riesling (chosen by Jason and Bux I believe) which complemented the food very well.

I enjoyed the room, although the noise levels did get a bit high making conversation a little difficult, and the service was wonderful, never once missing a beat. We had a tour around the premises including the attractive back room and garden (perfect for a large group) and saw the kitchen, before catching the last Manhattan ferry back. The view of the city skyline at night from the middle of the Hudson was haunting.

(Sunday to follow...)

[Fat Guy]

I'm really enjoying your reports. They make me feel as though I was there.

[Andy Lynes]

I'm really enjoying your reports. They make me feel as though I was there.

What a compliment, I don't know what to say etc etc.

[jhlurie]

Glad you took that Ferry. Its one of the least talked about highlights of New York. Upper-deck, by the back railing as you head to New Jersey. I suppose the Circle Line is a longer and more elaborate view, but the Ferry is cheaper and gives you enough of a view for your money.

[Fat Guy]

Yeah but the Staten Island Ferry is free. Unless you have a transportation-related reason to use one of the New Jersey ferries they're a waste of money for sightseeing.

[jhlurie]

True. But the view from midtown is a bit better, I think.

Ha. "As though I was there."

[elyse]

Yeah but the Staten Island Ferry is free. Unless you have a transportation-related reason to use one of the New Jersey ferries they're a waste of money for sightseeing.

30 seconds too late.

Andy, nice reading. Thank you.

[Fat Guy]

True.  But the view from midtown is a bit better, I think.

No way. SI Ferry gives you Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island very close up, plus the downtown bridges on the East side. And one of these days there will be new WTC towers.

[tommy]

Yeah but the Staten Island Ferry is free. Unless you have a transportation-related reason to use one of the New Jersey ferries they're a waste of money for sightseeing.

i dunno. i took the ferry for years and every day i got a reasonable amount of time to enjoy one of the best views of the city. and there's nothing quite like leaving the city...and not ending up on staten island. (hey, NJ guys need a dig every now and again).

[jhlurie]

Actually the best boat (besides the tourist ones) is the Port Imperial Ferry which goes downtown. You get BOTH the midtown and downtown views. Of course, it ain't free. Also, I read somewhere that a neighborhood committee in Battery Park City is apparently trying to get it closed down. Apparently its a smaller fish to go after than the Staten Island Ferry, and they don't like the extra exhaust. Like the extra downtown buses they'd have to trade it for wouldn't have exhaust.

Edited July 14, 2003 by jhlurie (log)

[Fat Guy]

Go ride the Staten Island ferry and tell me you think any of the NJ ferries can compete with the view. To me, the Brooklyn Bridge is the end of the discussion. Plus there are all sorts of services available on the Staten Island ferry: snacks, shoe-shine, hookers, etc.

[elyse]

Dare I ask what the "etc." is for?

[Fat Guy]

"Psst. Wanna buy a printout of every deleted eGullet post ever?"

[elyse]

TOTALLY!

[Andy Lynes]

Trust me, you don't!

[elyse]

No, I really really do.

[tommy]

"Psst. Wanna buy a printout of every deleted eGullet post ever?"

in all fairness, they wouldn't seem half as nasty out of context.