The Griswolds take New York

So my parents are in town until early March and I love having them here.  Like me, they enjoy late mornings, strong coffee, sightseeing, and generally just soaking up every inch of New York.

I took Thursday and Friday off work to spend a couple of days getting Mum & Dad reoriented to the City.  We're staying in a lovely, spacious 2-bedroom apartment in Midtown not far from where I lived when I first moved here.  So it has been great just to wander the old neighbourhood, pointing out the closest grocery stores, pharmacies, pubs with generous pours, and restaurants with the most delicious dishes.  So far we've enjoyed ice-cold beers, lip-smacking BBQ, and the crispiest wood-oven fired pizza.

We went to Madison Square Park, past the beautiful Flatiron Building that I love so much.  After a bit of shopping in Chelsea, I showed Mum & Dad my old, booby-trapped apartment, and then we walked the new extension of the High Line (and nearly froze solid in the process).

We retreated to the warmth of Grand Central Terminal, including the last vestiges of the Holiday Train Show at the NY Transit Museum - a lovely model train of New York and the Hudson Valley.  I went on my first tour of the NY Public Library and got to see their copy of the Gutenberg Bible, plus the original stuffed toys that inspired the Winnie the Pooh stories.  

Lunch at the Grand Central Oyster Bar was great, walking underneath the beautiful Guastavino tiled roof.  And even though the New York Knicks lost to the Miami Heat, it was so much fun to get to Madison Square Garden and cheer them on.

But, see?  The literal frosting on the cake came yesterday, when the skies opened up and rained down a slushy wintry mess of ice and snow.  Now we're from a part of Australia that doesn't see snow (unless there is a very freaky weather occurrence up in the Hills) so I was so glad that Mum got to play in her first snowfall.  "Kid in a candy store" is the most apt expression for what ensued.

Post by The ABCs of NYC.

I love big hair and bigger ballads

"Sex and the City" was a fantastic show about the excesses of New York - cocktails, men, and taking taxis the length and breadth of Manhattan.  Real-life New York may be like that for some people, but the rest of us tend to enjoy a more moderate way of life.

And let's face it, when there's an absence of sex in the city on Valentine's Day, you could stay at home and mope about it or you can do what I did and head to Union Hall in Park Slope, Brooklyn for a fantastic night out.

The front bar of Union Hall has a roaring open fire, filled-to-capacity bookshelves, and plush comfy couches and the bartenders don't hold back with the pours.  But wander a bit further along and you'll find bocce games in progress - yep, inside the bar!  Who needs pool tables?

But my evening was not to be spent above ground, with the couples on dates getting all snuggly in the bar.  Oh no, I headed downstairs into the basement of Union Hall to rock out with Love Bites: A Power Ballad Sing-A-Long.  A fantastic evening, for the bargain price of $10 (plus drinks).

The biggest hair of the 70s, 80s, and 90s was on full display in the music videos beamed up on to a big screen and as the lyrics scrolled along the bottom (karaoke style) all of us in the room sang at the top of our lungs.  Fists pumped in the air, inflatable microphones were passed around the crowd like batons, and air guitar contests raged.

My hit-list included "Eternal Flame" to "Sister Christian", then "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", "Kiss From a Rose", and working up to "Oh Sherrie"and "When I See You Smile" - I sang till I was hoarse.  But when they played "You Give Love A Bad Name", I realised I had a bit left in the tank to rock out some more.

The power ballads might have been love songs, but there was nothing lovey-dovey or soppy about the Valentine's Day celebrations at Union Hall last night.  From 9pm until midnight, singletons, couples, even people who publicly classified their relationship as "it's complicated" sang side by side.

You don't have to wait for February 14th for nights like that either - the party hosts Secret Formula host a bunch of other sing-a-longs throughout the year (R&B, 80s hits and others also feature). Follow them on Facebook & Twitter to stay up to date on all their shows.

Old-school plays in mint condition

Image source here

Founded in 1992, New York's Mint Theater Company is dedicated to bringing old, often neglected plays back to the stage.  The tiny theater space is located on the 3rd floor of a rather unremarkable building on West 43rd Street. But inside, there isn't a bad seat in the house.

Since the company was established, Mint has staged about 30 plays and yesterday I went along to see its latest production, Fashions for Men - a charming, character-driven comedy by Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnar.

Old-school haberdashers used to be a place for men to buy their fashion and accessories: gloves; coats; scarves and the like.  But life, on and off stage, gets decidedly more interesting when you introduce women into the action too.  So Act 1 of "Fashion For Men" opens in a haberdashers in Budapest in 1917 that caters to a colourful cast of male and female characters from all walks of life.

In a post-play discussion with the company's dramaturg and scholar, Dr Maya Cantu, we were reminded that even though the play is set in WW1 Europe, Molnar makes no mention of these outside influences in his play.  There's no hint of strife or sacrifice and as one critic put it, the play really does feel like it's taking place "inside a snowglobe".  Indeed, no external or "real life" influences interfere with the action at all.

And maybe that's what helps "Fashion For Men" retain its appeal across the decades.  It's not frozen in time - it could probably be set anywhere, at any point in history.  The characters are certainly credible.  The protagonist is Peter Juhasz, owner of the haberdashers, and the quintessential nice guy.  Never seeing the bad in people, he's constantly being taken for granted by the other characters - they take his money, his emotional energy, and his time.   Around him, we meet the unfaithful wife, the deceptive co-worker, the wise older man, the skirt-chasing aristocrat, and the conniving ingenue - all of whom capitalise on Peter's good nature to achieve their own end game.  Such saintly goodness has led critics to describe Juhasz as "unworldly" and even "pathetic", but I think I share NY Times critic John Corbin's assessment of Juhasz as "a character conceived with the most exquisite grace and sympathy".

As the three-act play unfolded on a series of beautiful old-timey sets, I do remember thinking that Molnar's 1917 Hungary is a lot like 2015 New York City.  There are pushy-shovey people galore out there who will try and take advantage of you if they think you'll let them.  And while his kindness can sometimes be frustrating in the face of such blatant exploitation, ultimately Peter Juhasz sees his fellow characters for who they are, but he stays true to who he is.  He doesn't stoop to the mercenary level of others and because of that, when Peter finally realises his happy ending, you know the audience is proud of him.

I'm so pleased to meat you!

On my very first visit to New York my friend took me to a steakhouse for dinner.  I can't remember which one we visited, but I do recall that we ate really late; our reservation was around 10pm or something.  The restaurant was still so full, even at that late hour, and I remember thinking how hardcore New Yorkers seemed.  This really was the City that never sleeps.

Fast forward a few years and I'm still a steakhouse devotee.  In search of the perfect medium-rare steak I've dined at places in the Financial District, Midtown, the Upper East Side, and pretty much everywhere in between.  And let me tell you, none of them have ever let me down.  New York steakhouses are a carnivore's paradise.

Case in point, last night's excursion to Quality Meats on West 58th Street.  Online reviews and feedback from friends all suggested I would enjoy the dining experience and I was not disappointed.  Even the 9pm reservation time didn't bother me - after all, I'm a New Yorker now and late reservations are just how we roll!

I arrived a few minutes ahead of my friends last night and I sidled up to the bar.  The friendly bartenders definitely had their hands full, catering to a noisy bunch of customers of all ages.  As often happens with me, I befriended an older man at the bar and we swapped steakhouse stories, while I sipped a delicious glass of Duckhorn "Decoy" meritage from the Napa Valley.  The restaurant's wine list has 350 bottles to choose from, so you've really got your work cut out for you.

We didn't have to wait too long for our table but by the time we were seated, I had worked up quite the appetite.  Take a look at the menu online and I'm sure you'll be as happy as I was last night.  My heart sang when I saw the corn creme brulee on list of side dishes, because late last year I'd had that same dish at Quality Italian, the restaurant's sister location around the corner.  Delicious!  But while it was great to revisit something familiar, I lived a little dangerously and tried the bacon and peanut butter appetiser, which admittedly sounds weird but was a taste sensation.  The oysters, steak tartare, roast potatoes, creamed spinach, bread rolls and the steak sauce (prepared table-side) were all amazing.  And my steak?  Cooked to medium-rare perfection.

The food, service and decor at Quality Meats was all wonderful.  Dining so well never comes cheap, but good friends from Chicago don't visit me every day, so the treat was well worth it.  And big thanks to Courtney for these photos.  You know that if I'd taken them, they would never have been in focus!

The amuse bouche turned cheese
and crackers on its head (literally!)

The baked oysters appetiser

The dinner rolls were soft and flaky

Behold the majesty of steak tartare.
Yes, that is an egg yolk in the centre!  YUM.

Because the world needs more bacon,
and peanut butter was an inspired addition.

Whoa, that is quite a steak! Bonus points for
the brussels sprouts & corn creme brulee sides. 

More sides - creamed spinach & herbed roast potatoes

Told you - a carnivore's dream, cooked to perfection. 

And to complement your steak, how about
some special sauce, prepared table-side?

I was defeated by the time dessert came, but
behold monkey bread with walnut ice cream
and chocolate sauce. Amazing.

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end

Two years ago tomorrow, I moved into a little studio apartment in Chelsea, on the western side of Manhattan.  In the interests of transparency, I must tell you I was both tipsy and rather desperate when I viewed the apartment for the first time.  I really needed to find a place to live and seeing the small studio filled with the previous tenant's belongings convinced me (even in my beer-addled state) that I had found my New York home.  I signed the lease, paid the security deposit, and a few weeks later when I finally took custody of the empty apartment, my sober self stared in utter disbelief at the blank slate before me.

Extremely crooked floors.  Low ceiling.  Greying tiles on the bathroom floor.  Noisy radiator.  Lunatic neighbours (though I would learn this much later).  When the movers brought in my furniture, they actually laughed.  What had I done?!

For a time though, I could overlook the apartment's flaws.  "Diamond in the rough" became an oft-uttered phrase around my house.

I painted a bright feature wall - selecting Tiffany Blue (of course), though I had to Google it for the guy in the paint department at Home Depot.  I bought a fantastic striped shower curtain from Kate Spade, some simple but beautiful DKNY curtains and a cheerful, coral-colored bedspread with lots of cushions of different sizes.  I went to Anthropologie and bought blue glass knobs to add pizzazz to my plain kitchen cupboard doors.  I put up some temporary wallpaper in a fantastic peacock print, and even had some house plants for a while (a short while, as is usually the case for me).  I bought artwork, which I never found the confidence ot hang.  I quickly acquired a sleek Nespresso machine in a gorgeous shade of green, which naturally clashed with my fire engine red microwave, but I didn't care.  I put together flatpack kitchen storage, and a cube bookcase (for a literature collection that only ever seemed to grow).  And if the four walls of that one-room studio seemed to close in on me, I just stepped outside into wonderful, eclectic, noisy Chelsea, and I was spoiled with bars and restaurants and art galleries in every direction.

The lease on that studio expires tomorrow and I have chosen not to renew it.  I could turn this post into an acrimonious take-down of the "building management" company, but I really don't have the energy to do that.  Suffice it to say that the last few months of my tenancy were characterised by a leaky ceiling (that was only ever patched up and never properly mended), potentially hostile neighbours that played showtunes at full volume until 4am on weekdays, and lengthy interruptions to our heat, hot water, and cooking gas (the latter is still not connected).  It was definitely time to go.

While I'm certainly not sentimental about the studio apartment I'm leaving behind, I did form attachments to some of the contents (the cheerful bedspread, curtains, and cushions, just to name a few).   Those I'm keeping with me, and will be a beautiful reminder of the effort I made to carve out a little corner of Chelsea for myself.  I bequeathed some of my homewares to friends and colleagues, selling others on Craigslist and donating yet more belongings to thrift stores and even to the local animal shelter (they love used sheets and towels).  I also discovered the fantastic resource called Task Rabbit, where you can hire people to do odd jobs for you.  The guys I contracted to do heavy lifting for me were an absolute godsend.

Real estate prices in Manhattan make it really hard for many people to afford even a studio apartment, so I know how lucky I've been to have had that space to myself for the past two years.  I loved living in Chelsea and the mixed feelings I have about the apartment will never taint the overall fondness I have for the neighbourhood.

But having said all that, when I gathered up my jackets, and moved it to the exits, I knew it was closing time and I was ready to go.  The Chelsea apartment chapter is closed, and the next one is about to begin.

New York's fizzer blizzard

The snow plows still haven't
made it to East 74th Street!

I know it has been a long time between posts, but I've been moving out of my apartment and it has been a particularly stressful time.  The whole process has taught me a lot about the ups and downs of NY real estate and I'll definitely share those stories soon.

For now though, the City is recovering from Winter Storm Juno (aka The Blizzard That Wasn't).  Now I lived in Chicago for nearly four years so I'm used to snowy conditions, but today was my very first Snow Day ever, and I made the most of it with a decent sleep-in, hot cups of tea, and generally not moving too far from the sofa.

All the hype yesterday suggested that Winter Storm Juno was going to bring New York City to an utter standstill, and the commute home last night was really awful.  Buses crawled down the road in almost white-out conditions.  Blustering wind whipped up snowflakes so they seemed to be coming from all sides, ending up stinging your eyeballs and freezing your face.  But even though the going was slow and frustrating, as this gallery from Gothamist shows, a snowy City is still a pretty City.

Buildings signs are still covered by a
dusting of white, clean snow

Residents across New York responded to the Mayor's warnings by clearing out supermarket shelves - bread, milk, artisan cheeses, and lots of potato chips and pretzels.  We also seemed to decide that drinking through the storm was a sensible idea, with alcohol sales in New York and Boston up an impressive 477% percent!

As we all emerged from our collective hangover this morning, NYC residents no doubt expected to see a City paralysed by white-out snow, no cabs, and mass transit shut-downs.  The reality was different of course.  

Manhattan still ended up with about 8 inches of snow courtesy of Winter Storm Juno, and the streets were eerily quiet the day after, but the Mayor was right - we dodged a bullet, ending up with only about a third of the snow that was initially forecast.

Touring New York's "Cathedral of Commerce"

In 1878, Frank Woolworth invented the concept of the "five and dime" discount store - a place where everything cost either 5 or 10 cents, and all the merchandise was on display.  Shoppers could see and touch what they wanted to buy; they didn't need shop assistants to fetch things for them.  We take this practice for granted these days but back then, Woolworth's retail model was revolutionary.  And his customers loved it so much that by 1911, when Mr Woolworth formally founded his company, he was worth many millions of dollars.

Business was going so well that Woolworth hired a famous architect named Cass Gilbert to design his company's corporate headquarters on Broadway, further requesting that it should be the tallest building in the world.  Gilbert had designed the beautiful US Customs House in New York a few years before, so Woolworth was confident he would design something extra special.  Gilbert got to work and two years later, in 1913, The Woolworth Building was complete.

 It stood proud at 793 feet tall and was, as requested, the tallest building in the world (at that time).  To secure such a record, Woolworth is purported to have kicked in the cash for the building's tower out of his own pocket (more than $13 million!).  But the investment was worth it because at the opening ceremony, the majestic Woolworth Building was declared by many to be New York's "Cathedral of Commerce".

Now back in the early days of skyscrapers, the giant Woolworth Building would have been a tourist drawcard in itself.  People marveled at the neo-Gothic architecture, the gargoyles, and intricate carvings around the main entrance.  But inside, office workers had down time at the indoor swimming pool, the day spa, the observation deck, and the restaurant and retail stores in the lower level.  And the subway even used to run right underneath, so commuting to and from the tallest building in the world was a breeze.

All of these attractions aside, I reckon that even back when the Woolworth Building was first constructed, people must have remembered it for the same reason that we do today: the lobby.  When he designed the lobby, Cass Gilbert totally outdid himself.  It is a beautifully ornate, almost church-like space.  The ceiling has tiny mosaic tiles all over it,  some of which have been coated with gold leaf to give them extra sparkle.  Tiffany won the contract to design the lobby's elevator doors, and they are especially fancy.  There are marble carvings in the cornices - some of them depict leading figures of the time (including Cass Gilbert himself, cradling a plaster model of the building - see below), but other carvings are those of nonsense characters, put there for a bit of fun.

Another fun detail is the inclusion of salamanders in the carvings.  Did you know that according to legend, salamanders are impervious to flames and can actually extinguish fire?  Apparently, lots of buildings all across New York City have salamanders featured in their carvings and metalwork etc to protect the buildings from fire hazards (figuratively, at least).  The Woolworth Building was constructed to stand the test of time - fire safety was foremost in Cass Gilbert's mind and the only wood in the whole place was actually in the banisters in the internal stairwells.  Superstitious though it may be, you can see the salamanders in the gold work of the mailboxes in the Woolworth Building lobby (see him on the bottom left of the photo here?).  Needless to say, I will have to keep my eyes open for more salamanders in other buildings from now on!

You used to be able to wander in off the street and browse the Woolworth Building lobby but not anymore.  These days, access is by guided tour only (you can book them online here), but it's absolutely worth it.  The lobby of the Woolworth Building is just beautiful.  I did a one-hour tour yesterday and our guide (Lisa) was sensational.  She confessed to spending much of her private time at the New-York Historical Society, reviewing the original plans of the building and reading the original correspondence about its construction and development, which they have stored in their archives there.  The trivia Lisa shared with us came from her own exhaustive research, not from anything she parroted from the internet or read off some tired tour script.  It was absolutely wonderful and well worth the $30 ticket price.  I only pasted a couple of photos from the tour because so many of them were blurry, or just didn't do the splendor of the lobby justice.  I would definitely encourage you to add the Woolworth Building to your bucket list of NYC adventures.