NEW YORK AGAIN!

 

Our last review of the New York wining, dining and culture scene finished up with the words "we can't wait to get back". Well, we did go back earlier this year, but we didn't find things quite as terrific as we did in the first place.

 

First of all, we felt that there was a pretty noticeable price rise at most of the places we went to and secondly, we were surprised to see that European habit of including a "service charge" (sometimes as much as 20%, but at least 17%) in some restaurants. Only one restaurant made it perfectly plain that you did not need to tip twice.

 

We stayed at the Affinia Manhattan again, a really good location for buzzing about New York and our first adventure this time into New York typical restaurants was to go to Landmarc - not the new one in the Time Warner building, but the original in TriBeCa at 179 West Broadway. This was considered to be "more authentic" by our once again NYC host - Mary Riebold. It certainly looked very casual and very minimalistic in its décor and the menu consisted of mostly grills, pastas and salads - cheerful, if not particularly cheap. I had never had a hangar steak before, so this is what Mary and I had, which wasn't bad at all and Sonia had the mussels. This was a mistake. We had forgotten that it was (a) Monday and (b) Memorial Day and the mussels were a bit stale. Still, we managed to avoid getting poisoned by consuming sufficient quantities of alcohol (3 bottles - the Jed Steele 2005 Pinot Noir at $36 being the best; the Basque rosé was pretty grim, but the Craig Syrah 2004, from the Garretson wine company wasn't bad at all, but wine prices are reasonable here). Maybe we were unlucky with the mussels, but it's certainly worth a try if you are in the area. Reservations 212 343 3883.

 

The next day we tried a re-vamped restaurant called Nish. It used to be called March, but is now much less formal and pricey. Wayne Nish was the chef at March and the re-vamped restaurant is now named after him. A four course meal at $59 looked good value and Wayne certainly can cook, but the dishes had a decidedly Asian slant without being too definitive. The big problem, however, was the staff. Too many of them and too many of them running around like headless chickens not knowing what to do. All the orders and wine orders had to be given through the maitre d' who looked as if he was still in high school and wasn't very friendly to boot. Asking any other member of staff for anything, even simple things like getting more bread, was met with consternation.

 

That was a pity, because the obviously well worth food was completely spoilt by the whole Fawlty Towers effect of the waiting staff. Two ladies at the table next to us were livid that after appalling service throughout their meal, they were finally presented with somebody else's bill! We slunk away vowing never to return, and that turned out to be easier done than said, because we subsequently found out that it had closed down.

 

In the meantime, a visit to the Cloisters museum tempered our disappointment with our dinner. Located at Fort Tryon Park, north of Washington heights, this reconstruction of portions of four medieval cloisters, which have been integrated into the museum to create an exhibition of medieval sculpture, metalwork, tapestries, stained glass, manuscripts, and paintings, is a must for all lovers of beautiful things. The two major periods of the Middle Ages, the Romanesque period, the year 1000 to 1150, and the Gothic period, dating 1150 to 1520 are particularly well featured. Many of these artefacts were collected by John D. Rockefeller and with continuing additions, this is one of the most important collections of medieval art that one can find anywhere in the world under one roof. It's a longish bus ride from downtown Manhattan on the M4 bus, but at least you do get a chance to see some parts of New York that the average tourist may never see. There are also some fantastic views of the Hudson river when you get there. It's open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 a.m. Telephone 212-923-3700 for information and bookings.

 

If Nish was an utter disaster, then our next dining experience was a delight, although we had to jump through a number of hoops to get to where we could really say that this was a most enjoyable evening. The place in question is The River Café on the waterfront in Brooklyn, just downstream from Brooklyn bridge. It's one of those hard-to-get-into places and you sometimes need a little ingenuity to succeed in getting a reservation. However, we did manage it, but they could only take us at 6:30 (when they opened) and we had to vacate the table by 8:30. This is not normally the kind of welcome we readily subscribe to, even more so when I was told that I had to wear a jacket (they didn't mention a shirt, though), or I might be excommunicated. I explained that we would be wandering around the Lower East Side with particular attention to the South Street Seaport area which had been redeveloped into such an interesting tourist area, and I really wouldn't have time to go back to my hotel in central Manhattan and get back by 6:30. No problem, they said - we can supply you with a "house" jacket for the evening. "Well, that's jolly civilised" I thought to myself, so having spent the day exploring Lower Manhattan all day, we took the ferry over the water to the Fulton landing, which, as it so happens, is right next door the restaurant. The early start was, in some way fortuitous, since we wanted to catch some jazz uptown later on and didn't want to make it too late.

 

Having got there just as it was opening, we hoped that we had a choice of tables. The best tables were, of course, by the window, with magnificent views of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, but, of course, we were denied. It was explained to us that if I had come with my own jacket, we could have had a window table, but since I had to wear one of their ill-fitting "house jackets", the best they could do for us was to put us in the second row! I couldn't quite see the logic of this, unless they were ashamed of the "house" tailor, but in fairness to them, they were extremely accommodating (within the parameters of their own RULES, y'know), and they did give us a round table to sit at which gave us a magnificent 180° view of the river. So off I went in my oversized jacket to the table, desperately hoping that I wouldn't get the cuffs in the soup.

 

Now for the meal itself. Since we have only made a single visit, it doesn't qualify for a full scale review, but hopefully we will be able to remedy that on our next visit to New York. Suffice to say, that on the whole, we had a pretty good meal, surprisingly so, considering the rather long menu. It's fixed price ($95 for three courses) with choices of about a dozen dishes in each course. After some delicately prepared amuses bouches, you could have as a starter, Sautéed Hudson Valley Foie Gras with caramalized ruby red grapefruit and a pistachio and Banyuls reduced to a jelly, Buffalo Steak Tartare, Wild Rock Lobster with blood orange, cauliflower purée, and white asparagus and Porcini Mushroom Soup (a bit salty) and a dozen others (including caviar at an $85 supplement), whilst main courses may include Venison with sautéed spinach spaetzle, leeks, summer squash and a venison "barbecue" natural sauce, Black Bass Fillet with poached artichoke hearts, grilled artichoke filled ravioli and marinated oven dried tomato and verjus sauce. The Cape Cod Monkfish with slow roasted suckling pig filled ravioli, Sauternes poached golden raisin purée, roasted mushroom fillets and pork braising juices was a daring combination - but it worked. Desserts are satisfying, too, with Apple Upside Down cake, Chocolate Marquise Brooklyn Bridge and Chocolate Sticky Toffee Cake with pistachio ice cream, amongst others, well satifying the sweet-toothed. Chef Brad Steelman has done as good job here. The wine list is pretty good, too - we had a glass of Prosecco ($8.50) followed by a bottle of Chalone 2003 Syrah at $59 - quite good, but obviously from young vines, which lacked a bit of intensity.

 

To the back of the main restaurant is the Terrace Room, serving pretty much the same food in a more informal atmosphere with each dish individually priced on an a la carte basis and the room can also be used for private functions. All in all, this is a well worth detour from downtown Manhattan, especially on a fine summer's day. Reservations (and you will certainly need one as well as a jacket) (718) 522 5200. Address: 1 Water Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. 11201.

 

Having had to eat so early (and to leave our table early) suited us in a way because we took the opportunity to visit one of New York's legendary Jazz rendezvous - Birdland, at 315 W. 44th St. - between 8th and 9th Avenues. When the original Birdland opened in December, 1949, Charlie Parker was the headliner and the club was located on Broadway, a few blocks west of 52nd Street, which was a hotbed of jazz in the 1930s and 40s. In addition to Bird, many jazz legends were regulars at the club. Count Basie and his smokin' big band made Birdland their New York headquarters, eventually recording George Shearing's "Lullaby of Birdland" live at the club. John Coltrane's classic Quartet regularly appeared at the club in the early 1960s, recording "Live at Birdland." And the infamous Symphony Sid Torin made a name for himself broadcasting live from the club to radio listeners up and down the eastern seaboard. Birdland's booking history reads like a who's who of jazz: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bud Powell, Stan Getz, Lester Young, Erroll Garner, and many, many others. Perhaps it doesn't attract such famous and illustrious names in the jazz world these days, but when we went we dug Regina Carter - a multi talented jazz violinist performing some jazzed up classicals such as Grieg's Hall of the Mountain King, Ravel's Pavan pour une Enfante Defunte - film theme music from "Un Homme et une Femme" and real jazz oldies such as "Li'l Brown Jug" with some amazing counterpoint weaving through. She then introduced us to two amazing young lady jazz violinists who enthralled us with their virtuosity. Entrance fee (music charge) $20 to $50 (depending on performer) to include your first drink. We paid $30 for Regina Carter. Well worth it. Reservations call 212 581-3080 or visit their website on www.birdlandjazz.com.

 

Following our declared intention of exploring some out of town locations, we were recommended to visit the Stone Barns restaurant in the Pocantino Hills some 30 miles out of town. The Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture is a community project dedicated to "producing good food, responsible agriculture and a healthier world." Nowhere does their publicity mention the dreaded word "organic" but it sure is. The idea is to produce locally farmed ingredients farm to table on a human scale, using best agricultural practices, borrowing from both traditional as well as modern methods.

 

Unfortunately for us, the restaurant is only open in the evenings and you have to book to get in weeks in advance, but the café is open during the day where you can have wholesome, but rather dull food. We'll try to remember to book in good time next time we visit New York.

 

But a trip to this part of the country is an exhilarating experience if only for the Rockefeller legacy which includes the museum at Kykuit, the Rockefeller Estate and the stained glass windows by Chagall and Matisse at the Union Church of Pocantino Hills, specially commissioned by the Rockefeller family. There is also Washington Irvine's Sunnyside Estate at Sleepy Hollow and a number of other places you can explore before dinner at Stone Barns. If you don't have a car, getting there is not difficult from NYC - just take the Metro North Train from Grand Central station to Tarrytown where you can pick up local public buses and taxis. More information on www.hudsonrivervalley.com.

 

Finally, no intellectual trip to New York should exclude at least one visit to whatever is going on musically at the Lincoln Center. After the concert, opera (or whatever) or even before, if you want to eat like a New Yorker, you could do no worse than dining nearby at one of New York's better Chinese restaurants - Shun Lee West (they have a Shun Lee East as well) on 43 West 65th Street. It's traditional stuff - there's no ground breaking East meets West stuff or any other genuflection to "modern" Asian cuisine. But what you see is what you get, and very well prepared it is, too. There is a wine list, but our preferences in Chinese restaurants is to stick to beer or tea although the wines seemed to be well chosen and not too expensive. Reservations: 212-595-8895 - www.shunleewest.com.

 

So there is New York again. It's a hustling, bustling city - really the city that never sleeps - there is always something to suit everybody's taste and pocket and for a short break it's a really exhilarating experience. Yes - we'll be back again next year!

 

 

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