vip in the city

Can’t get there from here

Week #4 of the 7 train construction. This weekend, subway trains were only running to 61st Street-Woodside, essentially cutting off half the line into Queens, and eliminating service from all but one transfer point. There was mass confusion at Times Square, which the erroneous MTA signs didn’t help; brochures distributed in subway stations incorrectly directed riders from Queens to take the E train to 53rd Street/Lexington Avenue, followed by an uptown  6 to reach Grand Central (even though Grand Central is south  of 53rd); station posters featured a map schematic showing the R train stopping at Grand Central (which it doesn’t.)

After a couple decades of experience navigating mass transit detours, I took the changes in stride. That morning, on the way to the N/R/W, I came upon a group of perplexed looking tourists, scrutinizing a transit map. Since it’s never too early to perform the first good deed of the day, I approached them, offering some assistance. How do we get to Queensboro Plaza?  I directed the group to the N train and as I was about to follow, an elderly couple approached tentatively. How about to Grand Central?  (Hint: not the R, and not the uptown 6.) As I was pointing out the passageway to the shuttle, another couple came up behind them. Within ten seconds, I was surrounded; soon I was doling out alternate routes to no less than three different groups of riders, like some Ritalin-addled auxillary transit worker.

The suspensions will continue every weekend until early April — with the exception of Saint Patrick’s Day weekend, when the Flushing line will be reopened to accommodate revelers attending the parade in Manhattan. (But what of our  parade? Where is John Liu?)

Shuttle bus fun in Jackson Heights:

On the way back into the city, the detours brought me to Central Park — icy, but pretty… furthering the axiom that it’s the journey, not the destination.

Later that night, dinner at Public, which has become our default dining destination, due in large part to M’s wine mailbox program membership and the group’s devotion to Adam, Brad and Jasmine, et. al.

BK was famished, and we ended up ordering one of almost every appetizer on the menu: the Mushroom Ceviche, the Herby Lentil Salad, the Grilled Scallops, the Cured Wild Boar with Garrotxa Cheese, the Pan-seared Foie Gras and the Grilled Kangaroo on a Coriander Falafel; the chef even added his own Vodka-cured Salmon to the mix. Such a feast, plus a brief surprise visit from B and his artsy cohorts… and all before my red snapper main course.

What food, what memories, what friends.