vip in the city

Jersey Shore — part 1

A belated birthday weekend outing to the Jersey Shore.  We started out at The Borgata (thanks, ML and LL!) where Mom won $18 on her first pull of the slot machine, and true to her word, quit while she was ahead.

Eventually, we made our way to the Boardwalk, which was (for better or worse) significantly more populated than the last time we were here.

Check out the full flickr set here.

Strange Fruit and Summer’s Palate

Today at lunchtime, we headed west to the World Financial Center to catch the live performance of “Swoon!” by Melbourne-based performing arts company Strange Fruit. The unique troupe specializes in large-scale, acrobatically choreographed pieces performed using 12-foot high flexible poles.

Over 20 awe-inspiring minutes, the expressive quartet emoted a story of “love, loss, joy and freedom,” as they dipped, twirled and swayed high above the enchanted onlookers (and a few flummoxed passersby) on the plaza, with the Hoboken skyline as a backdrop.

Check out the full flickr set of their performance here.

Inside the glass and steel Winter Garden: Summer’s Palate – yet another food festival: this one showcasing the signature dishes and desserts from the WFC’s seventeen restaurants and cafes.

Johnney’s Fish Grill crab cakes:

“Eighteen whiskies. A record, I think.”

To ring in her third decade, AH had scheduled two weeks worth of celebrations in two states – the first of which was taking place tonight at Sincerely, the weekly Sapphic mixer at Dirty Disco on 14th Street. The club opened last Fall and is apparently too cool for a sign.

By the time we arrived, a few hours into the festivities, the guest of honor was in such a state it called to mind for me the anecdote about Dylan Thomas’ final visit to the White Horse Tavern on Hudson Street. According to legend, the Welsh poet collapsed at his favorite haunt on November 8, 1953 after uttering his famous last words. He died at St. Vincent’s Hospital the following morning. Wikipedia disputes the veracity of the story, putting the drunken declaration on November 3, a few days before the man’s demise. Either way, Thomas’ world-class boozer status is never in doubt.

On the way home — after we saw AH safely into a car — I met a burlesque dancer for the second time in my life.