vip in the city

Salt peanuts, salt peanuts and pizza pies

Outdoor dance performances are irresistible, even when they’re slightly weird.

This afternoon, DK, LK, HH, SYB and I met in Battery park for Tap City, the al fresco dance series celebrating all things tap. This all-afternoon event was an extension of the New York City Tap Festival which took place in July; like the main event, it was co-produced by master tap dancer Tony Waag and the American Tap Dance Foundation (ATDF).

By the time we hit the lawn, the “Tap Off” competition had just gotten underway. One by one, contestants (soloists, duets, trios or ensembles, ages 9-19) took the stage to vie for cash prizes and the opportunity to perform with the dance professionals at the “Tap City Down Town” concert that evening.

Amid all the shuffles, clicks, rolls and flaps, we saw several talented young performers, and one black lycra-clad JonBenet-esque moppet in a pink feather boa. (Hmm.) One tenacious teen opted to tap out Dizzy Gillespie’s “Salt Peanuts” a capella when there were technical difficulties with her music accompaniment. She was awarded an ADTF scholarship on the spot for being such a good sport, and went on to win second place overall.

Four out of five of us had little interest in the free tap lessons being offered after the competition, and that fifth person was starving, so instead we went hunting around the park for newly-opened Picnick, the double kiosk project by “rock star pastry chef” Will Goldfarb and partner Kevin Pomplun, former chef at Thor. I was surprised to encounter a bespectacled Goldfarb manning the counter himself, but excited for the chance to chat a bit with him about his plans for the new venture – such as adding Room 4 Dessert-type sweets; he mentioned his panna cotta, specifically — and how overwhelmed he had been by the positive reception during Picnick’s first week. Well, not all positive as it turns out, but these things take time. I’ll be back to check up.

As SYB caught up on his daily meals, we plotted our next move by the Weisz + Yoes fountain where HH earned a dollar by taking up SYB’s dare to run through the shooting jets of water.

No, that’s not him.

From the benches it was a brief stroll to Stone Street’s Adrienne’s Pizza Bar, where over a couple of old-fashioned rectangular pies (eggplant/mushroom and sausage/peppers), we watched Roger the Great win his fourth straight U.S. Open title in a dramatic and hard-fought victory over Serb Novak Djokovic. The best part was not having to wait two hours to eat.

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