vip in the city

Wedding at The Lighthouse

DK’s big day! Since neither SYB nor I were bringing dates, we agreed to meet at my apartment in the morning for the taxi ride to Chelsea Piers. As soon as I entered, I was delighted to see a familiar face in JE, the old college roommate, whom I hadn’t seen since running into her at The Conservatory Gardens two or three years ago. She was positively glowing with the news of her two-weeks’ old engagement. Her fiance was with her, in town from California; they’d met last year at her best friend’s wedding. How romantic (and inspiring)!

Best man HH came by to greet us as we were sipping our pre-ceremony seltzers in the foyer. Groom DK strolled in shortly afterwards, looking a little nervous, but otherwise happy. I hadn’t seen the boys in tuxes since our high school prom, and the sight of them as grown men, dashing in their wedding finery, made me a little nostalgic.

Show time. At my insistence, SYB, DK’s friend JR and I snagged seats near the front, overlooking the Hudson. The venue was as lovely as I remembered from touring it three years ago with J & J when they were considering wedding locales. The days-long heatwave had broken and the skies were clear and almost impossibly blue. The stage was set for a perfect day.

Short, sweet ceremony. DK’s twin nieces made adorable flower girls. The bride was, of course, beautiful in her white gown, but the range of emotions playing across DK’s face as she made her walk towards him down the aisle is what I will remember most.

A cocktail hour followed during which I had the opportunity to mingle with the other guests, none of whom I knew or recognized. HH introduced me to two of LC(K?)’s brothers and I chatted with one of DK’s cousins while we were in line for the smoked salmon and carved Smithfield ham. Probably spent the most time with LK’s friends, an architect/purse-designer couple from Park Slope. I was describing to them how I’d been friends with DK, HH and SYB since junior high school and the wife observed, “So you’re the girl! You’re their Elaine!” Which got me to thinking: can that possibly be true?

Naturally, this led to a discussion of the other characters in the dysfunctional quartet. Ultimately, we couldn’t decide whether DK or HH would be Jerry, but SYB would definitely be the Kramer.

According to Wikipedia:

Elaine is mostly a victim of fate throughout the series. Her storylines see her caught up in the machinations of the other characters, or coming into conflict either with inadequate boyfriends or the arbitrary requirements of her eccentric employers. Many episodes end with Elaine ruining something for someone.

Haha.

During the luncheon, I was seated at a table with HH, SYB, other friends of LK and a former co-worker of DK’s, who rather curiously brought her married, vegetarian trainer as her date.

The band and singer performed a classic rotation of American standards and smooth-jazz dining music. Perhaps due to the early hour, or the whims of the crowd, there was actually very little dancing after the bride and groom had their first dance to “At Last.” I was determined not to be a wallflower, though, and even managed to coax turns out of HH, SYB and JE’s fiance, SS.

As the festivities wound down, HH managed to snag 1.5 centerpieces for me — someone had cherry-picked the roses and swiped the vase of one, stuffing the remainders into a wine glass. We picked up our photo favors, and SYB accompanied me with the flowers to my place to change and recharge while HH wrapped up his best man duties for the day. After all the early excitement, it was probably no surprise that I ended up passing out in a champagne/cocktail haze until HH called to reconvene upon his return from Brooklyn.

After burgers at the Fairway Cafe, the three of us caught the 10:30PM show of Talladaga Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. It seemed I had vastly underestimated the draw of Will Ferrell; by the time we arrived just before 10:00 (having wisely purchased our tickets before dinner), the line snaked along the entire length of the second floor. Nonetheless, we still managed decent seats in the sold-out theatre.

I once read Ferrell described as “shame immune,” and I think that could well be the crux of his appeal. John C. Reilly (as best friend Cal) and Sacha Baron Cohen (as Ricky’s gay, Formula Un nemesis) provided impressively solid, comic support — which prevented the film from relying too heavily on Ferrell’s signature screaming and stripping. Despite a nagging headache, I found myself laughing aloud in parts. It seems Ferrell has rebounded nicely from the nadir of Bewitched (which I actually did see in a theatre, but for free… and even then felt it was not worth the 102 minute investment.)

So in spite of not experiencing JE’s wedding luck in love, it was a nice ending to an eventful day.

Courtyard Cocktails at The New School

100 degree temperatures recorded at LGA today. Another scorcher of a day, another train delay. This time, I was stuck on the 2, inside the Fulton Street station – subway doors open, air conditioner churning ineffectually – for over twenty minutes before the conductor sent everyone off the train. Half an hour to travel three blocks from my office — thanks, MTA. In related news, the Straphangers Campaign released their 8th annual “State of the Subways” Report Card this week. This year, the 2 train tied with the C for the cleanest line (come to think of it, my car was pretty clean – just, you know, not moving ), but the group’s “MetroCard Rating” estimated the worth of a ride on the 2 at $1.00, $1.05 for the 3 and $1.10 for the 9 - yay, West Side.

Face flushed and running late, I arranged to meet SYB (and our CSA vegetables) down the block from where The New School was hosting their Courtyard Cocktail Party. The air-conditioned lobby offered sweet relief, and we hung back a bit, drinking in the cool before powering through to the courtyard where the festivities were taking place. A singer and his accompanist were set up and performing a repertoire of standards, much to the enchantment of one young blond in particular, who was focused on the singer with an intense, laser-like stare and mouthing along with him to every lyric of Gershwin’s “Our Love Is Here to Stay.” Hmm.

The New School building at 66 West 12th Street was the last major New York City structure designed by Joseph Urban, who two years earlier had planned the International Magazine Building, out of which now emerges Norman Foster’s Hearst Tower.

Attendees were crowded around the food tables, and although the focaccia sandwiches did look good, it was just too hot to attempt jockeying for position. I satisfied myself with the chilled rosé, and managed to snag a prettily iced chocolate cupcake off one of the silver trays being whisked around.

We collected our goody bags and headed over for dinner at DoSirak on 13th Street.

In its previous incarnation, this charming, casual spot was “Hero’s Sweet Potatoes” – a Japanese fast-food snack spot with a menu entirely devoted to dishes made with a Japanese variety of yellow-fleshed sweet potato. I had gone in a few times, and gotten to know a little bit about the owner, Hirokazu Sakai. The first time I visited, Hiro (Hero), a Japanese native, explained to me the inspiration behind his restaurant’s concept: growing up, he had always admired the success of McDonald’s fast food and sought to replicate it “with a Japanese twist.” By his reckoning, “Americans love sweet and Americans love potatoes. So… sweet potatoes!” Who’s to argue? I smiled politely, and ordered another sweet potato with peanut butter to go. He seemed to need the business. Six months later, Hiro reportedly ran into visa troubles and the place was shuttered.

The new owner kept the Asian theme and now churns out simple, home-cooked Korean fare. I enjoyed my tasty bulgogi bibimbap topped with a poached “hand-gathered Knoll Crest egg,” but was less impressed with the kimchijeon (kimchi pancake) appetizer, which I found a bit too salty, and not as spicy and flavorful as I would have liked.

Incidentally, after dinner, we passed the singer from the New School party on the street with a blonde, who was not the would-be groupie. Popular boy!

P.S. 1 Summer Celebration

5 Pointz, down the block from P.S. 1, is the latest incarnation of the a 200,000-square space on Crane Street. The space, formerly known as Phun Factory, billed itself as the world’s largest aerosol art museum. After a landlord-tenant dispute in 2001, Pat DiLillo, the group’s founder and director, stepped down. Onetime artist Meres, ne Jonathan Cohen, took over the project, rechristening it with its new name to symbolize NYC’s five boroughs coming together as one, and continues to offer a place for graffiti artists to showcase their work. The building originated as Gimbel’s former warehouse.

On the way out on the 7, we spied three kids adding their own contributions to the rooftop, seemingly undaunted by the scorching sun.

The outdoor courtyard of the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center — where the popular Warm Up music series is held on Summer Saturdays — features the new architectural installation by this year’s winner of the annual MoMA/P.S.1 Young Architects Program.

The entry by New York City-based OBRA, a design-oriented office in New York founded by partners Pablo Castro and Jennifer Lee, was selected from a field of twenty five proposals for a building project to transform the courtyard space with projected budget of $70,000. Their design, titled BEATFUSE!, is constructed of seven curved, interconnected shells made of plywood and polypropylene mesh. The project also encompasses “wooden tidal pools, water misters, and light strainers that create constantly changing shapes in the mist.” On view through September 2006.

The overhead shells and cool misters provided some relief from the heat and sun, which by this point, was becoming almost unbearable. Small children and babies everywhere – in the pools, at the craft stations, in the origami tent. And on the dance floor: from our vantage point on the concrete steps in front of the DJ booth, we watched a few busting out some excellent moves to the grooves (in the heart) of Deee-Lite.

At the Kevin Kinsella concert at Riverside Park South’s Pier I.