vip in the city

Village wanderings

Over the Queensboro Bridge, and back into the city…

It took over 45 minutes for me to crawl my way downtown to Zinc Bar on the M5 bus – half that time spent on Fifth Avenue between 47th Street and 57th Streets — for a night of Brazilian Samba.

Dark room, cold beer and a sexy saxophone:

After the set, we took to the streets of Greenwich Village, where WGY pointed out the giant Picasso sculpture at NYU’s I. M. Pei-designed Silver Towers residential complex. How could I not have noticed the 36-foot high “Bust of Sylvette” before? The mammoth 60-ton version of Picasso’s painted metal bust of Sylvette David was created in 1967 by Norwegian sculptor Carl Nesjär, who sandblasted the cast-concrete surface to reveal the black basalt underneath, in lines to duplicate the Spanish master’s brushstrokes.

Random and brilliant. WGY is right, in a way that only those who leave New York can appreciate: this is the best city in the world.

Our nocturnal wanderings took us past the Murray’s cheese caves, to Red Mango (better than Pinkberry’s frozen no-gurt?) and to Mamoun’s for super cheap, extra-spicy falafels. (How there was appetite to spare after the banquet at Mandarin Court remains a mystery to me.) Along the way, we steered some tourists from the Christopher Street piers, discovered that 85 Bedford is not, in fact, the location of a bar in the West Village, and assessed that we are entirely too curmudgeonly to suffer the crowds waiting for entry to Employee’s Only on a Saturday night.

White Horse Tavern farther up on Hudson, however, proved an acceptable fallback. Any watering hole good enough for Dylan Thomas is good enough for us.

Tags: Dylan Thomas, jazz, Mamoun's, West Village, White Horse Tavern, Zinc Bar

Beef, it’s what’s for dinner

I now know two people who converted to vegetarianism after reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan’s reflection on ethical eating. Hmm, put that way, it sounds a bit like a cult. Pollan himself, though, is no vegetarian; rather, he promotes awareness of the origins and implications of our diet, and raises valid, disturbing points about factory farms, industrial agriculture, and resource inefficiency. I generally try to limit my meat intake anyway, at least as much from a health standpoint (heart disease, high cholesterol, cancer) as from the perspectives of environmental impact (water usage, waste contamination, rainforest destruction) and public health (food-borne illness, irradiation, antibiotics and growth hormones). But I also love a good burger, and every once in a while, I’ve been known to embrace fully, happily, the world of meats.

Like tonight, where we were gathered at Casa B for a sumptuous dinner of porterhouse steaks. Check out these thick, beautiful slabs from Omaha Steaks:

Porterhouse steaks are T-bones cut from the marbled, larger, rear end of the short loin, and are comprised of both tenderloin (filet mignon) and New York strip steak sections. According to local lore, the name traces its origins to early 19th century New York City, where the steak was a popular menu item in public alehouses — or “porter houses.”

Our 1½ pound steaks were prepared simply, as all quality meat should be: liberally seasoned with salt and pepper and topped with spoonfuls of butter — Peter Luger-style, over which, most will agree, there can be little improvement.

Afterwards, the party moved into the living room, where after homemade desserts of chocolate bundt cake, apple crumble and Christmas cookies, we divided into teams of three for a rousing game of Cranium. Among the challenges tonight: do a Clint Eastwood impersonation, spell “c-a-r-a-m-e-l” backwards, hum “Brick House” by The Commodores, mold a lion out of blue clay, act out a “quadruple bypass” and draw a surfer with one’s eyes closed. Hunter women reign supreme!

Tags: Omaha Steaks, porterhouse, steaks, Sunnyside

Dinner at Ocean Jewels

M & LL were back in town after spending the holiday in Alexandria with the newlyweds, so the family gathered in Queens once again for a post-Christmas dinner with our visiting friends.

I never eat better in Chinese restaurants than when my parents or their Hong Kong compatriots take command of the ordering. I can’t even replicate the meals on my own if I try; half the time, those same dishes don’t seem to appear anywhere on the standard English menu to which I’m most often relegated.  This cold, wet evening we all met at Ocean Jewels Seafood Restaurant, located across 39th Avenue from the Flushing Mall. (One day I’ll have to devote an entire post to that kitsch and foodie paradise.)

The upscale Cantonese-style restaurant was previously known as Gum Tong Gung and before that, I think, East River… though it’s difficult to keep track among all the changes in downtown Flushing. I’ve seen it most often touted for its impeccably fresh seafood and beautiful assortment of dimsum, though the food is very good across the board; most peak meal times you’ll find Ocean Jewels jammed with a predominantly Chinese clientele, though of course, all are welcome.

Tonight, we shared the restaurant with a wedding party in progress. The sounds of karaoke filtered in from the adjacent banquet room, adding to the overall festive atmosphere. (At least I’m pretty sure it was karaoke. Either karaoke, or a not-particularly-talented wedding singer.)

On to the food! Dried Scallops with Yellow Chives Soup:

I noticed that Ocean Jewels has a lotus-leaf-wrapped version of the sticky rice/Dungeness crab dish that I love of late, but tonight, our crustacean of choice was the Lobster with Ginger and Scallions:

Sauteed Shrimps with Crystal Sauce:

And because it seemed cruel to delay further everyone else’s meal with my obsessive photo-taking, here’s the rest of the spread, which included Crispy Fried Chicken (with Pringles, which nowadays seem to be the go-to stand-in for shrimp chips), House Special T-bone Steak and House Special Baked Sable Fish (or as it appears on Nobu’s menu: Black Cod.)

Tags: Chinese food, Flushing, Ocean Jewels