Big City weekend
My mom and I spent Labor Day weekend in NYC, seeing shows, eating good food, and visiting with my sister Nancy, who lives there. I know I've said it before but New York is something of a pilgrimage for us. My parents lived there and loved it, I was born there, yada yada lalala. I grew up hearing NYC stories and feeling like it's home. It's one of our happy places. So when my mom came to Boston for a visit with us, we jumped on the chance to sneak away to the Big City for the weekend.
Big Apple, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways (and share in case others are looking for some NYC tips, especially since I got a lot of guidance from others' blogged suggestions. Isn't blogland grand?).
Good eats:
~ italian pre-theater dinner on 9th Ave at Roberto Passon : warm beet salad with goat cheese + veal scallopine
~ pear, brie, and honey sandwich at a french bistro I can't remember the name of but now I have a new favorite sandwich
~ Moto in Brooklyn: artichoke with saffron mayo + side of mashed potatoes + heavenly date cake
~ Pinkberry: coconut fro yo with dark chocolate and shaved coconut
~ Mother Burger: late night (post theater) lemonade and shared fries sitting in a courtyard and people watching
~ Magnolia Bakery (the one near 30 rock): devil's food cupcake with cream cheese frosting
~ junior mints at every show (to be expected when you're with my mom)
The
Theata:
~ Billy Elliott, (with David Alvarez as Billy) Amazing.
~ West Side Story (we loveloveloved Anita and Maria and Bernardo but Tony was having an off night, although he is very handsome)
~ we decided to see The September Issue, the documentary about Anna Wintour (you know, the inspiration for the Devil Wears Prada) and producing the September issue of Vogue. I am now a huge fan of Grace Coddington; she steals the show
~ the 39 Steps (I had seen it before with G but it was still great fun. Kind of a mystery and a farce all in one)
New York moments--priceless:
~JLo and Marc Anthony sat a couple of rows in front of me at Billy Elliott. Totally surreal! He is tiny, she is gorgeous. They left with a bodyguard a little before intermission and again a little before final curtain.
~ sitting in Bryant Park with my mom, Nancy, and Nancy's boyfriend Dave. The fashion week tents were up, people were playing ping pong, and a quite crazy, slightly dressed, bearded woman nearby (she looked like Pan) made for a memorable afternoon
~ eating yogurt breakfast on a bench in Central Park
~ exploring the Brazil Day street festival on 5th Avenue, complete with mechanical bull riders, street food, loud music, and lots of yellow and green
~ hitting the candy bar at FAO Swartz
~ pretending we were guests at the Plaza Hotel (i.e., snooping through the lobby and smelling the flower arrangements to see if they were real)
~ watching the swing dancers in the center of Times Square
~ admiring the rooftop views from Nancy's apartment building in Brooklyn. Breathtaking.
~ listening to the Mad Jazz Hatters at Moto (see photo, far right. I was right next to them and loved every minute of it). Very cool early jazz + jugband + klezmer sound
~ seeing a guy in handcuffs on Times Square, standing next to some policemen. On closer examination, we saw that the guy was wearing a tshirt that said "Doesn't play well with others." Classic.
