Monday, November 1; the arrival of Bill and Alice Abbate. They have come down from Boston for a few days to spend time alone (they have one son who's almost six, another just arrived a few months ago) and are staying at a hotel in mid-town. The three of us stop to see Dangerboy who’s having sushi with friends. The connection between Bill and Scott Reich? As a young intern for Bill at WBCN, he had to run errands for him, including the convenience store right next to the Ramrod Room, the gay leather bar. So it was danger pay for him, thus he became Dangerboy! And after a short stint working for Aerosmith in Boston and then here in NYC, he began to work for VH-1. Recently, Garth Brooks drove him back to his hotel in Garth's pickup and Scott was in the Oval Office of the White House with other staff and the President of the United States of America, Bill Clinton! Not bad.
Then it’s off to Pangea; they’ve certainly heard about it like everyone else! We have margaritas and light food as they're tired from their trip; Dangerboy joins us after 9 pm and we all hang out at the bar before calling it an early evening.
Tuesday, November 2, a rainy front is bringing colder temperatures with it and it’s not making for a cheery afternoon at home. The weather continues to worsen as time goes on and when, around 6, I realize that neither Bryan nor Danger (who is tired from working late) really want to trudge up to mid-town, I brave the elements and subway to the hotel Bill and Alice are staying at.
Alice wanted sushi and found a place just a couple of blocks away – Fuji Japanese Restaurant, Established 1954 at 238 West 56th Street (between Broadway and Eighth Avenue). Anyway, she figured that any sushi place that lasted that long in mid-town must be ok. And it certainly seemed so. We mainly got platters of generic sushi and sashimi along with some tempura; all very clean and fresh. Plus loads of sake.
Wednesday, November 3, I had hoped to get together with Bill and Alice as they had planned a walking tour of Manhattan but we never connected. I later found out that they walked from their hotel, down to SoHo, around the East Village and back. Some walk – and the weather wasn’t exactly hospitable. So I spent the whole day in the house with the exception of dinner at Pangea around 11 pm (a simple salad of apples and gorgonzola cheese along with penne with pork and spinach). Talk about a quiet day!
Thursday, November 4, Bryan and I have dinner at Zito’s on First Avenue at 6 pm. It doesn’t turn out as well as when I had lunch there. Bryan goes for stuffed mushrooms which were soggy and a chicken breast with watery pesto sauce and funny-tasting sun-dried tomatoes. I opted for the prosciutto-wrapped asparagus; the asparagus were too big and tough, the meat too salty.
Tonight's episode of ER has Alan Alda as a doctor returning to work; it makes me think what it would be like for me to return to rock and roll. Most of the time now I have to ask Dangerboy what song we're listening to!
Friday, November 5, our trip to Boston. At 11 am sharp, we pick up Dangerboy and Susan and, with Bryan at the helm, drive north up the Henry Hudson Parkway to the Saw Mill River Parkway and on to our first stop of the day, Anthony’s Restaurant in Danbury CT. I had eaten here many years before and although the name had changed the sign said it had the same owners and chef. But had it gone downhill! Pretensions to haute cuisine aside, it just didn’t make the grade. From the dollops of weak clam chowder in large bowls to various tomato sauces, none of which worked, it was quite the disappointment. But it was food and it did nourish us until our arrival in the Boston area around 5 pm.
Also, a shift in helm from Bryan to Scott; I didn’t know he really could drive! I would have had him drive before this. Knowing that Jeff and Alli wouldn’t be ready to leave Monolyth yet, we decided on a side trip to Kendell Square and a crazy pink building stuffed with vintage clothes. Scott gets a long tuxedo overcoat and Susan a cute powder blue windbreaker that she wears all weekend.
We get to the Monolyth offices around 7 pm and pick up Jeff Marshall and Alli Wong; we drop off Danger and Susan (they’re staying at Shari Sklar’s place nearby) and go to Jeff’s apartment. And then it’s a regrouping at 8 at Jeff’s for our eventual arrival (after a stop at Urban Outfitters) at the Capital Grille at 9:30 pm. Scott has decided to take the six of us to dinner there in honor of Alli’s birthday! My, my, now that’s the sign that our Danger has grown up!
The Capital Grille (part of a nation-wide chain) is located at the end of Newbury Street across from Tower Records and has been a designated special restaurant for our group for years. It’s an old-fashioned steak house (you can even see the meat locker as you enter) with an club-like atmosphere. But the attitude is anything but; people are dressed from suits to leather. The only down-side is that we are all quite tired from the day and the heavy meat and red wine makes us quite tired.
I’m quite surprised that after dinner we make the Lansdowne Street club crawl – I barely remember most of it and it wasn’t because of over-eating. Our first stop is Bill’s Bar; Jeff has been handling the talent there for years. A band is playing when we get there and there isn’t anyone we know that well so we continue on to Axis (nothing new) and the newly expanded Avalon (more of a stretch job – it had to be pointed out to me). We took a quick look at the new Modern bar before heading back to the apartment and sleep for all of us before 1 am.
Saturday, November 6, I’m up at 10 to go to Dunkin’ Donuts for Bryan and me; Jeff had a mentoring program and Alli did some morning work in the office so they had left early. Around 11:30, she came back to the apartment to graciously drive us downtown where we were to meet Danger and Susan (they were meeting his mom at her workplace). We did some window shopping of our own, being yuppies on Newbury Street.
Once we hooked up with our traveling partners in front of Trinity Church in Copley Square, we boarded the subway and headed out to Harvard Square. Boy, was I disappointed! Most all the small stores that made the square so much fun are gone. Scott wanted to eat at the Tastee Diner – it’s now an Abercrobie & Fitch; I was looking for Grendel’s Den – some say it’s moving into a new location. Leo’s Place looked filthier than we’d ever seen it. And then the coup de grace – I see the original location of Jonathan Swift’s Pub and later the comedy club Catch A Rising Star, which I managed right before its demise. Now it’s a Buck A Book! The ghosts remain – the most they have done is strip down the walls and bar. The linoleum floor remains covered by rugs where the bar and stage were. My office is still there as is the walk-in refrigerator, now filled with boxes of books. And all around the signs of decay.
Harvard Square is now a mall. One of the few remaining places left is Charlie’s Kitchen, the “Double Cheeseburger King.” So of course, that’s what I have and just as I remembered it. Danger and Susan opt for single varieties of the hamburger while Bryan goes for the pulled-pork sandwich (a bit better than the one he had last week). He also goes for the Sam Adams beer while we have sodas.
A little more walking around, grabbing cigarettes at Nino’s Corner, a cigar for Scott at Leavitt & Peirce (1316 Mass Ave - fine tobacco and chess sets since 1883 and my own tobacco store when I was at Tufts 25 years ago) and a stroll through the Quad of Harvard University and we’re finished with Harvard Square.
We decide that since it’s not too cold, we’d walk down Massachusetts Avenue to Central Square to catch the subway there. And much has changed along this path also; but it is nice to see that much of the old architecture has been retained.
By 6 pm, we’ve dropped off Danger and Susan; he’s meeting his mother at 7 pm at the Golden Temple and we’re all hoping to catch an hour’s nap. Now, the Golden Temple is the reason we’re here in Boston – ok, maybe it is our friends but we’ve come to value the mai tai’s at this upscale Chinese restaurant just a block from Jeff and Alli’s apartment.
And what was originally to have been a quiet dinner for Mrs. Danger becomes an affair. Not only does their friend Tim come, but so does Jeff and Alli, me and Bryan and even Bill and Alice Abbate! Although we don’t find the food, or the drinks for that matter, to be up to the usual standards that we set for the Temple, it’s still a fun evening for most of the attendees. And of course everyone gets drunk.
The party breaks up around 11 pm with the departure of Scott’s mother; Bill and Alice return home and Tim goes off. The six of us remaining return to the apartment to vaguely watch Yellow Submarine. Danger and Susan leave a little after midnight while Jeff and I chat upstairs and Bryan and Alli have a cigarette outside.
Jeff goes to sleep followed by Alli. Bryan and I go to the Ramrod Room (although the Eagle is supposed to be Boston's leather bar, this neighborhood bar around the corner from my old condo is the real thing) before getting back to the apartment and crashing.
Sunday, November 7, I get coffee (and stale doughnuts again) and by noon the six of us are at Kokopelli for brunch. We’ve had erratic results here before; today is the worst. Not only is the food incredibly slow, the service is surly about it. Oh, well, by 2 pm they’re history for good.
And the four traveling fools are on their way again. This time the helmsman is Dangerboy for the whole trip! And for the first time in my life, we get a free toll. Going through the exit off the Mass Turnpike, the four of us are waved through! Bryan believes that he read something about car pools being let through today, others have heard that they do it when there is too large a back up (which didn't seem to be the case). Regardless, this is the first time ever, ever, ever for me.
Monday, November 8 and a drink at Dick’s. And who should walk in after us but Andrew from our building. As I’ve mentioned before, we originally doubted him but it turns out he has a rather fine private collection of Russian Imperialist art (plates, candlesticks, books and prints) and really does deal with the museum people that he says he does.
We proposed Pangea but, since he’s as much a regular there as us, wanted something different. And so we did – we went to the Telephone Bar and Grill a block further south on Second Avenue. Dinner with Andrew is always a trip; he has the perfect upper class accent. And remember his “press release: old, fat, bald, ugly and poor.” Quite the character; I’m sure we couldn’t mix him with any of our friends so of course we love him. And dinner was quite competent; the restaurant is faux British pub but, although it’s noisy, the prices are good and the food consistent even if the menu is a bit beyond the reach of the kitchen.
After dinner, Andrew invites us back to his apartment for espresso and drinks which we accept. The espresso is served in 18th Russian china similar to a delft blue pattern (sorry I don’t know more about these things); the drinks Grand Marnier, Cointreau and Chartreuse.
Tuesday, November 9, a surprise phone call from Dave Wohlman. History lesson: David was one of the people that helped me get started in radio. He eventually made his way to Boston's WBCN and then to San Jose where he's been for quite awhile now. He and his second wife have just added a brother to the son David already has. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to make the baby's christening in Boston before Thanksgiving. It's been too long since I've seen many of my friends!
I finally go out around 2 pm and have lunch at Baluchi’s Indian Food at 104 Second Avenue (at Sixth Street, they have six other locations). They had recently renovated (although in a weird attempt to fit into the East Village, they left the floor plain concrete) and lunch was 50% off the dinner prices (at least for food). And since Bryan doesn’t often attempt Indian (especially to try it for the first time), I thought it a perfect opportunity. Since it was the middle of the afternoon, I had a nice large table to spread out.
I started with a lassi (sweet yogurt drink with rose water) along with my papadum. Appetizer was something I was unfamiliar with: ka-chori. Indeed, the menu says “to difficult to put into words but recommended.” I agree; it’s a mixture of mashed vegetables, chickpeas, yogurt and … well, it’s difficult to put into words but it’s cold and it’s tasty – order it. Then on to the chicken jalfrazie (boned pieces along with vegetables in a tomato sauce) which was not as spicy as I had requested. Indeed, it seemed that all additional things were ignored; I ordered paratha with mint – the bread arrived plain. Forget the mango chutney or raita. Nonetheless, the food was subtle enough and the service pleasant if perfunctory. And was it a good deal at half off? Well, I forgot to mention that someone was cutting down a wall while I was there. But it wasn’t all that bad and for $15 ($20 for food divided in half, five for beverage and tax) for the whole meal, I think I might just try Baluchi's again..
At 5 pm, I took some time to call my college roommate, Steve Pelle. He still lives with his wife Vickie in Ft. Myers, Florida where he has developed a business inspecting houses and does quite well at it. We spent almost an hour on the phone. Wow, two of my closest friends and I haven't seen them physically in years. Is this truly what our world has come to?
Wednesday, November 10, I join Bryan for lunch at Giggles, a bar and grill on 40th Street (between 6th and Broadway) for beef kebobs. We’re actually surprised by how good they are. Dinner is Mexican at MaryAnn’s. I wanted to eat a little lighter so had the chili-rubbed shrimp with jicama over mixed greens; B stuck with the normal high-fat Mexican. Plus margaritas, of course! Then back to the apartment by 9 so that I can watch Star Trek: Voyager.
Thursday, November 11, Veteran’s Day so Bryan has the day off. Also, the unusually warm last few days have given way to seasonal cold. Around 4 pm, he proposed walking to the West Village; but first it was a stop at Old Navy for Bryan’s niece and nephew, it's cult item stuff in Wyoming. Plus, he wants to be sure to have gifts to bribe them with over Thanksgiving. Also, a bottle of wine - specifically, the 1995 Markham Merlot that we had at the Capital Grille last week.
And then a couple of drinks at Splash to fortify us for our walk to 163 West 10th Street, Tanti Baci Caffe, which we had eaten at in October. There, Bryan started with an appetizer of asparagus, mozzarella and roasted peppers while I had some excellent mussels. Then pasta – a nice bolognese over homemade spinach linguine for B and dry linguine with an oil and hot pepper sauce for me. A couple of glasses of wine (including a salice - red - that I had last time) and a couple of espressos.
Friday,
November 12, it's a drive to Cranford and lunch with my mother
and cousin Lorraine. We’re eating at Mario’s
Trattoria in Union, NJ. And yes, it’s named after my father
as he was their main investor – they sought to appeal to his ego by renaming
it from the Grotto. Anyway, the food hasn’t been that good.
This day was no exception with a rather bland hot antipasto for the table
followed by three different pasta dishes, none worth spending much time
on. But it was pleasant enough (you can
view
ten seconds of my mother's advice on the stems of broccoli rabe if you
like).
At 7 pm Bryan and I go to the Hammerstein Ballroom at the Manhattan Center near Penn Station. There we met up with Joe Fiore; we’re celebrating his birthday along with an ex of his and another friend (his boyfriend David was out of town).
Yes, it’s the final date of the American tour of the Pet Shop Boys. And what a show. First the grade: A. There, we got that out of the way.
Along the Boys (keyboardist Chris Lowe and vocalist Neil Tennant) were four beautiful black men (whom we later found out to be from NYC) and one African queen (a stunning woman from South London). In front of a somewhat simple backdrop, and in various costumes, this group made a sold out audience very happy. At the very beginning, Tennant introduced the show in such a casual fashion that I wasn’t surprised to see the amount of freedom the singers had. Here’s my take: Tennant hired them saying “would you like to sing with us? we’ll have fun!” The four men kept playing off each other and the woman was a towering presence and more than held her own with Tennant.
I wasn’t keeping notes but here are some of the songs we heard:
During the whole first set, Neil Tennant wore a combination of dress, Morrocan jalaba and one of Billy Corgan's outfits along with a blond fright wig (as did his partner, Chris Lowe). But right before intermission, he pulled it off revealing his balding, gray head a la La Cage aux Folles! Now, I think Bryan was surprised that it was a wig; I was surprised at the drag queen move!
Spotted in the audience the night before was Elton John and we’re fairly certain that it was Queen Latifah and her entourage who passed us on the floor. Which, btw, was general admission which meant we stood all night. We could have had more expensive seating in the surround balconies but I think we did better being on the floor. After the show, we said our good-byes and B and I headed home.
Saturday, November 13, I make a delicious fried spaghetti at 2 pm from our Baci leftovers. When we finally get motivated, we have dinner at Pangea although I can’t say either of us had anything special. And then back to the house, but I never even get a chance to see Garth Brooks as Chris Gaines on Saturday Night Live as I fall asleep during it.
Sunday, November 14, dinner at La Balconata. Vickie has decided to add a short Greek menu to the regular one to see which direction she should go. We think she can have it both ways.
Monday, November 15, I decided to give Yummy House another try; this time I would have a batch of appetizers. I got a vegetable egg roll for Bryan which never got eaten but had no smell whatsoever. The steamed vegetable dumplings were interesting; they had a spinach flour casing with a stuffing mainly of cabbage, carrot and squash – the best item of the evening. I wanted to try the sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves again; they were certainly very different and exotic when I tried them last time. This time they just plain strange. And the wonton in hot parsley sauce were nothing more than strips of wonton dough marinating in a bland hot oil sauce. Just greasy. I decided to have lo mein with a simple ginger and scallion sauce to accompany all this. It’s not on the menu, just something I’ve often ordered; plus I requested lots of extra ginger. It should be a spicy and not greasy accompaniment but it wasn’t here.
Also, the last time I felt there was MSG in the food; I’ve gotten so used to menus that shout “no msg” in Manhattan that I don’t even worry anymore. I’m not allergic to it, but it does make me feel a bit drunk or sleepy. But here the spice isn’t even mentioned and I can see why – it’s the only taste they have! So if you consider monosodium glutamate to be “yummy” than you’ve found your “house” – sorry! It’s on Third Avenue near the corner of 12th Street.
Tuesday, November 16, tempura/sushi/sashimi at Mie and the Ken Burns documentary on NYC. Unfortunately, we know much of it already and although the pictures are great it’s a little much to ask anyone to sit through two hours each night for four nights. And while I love the fact that PBS has no commercial breaks, that turns out to be a problem here.
Wednesday, November 17, a little after noon, I take the subway and meet Bryan for lunch at Confetti’s. Once again, it’s combination as-you-will and pretty decent. And even though it’s quite cold out, the sun makes it pleasant enough to walk home down Park Avenue.
Then it’s back by 9 pm for me to watch a decent episode of Star Trek: Voyager followed by a fun “behind-the-scenes” report on the news following – yes, it’s sweeps week.
At 11 pm, a nightcap at Dick’s; they’ve painted the whole building a bright orange with a pork logo on each side. The base remains black with old fashioned lamps, only half of which have the red lightbulbs that the others have. Why? We keep asking ourselves that; even the head bartenders don’t know.
Thursday, November 18, we’re indecisive for dinner. So first we caught an hour of Friends – one new plus the first episode – before walking out at 9 pm. We wind up at Cloisters Café, more because it was as bland as our decisiveness! But they do have good shrimp cocktail, which is Bryan’s default appetizer and the one of the main reasons we go back there. He also has his regular fettucine alfredo with a dollop of pesto sauce. I go for the buffalo wings but theirs are unusual; first there’s no blue cheese sauce and the wings themselves look more like the pieces of duck that one sees hanging in the windows of Chinese restaurants than chicken. And they taste that way too; not very good I’m afraid. My pasta was decent. In addition, we had an in-depth discussion of world religions with our waitress. Don’t ask – I spent enough time away from eating as it was.
Friday, November 19, I stop to see Craig Wylie+ at the church. Craig+ and his wife Judith are leaving for London in the evening; their daughter Miranda is finally settling in there. And she's been very lucky in having met our friends Bridget and Jude who have been just wonderful to her. I give him two snow globes from Bryan and I; one is for Bridget and Jude, the other for Matt and Paul. And don't you think I forgot to take a picture of them? But inside are caricatures of New York City's famous skyscrapers; around them and the base are billboards touting all the major Broadway plays. Plus it's got the Year 2000 dropping ball! Tacky yet fun.
Saturday, November 20, indecisiveness leads to having our normal varieties of Japanese food at Mie. I actually fall asleep in bed during Saturday Night Live.
Sunday, November 21, deciding to take the car for an airing, I suggested trying a different area than the East Village for dinner. And the winner is … Espana 2000 at 455 Second Avenue near 26th Street. [And don't even ask me if the 2000 is a recent addition.]
First off, we like Spanish food, and here there were three choices. Next door to Espana is a more upscale pure Spanish restaurant and across the street a combination Puerto Rican/Argentinean place – all three places were empty being so early in the evening. But this place had smoking, sangria and a casual atmosphere so in we went.
We began with sangria – white for Bryan and red for me. But sangria really should be made in advance; we heard him chop up the apples and shake the wine with the ice. And although not bad, it never ‘gelled’ to become sangria. And as dinner continues on, the conclusion is that its appearance belies its cuisine. My guess is that the restaurant next door would have had better and more authentic food, nonetheless, it’s not bad. Bryan stays Mexican with nachos followed by burritos; I go Spanish with tiny spicy chicken wings (as with the Cloisters, without blue cheese sauce but much tastier) followed by paella. I can’t really say any of it was very exciting; indeed the paella, for all its seafood, was quite bland.
Monday, November 22, the death of Quentin Crisp. I shouldn't say that as he actually died the day before. We had just seen him at the Cooper Diner a couple of weeks ago (see earlier entry); they say he collapsed in Manchester, England – he was 90 years old.
By 4 pm, I’m hungry so grab a chicken parm sub from around the corner. And while I don’t want to mention the pizzeria’s name (it’s not so good), I will comment on the two bottles of soda from New Jersey’s Boylan Bottleworks. Another boutique bottler, the containers resemble old beer bottles. What’s funny though is how these upscale sodas often don’t taste as good as commercial brands. First the root beer, which on the label in tiny print says “best head.” No, actually, almost no head whatsoever. Not that it’s so important for me, but if you’re going to claim it… Plus the ingredients tout “natural yucca root” – is this the central ingredient in root beer? I don’t think so and it shows in the final flavor – interesting but not, after all, root beer. The ginger ale also has a problem with labeling. In small print, the front reads “pale dry.” Well, not pale at all. In fact, one of the darker ginger ales I’ve had. And, no, sorry, not very dry. And catch this, the ingredients list “natural flavors” – um, wouldn’t this be an appropriate place to say “ginger?” Maybe not as there is virtually no ginger taste. Now, it seems like I’ve complained about both of these but actually they’re very tasty. Just not what the label says!
Tuesday, November 23, I have my first official job interview in years with Mike Lanin of Howard Lanin Productions and the Howard Lanin Orchestras. And what do I know of this place? Only that Larry Fine of the 3 Stooges had played violin in front of the orchestra as a teenager in Philadelphia. Needless to say, Howard’s son had expanded the business. Now he’s more likely to be working with Burt Bacharach, although from what I gather more from the corporate side of the business.
On the way to meet Bryan afterward, I stop at Barnes & Noble to pick up the new novel by Felice Picano, the book of lies [sic]; I’ll take that to Wyoming along with Gore Vidal’s Sexually Speaking.
And now you must be chomping on the bit to get out to the wilds of Wyoming. Well, pardner, click on this on we'll mosey along ...