Monthly Archives: May 2014
CULINARY SPOTLIGHT on WOODY ALLEN’S NEW YORK: The Not-to-be-missed New York Deli!
Speaking of walking in Woody Allen’s footsteps! Our last meal in NYC was at the Carnegie Deli in the theatre district where we aptly selected what the menu bills as
THE SANDWICH THAT MADE
“BROADWAY DANNY ROSE” FAMOUS…
“THE WOODY ALLEN”
For the dedicated fresser only! Lotsa corned beef plus lotsa pastrami.
Woody filmed “Broadway Danny Rose in 1984 in black & white with the iconic opening scene depicting a group of comedians having lunch at the Carnegie Deli – a place which has photos on the walls of everybody who’s anybody and which has barely changed over the past 30 years.
So what is a “fresser” you may ask? … “one who devours food, eating fast and hungrily” … perhaps borderline “gluttony”?
Wisely, Denis and I decided to share this humongous sandwich, piled 7-8” high with – to be completely honest — the best corned beef and pastrami we have ever had.
Enjoyed with well-done kosher pickles and sides of coleslaw and potato salad, and with the equally delicious rye bread generously slathered with Deli mustard, we had more than a huge meal each! Huge in size, huge in satisfaction, and not really so difficult to consume. I didn’t manage to match Denis’ heroic effort at completion, but I came close. This is a NYC treat not to be missed, but come Hungry with plenty of time to walk off the meal!
CULINARY SPOTLIGHT on Woody Allen’s New York: where to dine in NYC instead of flying to LA to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Globes
When given a choice of restaurant, Denis will almost always choose Italian cuisine, and it looks like Woody Allen may have the same preference. This past January, he opted out of attending the Golden Globes and instead took his family to a Broadway show and then on to Sistina Ristorante on the Upper East Side for dinner.
I don’t know what the Allens ate, but I can tell you that as Denis and I savored our 3-course Italian lunch, we had the poignant sensation of being back in Italy.
Host/owner/chef Giuseppe Bruno was most attentive, and helped us make our selections. By Day 3 of our visit to NY, following an intensive day of food-hopping, you can understand we did not have a large appetite, but we were after quality, not quantity.
Zucchini flowers stuffed with sheep’s milk ricotta on a bed of hot tomato coulis
I began with utterly delicious zucchini flowers stuffed with sheep’s milk ricotta on a bed of hot tomato coulis, followed by a deep fried soft shelled crab flavored most refreshingly with blood-orange segments and braised fennel.
Insalata Caprese
Denis had Chef Bruno’s own take on an Insalata Caprese, with chunks of Heirloom Tomatoes and Buffalo Mozzarella, paper thin slices of cucumber and finely chopped red pepper with fresh basil, followed by a extraordinarily flavorful Bucatini all’Amatriciana.
Bucatini All’Amatriciana
Our meal was very appropriately accompanied by a light, fruity Rosso di Montalcino, and it was absolutely no problem at all for the 2 of us to finish off the bottle in the middle of the day.
Soft shelled crab with blood-orange segments and braised fennel
For dessert, we shared the Italian pastry chef’s Torta della Nonna, intensely flavored with lemon and pinoli .
Torta della Nonna
After I repeatedly begged Chef Bruno for the recipe, the pastry chef — an Italian woman in her early 30’s appeared at the bar wearing her hat and apron, and proceeded to write down her recipe from memory – in Italian no less as she doesn’t speak English.
Speaking of authentic! We departed Sistina with every intention of returning to the restaurant where we found the service to be excellent and layers of flavor seem to characterize every dish.
CULINARY SPOTLIGHT on Woody Allen’s New York: Afternoon Tea or the perfect Pre-Theater dinner
Founded in 1927 by members of the Russian Imperial Ballet, the Russian Tea Room has long been a haven for members of the entertainment industry and has hosted scenes not only from Woody Allen’s movie, Manhattan, but also from Nora Ephron’s film, When Harry Met Sally, as well as Dustin Hoffman’s unforgettable Tootsie.
It has been frequented by the likes of Ayn Rand and Madonna as well as by many members of the NY entertainment industry. Relatively recent renovations have resulted in a rich, elegant updated version of Old World Russian ambiance, but the food is as much continental as it is Russian.
While the Russian Tea Room serves 4 types of Afternoon Tea (Classic, Gluten-free, Vegetarian and Children’s), we went there for their 3-course pre-theater menu.
Denis and I both ordered a flight of Vodka and began with blini topped with sour cream and fish roe.
Blini topped with sour cream and trout, salmon and white fish roes
Denis continued with Boeuf Stroganoff and a Chocolate Pyramid (bittersweet chocolate with a raspberry filling) while I selected 2 more appetizers for our 3-course meal, Borscht and a goat cheese and wild mushroom Blinchik (Russian crepe).
Boeuf a la Stroganoff
I enjoyed all 3 of the Vodkas – Jewel of Russia, Stolichnaya, and Jewel of Russia Wild Berry – while Denis left the unflavored Jewel of Russia for me to finish … not a problem!
Red Borscht with Pierogi
He preferred the Stroganoff he ate last summer in St. Petersburg to that of the Russian Tea Room, and I found the borscht there lacking a bit in flavor but I very much enjoyed the crepe, which paired perfectly with the somewhat sweet Jewel of Russia Wild Berry vodka.
Crepe filled with wild mushrooms, goat cheese, onions and lingonberries
Visit the Russian Tea Room more for a memorable than a gourmet experience.
CULINARY SPOTLIGHT on Woody Allen’s New York: Pizza or Dim Sum for lunch?
Decisions, decisions. When in doubt, restaurant hop, or as I like to call it “food-hop”! After all, who says you can’t have it all, or that life is too short? If you can’t decide between or among several great recommended places to eat when you are traveling, then don’t decide. Group them by neighborhood and go to them all! That’s how we spent our 2nd day living life in the footsteps of Woody Allen – we just ate a course at one restaurant and then moved on to another for the next course. And let me tell you, my taste buds were in a constant state of pleasure … la vita e bella!
While we made 4 food hops that day from late morning to just about mid-afternoon, my 2 favorites were the Nom Wah Tea Parlor in Chinatown and John’s of Bleecker Street. I can still taste and see before me the succulent shrimp mai, as utterly appealing to the palette and to the eye as any I have eaten in San Francisco’s most elegant dim sum establishments or in Beijing or Shanghai for that matter.
But the Nom Wah Tea Parlor is the first dim sum restaurant founded in NYC’s famous Chinatown and its longevity and extreme popularity with those speaking Mandarin and their offspring speaks for itself.
Very easy on the budget, with a large menu that includes many other delectable choices, Nom Wah does a lively business. But you can call and reserve a table, and even order some appetizers to be waiting for you when you arrive!
If I close my eyes, I can still taste and smell the fabulous flavors and aromas of the tomatoes roasted with garlic, anchovies and pepperoni, each of which added a layer of flavor to the coal-fired brick oven pizza that we devoured at John’s of Bleecker Street in the Village.
I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed pizza more, but this place has been satisfying customers and bringing them back time and time again since 1929.
Eat in amidst an array of enticing Italian aromas on one of the wooden booths, carved with the names of John’s pizza devotees over the decades, or take out your order. But do give John’s a try – it’s worth a trip to the Village just for their pizza!
And don’t forget to try “food-hopping” when you are traveling in order to savor all the flavors you can.
CUINARY SPOTLIGHT on Woody Allen’s New York: Where to Celebrate a Special Occasion
For ambiance and unique décor, a big slice of NY 20th century history, elegant traditional cuisine, top-notch service and panache — head to the 21 CLUB, located almost opposite the MOMA in Midtown Manhattan.
Most memorable was the “21 Burger” made from a unique mixture of ground short ribs, top round, and sirloin and served with the 21 Club ketchup, which I would liken to a tangy pureed tomato chutney.
Also superb was the Faroe Islands Scottish Salmon with braised endive, balsamic pickled heirloom tomatoes and tempura zucchini blossom, finished off with a subtle fennel tapenade – original and perfectly prepared.
Although the 21 Club is most assuredly a restaurant for celebrating a special event, I was still surprised to see a chic bouquet of red roses at the table with a card from Denis as we sat down at a prime corner table, and surprised once again with a personalized chocolate cake made specially by the bakery chef at Denis’ request.
If the 21 Club is good enough for President Kennedy’s Inaugural dinner celebration, it certainly was good enough for my belated (hence the “surprise”) birthday celebration. Denis, take me back for any and all celebrations in the future!
My best moments with Woody Allen in New York City
Nestled comfortably in our recliner seats of the Royal Sprinter luxury mercedes van service, we are heading home to Washington after four days in the footsteps of Woody Allen in New York City. Our program for the trip, as detailed in a previous posting on this blogsite, had been loaded with events. Yet, I am happy to report, we were able to make every single stop on our agenda. As a result, I have amassed a wealth of unforgettable memories as well as lots of material for future postings on museums, shows, restaurants, and shops in the Big Apple.
For the moment, with my tired feet resting comfortably on the extended elevated footrest of my seat, I can finally take the time to reflect upon what we had just lived through. It has been an exhilarating trip, with plenty of delightful happenings. The theme of following in Woody Allen’s footsteps had provided us with a superb way to enjoy New York in ways that we had not experienced before.
We ate at some of Woody Allen’s favorite restaurants and at several of the restaurants featured in his films. We saw where he lives and where he used to live, and we walked his neighborhood on the Upper East Side. We visited the just opened 9/11 Memorial Museum as well as exhibitions at the Guggenheim, the Met and MOMA museums. We saw Woody Allen’s new Bullets over Broadway musical on Broadway, went to the Kit Kat Club to watch Alan Cummings in the revival of the Cabaret musical, and spent a memorable evening at Cafe Carlyle with Hal Linden.
What would I remember as the best moments of this adventure? I think they will be the following:
1. Cafe Carlyle dinner and evening show with Hal Linden: Whenever Woody Allen is in town on Monday evenings, he plays the clarinet with his Woody Allen Jazz Band at Cafe Carlyle, a short distance from his residence on the Upper East Side. My schedule did not permit us to be in New York on Monday evening but we decided to spend an evening at Cafe Carlyle in any case, with Hal Linden and his seven piece orchestra.
The evening was magical. Hal Linden turned out to be not only a very talented clarinetist and singer, but a master showman. The setting at Cafe Carlyle is ideal for a club act. The drawings on the wall are suggestive and colorful, providing a perfect contrast to the crisp white linen tablecloths and the red glow from the small table lamps. The ambience is ideally suited to a romantic evening and the enjoyment of a small show. While the food was quite good, we were at Cafe Carlyle primarily for the evening show which followed dinner.
And what a show it was! As soon as Hal Linden got onto the stage, I was absolutely shocked to see how impressively this 83-year old man could sing and dance! I’ll have whatever he is having is what I felt like saying, as I watched him belt out with passion one beautiful song after another. His selection of songs for the evening just happened to hit me in the heart every time.
2. Bullets over Broadway musical: The new musical by Woody Allen at the St James Theater was wonderful fun and entertainment. I confess that I had grown a bit weary of Broadway shows in the past few years. The ones I attended left me with the feeling that the good old days were gone. I did not want to go to any more sub-rate shows at huge prices which made me fall asleep or made me cringe at the screeching voices of singers, particularly female singers, who confuse voice quality with voice volume.
Bullets over Broadway has an excellent cast of actors and dancers who make you share in their fun as they perform. The staging and choreography are excellent, the music lively, the laughs frequent, the entertainment constant. We thoroughly enjoyed it!
3. 21 Club dinner: The 21 Club has to be one of the New York restaurants with the most storied past. Started in what was previously a bordello, the restaurant was at first a speakeasy during the Prohibition era. It quickly became and has remained since a magnet for celebrities. Tables in the restaurant are numbered and celebrities have their preferred table. Woody Allen’s movie Manhattan Murder Mystery has a long scene filmed at the 21 club.
The setting below ground in MidTown Manhattan is luxurious and the clientele is clearly well-heeled. We ate in the Bar Room, famous for its ceiling full of men toys given by famous patrons. Food and service were excellent and the celebration of Lynn’s birthday with a vase of roses and a special birthday cake helped make the evening even more memorable.
Between New York and Washington, take the bus!
The distance between New York City and Washington DC is a mere 200 miles or so, but the area is one of the most densely populated in the United States and if you want to minimize travel time, cost or stress, you may want to pay attention to the logistics of getting from one city to the other. There is a myriad of options to select from for travel between the two cities, and more alternatives are cropping up every day, as I found out when we started planning for this week’s trip to New York from Washington.
The fact that our destination is downtown Manhattan quickly rules out the option of driving myself the four-hour ride to New York. The ride itself, through the crowded highways of Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey, demands the constant attention of the driver. In addition, I have no stomach for the hassle, cost and danger of parking my car in Manhattan. My wife and I prefer a less stressful mode of transportation!
Flying is of course an excellent option, as both New York and Washington are served by three major airports each (Newark, La Guardia and JFK for New York, Dulles, Reagan and BWI for Washington) and there are flights between the two cities throughout the day. Reagan is especially convenient for people leaving from downtown Washington, people like members of Congress, who can reach the airport in less than ten minutes. I happen to live in the suburbs, thirty minutes away from each of our three airports, so I have to factor that in. Add to that the facts that you are being asked to arrive at the airport a couple of hours ahead of flight time in order to go through check in and security, that you have to think about what you can or cannot bring with you on a flight, that upon arrival you will have to drive from the destination airport into Manhattan anyway, and the whole idea of flying those 200 miles becomes somewhat less attractive.
For those commuting from downtown Washington to downtown Manhattan, the train is one of the preferred modes of transportation. Both Union Station in Washington and Penn Station in New York City are major railway hubs, are both located in the downtown area, and have frequent and regular express train service between the two stations. Amtrak’s Acela Express train would certainly be one of my favorites way to reach New York, if we happened to live in downtown Washington but we live outside the city proper.
Which brings me to the best option for us, the bus. Not any bus, mind you. There are about a dozen bus lines providing direct bus service between Washington and New York City. I was flabbergasted to see that one bus line sells some seats everyday for the total price of $1 for the trip between New York and Washington. Unfortunately, that $1, or for that matter the $12 regular non-discounted price for that same seat, will not result in the same level of service we enjoyed on the French Riviera, where we were paying about 1 euro to travel anywhere on the Riviera in clean and modern buses.
Express intercity buses link the major cities of the northeast part of the United States, and the fares are low, very low, perhaps too low sometimes to allow for the necessary security and maintenance practices. I can’t help wondering how a company can afford to offer a $1 or $12 seat for a trip between Washington and New York , a distance far greater than the length of the French Riviera, and still provide a safe clean bus and competent driver. Reading the consumer reviews online did not inspire me with a great deal of confidence.
Fortunately, competition and demand have resulted in more luxurious bus options with only slightly higher fares. There are several bus lines, with prices around $25 to $30, which offer clean, modern buses, with conveniences such as guaranteed seating, free wi-fi, a bottle of water, a newspaper, etc… Some now even offer satellite tv. Three of those bus lines happen to have their departure point within a ten to fifteen minute drive from where I live.
Of the three, Vamoose Gold is my favorite and that is the bus we are taking today to New York City. At $60, its price is by far the most expensive bus option, but far less than what the train or plane might cost you. The main advantage of the Vamoose Gold bus is the extra legroom it provides, which means not only a much more comfortable ride, but also many fewer seats, a much less crowded and therefore a much more peaceful and serene environment. There is free wi-fi, a tray table, a power outlet, a bottle of water, the daily newspaper and a reclining seat with a large headrest. And a very clean though small toilet.
The trip is usually nonstop, directly from our departure point in Bethesda to Penn Station in downtown Manhattan, and takes about 4 and a half hours. I have all that time available to work or relax and know that I will arrive in New York City ready to roll!
But Vamoose Gold is getting increased competition and I need to get up to date on the latest offerings. Our return trip from New York to Washington will test one of the even more luxurious options recently introduced on the Washington to New York bus market.
Meanwhile, stay tuned to BonVoyageurs as we are about to arrive in New York and start our adventures in the footsteps of Woody Allen!
In the footsteps of Woody Allen in New York City!
The program for our upcoming trip to New York City later this week is now engraved in digital stone in my calendar. After several days of working on planning for this trip, I have just finished putting the final touches on a very full schedule of events and happenings spanning the course of four days, under the master theme “In the footsteps of Woody Allen”.
I am no stranger to New York City, having visited that great city many times during my life, and I have certainly exhausted several times over the “top ten things to do in New York City”. Which was all the more reason for me to plan and build the visit around a new and different theme, in order to bring renewed excitement and a sense of adventure to the four days we will spend in the Big Apple. The recent opening of Woody Allen’s new Broadway musical, Bullets over Broadway, provided the ideal foundation around which an exciting trip to New York City could be built.
Who can better symbolize New York City than Woody Allen? More than anyone else, he has brought New York to life and humanized the city for millions of movie goers. Many unique and typical New York locations have been featured in his movies and have become symbols of the city itself. Woody Allen epitomizes New York to such a degree that you almost dare not say that you really know New York unless you know it Woody Allen’s way.
The first step in my preparation for the trip was to put together a list of key New York locations associated with Woody Allen, either because they are places he currently or has in the past personally been associated with, or because they have been featured in his movies. It turns out to be a rather long list of fascinating places!
To that list were then added several current special events in New York which might be of interest during our stay there. The important opening of the 9/11 Memorial Museum later this week, the fantastic Cabaret musical at the Kit Kat club of Studio 54 with the all star cast of Michelle Williams, Alan Cumming, Linda Emond and Danny Burstein, the Charles James: Beyond Fashion exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Gauguin Metamorphoses exhibition at the MOMA museum, all made the cut.
Once the list was put together, the second step was to find out the availability and opening hours for each item on the list. For example, it is important to know for planning purposes that the Guggenheim Museum is closed on Thursdays, and that the new 9/11 Memorial Museum requires the advance purchase of date and time tickets.
The third and very important step was then to place and save all of the locations on a digital map, for which I used my favorite travel app, Pocket Earth. Google Maps can also be used for the same purpose. This process is an invaluable tool in organizing the timetable for each item on the list. Simply looking at the map and the various locations enables you to schedule the timing of each visit in a way that minimizes the distances traveled and makes the best use of your available time.
In the case of this upcoming Woody Allen trip, the map showed three separate and distinct areas, Lower Manhattan, Central Manhattan and the Upper East Side. Naturally, we will plan all the Lower Manhattan locations for the same day, and will similarly group together the visits to the Central Manhattan and Upper East Side locations. Scheduling the timing of each visit within an area was a relatively easy process since we knew the availability criteria for each location.
The resulting program for our “In the footsteps of Woody Allen” trip to New York City looks like this:
Day One:
-Vamoose Gold Bus from Washington to New York City
-MOMA visit of Gauguin Metamorphoses exhibition
-Dinner at 21 Club
Day Two:
-Dean & DeLuca at 560 Broadway
-Nom Wah Tea Parlor
-John’s of Bleecker St
-Yonah Shimmel Knish Bakery
-Lanza’s Restaurant for lunch
-9/11 Memorial Museum
-Russian Tea Room for dinner
-Bullets over Broadway musical on Broadway
Day Three:
-Photo stop at Riverview Terrace and Queensboro Bridge
-Argosy Bookstore
-Guggenheim Museum
-Cafe 3 at Guggenheim Museum
-Sistina Ristorante for Lunch
-Woody Allen’s current residence
-Frick Collection
-Woody Allen ex-residence
-Cafe Carlyle for Dinner
-Cafe Carlyle for Evening show
Day Four:
-Met Museum for Charles James: Beyond Fashion exhibition
-Carnegie Deli for Lunch
-Cabaret Musical on Broadway (matinee)
-Vamoose bus back from New York City to Washington
Culture, art, music, neighborhoods, food and more food, I look forward to it all!
Stay tuned to the BonVoyageurs blog in coming days to follow our adventures in the footsteps of Woody Allen’s New York!
SAVVY TIPS: For a superb view of Florence in Italy, go shopping!
It only takes a bit of sunshine to inundate Firenze with tourists. Florence is one of the most visited cities in the wold, and rightly so given the wealth of its historical offerings and the charm of the city itself. Few tourist destinations have so much to offer in a relatively small area, and the fact that Firenze is essentially a walking city makes it all the more appealing. Cruise ships have made Firenze a major port of call for their Mediterranean cruises even though the city lies about 60 miles inland and passengers have to be bused in from Livorno. All this makes for very crowded streets and cafes in season.
One of the ways to escape the crowds and get a superb view of Firenze at the same time is to head to Piazza della Republica, the major square in the center in the city. On one of its sides stands the La Rinascente department store. Simply go in and take the elevator to the top floor where La Rinascente operates an outdoor roof terrasse cafe called La Terrazza.
Et voila! Not only will you recuperate from crowd madness with a relaxing drink or snack, but you will at the same time savor an unparalleled view over the beautiful Duomo, the Campanile and the rooftops of the city of Firenze.
A word of warning though: more and more people are discovering the charm of La Terrazza so choose the time of your visit carefully.
Another savvy tip from BonVoyageurs!
