Seeking History in NYC

I've been to Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, shopped at Macy's, seen a Broadway show.  After experiencing the big attractions (tourist traps), I love exploring the quieter corners of The City. Places with a past always make my heart race.


Click images to make them larger.

Where to stay: Jumeirah Essex House.  The hotel was built in 1931. It's part of the National Trust Historic Hotels of America.  It's a visual feast walking the gilded hallways of this Art Deco masterpiece.

Igor Stravinsky once lived here. Angelina Jolie owns the penthouse. Jude Law and Samuel L. Jackson are neighbors.

The rooms, while spacious and neat, were a bit too modern for the hotel.  The lighted headboard is painfully out of place.  However, my needs were met.  Comfy beds, lots of room and a great soaking tub!

The hotel sits on Central Park South, which is my favorite area.  It's across from Central Park and walking distance to Bergdorf Goodman, 5th and Madison Avenues.  How charming to boat in Central Park!  The black and white photo was taken in the 30's and I took the photo at right.

I ate my way through most of Manhattan, but Sidecar in Brooklyn was my favorite restaurant.  The owners discovered the ad when stripping layers of wallpaper from the walls.  It's for Dr. Tucker's 59, a popular elixir taken off the shelves in the early 1900's when its main ingredient, cocaine, was outlawed.

I recommend the Hangover Soup for brunch.  Yes, it works.

Buckle Up & Hold On

I'll be posting photos of my trip very soon!

“The present in New York is so powerful that the past is lost.”
John Jay Chapman

Just Shoot Me

I may be in LA, but my brother Matt lives in NY.

If you're in NYC, he's putting on an opera this weekend. Go see it!

It's called Matt Marks' The Little Death Vol. 1.

The opera blends the avant-garde, Christian pop, and breakbeats into a show that will leave you singing his twisted pop creations in your head for days.

The nuts and bolts? Boy meets girl. Boy shoots girl. Girl sings through her pain. It's a story of two teenagers and their journey through the world of Fundamentalist Evangelism, and their attempts to keep their relationship pure in the eyes of the Lord.

He references (He Touched Me, When God Dips His Love in My Heart) and created original songs (God is My Hero, Come Boy). Go check it out!

Performances are:

This Friday and Saturday!

March 20th and 21st @ 9:30PM

The NEW Tank

354 West 45th Street

Tix are $10

Listen to songs from The Little Death here!

Photo credit New York Times.

Matt also performs with Alarm Will Sound. He's playing the French Horn above, but he plays many instruments with the group. The first time I saw him sing live was with AWS at Carnegie Hall. So proud of my Mateo!

Here he is on the left working with toys.

Since I love to know artists' inspiration and since I grew up with Matt, I'll give you my humble opinion or at least a bit of our history. We were born two years apart, slept in bunkbeds together for years even though I had my own room. I remember when he jumped off the top bunk, hit a wooden chest and his bottom teeth went through his lip. I will never forget both of us tucked in, me believing Gremlins were peeking into our doorway to get us. He talked me through those moments. Such a good brother.

Our mother is Baptist and from the South. She says she is not Southern Baptist. :) My sweet mom sang us to sleep with classic gospel hymns and we'd gather in a tiny church called Shiloh as kids to sing hymns with our extended family. Two... maybe three of her brothers were Baptist preachers. I can't remember, because mom was the last of 12 kids. Seriously.

I'm sure Vacation Bible School plays into this opera too...

Visit his blog here!

I Left My Tastebuds in NY

So few days in NY, so many restaurants!
Thank you to Ann at Redacted Recipes. She's a New Yorker and expert foodie. She's spot on!
She directed me to Eleven Madison Park - You don't find many restaurants like this in LA. It's like L' Orangerie and Patina - restaurants that are now history in El Lay. Here was my first course...

The beet salad. Aren't the cubes cute? They were just as delicious.

Our dinners - beef with lobster top left, chicken top right with foam (couldn't help but think of Marcel on Top Chef) and the bottom rectangular brick is my suckling pig.
The little dollop to the left is plum I believe? It was sweet & cut the flavor of the pig perfectly.

The desserts were my favorite. (the beets were a close second.) The top right is a pineapple souffle with green tea ice cream... a pear dessert is in front of me, and a chocolate treat to the top left. Order the pineapple dessert!

Below is a photo of Bar 89 in SoHo. We stumbled across it when our feet were tired & we needed a pick me up. Their martinis come in the largest glasses! They have bathrooms that are see-through until you lock the door. Imagine when people forget to lock!

We also tried...
Lure: We flew in late our first night, jetlagged and without reservations. We asked our concierge (at 60 Thompson) for a nearby recommendation and he steered us to Lure. It is across from the Mercer Hotel & the food was good. The most memorable part was stepping down into the restaurant and you're in a ship.
Balthazar: Still my fave restaurant in the world. So French, elegant yet casual. Love it! We had lunch - the pineapple upside down cake was more like a tart & was simply the best I've ever tasted.
We took pics at a few other places.. I'll post those soon!