the dining section of the times has a great article, naming 1985 as a seminal year in new york restaurant history. you'll read about almost all the big players in this piece and see what their experience, efforts, and relationships wrought. it's good reading for foodies and nyers.
it called to mind a fabulous evening i had, many years ago, at montrachet. a birthday celebration with my then boyfriend. as i think on it now, it was my first "real" fancy dinner date, everything about it was significant and romantic. we got all dolled up, hopped in a cab "all the way down" to tribeca, a neighborhood that i was completely new to and enthralled by. a painted sign in the window told us were at the right place, but the restaurant was so unassuming, we had a moment of doubt.
inside, it was just as simple, quiet, and elegant.
it might have been the first time i truly tasted and drank wine with pleasure. and it didn't take long before i was flushed, tipsy, over the moon and overwhelmed, which meant that when the waiter asked what i wanted to eat, i said, please bring me whatever you recommend. he asked if i would eat foie gras. i said yes, that would be wonderful.
out came my appetizer, looking exactly like...a liver. and it was the size of a kitten. and completely unadorned. no accoutrement. no side salad, not even a decorative sprig. just a shiny plate for that fat foie to rest on. it was bold. crazy.
and so we ate it with gusto and drank some more. surely there were entrees and dessert afterwards, but I hardly remember them. in the wake of the foie gras, my first foie gras, the details of the rest of the meal blurred.
the next day it's rich, muddy taste was alarmingly palpable. but to this day, i remember my night at montrachet in the fondest, funniest way.
one of the notes'calendar notes got my attention this morning. the harvard institute of politics is hosting a forum, tonight, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the late john f. kennedy, jr., esq.'s "baby"--george magazine. it seemed like a nice enough idea, but i'll admit to being surprised that an organization would have the notion to stage a whole event to honor the magazine, particularly since the passing of its founder in 1999, and the magazine's sad but unsurprising end, shortly afterwards. and then i found out that the institute is a living memorial" to the career of jfk, and that there's a jfk, jr. forum for political speech, discussion, and debate. it made more sense.
but still. surely george didn't get that much "love" in or outside the beltway when mr. kennedy was alive. it was an enterprise that people seemed never fully sold on--some (like me, at least) loved the idea of it, sure. and it was fairly well- executed, considering it was "breaking new ground" as the first publication to acknowledge, highlight, and capitalize upon that uneasy, (and to some still) unholy marriage of celebrity and politics. george might actually have suffered the most for being merely "liked." if memory serves, it was sexier as an idea, that it was in its execution (except for that time when john himself appeared within the pages, in his altogether), it was definitely not salacious (a good thing), and it wasn't skeptical enough--it was as earnest and well-liked as its founder. maybe that's why it didn't make a spectacular vault into the public consciousness.
so, perhaps no one should be surprised that tom brokaw is leading a panel of "big names" (roger ailes, paul begala, judy woodruff, former president clinton, and ca. gov. arnold schwarzenegger). surely, the event is a nice coda to the career of john kennedy jr., who was always "loved" as america's son, but whose professional accomplishments, while very well-chronicled (surely at times to his frustration) were not so fully appreciated as now.
for nadal fans, this is the best 30 - 60 secondsyou'll spend online. clicking on the image of nadal in the group shot, you'll get to "experience nadal," i mean, "the nike pro sleeveless." click on the tv ad to see a traditional 60 spot with all 4 athletes.
yipee! i love my temp job because (1) there's an actual --not a reproduction of a--romare bearden collage, right in front of my desk; (2) the folks at dining services are amazing. from behind a very nondescript office door, they work some serious magic. how does anyone concentrate when it smells like cheese souffle? actually, i think it put me in a much better mood, just knowing that they're here...somewhere... a couple of weeks ago, they put on an all-day affair for a board meeting (breakfast, lunch, snacks, sweets) and i saw a tray of the most gorgeous popovers. i wanted to steal one very badly, or at least photograph them, but i just walked by a few times, and ogled... I'm not crazy about popovers (i shared a meal at the popover cafe many moons ago, and did not fall in love with them there) but these looked good enough to change my mind. they also offer fresh baked cookies, just about every day! today, they are serving, chocolate chunk cookie bars, short bread, peanut butter cookies, and the most adorable little rum balls, served in inch-wide foil cups. the rum balls are a feat--nutty, rummy, with a touch of sweetness, and, amazingly, light.
meanwhile, i completely forgot it was columbus day. actually, i didn't forget the holiday--i just forgot it's the kind of holiday that they have a parade for. at about 11:40, i went to drop off my time sheet and could not believe the kind of congestion that was greeting me at fifth ave. police barricades in the street, dividing the sidewalk, people milling about on the curb, moving at a totally inappropriate pace...i was confused. i was even more confused when i saw "the money honey," maria bartiromo standing on a podium sharing a mike with joe piscopo. i was thinking, is that joe piscopo? is he a financial reporter now? or is bartiromo now with E!? i saw lots of men standing in the middle of the street, with suits on, and i thought--is it a political rally? and then i saw flags, and a guy wearing red, white, and green loafers, which didn't at all clash with his red, white, and green bermuda shorts-and-vest ensemble. and then i got it. it was the columbus day parade. kind of amusing to stumble into that, and it was worth it to see all of that and the poor schlubs dressed up in their portuguese-explorer period costumes. the note noted that antonin acalia was the grand marshall, but i hightailed it outta there before i got to see him. I actually would have been interested to see him, what with all the SCOTUS stuff going on these days, plus, i've never seen a sc justice live and in person before. oh well.
turner classic movies has a massive line-up this month, but especially so the week of 10/24-30--a hitchcock fest! there's also a pretty cool little sweepstakes tie-in, with the grand prize being a trip to the bay area to see the sights that hitchcock loved and made "famous" through his films. i'm not a big sweepstakes person (unless you count mega millions. and powerball. and win for life) but this sounds pretty great. i'd even be psyched for one of the runner-up prizes--hitchcock dvds, or a copy of the book, "footsteps in the fog."
