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The view from the terrace of the Arenal Kioro Suites & Spa in Arenal, Costa Rica (more to come over the next few days). 5:10 PM. Photo: JH. |
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| It was been a very quiet holiday fortnight in New York. This was because the Christmas holiday and the New Year’s holiday fell on a Tuesday. Many simply took those three extra days, tacked them onto their vacation allotment and took off for sand and sea or the snowier climes. The city, however, except for midtown and Times Square was on a weekend pace. It was a pleasure to experience and a little odd.
Last Thursday night I took a cab over to 1900 Broadway and got there in less than half the time it would ordinarily take.
Chef Boulud who started with Restaurant Daniel on 65th Street and Park, now has four restaurants in New York including this new venture as well as the Café Boulud in the Surrey Hotel on East 76th Street and the DB Bistro Moderne on West 44th Street. He also has another Café Boulud in the Brazilian Court Hotel in Palm Beach and the Daniel Boulud Brasserie at the Wynn Resort and Country Club in Las Vegas. And in April 2008, in time for the Olympics, he will open a 7th venture in Beijing. The tasting on Thursday was called for 6 to 8. I went on the late side thinking the crowd would have thinned out as it usually does as we approach closing time. Fat chance this time: the place was packed with foodies and media and friends of Daniel all eager to partake of his culinary magic and the excellent wines (it’s a restaurant and wine bar) accompanying them. Charcuterie is the name of this game. Chef Boulud has brought Gilles Verot over from Paris as the Master Charcutier. |
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The scene at Bar Boulud. |
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| The place has rooms on two floors and Thursday night they were set up with long serving tables filled with tastings from the menu (and as much as you could eat — and drink): Nouigat de Poularde “a l’Indienne,” Tourte de Gibier au Genievre, Jambon de Paris, Celery-Apple Remoulade, Leeks Vinaigreette, Smoked Sablefish with Hearts of Palm, St. Jacques au Chou, Navarin au Romarin, Coq au Vin, Saussicon en Brioche, Apple-Orange Tart Pont Neuf, Chocolate Éclair, and on and on and on. Seriously: a feast. And if you (like me) don’t recognize a lot of the French names, not to worry, eat up anyway. That’s what was happening on Thursday night at the Bar Boulud, 1900 Broadway, right directly across the street from Lincoln Center. |
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| Look back: Among the many parties in New York just before the holiday break was the American Ballet Theatre’s Junior Council and the Museum of Modern Art’s young arts patron party celebrating the season together with a champagne reception at MoMA the last Thursday night before Christmas. Guest also had the opportunity to enjoy a private viewing of the contemporary galleries at the Museum. |
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| The big news over the weekend was Obama’s winning the Iowa caucuses. Not being a television watcher, I missed all of the debates and all of the stump speaking. I've seen him only twice now. The first time was when he "announced" in Springfield, Illinois. I thought at the time that he was going evoke the emotional response from young people that John Kennedy did in 1960, maybe even moreso because he has the regular ordinary-kinda-guy looks appeals more to today’s younger generation (maybe all generations?). While watching him back then I thought of all the younger people who never saw JFK in the context of his moment and how thrilled they would be (as so many of us were) to hear this kind of a speaker. Thursday night’s speech was a real winner and being delivered in the most favorable atmosphere and light, Obama looked like a real winner, head and shoulders above EVERYBODY else. He was elevated by the moment to a height that will remain. What Mr. Obama provides by his presence, his generation, his intelligence and his oratory gifts is freshness, newness in a time when same-old-same-old is decrepit. I got an email the next morning from a friend mine in another state, a man about forty, who has been a Republican supporter since he started voting. He wrote to tell me he was for Obama. Sharing all of this with a Washington friend, I got the following response: “For me, her defeat was not a surprise and was summed up by seeing Madeline Albright standing on the stage with her at the end of the night, and the fact her top advisers include Clinton soldiers like Sidney Blumenthal and Sean Wilentz. But then you know I am not a Clinton fan — her or him. I voted for him, but that was way long ago. This is way too early to assume anything. Hillary could win everything else and the Clinton people will crow that she is the "comeback kid, II," and they'll be on their way. Obama's win in Iowa could be like the Redskins beating Dallas a week ago — unexpected, utterly thrilling for fans, David beating Goliath — followed by the 'Skins going down to Seattle yesterday, which was more in the pattern. NH is big, but Feb 5 is even bigger. History shows us that Iowa and New Hampshire give the media a story, and some big "mo" to a couple of candidates, but don't necessarily determine the party nominee.” Then of course there is the little matter of the Mayor of the City of New York. It is thought in certain inside-circles that Mr. Bloomberg has been preparing to make a run for quite some time although he has never confirmed this. There are a lot of people on both sides of the political aisle who would like to see him in the White House. |