The weatherman was saying Snow. But no snow! Why does he do that to us kids?
It was so quiet in New York yesterday that the taxi ride across 57th Street (on my way to Michael’s) went without a bit of gridlock. This is almost record shattering; anxiety lifted. Except on the block between Madison and Park because of a double parked stretch limo. That’s all it takes. Nevertheless, the sidewalks of Fifth were noticeably quieter from only a week ago when all the tourists were in town.
Michael’s too was quieter, although just about filled to capacity. At one table Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber and international stage producer Cameron Macintosh were lunching, very possibly discussing the sequel to “Phantom of the Opera.” “Phantom” itself is having its 20th anniversary on Broadway and there are still people who haven’t seen it.
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John Paulson (photo: Doug Goodman). |
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I was lunching with an old friend who’s in the investment business. Naturally we were discussing the world stock markets which were crashing on Monday. He was telling me about John Paulson, the hedge fund operator who’s made something like $20 billion for his clients in the last few months shorting the subprime mortgage market while so many other “experts” were working (or worrying) overtime trying not to lose their Charvet shirts, thanks to the subprime.
Mr. Paulson’s income, his share of the profits from his hedge funds investing this past year came to something like $3 billion, give or a take a few millions. Being still the kid looking for the snowfall, that sum as an “income,” let alone a one year income is unfathomable to me. Almost to the point of being pointless. Although I’m sure Mr. Paulson would not agree.
Mr. Paulson’s co-manager, I was also told was Paolo Pellegrini, a name that used to come up on the NYSD fairly frequently when he was married to Beth DeWoody. I used to see Paolo all the time while walking the dogs, as they DeWoody-Pellegrinis were neighbors of mine (Mrs. DeWoody still is). However, they were divorced several years ago and I hadn’t seen him since. He was known to be smart, well-educated, and an ambitious Italian fellow. The ambition had not yet been realized when I knew him. So it was fascinating to learn of his spectacular success several years later. My friend told me word was that Mr. Pellegrini pulled down a half-a-billion himself last year. That’s the mid-nine zeros. Give or take a few (mill). All this while there’s a financial storm a-brewing here, there and everywhere; my my.
Change-a-subject. I love our “Bits and Morsels” column here on the NYSD. If you haven’t read it yet, give it a try. It’s a very easy read, short, quick, and full of interesting things about the food we eat. Or could eat. Or should eat. Or even shouldn’t eat. And there are pictures to add to the fancy. Our columnist Jordana Z. loves the whole process passionately, and as she’s a young woman she’s full of fresh young enthusiasm. And free of snark. Blessedly. Also fresh, no?
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Jackie in 1975. |
Anyway, today she writes about a couple of restaurants that I know. One is Amaranth which is not a “regular” restaurant of mine since mine is closer to home (Swifty’s) but has been good every time I’ve been there. I’m one of those restaurant customers who likes the “atmosphere,” the sounds and clatter of voices chattering and conversing. Amaranth has that Furthermore, it has a very sophisticated clientele, from the neighborhood, but from elsewhere also. A lot of Euros as well as other visitors from the Coast, South America, etc. I have friends who eat there almost everyday, so it has that home-away-from-home quality to it also.
The other restaurant Jordana writes about today is Tout Va Bien over in the West 50s (311 West 51st Street) which I used to go to many many years ago when we were looking for cheap and really good restaurants. Tout Va Bien is a French bistro. They say whenever the French fleet is in town, the sailors all head for it because the food’s so good and the price is still right. Years ago, a friend of mine used to take Jackie Onassis there. This was in the mid-1970s. She liked it so much she often asked him to take her there for dinner. It got so they were going once a week, sometimes more. My friend, who was a nice looking guy was being seen with Jackie so much that the press was beginning to ask around about him. The National Enquirer got a picture of them together and called another friend of mine to ask about this guy. “Is he independently wealthy?” the reporter asked. “No,” my friend answered, “he’s independently poor.”
The reporter thought that was a riot. So did our friend who said it. The truth was, however, my friend who was wining and dining Jackie at Tout Va Bien all the time was a mid-level media executive and not exactly rolling in dough. It got to the point where he was thinking of asking the restaurant if they’d give him a break on the bill since Jackie’s presence was adding considerably to their publicity. However, just about the same time, Jackie acquired another (of many such friends) whom she found good company and who would take her out to dine.
That last line just reminded me of a little known truth about the woman who was the most famous woman in New York, in America and maybe even the world (until Diana Spencer came along and married the Prince). Famous as she was, and with a great number of good friends who really liked her and liked her company; and with a community out there who embraced her and would have loved her company anytime, Jackie at that point in her life (after Onassis) spent many a night up there in her Fifth Avenue apartment by herself, dateless, dinner companion-less. And like so many of us, she was really delighted to be invited out to a nice dinner in a warm and cozy French bistro with a friend who was fun to be with. That was a treasure for her too.
Tout Va Bien is hardly a little known bistro in Manhattan. What is interesting, as reflected in Jordana’s “Bits and Morsels” is that it's being re-discovered by the next generation of restaurant-goers, and is ready for them. Tout va bien encore. |
