Social Diary 8/26/05 - Lunching in Brooklyn

Lunching in Brooklyn

Looking towards the Manhattan Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, and Lower Manhattan. 12:20 PM. Photo: JH.

A beautiful warm sunny day in New York. JH had told me about a pizza place in Brooklyn – Grimaldi’s – which he said had maybe the best pizza in New York. Definitely the best pizza in Brooklyn. Another friend took her son there last Sunday for an outing and reported back that it was better even than a certain pizza joint in the Village.

I’m not a pizza connoisseur. Although, as any pizza lover knows, there are differences. The worst, of course, are the run-of-the-mill pizzas, dry and tired, in those joints that are a dime a dozen and the plain cheese slice is $2.75 and one is enough unless you’re famished.

This place, Grimaldi’s, however, also has the special allure of being under the Brooklyn Bridge in an area that has been fairly recently developed called Dumbo. Don’t ask; I’ve already forgotten. In order to get there, you can cross the bridge by car or bus or foot or ... you can take the Water Taxi.

I’d never taken the Water Taxi although my friend did last weekend with her son, and JH has also. So JH and I met just before noon yesterday at 34th Street and the FDR where the Water Taxi comes in. We were going to take the 12:02 to the Old Fulton Street Landing on the other side of the River.

We embarked 34th Street at 12:02 PM and were soon treated to great views of The Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and the UN Building on the far right

Beneath the Manhattan Bridge, approaching the Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan

There was a bigger ferry that came in just before us with a big line waiting for it. They were going up to Yankee Stadium for a game. What a great way to go to the game!

After the Yankee fans left, the Water Taxi – which is painted yellow like all the other taxis in the city – docked and we went aboard. There are two decks – the lower, which is enclosed and has comfortable cushioned seats, and the upper which is open. We took the upper.

Passing boats, ferries, and barges with a side view of Lady Liberty

Approaching the Brooklyn Bridge

Pulling up to the dock

What a beautiful ride it is down river around the bend going first under the Williamsburg Bridge and then the Manhattan Bridge, where Wall Street comes in view and the Statue of Liberty standing out there by herself. The city was sparkling under the blue skies and bright sun.

Manhattan is beautiful from the water. The massive skyscrapers clustered together, the FDR with the cars zipping both north and south; the passing barges and tugs and private boats. It’s about a fifteen-minute ride to the Old Fulton Street Landing under the great stone Brooklyn Bridge. Glorious! Heavenly! Beautiful!

We docked at the spot where George Washington and his troops embarked to cross over to Manhattan to escape the British troops on the night of August 29, 1776, exactly 229 years ago next Monday. It is also the same spot where the very snazzy and popular River Café restaurant sits today. From there we walked a half a block or so to a block of storefronts and especially to one called Grimaldi’s.

Grimaldi’s was called Patsy’s for years, the first name of Mr. Grimaldi, the owner. There was another in Harlem, called Patsy’s, that was founded in 1933 by Patsy’s uncle, Pasquale Lancieri. Sixty-four years ago, Patsy Grimaldi started working there for his uncle Patsy.

In 1990 Mr. Grimaldi and his wife Carol opened this Patsy’s on Old Fulton Street. The following year the Harlem Patsy’s was sold to a real estate group who used the name to start Patsy’s all over town. Hence the name change of the Grimaldi’s Brooklyn pizzeria in 1996.

"This tablet marks the Brooklyn Ferry Landing from which point the American Army embarked during the night of August 29th 1776 under the direction of General George Washington ably assisted by Colonel John Glover of Marblehead, Massachusetts"

Grimaldi's Pizzeria on Old Fulton Street

Inside is a large Italian looking restaurant with red and white check tablecloths and lots of photos and memorabilia of Frank Sinatra on the walls. Must be he ate there. Or filmed something there. There were a lot of professional people at tables of two, four, eight including firemen, policemen, office workers, families. In the back of the long room was the counter where they make the pizzas and beyond that, the ovens.

On each table for two is a metal rack for holding one metal pizza tray. The menu offers two sizes: 18” for $14 and the 16” for $12. White Pizza is $2. extra. I don’t know what that is, white pizza. Large Calzone is $16 and small is $14. All toppings are $2. extra except for Red Sweeet Roasted Peppers and Sun Dried tomatoes, which are $4. Extra grated cheese: a buck.

Then they’ve got the wine, the beer (including Brooklyn lager or pilsner $4. each) and the water and soft drinks. On the bottom of the menu it says: No Slices, No Credit Cards (underlined), No Delivery, No Reservations, Open 7 days a week.

We ordered a large half mozzarella and tomato sauce and half the same also with garlic and pepperoni. About five minutes later it was served steaming hot on the table rack. The ovens are SO HOT that the pizza cooks in about a minute. JH said the oven is so hot, the ingredients fairly explode once put in.

And it was – for me anyway – the best pizza I’ve ever had, I think, ever. The ample tomato sauce really tasted tomato-y, the cheese was fresh, the crust was thin and crisp. And we devoured the pie in a matter of minutes. Then JH said he could eat another. I agreed. He said, maybe the smaller one this time. I said, yeah, maybe. I was tempted. Except it’s all too much. He agreed. And so we didn’t.

Ahhh, the masterpiece, half plain (for JH), half pepperoni and garlic (for DPC). Polished off in no less than 5 minutes.

After this delicious lunch, we took a stroll over to a park on the riverside, right by the bridge. There were a lot of people out sunning themselves and watching Manhattan across the way, and the boats go by and the planes and the helicopters flying over. And quite a few wild geese feeding until a parks cart came along and rustled them up and they all spread their wings and flew like the elegant Concorde over the railing and into the river, squealing their disdain all the way.

After a half hour of digesting our magnificent pizza lunch, we strolled back over to the Old Fulton Street Landing where in a narrow old clapboard house they sell homemade ice cream. In cones or cups. There was a line inside. A single cone for $3 was big. I had chocolate. It tasted like no ice cream I’ve had since I was a kid working on Saturday’s in Friendly’s Ice Cream parlor. Back then, not the ice cream you get now. God it was good. Just as we got the cones, the yellow Water Taxi was pulling up to the dock. We got on, paid our fares, went up to the open deck and headed back to Manhattan.

It was 2:16 when we arrived at the 34th Street dock. JH reminded me that this was less time from beginning to end than a Michael’s lunch, and we’d been to Brooklyn. I was sated, and the trip across the water was a close second to a yacht in the Mediterranean. Brief of course, but beautiful. Although, I could have had another pizza and ... another chocolate cone. However, too much of a good thing ...

The forgotten bridges, the Manhattan Bridge, in the foreground, and Williamsburg Bridge, in the distance

Ivy grows envious of the Manhattan Bridge; A Police helicopter in flight; A goose about to take flight.

Scenes from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory

Meanwhile, back in the Hamptons ...

More than 75 specially invited guests gathered at the Southampton home of Mark Zurack and Kathy Ferguson for a reception and a special presentation lecture on Alzheimer’s disease. The event was presented by the Alzheimer’s Association, New York City Chapter, where Mr. Zurack serves as co-chair of the Chapter’s Board of Directors, and Steve Boxer and Kenneth Reiss serve as trustees.

The gathering featured a special Alzheimer’s disease research update by guest speaker Ashley Ian Bush, M.D., Ph.D. of Massachusetts General Hospital, Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria (Australia), and Co-Founding Scientist of Prana Biotechnology.

Steve Boxer, Dr. Ashley Bush, Lou-Ellen Barkan, Mark Zurack, and Ken Reiss

Alan and Julie Kling with Kathy Ferguson

Brenda and Paul Lane

Cassandra and Mark Seidenfeld

Eva Grzesik and Sara Zurack

Colleen and Gary Rein

Suzanne and David Bartash

Nancy Hollander with Jerry and Suzanne Kremer

Lisa Selby and Leslie Himmel

Linda Gluck and Francesca Ferrier

Jacqueline and Fred Stahl

Gregg and Debra Wasser

Michael and Cheri Freidman

Pamela Nichols and Bill Fuhs

Pamela Nichols, Colleen Rein, and Jacqueline Stahl

Gilbert Holmes and Colleen Rein

Steve Fabrikant and Nissiam Aboodi

Aline Venzaken and Marlene Zurack

Jack Silver and Steve Felsher

Michelle Boxer, Brenda Lane, and Gwendolyn Gleason

Jack Giordano, Andrea Giordano, Mark Zurack, and Shant and Hilde Hovnanian

Doris Schechter, Aline Venzaken, Bill and Barbara Tierney, and Suzanne Bartash

Roxann Couloucoundis, Julie Glennon, Bob Dubner, Wally Glennon, Susan Dubner, and Craig Goldberg

Linda and Fred Grae, Ken Wilpon, Marjorie Wilpon, and Lou-Ellen Barkan

MCarol Press, Cassandra Seidenfeld, Michelle Boxer, Sara Galloway

Photographs (Alzheimer's) by Rob Rich/516-676-3939

Subscribe below to receive emails about the activities of NYSD ...

Lots of awards ceremonies, movie premieres and after parties going on around these parts including those for debuting films: The Brothers Grimm, Red Eye and Pretty Persuasion. At the “Grimm’s party after its screening at the Director’s Guild we corralled Heath Ledger and Matt Damon – separately of course.

Heath is so excited about his impending fatherhood that he plans to take a few months off after his girlfriend Michelle Williams delivers his heir later this fall. “I’m truly looking forward to (fatherhood) and want to spend quality time bonding with my family,” he told us.

Heath Ledger and Matt Damon in The Brothers Grimm

One thing that we may or may not expect from Heath is wedding bells. “Oh, I wouldn’t rule it out,” he interjected. “But it’s such a private, intimate thing.” (After we spoke to the Aussie hottie we learned that Michelle and Heath are, in fact, engaged and will tie the knot after the birth of their child.)

Heath and Matt spent a lot of time teogether before filming got underway, on director Terry Gilliam’s orders. As a result they bonded as much as the Grimm brothers. According to Matt, “Terry is very specific about what he wants,” and sometimes just wants to have fun – like the time he tossed a bunch of ravens at Ledger, perched precariously on a roof to, trying to keep his balance, in one of the film’s lively scenes.

Gilliam also decreed that Matt’s handsome visage would be blemished by a bump on his perfect nose, in keeping with the character’s appearance. The Brothers Weinstein, however, said: “no, no, no.” Although others on the set liked the broken snozzoloa effect. They said Matt looked like a young Marlon Brando. But Harvey and Bob prevailed.

Matt told us that his work in film is what is really keeping him happy. That and his girlfriend of two years, Luciana Barroso. The couple recently purchased a home in Miami and her seven-year-old daughter will attend school there.

George Clooney

Matt also has Syriana opening in November. It co-stars George Clooney in the role for which he gained thirty-five pounds in thirty-five days. The busy Matt also has roles in upcoming films directed by Martin Scorcese — The Departed, Robert De Niro – The Good Shepherd, and Steven Soderbergh —The Informer.

He also told us he does not really regret having missed his best pal Ben Affleck’s wedding to Jennifer Garner. “Ben just wanted to get it done, which I really understand. They had to do it quickly and quietly. I mean, I got a phone call telling me about it,” he confided, adding that he too may someday opt for under the radar nuptials. “Getting it done privately and quietly is definitely the route to go.”

Ben and Jen were also at the Grimm party but left before we had a chance to talk to them. Also at the party was Grimm co-star Monica Bellucci with her husband Vincent Cassel who appears opposite Jennifer Aniston in Derailed. The couple recently had dinner with Jennifer and they report that she’s “doing just fine.”

Casey Affleck

Also there was Casey Affleck, who told us he will appear as Robert Ford in the Warner Bros. Adaptation of Robert Hansen’s novel The assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Brad Pitt co-stars as Jesse James. Casey and Brad have been practicing their quick-draw gun slinging together. Casey said “Brad’s pretty fast.”

The post-Civil War outlaw’s namesake, by which we mean the motorcycle magnate who recently made fortysomething Sandra Bullock his bride, is determined to make the Jesse James brand a name to be reckoned with, via his West Coast Choppers, founded more than a decade ago and now manufacturing the two-wheelers for women and kids, as well as men.

Jesse recently appeared at the Magic show in Las Vegas to promote his new Junior’s line of vintage inspired motorcycle-culture, screen-printed T-shirts and fleeces called Jesse Girl. And his real-life girl, the winsome Miss Bullock, was right by his side.

We ran into Sandra at the Fox TV Guide Teen Choice Awards at the Gibson Amphitheater at Universal’s City Walk and she told us how great married life is and showed off her vintage 1910 Tiffany & Company wedding ring which features two diamonds symbolizing the union of her and her spouse. She picked up a Surf Board Award for Miss Congeniality 2.

Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher

Bubbles in his Soulmate’s Bath. We also ran into another winner, Ashton Kutcher, with his leading lady Demi Moore, who reiterated that she and her boytoy have no plans to get married, saying ”It’s just a piece of paper. We are true soulmates. We enjoy doing everything together, like sharing a warm bath and watching TV.” She said the bathtub in their new Hollywood home is surrounded by Madonna’s Kabbalah candles from Slatkin and Co. Demi said that Ashton likes bubbles with his bath. She also said she and Ashton want to expand their family, but wouldn’t confirm the rumors of her own pregnancy.

Femme de la la’s. Also at the Teen Choice Awards were Paris Hilton, Female Hottie Award winner Rachel Bilson, Jim Carrey, Hilary Duff, Halle Berry, Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gergie and the Black-Eyed Peas and Gwen Stefani, who picked up the Visionary Award.

We overheard Gwen tell an “Extra” reporter that the rumors that she’ll be playing Richie Berlin in Factory Girl are just that – rumors. The truth is that Richie thinks that Gwen is “too much of a femme de la la to portray her. In current negotiations for the role is the lovely and very talented Amy Adams who won a special jury prize at this year’s Sundance Film Fest for her role in Junebug. Gwen, meanwhile, would not confirm the rumors that she’ll be singing on Madonna’s new CD, out in November, called “Confessioin on a Dance Floor.”

Cillian Murphy in Red Eye

At the premiere and after party for Wes Craven’s Red Eye at the Gardens on Glendon, we caught up with handsome Irish-born actor Cillian Murphy, looking quite dapper in his Prada suit. Murphy, who portrays the film’s antagonist, is still riding the waves of his critically-acclaimed role as Dr. Jonathan Crane in Batman Begins, another villainous role. “I’m not out to corner the market on bad guys,” he said. “I never look at characters as good or bad, just whether they’re interesting.”

Well, they don’t get any more interesting than his next role: as an alcoholic transvestite in Neil Jordan’s Breakfast on Pluto, co-starring one of our favorite actors, Liam Neeson. Co-star Rachel McAdams, lovely in Donna Karan, told us that despite Murphy’s psychotic attacks on her (in the film), he kept the mood off-screen upbeat “by telling bad jokes.”

Also at the premiere and party were the film’s director Wes Craven, Dreamwork’s Mark Haimes, Adam Goodman and Mark Sourian and actors Colby Donaldson, Topher Grace and Jessica Capshaw.

Scarey Scenes in Beverly Hills. Kevin Costner had a monster hit with The Bodyguard in the 1992 film that co-starred Whitney Houston. Now he wants to make a sequel and he knows who he wants to protect this time around. “Ideally, it would be great to get someone like Jessica Simpson on board to take the story to the next level,” said Costner.

Jessica Simpson as Daisy Duke.
Warner Bros/ZUMA Press.

We happened upon Jessica and Nick Lachey at El Compadre in Hollywood where they were dining on Arroz con Pollo. She said she was quite flattered that Kevin Costner wants to work with her, but says she’s heard nothing about a sequel. We told her that we witnessed the scarey scene she created outside of the Valentino Boutique in Beverly Hills, when eighty screaming fans mobbed her.

“Oh, you saw that? The folks at Valentino were wonderful, pulling me in and locking the doors.” She used the time waiting for things to calm down outside by shopping for clothes.

Hoping to pooh-pooh the rumors that all is not well in her marriage, Jessica said that she and Nick are looking to purchase a home in BevHills or Bel Air, even touring the home that was once the resident of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. Jessica, who professes to be a big Dolly Parton fan, says she would love to find a film like Nine to Five.

Leave it to the unpredictable James Woods to provide the requisite raunch to these meanderings: Speaking of his role in his current film Pretty Persuasion, the actor said, “I just loved this fat, 50-year-old guy sitting in his underwear playing video poker, doing blow and whacking off to phone sex.” This was at the third premiere and party we attended.

The scene was Hollywood’s Cinerama Dome and the crowd was at overflow levels. Woods assured those scouring for seats in the theatre, “Don’t worry, it’ll be just like summer camp.” Five minutes later, he joined the film’s director Marcos Siega and members of the cast and crew in doing the unthinkable — giving up their seats to guests still wandering the aisles of the theatre.

Crowd control was not a factor at the party at the nearby Montmartre Lounge where among the celebrants were the film’s stars – Evan Rachel Wood, Adi Schnall, Elizabeth Harnois, Selma Blair and Ron Livingston. You may recall that Ron was the rat in Sex and the City who dumped Carrie Bradshaw by Post-It note. In Pretty Persuasion he plays a lecherous English teacher accused of sexual harassment by his conniving spotlight-seeking student, play by Evan Rachel Wood.

Sharon Stone

Polo Lounge Crowds. We spotted Sharon Stone exiting the Beverly Hills Hotel recently back from London where she’s been shooting Basic Instinct 2. We complimented her on her performance in Jim Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers. She said she especially liked Bill Murray’s character. “He brings to mind Humphrey Bogart as Captain Queeg (in The Caine Mutiny), fingering those infernal steel balls and coming apart on the witness stand.”

That same afternoon at the Polo Lounge, the beautiful Carolyn Murphy, one of the new faces of Estee Lauder was having lunch. Murphy will be featured in the company’s just launched Amber Nude, an ad campaign created by Tom Ford.

Sarah Jessica Parker was also there having a power lunch with some executives from HBO. Sarah’s production company has just signed a deal with HBO to produce The Amy Sacco Story about the life of the nightlife queen responsible for some of New York’s hottest, trendiest spots — Bungalow 8, Lot 61 and Bette restaurant. Parker, who always has something going on is Vogue’s September cover and has two film projects in the works as well as coming out with her own fragrance called Lovely.

Also at the Polo – Matt Blanc with producer John Goldstone, husband of Marin Hopper, daughter of Brooke Hayward and Dennis Hopper. Brooke is the daughter of the legendary Margaret Sullavan and producer Leland Hayward. Her autobiography Haywire created a sensation a couple of decades ago and now she continues the show biz saga with Haywire 2. LeBlanc and Goldstone have acquired the film rights to the books and hope to star Natalie Portman as the young Brooke. Goldstone said that Natalie looks exactly like Brooke when she was a young Hollywood hopeful.

Photographs by Jeffrey Hirsch/NYSD.com

Click here for NYSD Contents


© 2006 David Patrick Columbia & Jeffrey Hirsch/NewYorkSocialDiary.com