Beitlers in NYC

Market & Fountain 

Our friend Barbara recommended the Chelsea Market to us.  It’s surprising we didn’t already know about it considering the market is all about gourmet food.  As you can see from the above pictures, the decor is rustic.  I particularly liked the fountain, which consisted of water falling from an open pipe.

Girts and I originally planned on stopping by the market to quickly check it out before crossing over to the Lower Eastside for Indian food.  But then we discovered the Italian market with its rows of European specialties, including spicy sopressata and creamy cheeses.  Our plan quickly changed to a night of tapas at home with a jammy bottle of Hahn Pinot Noir.  We may even stray from our current routine of shopping for groceries at Trader Joe’s by returning to Chelsea Market on occasion!  It would be harder on the pocket book, but easier on the arms and legs since it requires less schlepping.

As we explore some of the numerous restaurants in NYC, I’ve made an observation. Many of the restaurants seem to have a resident cat. Above is a kitten helping to bus a table at an unmentioned restaurant (I don’t want any retaurant owners or cats to get into trouble). The same kitten entertained us and our neighbors by attacking a napkin and shoe laces. It also sat in my lap and purred while I scratched under his chin. I wasn’t the only one completely enamored. Numerous people tried to tempt the little kitty to their tables.

I have a “Resident Cat” theory. My grandfather used to have a dairy farm and cats served an important purpose – control the mice population. Of course, I won’t mention what happened when the cat population got out of control. Well, there are mice in NYC. And rats, although rats are big and I think many cats are actually scared of the big ones. But my “Resident Cat” theory involves not rodents, but cockroaches. I think restaurant and store owners have cats to control the roaches that seem to be living wherever food and trash are in abundance. Cats can be ferocious little hunters. The only problem I would foresee involves cats liking to play with their catch before eating it. I can imagine that a few speedy roaches have made an unfortunate get-away. Thankfully, the feline roach-catchers in these restaurants are friendly, unlike the barn cats on my grandfather’s farm!

And since I’m on the cat topic, I had to include a couple of pictures of Chloe, one of our cats who has taken up residence on a window sill in our apartment. Occasionally Zoe steals her sill, but mostly Chloe owns it.
Chloe 

Many of you know that Girts and I live a half block from Lincoln Center. At night we can hear the free outdoor concert series from our apartment. I don’t know how many times we’ve said we need to check out what’s playing and get tickets, but then we just don’t get it done. So far, as you may have read in this blog, most of our adventures have been food related. We do love to eat!

Anyway, Girts’s cousin Sandis plays with Kremerata Baltica, an orchestra out of Latvia that is led by Gidon Kremer, a world-renowned violinist. Sandis plays first chair violin in the orchestra and travels all over the world. His next stops will be Austria, Brazil, and Argentina! This last weekend he played at Lincoln Center. Sandis reserved tickets for us in the 4th row. The concert was fantastic. We really enjoyed the music and being that close meant we were able to see how the orchestra interacts and hear sounds the instruments make that aren’t necessarily audible from farther away. The bows occasionally hitting wood for example.

I also really enjoyed the people watching. New Yorkers are fabulous audience members. They aren’t shy about showing emotion. Their standing ovations meant two encores and I loved hearing people say things like, “I’ll stand for that one!”, “Bravo!”, and “I need to order that CD!”

There were also some examples of bad audience behavior…the cell phone going off, of course. For all of you teachers against cell phones in schools…I think cell phones should be allowed because kids need to be taught how to use cell phones appropriately. You know, one of those life skills that aren’t necessarily tied to our curriculum. Cell phones aren’t going away. I would rather have students learning the hard way in middle school so that by the time they show up to Lincoln Center it’s habit to turn the cell phone off. Not to mention, if I was a parent, I would want my adolescent or teenager to have a phone. It’s a good tracking device.

There was also the little kid who started giggling after someone’s stomach growled during a solo. Ok it was kind of funny, but the kid wouldn’t stop giggling. The mom eventually took the kid away, but it was an annoying distraction. Who thinks it’s a good idea to bring a three year old to a concert? During intermission I overheard the ladies behind me saying they wouldn’t let the mom sit down if she came back with her kid. That would have been some people watching!

Girts and I are definitely inspired to book some more events. As for Sandis… he will be back in New York in April and will perform with Kremerata Baltica at Carnegie Hall. We can’t wait!

Girts and I were so excited to go to the village of Greenport on the North Fork of Long Island. It was a chance to get out the sweltering city, kind of like all the rich people who go to the Hamptons (which is spitting distance from Greenport). Our plan was to take the train, arrive by noon, hang around Greenport, then check into a bed and breakfast. That night we would eat dinner somewhere nice. The next day we would rent bikes and ride to Bedell Cellars where John, the winemaker, would give us a tour and tasting. That night after dinner we would take the train back to the city.

Most of Greenport is supported by the tourists who visit every summer, so you would think it would be welcoming to tourists. Welcomed is not how we felt. No one in the stores acknowledged us. Our server at lunch was the necessary polite, but beyond that, I got the feeling she found us annoying. We went to check on bike rental. The guy at The Bike Stop was a total ass. Monday, the day we needed to rent, the store closes at 3:00. We didn’t think we would be able to make it to the winery between 9 and 3, so we asked about having it picked up at our B&B, something that is advertised on the website. Apparently the website hasn’t been updated in a couple of years and the owner was completely unaccommodating. He just kept apathetically repeating, “I’m sorry.” I asked about leaving the bike locked up outside the store, “no ma’am. I’m sorry. You would be liable if something happened to the bike. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

I finally said, “yeah. I can tell,” and left. It took all of my self-control to not completely lose it on the guy. At that point I thought we might still have to rent bikes from him.

There were two saving graces on the trip. First was the fabulous dinner we had at The Frisky Oyster. If I’m going to spend a lot of money on dinner, I want to go somewhere where I try new, innovative dishes that inspire me or dishes that I can’t cook myself. The Frisky Oyster met my first demand. We decided to have two appetizers: crab cakes with tatziki and a fig arugula salad in a balsamic reduction, and one entree: lobster linguini with lemon, olive oil, and garlic. The linguini was amazing. It was simple, but all of the flavors complemented each other perfectly.  Girts and I were definitely inspired to try something new in our own little kitchen.

Our second saving grace was John from Bedell Cellars, the cousin of one of Girts’s co-workers. She recommended we visit John since Girts is working in the wine store at TJ’s. First of all, John loaned us his tandem bike so we were saved from having to rent from The Bike Stop. I could have lost it on the guy after all! John also told us where to stop to get food for a picnic and gave us directions to everywhere we needed to go.  But the real excitement happened when we arrived to Bedell. I’m not sure one can fully understand the complexity of wine making without first talking to a professional wine maker. The tour he gave us was truly enlightening and showed how wine making is a detailed process that involves a combination of science, art, and even a little gambling. And I’m sure we just uncovered the tip of the iceberg. Before getting on the train back to NYC that night, we had a picnic dinner with John and his wife, Leah, who made tasty zucchini-potato latkes that we all ate while listening to live Cuban music by the water in Greenport.

Girts and I are undecided about returning to Greenport. We suggested possibly doing an apartment swap with Leah and John since they would like to come to the city more, but if they are the only ones who are friendly to strangers in Greenport, I’m not sure we want to go back when they aren’t there.

Governor’s Island is an old military base on an island nestled near Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Statue of Liberty. To get there you take a free 10-minute ferry ride from the southern tip of Manhattan. Some of the island has been turned into a national park because of its historical status, but over half will be developed with a possible convention center, resorts, and golf course. Thankfully, no permanent housing will be allowed. One proposal has two small bridges (trams?) connecting the island to Manhattan.

It was interesting to explore another part of New York, but it was a hot and humid day. For me, the highlight of Governor’s Island was the fantastic view of Manhattan. It really is a prime piece of real estate!