This has really been a story of 4 January's to get us to this point:
- January 2006: For Jenn's birthday gift, I take her to NYC from a Friday through Sunday (her birthday was 6 weeks earlier, but holiday time is too expensive). Had an absolute blast.
- January 2007: We had such a blast that we came back with Paige and Justin, this time from a Thursday through Sunday. Throughout the year, we really started to feel the itch to come back.
- January 2008: After much thought, we decided to spend our week-long honeymoon in NYC and really do it up right. Instead of spending the same amount of money for a hotel in St. John, we did an entire week in NYC spending the same money on doing fun things and LOVED it. Jokingly, we started discussing if we'd ever move here and at the time it was a very small chance. But the more we thought about it and talked about it, the more we realized that we only live once.
- January 2009: We are now working and living in the city and couldn't be happier.
Spring Awakening on Broadway - December 18th, we finally got a chance to see Spring Awakening. Being that it's another Broadway show that is closing shop in January, I wanted to make sure we squeezed it in before it closed. The show won 8 2007 TONY awards and pretty much dominated the telecast 2 years ago. The show was fantastic! The cast was entirely made up of young actors making their Broadway debuts. The Duncan Sheik written score was really good. While the set was simple in design, it definitely worked because the music was good enough. We had a bit of a frustrating situation with our seats. We were in the second to last row of the center orchestra, and since the theater was a mid-size theater, the seats were good. Literally one minute before the show started, a huge guy sat in front of me who was not only big in height and weight, but also had a huge curly afro (Imagine if Seth Rogen was bigger all around with bigger hair). Immediately, I knew this was going to be a problem. Well, I basically missed half of the stage during the first act because of this guy. I had to lean all the way to the left (hurting my back and shoulders) and I still couldn't see everything. At intermission, I told Jenn that I couldn't take this anymore and I went upstairs to the mezzanine and asked an usher if there were any open seats after explaining the situation. He pointed me to 4 seats in the front mezzanine center which were perfect. I called Jenn's cell and told her to come up. Needless to say, the second act was much better for me! This show definitely deserved the standing ovation it got and it changed the way Broadway shows should be looked at.
On Saturday afternoon December 20th, my Aunt Haze and Uncle O came up and we had lunch with them and their friends' two sons. We went back to Burger Heaven on 49th between Madison and 5th, and it was very good again. We had a great time talking with them and seeing them in general, but it was a short visit. Then we walked with Aunt Haze through the jewelry exchange where she knew a lot of people and helped us sell some old jewelry. Thanks Aunt Haze!
On Saturday night December 20th, we got to see my Uncle Brad, Aunt Melissa, and three cousins Alexa, Maxie, and Roxy. They were in town for a few days and invited us to come spend the night with them. We had a blast seeing a magic show called Chamber Magic in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Steve Cohen is a magician that is so good you have to see him to believe it. The show takes place on the 37th floor of the hotel in a suite that holds 60 people (4 rows of 15)...I've never seen anything like it, and his hour and a half show really was awesome. We then went to a restaurant called Tao a few blocks away that was really good. Menu wise, I would put it in the same category as a Ruby Foo's (Asian Pan Fusion). Tao was packed and we somehow had the best table in the house on the 3rd floor looking down at the entire restaurant! We all loved it and had a great time there. My Uncle Brad definitely has some awesome recommendations. Seeing family all day was a lot of fun so we are always happy when family can make it up to NYC.
Fast forward a few days of working which brings us to a day off on Christmas Day. Jenn really deserves all of the credit for this day because she worked herself silly to make us an amazing meal. She made potato latkes (Gotta celebrate Hanukkah too!) for an appetizer, dressing, a 12 lb brined turkey, a sweet potato pie with marshmallows on top, and pumpkin chiffon pie for dessert. It was also a huge help that we have these new TV tables that attach together and can make a small dining room sized table. Jenn's mom and dad got us this for Christmas and they definitely came in handy this day!
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| From Christmas 2008 |
Weston at The Mercury Lounge - On December 26th, I went down to the Lower East Side around 9pm because 90's "wuss-rock" band Weston was playing a show. I haven't seen them in literally a decade, so when I found out five days before the show that they were playing in NYC, I was ecstatic. The Mercury Lounge itself was ok. Size-wise, I'd say it can hold 200 people. My biggest complaint about the venue was the volume. There is no re-entry and the opening bands were so loud that I couldn't even watch them, and had to wait in the bar area. Do local bands not understand that louder is not always better? The third band was another 90's band called Latex Generation. They played acoustic - and while I could actually watch their set, they were really awful acoustic punk rock. At this point in the show, I bought earplugs from the girl at the door and just hoped Weston would be good. They came out and completely ROCKED from beginning to end. The se tlist could not have been better. They played 13 of the 14 songs from their best album, "Got Beat Up," and played most of their first album, "A True Life Story of Teenage Rebellion." They were actually better now than they were 10 years ago, which was similar to Letters to Cleo a month earlier. Overall, a fun and sweaty show and it was worth the 3 hours sleep I got because I had to be at work in the morning.
P.J. Clarke's - December 31st started off with us leaving the apartment and walking through a decent amount of snow falling to get to P.J. Clarke's just to try their burgers. It was right out of a scene from "How I Met Your Mother." We got this recommendation from our good friend Justin (he saw it on a Top 10 list somewhere), so we finally made it over there. The burgers were definitely very good, but slightly pricey for what they were. Overall, P.J. Clarke's was a pretty cool place though and I'm sure we'll be back at some point.
New Year's Eve - A lot of people have been asking if we went to Times Square to watch the ball drop. You will be disappointed to hear that we did not. Between the "no bathrooms" situation out there, the being trapped in one place for hours, and the fact that the windchill brought the temperature to 2 degrees, it did not sound good!!! We just stayed home and watched it on TV. Call me crazy, but I've always thought NYE is the most overrated, over-hyped night of the year. And I'm starting to feel really bad for Dick Clark, who looks and sounds worse and worse every year. While I understand the tradition of Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve, I think Ryan Seacrest does a solid enough job to carry the load for him. And I hope Kellie Pickler is not invited back to co-host. She was awful.
Jenn starting work! - The best news of the last few weeks. Well, it's been a long time coming for both of us to find solid work and that last part of this move is now accomplished. 5 months later, we are both employed! Jenn accepted a job a few weeks back as an account manager at Weill Cornell Medical College. Because of a change in their systems, her hire date could not be until January 5th. The time has finally come and I know that she feels much better and like a regular person again now that she is going to work 5 days a week again. I know the feeling well as I felt the same way in mid-November. She got her hair cut and colored (see below) the week before she started work at a place her stylist from Florida refered her (Woodley & Bunny) to, in Brooklyn.
Carmine's and our 1st Anniversary - January 5th was a good day. Not only was it Jenn's first day of work, but it was also our one year wedding anniversary!!! My has time flown by. To celebrate, we went to Carmine's in the Upper West Side....we've been hearing from family to go there, so we finally did. Carmine's has excellent family style Italian food. We ordered the meatballs, penne a la vodka, and chicken parm. The meatballs were the best!!!!! The portions were so huge that we had enough to bring back and have for dinner the next night. I was slightly distracted because at the very next table was none other than Norm Lewis, who currently stars as King Triton in Broadway's "The Little Mermaid." I guess stars eat too!
So what else have we done recently....
The weekend before last...Friday, we hung out with our friends Liz and Juan who we haven't seen in a while. They came over right after I got off of work and I introduced them to Empanada Mama! Had a great time catching up with them as always....such awesome people.
On Saturday I worked.
On Sunday, I went to see Gypsy on Broadway and then we hung out with Meredith, Patrick, Ethan, and Elizabeth at Tortilla Flats in the West Village. We had a blast with them and it was fun sharing stories and hearing about Ethan and Elizabeth's recent engagement.
Gypsy on Broadway - When I heard that this show was closing, I knew I had to see it. It was pretty simple. Patti LuPone is playing the role she was born play.
Before I give you my thoughts, let me give you some thoughts from the Time Out New York review from opening night: "Wow. Wow. Wow. The Broadway revival of Gypsy, starring the astonishing Patti LuPone, has now arrived at the—wow—at the St. James Theatre, and from the moment the—wow. Sorry, but: wow. There are times when a critic can calmly analyze the assets and demerits of a production; and there are other times, thrilling and rare, when a show slaps the sense clean out of him, and when the proper reaction is awe, delight and gratitude. This Gypsy is a stunner: an achievement that no one who loves musicals, no one who loves theater, no one at all should miss. LuPone is giving the performance of a lifetime here: not just her lifetime, but Rose’s, and those of many in the audience as well. When she takes her bows—to earthshaking applause—it is as though the golden age of Broadway vitality were taking its curtain call."
So where do I begin? Should I start with the line an hour before the show that went around the block? Should I start by mentioning Patti's legions of insane fans (many who had been camping out a day earlier for this show)? I knew it was going to be a crazy afternoon. Let me explain something: There is a reason the outside marquee says PATTI LUPONE GYPSY all in the same size lettering.
All 3 leads in the show were so fantastic. Best Actor (Boyd Gaines), Best Actress (Patti LuPone), and Best Featured Actress (Laura Benanti) in a musical this past year at the Tony's. And I can say with no doubt that all three awards were deserved. Ms. LuPone is an absolute powerhouse. I was sitting in the last row of the mezzanine - literally on the edge of my seat. Not because I couldn't see, but because it was such a brilliant performance watching her carry this entire show on her shoulders and listening to her voice fill the entire theater like so few can. How about the fact that she got 4 standing ovations at this performance, and after she sang "Rose's Turn"...there was a 5 minute plus standing ovation directly after she finished!!!! It was timed backstage; that is no exxageration.
The 25 piece orchestra was really a sight to behold and they sounded full and crisp. The music is classic Broadway and old school perfection. Anyways, I can ramble on about this show for a long time. You get the drift. If you missed it, you missed out.
Lansky's - I'm very excited to have found a great new restaurant in the Upper West Side. So few places in this area get the "Stamp of Approval"....but Lansky's hit it out of the ballpark. Had a potato latke, matzo ball soup, half a pastrami sandwich, and cheesecake. As you could tell, I obviously made sure everything was up to par for NY deli food! Jenn had the same, but with a turkey sandwich. We both loved it!!!!!! The matzo ball soup tasted like it was right out of my grandma's kitchen (Mama!)...Honestly....taste wise, this is the first place that I can say gives Carnegie some competition.
Until next time...
- B
ps...I (Jenn) apologize for not posting this blog sooner...Brian typed it up a little over a week ago...since then my mom and her friend came to visit (YAY!), and we'll give that update next time around! ;) Oh, and I will also apologize for the lack of pictures this time around!
