Hot Times
Thursday, June 28, 2007 at 7:30PM 
Pierre & I hit the photo booth at Gallery BarBefore heading to New York last Saturday, I investigated the weather report. After all, it is late June, and it is New York City. While most of my trips to the Northeast at this time of year have left me wilted and miserable, pleading for relief from the heavens on a steamy streetcorner, I was overwhelmingly pleased to see that the temperatures were due to be moderate, and downright pleasant. San Francisco never gets the heat-and-humidity one-two punch that New York gets, and while I generally feel like a gauche tatterdemalion fashion-wise when the Big Apple, the summertime weather always poses an additional challenge. Luckily, there is the international language of white pants, summer dresses, ballerina flats, sandals, and crisp shirts. I think I held my own...
My first night I was so happy to meet up with Pierre, who dragged me along to a few of his favorite haunts while I was able to show him a few of my own. Moi? Yes, I do know a few fab spots that even he didn't know about. But first, we ventured to Oliva - a small Basque hot spot at the corner of Houston and Allen. Pierre is Basque, so I suppose he likes to support the homeland, and why not? The tunes were loud, the crowd was vivacious, and the bartender sported that euro-"I'm not handsome, but girls love me" -sexy-bad boy thing like a pro - hell, he probably invented it.
A pitcher of sangria later...we stumbled out on the hot pavement and made our way over to Pravda, just a few blocks down. I'd been to Pravda before, but Pierre hadn't even heard of it. A younger sibling of the Balthazar and Pastis family, Pravda plays on a Russia-1930s theme, with a relaxed underground atmosphere, and clever branding throughout. (Clever? The back of the menu offers two vodka and caviar platters: one called "Romanoff" featuring the best of the best, and the other called "Bolshevik" featuring the other side of the coin.) I went for the Leninade - a light, delicious cocktail composed of citrus vodka, lemon juice, and fresh mint, while P went for the Kempinksy Fizz: voka, creme de casis, lemon juice, and ginger ale.
At Gallery BarBut enough of this fanciness, let's get down to drinking. From Pravda we strolled to Merc Bar - our place, one that's fast-becoming one of my favorites. The windows were open to the street, and if we'd been able to sit I'm sure it would have afforded some fantastic people watching. From there we went further downtown to the Gallery Bar where we met up with my friend Barclay and his posse. A bit of a line greeted us outside, but luckily the artist named Zito was there curbside, continuing his series of Portraits of the Lower East Side. Yeah, right there - hit a bar, get a portrait. Gallery Bar is exactly what a Lower East Side bar ought to be: fun, artsy, and with a great DJ setting the tone. Man, I haven't heard Bel Biv Devoe in a while! Even so, Saturday nights in New York must end as they always do, and turn into beautiful Sunday mornings. I'm glad that vodka-sodas go down so easily - it makes for a much nicer morning after!
And the morning after...I was so excited for what I'd planned with my sister and brother-in-law. First, brunch at Sant Ambroeus - an uber-chic hideaway in the West Village. My brother-in-law said "yeah, it's right at West 4th and Perry - just a block from 7th..." Sounds easy enough, but I know these canny characters and no restaurant they pick is ever very easy to find. I mean, even the cab drivers don't know where to go. Is this an indication of the level of chic conoisseurism my siblings breathe? Probably. But I'm sure they get frustrated each time I'm late, trying to find some hole-in-the-wall that should be "just in the next block..." Apparently Sant Ambroeus is THE place for a power lunch in the West Village, but the brunch crowd seemed much more relaxed. By the time I did arrive, I was happy to find the patio was shaded, coffee was delicious, the eggs fluffy, and the pastries delectable. Thoroughly sated, we headed uptown.
Mad Hatter & Dormouse from Jose de Creeft's sculptureMy sister and I had agreed to go to the Poiret exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum, and while French fashion is not necessarily my brother-in-law's favorite choice, he decided he'd visit the new Greek and Roman galleries...or something incredibly academic. To make our way to the Met we walked through Central Park - a perfect outing on a summer Sunday. It seemed like the whole city was out strolling and enjoying the greenery - kids, musicians, families, dogs...even the famous peregrine falcons put in an appearance. We had to pause at the Alice in Wonderland sculpture to take in the scene. If only ever summer day in New York were this nice!
The Poiret exhibit was truly incredible. Truly the first designer to innovate in the idea of a "lifestyle brand", Poiret created clothing, packaging, furniture and interiors which are beautifully showcased at the Met. Both my sister and I found a few dresses that would even be appropriate today. I loved his collaborations with Dufy, as well as his experiments in crafting one piece of fabric into a garment with minimal tailoring. After Poiret, we attempted to find Sargent's Portrait of Madame X, but failed to find an open passage from the modern art section to the American wing...so I will have to come back to visit Madame another time.
My sis and her Anya Hindmarch bagWe made our way slowly back downtown, walking down Madison Avenue until we reached the subway. Along the way, we popped into Ralph Lauren, checking out the Wimbledon collection, as well as Crawford-Doyle Booksellers - another lovely bookshop favored by the sibs. But we had yet another stop to make back down in SoHo. My brother-in-law recently attended an event at Vosges Chocolates, and now knows the entire staff at this small but beautifully appointed shop on Spring Street. Apparently Vosges is based out of Chicago, but the unstoppable fervor for unusual chocolates knows no bounds. While I am always a little skeptical of expensive bon bons, these babies were indeed worthwhile. Try some of the savory truffles...no, really. My favorite? White chocolate with a hint of olive oil and kalamata olives. No lie. A little salty, a little sweet, and completely incredible. This truffle is known as "olio d'oliva" is part of the Italian Collection, which also includes such unusual treats as "polline di finocchio" - wild Tuscan fennel pollen and dark chocolate. Wow - someone out there is making chocolate just for me...and selling it in SoHo!
Hmmm...after this day, maybe I could live in New York!
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Oliva Bar & Restaurant - 161 East Houston at Allen St.
Pravda - 281 Lafayette between East Houston St. & Prince St.
Merc Bar - 151 Mercer St. at Prince St.
Gallery Bar - 120 Orchard St. at Delancey St.
Sant Ambroeus - 259 West 4th St. at Perry St.
Metropolitan Museum of Art - 1000 Fifth Avenue
Crawford-Doyle Booksellers - 1082 Madison Avenue between East 81st & East 82nd
Vosges Haut Chocolat - 132 Spring St. between Greene St. & Wooster St.
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