Theatre

Theatre and dining — commentary about shows, and some restaurants near theatre

The Half King, NYC (Yankee Wives)

The Half King is a casual pub in Chelsea were I stopped by recently before heading to a humorous "Yankee Wives" production at the Hudson Guild Theatre on 26th. The crisp Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, Australia ($38) washed down the crunchy nuggets, zucchini fries ($7) with their spicy dip and a Mexican Half King Burger ordered with spicy HellFire Fries ($14). The latter came topped with pepperjack cheese, with sides of guacamole and pico de gallo. Outdoor dining, friendly staff and simple pub food. It's  an easy stop right off High Line —  the linear park built on a section of the former elevated New York Central Railroad —on 23. [...]

By |2017-09-07T15:30:10-04:00November 7th, 2013|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Lafayette, NYC + Miss No Where Diner

We headed to Andrew Carmelini's newest everyday French restaurant in NoHo after seeing Miss No Where Diner — an off-Broadway production that runs through Sunday, June 23 at the Robert Moss Theatre, as part of the Plant Connections Theatre Festivity. The 90-minute powerful play about faith by a trusting wife and deceit by the gambling husband, benefits NAMI - the National Alliance of Mental Illness. To start, we had the refreshing Maine crab tartine ($13) of moist crab with a lemon aioli scented with fresh sorrel, tarragon and parsley on crisp toasts. A glass of La Fôret des Dames Sancerre ‘Rèserve Vieilles Vignes’ 2011, Loire ($15) was the perfect math. We then [...]

By |2018-12-22T13:31:56-05:00June 17th, 2013|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Cornelia Street Cafe + Hit the Wall

The Cornelia Street Cafe in West Village is just around the corner from the Barrow Street Theatre, an off-Broadway theatre I've been frequenting. This time I had seen the powerful play Hit the Wall, about the gay turbulence in the late '60s. We started with a perfect sharing portion of Moroccan hummus made from chick peas, roasted red pepper, garlic and lemon —  served with toasted pita triangles, drizzled with a sweet pomegranate reduction and garnished with black olives ($11). Cooked as ordered were the juicy flatiron steak with pommes frites ($24) and the duck breast with whipped sweet potatoes topped with a rich goat cheese gratin($24). Slightly overcooked was [...]

By |2018-01-13T12:36:46-05:00April 8th, 2013|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Bourbon Street Bar & Grille, Theatre District, NYC ( Clive)

After the Superbowl, my mouth watered for a taste of the Big Easy. So we headed to Bourbon Street Bar & Grill a few blocks from the theatre after seeing Ethan Hawke in a modern-day production Clive, Bertolt Brecht's first full-length play "Baal," (written in 1918 when Brecht was a 20-year-old university student). The NoLA drinks exceeded our  expectations. The Vieux Carre (pronounced voh-care-eh) — a drink created in the 1930s at the Hotel Monteleone was named after the French Quarter ("old square") — was a smooth blend of Rye Whiskey, Cognac, Sweet Vermouth and Benedictine with a dash of bitters. The classic Sazerac ($10) — the  signature beverage at [...]

By |2017-09-07T15:36:30-04:00March 1st, 2013|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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The Addams Family at the Shubert

The 2013/2014 National Tour of the new musical THE ADDAMS FAMILY, based on the bizarre and beloved family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams, will make its New Haven premiere at the Shubert Theater, New Haven, February 1–3, 2013. The four performances — Friday 7:30pm, Saturday 2:00pm & 7:30pm and Sunday 2:00pm — are sponsored by Lexus of New Haven. This magnificently macabre new musical comedy brings the darkly delirious world of Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Grandma, Wednesday, Pugsley and, of course, Lurch to spooky and spectacular life. Tickets are now available online at shubert.com, by phone at 800-228-6622 and at the Shubert Box Office (247 College Street, [...]

By |2017-09-04T18:51:52-04:00January 31st, 2013|Theatre, USA Travel|0 Comments
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FOODACTS: A New Play at The Lion Theatre

Jeux de Mots trans.WORDPLAY presents FOODACTS a new play at the Lion Theatre (410 West 42nd Street) conceived and directed by Barbara Bosch with only 16 performances, February 6-24, 2013. FOODACTS is a culinary stage adventure that explores our primal connections to food and its power to unite. Through an entertaining encounter with established novels, colorful poetry, historic essays, personal letters and other literary works by Langston Hughes, Proust, Homer, and Dickens, among others, FOODACTS serves up the joys of food and eating. It goes beyond the mere palate, revealing how human beings relate to and obsess over food from as far back as The Bible to today. Barbara Bosch [...]

By |2017-09-01T15:03:15-04:00January 27th, 2013|Other happenings, Theatre, xyz misc|0 Comments
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Pongsri Thai Restaurant (The Heiress)

After not being picked for the Book of Mormon lottery for the second time, my friend Tom and I decided to get a bite to eat to drown our sorrow.  We ended up at Pongsri Thai Restaurant, almost around the corner from the Eugene O'Neill Theater where we weren't seeing the show! Tom — who had been to Pongsri before — spearheaded the ordering. Our appetizer was #11 - Beef Laab ($10.95) seasoned ground beef mixed with ground toasted rice, lime juice and mint, served with fresh lettuce  to wrap and enjoy. Nice, we needed more lettuce for to wrap up the beef. Our entrees included #106—Jungle Curry with Pork [...]

By |2017-09-04T18:49:30-04:00December 14th, 2012|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Ta Cocina, New York (Cyrano de Bergerac)

This Hell's Kitchen eatery serves traditional, plentiful Mexican fare. Good for a quick bite before theatre, which is what I did on my way to seeing the amazing Douglas Hodge as Cyrano de Bergerac at the American Airlines Theatre. We shared one app and one entree, which was more than enough food for two. First, the Aperitivo mixto ($12) with a mini chimichanga, a quesadilla,  tamal,  guacamole,  sour cream, some jalapeno peppers and an assortment of sauces (mole, green, red sauces).  Note to self: no need for any more food if you order this again. But we also ordered Chipotle BBQ ribs ($16), with  slow-roasted baby back ribs slathered in [...]

By |2017-09-07T15:32:36-04:00December 5th, 2012|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Public Fare Opens The Public’s Delacorte Theater in Central Park

Public Fare at The Public’s Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home of Shakespeare in the Park, is now open At Public Fare you can have the Picnic Dog with Crushed Barbecue Potato Chips, Scallions and Tangy Housemade Sauce ($5.50); sandwiches such as the Smoked Turkey & Gouda on Ciabatta Bread with Baby Arugula and Pickled Onion-Jalapeno Mayonnaise ($9); housemade desserts and snacks ($3 - $4.75). Lighter options includes salads such as the Chickpea Salad with Feta, Cucumber, Kalamata Olives, Tomato and Oregano($4.75); and Mixed Baby Greens with Pickled Shallots, Fresh Herbs, Ricotta Salata and Lemon Vinaigrette ( $6.75). Public Fare also offers a beverage list that includes a perfect summertime [...]

By |2019-05-05T10:34:10-04:00June 26th, 2012|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Marseille, Hell’s Kitchen, New York City (Once)

Marseille, France's most Moroccan-influenced city, is a restaurant in Hell's Kitchen that I recommend. It's a place to have brunch, al fresco dining or a quick bite on way to theatre. This time, I stopped in on my way to see Once, the 11-time, Tony-nominated new musical based on the Academy Award-winning film. I skipped the meze — a classic at this French-Moroccan restaurant — and opted for the lightly charred octopus tossed with shreds of tomato and  shaved fennel, topped with crispy shoestring potatoes, drizzled with paprika oil ($13.50); and a huge bowl of moules ($19.50) in a light white wine, garlic and tomato broth, served with a side [...]

By |2017-09-07T15:32:38-04:00June 7th, 2012|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Blue Fin, Times Square (Priscilla Queen of the Desert) , NYC

Blue Fin's location in the W Times Square is ideal for pre-theatre — or just people watching from its glass-enclosed street level bar right across from TKTS booth. We were on our way to see the fun "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" that has audiences dancing in their seats that was showing across the street at the Palace theatre. We happened there during winter restaurant week with a $35 dinner deal. Also at $35 were two selections of wine. We opted both deals: the Jean Aubron muscadet, from the Loire Valley, 2009 and an order of the price-fix menu. The waiter placed a bowl full of diced crisp veggies with [...]

By |2017-09-04T18:50:31-04:00February 11th, 2012|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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La Rivage + “Other Desert Cities”

I'm always trying restaurants around the theatre district when seeing something on Broadway, as people habitually ask where to dine before curtain time. Recently I ate at La Rivage on 46th Street, before heading to the Booth Theater (222 West 45th Street, 212.239.6200) to Jon Robin Baitz's Other Desert Cities. The cast of Stockard Channing, Stacy Keach, Rachel Griffiths, Judith Light and Thomas Sadoski work as an perfectly oiled ensemble in this not-to-be-missed riveting play. The vintage-1958 French restaurant La Rivage offers a prix-fix lunch. The $25 three-course menu, including coffee, is a bargain with decent food and attentive service. The food is nothing to rave about, but is just [...]

By |2017-09-04T18:49:53-04:00December 3rd, 2011|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Ember Room, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC (Rock of Ages)

Hell's Kitchen offers many reasonably priced restaurant to stop for a pretheatre bite, with the Ember Room one of them. We stopped there before seeing the thigh-slapping, toe-tapping Rock of Ages (nominated for five Tony awards)  playing at the Helen Hayes theatre. I recommend that highly! The Ember Room was still offering New York Restaurant week's 3-course, but their Pre Theatre Menu — also with three courses — caught our eye. Instead of the $35, it was only $22. (The food prices listed are the ala carte ones.) We opted to choose from that, which offered the same food in smaller portions. Great for the waistline. We sampled Thai Pastrami [...]

By |2017-09-07T14:49:01-04:00September 26th, 2011|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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China Grill‎, for Pre-Theatre (Come Fly Away)

Unfortunately, it was after ordering that I learned that the portions at China Grill are large enough for more than two — something our waitress might have mentioned had she not been attending to a party of 12 at a nearby table.  We ordered way too much food, thinking we could easily just share an appetizer, salad and entree. The Crackling Calamari Salad ($22) — a heaping mound of lettuces in a lime miso dressing with calamari pieces — illustrates the blend of ingredients used from around the globe in the China Grill dishes.  The squid pieces are lightly coated before frying, resulting in crisp tender, delicate morsels. The Lobster Pancakes [...]

By |2017-09-04T19:18:28-04:00June 3rd, 2010|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Sosa Borella in the Theatre District (A View From The Bridge)

Reading about Sosa Borella online, you'll find lots of references to it being "authentic Italian-Argentinian cuisine." The Santi '08 Veneto Pinot Grigio ($48) was Italian, but to me the rest of the fare leans more south of the equator. The dish I'd recommend is the bife alla sosa borella ($32). A grilled natural corn-fed tender strip steak topped with chimichurri and served with fries. We chose this restaurant mainly to be close to the Cort Theater to see a preview performance of  Arther Miller's "A View from the Bridge." (The show opened January 24 for a fourteen-week limited engagement.) Liev Schreiber plays Eddie Carbone, a Brooklyn longshoreman who is obsessed [...]

By |2017-09-04T18:37:41-04:00February 19th, 2010|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|2 Comments
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A Stepback in Time: Barbetta & “Hair”

Barbetta has three "oldest" distinctions: it's the oldest restaurant in New York that is still owned by the family who founded it, oldest Italian restaurant in New York, and the oldest restaurant in New York's Theatre District. It's truly a step back in time, as it's also old-world elegance, attentive service and old-style food. If you go pre-theatre, ask for the a la carte menu (unless you're up for a 4-course $58 meal). We shared, beginning with a bottle of  Barbera d'Asti Cascina Castle't DOC 2008, ($40), which worked well with each of our courses. Our fabulous waiter first brought out a sample of the Rollatine of Piedmontese Robiola in [...]

By |2017-09-07T14:55:04-04:00February 16th, 2010|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Gaby Bar for a Pre-Theatre-Area (Mine) Nibble

Locating a quiet place to get a drink and nibble before theatre isn't easy, as most New York City places are bustling with crowds. The Gaby Bar at Hotel Sofitel is an exception, albeit a pricey one. I stopped by the Gaby Bar recently with a friend after a press screening of the powerful documentary "Mine," about the bond between humans and animals — set in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This movie, directed by Geralyn Pezanoski, won the Audience Award at both the SXSW Film Festival, and San Francisco Documentary Festival. Worth seeing for sure! We each sipped a glass of Lafite Reserve, Speciale Bordeaux Blanc [...]

By |2017-09-04T18:36:51-04:00February 12th, 2010|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|3 Comments
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Triomphe, New York City — in the Theatre District (God of Carnage)

A friend suggested trying Triomphe in the renovated Iroquois Hotel when we were discussing pre-theatre dining options. Theatre — by the way — was the not-to-be-missed "God of Carnage," the Tony Award winning play with Marcia Gay Harden, James Gandolfini, Hope Davis, and Jeff Daniels.  The show won the best play, the best performance by a leading actress (Marcia Gay Harden) and best director (Matthew Warchus). The play has been aptly described as a "comedy of manners without the manners."  It's about parents who meet to discuss the school-playground fight between their sons. Back to to food at Triomphe: It's simple, generally good, and somewhat understated. The wine list is [...]

By |2017-09-04T19:05:23-04:00July 22nd, 2009|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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