Theatre

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

Patti Lupone at 54 Below, Theatre District, NYC

A friend invited another friend and me to see Patti Lupone's sold-out final performance of her gig at 54 Below. We couldn't resist. Patti has three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards and two Grammy Awards and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fame. She's best known as a singer and actress in stage musicals. Most recently, I saw her performances in London and New York in Company.  (Michael Allan Galvez, photographer) As good New Yorkers, we didn't bother the famous folks we noticed in the small theatre. At one table was Kristin Chenoweth; at another were Jessica Lange, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Chelsea Clinton. We tried not to stare. [...]

By |2023-02-24T17:10:11-05:00February 14th, 2023|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Sapphire, UWS, NYC + Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool

(Sadly, Sapphire just closed on December 31, 2022.) Sapphire Cuisines of India on the Upper West Side is close enough to the Vivian Beaumont Theater to grab a bite before attending a show. We did just that before seeing Mike Birbiglia in his one-man show. My dining partner noticed some small batch bourbons and ordered Old Fashions for us made with Clyde Mays, an Alabama-style whiskey ($18) that we sipped while topping the crispy flatbread papadum with the two sauces. I'd recommend the Lasuni Gobi ($9), their cauliflower florets batter-fried in a garlic sauce and their fried onion fritters ($9) made using a spiced gram flour batter.    Also good [...]

By |2023-01-15T12:02:31-05:00January 3rd, 2023|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|4 Comments
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Aldo Solm Wine Bar, Midtown, NYC + Leopoldstadt

Urban Hawkers didn't cut it for us, as we both prefer being served to food courts. That's how we ended up at Aldo Salm, the casual wine bar across the alley from Le Bernardin serving light French fare. I'd expect a server to provide a clean glass for sampling each wine at a wine bar. Not! Our waiter oddly used one wine glass for sampling two wines. We ended up with the crisp Fiano, Ciro Picariello, Irpinia, Campania ‘21 ($14), which worked with the whole roasted cauliflower with chimichurri sauce ($18) and the duck confit ($26) over highly dressed frisée and watercress with thinly sliced fennel and radishes. I wished [...]

By |2022-12-18T22:45:41-05:00December 15th, 2022|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Jasmine’s Caribbean Cuisine Theatre District, NYC + Six

Jasmine's brings Caribbean flavor to Restaurant Row. We stopped in after seeing the spectacular, just over an hour musical Six, about the six wives of Henry VIII at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on 47th. Our server greeted us with a big Caribbean-style smile as we entered Jasmine's, a part Jamaican restaurant around the corner from that theatre. Their attentively made drinks are good. There's an oversized salt-rimmed Margie ($17), a tall mojito ($16) swimming in fresh mint and a mule ($15) in a copper cup with a cinnamon stick.    The food is more uneven. Don't, though, miss their spicy and piquant jerk wings. The kitchen has a heavy hand with [...]

By |2022-12-05T08:52:21-05:00December 3rd, 2022|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Misirizzi, NoHO, NYC + Raisin in the Sun

Misirizzi on East 4th Street is a small Italian restaurant with friendly, knowledgeable service and good food. And it's around the corner from The Public, where we saw Raisin in the Sun. This powerful play, first introduced in 1959, is about a family's experiences with racism and housing discrimination as they try to improve their lives.  Since it was a warm fall evening, we ate outside and decided that when we returned, we'd sit inside by the fireplace. I recommend the julienned endive, crumbled gorgonzola, candied walnuts and sliced pear ($14) salad. Also tasty is the baked butternut squash, escarole and chickpeas with Ricotta Salata ($14).  Don't miss their homemade lasagna [...]

By |2022-10-30T20:33:41-04:00November 29th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Lafayette, NoHo, NYC + Baldwin and Buckley

Pre-COVID, I have had some decent meals, including a fun birthday at Lafayette, Andrew Carmelini’s French restaurant in NoHo. We stopped in for brunch one rainy day before heading to The Public to see Baldwin and Buckley. For a review of that show, click here. We appreciated the good vibe as we lucked out being seated in a corner banquette away from the noise. Four of us started with purportedly spicy bloody Marys ($17). Other than the composed Niçoise Salad garnished with rare tuna, anchovies and an egg ($36), the rest of the food was plebeian at best.  The smoked salmon Benedict ($30) was okay. The shakshuka was overcooked, resulting in [...]

By |2022-11-20T17:35:34-05:00November 12th, 2022|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Giardino 54, Hells Kitchen, NYC + Los Otros, The Musical

We chose Giardino 54 for its proximity to A.R.T./New York Theatres, where we were seeing the musical Los Otros with music by Michael John LaChiusa, who we bumped into at the performance. Los Otros is a musical about love, risk and revelation told through two characters who explore significant moments in their lives. I recommend. I started lunch at Giardino 54 with a glass of their on-tap Vicentini Agostino Valpolicella, Vento 2019 ($10), reminiscent of Italian house wine. They also offer a white — Trebbiano, Poderi Dal Nespoli IGT, 2017 — on tap. Our friendly, attentive waiter served us an olive oil-balsamic mixture for dipping the bread. I tried their [...]

By |2022-10-20T08:55:21-04:00October 22nd, 2022|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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A return to Shukette, Chelsea, NYC + MJ The Musical

Our afternoon started on our feet, applauding the amazing performances in MJ the Musical  — telling the story of Michael Jackson — at the Neil Simon theatre. It won four Tony awards, including best actor in a musical (Myles Frost) and best choreography (Christopher Wheeldon). I highly recommend. From there, we headed downtown to 24th Street and Ninth Avenue for an early dinner at Shukette, serving the creative cooking of Brooklyn-born Chef Ayesha J. Nurdjaja. The name is from the Hebrew word for an open-air market, shuk. Again, we were seated inside, at the front of the restaurant, yet this time not surrounded by others. The noise was much easier [...]

By |2022-10-09T09:42:21-04:00October 7th, 2022|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Swagat, Upper West Side, NYC + Shakespeare in the Park: As You Like it

Swagat is a small and cozy Indian restaurant on the Upper West Side, a good spot to dine before heading to the Delacorte to see "As You Like it," one of this year's two productions of Shakespeare in the Park as it's about a half-mile walk to the theatre.  Swagat, a Hindu word meaning "welcome," is a sister to Madam Ji, another Indian place I've enjoyed. Their aloo papri chat ($12) — a traditional Indian street snack — contained crunchy flour crispies with potatoes, chickpeas and flour straws with mint, tamarind and tamarind sauces. Their crispy cauliflower (lasuni gobi $10) comes tossed in a tangy garlic and tomato sauce. Don't [...]

By |2022-09-22T07:06:37-04:00September 19th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Mels, Chelsea, NYC + Fat Ham at the Public

We finally were able to get a res at the very popular Mel's on Tenth Avenue, owned by Michelin-decorated Chef fellow Dame Melissa Rodriguez. I started with their Old Fashioned made with bourbon, cognac and amaro ($18) while my dining partner had a Cosmo ($18). We liked the flavor and heat from the chilies of the charred shrimp with a small fresh herb salad ($24), yet wished the crustacean hadn't been overcooked. We followed that with a tasty gem lettuce salad with fresh mint and grilled and marinated burrata also with heat chilis ($18). Of course, we had to try one of the pizzas. We opted for the tomato sauce [...]

By |2022-08-14T07:57:46-04:00August 10th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Mémé Mediterranean, Hells Kitchen, NYC + Plaza Suite

Mémé Mediterranean restaurant in Hell's Kitchen is named after brothers Alon and Jacob Cohen's mother, as it is French Moroccan for Grandma. There's also a West Village location. My dining mates started with Cava Rose Spritz  with Mezzodi liqueur, Pamplemousse liqueur, grapefruit juice and Cava Rose ($18). I recommend the nicely balanced Mémé's Manhattan ($17) with bourbon, rum, vermouth and crème de pêche to bourbon lovers. Our least favorite of the evening was their roasted cauliflower, which took more than 30 minutes to come out of the kitchen, especially compared to that version we devoured at Gupshup. They season that dish with Maghreb  (African) spices and lemon tahini ($14). Mémé's is [...]

By |2022-07-11T13:09:46-04:00July 9th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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P.J. Clarke’s-Lincoln Square, Lincoln Center, NYC + Epiphany

We chose P.J. Clarke's for its proximity to the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center. We were seeing Epiphany, a well-acted confusing, quirky and slow 2-hour show sans intermission about a group who reunited at a dinner party during a snow storm. Lunch at P.J. Clarke's wasn't much better. I've restrained myself from writing negative restaurant write-ups since the start of COVID, as my heart goes out to restaurant owners dealing with the pandemic trick-down effects. That said, I have to share. My dining partner chose a cheese-topped burger with crispy fries ($21); I opted to try their beer battered fish 'n chips with tartar sauce and malt vinegar [...]

By |2022-07-05T12:28:40-04:00July 1st, 2022|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Return for Brunch to Marseille, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC + POTUS

Marseilles, the French brasserie in Hell's Kitchen where we stopped for brunch before theatre, is generally consistent — ideally located down 44th Street from the Shubert Theater where we saw POTUS, the farcical show about the women behind the President that had us belly laughing. I recommend. Seems we misread the menu, thinking the bloody Mary's ($12) we ordered were part of their $21 bottomless brunch drinks with the purchase of an entree. Our waiter corrected us after ordering our second, saying that the offering was only for their mimosas. One friend started with the four white asparagus ($17.00) topped with tiny morel mushrooms and sprinkled with almond dukkah (a [...]

By |2022-05-29T09:35:32-04:00June 29th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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A Return to Wagamama, Midtown, NYC + Golden Shield

One location of Wagamama, the British restaurant chain serving Asian food based on Japanese cuisine, is across the street from City Center where we were heading to see "Golden Shield," playwright Anchuli Felicia King's new work about loyalties, intrigue and the art of translation. Nothing to to out of your way for. My go-to dish is always their spicy bang bang cauliflower ($8.50) as the well-seasoned florets never disappoint. I expected their bold and fiery firecracker chicken to be spicy. Not spicy, yet flavorful. The small chunks of chicken with bell peppers, chilies and scallions surrounded a serving of white rice, were missing the menu-stated snow peas ($18). My friend [...]

By |2022-06-19T10:24:55-04:00June 15th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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AnTalia NYC, Midtown, NYC + Fran Lebowitz

We chose the Turkish restaurant AnTalia for its proximity to Town Hall where we were seeing the irreverent humorist Fran Lebowitz. As traditional in Turkish meals, we started with a mezze. That's a selection of small dishes served with bread, traditionally pita. We chose their tzatziki (chopped cucumbers with garlic and dill in yogurt), the pureed grilled eggplant and — my favorite — the spicy veggie dip made from tomatoes, green peppers, walnuts and pepper sauce (three for $21). One dining partner tried their classic vertically grilled lamb gyro ($22.50) served with tomato sauce, yogurt and pita, that needed more bread (+$1.75). Another had their whole char-grilled branzino (Mediterranean seabass or [...]

By |2022-05-24T06:46:19-04:00May 16th, 2022|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Brunch at The Smith, East Village, NYC + Suffs at The Public

It was my first time at the East Village location of The Smith but won't be my last. We met there for brunch as it was close to The Public where we were seeing "Suffs," the new amazing musical about the American women’s suffrage movement. Brunch was as good as the show! Our just-out-of-training server, Logan was perfection. Attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. We started with brunch cocktails, I had a spicy bloody mary ($13), my dining partners each had a mimosa ($15). I'm usually a huevos ranchero breakfast person when it's offered, yet I had to sample the unusual sounding Benedict Johnny. It's cheddar cornbread served in a ~6-inch cast-iron [...]

By |2022-05-21T10:03:35-04:00May 10th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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BXL Cafe, Theatre District, NYC + Birthday Candles

We decided on a late lunch at BXL, a Belgian cafe, before heading to the American Airline Theatre to see Debra Messing in Birthday Candles. We just walked through the alleyway across the street to the theatre a block away. Three of our four ordered mussels mariniere, menu-described as "cooked in white wine and shallots ($30). One seasoned moules-eating diner described them as plump but in need of flavor saying they were cooked in water, not wine and with onions (as you can see in the photo) and not shallots. I tried their steak frites. The meat was cooked as I requested, but it was not the quality of meat [...]

By |2022-05-08T09:10:52-04:00May 2nd, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Dos Caminos, Theatre District, NYC + Take Me Out

We chose Dos Caminos as it was close to the Helen Hayes theater where we were heading to see "Take Me Out," about the personal and professional complexities of baseball, America’s favorite pastime starring Jesse Williams (Grey's Anatomy), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), and Patrick J. Adams (Suits). I started with their "El Camino" margarita ($14) made with only Milagro Blanco tequila,  Triple Sec and lime juice. We both had their eggs rancheros requesting them poached instead of fried ($18) along with crisp tortillas, beans, smoked ham and queso fresco.  My first bite indicated that they had pre-plated the food as the beans were at room temperature. With my second [...]

By |2022-05-08T09:18:30-04:00April 28th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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A Return to Jane, Soho, NYC + Out of Time

After my last visit to Jane restaurant in SoHo, I received an email from Olivia, their Assistant General Manager, who provided me with her personal reservation link. Saying, "That way I can make sure you are being extra well taken care of." Interesting personal-touch marketing, I thought. When I was heading with some friends to see Out of Time — a collection of monologues by five award-winning Asian American playwrights, performed by actors all over the age of 60 — at The Public, I decided to book Jane restaurant using Olivia's link. We arrived during happy hour with two of us ordering HH drinks, the Vinho Verde ($7) and Negroni [...]

By |2022-04-23T11:18:58-04:00April 17th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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The Peruvian Restaurant Inti, Hells Kitchen, NYC + Space Dogs

We stopped into Inti, a Peruvian restaurant, on our way to the far west location of MCC Theatre to see the new musical Space Dogs about the canines that were sent into space. We decided to share the classic Banquete Inti ($43) that consisted of a tender rotisserie whole chicken, French fries, fried plantain, rice, beans and a green salad topped with avocado and sliced tomatoes. Cilantro sauce and peanuts also came with the meal. It was way too much food for the two of us! We did, though, decide to try their picarones for dessert. We were glad we did. These traditional Peruvian doughnuts — made with squash and sweet [...]

By |2022-04-09T18:22:11-04:00April 7th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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