A New York Sunday

Last Sunday we took a ride into New York - specifically Greenwich Village. We had tickets to an Off-Broadway play called "The Third Story" which starred Kathleen Turner. We also had a little brunch and later, after the show, dinner. Plus we did a little WA'ing (Wandering Aimlessly) in the always interesting area.

The play's start time was 3:00 P.M. but we got into the city about an hour and a half early. While wandering the vicinity of the theater, which is located on Christopher St. near the corner of Bedford, we decided we wanted something to eat before the show. We planned to have dinner later, but neither of us had eaten much of a breakfast, so we thought some brunch would be good. Fortunately, this being New York City, one can find brunch served pretty much all day Saturday and Sunday.

We wandered up nearby Bleecker Street and Michelle spotted a small, almost hole-in-the-wall little place called "August". It looked interesting, and they were serving brunch, so we went in.

We had about a 15-minute wait for a table but were eventually seated in their rear area - a narrow, greenhouse roofed space that took up what would have been the building's narrow back yard. I ordered a dish of house-cured gravlax - a kind of salt cured salmon- served over scrambled eggs and pumpernickel bread with raw onion and creme fraiche. It was delicious and not particularly pricey. Michelle had "Bavarian eggs en croque" which were baked in a small dish with ham and cabbage. This dish was also excellent and reasonable.

The place does much of their cooking in a wood-fired brick oven. Also, Monday to Friday evenings, they do Tapas.

August is located at 359 Bleecker St. Their web page is at: http://www.augustny.com/

August on Bleecker

After brunch, we took a leisurely stroll to the Lucille Lortel Theater where "The Third Story" was playing.

The Lucille Lortel

The play was written by a gentleman named Charles Busch who has been a fixture of the Village theater scene for many years and is famous for performing in drag. He also starred in the show with Kathleen Turner. True to Mr. Busch's typical creation the story was funny and deranged with the tale of a mother-son screenwriting team and their conflicts spinning off into a parody of 40's gangster movies with Busch as the queen of the mob. This premise then evolved into a sci-fi cloning/zombie tale which also was occasionally interrupted by the story of a Russian witch and a lovesick princess (Mr.Busch also played the witch).

The show was funny, if somewhat confusing, and everyone in the cast did a good job, although Ms. Turner could not, given the lighter vein of the material, reach the heights she did in "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolfe".

"The Third Story": On the left Charles Busch (with the lipstick) and Jonathan Walker, to the right Kathleen Turner and Mr. Walker who plays both the screenwriter's son and the "lady" gangster's son.

When the show ended (it was the last performance of a limited run) the cast were all given flowers and thundering applause.

At this point, we went in search of a place for dinner.

We found it in a restaurant which was recommended in the latest issue of "New York" magazine. The place is called "Commerce" appropriately located on Commerce Street not far from the theater.

The interior of "Commerce" located at 50 Commerce St. NYC

We looked over the menu and nothing jumped out at us, so we decided to follow the NY magazine recommendation all the way and order their roast chicken for two. It was a bit pricey and entailed a 40 minute wait (the chicken is roasted to order) which they did forewarn us about. While we waited we shared a salad made with herbs that I liked but which Michelle thought was too salty.

Finally, the chicken arrived, presented to us on its roasting pan, and then returned to the kitchen to be split and boned. It was without a doubt the best roasted chicken we have ever eaten. In fact, I would recommend this place just for the chicken. I would also advise calling ahead to ask them to start a chicken so as to avoid the wait (they'll probably want a credit card # - but that's to be expected). Did I mention that the chicken was stuffed with homemade bread stuffing with foie gras?

Speaking of bread, the bread basket served at dinner in this place was amazing - it's been rated the best bread serving in NYC.

At any rate, if you want amazing - but not cheap- roasted chicken, visit "Commerce". I can't vouch for any of their other food though.

Web site: http://www.commercerestaurant.com

All in all, another "Ernest Hemingway" day.

HO Sopranos

For Xmas my nephew Mark (dad of The World's Cutest Grandnephew(TM)) thoughtfully gave me a hobby kit with which to build a model building for my HO layout. But not just any building - a pizzeria. And not just any pizzeria, but "Pizzaland" as seen in the opening title sequence of the Official New Jersey TV Show - The Sopranos. It seems that a hobby kit company called Blairline went to the trouble of creating an exact scale model of the business (which is located in North Arlington NJ).

I finally finished the kit and it now occupies a place of honor not far from Lil' Mark's favorite merry-go-round.

Pizzaland - as seen from the window of Tony's SUV

I suppose now that I may have to deal with a rash of my HO scale people "whacking" one another. Or possibly discover an HO scale Jimmy Hoffa buried in the plywood of the train layout.

Oh well.