New York, New York

Wednesday - I wake up at 5:45 a.m. and leave the house by 6:30 a.m. I’m off to the airport bound for New York City. Lots of storm clouds in the sky, so the flight is rough. I land to a gray, cloudy day in New York. I take a cab to the Ace Hotel on 29th Street between 5th and Broadway. The Ace here is just as vibey as the one in Portland, OR. Angie at the front desk checks me in, but I’m too early to get a room. I sit in the lobby and book appointments for another other hour or so. Would love to have some great New York food for lunch, but my time is short. I eat at Quizno’s across the street. It is actually still really good.

The Ace Hotel lobby:

It’s finally time to walk to my first appointment. It starts to sprinkle as I step out of the hotel and onto 29th. By the time I’m to 23rd, it is raining - hard. I check my phone to confirm the address and see an e-mail that just arrived from my appointment. He left town yesterday and forgot to tell me he needed to cancel. Now it’s pounding down rain twice as hard. Even with an umbrella, I’m nearly soaked by the time I get back to the hotel from the non-appointment.

More phone calls in the lobby. I check into the room. Very cool place. The room is small, but I expected that. Lots of dark gray and white. Kind of industrial in a cool way.

It’s now time to head to my next appointment. Even walking to get a cab, I get drenched. I have a good meeting at Atlantic records, then a good visit at BMI. On the way to BMI, I hear this much of a conversation passing a couple on the sidewalk: “The difference between what you think when you say you’re cranky and what I think when you say you’re cranky is…” I would have loved to have heard the rest of that conversation. It sounds like they are having quite the day.  It's now late afternoon.  A quick subway ride gets me to the thirties and I walk the rest of the way back to the hotel.  After a quick clothing change, I take the subway to 66th Street close to Lincoln Center.

I'm a fan of the various tile creations in the New York subways:

I have some dim sum at Shun Lee Café, an old favorite.

One of the paper sculptures that emerge from the walls and ceilings in Shun Lee Cafe':

Across Broadway from Lincoln Center:

Lincoln Center:

I cross the street after dinner to the Vivian Beumont Theater in Lincoln Center to see South Pacific. I take my seat in center orchestra row J, seat 304, right in the center. It’s a very different Broadway production than I am used to seeing. The stage is a full 180°, is very deep, and the set design is simple in some ways, but very effective. This show has a large orchestra as well. The show and performances are strong. I can see why it won some Tony Awards this year. It’s very well done. The only complaint for this theater is that my knees are squeezed into the seat in front of me. I overhear the same complaint from others around me.

I take the subway back downtown, have a slice of mushroom pizza and a diet Coke on the way back to the room, do some work and go to bed.

Another tile mosaic in the subways:

The view of the Empire State Building a block from my hotel:

The picture below looks like a framed photo of the Empire State Building, but it is the view from my room when I return from Lincoln Center:

Thursday - I worked late last night into the early morning hours. It’s tough to get out of bed this morning. When I do, I’m rewarded in the hotel lobby with a nice fluffy croissant served with butter and Bonne Maman wild blueberry preserves. The familiar red and white checkered lid is always a sign that something good is inside. I’ve never had the Wild Blueberry before. It is my new favorite. After my croissant and orange juice, I’m a new man.

Off to the Manhattan Espresso Café at 49th between Madison Avenue and Lexington Avenue to meet my friend Amy. We find a quiet courtyard to catch up on each other’s lives and talk music. After a lovely visit, it’s off to RCA records for a visit with my friend Keith. It’s always nice to come back to 550 Madison Avenue. I’ve spent many days working in here over the years. I catch up with him until it’s time for my lunch meeting.

It’s off to the west side to the BBC. I’m having lunch with my boyhood friend Brian. I haven’t seen him in at least fifteen years. We have lunch at Five Napkin Burger. The salmon burger here is killer. What a great visit with an old friend.

Now to Mercury Records. I have a good meeting there, then head to Universal Music Publishing to see another old friend, Tom. I’ve had bad phone problems all day. It may be from the soaking I got yesterday. Tom helps me find an AT&T store two blocks away. The people there are great, but they can’t replace my phone. This is a problem as I can only end calls by taking out the battery. They direct me to their service center near Herald Square to get a replacement. They’re short-handed with people leaving sick. Two hours of waiting later, I have a new phone.

Looking south from the corner of my hotel's street at the Flatiron Building:

I have dinner around the corner from the Ace at Wallys Wood Oven Pizza. It’s a flat crust pizza with very fresh ingredients. In fact, it even has a fresh herb bar. Pick up a pair of scissors and clip some fresh basil, rosemary, or other herbs to garnish your pizza. After the herbs, I pick up a shaker to cover my pizza with parmesan. This looks like very light colored parmesan to me, but other things are unusual here so I go with it. I sit down and take my first bite. That wasn’t parmesan in the shaker. It was salt. My beautiful pizza is ruined, covered in salt. I take it to the counter, offer to buy another one, but they won’t hear of it. My new pizza is fantastic.

The herb bar at Wally's:

Friday – I wake up, throw on some clothes, and head straight for the lobby. I’m hooked on the croissant with butter and Wild Blueberry preserves with orange juice for breakfast. Today is another good day of meetings along with a little shopping along the way. The perfect combination!

On my way to a meeting at Wind-Up Records, I notice a landmark I've only heard about as I come up out of the subway onto the street.  It's Les Halles, the french bistro where author and television host Anthony Bourdain worked when he was writing Kitchen Confidential.  I've always been curious about the food at Les Halles.  After my meeting, I have one of their classics, steak au poivre avec pom frittes.  The steak is very good, especially the sauce, and the fries are delicious.  I have to go for a another classic, the chocolate mousse for dessert.  I can't imagine a huge difference from one to the next, but this might actually be the best chocolate mousse I've had.

I meet friend and former band mate Rick at a salon he owns to go to dinner. We head to the lower west side of town for dinner. After driving around a while and giving this decision much consideration, we eat at a place he knows called Crispo’s. It’s one of the finer meals I’ve had in a while. We start with peaches layered with prosciutto, parmesan, and balsalmic vinegar – excellent. We follow that with one of my favorites, zucchini flowers. The main course is duck with leeks and figs in a port reduction. We also have some pasta with sausage and broccolini. We finish with a chocolate torte. It’s a fantastic meal combined with great conversation and overdue catching up between friends. We drive to the lower east side to see where Rick’s next salon location will be. Rick returns me to the hotel where I catch up on more work. It’s now 2:40 a.m. I’m going to bed.

Saturday –Finally a day with no rain. It’s beautiful today. I have a breakfast meeting this fine Saturday morning at Friend of a Farmer on Irving Place between 18th and 19th. The faux farmhouse décor is inviting and the breakfast omelet served in a cast iron skillet is tasty. After this fine start, I get in a nice walk, then head to the Hammstein Ballroom for Superchick’s concert. The afternoon goes well and show is powerful and exciting. I finish off the evening with one more pizza from Wally’s. How could this day end any better?

This has been a great few days in New York. I used to love to come to New York more than anywhere, then got more involved with travel to other places and didn’t have as much desire for it. The combination of staying at the Ace, not staying in a touristy section of town, and spending more time with friends here, has made it special for me again. I’m looking forward to my next trip to New York.

Times Square: