Mom’s Birthday: Deja vu in the city
April 11th, 2008 by Nicole
Of all the trips into NYC that we take, few are actually for fun and/or pleasure. Normally we are engaged in client meetings that leave us stuck in some studio all day or at some overly swanky event where we feel less than comfortable. When my parents proposed going into the city to get dinner and show to celebrate my mom’s birthday I thought it was great. That was last year around this time. So when they suggested we do the same thing again this year, I had to stop and remind them that we shouldn’t start some type of family tradition that’s loosely based around a Spanish mad-man, but I think that actually encouraged them.
Although last year’s show, The Pirate Queen, was uneventful and left nearly half of my family asleep, this year’s show, Young Frankenstein, was promised to be something we’d all enjoy. It’s funny to think that my mom is really the only one that doesn’t enjoy Mel Brook’s sense of humor - she often differentiates herself from the rest of us, for better or worse. However, this being her birthday celebration she wanted us all to be happy, which I think was a great gift on her behalf. Personally I was really psyched to see Young Frankenstein - I really enjoy live shows and have never seen the movie so I didn’t really have any expectations. What troubled me the most about this trip was going to be the dinner experience, and it lived up to every fear I had.
My parents had gotten a recommendation from American Express for an Italian restaurant in the Hell’s Kitchen area. This restaurant is small but cozy and is run by an extremely friendly Spanish man named Issac. It’s the kind of place where the owner knows more about what you want to drink and eat than you know yourself. Last year he introduced my dad to a new wine that he’s really taken a liking to, so that’s what we had again this year. Haley and I weren’t drinking this night - last time I had a bad experience with drinking too much wine and eating too much seafood that made the last leg of the ride home pretty uncomfortable. However, once you get Issac talking about wine he really goes on and on showing you his collection and giving you the stories of the small towns in Europe where they were made. At first it’s an interesting quasi-history lesson, but then you realize that you’re at dinner to spend time with your family and all you can hear is this guy babbling on and trying to correct your pronunciations.
Dinner aside, the real experience is dessert. This is when the homemade wine from Tel Aviv is broken out. It’s a white wine that tastes like white grape juice with a pound of sugar in it - you can’t taste the alcohol at all. I think it’s perhaps a tactical move to keep you from noticing that except for frozen sorbet, the desserts were pretty bad. I’ve never had cheesecake that was worse than this, in New York or anywhere for that matter. The thing about the dessert wine is that Issac makes sure you never have an empty glass - to the point where although my dad has his hand over the glass the guy is insisting and forcing it upon us. It is at this point that we have to make our exit gracefully by flagging down the server and getting our check.
Last year it was entertaining: he treats women with true chivalry and tries to impress men with his food and wine knowledge. This year since he recognized that we had been there before and came back that it was almost like giving him license to be even more intrusive to our conversations. Enough said, it really wasn’t a bad place, but I would bet that if my dad didn’t encourage him that it could have been way more passive, pleasant experience. If you’re looking for an interesting place to take someone for dinner send me an email and I’ll give you the details.
After the “dinner-show” was over we headed to the theater just in time for show time. My brother’s girlfriend had mentioned that the reviews had remarked about the show’s “loudness,” and they were spot on. Not only was it loud, it was bright - there was a point where the lightning flashes made my retinas burn. The cast was great, very funny and entertaining. My favorites were Dr. Frankenstein and Igor - but all the performers were excellent in terms of comedic appeal and vocal talent. I never know who the performers are before going to see a show, I enjoy a surprise and there was no better surprise than Megan Mullally’s role as Elizabeth. I had known her as Karen from Will & Grace and unfortunately had no idea that she had been a long time Broadway performer. Overall the show was awesome and I would definitely recommend seeing it while you can.
And as for next year… well I’ve already started thinking of possible alternatives, most of which do not include dinner at all.
