Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera

Nessun Dorma!!!!!


Translated, Nobody Shall Sleep. True to its word this opera did not put me to sleep. Turandot is a majestic and beautifully presented opera complete with extravagant costumes and sets.

The story set in the Orient follows a prince that has fallen in love with a princess, Turandot. Anyone wanting Turandot's hand in marriage must answer 3 riddles correctly or die by execution. Many have tried and failed before our hero, Prince Tartary succeeds. Turandot not know he is a prince does not want to marry him and he gives her a chance to get out of the deal if she can guess his name. In the process a slave dies but the opera ends with a wedding, so everyone is happy. Yes, plot-wise it can sound a bit complicated and silly, but that is what opera is all about isn't it? No the meat of the story is really not what we are here for, we are here for the soaring vocal perfromances and the aforementioned costumes and sets.

The 2 leads Irene Theorin and Marcello Giordani had fantastic performances. Mr. Giordani's rendition of the famous Nessun Dorma was stirring and powerful, giving me chills.  There is a great supporting cast as well with the ministers Ping, Pang and Pong very entertaining and Janai Brugger as Liu giving a dramatic and stirring performance.

Go to the Metropolitan Opera and experience some of these fantastic performances and gain a little culture in the process. The season has just started and is in full swing.

The Metropolitan Opera

Posted with Blogsy

Bouley's Empire

Chef David Bouley has been a New York food icon since he arrived in the 80's. He currently has restaurants Bouley, Burshstroke and the Test Kitchen downtown. His uncompromising vision and creativity have kept his establishments at the forefront of dining royalty year after year.

I recently had the honor to be invited to dine with some fellow concierges at Bouley, but the first stop was Brushstroke. This temple to Japanese cuisine is immaculate and simple at the same time. If one were to imagine a tea house in Japan, this might be what the inside resembles. Decored with reclaimed wood and recycled books covering the wall, you have to look to realize what the walls are made of. A hush was in the air as the open kitchen communicated with in-ear mics ala security at a high profile event. You felt as if you were in a temple to food with the efficiency and reverence with which the staff (both kitchen and floor) moved.

We were treated to some fantastic signature drinks and dishes. The vegetable salad and the chawanmushi were phenomenal. Clean, yet intense flavors. But the sushi, out of this world good. I have had sushi at a lot of places, this is right up there at the top. The sushi chef trained with Jiro of Jiro Dreams of Sushi fame. I will go back for a omakase menu at some point, but this night we were moving on to Bouley...

Bouley was one of the first "upscale" restaurants I ever ate at, so there is a special place in my heart for it. It has moved since I first dined there but the ambiance, feel and food quality are still top notch. The first thing you notice is the smell of apples as you enter into this special world, and yes you are leaving everything else outside. This is a world where everyone is celebrating something special, a birthday, and engagement or anniversary. We had the honor of dining in the private room with a table made of petrified wood, beautiful and organic, like Chef Bouley's food. The private space fit our group of eight perfectly. The room is decorated with interesting little knick knacks and features a large flat screen tv that can show presentations, sideshows and other media in case there is a class taking place.

The night was an amazing night full of fantastic food, wine and conversation with Chef Bouley and his amazing staff. Bouley has once again cemented a special place in my heart and it is something to be experienced by everyone.

Tomato coulis w/ sheep's milk ricotta, truffle pate' with kuzu cracker

Heirloom Cherry Tomato, Tahitian Vanilla and Tri-Star Strawberries

Balinese Pepper

Early Summer Fingerling Potatoes Lightly Smoked Over Multi-Seed Aromatic Health Tea with Grated Turkish Bottarga

Uni w/Apple sorbet, salmon & tuna roe and yuzu

Snapper in ravioli corn soup

Porcini Flan, Alaska Live Dungeness Crab, Black Truffle Dashi  

Bread cart

Pistachio Miso Marinated Fresh Black Cod with Rainbow Cherry Tomatoes  

Chicken Baked with Alfalfa and Clover Hay

Local Corn Ravioli, Nova Scotia Chanterelles 

Hot Valrhona Chocolate Soufflé, White Coffee Cloud, White Chocolate Ice Cream, Chocolate Mousse 

Posted with Blogsy

Grace on Broadway quick review

GRACE is a play currently on Broadway with Paul Rudd, Michael Shannon, Kate Arrington and Ed Asner.  This is a 90ish minute play about a newly moved couple and their neighbor.

Without giving anything away, the performances and direction was fantastic.  This play uses the "start at the end" technique employed in many television shows and movies today.  It works great as you want to see what led up to the train wreck that the play opens with.  The play explores different views of salvation for each of the characters and has touching and funny moments to break up any heavy dramatic scenes.

Religious themes and adult language are prevalent in this show so it is not appropriate for kids.  That being said, for adults, this is a great option on Broadway for those looking for celebrities and something other than a musical.

GRACE on Broadway

New York City Helicopter tour

New York Freakin City! There are so many ways to see the city; from the street, underground in the subways, on top of a really tall building, as a postcard view from a boat or a bridge and of course from above ground in the air. No, I'm not talking about that tiny crappy, part plastic-part glass window from your airplane on arrival. Think smaller, think more agile, think Helicopter!

After years of working in NYC and working in the hospitality industry, I finally took the time and opportunity to take a helicopter tour. I have taken the boat tours and the elevators to the top of tall buildings but this was a whole different game. Getting to Pier 6 was a fairly short walk from the Whitehall street subway stop. There is also a small parking lot for passengers taking a car or taxi to the pier. The small office at the pier houses 5 or 6 helicopter companies. I had a reservation with Helicopter Flight Services. They had a nice clean space with multi-lingual employees that attended to all the passengers with care and a bit of humor. There was an informative safety video that played for everyone and then it was out on the Tarmac. Each group got a picture taken infromt of the helicopter(you could purchase these later if you liked them). The helicopter seated one passenger next to the pilot and five more behind them. Bose headphones were provided to each passenger and had a small mic attached so that you could verbally communicate with the whole cabin.

This was such an amazing experience, it's hard to put it into words. The best thing I can do is show you with the following pictures. If you ever have the chance, do not hesitate to take advantage of doing this for you and a loved one. It will be unforgettable!

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Helicopter Flight Services

Posted with Blogsy

Chaplin the Musical quick review

Just saw the new Chaplin musical on Broadway and thought it was great!  This is a winning formula here, an iconic American artist, stellar performances all around and an interesting story.

The show is a biography for the tragic yet celebrated actor, Charlie Chaplin.  Chaplin, who was actually was British, made his fame in America as a star of multiple silent film comedies.  It follows his life from a child actor in London to making big on the Silver Screen in America.  In between we find out about his loves, his losses, and political fights.

As mentioned before I thought the whole cast was strong with Rob McClure doing a dead-on Chaplin and making us really care and fall in love with the man.  Other stand outs were Jenn Collela as Hedda Hopper and Wayne Alan Wilcox as Sydney Chaplin.

Technically what I really thought was cool was how they made it look like you were watching a black and white movie through lighting and costume.  There were little bits of color that stood out like a red rose at certain times.

This is a very entertaining show and I would recommend any fan of Broadway or Chaplin

CHAPLIN on BROADWAY

LOVE WINE AND CHEESE: Claire Paparazzo, Wine Director of Blue Hill

LOVE WINE AND CHEESE: Claire Paparazzo, Wine Director of Blue Hill: Portrait of Claire Paparazzo with wine labels It has been a great experience interviewing Claire Paparazzo, wine director of B...

I'm Done With Checkins!

So I have decided I am no longer going to do checkins anymore. No more Foursquare, no more Facebook checkin, nothing! Why have I come to this decision? No real solid reason other than this. I just want to go to places and enjoy them.

The reason is to enjoy all that this and any other place I visit have to offer. I wan to not have to worry about "checking in" and fight with my carrier (AT&T) trying to find a signal or getting frustrated when Foursquare is down. This is what happened one night while I was out at Terra Blues(the best and only great blues bar in NYC; post to come later), both of these things actually. So I paused that night with drink in hand listening to the wailing guitar of bluesman Kenny Neal and thought, "Why the hell am I stressing about checking in, this is stupid!" This is not to say I won't be tweeting, posting on Facebook or writing on this blog of course, but I am done checking in.

So to the quiet and faintly nerdy, yet pretty girl that stalks me via my checkins; sorry, you won't be able to find me anymore. By the way, I am writing this at Queens Kickshaw enjoying my favorite Gouda grilled cheese and a beer.


 

Posted with Blogsy