On Location in Manhattan 2007: With Susan Weinrebe

Roberta on the Arts

On Location in Manhattan 2007: With Susan Weinrebe - Day Two

On Location in Manhattan 2007: With Susan Weinrebe - Day Two

- On Location: Sponsors and Testimonials

Tony May's San Domenico NY
240 Central Park South
(59th St. & Broadway)
New York City, NY 10019
212.265.5959
sandomny@aol.com
www.sandomeniconewyork.com

Day Two, Friday, January 26, 2007
Eat, Drink
History Stop
Dance
Drink, Eat, Drink

Susan Weinrebe
January 26, 2007

On Location in Manhattan 2007: With Susan Weinrebe - Day One
On Location in Manhattan 2007: With Susan Weinrebe - Day Two
On Location in Manhattan 2007: With Susan Weinrebe - Day Three
On Location in Manhattan 2007: With Susan Weinrebe - Day Four

(Susan Weinrebe, Chicago Editor and Arts Critic. For the record, Susan is Roberta Zlokower’s Sister-in-Law).
(See Susan’s 2005 NY Journal).

Eight hours of sleep was barely enough after my all nighter, but duty called. It was time from lunch with Roberta and Yossi of Matles Florist. The temperature was in the frigid zone, but inside Tony May’s San Domenico NY, the warm ambiance of Italy prevailed. From the artwork to the understated and comfortable décor, one is pampered visually and by attentive staff, led by Stefano, in this beautiful restaurant. We chose from the NYC Winter Restaurant Week Lunch Prix-Fixe menu, each item more tempting than the next. Finally we settled on Dubonnet blonde, mussels and cannellini beans, homemade spaghetti, crusty bread, cheese, prosciutto sliced before us on a wondrous machine, Chilean sea bass, panna cotta, and baba al rum, and we savored each bite, each crumb and each sip of the best, individually brewed coffee I’ve ever had. I didn’t want to leave San Domenico and had the opportunity to say so to Tony May himself, utterly dapper and elegant with his racing tie, a gift from his friend, Luciano Pavarotti. If I lived in New York, I’d make a standing reservation to dine at this wonderful establishment.

No time to waste, I had to see the exhibit at the New-York Historical Society. The beautiful old building, looking very historical in its own right, is presenting the intriguing New York Divided: Slavery and the Civil War. With artifacts, film, oral accounts and primary documents, the little-realized and controversial link between New York and slave states was explored. The Historical Society is a gem of a museum with salon-style exhibits, programs, a library, and beautiful gift store where the friendly staff was pleased to help me shop to my heart’s content.

Another quick change for flamenco-appropriate wear and off we were again. Our friendly cab driver delivered us to the door of Joyce SoHo a little earlier than expected. Not to worry. We popped in next door at the Merc Bar, full of folks starting the weekend in the cozily lighted lodge-style room. Brandy warmed us up and the manager regaled us with the history of the décor.

Joyce SoHo is the kind of theater I love, so intimately close to the performers, one can see even the facial expressions of the dancers. Andrea Del Conte Danza España danced, sang, clapped, played music, and artfully managed long-trained gowns and castanets to the delight of the audience, which called encouragement urging the artists on to greater and greater feats of creativity.

After I bought a CD from Alfonso Cid, one of the musicians and singers, which I hoped would help me relive the experience, I realized I was famished.

There is no problem finding a restaurant in SoHo. Turn around. There one is. But none of them quite fit the bill, even the inadvertent sortie into a strip lounge, which we exited as soon as we entered, that is, until we came to Papatzul “Delicias Mexicanas". It was indeed. A couple of margaritas, antojitos and chile poblano rellenos later, the good attentions of yet another wonderful restaurant staff including a chat with Chef Thierry, and we realized the end to another perfect New York day had come.