New York and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation Day 2 “A Day of Culture” November 6, 2019

This morning our guilt from last night’s never-ending meal at The Modern, was a tremendous burden so we got up early (about 11 AM) and went to the gym for a work out. After that we headed out for some food of course. Patrice found a place called “Friedman’s Kitchen and Bar” (233 W 49th St, New York, NY 10019) which was on the way from our hotel to the Museum of Modern Art (our destination for today). I was in the mood for a good New York deli, so I was all in favor.

The place looked good and the staff was friendly but I have to admit I was a bit confused by the menu which featured Grilled Fish Tacos, Chicken Tostada Bowl, and Chicken Banh Mi. I asked our hostess if the restaurant was named after the owner (“No, his name is Mr. Phillips”). She explained that the restaurant was named after Milton Friedman, the famous economist. Now I was really confused, I inquired if Milton Friedman was a gourmet among his other more notable talents. She said she didn’t know about that but she said he was known for the phrase, “There is no such thing as a free lunch”. Now it all made sense and my hopes for a Senior Discount was quickly forgotten. We got to meet the owner, Mr. Phillips, who, like his staff was a very friendly young man. The food was good and like I said the staff was great.

Our server, Matthew, Patrice, and Hostess, Jess.

After lunch we headed to MOMA. The museum recently reopened after being closed for 4 months as part of a $450 million renovation. The place looks fantastic. The design is very contemporary (hmmm, who would have guessed that?) and the layout is very user friendly. The exhibits are on 6 floors (there is a gift shop and theaters on a lower floor below the street level entrance) that are all very easy to access and laid out in a circular design letting you see all the exhibits without missing anything.

We got to see Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”, Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory”, and Warhol’s “Campbell Soup Cans”. You can also see all three of those masterpieces in our home. Of course the ones in our home are a little less valuable than the originals at MOMA. The one exception in the Campbell Soup Can in our house which is a needlepoint made by my sister, Annette, and given to me as a gift.

Starry Night by Van Gogh
Dali’s “Persistence of Memory”
Campbell’s Soup Can by Andy Warhol (I like mine better).

There were some things in MOMA that left me a little befuddled regarding their art value.

Is a man’s hairy armpit art?
What about a leg sticking out of the wall?
I think these two clocks were entitled, “A Waste of Time”.

We were just about to leave MOMA when Patrice and I got into a big fight. I found two things on exhibit that she made me throw out recently. Just think what we could do with the money we could have had from selling these two treasures (see below).

I knew my note pad had value.
“Pine Cone” An obvious treasure but not recognized by my wife.

I am sure you have had enough of my whining and complaining for one day. After all, it’s time for DINNER.

New York and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation Day 1 “The Real Reason We Came to New York” November 5, 2019

As many of you know 2 of our 3 children have Crohn’s disease. This is an ailment that causes intestinal inflammation resulting in abdominal pain, diarrhea, difficulty absorbing nutrients among other wonderful experiences. Because of them we are very active raising money for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation (Team Reiss brought in $74,180 for the nation’s second highest total for the Take Steps program this year). We also participate on a committee that determines which scientific studies are funded by the Foundation. It is this later function that brings us to New York. But let’s be honest, the real reason is to enjoy this marvelous city.

Tonight we had an incredible meal at “The Modern” (9 West 53rd Street). We were also here in May of 2017 at which time I blogged about our dinner. Towards the end of our meal tonight, I looked for that post from 2017 and saw that we had a very similar experience at that time. We had a spectacular meal. The food was great, the service superb and the presentation was incredible.

Here is what we were served tonight:

Buckwheat Tartelette. Don’t ask me any questions. We were told to eat these with our hands and in one bite. I promptly complied. That is why you just see one in the photo (Patrice was a bit slower than me).
“Eggs on Eggs on Eggs” when it was brought to the table.
Remove the top and you find, three different types of eggs. Amazing combination.
Pretzel Croissant. Meant to cleanse our palette but with the Dijon Mustard Butter inside it did more than that.

Below you can see the Pole Beans which Patrice said was wonderful. I had the Foie Gras Tart which was beyond words. By the way if it is still Un-PC to eat Foie Gras it was Patrice who had it and I had the beans (yuck).

Pole Beans
Foie Gras Tart

More appetizers followed.

Matustake Mushroom Fricassee (Robert)
Seared Scallops (Patrice)

Then on to the main course.

Sautéed Sea Bass (we both had this)

And for dessert:

Vanilla Bavarois (Patrice)
Dark Chocolate Chantilly (Robert)

Of course they had to acknowledge Patrice’s birthday.

Happy Birthday Patrice
But just in case we had any room in our tummies they sent us home with these luscious Coconut and Mango Shumai.

Enough food?

Until tomorrow.