Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings

Tonight was the big night for Patrice’s performance at Carnegie Hall.  But first, we had other things to do.  That’s right……………. EAT!  Patrice and I headed off to Tanner Smith’s (204 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019).  The place had good ratings online but more important it was across the street from the hotel.  Forty degree temperatures will make a restaurant’s proximity to your hotel a major factor in deciding where to eat.   A quick look at the menu had my eyes drawn to one of my favorites. 

Although I love Shrimp N Grits I could not order them because it would violate one of my basic rules of dining.  Never order Shrimp N Grits north of the Mason-Dixon line.   Instead, I ordered the Avocado Smash.  It looked and tasted great but I didn’t take any pictures (Hey, I am just doing this for fun, I am not a professional blogger).

After breakfast we went to the gym to workout.  Then it was time to for Patrice to head to Carnegie Hall for the dress rehearsal. Here is a picture of her at the rehearsal.

No? How about now?

My favorite concert singer.

Erica’s friend Aparna joined us for the dress rehearsal. 

Aparna, Erica and me enjoying the rehearsal.

After the rehearsal, Patrice went back to the hotel to rest her voice and body. Aparna, Erica and I went in search of food. Waiting until the end of the concert for food was not an option. As Erica and Patrice will tell you, it’s important to “Feed the Beast”.

We just needed a small snack because apparently the post-concert meal was supposed to be a real feast. Aparna suggested a “Classic New York Experience”. See below.

The pizza was quick, cheap and great.

We joined Patrice at the hotel then it was off to the Hall. The performance was spectacular. We got a peek-a-boo wave at the beginning of the concert because she got in trouble for a full wave during the rehearsal. The conductor mocked her for waving. I spoke to one of the ushers about the conductor being a jerk. The usher said the guy is a jerk and shared some juicy gossip. Sorry, but on the advice of legal counsel, I cannot share that information on the blog.  Actually, later on, I did some further research and realized that the usher was not talking about tonight’s conductor.  So the dirt wasn’t about him but it doesn’t matter he’s still a jerk.

Tomorrow it’s time to head for home. Usually, ending a vacation is a sad time. This time, not so. The grandsons brought their parents to Hermosa for a visit so we will be seeing them tomorrow.  And there is one other thing that makes going home so good.

This morning we got off to an early start picking up our credentials for Sunday’s Carnegie Hall extravaganza. We saw lots of people in the lobby who represent other choirs performing on Sunday. We then headed off to breakfast at one of our New York favorites, the Brooklyn Diner (212 W 57th St, New York, NY 10019). On our way, we met three of Patrice’s choir buddies and invited them to join us. Unfortunately, we didn’t have Erica with us since she spent the night in Brooklyn (the borough not the restaurant) with one of her friends from college.

On the way to breakfast, we saw this scary sight on 52nd Street just west of 7th Avenue.

Pothole on 52nd Street just west of 7th Avenue

I tried to point out this hole (which was easily 1 foot deep) but no one seemed to care or want to do anything about it.

At the restaurant, we learned that others had a worse experience getting from the airport to the hotel than we did.  Two of our breakfast companions arrived with the majority of the choir members in Newark and took a bus to Manhattan.  The bus took 5 hours to get to the hotel.  Yes, 5 hours.  The other friend at our table has recently moved to Washington D.C.   She took the train from D.C. to Penn Station and then a subway to the hotel.  Her total time travel was a little over 3 hours.  So her travel time from D.C. to NYC was about the same as our time from the plane to the hotel and much less than the choir members who landed in Newark.  But this was not the worst story.  One of the choir members decided to take a later flight leaving LAX at 10 AM.  That flight was canceled and for some reason, she had to fly to Seattle in order to secure another flight to New York and didn’t arrive until 3 AM!

Breakfast was great.  In addition to the fun companions, we had spectacular meals.  I had scrambled eggs with chopped salmon and caramelized onions.  For sides, I had polenta home fries (good and unhealthy) and challah toast.   Challah is a word that does not exist in LA.  The food exists but we just call it egg bread.  You might think it is the same thing but it isn’t.  If you don’t know what to call it (as in Los Angeles) then you don’t know how to make it (like they do in New York).

Patrice shared French Toast and Chocolate pancakes with choir mate, Pat.

Scrambled Eggs with Chopped Salmon and Caramelized Onions. Polenta Home Fries.  Challah Toast.

After breakfast we took a leisurely walk then Patrice headed to practice and I headed to the gym.   A three-mile run helped me work off the calories and the guilt that resulted from such a fantastic breakfast.

Tonight we saw the Broadway hit, “Dear Evan Hansen”.  Patrice and I had tried to see this play numerous times but it was always sold out.  We finally got tickets for tonight’s performance and although it was very good, I have to say I was a little disappointed.  I think all the hype made me expect something much more special.

Following the musical, we headed to the Stagecoach Tavern (834 7th Ave, New York, NY 10019) for dessert.   Patrice’s quest for the perfect bread pudding is on hold and we have declared Masa (1800 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026) the winner.  Tonight we started a new quest….. the search for the perfect cheesecake.  The Stagecoach Tavern offers two choices, the standard New York style cheesecake and Bailey’s Cheesecake.  We were undecided of which to try so we decided to try ……………………

Both

I’m sure you know the old joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall. That’s right “Practice, Practice, Practice”. Well Patrice practices a lot and it’s going to pay off because Sunday she, and her choir pals, will be performing at Carnegie Hall. When she asked if I wanted to go it seemed like a good idea at the time. Our daughter Erica was going to be in town during this time and it would give us a little getaway with our youngest child. Yes it seemed like a very good idea at the time. Today I’m not so sure.

First let me tell you about our trip to the airport. Going to LAX is never easy. I’ve tried all ways of getting there and none of them seem to work very well. With the exception of having our daughter Lindsay take us. But Lindsay now has a job and a Thursday morning ride from her was not possible. On our last trip I was told by a taxi driver about a new app (Ride Yellow) which is supposed to help the cab companies compete with Uber and Lyft. I downloaded the app and decided to give it a try. We arranged for the taxi to arrive at 6 AM and a few minutes prior to that I received a call that the cab was at our home. I was already impressed since when you arrange for Uber or Lyft they give you a 10 or 15 minute arrival window. Our house is hard to find so the inexperience driver frequently arrives 10 to 15 minutes late. With the driver being early, Patrice and Erica were not ready so I went outside to bring some of our luggage to the cab. I found the driver outside his car screaming at someone on the phone. We live in a very densely populated area near the beach where most people like to be asleep at 6AM. So I approached the driver asking him to be quiet. He told me he had to call another driver because his car had a flat tire.

After lots of screaming from our driver, and threats from neighbors saying they would call the police, we were on our way with our new driver. We were headed to LAX in plenty of time and things seemed to be going according to our plans. At least that is what I thought.

Our plane was listed as “On Time” and we boarded without any hiccups. Oops, I almost forgot, as you might recall Patrice frequently gets singled out for closer screening. This time she (and Erica) passed through without a problem but apparently I triggered the random screening buzzer. After a quick massage of my buttocks (“Something is lighting up by your buttocks sir, so I need to perform a closer exam”) we were ready to board. Once on the plane we started to relax and watch the free “Onboard Entertainment” (All you need is the American Airlines App to stream movies and television shows for free). Everything seemed just fine until we were notified by our pilot that, due to weather conditions in New York our departure would be delayed 45 minutes. About 45 minutes later we were finally airborne and enjoyed the flight except for a few short interludes of turbulence. When we approached New York we got more bad news, our flight was in a holding pattern until the staff at JFK could snow plow the runway. Immediately every airplane disaster movie I’d ever seen flashed through my brain. This final stage of the flight went fine (if you don’t count my soiled underwear) and we exited the plane.

After claiming our luggage we got on line for a cab ride into the city. It always surprises me how few cabs seem to be available for transport into Manhattan from JFK. This certainly isn’t Las Vegas where a 5 minute wait at McCarran International Airport is unheard of.

Waiting for the cab was made worse by the weather. It is incredibly cold here and as I mentioned it has been snowing

I asked our driver how long it would take to get into the city. He said he didn’t know and proceeded to pull out his phone and start to search. Snow, wet highway, lots of cars and a driver doing a Google search on his phone? Can you think of a better recipe for disaster? I offered to look for him. I showed him the suggested route and he nodded. I took that as a good sign.

Unfortunately I was wrong. Google estimated a 1 hour and 29 minutes trip to the hotel. In reality the trip took us 3 hours. The road conditions were awful. Gridlock was the rule. It was a brutal trip and only made worse by my being hungry. My kids know, “Daddy’s hungry” is not something they or anyone else wants to hear. We checked in to the hotel and rushed to dinner at the Topaz Noodle Bar (129 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019) which was very close to the hotel. The food was excellent but take that under advisement since like I said I was very hungry. We had dumplings and pad thai. All was very good.

Sorry no food pictures. I was just too hungry. No more writing either. I was up early and need some sleep.

Today was STAKE day not STEAK day. Today was the reason for our trip to New York City. The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation asked us to help make recommendations about which proposals should be funded by the organization. The process works like this – we were given proposed studies to review. After reading the proposals (which included terms that neither of us have ever heard) we were asked to render an opinion about the study in regards to its meaningfulness to patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The first people to discuss the studies were the scientists. Patrice and I tried to understand what was being said; I don’t want to speak for Patrice but I was clueless much of the time. I did ask questions and did learn a lot. After the scientists were done, a stakeholder would give their opinion. Then the entire committee voted on the funding request. This was a fun and humbling experience. I really enjoyed being on the cutting edge of medical research but it really showed that being a doctor does not make me a scientist.

The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation meeting was a whole day event so we didn’t have any time to do anything else. But we did see some interesting things today. For example:

AND FINALLY A SPELLING LESSON:

Tomorrow we head for home.

I told you that the reason for our trip to NYC was to meet with the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation on Tuesday. But let’s be real, we could have easily attended the meeting via some fancy internet online meeting service. Maybe Patrice and I couldn’t figure it out but the smart people at the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation sure could. One of the main reasons we needed to come to NYC is to decide once and for all, who provides the best Lobster Roll. Loyal followers of the blog have read about us consuming the amazing lobster rolls at Neptune Oyster in Boston. Last year we experienced what might have been as good if not better a product at Sarabeth’s here in New York (40 Central Park S, New York, NY 10021).

And the winner is ……………

Neptune Oyster without a doubt. But we need to go back to Boston and try Neptune Oyster one more time to make sure. One thing definitely nicer about Sarabeth’s is that you can make a reservation on Open Table. At Neptune Oyster, they don’t take reservations. Instead you give them your cell phone number and they call you when your table is ready. Sarabeth’s is across the street from Central Park South and it is warmer here than in Boston, all big plusses.

After lunch we headed to Christie’s to see the preview of their art auction. Our friend Allen told us about this and we wanted to see for ourselves. We saw a great deal of beautiful paintings and artifacts. This Picasso caught my eye.

We were shown around the gallery by Allen’s friend, Josh. He said that this place is like going to a museum. You get to see incredible works of art but with one exception, you can actually touch the artwork. But what kind of jerk would do that.

Tomorrow we will attend the meeting that prompted our trip to New York. We will be reviewing proposals requesting funding from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation for research toward finding the cause and cure for inflammatory bowel disease. Tonight we had dinner with the the other members of the committee that will be reviewing the proposals. I learned a tremendous amount about research in just the few hours we spent with these very smart people. I look forward to learning more tomorrow and directing money to some other very smart people who can end the horror known as inflammatory bowel disease. The meeting starts at 8:00 AM (5:00 AM Los Angeles time) so we need to go to sleep.

Pleasant dreams, talk to you tomorrow.

This morning we started off at one of our favorite restaurants, Cafe Un Deux Trois (123 W. 44th St, New York, NY 10036). Patrice was unimpressed with the french toast but I ordered the Norwegian Benedict which was as good as I remembered. After that we headed south to the New York City Fire Museum (278 Spring St, New York, NY 10013). We noticed this place on our way to meet with my cousin Rob yesterday and had to come back for a visit. Previously we had visited fire museums in Memphis and Phoenix. This one was interesting and on a par with the Memphis museum but not even close to Phoenix. In Phoenix they call it the “Hall of Flame” and it is a remarkable collection of refurbished fire trucks. The NYC exhibit was interesting and worth the trip but if you are a fire enthusiast go to Phoenix instead.

On our way to the museum we saw this interesting statue.

We also walked by a flea market with this scary sign:

And here are the culprits:

After the museum we headed to nearby Daryl Roth theater. Enroute we walked through the artist community know as Soho. It has this name because it is SOuth of HOuston Street (pronounced “House Ton” because these people have never been to Texas or aren’t willing to acknowledge that it exists). Showing at the theater is a new play called “Gloria: A Life”. This is the life story of Gloria Steinem (staring Christine Lahti as Gloria). The play was very inspiring. I have to admit I felt a little odd because at most only 20% of the audience were men. The show was 90 minutes long and followed by a 20 minute “Talk Circle” in which the audience was welcome to contribute. The initial speaker was Faye Wattleton, a long time friend of Gloria Steinem and former CEO of Planned Parenthood. Ms. Wattleton was seated next to Patrice during the performance.

After a rest at the hotel we had dinner with my friend Allen at Mari Vanna (41 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003) a Russian restaurant with excellent food. We traveled 2,800 miles to have dinner with a friend from LA.

The Salmon Blini (essentially crepes) were spectacular. The remainder of the dishes were also good but the blini stood out. Dessert wasn’t too bad either. We had what they call “Broken Flower Pot”. It looked exactly like that but the chocolate was pure heaven.

Not sure how we will top this day but we will try.

When I left you last night we were heading out to see and hear Bruce Springsteen on Broadway. For those of you who have not heard of the show it is not performers singing Springsteen songs but rather the man himself not only singing his songs but telling us about his life and how events brought him to be with us today. The show in a word was “absolutely amazing”, okay two words. The “Boss” was on stage for two and a half hours without a break. The man did not disappoint in any way. The music was spectacular as expected but what I didn’t expect was how he managed to tell us about his life, make us laugh and make us cry (well full disclosure: Patrice got teary eyed, I cried).

The theater was cozy and I think they knew I had broken my hip when they gave me this seat.

After the show we went to dinner at La Masseria (235 W 48th St, New York, NY 10036) which is very close to the theater. The food was Italian and great. Sorry, I was too hungry to think of taking pictures.

We then headed back to the hotel and walked by the Richard Rogers Theater where the musical “Hamilton” is playing. Outside, there was a small crowd of people talking to and getting autographs from the show’s current star, Michael Luwoye. Patrice and I were amazed how low key and gracious he was. Patrice mentioned that we had see him perform in San Francisco which made him smile and reply with a very genuine, “Thank you”. He answered fan’s questions and signed autographs and didn’t seem to be in a rush to leave. I know my daughter-in-law is a big fan so I thought I would surprise her with a picture. Unfortunately I didn’t check the picture until I got back to the room.

Today we got off to a slow start since I was up late watching the Dodgers 18 inning victory over the Red Sox in the World Series. After an excellent breakfast at the Brooklyn Diner (155 W 43rd St, New York, NY 10036) we headed over to the Morgan Museum and Library (225 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016). Built in 1906 to house the private library of financier and banker J.P. Morgan, it was opened to the public in 1924. The Morgan has an incredible collection of artifacts and art work. Currently they have a special exhibit dedicated to Mary Shelley and her classic, Frankenstein.

After the library we headed to Soho to have dinner with my cousin Rob. First we were shown around Rob’s studio and we got to see all the exciting things he is working on. He even showed us his laser cutter and used it to make me a souvenir. See below

Not sure what we can do to top this tomorrow but we will give it our best try.