Only in New York
(1)
I was in a taxi the other night, coming home from the country house, and as we entered that tunnel underneath the Met Life building on Park Avenue, we came upon one of those rickshaw type things. Not a full on Kramer in which the guy is running while carrying the people behind him, but the one in which a dude peddles a bike and a misguided tourist couple sits behind him on what looks like a mini-version of a hayride. For them to be in this dark tunnel at night, with no lights or coverage, it was just beyond stupid. And it was cold out! It looked like a miserable way to get from point A to point B, especially since Point B was probably dinner at that Jekyll & Hyde theme "restaurant." But the best part of witnessing this debacle, and the main reason I'm relaying this story, was my cab driver's reaction. He got REALLY angry, just plain dumbfounded at the stupidity of it, and summed it up perfectly: "People are so fucking stupid. These days, people - adults - do such dumb shit, stuff I did when I was eleven years old and I knew it was stupid then." I don't know, it seemed kind of profound to me. I think it sums up a lot of what we're witnessing adults do in the world today. And you gotta love a cab driver that leaves you feeling enlightened. Only in New York.
(2)
Yesterday I waited more than an hour to eat brunch. And I wasn't even at Sarabeth's. I love brunch, it's arguably my favorite meal (I love dinner too, I find lunch kind of annoying). One time when I was filling out forms at the doctor's office, they asked me to list my hobbies, and I put brunch as one of them. I like all kinds of brunch foods - from the egg variations to the sweet breakfast choices (special shout out to challah french toast) - so I'm never sick of brunch, often just torn on what to order. I love a good diner, I love a good egg sandwich to go, but most of all, I love adorable brunch places. There's one such place in my neighborhood, let's call it Penelope, and apparently I'm willing to wait a whole hour to eat there. Here's why: It's cozy and the food is delicious and they supply free coffee while you wait for your table. It's one of those prix-fixe deals and they have a fun/varied menu; everything from pumpkin waffles to spinach pie. The whole vibe - it feels like it's been transplanted from the West Village. When I went to Penelope yesterday, I got 2 lovely poached eggs wrapped in thinly-sliced Maple ham, resting on sourdough toast covered in a layer of fontina cheese. DELISH. But what does it mean about New York City, and specifically what does it mean about me, that I am forced to - and willing to - wait SO long to eat brunch? Something is out of control, it has been developing over the past couple years - going to brunch these days means having to carve out hours of your day, and it often means having to plunk down a couple dollars (how to resist the summer rose mimosa?) I can't resist frankly. Even though it has become an endeavor, I like going out for brunch. It seems like only in New York would people wait an hour for brunch. Then again, only in New York would it be worth it.
I was in a taxi the other night, coming home from the country house, and as we entered that tunnel underneath the Met Life building on Park Avenue, we came upon one of those rickshaw type things. Not a full on Kramer in which the guy is running while carrying the people behind him, but the one in which a dude peddles a bike and a misguided tourist couple sits behind him on what looks like a mini-version of a hayride. For them to be in this dark tunnel at night, with no lights or coverage, it was just beyond stupid. And it was cold out! It looked like a miserable way to get from point A to point B, especially since Point B was probably dinner at that Jekyll & Hyde theme "restaurant." But the best part of witnessing this debacle, and the main reason I'm relaying this story, was my cab driver's reaction. He got REALLY angry, just plain dumbfounded at the stupidity of it, and summed it up perfectly: "People are so fucking stupid. These days, people - adults - do such dumb shit, stuff I did when I was eleven years old and I knew it was stupid then." I don't know, it seemed kind of profound to me. I think it sums up a lot of what we're witnessing adults do in the world today. And you gotta love a cab driver that leaves you feeling enlightened. Only in New York.
(2)
Yesterday I waited more than an hour to eat brunch. And I wasn't even at Sarabeth's. I love brunch, it's arguably my favorite meal (I love dinner too, I find lunch kind of annoying). One time when I was filling out forms at the doctor's office, they asked me to list my hobbies, and I put brunch as one of them. I like all kinds of brunch foods - from the egg variations to the sweet breakfast choices (special shout out to challah french toast) - so I'm never sick of brunch, often just torn on what to order. I love a good diner, I love a good egg sandwich to go, but most of all, I love adorable brunch places. There's one such place in my neighborhood, let's call it Penelope, and apparently I'm willing to wait a whole hour to eat there. Here's why: It's cozy and the food is delicious and they supply free coffee while you wait for your table. It's one of those prix-fixe deals and they have a fun/varied menu; everything from pumpkin waffles to spinach pie. The whole vibe - it feels like it's been transplanted from the West Village. When I went to Penelope yesterday, I got 2 lovely poached eggs wrapped in thinly-sliced Maple ham, resting on sourdough toast covered in a layer of fontina cheese. DELISH. But what does it mean about New York City, and specifically what does it mean about me, that I am forced to - and willing to - wait SO long to eat brunch? Something is out of control, it has been developing over the past couple years - going to brunch these days means having to carve out hours of your day, and it often means having to plunk down a couple dollars (how to resist the summer rose mimosa?) I can't resist frankly. Even though it has become an endeavor, I like going out for brunch. It seems like only in New York would people wait an hour for brunch. Then again, only in New York would it be worth it.
posted by Susan Goldberg at 2:50 PM
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