I’ve been coming to visit the lower east side of Manhattan for the twenty years that Davey has lived here. My first visits were to a pretty gritty and rough neighborhood of bodegas and crackheads. No more.
I walk around with my wallet in my back pocket, the bruiser son smacking the baseball bat in his had while dad locks up the corner store, long gone. That corner store is now a trendy restaurant with prices to match.
You know it’s gone upscale when the new hotel is just around the corner. The Essex Street Market is still here — a city run fresh foods market, but now there is the Saxelby Cheesemonger in there with $20 a pound cheeses (and damn good cheeses I might add. At least the architecture is non-standard cookie cutter. First is the Blue Cube building, next is the new Hotel on Rivington which is slick enough to be a W Hotel.
Lunch was at Frankies 17 on Clinton Street, and outpost of their infamous Brooklyn restaurant. Damn, they even have their own blog which is very short — but was done right during the time they were expanding into the lower east side. Davey had the yam ravioli’s (stunning), and I had the sweet sausage with red peppers and onions (stunning) and the bread was gone sopping up the sauce on each — that I didn’t have a chance to try their house olive oil ($18 a liter) that they oversee the pressing of in Sicily.
A walk around the neighborhood then home to work — until the 4pm Manhattan in Manhattan call. Dried cherries, no bitters, Maker’s Mark and Martini and Rossi Sweet Vermouth. Davey working on his schoolwork — finally getting his BA after all these years — with class tonight. Me — hanging out working, drinking, MJ home at seven from her twice a week gig.
Dinner in tonight with a little wine and leftovers. Well, that was the plan. Turns otu we called out for mexican food while I was getting a tour of MJ’s Studio.
Comments Off