A Bit More Paris in New York

I'm not sure we need more macaron shops in New York; that trend has come and, well, not exactly "gone," but it's not the new new thing it once was.  Everyone who made cupcakes seemed to move into macarons and now maybe is going back to cupcakes (or bringing them to Paris).  It's all getting so confusing!

But I guess we can always handle a bit more Paris in New York, especially on Madison Avenue (at 71st Street), already the second home for more Parisian designer houses than I care to count.  Ladurée, the self-proclaimed creator of the macaron, is now here, and from the line inside the shop this morning, there's no doubt that there's room for at least one more macaron shop in this town.

Les Soldes - New York version

Ooh la la, les soldes!  If you love Paris and you love shopping, you'll know what I'm talking about.  It's July; it's time for the summer sales.  Lucky for us in NYC, we also have them here - the sales and a couple of the great Parisian shops I love.  

My all-time favorite is agnès b.  Straight-forward, high-quality, classic and iconic Parisian sportswear - I guess it could be said that it's Paris's answer to J. Crew and Gap.  

Next up, my new (second) favorite this year, which I've shopped in Paris on place Saint Sulpice (unbelievably mobbed during les soldes), is Comptoir des Cotonniers.  

They recently have attacked New York City with three boutiques, the last one opening only two weeks ago on Madison Avenue, in the 80s, a stone's throw, in fact, from agnès b. 

Shop those two back-to-back and, for a few bons moments, you're almost in the Sixième (even after you get your credit card bill, all but for the currency exchange fee).  And, as usual, in the name of research, bien sur, I did a bit of birthday shopping.

Caffeinated Weekends - Java Girl

The Upper East Side in the '60s (the streets, not the decade) is filled with large chain store franchises.  On the eastern avenues, like Second and Third, it feels more and more like a suburban shopping mall every time I go (which is not often).  That's why Java Girl, on East 66th Street between Second and First Avenues, stands out.  It describes itself, on t-shirts for sale in the store and in its online logo, as "indescribably exotic & sometimes nutty."  In other words, Java Girl really wants us to think it's a pretty odd place.  It's neither exotic or nutty for a New York coffee bar, but it's unique given its location, which is in fact relatively convenient to all the hospitals and doctors' offices located around there (Weill Cornell Medical Center and Sloan-Kettering).

And that is a nice thing.  There are exposed brick walls, little wooden tables and chairs for seating and quiet conversation for as long as you want, a selection of teas as well as coffees, and  various other food items, too.  They do a good mixed nuts, dried fruits and seeds snack bag, for example. 

What this place does best is convey "homey."  It's one-of-a-kind, and that really stands out in an area so obviously filled with the repetition of chain stores and otherwise not comfy places, like doctors' offices and hospitals.  

If you didn't know it was here, you'd just walk right by.  I'm glad I know it's there, for it makes me slightly less indifferent about the Upper East Side than I otherwise would be.  And besides, the latte's pretty good.

Ancient Playground

Ancient Playground in Central Park does not live up to its name "ancient" because it was reopened after a long reconstruction in 2009.  However, in its design and theme, it tries...and succeeds.  My sons, as young playground aficionados, loved this playground more than any other, perhaps because it always accompanied a visit to The Metropolitan Museum (or at least I'd like to think so).  First, we'd visit the Temple of Dendur in the Met, then we'd look out of the slanted floor-to-ceiling glass wall that divides one side of the Temple of Dendur from Central Park and spot the playground directly across the street.  Lured by the images of FREEDOM they saw on the other side of the glass, in comparison to their caged experience in the adult-behavior-mandated world of the museum, they'd start rushing me out of the Met over to the replica pyramids to do what they could not freely do in the museum - run in and out of the pyramids, play hide-and-seek or Pharaoh-of-the-pyramid, and do whatever else arose in their imagination from the museum visit.  This playground also held that ever-elusive object of desire of children - the ability to hide from one's parents, by crawling into the pyramids that are just the right size for kids and too small for parents.  

The other morning, while taking an early AM bike ride, I saw the playground empty (which it never is).  I also noticed for the first time the Osborn Gates, standing at the entrance to Ancient Playground.  They, too, were added as part of the 2009 renovation.  

These cast-iron gates depict five vignettes from Aesop's Fables.  They were declared the most distinguished work of art in New York City when they were installed at the entrance to the former Osborn Memorial Playground in 1953, but due to vandalism, they were removed and put into storage in the 1970s and remained there for nearly 30 years.  

They are incredibly beautiful and, of course, are barely noticed, if at all, by the children running to get past them as quickly as possible in entering the playground, or by the attentive parents chasing after them.  Being neither myself now, I could stop and enjoy them fully.

The plaques describing the primary moral/theme of each story are -

The crane aloft surveys the world..the earthbound peacock struts and boasts.

The City Mouse and The Country Mouse

Woe to the Lamb that disputes the Wolf.

THE FOX AND THE CROW The Crow listened to the Fox's flattery & dropped the CHEESE

THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE Slow and Steady wins the Race

With or without children, this playground is a unique visit, and the Osborn Gates are worthy of a slow and steady look.

Savage Beauty and Pretzels

The Met is at the back end of my backyard.  That I am able to walk there in less than a half hour from my home gives me a feeling of ownership; thus, I can visit whenever I want (and I don't have to mow the lawn).  

Today I went specifically to see the new Costume Institute exhibition, "Alexander McQueen, Savage Beauty."  This is some exhibit - I had no idea what I was going to get when I walked in there.  I don't want to spoil it by over-commenting; there will certainly be plenty of professional reviews.  But, it's pretty wild, and I highly recommend it for something extremely out of the ordinary at the Met, and considerably more extravagant and expensively produced and realized, through sets, lights, music, video, even hologram, than other Costume Institute exhibits I have seen in the past.  I'm even recommending it to my sons - a fashion designer retrospective?  Well, yes, you'll see what I mean.  It's very Tim Burton meets Morticia Adams meets high fashion European fashion designer.  Gory, gothic, sophisticated, over-the-top, not wearable, exquisite and extremely original - all that could be one piece!  Fascinating and surprising, it's running through July 31, 2011.

a rendering of one gallery of the exhibit, from the Met website

After, I guess I built up an appetite, probably not from the exhibit, but rather from seeing people eating and drinking on the rooftop, where I also (always) stop at the end of my Met visits for the view, when its Roof Garden is open, and it just did open for the season last week.  Every live plant in Central Park has "popped" by now, so it was green, green, green, in every direction (pity the number of patrons I witnessed sneezing and blowing their noses and wiping runny pollen-attacked eyes - ah, 'tis the season).  

So, upon leaving hungry, I had to stop and try a Sigmund Pretzel from their cart at the base of the grand steps of the museum.

They are fresh, warm, soft, and in various flavors, which change from time to time.  We tried two flavors - feta and olive, which just simply bore no resemblance to the traditional New York City street pretzel (in every possible positive way).  Actually, it bore no resemblance to any pretzel, but don't let that stop you!  It was as good as it sounds.  By itself, it could be lunch.  And the other try was cheddar; that one looks like a pretzel and definitely tastes like one, covered top and bottom by shredded cheddar.  Both were fantastic snacks to be enjoyed either on the steps of the Met while watching the fashion parade of visitors to the McQueen exhibit or while walking home through my backyard.
[PS - just added this link to the NYTimes review of 5/7, FYI - the reviewer called it "a marvel."  Go.]