Last Tuesday I found myself beached on the Upper East Side, so I decided to take some time and re-explore the rarefied world of Madison Avenue.With time to spare I was able to bag a table at my favorite eatery in this strata, Cafe Boulud. The room has been revamped AGAIN! The quasi-bar area that had replaced the original 'traditional' bar has been moved out all together and put it across the hall all to itself. This gives the room more table space. It maintains its calm neutral palette but has added some lovely warm dark wood that makes you want to linger over your after-coffee Madelaine longer than you should. I'm happy to report the kitchen and staff are still in peak form here. The Prix-Fixe lunch is a national treasure. I started with a potato-leek veloute with potato guaffette; a lovely warm blend of late season flavor. My skate with autumn veggies was a poem on my plate; the skate crispy yet moist, flavorful bits of cauliflower and turnip roasted and garnished with capers, bacon bits and one of the most amazing sauces I have ever eaten!! The Cafe has always made sure every course excels and the pastry chef continues the legacy with a milk chocolate parfait w/ candied hazelnuts.
After my four-star at two-star price lunch, I popped into the Gagosian Gallery on Madison Avenue to take in the new Gregory Crewdson show! Yes Gregory Crewdson at Gagosian on Madison!! These lovely delicate archival ink-jet prints were taken at the dilapidated Cinecitta Studio in Rome and are are as vapid and empty as the movie sets photographed. And there are a lot of them!! In search of an antidote I stumbled across the avenue to L+M Arts where I was told through the intercom that they were current installing a Damien Hirst Exhibit!! EGADS!!
Succor was found at Mitchell-Innes & Nash who have some small Lichtenstein drawings and studies up in their uptown sanctuary. Bright and concise, Lichtenstein continues to astound me with his proficiency!!
After that I took a more mercantile tact, enjoying the delicious treasures in Michael Kors and Caroline Herrara's windows. Then what should I stumble upon at the corner of E73 and Madison?
What happened to Soup Burg? The last refuge of the under-paid in a sea of high-priced sandwiches and coffee? GONE!!"Changing... it keeps changing..." - Stephen Sondheim
I planned to stop in at the House of Lipshitz (aka Ralph Lauren) but the Baron of Bourgeois banality had the entire intersection of E 72nd and Madison cordoned off so the exterior of his latest fiefdom could be photographed! Ralph, honey it was Tuesday afternoon; where did you expect all the traffic to go to? Hmmmmm?
I was able to get into MALO where there were some elegant men's sweater. The teal blue zip-front cardigan I tried on was heaven and only $!,895!! Moving along quickly, I decided to see if anyone I know from my days in the basement at Giorgio Armani were still alive. Apparently not but I saw some amazing men's wool check pants for only $895!!
Praise __________!! Salih Salon is still in business. Salih is the only man I trust with my hair. This man can handle long men's hair and make it look great! I was fearful in these economic times if I would find him or not at 20 E 67 St, but its a testament to his skill with hair and his acumen for his clientele that I was able to book an appointment with him for the following Tuesday! Hail _______!!!
Feeling my oats at this point, I decided to check off a long-ago to-do list item and stop in at the Howard Greenberg Gallery in the Fuller Building at 57th & Madison to tell them to stop sending their dreck-mail to my mother. Which I did. Up on the walls were some black & white photographs by some man. Need I say more. If you are in this neighborhood though, stop in one floor below at the Bonni Benrubi Gallery where there is a great show up of Abelardo Morrell's work. GROUNDWORK features the artist's signature imagery (ie camera obscura, tent photos, piles of books) in large format color. The works are phenomenal as are the black and white cliche-verre prints on exhibit. BRAVO!!
