A New York State Of Mind
“Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighborhood
Hop a flight to Miami Beach
Or to Hollywood
But I’m taking a Greyhound
On the Hudson River Line
I’m in a New York state of mind”
Well, well well… It all started with Ravi’s arrival in Rochester last Saturday. I picked the bloke off the 10.42AM Delta flight from Atlanta. He looked a right piece of work, lack of sleep and a lot worse off the red eye – coast to coast flying can be quite a drag, I am told, hehehehe!!!
Anyways, so much for the grand plan of going to the Niagara Falls or Buffalo or spending a quiet weekend surfing the streets and pubs of Rochester!!! In the parking lot (the other place usually being the loo), an audacious idea was born – why not party in NYC Saturday eve? After all, it would be a shame to let this opportunity go. So a quick call to the resident New Yorker, Monsieur Shanky of Banerjee fame was made, informing him of our imminent arrival. We made a quick stop home for me to grab a fresh pair of undies, jeans and a clean tee and the usual hygiene accessories and then hit the I90 eastbound.
We reached NYC without major incident in about 5 ½ hours and stopped off at Shanky’s house first. Later that evening found us first at the fashionable digs of the Aubette, a high end night club on East 27 Street, sipping single malt and spilling some of it (that would only be me, of course, Ravi and Shanky being quite refined in their behavior) and chatting up the bartender, a chappie called Luis (we nicknamed him “the XXI”, after a Franco/Hispanic emperor of sorts!!!). The thing that struck me was the huge piece of granite, a slab almost 6 feet wide and 4 feet high placed as a centerpiece on the main wall behind the bar, and more interestingly, what was carved on it.
“Cur Non Ut Plenus Vitae Conviva Recedis, Aequo Animoque Capis Securam, Stulte Quietem”, a quote from De Rerum Natura.
The quote loosely translated meant, “Why not like a banqueter fed full of life, withdraw in contentment and rest in peace, you fool.” Well, I can proudly say I actually came close with my own translation, “When you are happily drunk, its best to shut the f**k up.” And this was before I heard the actual meaning.
We then decided to have our dinner and quickly exited to the Houston Restaurant on Park Ave. What can I say, incredible food. I had the wild salmon with roasted yellow and red peppers accompanied by a fair measure of The Macallan. Simply divine!!! Post dinner, we indulged in some incredible dessert – a recommendation of our gracious hostess, Theresa – Apple Walnut Cobbler. That took the stuffing out of us completely for a while. Mmmmmm, apple cobbler!!!
Fully fed and insufficiently watered, we decided to head down to the local Reddy’s equivalent, Milano’s, unarguably rated as one of NYC’s top 5 dive bars. For those, who came in late, the crowd is a strange mix of Long Island types, college-age kids and the occasional mid town professional. Just imagine Reddy’s without any food and add a juke box to complete the picture – that’s Milano’s – awesome place. As usual, the bar was reasonably full and the drinks of good measure, enough to send me slightly up the winding path.
We left Milano’s close to midnight to head deeper into Greenwich to pick up another bite to eat at the Indian Kebab Factory only to realize the place was closed for renovation or some other reason, I cannot suddenly seem to remember. As an alternative to twiddling our thumbs, we decided to hit Mc Dougals Ale House and polish off a pint of Guiness or two.
We headed home closer to 2 in the morning, partially inebriated and fully happy. Ravi’s actually promised to come back here for New Year’s Eve, oh well that’s a tale to be written about in 2005.
Cheers
S
PS: I just realized my West Coast friend actually traveled coast-to-coast (approximately 2,550 miles) to have a drink with Shanky and me. Folks, the next time he makes a fuss in India about driving down from his crib to MG Road or thereabouts (in terms of relative distance, less than 5 miles – you get the picture), to meet with you people, I believe he has earned a well placed foot in his arse!!!