TheFitzyreport

Governors Island Jazz

Posted on June 16, 2013 by TheFitzyreport

Fitzgerald would have felt right at home. The Dreamland Orchestra put on a jazz lawn party this weekend at Governors Island and the fans of the roaring twenties came in their finest. It was a riot of costumes and characters, and the sunshine in this most beautiful location gave shine to the sequins and celebration.

Access to the island is via ferry just south of the Fulton Street landing – or from Brooklyn on the other side. It only takes a few minutes to cross, but this time was well allocated by passengers getting in character for the party, some donning wigs, sewing the band on an outrageous hat or simply starting to swing. I felt a little underdressed, but there were some cyclists caught completely unawares, thinking they were just off for a ride, and suddenly realising a fedora was the order of the day.

The party itself is in it’s eighth year, but maybe the latest Gatsby film inspired an extra indulgence of attire this year. There were zoot suits and flapper dresses, feathers and wingtips. There were boaters and beads, and even a few maids and military men. These people were out to party and the Dreamland Orchestra set the pace. The music was fantastic. The bandleader, Michael Arenella reminded everyone at the outset that jazz in the twenties was the music of youth. It was rebellious and outrageous, and would perhaps inspire you to act in ways you might regret. This was all the encouragement the dancers needed, as the Charleston and the Hop went into full swing. There was a series of performances between the dance brackets where a top-hatted crooner shmoozed with an armful of follies, and a Billie Holiday lookalike sang the blues. Everywhere you looked there was a photo, or a photographer, with the iconic Bill Cunningham ducking and diving for the best.

Governors Island is open during the summer months and is undergoing a huge restoration program, so watch out for exhibitions, concerts, and the lawn party next year. The island will put you at the closest point to the Statue of Liberty without being on a boat, and the Dreamland Orchestra will put you as close to the twenties as you dare to be…

DSCN6679

Posted in events, gardens, music, Uncategorized | Tagged Dreamland Orchestra, Governor's Island, Jazz Age Lawn Party | 3 Comments

High but not dry

Posted on June 16, 2013 by TheFitzyreport

The best thing about Winter in the middle of a New York Summer is finding popular places almost empty. On Thursday night the High Line was all but deserted, with the pending storm creating an electric light that accented the colours and features of the west side walk. It was ours for the moment, allowing us to measure and meander at will in lush green surrounds. What a treat!

The magnolias were in full bloom, and the birch trees picked up the breeze with that wonderful paper rustling sound. New artworks were nestled in the foliage – a bust mirrored in gold and plaster, and a voice that came from no-where to recite the names of good and bad animals. ( Another year the mystery voice came from the water fountain, reciting Shakespearian soliloquies as you sipped ). The whole space is interactive, wound around the original railway line and with occasional spaces that diverge from the path to encourage a quiet spot, or a platform to view the surrounding city.

When the rain finally came it was monsoonal. Even with raincoats and umbrellas we were wet before we emerged at the end of the Line. My plan was to take my companions to Roma’s on Bleeker Street, and I imagined persevering through the saturated streets would only make the reward of the best pizza in NYC even greater. However, ten minutes later we were squelching in our shoes. The worst thing about winter in the middle of summer in NYC is that when you find your favorite pizza place inexorably closed, and you have no recourse except to find the closest alternative. This happened to be John’s Pizza, an original old favorite Bleeker Street eatery with over eighty years worth of initials carved into their wooden booths. These could have been the mark of passing tourists – or more likely signatures petitioning for a decent glass of wine. In any case it was a port in a storm and the bus boy kindly mopped up around us as we dripped into our pizza.

The telephone at Roma’s is disconnected but their website is still running. So maybe there is hope that their unique 96 hours-in-the-making pizza dough will rise up somewhere else in the city. Maybe they are looking for a spot closer to the High Line….

Posted in art & inspiration, Uncategorized | Tagged High Line, John's Pizza, NYC, Roma's | Leave a comment

BBQ Block Party

Posted on June 12, 2013 by TheFitzyreport

The 11th annual Barbecue Block Party brought pit masters from all over the country this weekend to Madison Park. Huge trailers pulled in from Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, the Carolinas and Tennessee, bringing enough smokers and supplies to feed the 200 thousand or so picnickers that would be following their noses over the weekend. Even though we are spoilt with the proximity of the very excellent Mighty Quinns barbecue in the East Village, when the block party comes to town it is a circus of smells, music and southern accents and the food is really just a bonus.

Evidence of the state patriotism in barbecue technique was the popularity of the $125 ‘fast pass’ which would give you preference in the lines, and allow a spectrum of sausages, babyback ribs, brisket, pulled pork, sauces and rubs to become tasting plates when you collapsed on the grass in the Park.

But it’s the volume that I find amazing. One master rubbed and lacquered about 2200 sides of ribs and sold out early on both days. Another did 15,000 pulled pork sandwiches. Then there was the truck load of deep-fried pies. Oh, and the beans! No-one could give me a figure on the beans, but suffice it to say there was a lot of line dancing late in the day…

pies

Posted in Food, Fun | Tagged BBQ Block Party | 4 Comments

Citibike City

Posted on June 6, 2013 by TheFitzyreport

Bright blue Citibikes have appeared in their thousands across NYC in the past week. For the Memorial Day launch of the new bike-share transport system, around 6,000 bright and shiny new bikes were parked wheel to wheel in 340 docking stations in prime New York real estate. Since then I have not seen the same perfectly stacked formations anywhere, so there must be a mass movement of the newly mobile in transit. On my way to the pool early this week, I encountered a couple of Citiblokes who were loading up bikes to recycle them to another station and try and balance the ‘pickup’ and ‘drop-off’ imbalance. The way it works is that you pay $10 for a day, pickup a bike, and then ride in 30 minute segments until you drop off at your destination. A buzzer goes off before the 30th minute to ( hopefully ) give you enough time to find a station and park, wait for one minute, and then resume riding. If you are late docking you get charged overtime. ( This is a bank sponsored venture after all. ) So it seems the bikes are designed for structured riding rather than leisurely exploring.

There has been a lot of public debate about the new bikes – not just because of the perpetual juggle for space and territory in this city, but because of issues like personal rights being infringed by Citibikes denying people over 118 kilos from sharing the scheme. But this has not stopped today’s tally of more than 270,000 miles of traveling by cyclists over the past 10 days. The transport people are saying this puts them past (over) the moon with success, so looks like the Big Apple is heading for the stars now…

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Citibike | 2 Comments

Harlem Shake

Posted on June 4, 2013 by TheFitzyreport

There’s a whole lot of shaking going on in Harlem these days. Well, shaking as per the cool moves made famous by Al B started in the eighties, but now there is a namesake that is catching a lot of the action. The Harlem Shake opened recently on 124th and Lennox and brings a retro nostalgia to the area. The Queen of Soul Food spot has been taken by Sylvia’s, and Marcus Samuelsson draws big crowds with his chic Southern ( and Swedish ) menu at Red Rooster. Over the road the dusty and sadly demised Lennox Lounge is rumoured to soon become a new Nobu Japanese restaurant, so the arrival of an archetypal diner in the heart of Harlem puts the classic burger back on the map.

Even though the decor is new made to look old, the burger is completely authentic American style. The bun is a Martin’s potato roll, soft, and made with Pennsylvania potatoes and cane sugar. The meat patties are thin and ‘smashed’ onto the grill, and many of the condiments like the spicy pickled relish are made in house. So the burger looks exactly the same as it did in the 40’s, the era that the Harlem Shake recreates. Their sodas carry an even longer tradition. Vernor’s is the oldest surviving ginger ale in the United States ( it has been around since the Civil War ) and Cheerwine has been produced by the same family for nearly 100 years. This is obviously a point of great pride for the owner, Jelena Pasic, who ‘always had a dream to bring culture and food together’. It took her four years to find the spot in Harlem, and detail has been important in connecting with the local community and bringing small iconic producers back into the mainstream.

I really liked the ginger ale – it was delicious. But wait, what about a red velvet milkshake…?! Where else but America would you find a cake blended into a milkshake? It was sweet and creamy, tasting like a strawberry thick shake, and everyone I’ve told wants to go there just to try it. It seems I have discovered a popular culinary clique that I didn’t know existed. That’s the thing about New York and it’s collection of different neighborhoods all joined together – discovering them is all part of the fun. But whether you are after taste or tradition, you’ll really need to shake your booty if you want to wear those shorts…

Posted in Food, Uncategorized | Tagged Cheerwine, Harlem Shake, potato bread, red velvet shake, Vernor's | 5 Comments

Cronuts and queues

Posted on June 1, 2013 by TheFitzyreport

I seem to have spent the last week on journeys rather than destinations. First there was the epic ride to Harlem where we were diverted by film crews on Park Avenue, the bomb squad on Madison and injured wildlife in Central Park. We arrived at the Harlem Shake only to find it closed for Memorial Day. Then there was the line at the Star Wars lego exhibit in Times Square ( OK I wasn’t really in the line, I just wanted to be there and wear my old ‘Darth Vader Lives’ badge ). Then yesterday found us queuing again, this time in Soho, but the line was too long and the reward too fattening – even for pastry Friday – so we gave up.

It’s not uncommon to get in line in NYC. But there’s a new fad in town that’s creating a whole new marketing and distribution model for the food industry. Dominique Ansel has had a fine patisserie on Spring Street for some time, and recently he added a pastry to his repertoire that combines a croissant and a donut. It is flakey pastry, deep fried, filled with cream and glazed with icing. The ‘cronut’ is now a copy-written collectable and the demand for them has gone viral, thanks to a limited supply of a treat that combines the best ( or worst ) of the sweet world.

Sean and I rode down to Soho thinking we would find just a handful of people waiting for the bakery to open at 8am, and that we could buy a couple of pastries and zip home. Think again. At 7.15 there were 110 people in the queue, and by the time the doors opened there would have been another 50 behind us. There was a television crew and much iphone activity, so anyone on a calorie count would have been visibly outed. The girl closest to the door – an intern from Todd’s – was sent by her boss and had been waiting since 5am. The previous maximum order of 6 per person had been reduced to 3, so those entrepreneurs working through craigslist would have seen their profit margins reduced. Their resale value varies from $20 to $40, but considering cronuts have a shelf life of 6 hours ( they cannot be put in the fridge or saved for the next day ) these middlemen would have to move their contraband quickly.

Ridiculous as it all seems, there was a kind of camaraderie in the crowd. Queuers pooled information about how many cronuts had been baked that day, what the new June cream flavour would be and if they thought there would be any left by the time we got inside. Serious silliness. Dominique sent one of his chefs along the line with a tray of fresh out-of-the-oven madeleines that added value to the wait, and with chocolate icing and coconut he may create another craze…

About the same time we decided it was time to head home for tea and toast, Dominique came out to announce the cronuts were all gone. ‘But please, come back tomorrow’. I can’t imagine that the success of actually eating this limited edition sweet could improve on the experience of the queue, and the craze may be over in a few weeks. By then Dominique will probably be living in the Bahamas, and his customers will either have gone on to the next big thing, or be back in the gym.

I’m thinking the Harlem Shake may be the answer to both these possibilities…

Picture courtesy of Dominique Ansel….

Posted in bakeries, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Australian shorts at the Asia Society

Posted on May 23, 2013 by TheFitzyreport

The Asia Society on Park Avenue last night hosted the annual review of Australian Short Films. Curated by Susan Talbot, it is always a popular event and while the selection of films were not all new ( and some brilliant but hard to watch again – like The Kiss ), there were a couple of gems. I particularly enjoyed The Maker, an animated short with clever visuals and beautiful music. But there was another film called The Fence which seemed all the more poignant after seeing a current exhibition at the Asia Society. The Fence was about Cambodian refugees at the time the Villawood refugee hostel became a detention center, and the exhibition, Bomb Ponds, is a series of photographs by Vandy Rattana capturing the lush countryside of Cambodia. What appear to be natural landscapes are actually craters formed by the bombing of Cambodia by the US during the Vietnam war. With the ongoing debate about immigration and refugees all over the world, it was timely to reflect on the bigger picture.

Speaking of which, the unstoppable Jackie Chan (who’s parents were refugees from China who finished up living in Australia) will be appearing at the Asia Society next month. Tickets for the Q & A event sold out in 20 minutes. If Australia had a cultural center in New York, I wonder which of our heros would inspire a sell out crowd…?

Posted in events | Tagged Asia Society, Australian short films, Susan Talbot, The Fence, The Maker | 2 Comments

The view from here…

Posted on May 21, 2013 by TheFitzyreport

After a few days of tornado inspired weather and non-stop rain, I wanted to share the reason why even when the sun comes out, we can still be tempted to stay at home…

azalea

Posted in gardens, the view from here, Uncategorized | 15 Comments

Joe’s Pub & the GPS girl

Posted on May 17, 2013 by TheFitzyreport

If I had needed a GPS to find Joe’s Pub this week, I could easily have received directions from the very woman I was going to see. Karen Jacobsen was launching her seventh CD at the Pub on Tuesday night, and while fans would know of her music, most people would recognise her voice as the ‘Australian’ option on digital devices. She answers your questions on iPhone’s SIRI and tells you where to go via GPS with an accent born out of Mackay in Queensland. Karen jokes this was the tropical paradise she traded in for NYC. Nine out of ten of the most poisonous snakes in the world were in Mackay, but New York offered a perfect score!

Karen’s performance was a collection of songs entitled ‘Take a Little Drive’, inspired by the tragic events of Sandy Hook in Connecticut last year. She talked a lot about how she, and many of us, need to ‘recalculate route’, a GPS term that also serves life when unexpected things happen. So there were some tears and some tales, accompanied by the grand piano and cellist Stephanie Winters.

Joe’s Pub is not really a pub at all. It is an extension of the Public Theatre and with that comes the status of the man who established the venue along with the free ‘Shakespeare in the Park’ program in Central Park. Joseph Papp was a theatrical producer who believed in the accessibility of entertainment, and his ‘pub’ – more like a nightclub, hosts about 800 international artists a year performing across genres, from cabaret to jazz.

Karen has a powerful singing voice which serves her just as well in a football stadium as it did on stage. She has sung the Star Spangled Banner for the Boston Red Sox and for the New York Jets, and she has sung Advance Australia Fair for the ANZAC ceremony atop the Rockefeller Center. But when Karen asked everyone to stand for the national anthem at the beginning of her show, I was caught out by my own patriotism. I have never been in a situation where I found myself standing for the (American) National Anthem and the lack of hands on hearts in the audience showed there were other Australians in similar stance. It makes me wonder if I will ever be able to take the route calculated by Rupert Murdock for duel citizenship. That’s global positioning with a whole new tone…

Posted in Australians at large, events | 2 Comments

Rockefeller standing stones

Posted on May 16, 2013 by TheFitzyreport

Only an Australian could bring Stonehenge to the Rockefeller Plaza. Nicholas Baume, the chief curator from the Public Art Fund who brought us the aerial living room around the statue of Christopher Columbus last year, now brings us the contemplative standing stones of Ugo Rondinone in one of the busiest crossroads of the city. You can’t help but be astonished at the size and magnetism of these colossal structures and the strange otherworldly sensation of seeing them standing tall in front of NBC studios. It’s as though they have been beamed in from another time, and in some ways, they have. The family of the artist once lived in ancient rock-cut dwellings called Sassi di Matera in the south of Italy. Now a tourist attraction and a World Heritage Site, the Sassi caves have existed for centuries. Ugo does not just work in stone, he is a multi media artist who has been exhibited all over the world – including the Art Gallery of NSW. But he does wear a stone around his neck which has been passed through his family from father to son. It may just be a romantic notion to connect this with Ugo’s forbears and a culture past. But having stood with thousands of other people at Rockefeller Plaza on that amazing night when Obama first won the presidency, this is a space where standing stones belong. There’s nothing like a reminder that magic can happen, especially when we want it to…

Posted in art & inspiration | 3 Comments

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