Tag Archives: Jazz Tuesdays

New York City Blog Dec. 1 – Dec. 7

Jazz Tuesdays in the Gillespie Auditorium at the New York Baha’i Center has become a tradition for a friend and me. Dinner in a restaurant with a fake Italian name and then an hour and a half of jazz. The address is 53 East 11 St. (between University Pl. & Broadway). Dorothy Longo is the organizer extraordinaire.

Dizzy Gillespie's Baha'i Center
Dizzy Gillespie’s Baha’i Center

Want to impress people? Want them to think you come from old money? New money? Take them for dinner to the National Arts Club, I joined it during the tenure of the rat pack twins. The Club has had its tumultuous moments, but now has settled into being a well run capitalist enclave decked out in American Edwardian furniture, lots of cultural events, great bar and an excellent restaurant.

Christmas Wonderland in the Samuel Tilden mansion
Christmas Wonderland
in the Samuel Tilden mansion

Do you like greasy spoons? So does Detective Steve Kulchek. Places where there’s a lopsided sign in the window saying breakfast served all day? Places where buzz words like gourmet, vegan, gluten free, organic are a foreign language? Where the only hint of modern times is the other sign scrawled in paint on the front window: wine & beer. Do I have the restaurant for you. It’s La Bonbonniere. It’s tucked into a tiny space north of Jane Street. Steve and I sat outside on a blustery Saturday. I had breakfast – cheese omelet. He had lunch – BLT. The word brunch doesn’t belong here.

A West Village favorite
A West Village favorite