So we went to Fleur de Sel for lunch for restaurant week, and it was awesome. I would love to do more during restaurant week, but they often have the deals only for lunch service, and not at all on the weekend. Some places are doing 3 course recession specials on an ongoing basis, or doing pre-theatre specials, if you are seated before 6:30. All worth checking out...
We saw Hedda Gabbler at the Roundabout Theatre and man, did it stink. I do like Mary Louise Parker, but the play seems so unremittingly bleak. We got discount tickets thank God, but I'm still happy I saw it - you learn as much from bad theatre as you do from good, and the actors certainly did a valiant job. Can't wait to see William H Macy in Speed the Plow, apparently he's replaced Jeremy Piven until March. That play was great with Piven, but I am so excited to see it again with a new spin!
I got some headshots done this weekend, and I'm really happy with them so far. The woman was very gracious and patient, and made a huge effort to put me at ease. She also took some handsome shots of Baxter, and he's now booked for a spot on Law & Order with his headshot. Kidding, but she did get some fun shots of the kitties. I don't think I'll ever forget her out on the street with me, camera in hand, singing "oh, we got trouble, right here in river city!" and Nelly's Hot in Here. Demented sense of humour, I loved it...
School has been pretty liberating in some respects. I've learned that it's okay to suck at some things, to stumble and make mistakes. I was in dance class yesterday, and the instructor made us get up and demonstate some steps. I was counting out loud while doing them, and everyone started giggling. I told them all to simmer down, and then we had a good laugh. I don't get uptight about struggling through things as much now, and a lot of freedom comes with that. I don't turn myself inside out when my acting teacher doesn't like what I do, because we both know that this is the place to experiment and fail, and take risks, and eventually succeed. It is by far the best thing I've learned at school, or anywhere for that matter, in a long time.
Upright Citizen's Brigade, Chinatown, Doubt
So here I am with my first post! (This is Suzy btw). Last week I did a 4 day intensive course at Upright Citizen's Brigade, their intro to improv 101. I learned a lot, but man, was it tough. You have habits all your life, and then someone asks you to break them to do a scene. At the start of the course all our scenes were combative, fighting scenes, where each person was struggling for status, or control. By the end, though, I think we all learned to open our minds a bit, let go of our agendas, and just wing it. Improv is a fantastic skill to have, but it's not easy. As part of our course requirement, we were all asked to attend UCB improv shows during the week. I saw 5 long-form improv shows on the Tuesday night, and found it phenomenal. Having done my own improv before, I saw their struggles and appreciated all the fantastic work they did. Those people were really creative, really in tune with each other. The way they picked up on each other's ideas was amazing. I will definitely see more UCB shows in the future.
After our own student UCB show (so nervous, but so glad I did it) Chris and I headed to Chinatown, in search of good takeout. As insane as it sounds, we can't get good chinese takeout in Brooklyn Heights. Wo Hop was good, but I think the search is still on for great takeout. We just haven't hit enough Chinatown places yet :) Also of note; when walking through Chinatown, several people would come up to us and just murmur different sales pitches, in these crazy low key voices. For example: "Gucci purse, Fendi purse, Coach purse?" or "Perfumes, Men's cologne, scarves?" So weird!
On Monday, I went to see a matinee of Doubt by myself. It was fantastic. Not the type of movie for everyone, but I loved it. Just watching the actors spin circles around each other in different intricate scenes had me totally mesmerized. The technical level of their performances was pretty inspiring. It made me want to study and learn more in my own courses. Speaking of which, they start next week. And so does NYC restaurant week. We've got reservations at River Cafe and Fleur de Sel for lunch... I think it's $26 for 3 courses prix fix at lunch... can't wait!
After our own student UCB show (so nervous, but so glad I did it) Chris and I headed to Chinatown, in search of good takeout. As insane as it sounds, we can't get good chinese takeout in Brooklyn Heights. Wo Hop was good, but I think the search is still on for great takeout. We just haven't hit enough Chinatown places yet :) Also of note; when walking through Chinatown, several people would come up to us and just murmur different sales pitches, in these crazy low key voices. For example: "Gucci purse, Fendi purse, Coach purse?" or "Perfumes, Men's cologne, scarves?" So weird!
On Monday, I went to see a matinee of Doubt by myself. It was fantastic. Not the type of movie for everyone, but I loved it. Just watching the actors spin circles around each other in different intricate scenes had me totally mesmerized. The technical level of their performances was pretty inspiring. It made me want to study and learn more in my own courses. Speaking of which, they start next week. And so does NYC restaurant week. We've got reservations at River Cafe and Fleur de Sel for lunch... I think it's $26 for 3 courses prix fix at lunch... can't wait!
Lucali's
Finally, after several attempts, some lousy results and some decent-but-not-amazing results, Suzy and I have found a really fantastic pizza place in our area: Lucali's at 575 Henry Street.
We walked the fifteen minutes or so to the restaurant around 7pm on a Saturday night, only to find a small group of hopefuls standing around outside. In January. In temperatures well-below freezing. Yikes. On the one hand we were worried about a long wait, while on the other hand, we were hopeful that this meant the pizza was good.
We managed to get the attention of the hostess, left a name and cell number, and were told it would be "about an hour". We opted to wander the area a bit, rather than just stand there in the cold. We decided to get a bottle of wine to have with supper (Lucali's sells no alcohol, but has a reasonable $4 corking fee). We got a bottle of Spanish Rojo, the name of which escapes me, on the recommendation of the store owner as a good rustic wine to have with pizza.
After a lengthy wander through the aisles of a nearby market to kill some time (and warm up), we headed back to the restaurant around 8pm, roughly 45 minutes after we left our name. As we approached, we could see that the crowd out front had gotten bigger. We settled onto a bench to wait, hoping that the estimate we got from the hostess would be accurate. It was not.
Several groups of 4 or 5 were hustled in over the next twenty minutes, including one group that was under the name "Uncle Joe". A group of four who were huddled near us (and had been waiting there outside since 7pm, after calling ahead at 6!) said that they were pretty sure that the "Uncle Joe" party had shown up spur-of-the-moment, but had gotten in nearly right away anyway. That Uncle Joe must have some pull...
Anyway, after finally getting inside at around 8:40 (so cold!), we were seated at a nice table near the back, well away from the door and the icy wind, which was nice. We were right in front of the--well, I wouldn't call it a kitchen, per say ... how about "work area"--where the pizzas are assembled. Three or four guys were making pizzas and calzones and sliding them in and out of the large, wood-fired brick oven. The place has a nice atmosphere, simple but not cheap, and the whole room was lit by a couple of dim ceiling lights, plus candles on the tables and on the counters of the cooks' and servers' work areas. It was dim, but not at all unpleasant.
Our server opened our wine for us, and proceeded to give us the low-down on the food -- no menus here (which I guess is part of why the dim lighting wasn't an issue). Lucali's serves one size of pizza: a large thin crust jobbie that's enough for two; and two sizes of calzone: a "smaller" one that's enough for two, and a large one, which is apparently for bigger groups to share. The server also rattled off a respectable, if not overly large, list of toppings, most of which are $3 per to add and a few (like artichokes) that are $8 per. We ordered a pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, garlic, and artichokes.
We had a little wine, and our pizza arrived very quickly, probably no more than ten minutes. They have meetal racks that let them put the metal pizza trays over the candles on the tables, to help keep it a warm, and to free up some real estate on the table, no doubt.
The pizza was absolutely fantastic. It was, of course, hot but not so hot that the cheese was in danger of doing damage to my mouth. It was very, and no matter which topping(s) I was getting with each bite, it was great, simply because the basic pizza itself--the crust, sauce, and cheese--was incredible. The sauce had a great, balanced flavour, with noticeable Italian spices that were never being overwhelming to the rest of the pizza. And though it was a thin crust, there was still a hint of chewiness, even around alot of the edges. Suzy said instantly "This is it." adn I knew what she meant: We have finally found the great pizza we were looking for since August.
In the end, the meal ended up costing $42 dollars with the corking fee, tax, and tip, which would put the pizza itself at around $30, I guessed. So, while it was almost certainly the most expensive pizza I've ever had, it wasn't a bad price for a great meal for two, and realistically it was only about 50% more than a large pizza with several toppings from any random pizza chain, and it was, conservatively, 500% better. Only the deep dish we had in Chicago comes close (but they are such different approaches to pizza I'd hesitate to compare them directly).
So in summary: We walked for thirty minutes and waited for an hour and a half (half of that outside) in January to eat a $30 pizza at a restuarant that doesn't sell alcohol -- oh, and only takes cash. But, man, we will be going back there again while we are living in NYC, no doubt many, many times.
That said, next time, we'll call to put our names down before we get there. Especially in the winter. Brr.
We walked the fifteen minutes or so to the restaurant around 7pm on a Saturday night, only to find a small group of hopefuls standing around outside. In January. In temperatures well-below freezing. Yikes. On the one hand we were worried about a long wait, while on the other hand, we were hopeful that this meant the pizza was good.
We managed to get the attention of the hostess, left a name and cell number, and were told it would be "about an hour". We opted to wander the area a bit, rather than just stand there in the cold. We decided to get a bottle of wine to have with supper (Lucali's sells no alcohol, but has a reasonable $4 corking fee). We got a bottle of Spanish Rojo, the name of which escapes me, on the recommendation of the store owner as a good rustic wine to have with pizza.
After a lengthy wander through the aisles of a nearby market to kill some time (and warm up), we headed back to the restaurant around 8pm, roughly 45 minutes after we left our name. As we approached, we could see that the crowd out front had gotten bigger. We settled onto a bench to wait, hoping that the estimate we got from the hostess would be accurate. It was not.
Several groups of 4 or 5 were hustled in over the next twenty minutes, including one group that was under the name "Uncle Joe". A group of four who were huddled near us (and had been waiting there outside since 7pm, after calling ahead at 6!) said that they were pretty sure that the "Uncle Joe" party had shown up spur-of-the-moment, but had gotten in nearly right away anyway. That Uncle Joe must have some pull...
Anyway, after finally getting inside at around 8:40 (so cold!), we were seated at a nice table near the back, well away from the door and the icy wind, which was nice. We were right in front of the--well, I wouldn't call it a kitchen, per say ... how about "work area"--where the pizzas are assembled. Three or four guys were making pizzas and calzones and sliding them in and out of the large, wood-fired brick oven. The place has a nice atmosphere, simple but not cheap, and the whole room was lit by a couple of dim ceiling lights, plus candles on the tables and on the counters of the cooks' and servers' work areas. It was dim, but not at all unpleasant.
Our server opened our wine for us, and proceeded to give us the low-down on the food -- no menus here (which I guess is part of why the dim lighting wasn't an issue). Lucali's serves one size of pizza: a large thin crust jobbie that's enough for two; and two sizes of calzone: a "smaller" one that's enough for two, and a large one, which is apparently for bigger groups to share. The server also rattled off a respectable, if not overly large, list of toppings, most of which are $3 per to add and a few (like artichokes) that are $8 per. We ordered a pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, garlic, and artichokes.
We had a little wine, and our pizza arrived very quickly, probably no more than ten minutes. They have meetal racks that let them put the metal pizza trays over the candles on the tables, to help keep it a warm, and to free up some real estate on the table, no doubt.
The pizza was absolutely fantastic. It was, of course, hot but not so hot that the cheese was in danger of doing damage to my mouth. It was very, and no matter which topping(s) I was getting with each bite, it was great, simply because the basic pizza itself--the crust, sauce, and cheese--was incredible. The sauce had a great, balanced flavour, with noticeable Italian spices that were never being overwhelming to the rest of the pizza. And though it was a thin crust, there was still a hint of chewiness, even around alot of the edges. Suzy said instantly "This is it." adn I knew what she meant: We have finally found the great pizza we were looking for since August.
In the end, the meal ended up costing $42 dollars with the corking fee, tax, and tip, which would put the pizza itself at around $30, I guessed. So, while it was almost certainly the most expensive pizza I've ever had, it wasn't a bad price for a great meal for two, and realistically it was only about 50% more than a large pizza with several toppings from any random pizza chain, and it was, conservatively, 500% better. Only the deep dish we had in Chicago comes close (but they are such different approaches to pizza I'd hesitate to compare them directly).
So in summary: We walked for thirty minutes and waited for an hour and a half (half of that outside) in January to eat a $30 pizza at a restuarant that doesn't sell alcohol -- oh, and only takes cash. But, man, we will be going back there again while we are living in NYC, no doubt many, many times.
That said, next time, we'll call to put our names down before we get there. Especially in the winter. Brr.
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