Thanksgiving followed by Rachmaninoff

November 26 - 28
An unseasonably warm - early 60's - Thanksgiving day at IAS started off with a pleasant walk in the woods. The trees are completely bare now, but there's a different beauty.
Therese and Danny hosted dinner, which was an elaborate feast consisting of everyone's tasty contribution. Tasty appetizers of warm brie and pear, veg crudités, and crackers and dips kicked the feasting into action.

We were a group of 12 from various parts of the country, and unlikely to ever come together as a group again. The roast turkey was a hit, and so were the tofu steaks I had marinated in a syrupy balsamic vinegar and dijon mustard before roasting. The usual - roasted brussels sprouts, potatoes, cornbread, mash, cranberry sauce, etc.  - made it all feel authentic. Desserts of apple pie and pumpkin pie made from scratch by Sarah and Jeremy were too tasty to resist biggish slices. We met some new friends - Maya, Asha, and Joshua - who kept the conversation stimulating for hours. Definitely a Thanksgiving for the memory books.

Back in NYC on Saturday for the NY Phil. Their Rachmaninoff festival through the month of November gave us the opportunity to be immersed in the beautiful music of this composer, and also gave us an excuse to spend 3 consecutive full weekends in the city. This time we stayed at an Upper West side hotel, allowing us a chance to get to know this posh neighborhood a little better. We dined at Pasha, an elegant Turkish restaurant where we had a selection of delicious mezzes. Especially loved the smoked eggplant and white bean salad. A pomegranate martini took it up another notch.

We had dessert at the Lincoln Center Kitchen, another fine dining establishment. Here we met a friendly local with whom we talked about vegetarianism. I must say, this city takes veganism very seriously. It isn't hard at all to find really good, innovative, healthy vegan food in even the snootiest of places. Speaking of snooty, it's sometimes hard to tell you're not in Paris! So the local we met, a realtor, chatted about his life in this city that he adored, raving about the excellent entertainment and restaurants and stuff. As we were leaving he gave us his card and suggested getting together for dinner the following weekend. "Yes, we New Yorkers are friendly," was his parting words.
The evening's main event - Daniil Trifonov blasting out Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No 3, the Everest of the repertoire played at top concert venues - had us in a state of stupefied ecstasy.  Sitting close to the stage we were totally pulled into the music. It gave us chills to watch the young genius so fluidly and passionately fingering the keys - all from memory. He got a standing ovation with loud cheers from audience. Russian dances followed, also fantastic, bringing the festival to a loud ending.
The beauty of Rach 3 lingered with us for days afterwards.

On Sunday morning we had breakfast at Maison Kayser. Cappuccinos and a basket of delicate pastries fueled us up for another day in the city. Daryl walked across Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he spent all day. I took the subway downtown for a stroll along the High Line. A wintry crispness meant wearing hat, scarf, gloves, and my warmest coat. It was a lovely walk - away from traffic with greenery on either side of the path and constantly changing views of the city.

There's some seriously interesting contemporary architecture beside the High Line. Conveniently, Chelsea Market, a bustling food paradise was at the other end. Vegan sushi rolls from Beyond Sushi nourished me in a satisfyingly virtuous way. I spent the afternoon strolling through Chelsea, onto Bleeker Street, then SoHo. For dinner Daryl and I met up at Buddha Bodhi on Mott Street in Chinatown. The meal was okay, but I regretted not getting dumplings.
Then, across the street we saw a crowd in line to get into an ice cream parlor. Ice cream on a chilly winter evening? Well, we had to try it. And that's how we stumbled upon 10Below Ice-cream on Mott Street. This absurdly popular place has a unique style. They make the whole thing in front of you, starting with creme anglaise spread on a chilled metal plate. Fruit, nuts, and other stuff are chopped into the mixture as it hardens, then it's all rolled up and cut into for pieces. Instead of scoops you get rolls that look exotic, but taste fairly normal.


On that chilly note our weekend came to an end.