uptown girl

I am not sure how long this will be the case but I continue to love living in New York City. I feel a sense of wonder, feeling  alive at all times and that reaction is amplified by having lived in a quiet suburb for the last 25 years. The best parts of being here? Walking or taking the subway everywhere. Strolling the dog through Central Park, just steps from Broadway. Endless restaurants, cultural experiences, and getting to see my daughter regularly. None of it will ever lose its luster. Maybe you eventually find the city too loud or you get tired of weaving your way through throngs of tourists but I am completely energized by all of it.

Right now, we are in the honeymoon phase with our apartment, building and new neighborhood. We are a half block off of Columbus Circle which hosts an indoor mall with a few key stores and restaurants like Williams Sonoma, Lululemon, Alo, J. Crew and H&M. In the same mall, there is a giant Whole Foods that has the best assortment of prepared foods I have ever seen and really makes me question the need to cook in this city (which I often question in every city but then force myself to keep trying to improve on my cooking efforts.) In the same center, my mother-in-law hosted us for a life changing dinner at Per Se, a Thomas Keller restaurant similar to the French Laundry in the Napa Valley. Our three-hour dinner was overwhelmingly the best restaurant experience I have ever had and that’s not just because the finale was six different desserts and a to-go bag of doughnuts, cookies and chocolate. I had the vegetarian menu and was completely impressed by the inventive, satisfying food as well as the refined, well orchestrated but friendly service.

We are also two blocks from the only Nordstrom in NYC and it blows doors off  my local store in Palo Alto, CA. The separate men’s store has an amazing fashion sneaker selection and also a shoe shine that cleans those fabulous sneakers (a service I have been actively seeking out.) While I would rarely endorse department stores as a shopping experience outside of NYC, I feel compelled to strongly support my three favorites: Bloomingdales, Nordstroms and Saks. Not only are these stores packed with all current and upcoming brands (new favorite found at Bloomingdales: Guest in Residence), there are also plenty of employees who are properly incentivized to assist. If you make your way through an entire floor, you will be asked at least twice, likely three times, if you need help. This practice is virtually non-existent in the Bay Area stores as you often find only one or two sales associates working an entire floor. One final shout out for the 63rd and Lexington Flagship Bloomingdale’s location: their restaurant “Forty Carrots” introduced frozen yogurt to New York City over 50 years ago and it is excellent.

While living at Columbus Circle and at the southern end of the Upper West Side is not as cool as living downtown, we are finding a lot to like. We made this trade-off for two reasons: (1) we wanted to try living near the park and (2) we desperately wanted a “real” doorman and a building with amenities. Having a doorman and a live-in Super is better than I imagined. We drop off our dry cleaning at the front desk and it often comes back the same day. We can submit work orders to the Super through the building app and our minor issues are fixed within hours. We have a spacious, clean and underutilized gym and golf simulator in our basement, a fabulous work space with free coffee on the second floor and a roof deck with a view of the park. From our building, we walk through the park to the east side in under 20 minutes. I am challenging myself on every park walk to go a different route and cover as much of the 843 acres as possible. We are a one minute walk to the subway station and steps from the taxi stand at Columbus Circle. To me, this is good living. 

Other than singing the praises of NYC, I want to pass on a few observations and odd notes that I have collected in the past month:

* On our first night here, I did not wear my reading glasses when looking at the menu and ordered potato chips and ranch dressing with caviar on top to the tune of $75! This tragic mistake – both because of the price and the fact that I don’t even like caviar – was the exact moment that I fully gave into the fact that I cannot see as well as I used to.

* We had the best time attending a NY Yankees vs SF Giants game in April. We were obviously outnumbered by the Yankees fans but loved soaking up the pre-game energy at Stan’s Sports World and trying all of the favorite stadium food and drinks. I think the Bay Area needs to adopt the norms of Yankees fans and start wearing their team colors and motifs from head to toe – no more understating.

* Two things I witnessed with my own eyes here that I have never seen before: a woman smoking a cigarette on the sidewalk in front of Barry’s UWS and then immediately taking a class (I can’t even drink water ahead of a bootcamp for fear of vomiting!) and a different woman bringing a plastic bottle of Diet Coke into an afternoon hot yoga class and finishing it off right after Savasana with pride and confidence. I have always assumed I would be excommunicated from every yoga studio on the planet if I even referenced my Diet Coke addiction and this woman audaciously brought it AND consumed it. New Yorkers are a different breed for sure.

* A small thing that changes everything: at most of the fast casual salad chains in NYC, they offer the additional service of mixing and chopping your salad. I am a big proponent of a well tossed, nicely chopped salads and have spent many years being told that I do “surgery” on my salads prior to eating them. I need this feature to make its way west – chopping for all!

* I returned to the Comedy Cellar last week and, for the second time, was asked by a comedian on stage, “What’s the best thing about being married for over 25 years?” Both times I have completely bombed my response. Now, I have taken the time to think of an appropriate soundbite (because there will be a next time!) and I have decided to say, “The best part of being married for this long is always having a ride to the dentist.” I believe this answer will be unexpected and also give the comic a solid lead into a second question. 

* I am mildly fixated on the horse and carriages in the park. First, I thought we had an understanding as a society that this practice is cruel to the horses and, second, riding in them is unpleasant and, frankly, gross. My interest is now peaking because two days ago one of the horses broke free (hysterical) and also because the route to the stables goes down our street and in front of our building and leaves a trail of horse shit along the way.

* As of this week, I will be staying in NY on my own because my husband returned to California. If you know about my irrational fear of staying alone overnight, you are probably concerned for my well being. Strangely, I feel more confident about staying alone in an apartment than I do in my suburban home. This could be a helpful way to progress using exposure therapy or a giant step backward. I will keep you posted.