Manhattan’s Pershing Square Café Offers a Glimpse of History “It’s not often I eat beneath a bridge,” the Youthful Adventurer remarks as we marvel at the sound of taxis passing over our heads as we await our lunch at Pershing…
Dining in DUPAV
Category: New York City
Heightened Awareness
I am in New York City on a day when politicians ride the subways to reassure people that there’s no threat posed by terror. I pass through Grand Central Station at a time when there seem to be a lot…
Graffiti: Little Italy
I don’t quite adhere to the philosophy that graffiti in a neighborhood is a sign that residents don’t care about where they live. Graffiti is art to me. Yes, sometimes graffiti is destructive. Many times, though, graffiti enhances a neighborhood’s…
Flashback Friday: World Trade What?
As a New Yorker, seeing this sign in Denver causes a pause. In my mind, the real World Trade Center is the one that’s gone. —Lori Tripoli
Manhattan Hobbyhorse
I’m not sure that Jeff Koons’s Split-Rocker at Rockefeller Center in New York City works quite as well as Puppy did, but it’s fun to contemplate the more recent work over watermelon and tomato salad at Rock Center Café. I…
Gertrude Three Ways
I first meet Gertrude Stein during my Pablo Picasso phase, and my Hemingway phase, and my F. Scott Fitzgerald phase and then I come across her in Bryant Park in New York and I see her resting at Père-Lachaise in…
Three Lines Worth Waiting On (and Two to Skip)
The frustration of any trip—especially one taken during peak tourism times—is waiting on line. If only all major world attractions had a FastPass, where I could return at a designated hour and cut right to the front of the line.…
Want to Visit Old Penn Station? Watch 1942’s ‘The Palm Beach Story’
I picked up a copy of the 1942 film The Palm Beach Story, starring Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea, hoping to see some of old Florida, but I got something better instead: a view of the original Penn Station in…
Beyond the New York Public Library: The Morgan
The Bonus Adventurers (teenage stepchildren) and I were drawn to the Morgan Library at 36th and Madison because of the Edgar Allan Poe exhibit (through Jan. 26, 2014). Who wouldn’t want to see handwritten scrolls of Poe’s handiwork? What we…
Remember the Plaza?
The Rose Club at the Plaza Hotel provides a perfect refuge from a winter afternoon. Photo credit: L. Tripoli
The ladies’ lounge at the Plaza Hotel’s Rose Club was surprisingly in disarray on a recent afternoon. Photo credit: L. Tripoli
After a carriage ride through Central Park, crossing 59th Street for a cocktail at the Plaza Hotel seemed a logical next step. There in the land of Eloise, though, the reality was not quite as perfect as my memories of the place. The Oak Bar is closed, the result of some apparent arrears in rent payments. (It should reopen in a couple of months, a concierge maintained. For now, padlocks remain on its doors. There’s a lawsuit.) The Palm Court just seemed crowded. Tea is okay in the Champagne Bar, but, really, I just wasn’t up for cocktails in the lobby.
Up to the Rose Club we went. The ambience was perfect for a wintry Saturday afternoon. Dark and paneled, the place offered refuge with nice lighting. My mistake was heading for the ladies’ lounge. Trash bins were overflowing and the place was a mess. The attendant just commented, “We’ve been busy.” Doing nothing, apparently.
I was soothed by our Irish coffees, which were perfect and overflowed with freshly whipped cream. Refrain from using the facilities, and you’ll be just fine.
© Lori Tripoli