Last night we attended the 127th Annual Dinner of The Church Club of New York, a venerable lay organization in the Episcopal Diocese of New York. My partner Stanley is finishing up his third year as President. The dinner was held at The Yale Club, and the honored guest and speaker was the Very Reverend Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral.

The cocktail hour afforded an opportunity to schmooze with many friends, acquaintances and Episcopal luminaries. Even in church circles, Manhattan real estate is an unavoidable topic, and everyone was bombarding me with questions. We were seated at the head table with Dean Willis, the Rt. Rev. Andrew Dietsche, Bishop of New York, and his wife Margaret, and the soon-to-be consecrated Suffragan Bishop of New York, the Rev. Allen Shinn. We also had our neighbor from the Country, Mary Kate Wold, who runs the Church Pension Fund, and Jean Savage, one of the Chairs of the dinner committee. I always enjoy the food at The Yale Club. Dinner choices were mustard-rubbed rack of lamb or branzino. I had the lamb, which was excellent, and the branzino looked very appealing. The appetizer was a “BLT salad,” basically a BLT without the bread, which was a clever and very tasty idea that worked. Desserts were an assortment of tartlets, which was also a smart idea, as you could have as much or as little as you wanted. After the talk and formalities concluded, post prandial glasses of port were passed around, and people gathered in little groups to share parting thoughts and glances. A jolly time was had by all.

We spent a long weekend in The Pines, opening our beach house for the season. The new roof (courtesy of “Sandy”) guaranteed that the house remained dry and free of the sort of pressure leaks that happen when snow accumulates on an aging flat roof. In keeping with an ancient and honorable custom, all the workmen showed up on Opening Day to do the chores they had been promising to do for the last six months. There is a “Downton Abbey” side to The Pines, and we are plainly at the mercy of the ghillies that run the place! Here is our house, in prime season a few years ago:

We also have a rental property, which thankfully is fully rented for this season and which opened officially last weekend. There is also a “Mapp and Lucia” aspect to The Pines, and we are very thankful that the rental market here seems to be quite strong this year, a big improvement over last year when the remnants of storm damage made some potential renters hesitant to commit. I spent hours assembling a new gas grill for the rental house and brought them a new Cuisinart, as I am very conscious of the need to keep my tenants happy and keep the house in perfect condition. Being a member of the landed gentry carries with it certain duties and obligations.

Meanwhile, at our place, I’ve been cleaning and preparing the deck planters for the exuberant flora that will arrive in two weeks. Our deck is a fully enclosed compound, so the exuberant fauna (a.k.a deer) cannot munch on the exuberant flora. With all this I still managed to get in a few hours of sunbathing and cook some delicious meals; it’s too early in the Season for one of my famous candlelight suppers. Today has been absolutely beautiful and warm, with bright blue skies and full sunshine.

We are also adding to our collection of paintings by a noted Brazilian artist who haunts the Hippie Market in Rio. Walter Lima is a deaf artist who paints genre scenes of Brazilian life. Our latest acquisition, snagged by my good friend Rick on his recent visit to Rio, is a street scene from Bahia:

I mounted it on a stretcher and have ordered the frame. We also began to hang some charming prints and watercolors we got from the estate of a very dear friend who used to be our next-door neighbor here. During breaks in all our chores we took in episodes of – what else – “House Hunters.” We only have The Television here on the Island, so summer is when we begin to catch up on all the things everyone else is sick and tired of watching. Next: new episodes of American Nose Pickers. What a treat!

Went to the NoMad this past Thursday, our second time there.  We had such a spectacular dinner the first time that perhaps my expectations were too high.  This time the food was good but not as exciting.  The wonderful chicken liver mousse is not on the menu now.  I started with a marinated hamachi appetizer with beets, which was good but didn’t wow me.  The halibut was also fine, with fava beans, which I love, but this was something I could do at home.   The gnocchi and roast beef that Stanley had were really great.  I wish I had ordered those dishes.  We shared an orange dessert that was good but I can’t even describe it in detail so I guess it was not very memorable.  Overall a very nice meal, but awfully pricey for what it is.  I could be wrong but it seemed like the prices were higher than a couple of months ago.

My partner, Stanley, is the Secretary of the Council for Canadian-American Relations, so last night we attended the 40th anniversary gala at the Metropolitan Club honoring Jacqueline Desmarais and Frank Gehry.  CCAR is an organization whose purpose is to foster and encourage awareness, understanding and appreciation between the peoples of Canada and the United States through the arts.

The Metropolitan Club is a magnificent building.  Food was good but not exceptional.  We were seated with a Scottish couple who had recently moved to New York and are renting an apartment in Central Harlem, which they have humorously dubbed Scottish Harlem.  They are quite excited about their neighborhood, its restaurants, convenient transportation, and wonderful views from their glass walls. It was interesting to hear this confirmation of Harlem’s recent popularity.  I also spoke with several people from Toronto and Ottawa, including a major real estate broker, who were surprised to hear about the extremely low inventory of property for sale in Manhattan.  We had a fun evening with many fascinating people.

More photos at Patrick McMullan.com:

http://www.patrickmcmullan.com/site/search.aspx?t=eventName&s=council%20for%20canadian%20american%20relations

I’m looking forward to trying it in the near future.  The menu looks interesting and not outrageously priced.

As reported in the West Side Rag:

TAVERN ON THE GREEN REOPENS AFTER BIG RENOVATION; UNION PROTESTS OUTSIDE (PHOTOS)

4/30/14

I’ve received 2 endorsements recently which I would like to share:

As an attorney dealing with estate work, I have had several instances working with Robert Rems, and his firm, Wohlfarth & Associates. At each time I have found a remarkable combination of thorough knowledge of the market, great realism in suggesting a price and a true ‘customer service’ approach in seeing the deal through to the end. Robert made sure he had an exceptionally detailed knowledge of the neighborhoods involved and was always willing to spend the time necessary to educate my clients as to the best way forward not just to secure the highest price, but to establish a price that ensured the property sold without undue delay. He was also extremely willing to handle all aspects of the transaction: his staging of the apartments was highly tasteful and acute in bringing their visual strengths to the fore. The publicity material he and the firm produced were similarly strategic, persuasive as to the high points without exaggeration. And he was available and involved in ensuring the apartments were properly cleared before Closing, and last minute details quickly taken care of.

I could only highly recommend the firm, and Robert himself.

John V. N. Philip III, Esq.

Robert is a true professional and very easy to work with – he knows Manhattan apartments and is always available and responsive.

Arlene Harris, Esq., Special Counsel,  Kaye, Scholer LLP

4/27/14

As members of the Host Committee for the Hudson Valley Dance Festival, Stanley and I attended the brunch today at Beattie-Powers Place, a historic house in Catskill, NY.  The festival will be held on October 11 at Catskill Point.  The dance performance and reception are a benefit for Dancers Responding to AIDS.  Last year’s performance was sold out (350 seats)  and was a huge success, raising approximately $75,000.  This year’s target is $100,000.

The Hudson Valley Dance Festival is a spinoff of the Fire Island Dance Festival, which has been a highlight of the Summer season in Fire Island Pines for 20 years.

For information, visit the DRA website at https://www.dradance.org/

4/25/14

We consider Mercato the best Italian restaurant in the upper Hudson Valley.  Chef-owner Francesco Buitoni (yes, of that Buitoni family) uses fresh, seasonal ingredients and local produce for his constantly changing menu.  This time we had stracciatella soup and lamb sausage for starters, then poussin and pork Milanese.    A bottle of Super-Tuscan was a fine choice from the always-interesting and reasonably priced wine list.  We skipped dessert this time.

A half-hour drive from our house in Claverack, but always worth the trip.

http://www.mercatoredhook.com/

4/25/14

This Wednesday, we had a lovely dinner at Malai Marke, our favorite Indian restaurant.  Though it is located on East 6th St., one of many (mostly mediocre) Indian restaurants on that block, it is an absolute gem.  Every time we have eaten there we walk out smiling, saying “Wow, that was delicious”.   Every dish is well-spiced and full of flavor.  Beer is the best accompaniment to this kind of food, and the Founder’s Porter is what we have every time we eat here.   I can’t even cite a specific dish as a “must have” as everything is so good, but as fans of goat, I would say the Chennai goat curry is perhaps our favorite.  We also love the jinga luchi, chili chicken, patiala lamb kebab, achari chicken tikka, shrimp caldeen, lemon rice,  allepy red curry, rogan josh, and… well it just goes on and on.

4/23/14

Just had another great meal at All’Onda last night. This time we had sweetbreads, and bucatini with smoked sea urchin, then shared the short ribs with risotto. The short rib is even better than the one I love at Betony. Fabulous meal. Great beers once again, too. Unfortunately, the skate is no longer on the menu.

See my 2 reports in this thread on Chowhound.com:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/930871