FESTIVE FERVOUR

Making up for last year's non-existent festive season, Monika Patel merrily takes you through the frolic of the season in dazzling NYC

As summer waned and we headed into cooler weather, one bright spot was the festive season. After last year's non-existent celebrations, New York City kicked into high gear and plunged into Diwali with public celebrations and private ones. People celebrated with family and friends. It was diyas, jalebis and Bollywood music galore. Sequins and glam outfits finally emerged from closets. Bindis and jhumkas met sherwanis and pashminas. Amazon and Party City got into the act with photo booth signs, Diwali-themed balloons, plates, tablecloths and décor. As the Empire State lit up in tricolour, the city partied like never before.

The festival of lights was preceded by Halloween, filling New York streets with little trick or treaters. BAM organised a party and shut down the block with music and free giveaways. City folks forgot last year ever happened. And then came Thanksgiving. It was like people were celebrating for the first time. The same frenetic recipe-sharing. The same travel snafus. And all the time, lurking beneath the surface, a COVID warning. The pandemic has not left us. It keeps mutating, but people are fed up. Indoor dining is back. Broadway is back. Movie theatres are back to brisk business. The feeling is more moronic, less Omicron. After two shots and a booster, all people want is to go on with life, albeit flaunting vaccination cards and wearing masks.

That's what we did when we trooped into the Banksy exhibit, an ode to the mysterious and provocative British artist, touted as a vandal or genius. The midtown location was a secret initially but once unveiled proved to be a well-curated show with all the highlights including videos of the scandalous shredding of his girl with the umbrella, a mock-up of his studio, various graffiti art of his from across the world and highlights from The Walled Off hotel he owns in the West Bank. The timed tickets are a nod to the pandemic but the venue is buzzing.

Just like the city was on Black Friday, the biggest shop fest in the US. The clear but chilly day and a few snow flurries did not stop people from queuing outside their favourite NYC stores. The most popular were sneaker places like Flight Club, Sneaker City and sports stores like Nike. The cash registers did not keep up with other Black Fridays, but it was still a release after the no-show last year. To take some Gen Z'ers shopping, we fuelled up at Fairfax in the West Village for burgers. This neighbourhood restaurant has a charming vibe and is part of the Happy Cooking hospitality group. The burgers are sensational and among some of NYC's best. The menu is simple, but they're on to something. My gnocchi was just as I like it, creamy, cheesy and tasty. The tater tots have a spicy crust that appealed to the desi in me. And the pièce de résistance was an olive cake topped with cream and fresh figs. The drizzled olive oil on the base added substance to the flavour.

Talking flavour and the seafood at Lure Fishbar needs to be sampled. The Mercer Street restaurant is a favourite among the cognoscenti and it's not easy getting reservations. Despite getting outdoor reservations, they tried to seat us indoors, but we got our way in the end. Oysters are de rigeur but we weren't in the mood. However, the fish is so fresh, the sushi, sashimi and the delicious Hamachi krudo more than made up. The delicate flavours combine to make a finger-licking-good meal.

The Gramercy Park tratorria, Novita, is Chef Marco Fregonese's ode to his Italian roots, but with a modern twist. Everything on the menu sounds amazing, so we did go a bit overboard. The Zucchini Frittata, served with parma ham and greens, is crunchy and delectable. The Tuna Tartare appetitiser looks like a piece of art and it felt sacrilegious to break, but spoon a bit of it into your mouth and it melts away. We didn't leave even the dressing on it. The pastas are equally tasty. We tried the Squid Ink Pasta and Truffle Tagliolini. The monkfish is served with oysters in a deliciously tangy gravy while the Brussels sprouts, broccoli and asparagus served with the Dover sole were a healthy option to overeating. The Veal Parmigiana we ordered for the table was the final straw, making it difficuly to stand at the end of the meal. Unfortunately, it was one of those rainy NYC nights and with outdoor dining, our little cabana got flooded. I felt worse for the waiters going in and out, holding umbrellas that were useless as protection. The weather did encourage us to stay longer though, eat more and down two bottles of excellent Sancerre.
 
We bundled up and enjoyed a delightful meal at Buttermilk Channel on Court Street, Brooklyn's foodie hangout. The restaurant has been named for a tidal strait between Brooklyn and Governor's Island. In the old days, dairy framers crossed the channel to bring milk to Manhattan and, often, strong tidal currents churned the milk into butter. Chef Bruce Dillon brings his years of experience to curate a menu that includes delicious Smoked Trout Rillettes, fresh and aromatic salads and a delicious red lentil soup for starters. For mains, he brings his innovation to a warm lamb salad served with roasted cauliflower, fingerlings served over steak, a verbena-infused broth for the trout and Duck Meatloaf served on Cheddar waffles. And yes, not a morsel remained on the plates.

A universal favourite cuisine is Mexican, so when there are too many varying palates to please, it is a good fallback. Anejo Tribeca draws you with the catchlines, 'come for the drinks, come for what's cooking, come for the experience'. Whether its sipping one of their jalapeno margaritas, or Oaxacan sour, or even sampling mezcal cocktails, the restaurant has something for everyone. The menu works for vegetarians, pescatarians or hardcore non-vegetarians. And the food is not disappointing from the guacamole to ceviche, from tacos to duck enchiladas.

What was disappointing was finally going for a movie and picking Spencer. As a Diana fan, I was not happy. She may have had her issues, but the movie makes her out to be a total neurotic loony. But it was exciting to be indoors, albeit masked. Our theatre, Alama Drafthouse, serves food and drinks so we did strip our faces for a brief while. They serve standard fast-food fare of burgers, fried delights and an assortment of over-priced wine and cocktails. The fries helped me overcome the trauma of watching Diana's meltdowns.

Tudor City's chic Steak House Tudor was a perfect place to celebrate with a friend who had just moved to the neighbourhood. The restaurant is a favourite in the area from what the waiter told us, but we did not want to eat a big meal. Sometimes a girl just needs her champagne washed down with home potatoes. The same friend and I also decided we needed a break from cold NYC and took off on a jet plane to New Mexico. The state is stunning for many reasons. The local topography is mind-blowing and changes with the altitude. And if we thought we were getting a break from chilly NYC, we were completely wrong, it was much colder given the elevation and open desert feel. However, a few hours in one of the hot springs and the cold seeps out of you. We stayed at Tamaya Resort and Spa, 30 minutes from Albuquerque. One of the most enjoyable things were the little and big fires everywhere, so we were always toasty. Add to that the complimentary smores packets every day and even the sweet cravings were satisfied. Visiting the O'Keefe Museum in the capital, Santa Fe, was underwhelming. She may have made the state her home, but I've seen a better curated Georgia O'Keefe retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum. One of the Santa Fe highlights was visiting The Four Seasons, situated on the outskirts. The food at the bar was surprisingly good and a local gave us many tips on what to do and where to go, even getting the bartender to make a special cocktail for us. In fact, at her recommendation, we ended our visit with a meal at Seasons Rotisserie and Grill.

We even managed a trip up Sandia Mountains on the cable car to get a bird's eye view of the state. It is a touristy and commercial experience. Getting a table here is like trying to find a seat on the subway during rush hour. They do have a fine dining restaurant, though we cancelled the reservation in favour of Seasons since there is a dress code and we were not dressing up before taking the red eye back to NYC.

The Big Apple is a perfect spot for reunions and with college friends visiting from India, a bunch of us got together at Soho's Southeast Asian-inspired restaurant, Tyger. Our British waitress was a blast and even insisted on getting into the selfie we took together. Under her guidance, we ordered The Feast. It is a culinary treat of the restaurant's best dishes. We downed many Echoing Green cocktails made with gin, Thai basil, pink peppercorn and lemon while consuming ginormous amounts of food. The scallop sashimi just melted on the tongue and the dressing on the salad was so delicious, we licked off the plate. As each dish was placed before us, our bellies groaned and our mouths watered. We gourmandised, drank and relived the rowdy times in the Sydenham canteen.

 Gourmandising is the word that comes to mind when I reflect on my meal at Le Crocodile, the brasserie at Williamsburg's Wythe Hotel, which pays homage to simple French fare. We began with delicious Monkey 47 gin-tonics garnished with pink peppercorns followed by Salad Frisée served with poached egg and smoked eel. It was crisp and well-executed with the right amount of seasoning. The eel was not fishy and was, in fact, a bit on the sweet side, and the ingredients come together nicely for balance and texture. The entrée of  Boudin Blanc was a truffle-infused veal and pork sausage served with caramelised red cabbage and prunes over one of the most heavenly, creamy, mouth-meltingly amazing mashed potatoes I've ever tasted. The table next to mine was tucking into a fluffy omelette, a speciality of the house, and I almost reached out to steal a French fry, another dish the restaurant is known for. I just have to visit the restaurant again. Our meal ended with a delicious Crème Brûlée and Banana and Date Pudding. The only drawback of Williamsburg is the poor subway connections, something that comes to mind as we trudged back in the cold.

And while the temperatures were dipping, the bright lights of Christmas brought warmth to NYC. Vibrant décor, the smell of pine in the air and peppermint lattes in cafés were a vivid reminder that the festive season was upon us.