The Masked New Yorker

Whether dining at a new restaurant or watching a musical on Broadway, Monika Patel is doing it all, and masking up, no matter what.

Walking around New York City it’s obvious that masked folks are fast disappearing. COVID fatigue takes precedence over a virus consistently morphing into a new personality. In the subway. At a theatre. Walking into a restaurant or riding an elevator. The 'do I', 'don’t I' question is omnipresent. As a COVID virgin, I’m clear. I mask. Period.

But New York is open for business. Tourists are back. Shows are at capacity. And despite the struggle of finding people to staff restaurants or airlines, there is no denying the increased demand. Many old restaurants have shut shop, but news ones are sliding in to fill the void like the 125-year-old Gage and Tollner. When Charles Cage and Eugene Tollner ran this famous Brooklyn landmark, the Brooklyn Bridge was not open, the Statue of Liberty was not even a thought and the subway was still a quarter century away. It went through many hands before three restaurateur friends, Sohui Kim, Ben Schneider and St. John Frizell decided to revive the old glory. The restaurant underwent a metamorphosis and was scheduled to reopen in 2020 but the pandemic impeded plans and it finally opened doors in 2021. The place exudes a feeling of nostalgia and another era. The staff is friendly and old school. The dirty martini comes deconstructed so you decide how much olive juice, olives and quantity of liquor you prefer. All the starters sounded interesting and we decided to splurge. The Crispy Hen of the Woods Mushrooms are a must as are the warm, buttery Parker House rolls. If it weren’t a restaurant, I would’ve wiped the pâté bowl clean with my fingers. The salads were crisp though the wedge salad did have a tad too much mayo and they have their own take on the classic  Caesar. The place is known for its steaks and the tender, juicy T-bone is proof. The side of mashed potatoes satiated my craving. Another finger-licking delight was the fried chicken. I was not too hot on the Breaded Shrimp Scampi but it could just be because we had ordered too much food. Of course there’s always room for dessert and the coconut cake was just the right way to end a delicious meal.

Mexican was on my mind when I went to Atla for a meal. The restaurant prides itself on celebrating life, eating, cooking and co-existing in a shamanic atmosphere. It is like a more upmarket fast food joint. We started with a crisp and refreshing Cucumber and Fennel Salad. I washed it down with Tommy’s Style, a margarita which has a spicy bite with the very first sip, exactly what I enjoy. The Rojos o Verdes, flaxseed chilaquiles in a green sauce need to be consumed fast because they become soggy by the end. However, there is no denying the burst of flavours. The Eggplant with Black Sesame and Watercress on the other hand was underwhelming and needed a bit more oomph.

Talk about lacking something and Hidden Leaf, which opened its doors a few months ago, was a disappointment. We were excited to sample how the new Indian-American chef has introduced fusion to the cuisine. The place is an old, converted cinema and the interior designer has created a great vibe. Unfortunately, the service was lacklustre. It took them a while to find our reservation. Our waitress was not only clueless but was listless and didn’t check back with us regularly. We ordered a cocktail, Cowboy Diplomacy, but it was so bad we had to send it back. The drink was supposed to have aamchur and a mango crust, instead it was just a tall glass of whisky soda. The spicy Pineapple Margarita was too bland. And then the chef just replaced our Jade Veg Dumpling with a Cumin Lamb Dumpling without informing us. First, a veg dish was substituted with a meat one, which is a complete no-no. The reason was because the kitchen had run out. Besides, the lamb dumplings were basically steamed kebabs in a wrapper. Our lamb chops were served stone cold and underdone. The gravy and cumin crust was delicious as was the presentation but of what use is a cold main course.  There were a few redeeming qualities. Our corner table was cute and intimate. The Pork and Shrimp Toast with marmalade was heavenly as was the Smashed Cucumber Avocado and Baby Gem Salad with chilli oil. The entire meal felt like drinking grape juice instead of wine. To their credit, they read my online review and did extend an invitation to dine and give them a chance to make up for the disastrous experience.

A marvel of fusion and synchronicity was a dance performance at Gibney, a space for dancers to present their craft in an intimate setting. The show, Soles of Duende, was about agile footwork that surges from the soles of the feet and brings the veins alive. The simple, no-fuss costumes and the pure joy that reverberated from the feet of Amanda Castro, Arielle Rosales and Brinda Guha, ricocheted around the room elevating this tap, flamenco and Kathak performance. The artists themselves have diverse backgrounds with a Brooklyn-born Puerto Rican from New Haven, Mexican Puerto Rican Jew and a Bengali-Indian from New Jersey. It was the bonding of craft and culture on the dance floor to the beats of percussionists, Raaginder Ryan and Okai Musk who also represented different cultures.

Given New York city’s thriving restaurant culture, picking a place is tough. We went to Socarrat Paella Bar in Chelsea, claiming to be ‘New York’s best Paella’. Our high expectations were shattered. There was an artichoke special that we enjoyed but other than that the vegetarian option was tasteless, boiled food. Even the Patatas Bravas and Beetroot Buratta were just ok. And the paella, served with a lot of drama, was dry, a bit burnt and had barely any seafood. Some prawns had been planted on top more for decoration. The place is cute but pricey for the food. The Mezcal cocktail was the only real redeeming factor.

Everything about La Vara screams YES. The chefs behind this popular Brooklyn restaurant are a husband-wife team, Alex Raij and Eder Montero. They married the Jewish and Moorish influences of saffron, cumin and orange blossom in regional Spanish cuisine and created a unique, authentic and flavourful palate, which is bold and feisty. Everything is tapas style and we decided to order a bunch of small plates. The crispy, spiced, soft and crunchy chickpea starter was a delightful accomplice to my cocktail, Paved Paradise, a fig leaf-infused vodka with green Chartreuse, maraschino and lime. Octopus often ends up chewy but Pulo de Roca, a Galician octopus with citrus and olive oil put that matter to rest. A dish we immediately polished was Pipirrana con Grana, Persian cucumber with green pepper, local grains, herbs and tahini yogurt.

Likewise the Beluga Lentil Salad with black-eyed peas, squash and grape leaf vinaigrette. It is difficult to define what flavour made the Anec Amb Peres i Naps an out-of-the-world experience with ingredients of cured local duck breast, poached pear, daikon radish and coffee cider vinaigrette. We ended the meal with a sweet almond cake served with drunken cherries. This neighbourhood pick is a true foodie’s delight.

Talking about neighbourhoods, the Virgil Abloh exhibition, Figures of Speech, at my local Brooklyn Museum was a brilliantly curated show. Abloh died in 2021 but was the artistic director for Louis Vuitton and then started his own popular brand, Pyrex Vision that eventually became Off-White. While the actual layout of the exhibition was a bit confusing, overall it was a comprehensive visual of Abloh from his early days, his association with Kanye West and how he evolved into a major designer and entrepreneur. The Brooklyn Museum is smaller than other NYC museums but picks interesting themes and retrospectives. It is worth keeping the museum on your radar.

One restaurant that I plan to keep on my radar is Ozakaya in Brooklyn. After the Abloh exhibit, the mind was satiated but the stomach was seeking sustenance of the culinary kind. We meandered along the streets in the neighbourhood and made our way down to the restaurant-infested Vanderbilt Avenue. There are a plethora of restaurants on this street offering every type of cuisine. It is a popular destination, and the road is actually closed on weekends. Many people had set up chairs in the middle of the street. I was craving Japanese, so we wandered into Ozakaya and were not disappointed. The name of the restaurant is inspired from two words, Osaka, the city known for its street food and izakaya, meaning small inexpensive dishes served with alcoholic beverages. Chef Takashiro Sano was born and raised in Osaka and started his career as a waiter and bartender in New York before getting an opportunity to work at a fine-dining restaurant where he met his mentor, Chef Junya, learning and imbibing from him the finer nuances of Japanese cooking techniques. As we were debating the merits of the place, two customers, who had just finished their meal, encouraged us to go saying ‘it’s the best meal we’ve ever had.’ That sealed the deal and we walked in. The staff is charming and friendly, and our enthusiastic waitress worked with us to suggest appropriate dishes. After I ecstatically inhaled my Ozakaya Mule cocktail, she even got the bartender to chat with me about creating a made-to-order drink, which was also delicious. Nothing can beat the combination of fresh wasabi, ginger syrup, yuzu and lime juice. We were dining off the summer menu and most of the items we ordered left us groaning for more. We did splurge and order the Kingu roll with fatty bluefin tuna, sea urchin, avocado, asparagus and shishu leaves, topped with gold flakes that increased the price substantially but was really not worth what we paid for it. Takowasa, raw marinated squid with octopus and shredded daikon was a burst of flavour that our waitress was initially hesitant about suggesting but happy when we embraced the unusual dish. The Spider Bun is awesome with soft shell crab folded into the bun along with Japanese cucumber, micro greens and a finger-licking spicy mentai mayo, a bold choice considering mentai is derived from fish roe and has a fishy, cheesy flavour. We ordered seconds. The Miso Black Cod is avoidable. I wonder if anyone can top Nobu with this dish.

A show that has catapulted to my top Broadway show is MJ: the Musical. For fans of the King of Pop, this cannot be missed. I wept, laughed, clapped and was so emotional at the end I couldn’t speak for a while. The production is amazing. The sets are brilliant, but nothing can take away from the flawless rendition of Michael Jackson by all three stars who played him at various ages. A special shout out to Myles Frost who played the main Jackson character. This 21-year-old nobody made his Broadway debut and ran away with a Tony for best actor in a musical. The person who was supposed to perform the role, backed out at the nth hour because of a Hollywood offer. In a mad scramble for a replacement, someone chanced on a YouTube video of Frost performing Jackson songs. The rest is history. This show is going to blow your mind.

And before I end this piece, kudos to the production of Kite Runner on Broadway. The book is undoubtedly fantastic, but difficult to enact and they did a great job of recreating it. The main actor doesn’t leave the stage even once. Despite the intense and topical storyline, the play ends on an upbeat note, which is why it’s sad that not much has changed in Afghanistan since the book was first released over two decades ago. Unfortunately, the play was being staged for a limited run but hopefully it will be revived again.

And now as summer slowly fades to autumn, the aroma of pumpkin spice lattes fills the air. Its soon going to be time for new menus and more culinary indulgences. And yet another booster shot to tackle a pesky virus.