Two Vamps for One
Myles Callum
It sounds like a noisy men's dive but is actually quite nice,
roomy and classy but not intimidating, with contemporary American
cuisine; a 3-star rating by the N.Y. Times. I just looked at my
Zagat's restaurant book and am amazed to find the Gotham as No.
4 in its list of New York's 50 most popular restaurants. (The
first three are Bouley, Union Square Cafe, and Aureole; fifth was
Four Seasons!) I had no idea this place was so well known. I'm
not tuned in to fancy eateries, but it could be fun to sort of
gradually go down the list and check 'em out. Most are pretty
expensive, though much more reasonable at lunch. (Besides the a
la carte menu, The Gotham, like many spots, also has a prix fixe
lunch menu at $19.94.) The next time a publicist invites me,
maybe I'll recommend one of these joints.
My mystery vampire publicist, Julie, brought one of her
colleagues, Aimee. I've talked to them both on the phone often
but have never met them. They're both young and attractive, both
in their 20s (who would have guessed?), and lively, enjoyable
company. We talked about: guys, what Aimee should wear for
Halloween (I proposed a black vampire cape with blood-red lining,
to which she sensibly replied, "That's expensive!"), husbands and
former boyfriends (Julie, who's quite beguiling, is a recent
bride, Aimee's not married), the Anne Rice vampire night, what
it's like to work at their small PR agency, where we all lived,
where we all grew up, how Julie met her husband, the quality of
the food (very good) and like that for two and a half hours.
Mainly we kidded around a lot.
I had the seafood-salad appetizer (lobster, squid, octopus,
shrimp) and the monkfish entree. Delectable, though I know that
some of you are looking askance at that squid and octopus stuff.
Ah, whadda youse know from couth? They didn't have the beer I
wanted so I tried an ale, Samuel Smith. I guess I'm not an ale
guy. I'll have to learn more about beers from (and with) Marie
Tomlinson ... I'm sure her boyfriend won't mind.
In various New York restaurants the service is either snooty or
surly. Here it was neither, just attentive and friendly.
Julie and Aimee gave me a copy of the newly remastered 30th
anniversary video of My Fair Lady, the original negative of which
was damaged in the January L.A. earthquake and then restored at
a cost of $750,000. They had had a theatrical premiere and
soiree for that a month or so ago, and it was one of the many
such events I've skipped (to my regret), although I did write up
the video. We had dessert and coffee, said our goodbyes and I
grabbed a cab back to the office.
And there you have it, another brutal day in the Big Apple.
TGIF, or what?
Myles