(christina’s world by andrew wyeth, my favorite painting in the world – MoMA)
monday my last day before heading back on the 7 pm flight to nashville… somehow, through the grace of god i woke up feeling surprisingly ‘not ill’ after our mammoth meal at ‘per se’. carol and i had a cup of coffee in the hotel lobby and then she took a right on 52nd towards the train and i took a left, heading towards the ‘MoMA‘. even though it was early, the stream of people waiting to get in went all the way down 53rd. so i coyly went to the front of the line, flashed my best smile and they let me through. i’ve been doing it so long that i’ve just adopted it as one of "my special privileges". i just assume they know who i think i am, and really – it works in my favor beautifully, and on a semi-regular basis. cutting lines and flying first class. perks, to say the least.
don’t hate me cause i’m disabled…
i hit the permanent collection first because, i. just. LOVE. it. i come from an art background. my dad was an art dealer, my brother is one of the top art dealers in this country and in england. and me? well errr, i minored in art history – but that was so long ago. still, matisse, modigliani, rousseau, cezanne, picasso, kandinsky, hopper, de kooning – i just feel incredibly joyful in these surroundings. i mean – everywhere you turn there’s suddenly a party happening in your brain. total FUN. so i thought i’d share a few of the works with you that struck me this time around, with the hopes that you might get inspired to go and see them yourselves sometime soon.
(all white you say? no…. the borders are red, green and blue… see?)
(a sculpture of me by picasso)
(my favorite jackson pollack. i want this.)
(the feminine)
(the masculine)
(the very bad day)
(the turning point for andy…)
ok – i hit a few floors and viewed a lot of art and it was 1 pm and i was hungry. the museum has a great cafeteria on the 2nd floor – cafe 2. it’s rustic italian. did you hear me? at a museum. rustic roman italian – with communal tables. how incredibly civilized. you place your order at the counter. pay. sit. wait. eat. go look at more art.
(fregola with chestnuts, butternut squash, celery leaves)
(panini of braised pear, bacon and gorganzola)
(duck prosciutto, seckel pear, humboldt fog goat cheese, candied pecans, sherry vinaigrette)
next…
(disturbingly interesting)
(shadow boxing film, played on a loop. i kinda dug it…)
there were a few current exhibits i visited that were really very good. the lucian freud exhibit (sigmund’s grandson) of etchings was all about the human form, of which i am quite a devoted fan. 75 years of architecture at the MoMA was for me a do-not-miss since i live with an architect. 50 years of helvetica brought to light a new way to look at the ubiquitous font. jan de cock (hehe) – a floor to ceiling exhibition that involved photography and sculpture, was to me the coolest of the currents. this jan guy has mighty lofty plans, to say the least. check out the video. then it was back to the hotel to get my bags to hop in a cab to head uptown to spend a few hours with mom and then fly home.
(my flight was 3 hours delayed. so i did it. yes i did. and i am not ashamed if only because it was a damn fine nathans hotdog all bundled up in a buttery, pretzelly blanket – and it totally did not suck even a very little)
(one of my all time faves – the black and white.not exactly a cake.not exactly a cookie. but i grew up on these and i crave them. my mom got me one for the plane and it was GREAT…)
7 days in ny. the time went by so quickly. and i’ve been home 9 days now. this is unbelievable to me. how this life of ours, it flies. it really flies… it’s like it never happened. yet there i was. i wandered the streets. i ate the food. i kissed my friends. i hugged my mom. it was the best kind of whirlwind – filled with everything good and not even one little thing bad. so thanks for coming along with me these past 7 posts. you allowed me to relive it – to stretch it out a bit further. to unblur the edges of my ever waning memory… you, dear readers, have made a wonderful difference in my life. how i approach so many things has been altered in a new and exploratory way – and with a camera – so not like me. but now so very – me. yes, thank you. and then thank you again.
i’ll see you in my kitchen, soon.
22 responses so far ↓
1 Robert // Feb 28, 2008 at 6:03 am
Fret,
Silliness aside, the Thanks go to the one sharing their LIFE with us. The sum is so much bigger than each part……….
2 Dan // Feb 28, 2008 at 6:21 am
The big blog awards, they have categories for “Best Collection or Blog Series,” yes?
3 Donald // Feb 28, 2008 at 6:39 am
Claudia,
Thank us??? Thank you! I feel like I just got back form the city. You make me homesick, even if I am from Philly. Atlanta just isn’t the “city” like NYC or Philly. These have been great posts!
THANK YOU!
4 Michelle @ Us vs. Food // Feb 28, 2008 at 9:20 am
i proudly ate a pretzel dog not that long ago, and with even less justification – it was not a nathan’s, and i was not trapped in an airport.
don’t judge me.
i love the MoMA. i also love duck prosciutto. if you could add a nice vodka gimlet to that, you have a trifecta.
–Us vs. Food
5 lucy // Feb 28, 2008 at 9:42 am
oh claudia, what a perfect finale. a bit of culture, a bit of class, a bit of tradition. i kind of feel like you hit the essence of nyc in this one.
6 FrenchLaundryatHome // Feb 28, 2008 at 10:29 am
I feel as though I corrupted you with the Auntie Anne’s suggestion. There’s no turning back, now. The craving will hit you when you least expect it, and you’ll have to track one down. It’s a drug, my friend…. and one definitely not to be ashamed of.
7 claudia // Feb 28, 2008 at 10:40 am
FL – and there i was… trying to not insinuate you in the matter and now you’ve outed yourself. ok everyone. it was carol. BUT “combo’s”? never…
lucy – enough about me. what kinda food are YOU cooking up now that you’ve got a fattened up budget?
michelle – why do i have this feeling that we’re gonna gather in may??? start choosing the restaurant… i like everything!
donald and dan – i totally love you guys. men who cook and are funny and who like me! this makes up for the unpopular jr. high school years that have left me scarred for life.
robert – when i win the lottery i am flying you and your lovely wife to ny, demo is gonna drive down and meet us – we’re staying at the ‘mandarin oriental’ and eating our way through the entire hotel which will be no small feat. ok? ok.
8 Robert // Feb 28, 2008 at 11:14 am
See guys, it does pay off to appear shallow and dim.
I’m goin to NYC, Im goin to NYC, well maybe……….
9 democommie // Feb 28, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Claudia:
It all looks too good, especially the Nathan’s au Croissant. Rudy’s On The Loop is a drive in, on the lake shore, up here in Oswego that’s open from May–October or so. The signature sandwich is a “Center Cheese Hot”. It is a center cut of a fillet of haddock, with a slice of that neon orange McDonalds style “cheese”, on a bun, slathered with “Texas Hot Sauce” (basically chili without beans). People often say, “ugh!” until they try one.
Perhaps a long weekend in NYC will be my reward to myself for getting some aspect of my home rebuilding project done. That’s a good carrot to go with the stick!
10 Jennifer Hess // Feb 28, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Okay, I’ve definitely got to get to MoMa soon. Not to mention all of the places you dined at here that I wasn’t present at.
11 Lauren // Feb 28, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Auntie Anne’s?? Really? *hangs head in shame*
You know my feelings on sold color canvases with nothing else on them- and the white with one color around the edge counts in that category too.
12 robin from 'caviar and codfish' // Feb 28, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Hey girl. Thanks for sharing your vacation with us. Per Se, oh my god. I’m so jealous!
And pear, bacon, and gorganzola sounds like the perfect combo.
13 Alice Q. Foodie // Feb 28, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Sounds like fun! I still haven’t made it to the MOMA yet, but I was lucky enough to catch the Kara Walker exhibit at the Whitney last fall in NYC – I’ve liked her stuff for a while. I also spent a really fun afternoon on my own at the de Young Museum in SF last year – I can highly recommend it if you’re in SF.
14 melissa // Feb 28, 2008 at 10:42 pm
thank you for all your posts, they were beautiful.
I LOVE that wyeth painting you so adore, it’s just… yeah. I remember when steve and I visited the san diego museum of art, we saw a painting that reminds me very much of this one and it was our favorite. I desperately wish I could remember what it was, but alas, I am a) not a heavy art person, and b) those photos were lost with my old hard drive. but I do recall that it wasn’t by any of the most famous artists and I felt somewhat satisfied picking it out almost for that reason.
the panini looks fantastic. I also had a nathan’s hot dog just like that once, when I was 13 in nyc for my cousin’s wedding 20 years ago. *sigh* they really deserve their fame.
your picture of the black and white is so nostalgic for me. right after high school, I worked for a little while in the only authentic deli in dallas and I did the cashiering/restaurant accounting, working right in front of the bakery area. I gained 10 pounds in three months flat. but I couldn’t resist the very fresh, very new york style bagels that came out in the mornings, fresh whipped cream cheese from the deli, and ohhhh the black and whites.
sorry for babbling, but thanks again claudia!
15 fluffernutter // Feb 29, 2008 at 11:01 am
Duck. Prosciutto. My world is rocked.
16 Meg // Feb 29, 2008 at 11:35 am
It’s been a really fun series of posts to read. Reading about a single person’s highlights of a place they love makes for a really interesting, individual view of it. Your series of post was, again, really, really fun to read. The hot dog is nothing shameful… of course, I say that in part because when I go to Chicago, the thing I most want to eat is a Chicago style kosher dog. With cheese fries.
17 Ethel Y // Mar 4, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I was right there with you. Eating, visiting museums, oohing and aahing over dishes and presentations, what a fabulous week and what self indulgence—then — I know, I know,—-it’s back to reality. As a reader you captured the true spirit of a foodie let loose in the big apple with warmth, a sense of humor and sincere appreciation for the finer things in life. I loved tagging along with you. How can I ever again open a can of tuna with Hellman’s and call it dinner? I just won’t tell.
18 monica09 // Mar 4, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Claudia,
Thanks to you and those wonderful photos from Otto, I had a great lunch there today. Just love the restaurant. Now I can’t wait to save up and go to Per Se. Your descriptions, photos, recipes are so great. Keep it up.
19 newscoma // Mar 4, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Jeez. I<8 you. I miss living up in the cold yet wonderful world of groovy.
20 claudia // Mar 4, 2008 at 9:52 pm
newscoma – it’s better than groovy. it’s real and cool and interesting and diverse and beautiful and unique and i wanta move home. but i can’t. so oh well.
monica – so so glad you went and that you liked it. i’ll be back and may and i wouldn’t miss it for the world. god bless my mario…
ethel – thanks mom. you’re the best commenter – ever.
meg – glad you enjoyed and that it wasn’t a snooze. chicago is a great food town too. and their dogs are GREAT.
fluff – i am honored to have been a part of rockin your world. wow…
melissa – that painitng is very special to me – for sure. get old that old george forman grill toy have somewhere and get panini making! as for the b&w’s, i’m gonna make some SOON!
alice – thanks for the recommendation. i swear, i get so excited in museums. i think it’s cause of where i live. i am starved for culture. so put me in the midst of it and i go ga-ga.
robin – yes, we should all make something with that very combo – and soon!!! report back.
lauren – it was a worthy hot dog. and the art? it’s all very cool – as most of the modern art of that time was a reaction to what was going on in the world. it’s all fascinating. we humans do some crazy ass wild and beautiful things. even the simple things. it’s all in the intention/motivation. i guess.
jennifer – you need to check out the MoMA soon. before you move to nashville, ok? good.
demo – you deserve a nyc weekend. i think you’d have a total blast.
robert – lottery is at 173 million tomorrow. you never know…
21 yveala // Mar 9, 2008 at 2:10 pm
well worth waiting to read these posts as they needed more attention that most..and again..are you sure you didn’t put on 20 lbs or so..
loved seeing you and being at what i think were some of the outstanding moments of the week..come back soon..i don’t spend enough time with smart, interesting, fun people that i happen to also love..
22 yveala // Mar 9, 2008 at 2:13 pm
MoMA soo kicks everyone else’s ass (except my other fav. the Met)
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