Decided this was just too darn long to run as one post. To keep readers from having to scroll through a huge post, it’s the first one up underneath.
New York Trip Report: May 2-6-08 Part 2 of 3
Sat. May 3: An old friend was having a show at the A.I.R. Gallery in Chelsea, so off we went on an adventure to find it. Leaving it up to the hubby to do the direction thing, we ended up quite a ways off from there, and found ourselves in the Saturday morning flea markets along 25th. Now that was waaaay cool.
Ha, and no wonder NY women can dress themselves for a song; if you know how to sew, there are some amazing finds in those stalls. And I can just imagine being a set designer or costume designer; oooh la la, what fun. Too bad we couldn’t figure out how to get the scimitar in the luggage, my son was disappointed.
One of the markets was concealed by a walk up the driveway into a parking garage, and upon stepping inside, an entire sub section of NY was revealed. This was exactly the sort of thing that I’d hoped our kids would experience; the real NY, populated with real New Yorkers, not just the tourist stuff. Loved the “kids discount” that one gent gave to my 13 year old, who was utterly delighted with the vintage pocket knife. Ah, to be 13 again… We did eventually find the A.I.R., what a fantastic milieu for artists. No wonder she moved here…
For the afternoon, big sis and hubby went off to museum themselves to their hearts’ content @ the Met, the boyz went out on their own to Macy’s and surrounding area, and your devoted servant FlyinMom headed down to visit her first love, flying trapeze. Now you finally know the real reason for the name; has nothing to do with travelling!
This was the driver of this trip, a chance to fly on the NY trapeze rig for my 50th birthday. My hat’s off to the New York School of Flying Trapeze. I was made to feel VERY welcome as a fellow flyer, which is not always the case in other cities. A fabulous crew, a great net (fellow flyers will understand that comment), and I had a ball. I was terrifically impressed by their emphasis on safety, something I notice isn’t taught in as much detail anymore at the resort rigs. Cheers and smooches to Adam, Evan and Hal for giving me such a fantastic birthday flight.
Saturday night was my birthday party, and in order to get a dinner reservation for a large group, we had to go with a very early start. However, 6:15 at Buddakan still meant the joint was already jumpin’. Oh, heavens and what a din! Don’t be going to this place expecting a quiet chat; took us about an hour afterward to readjust our ears. Mind you, judging by what we ate, they deserve to be full.
This is one seriously impressive place; from the rather interesting mix of décor (we were upstairs in the “party rooms” vs downstairs in the great hall), to the sheer volume of courteous and well trained staff. I loved the managers with their Secret-Service style earphones, but the need for that became apparent later on.
Someone told the manager that my son is considering a chef’s career (okay, that’s this week’s choice), and so about midway through the meal, they approached me and asked if it would be okay to take him through the kitchen. OMG, you kidding? I begged to go, too, and what an amazing 2nd city hive behind the scenes. It takes a full day’s worth of staff just to prep the evening meals. A controlled chaos, with Chef in supreme command, as it should be. The restaurant seats 300; that night alone, they had over 1000 reservations.
Dear dear Lotus, I know you had serious concerns about me taking my boyz to such a place, but I must tell you we were not the only ones there, and my children were made to feel that their presence was as equal to any adult in the joint. They were not frowned upon, and they had a ball. You wanna know a family restaurant? Buddakan! Here’s the real definition: you treat your youthful diners as if they own the credit card, because youthful diners come back as grownups, just as I did. That’s how you build loyalty.
Between the 11 of us dining, I do believe we only missed about 6 dishes off the menu; otherwise, we certainly did fair damage. And, I am heartily impressed that for all that food, it still only came in around $100/head. For the quality and calibre of what we ate, that’s outstanding (An event planner by trade, I can tell you that’s was a bargain for what we got.)
Started the meal with a lovely cocktail called Fate, made from Prosecco, pineapple and elderflower. Those go down just far to easily; a good rival to the previous night’s gin cocktail. Wooohooo, I just gotta be careful in NYC; too much opportunity to sample the grape and juniper, I think! Their reputation for edamame dumplings is well deserved; the filling like green silk on your tongue. Boneless spareribs went down with supremely little effort, charred filet of beef, ribeye, pork tenderloin, shrimp, please listen to the sound of my cholesterol counting going up, up, up…
Part III follows
New York Trip Report: May 2-6-08 Part 2 of 3
I%26#39;ll give you a lot of credit--you wouldn%26#39;t get me up on a trapeze on a bet. Buddakan always has a number of teens and pre-teens and they seem to be having a good time.
Blooming heck--you did the trapeze? Wow, I%26#39;m seriously impressed.
I like the sound of the cocktail ';Fate';, it might just have to go on a list.
29 and counting
Your ';Fate'; is obviously to have a great time. ;)
Okay ..... so I have to admit that I only scrolled through this post as fast as I could with one hand over my eyes. But I would like to ask ..... well when your son went into the kitchen at Buddakan ...... did he search out the Filipina contestant Dale from the Bravo cable show %26#39;Top Chef%26#39; ...... congratulate him in advavce for winning the title of Top Chef ..... ask him ';How hot is Padma Laksmi in real life'; ..... and where did he learn to curse like a sailor.
I love Buddakan, the food is fantastic, as is the service. They know how to do it right.
And the trapeze? I think this is a first on the forum.
Off to read part 3....
Flyinmom: Loving every word! I%26#39;ve been trying to think of something special to do with my neice when she visits this summer. She is graduating from High School next week. I think the trapeze is the answer!
Buddakan is amazing isn%26#39;t it? I have taken my kids to the Buddakan in Philadelphia and they love it. I totally agree with your assessement of a family friendly restaurant (as I posted on the thread of the same name). My kids are happy anywhere they are treated with respect...
Can%26#39;t wait to read the rest....Moms
Hi flyinmon!
Wow! The only thing I%26#39;m slightly disappointed with is that your family weren%26#39;t there to cheer you on!
Big five-O and on trapeeze...If I wore a hat I%26#39;d take it off to you!
M
Shame that one can%26#39;t do a ';fate'; on the trapeze, lemme tell ya, you%26#39;d REEEELY be flyin%26#39; then!
Momstravel, definitely take your niece up. I watched them for the class before mine, an entire class of trap virgins, and NY school staff were outstanding with them. And even for those of us who are afraid of heights, this is do-able. (Yes, this was a rather extreme way to try to come to terms with that issue of mine, and no it hasn%26#39;t completely worked, but now I have the addiction issue to flyin%26#39; AND I%26#39;m still scared of heights, but at least I have a good time while I%26#39;m jellified.)
Mairn, actually, there was a little talk about the family coming, but frankly, trap is my own little world, a place I%26#39;ve escaped to for all the years of the boyz growing up. They%26#39;ve certainly seen me fly enough times in 10 years that I was quite content to have my tiny celebration solo.
I love travelling with my Boyz; but there is no question that travelling as a Mom is a different kind of travel adventure. There%26#39;s tons more I could probably have seen had I not been dealing with 4 different schedules, needs, wants and all that other Mom stuff. So having one little 2 hour session in my secret world was good enough for me!
Thanks for all the support and comments, y%26#39;all really boosted my day yesterday!!!
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