Mark takes a random tour of New York culinary institutions and lesser lights....

Lynn had given me a gift certificate to spar with the great Michael Oladje at Aerospace; a sleek boxing studio in the meatpacking district. I sparred for an hour and was in NY on a hot, sunny day by 1 pm. I commenced a culinary wander that went like this:

1. Balducci's-A cathedral like market in Chelsea-I got some tuna hear as a substantial, but light snack-The look of the place was much more impressive than the products-

2. S'Nice-A small coffee shop in the meatpacking district that had shelves full of old, scuffed books, baristas with various piercings, a blackboard menu and no A/C-Managed to evoke a wave of early 90's nostalgia in me-They made a nice au lait (in a glass)

3. The Mercer Hotel-This soho "luxury" hotel was visited by Lynn and I in 2004 about a year before Russel Crowe famously threw a phone at a hotel clerk here-We loved it-This time I stopped in to have a late afternoon drink-I ordered a gin martini (Hendricks with a cucumber) that sounded promising, but had too much lime juice-The bar is also poorly situated in the line of customer traffic and there are no barstools to be found (gravely dissapointing since I yearned to be off of my feet). The staff was very nice, but a little awkward and anxious for a hotel of the Mercer's supposed caliber.

4. Bar 89-The best experience of the day-Caught the bar and restaraunt only about 1/4 full-Had a great martini with Grey Goose, St. Germain and Champagne (plus an edible flower)-A lot of nicely shelved and racked magazines and newspapers to read.

5. Dean and Deluca-What used to be the hot place to shop, eat and maybe be seen is an old standby now. Great take out sushi, but not a place to go to when you aren't in the mood for competitive shopping...

Resources:

www.balduccis.com/

www.mercerhotel.com

www.deandeluca.com

www.bar89.com