Wilfrid

I know it's just the name that intrigues me, but does anyone have a good word to say about Oklahoma City? Same question, Omaha. Is there anything in the Dakotas? The answer might be no. I am aware there's a swathe of the country I have ignored. Perhaps I should note, for anyone who doesn't know, I haven't driven a car in forever and won't start now. Hence my emphasis on cities. (I had a wonderful time seeing Big Sur and Carmel by asking in my Monterey hotel if anyone wanted to drive me up there for the afternoon; no trouble finding a volunteer.)

Actually, last time I looked dB Bistro Moderne looked like it was still a thing.

I walked past Bis on the UES a couple of weeks ago, closed almost a year, but I could swear the tables were all set for service. I might be seeing ghosts of dinners past, of course.

Made it yesterday. I would only add that the curation is ingenious. Rather than adhering to any chronology, the show repeatedly gathers two or three pieces addressing a similar subject and shows the dramatically different styles Picasso could take in approaching them.

I have traveled around Sonoma; guess it didn't occur to me when I was listing cities. But great suggestions here that I wouldn't have thought about. Much appreciated.

Perhaps a lot of obvious NE destinations are already covered on the list, thanks to my location. I was dumb to omit DC, which I have visited a lot. Will add it.

Just to add, having finished, Svidrigailov's killing dream, how like the dream that kicks off Wuthering Heights? Terrifying little girl ghosts. No reason to think that Fyodor knew that book; just my fortune to have read them so close together.

I was invited to San Antonio on business this year, but it didn't work out. Definite addition.

I can also have my memory prompted. Have I been to Provincetown? I certainly saw Plymouth Rock somewhere (duh, Plymouth). But on that trip I did go to Gloucester and saw Charles Olson's house so I will add that to the list.

This is great, thanks. I deliberately omitted a small Wisconsin city from my list because I have even more negative feelings about it than I do about St Paul. I had to go there for business but never had a chance to visit Madison or Milwaukee.

A little in the spirit of the re-reading project I sort of think I should have a list of places I need to visit, this thread specifically being about U.S. cities. Where should I go that I haven't been? Top of mind for me are Detroit, Houston, Portland (Oregon) and St Louis. I am also very aware that I haven't visited the deep south enough, Mississippi and Alabama for example. I would love recommendations. Of course I am interested in restaurants and museums/galleries, but also old taverns and inns and history. The easiest thing is probably to list where I have been, often many times. Where else should I go? (This list is useful for me anyway). Akron (start with the best) Atlanta Austin Baltimore Boston Bridgeport Buffalo Charleston Chicago Dallas Denver Fort Lauderdale Fort Worth Gloucester Hartford Kansas City Las Vegas Los Angeles Memphis Miami Minneapolis Monterey Nashville New Haven New Orleans Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Portland (Maine) Providence Salt Lake City San Diego San Francisco Santa Cruz Savannah Seattle St Paul (and finish with not my favorite) Washington DC (accidentally omitted)

A few digressions (like re-reading Baltasar's three perfect little novels over the long weekend), but I will finish Crime and Punishment today. It feels very familiar. The breakneck pace of part one (axe murders), then countless conversations between Raskolnikov and various characters that slowly explain the intricacies of his family's life (including his sister being pursued by some complete sleazebags); then about two-thirds through, Sofia is foregrounded as an important character and it takes off like a rocket again. Links between this novel and Nietzsche's concept of the ubermensch now seem ridiculously overplayed. Dostoevsky doesn't care about that part of Raskolnikov's character. What it will make me do is jump wildly out of alpahbetical order and read Selby next, America's underrated Dostoevsky. I will go back to Last Exit as I've read his other novels much more recently.

IMG_1559.mov Great set last night: Threadgill on a huge bass flute and tenor sax, Vijay Iyer (piano) and Dafnis Prieto (percussion). Threadgill was having a great time, beaming at the crowd (sell out).

Jazz Gallery has uncomfortable seats and poor sightlines but I am about to see Henry Threadgill, so.

And today, no reservations ever for 2 or 4 guests at a modest spot in the Flatiron. Until I took my phone off the household Wifi. Then it works. But it worked for years on the same Wifi until recently; and it worked on it on May 22.

"Louie Louie" has made some careers.

Very flamenco 😄

Aged 94. I saw him at the African American Day parade last year and of course I live in his old district.

Maybe I was due for a mishap. Dinner at Forsythia was one of the worst restaurant dinners I have had in a while. Not near the same level as Vernick for food or service. Okay, it was annoying the rabbit was 86'd (not 8647, note). So fish or steak. That's life. Beet soaked devilled eggs were kind of sticky and tasted like curry powder was added. Foie gras in a pot, okay. House made duck fat "Ritz crackers" were nice. Came with some kind of blueberry compote. The poppy seed butter with the bread was okay, veering toward the edge of the plate in a WD-50 kind of way. A small fifty buck ribeye, designated Wagyu, cooked to order but in a gloopy sauce I hope I would never serve at home. Crispy mushrooms, fine. A couple of scoops of Tete de Moine with same blueberry thing that came with the foie gras. Wines BTG were okay, but unlike Vernick, no presentation of the bottle or (admittedly pointless) offer to taste. Climax, I ordered a glass of Calvados. Server presents a smear of it in a glass. "This is all we had, so it's on me." Great. Any chance of a full measure of something else?

Oh yes, been there twice. Kind of old school service and presentation but that kitchen (visibly) works hard.

And I am going to see Henry Threadgill on Friday. With Sneak in mind.

That does sound worthwhile. Thanks.

I did consider that option. Busy day today. I had never been to the Barnes Foundation and was under-prepared for how big the permanent collection is. 23 rooms with some 11 or 12 paintings on each small wall, yes piled on top of each other. Much sculpture too, especially African. The focus is very much Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso and it has some famous masterpieces. Plenty of other stuff too, including Black American art which Barnes, I gather, championed. Also a special exhibit of Cecily Brown, much more spacious and generous than the cramped 2023 show at the Met. I thought I'd spend most of the day at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, but I was pretty drained. I saw the "Boom" show about art and design of the 1940s. It was okay (and big). Walked down to Reading Terminal Market, open and crowded but with better known vendors like DiNic closed for the weekend. I ate one and a half Philly dogs, leaving the buns. Sticky fingers. Now at a kind of rock and roll cocktail bar, Poison Heart, before heading to Forsythia.

And pleasant after dinner drinks at Franklin Mortgage (etc) just off Rittenhouse Square, not easy to find and once you're in the bar is behind an unmarked door.

Vernick was excellent. The sea urchin was not served in its shell, unlike at Gramercy. A layer of cool sour cream between the uni and the eggs. A great shallot-powered kick to the latter. The star was the tea-smoked duck breast. The online menu had me ordering venison, but real life had duck instead. I said a short prayer to St Liebling and ordered it. Terrific. Lightly smoked, meat like velvet, crispy skin. Best duck breast since Providence. What's up, New York? You can't just throw it on the grill and serve it bloody with none of the rubber bands broken down. With it, delicious fresh peas and a sauce soubise. Oh, neat little gazpacho to start.