Sadly, they review these places so early on that it’s hard to get a feel of what the place is really like. For me, it’s more about the entire experience than the food alone. After my recent visit to Via dei Mille, I was not only disappointed in the sites that I so often count on, but the service at the restaurant as well.

I set up a dinner for a friends birthday and because she wanted to wear the Tadashi dress that she won at the silent auction when we attended the GMHC Fashion Forward Event (I got to play spokes model for Hanne Apparel that night), I thought we should go someplace a little dressy. That’s when I consulted New York Magazine, Thrillist and Rare Daily and found Via dei Mille.

Here’s where they went wrong… and right. I don’t want to be completely unfair.

First, it seemed like they weren’t ready for us. When I gave the party’s name, they checked the name off but looked around the restaurant to see where they should place us – and that’s when they pushed 3 tables for 2 together. A bit awkward for a party of 5.

Dinner was last Saturday and if you recall, it was cold and snowy. So when they seated us near the door, we kept feeling the chill. Plus, they were in the process setting up a larger table for a party so they kept coming in and out with chairs and a large piece of plywood to make a table larger. Probably something that could have been handled earlier in the night. We ended up asking to move before the rest of our party arrived. They resisted at first, but did move us slightly further in… tightly squeezed into a 4 seater.

The waiter was very accommodating – so he got lots of points.

The restaurant also got points for their delicious food. That was one thing that everyone agreed on. Even the dessert was great (Nutella crepes are always a wonderful way to end a meal). Oh, and the timing of the food was perfect. We weren’t rushed and it was a decent amount of time after the antipasti that the entrees were brought to us. And of course, they gave us plenty of time to make room for dessert.

They lost points for the loud music. I don’t understand why an Italian Restaurant where the chef credits his Grandmother for his creations would play club music so loud that I had to yell for everyone to hear me… and I’m loud. We asked more than 4 times for them to lower the music and our poor waiter finally just went behind the bar and lowered the volume himself. Bravo! I understand that the owners are from the nightclub scene, but this is a restaurant. No matter how loud you play your music, you are not going to steal customers from Cipriani.

Then the smoke started. They don’t allow smoking in the restaurant, but the guests (instead of going outside) smoked in the temporary entranceway that they put up for the winter, which let all the smoke in. Not so great when you’re trying to enjoy your meal.

The final straw was when we asked for our coats. They took our tickets and brought up every coat but mine. Which was fine if you overlooked it, but they looked at me as if I must be lying. “Yes, I MUST have left the house without a coat since it’s so balmy out!” I described the coat to the hostess and when she came back she stated without apology that it wasn’t there. I knew no one took it because I was one of the only people that didn’t show up in a full length fur, so I know my cute Miss Sixty Coat was not on the list of “must haves”. They did find it after the manager checked but still no apology. However, he made a point of telling me that I must have lost my ticket. Grrrr.

Will I go back? Do you need to even ask. They clearly don’t care about the service they provide. We were never rude or pushy or obnoxious – even though after a while, we could have been. I understand that every place has their ‘off’ nights, but when you take it out on me, I have issue.

Let’s see what my newsletters bring me next. I haven’t given up on them yet. After all, this is the first ‘not so great’ experience I’ve had by taking their advice.

After the game was over, we stopped by Stout for one last drink. That’s when Jay and his friend Kevin came by to chat us up.

Kevin was fine, but this is the Top 10 list of things that Jay did and what you guys should avoid:

1. Keep the comments about her legs to yourself. You JUST met her. Tone it down unless she’s flirting with you and purposely showing off her legs.
2. When you “think” you’ve said something clever, don’t hold up your hand to give her the fist bump. It’s just as bad as the high five and trust me… you’re not all that clever.
3. If she lives in NYC and has stated that she loves it there, don’t try to convince her that Hoboken is better. NOTHING you say will convince her.
4. Do NOT chew gum while you’re talking to her. There is no need for anyone to watch you chew when you’re not in the middle of a meal. Have a mint if your breath is stinky.
5. Don’t drink out of her glass of water. It’s gross.

6. When you realize that she’s not interested don’t get bitter and insulting. Just excuse yourself because your snide comments will not increase your chances.
7. Don’t act bitter when you notice that your friend Kevin is getting a better response from the ladies than you are. Take note: He’s not acting like a fool, he’s a LOT more interesting, he’s funny, and his dance moves to “Wonderwall” really are hysterical. (I’ve had that song stuck in my head all day)
8. If you’re Kevin, leave Jay at home.
9. When you notice that there are other guys at the bar that are checking out the ladies you’re talking to, don’t get all pissy and say that they’re gay.
10. Don’t touch her OR her friend because when she tells you that she’ll put her elbow through your teeth if you lay another hand on either one of them… she will.

Basically, when things aren’t going in the direction you want them to go, just excuse yourself and rethink your approach for the next time. They’ll be happy you did and in the end, you will too.

Photo from Wikipages.com

I had a very musical evening last night. It all began in the Grand Central subway, where I met up with a friend who was playing trombone in the terminal. Her band, called the Dramatics band, includes 2 trombones, a trumpet, a saxophone, and some awesome drums. They play jazz/ African fusion tunes in various subway terminals nearly every day of the week.

We went with her to Le Poisson Rouge, a relatively young venue in the West Village. There was a $10 cover for an evening of 2 shows, something I won’t normally pay. When you walk into the establishment, you’re greeted by a hanging fish tank and a dark room. The performances occur downstairs, through a red lobby with interesting throne chairs, in a large dark room with a spacious stage and ample seating. The space lacked the dinginess many other musical venues in the area possess.

The show last night began with Ethan Iverson, an inventive pianist. He played innovative renditions of a variety of jazz standards. My favorite was Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, which he played with melancholic intensity. Some of his other playing was a bit too much for me, a non-musician, but he clearly has a lot of talent. Next up was Gabriel Kahane and his band, a singer-songwriter group.  The band’s charming leader had me cracking up with his humorous anecdotes that punctuated their songs. I was most impressed with their violin player, Rob Moose, whose fast fiddling stole the show. We left as they continued their set, but had thoroughly enjoyed a melodic evening.

Photo credit: Jeanne Fleming/Wikimedia Commons. Picture from the 1998 Village Halloween Parade. Notice the Twin Towers lit up in the background.
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Thank you Pamela Skillings, About.com’s Manhattan guide.

Wikipedia

It’s 8pm in Brooklyn and the sun has already set, one of the many reminders that it isn’t summer anymore. Another sign is last weekend’s final show at Greenpoint’s McCarren pool, once again relegated to a desolate reminder of good times, at least unti 2011, when the pool will reopen as a real, live, wet, swimming pool! The New York Times chronicles the end of (good) times here. We know you’ll miss them (or you missed them).

Yah, we know you all didn’t brave the lines at Yo La Tengo, but we will miss the crouching, sitting, lying on our stomachs on piles of chipping lead paint during the Tuesday movie nights — oh how hard it is to sit in one place for two hours on concrete. This summer we did manage to go to the nostalgic edition of Wet Hot American Summer, and that one flick about glam rock that we couldn’t concentrate on because we overindulged in that bucket of free Starbucks energy drinks. But what we’ll miss most, and we know you do, will be the after-pool traipse over to Matchless across the street, and the valiant attempts to score [an innocent chess] game with the crowds of lingering directionless hipsters.

Thankfully, we’re going to have a public pool of epic proportions if all goes well with Bloomberg’s budget, construction, and all. Hopefully the VIP line won’t be as long as the one into MGMT on that one soggy day in early August. And, I suppose, we’re equally scared of the lines everywhere else next summer, when all of the label PR kids and their legions of tag-along writers are trying to get into, when there is no universal pool event to house them all. Glasslands: watch out, they’re coming for you.

Everyone, get out of the pool. [NYTIMES]

Today, Empire Fulton-Ferry State Park, 4-8pm, Corner of Plymouth & Main Streets, Dumbo, Brooklyn

There’s plenty of cool shit going down (including Graffiti Research Lab from Vienna) – tomorrow (10th July, 2008) at Alphabeta Shop on 70 Greenpoint Ave. (BROOKLYN) – 6PM – 1AM. One night only, that means – ONLY TOMORROW.

Be there, or be square.  :)

More info:
http://overspraymag.com/blog/?p=443

During my last family visit to Long Island, I stopped by my brother’s job to meet him for lunch. After my quick stop into the ladies room to primp, this guy walked out of the men’s room at the same time and smiled at me. Turns out, it was Little Dougie from the 5th Grade. Well, not so little anymore. I’m not sure what came over me but I ran over to him, gave him this huge hug and after some small talk, I told him to give me a call the next time he was coming into the city so that we could catch up. Thinking back, I find it amusing that I didn’t even consider telling him that this city girl would meet up on the Island for a drink. God FORBID!

Since that time, we’ve exchanged a few calls and made plans to meet up for a drink in the city. That’s when my male friends all chimed in to say that no guy is going to travel to NYC on weeknight from Long Island if he isn’t interested. Really??? As flattering as that might be, I’d actually like to think that some people ARE that adventurous and DO want to spend a night out in the city just because they can. Hmm. Now that I write that, it does seem a bit far-fetched. Thing is, I hadn’t really put much thought into Little Dougie as anything other than a fun blast from the past. Not for any particular reason, but the city girl / county boy thing certainly comes to mind and we have that geographically undesirable thing going on because he REALLY lives way out there. That didn’t stop me from flirting a little since he’s quite the cutie… but in my mind, it was entirely harmless because I’ll admit that I have a terrible habit of flirting for the sport of it.

All that aside, I look at it this way – any guy that’s going to travel THAT far during the week for a drink is worth learning more about.

He came in last night. Train arrived at 8:00pm and we settled in at Stout on 33rd Street since he had to take a 10:30pm train back. Not a lot of time, but enough to stroll down memory lane, catch up on the turns our lives have taken, and find out what Little Dougie had in mind. The boys were right. I wasn’t sure at first, since you can’t really tell if they’re flirting for the sport of it too, so when it got closer to 10pm, I had to ask. :) Guys get so flustered when I do that. I know, it’s a little mean but I figure it’s always better to know than to wonder – for both parties. Of course, the problem with asking that question is figuring out what YOU have in mind. After all, fair is fair.

Without going into the details, if Little Dougie (yes, I know I’ll have to stop calling him that at some point) asks me to hang out again, I’m saying yes. I can’t imagine being one of those women who completely avoids a potentially good catch just because he doesn’t live in NYC. However, there isn’t anything appealing about the LIRR. I guess some exploration is in order.

That being said, the immortal and revolutionary Rock Steady Crew will be celebrating their 31st Anniversary from July 24th-July 27th. The four funktastic days of festivities will include a Celebrity Benefit Basketball Challenge, B-boy/B-girl Battles, 5 on 5 Crew Battles, and live musical performances from artists like Kurtis Blow, The Beatnuts, Soul Sonik Force, and Craig G & Marly Marl.

More information and locations of the events can be found on their official site.

This is the perfect opportunity to get out from behind your semi-fancy Swedish ‘puter desk thingy and shake your ass, all while witnessing something that is way more indigenous to the 5 Boroughs than Gordon Gekko and Alex Rodriguez.

For other places to view the Fourth of July fireworks, check out this article