Wednesday with Carol, June 14, 2017

Sister Act:
Flaneuring in the
West Village
June 14 was Wednesday with Carol, Susan and Jeanne. We sisters got together to flaneur in the West Village. That is, we were going to roam the West Village, turning up whatever street looked the most intriguing. The West Village is inherently charming, so there are plenty of twists and turns to lead you to a new discovery.

Our plan was to meet for lunch at a little boite called While We Were Young, Kitchen & Cocktails on West 10th Street. I took the F train to West Fourth and walked on 10th Street to the restaurant. As I walked, I noticed pretty things begging to be photographed, as in "Please, please, madame, take my picture."

The window at Té Company and

Tea Room

A tiny birdhouse....

 Three Lives Books...

Richard and I owned a house in Greenport, Long Island

for awhile. The owners of Three Lives had one too, a block

from our house. One day they said that we should cut down the

huge, old Maple tree in our backyard, because it

blocked their view -- of us.  They spied on us with binoculars.

 Fedora dates to 1952.

Dapper gents used to frequent the place.

Now it's a "fauxstalgia" joint.

 As authentic old village as they come.

Sevilla opened in 1941!

It has not been gentrified. They

probably serve the same tired paella

as in the olden days.

An elegant display on a brownstone's steps.

 I was the first to arrive at While We Were Young

and was offered a seat at the bar while I was old,

while I was waiting for Jeanne and Susan, and

while they were still on the West Side Highway
driving from Westchester.

The barkeep poured me a tall glass of ice water while

I took in the petal-strewn surroundings. 

While We Were Young is pretty and pink.
Flowers figure prominently in the decor.
 The owner, Bradford Dunigan,
grew up in a house which his mother
filled with flowers.

 The sisters arrive.
Here is Jeanne.

And Susan

And Carol and Susan

A beautiful cocktail ordered by
the lady at the next table.

My lunch was delicious.
Burrata, avocado, wildflower honey,
basil and pink grapefruit.
Jeanne pointed out that the grapefruit
had been cut into "supremes".
Although the white pith and membrane are edible, they
are bitter, so you can cut them out using a 
technique which can be found on Sam Sifton's blog
in the New York Times.

Bradford asked the chef to personally
deliver this yummy, complimentary cake to us.
What a delightful surprise.

 After lunch, we flaneured once more.
On Hudson Street, we found The Meadow,
a shop specializing in salt, chocolate, drink and
flowers. They had a huge selection of bitters.

 Poesies at The Meadow.

Jeanne purchased bitters for her
husband's cocktails.
Susan got a chocolate treat.

 Walking west and north, we came upon Lucy Sparrow's
all-felt bodega, 8 'Til Late, which has popped up 
at the Standard Hotel. This ice cream freezer is covered
in felt and all the treats within are made of felt.

 In fact, every single thing in the bodega is
made of felt.

 Lucy Sparrow is an English artist working
at the intersection of textiles and art.

We did not buy any of the products because
we felt they were too expensive.

 Finding ourselves in Chelsea, we spotted
the Unix Gallery, where there is an exhibit called
"Sugartarium". It's an art asylum for sugar addicts.

 The art consists of large assemblages of
sugary candies and cookies, all
smashed. Yum, I love chocolate-covered cherries.

Since this is a Sugartarium, there
are hospital beds where you can detox from
your sugar overdosing.

 If you have an emergency, you can speak to

the Sugarologist via this phone

for triage. I tried it and was told to lie

down on a bed for awhile and stay away from sugar.

 Final stop: Trestle on Tenth

We cooled down with a Passion-Fruit Fizz.

À Bientôt!

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