Bestie NYC Trip - Day 6

This morning kicks off at my old stomping grounds, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park. 

We walk just a brief bit around the blue expanse as I wonder what could have possibly possessed me to run around this 1.5 mile loop every single day for months. 

No more running, I'd rather sit on this silhouette couch. 

The Guggenheim 

I hate modern art. I unabashedly bash, unashamedly shame, and so often sneer at a genre I abhor. I will always choose oils of angels and lush landscapes painstakingly painted over haphazardly splatter and piles of yarn. 

Still, even I can't deny the magic of the great Guggenheim with its descending swirling spirals and wondrous webbed-glass dome. 

At the top is the Infinity Mirrored Room with its suspended balls of light so beautiful we break up our descent to see it a second time. 

The rotunda is replete with the sculptures of Carol Bove, voluminous metal structures folded and bent to her exacting will. 

The way she makes metal mimic fabric in the crumpling and the texture is quite unique, 

and this imposing garden is a different experience from every angle. 

(Bestie for scale)

A more permanent side room showcases some pieces I haven't discovered yet. 

Young Horses make a deep and dark oil by Emil Nolde,

and Egon Schiele makes a moving portrait. 

Finally, a museum we can finish. I love the sensible layout, the size of the spiraling walkways seeming to set their own rhythm and pace. I still loathe most modern art, but even I'll admit they picked the better bits of the bunch. 

Atomix - New York, NY

I write this review feeling futile as I expound upon a subject that requires no elaboration. Atomix is the restaurant that tops the first-ever North America's 50 Best list, arguably the most accurate restaurant rank-list selected by chefs. 

The excellence at Atomix speaks for itself as the experience is enchanting from the moment you step down those stairs. It all starts with a stop before you sit where they present you with a "before" platter of your food in its freshest form. The clams are closed, the fish look almost alive, and the crab and lobster still move their claws. 

Shift your gaze to this beautiful plate of produce

as you study your Sikhye, a milky, malty rice drink that sips like summer grass. 

They seat strategically, at a staggered pace so there is no squeezing, and just as everyone starts to settle, a sushi-like Scallop shows. Little squares of seaweed and dabs of mustard kimchi stretch out the sweetness of these tender little tidbits. 

This tiny tartlet is the most tantalizing taste tonight. Slips of sea-sweetness are surrounded by an herbaceous slurry like petals around a peridot. I ask them to serve just this the rest of the night, and I am told no, but also that I am not the first to ask.

Pause to choose your chopsticks - it's the only decision you get to make. 

The Threeline Grunt is so good I forget to take a photo, so interesting are the velvety cubes of this lesser-known fish.

Striped Jack with silver skin sits upon some sugar snaps, a supple, springy strip with a clean-green concoction for contrast.

A dreamy-creamy Kohlrabi covers drops of king crab and cradles Kristal caviar.

Nuruk is the highlight of this dish, a fermentation starter most often used for alcohol which adds nutty, aromatic rice-like notes to the sauce. 

I have never hated anything as much as I hate this Abalone. The best ingredients in the industry are combined into a skillful sauce…with the flavor of that sickening syrup into which puffs of deep fried pork from a cheap Chinese restaurant are dipped. It’s an homage to Americanized sweet and sour sauce, an abomination that deserves no honor. A layer of batter already obliterates the fragile flavors of the abalone, and this horrible sauce suffocates what little is left. 

The little side of pickled shallot does not save the dish, but at least it strips the nasty flavor from your tongue. 

Sea Bass is subbed for something seasonal so feast your eyes on this ruby, goldeneye snapper skin. The fish is smooth and supplemented with salt from littleneck clams and shrimp in silky sujebi, a gorgeous green garlic broth. 

They cleverly incorporate banchan to be taken as a bite between each bite. Here the sharp, tart finish of endive salad with pulp of pomelo resets the palate and adds fresh perspective to every bite that follows. 

Lovely Lobster is impossibly tender, wading in white asparagus, treading a creamy white foam. 

The accompanying rice bowl is topped with jeotgal infused with lobster stock for a flavor so sublime it could have been served as a standalone.

The complex bitter-fruit of the goji berry complements and contrasts the Lamb. It highlights the other three dots; offsetting an earthy eggplant and highlighting nutty almond notes. 

The Gochujang Lamb Noodle has more sauce than it really needs, and the noodle could be more firm, but the playfulness of this finish can be appreciated by all.

I am obsessed with flavored jellies, and tea jelly might be the best thing to happen to tea. They add a playful texture to the perky Passion Fruit-flavored ice and lighten the thick tapioca. 

Burdock root ice cream is divine, this indescribable flavor is a floating but grounded, earthy but elegant, every bit elevated, will-never-eat-another-ice-cream-again phenomenon that perfectly complements the cake. The dark chocolate is deep and nutty, buttery, not-so-sugary, melt-in-your-mouth but stay-in-your-senses ball of utter bliss. 

This is where it ends, the entire evening spanning three hours, floating by like a dream. The service is seamless, so subtle you might miss something if you blink. The servers speak at a volume that is easy to hear but soft enough to never startle. They put you immediately at ease, shifting from genuine enthusiasm to quiet respect to whatever emotion fits the occasion. They chat as much as you wish, engage as much as you desire, yet they never interrupt your conversation and sense your needs before you need them. The devil’s in the details, and nothing here is overlooked. 

What I love most about the menu is the incorporation of Korean influences without literal interpretation. There is no bulgogi, no gimbap, but the food leaves indelible impressions clearly rooted in deep tradition, and they infuse fine dining with all the cultural nuance to make each broth, every sauce, and the very air of foam an unforgettable.

Bestie Trip NYC - Day 5 - cont

Dream House - New York, NY

There's the glow of the pink light illuminating the way upstairs. 

Slip off your shoes and slowly enter the pulsating space where photos are forbidden. 

The first room has flashing lights and a floor with a mirror. We settle into the second room, letting the loud, rhythmic sound waves and scent of burning incense engulf our senses. 

And for the first time in a very long time, my mind stops scattering, and my neverending internal monologue goes still. Amongst the booming noises, I sense only silence. 

We stay still, switching between sitting and laying down, propped on white plush pillows, staring at the ceiling, contemplating the magenta pink, simply listening to the sine waves without really hearing the sound. 

For 45 minutes I lasted, I, who cannot stop for five, stopped for 45 whole minutes in a meditation I didn't know I needed. 

I love this idea, this genius way to drown out the noise of the city that cannot keep still. The loudness of life is inescapable...unless you are louder than life. The vision is clear, though my only critique is that the execution feels cheap. The windows are covered in cellophane, the ceiling has a few hanging strips, and the floor is mostly bare. That said, this experience for a mere $10 in a city where even millionaires must make more is worth every cent you spent and every cent they didn't. 

Banksy Museum - New York, NY

This time I'm the one meandering, making my way through the muraled walls.  

Multiple artists took many days to replicate all of Banksy's work, and since most of it is no longer available, it's quite special to see it all here. 

I hadn't realized just how current his themes are and just how much they speak to the dumpster fire that is Gen X and Y.

I identify with his tribute to rats, who exist and survive and sometimes thrive without permission. 

Turning classic painting into a cry against consumerism feels particularly poignant, and I am just in awe of all that this person(s) managed to accomplish. 

We still have a little time to kill, and Union Square is on our way up to Atomix so we slip into the Strand Bookstore and walk through Union Square on our back up to dinner. 

Bestie Trip NYC - Day 5

MOMA - New York, NY

As much as I appreciate this space, it is the museum of MODERN art. 

Still, there are these classics that take my breath away, like the haunting Demoiselles d'Avignon, painted by Picasso at his peak, 

Christina's World, which gives disability a perspective,

and what more is there to say about Van Gogh's Starry Night.

There are also more modern things like their current exhibition on Marcel Duchamp, full of things I can't begin to understand. 

I roll my eyes at his "ready-made" pieces, which consists of him stamping his name on a piece of junk and selling it at an exorbitant price, though even I can appreciate the marketing genius of these miniature boxes containing all his most famous art. 

I do also love his Coffee Grinder cubism,

and in other galleries I discover this Dali with depth,

a stunning piece by Vuillard that I'll admit I know nothing about,

and The Subway by Jose Clemente Orozco that draws me into the dark spots. 

And there is a wire cow with wire poop which is possibly the best piece in this place.

Much to be seen, much to take in, a beautiful collection housed in this Midtown marvel. 

Maybe Happy Ending - New York, NY 

There are no happy endings here unless you count the privilege of seeing this show. 

Two decommissioned robots meet, by chance or by fate, you decide, and a flurry of events ensue that explore the themes of sentience and love. It serves as a cautionary tale as both their owners choose the cleanly-choreographed love of their programmed-to-please servants over the messy ups and downs of the relationships that are human and painfully real. 

The ending is supposedly hopeful, though I find it mostly sad. The songs are quite forgettable, but I love how these themes make you think. I leave wondering if these robots were decommissioned to make room for newer models or if they were cast out because people stopped using them after seeing the side effects on society. 

Sushi 35 West - New York, NY

It's a strange trek up a flight of stairs to a small stall in a classic walk-up building close to seedy Herald Square. There are a couple of folding tables and chairs, but it's clearly meant to be taken to go. 

The Sushi Premium is a dealer's choice, ten cuts with a tuna roll on the side. All three types of tuna are a ten, and as are the halibut, snapper, and whatever other white slices they select. Salmon is sleek, both the belly and the regular, and the fresh and creamy uni isn't the least bit bitter. 

The sweetest chefs are slinging sushi here, procuring cuts that are far nicer than the location would imply. 
Of everything I ate this trip, Sushi 35 is my favorite find.