Lately, I have been visiting my kids quite often. They are all now working or studying in the Big Apple, which is why my friends have started calling me “The New Yorker.” I find this amusing as I hardly know my way around, being very much still a tourist in this amazing city. Yet, despite my neophyte status, I am often asked to take guests around the jungles of Manhattan.
One recent batch of visitors had not been to New York in about 15 years. Despite the long absence, my friends were quite up to date about must-see performances. As soon as they arrived, they were asking if it was at all possible to see Woody Allen doing his gig at the Carlyle Café.
The Carlyle Café and the hotel in which it is located and from which it takes its name are venerable New York institutions. The Carlyle Hotel, which was built in the 1920s, actually consists of a combination of guest rooms and condominium apartments. At the time of its construction, people were just beginning to opt for smaller residences rather than the huge townhouses that had been popular among the elite in the past. A number of US presidents have made the Carlyle their home when they come up from Washington. President Kennedy kept rooms here.
The Carlyle Café was renovated in 2007 and is now looking more glamorous than ever. For many years now, Woody Allen has been performing regularly here. I soon learned that the waiting time for a table can run up to three months! The receptionist must have heard me gasp after being informed about how long it would take me to be able to get in.
Obviously taking pity on me, she brightly suggested that I may be able to snag some seats at the bar. This would mean, however, that I would have to keep vigil and wait for the maitre d’ to come in for work and then to beg, weep, and even tear out my hair! True enough, when the Carlyle Café’s top man arrived I was ready to get down on my knees and plead. Fortunately it never came to groveling as once more my obvious desperation struck the right cord. The maitre d’ hesitated for a few moments and then told me that he could give me seats at the bar if I promised to come in two hours before. We were in business!
I didn’t mind hanging around at all. The café is fabulous — elegant and yet cozy. There is a beautiful mural by the French artist Marcel Vertes, which has recently been restored to its former glory. We were actually quite lucky as our seats were in the far end near the back door. It turns out that this was the entrance that Woody Allen and his friends used. They actually sat close to us as they prepared for the show, tuning their instruments. I could literally reach out and touch Woody. It took a lot of effort to restrain myself!
Eddy Davis smiled the whole night while playing his banjo. Woody closed his eyes in utter concentration. The music was divine and the food was delicious. What a wonderful time we had with no less than Woody Allen and his colleagues sharing with us their talents! I learned something that night: New York is the kind of place where being persistent is rewarded!
Aside from the Carlyle, I like to show my guests what I call the Pinoy Mile. If Manhattan has a Museum Mile featuring such stellar attractions as the Met (yes, our beloved Met Museum of Manila has a bigger branch in New York!), the Whitney and the Guggenheim, I like to boast that there is also a stretch dedicated to all things Pinoy. I must admit that, at present, my tour only has two sites, but come on, it’s a good start!
My first stop is The Mark Hotel. This hotel is quite centrally located, close to Central Park, Fifth Avenue and all the chic shops on Madison. The restaurant here is famous because of its celebrity chef, Jean Georges. The reason that I was able to get a reservation for my lucky group of friends who had been to the Carlyle the night before is because of a Filipino — Ernesto Floro — who is director for sales.
Ernie went to Ateneo and then on to Brent International School. He was always interested in the performing arts and never really considered going into the hotel business. He took hotel management at New York University only to please his father who insisted that he first finish a regular college course before branching out into something more artistic. His first job was with the Hilton chain. Though this gave him a good grounding, he longed for a different environment. He was more interested in providing high-quality hospitality in a more intimate setting. He moved on to another hotel before finally landing at The Mark.
I had a special reason for bringing the guests I was with to The Mark that particular evening. One member of my party was Fatima whose husband is the Marques de Grinon who owns a prestigious vineyard and wine label that bears his name. Fatima’s mother is Ymelda, who is president of the Royal Academy of Gastronomy and the Cofradia de la Buena Mesa, the good food guild. Ymelda is a much respected and feared gastronomic critic of the well-known Respol guide.
Nothing prepared us for the breathtaking and luxurious entrance of The Mark. As you step out of your car your eyes are immediately drawn to the majestic black and white marble doorway. You feel transported to a more glamorous era. The Mark is truly an uptown hotel with downtown vigor. As we were being escorted to our table, I felt a frantic tug on my sleeve. My daughter Paloma who was with me that night (along with my son Jaime) had already surveyed the room with her radar eyes. What she saw was not just the crisp white linen and gracious décor, she was blinded by stars: Paul McCartney, Owen Wilson, Val Kilmer. Paloma was speechless!
I really wanted to kiss Ernie that night and not only because of the bottle of chilled champagne that he so thoughtfully sent us. For as far as my kids were concerned, that evening at The Mark, I was the coolest mom in New York as I had managed (thanks to our amazing Pinoy network) to land the hottest table in town!
The other end of my Pinoy Mile isn’t really very far away. In fact, it’s only a few blocks from The Mark. I am referring to the newly opened shop of another of our compatriots: Federico de Vera. He actually has two establishments on the Upper East Side. One is on 81st Street and the other is at One Crosby.
The first time I met him was with my sister-in-law Lizzie. I had just started taking yoga lessons for the first time. I guess my mind had become quite mellow and open, ready to appreciate positive inputs. De Vera’s lovely store certainly provided welcome visual delights.
The first time that you enter you are not quite sure about the kind of place that you have walked into. Is it a museum? A temple? Quite fittingly, De Vera sees himself as a curator. Every item that he has selected for his shop is lovingly and carefully placed in its selected niche. Every piece that De Vera presents is unique. Nothing remains in its original form. De Vera embellishes and enhances. He reinvents and revitalizes. Every piece has a story to tell and his attendants will gladly share histories with you.
De Vera’s shops are really galleries of wonder. You can daydream and linger for hours. I have never seen such attention to details. He decorates his objects with exquisite figures of delicate insects as well as religious images that remind me of holy icons from back home. Communing with De Vera’s creations is almost a form of meditation. Silly as it may sound, I was moved to tears by what I saw. Many reviewers were correct to say that coming to De Vera’s shops can actually be a spiritual experience.
So these are the first two admittedly luxury stops on my very own Pinoy Mile in New York that I gladly share with my visitors. In time, as I get to know more Filipinos from all walks of life who have made their home in the Big Apple I hope to incorporate a wider range of places. I am sure that pretty soon my Pinoy Mile will be filling up with more things to see that will really make us all proud to be Filipinos.