Tune of the Moment: "On The Street Where You Live" from Lerner and Loewe's "My Fair Lady", sung by Bill Shirley (who dubbed all singing for Jeremy Brett). The whole issue with overdubbing in "My Fair Lady" and other musical films of the era completely fascinates me, especially since Marni Nixon ("the ghostest with the mostest") provided singing for so many iconic actresses-Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood, Deborah Kerr. Her biography, "I Could Have Sung All Night", is a compelling, entertaining, well written account of her life in show business-buy it and read it!
Here is the original version of "On The Street Where You Live" from the film:
And then there's this....sigh....I always cry when it gets to Jeremy Irons singing "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face". This is from the "Kennedy Center Honours" ceremony in 2001 where Julie Andrews was the honouree. Julie was the original Eliza Doolittle-in the theater production of "My Fair Lady"-hence the musical numbers. It features Patrick Wilson (total dish), Kristen Chenoweth, Robert Goulet, Audra McDonald and Jeremy Irons (at 6 minutes in-worth waiting for!).
And here is a little clip from Marni's website showing her incredible work-most of which was done as a "ghost":
And here is Marni doing an overdub guideline for future translations of "The Sound of Music":
I totally forgot that I'm supposed to devote equal page time to music AND food...oh well... here goes...
I recently graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with a Master's degree in Jazz Performance. Yup. Two years and it's done, fini, klaar, kaput. Time certainly flies. My mother and sister flew out from South Africa to attend my final graduate recital and the commencement ceremony. Although they may not admit it, they also flew out to partake in NYC's culinary offerings. My sister is a foodie-having studied abroad in Bologna, worked on an Italian dairy farm, interned at Chez Panisse in Berkley, and dabbled in food journalism back home in Cape Town. She is also the convivium leader of Slow Food Mother City, which is a chapter of the international Slow Food movement, and is something of an ice cream expert (interview coming soooooon). My mum is one of the most intuitive cooks I know-she has a knack for flavour-pairings and tweaking recipes successfully. She also always over caters, as a point of principle-it's one of her finest qualities. Visual proof...
Christmas Spread '10
Christmas Leftovers '10
Birthday Desserts '10
First port of call (always!) is Sarabeth's on Amsterdam for breakfast. Sarabeth's is a bit of a New York institution, known for its impressive breakfast fare-omelettes, eggs benedict, waffles, pancakes, muffins, scrumptious preserves. I'm a big fan of their "Red Omelette" (a fluffy omelette filled with melting cheddar cheese and topped with a red pepper/tomato sauce and sour cream) but on this particular trip I ventured out and ordered the spinach and goat cheese omelette....with a side of the red pepper/tomato sauce....ok, fine. And I ordered it egg whites only. Happy now?!
Such. Delicious. Ness.
Another favourite of mine is Community Food & Juice who, incidentally, also do amazing breakfasts. However, we hit up this Columbia/Upper Westside hang for a spot of early supper. The actual restaurant itself is a wonderful, airy, relaxed, informal space and the food is seasonal and inventive without being affected. Between the three of us, we sampled some of the most enticing items.
Top to Bottom: The Full Spread
Asparagus & Endive Salad w/ Toasted Farro
Bowl of Beets w/ Goat Cheese & Pistachios
Rice Bowl w/ Grilled Salmon, Radicchio, Carrots, Bean Sprouts & Peanut/Cilantro/Lime Sauce
On the day of my graduation I was adamant that I have a breakfast of champions since I knew that I would be spending the better part of the morning standing around in a Harry Potter-esque robe, fiddling with my mortar board, being excessively happy and excited, then sitting for a long period during which Jessye Norman would deliver an overly self-indulgent speech in a faux-high society accent, followed by more standing around in a queue waiting for the dean to get to the letter "S". So with my female posse by my side we fueled up at Aroma Cafe-an Israeli cafe/coffee joint that is consistent with a capital "C". Their lunches are delicious-salads, sandwiches on fluffy bread, and flavorsome soups-and I was delighted to discover their breakfasts are equally blissful. My sister ordered the Aroma All Day Power Breakfast (two eggs, feta, cream cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, black olives, mixed greens with a drizzle of olive oil, and a side of our fresh baked bread.), my mum and aunt inhaled the muesli and I wolfed down the shakshuka (2 sunny-side eggs on top of a rich tomato and pepper sauce, served with tahini and bread). The perfect pre-graduation meal.
I know you're all dying to know what the post-graduation meal was, right? Off to Bouchon Bakery we goooooo.
"The French Laundry's" Thomas Keller has created the perfectly formed Bouchon Bakery chain (they're just opened up at Rockefeller Plaza)-both a bakery and cafe-style restaurant serving a handful of delicious dishes. The chicken dumpling soup is always outstanding, as is the soup de jour (sunchoke & pear was a recent flavour pairing) and the list of sandwiches on delicious pressed bread are consistently satisfying. If you're stumped as to what to try, just ask for their plain bread and butter (it'll show you just how darn good the typical staple can be) and a bowl of their homemade ice creams-you cannot go wrong!
Soup du Jour-Broccoli with an onion marmalade garnish
Ham and Cheese Sandwich
Trio of ice creams-Vanilla, Chocolate, Salted/Burnt Caramel
I fear this post is too long and too rife with visual food porn as opposed to verbal food porn. So, I will create a second post, a "part two", in order to pay adequate attention to Le Pain Quotidien and another musical moment.
Grad-u-ay-ted.
No comments:
Post a Comment