Afternoon at Vandam

At 15 Vandam

Soho is a vast, mysterious land somewhere below the «Village«. Past Bleecker, below Minetta Ln and Minetta St. Or it’s just t’other side of 6th Avenue.

This time I took the C right to its door, the Spring/vandam station empties out at the corner of Vandam; and voila 15, the SOHO Playhouse, is directly across the street.

During my recent incapicitation, angling subway stairs is not easy or pretty. But. Big but, I made it. The subway, I admit, is the way to travel. Speed. Efficiency. Is there anyone who doesn’t value that.

Early arrival meant I hungered not so much for food as for the facilities. What with the spate of eateries and café (Wha-s) for which the West Village is famous- well no I wandered far adrift in search.

Opting for the discreet doorway that is Minetta’s was just a spur- of. If it weren’t for the framed menus, it would seem shuttered beside the obscurity of the door.

They were very accommodating, finding me a table despite it being crowded. Someone sent me a prosecco, wasted on a teetotaler, but I took a few sips as thanks. The lobster roll was excellent.

I even had a celebrity sighting of J. Smith Cameron and Kenneth Lonnergan enjoying a meal nearby.

The only hitch was traffic going home.

We moved at an unprecedented slow pace. 20 minutes from 20th to 23rd, with police waving us to get across 23rd, where we are diverting to 8th Avenue.

City Center, city East

Across 55th

It’s a little coffee emporium with cream cakes and a Japanese [I think] vibe. Due to the lateness of the hour, I didn’t try their coffee but had a matcha tea.

I was headed to City Center Stage II to see Machinal in a 7:30 performance.


Thai. Mexican. Vietnamese, on the other hand, is a rarer find but Lyly is just a few doors, well, blocks away.

I have tried. I want to remember to share it with my friends soon.

What’s in a name


My latest exploration-I was about to claim it as an encounter, but actually I hadn’t looked closely for some time. I pass by all the time, so I dropped the ball on this great mystery.

Now there’s a new mystery to solve.

What was Alfredo’s? I never found out. No one would answer that question.

Was the answer so dire as to deserve a wipe-out response?


Some of my cohort were promised a photo of a building named Alfredo’s. For the past 40 years, I have puzzled over the name plate on top of 1368 York. Wondered but never got satisfaction. Curiosity has carried me to flights of fancy and imaginative conclusions. Like SENECA, the name must have some significance. Mustn’t […]

I am keeping a promise

Chelsea on a Saturday night

From bottom up:

666 on 6th Ave, I am sure, not the devil’s address. And next door, MadrasDosaCo.com soft landing.

The Welcome Wall in the lobby of New York LiveArts on 19th off 7th Ave.

The 19th St Firehouse betw 7th and 6th. 

Ama La Vita disappoints, it being closed on Saturday night.

[The website says it’s Kosher, offering an explanation for my disappointment].

Kona Coffee Roasters fills the gap.

Upon consideration

In LIC, Qns

What are Slovak-Czech Varieties?

Is it varietals? Or variety items? As in, this establishment is a variety store?

I had not noticed the explanatory web address. I had not noted the specific menu of items on sale painted on the front glass.

I glossed over all the details while focusing to the store’s connection to an  Eastern European past.

Everything requires we take a second look.

Sex Ed

This is the 2nd banana-themed PSA I have seen in about as many weeks. It appears that someone is very concerned about our sexual well-being.

This concern only surfaces in the environs of a pub ladies’ room, it seems. Nice of them, even if the interest is somehow related to the consumption of alcohol.

You should have seen the first one; it had two ‘nanas kind of entwined. It revealed almost a shocking, prurient interest in our intimate health.