New York State of Mind

NYC was our penultimate BeBayou stop ahead of Australia and New Zealand (TBD) that happened to coincide with Ren’s 44th. We landed on her bday night and headed promptly to Momofoku Noodle Bar in the East Village, one of my favorite spots in NYC. As it happens, it was just a short walk from our hotel and we both enjoyed it so much, most especially the spicy cold noodles and the sake flight, that we went back for second round before our return flight.

I (Ren) worked as photographer in NYC for various clients including Condé Naste and on one occasion shot a music video featuring the one and only Jermaine at the NYC ballet. Though Jermaine and I haven't seen each other in over a decade, it's like no time had passed. We met up to celebrate the opening of his work Watch Night, the inaugural performance at the PAC NYC, and to celebrate our shared bday in person together.

I hadn't been to the World Trade Center since 2009 when it was still a gaping hole in the earth. The entire area has evolved in so many beautiful ways, but I was most deeply touched by the Memorial... it was palpable. Truly breathtaking and honoring of the lives lost on that terrible day.

Watch Night explores American violence through Charleston and Pennsylvania shootings, an unexpected reference to our other BeBayou stop in Charleston, where we saw the church that the shooting occurred and where Ren had once attended service. The performance took place in a unique theater space where the stage was in the center the actors sat among the audience, blurring the line between the observer and observed.

Afterwards, we ate our way through a table of desserts generously gifted to us by Metropolis, PAC NYC's restaurant, for our shared bday as we shared our experiences over the last decade while sipping on old fashions. We left with so much gratitude and a shared commitment to not let another 10 years go by again.

Ren and I spent some time on a chilly Sat morning strolling through Central Park and enjoyed breakfast at Bel Ami together. I lived in on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for a span of months when Liam was two and he and I had some wonderful times together exploring the various playgrounds, water features, and Central Park Zoo together. As it happens, my friends from the Bay Area, Nate and Andrea, lived in the building next door. By day, Liam and I would make the rounds with him in his stroller and by night, Nate and I would explore the East Village making stops at a speak easy (Please Don’t Tell) and decadent meals at Minetta Tavern. At the time, I was reading Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, and has he too lived in the same neighborhood, I made it a point of checking out a number of places that he name dropped in the book.

We met Nate for drinks in Greenwich Village on Friday night. As an odd coincidence, Nate shares a birthday with me.

We spent Saturday morning into early afternoon exploring the Met with Nate and his lovely wife, Andrea.

It's been about 10-12 years since we each were in NYC. Outside of meeting up with dear friends again, we revisited East and West Village, Midtown, Uptown, and enjoyed a delicious birthday lunch with my co-worker Jackson at Gage & Tollner in Brooklyn. Most notable is the mango sticky rice of David's dreams that we enjoyed on the street in Greenwich Village.