Manhattan is a revelation.
Turn a corner and the incongruity of old provokes new mysteries.
And while I tend to revisit old haunts, they always seem fresh.
A walk through the park proves exhilarating; 100 yards off Central Park West and the wind whispers the city away as it rustles through multicolored maple trees, revealing a microcosm of metropolis; merry-go-rounds, and baseball, and jazz,
and horse (and now bicycle) drawn carriages, pushcarts of all types and joggers, skaters, and roller bladers, mothers with children, children with boats or dogs, dogs with grandma and her newly beloved.
Strangers celebrate others cultural pride through culinary feasts; one day its Kimchi and Soju, the next Kielbasa and beer.
And on Sunday, worshippers stream out of St Patricks barely heaving a glance at steadfast Atlas who silently shoulders the burdens of this infinitely satisfying, 23 square mile "isle of joy."
At least that's how Rodgers & Hart described Gotham, the city that never sleeps in their first hit song, Manhattan. Written in 1925 and first performed by Sterling Holloway (the voice of Winnie the Pooh), I'm partial to Dinah Washington's version recorded in 1959 and released on her classic "What A Difference A Day Makes" LP. I simply love the way she crisply enunciates each word, stretching out the ones that end in "y" (July, toy, boy, by) - although I do wonder where "Stanton" Island is. What kills me about this track is how damn infectious it is. How she unearths the delights that the native New Yorkers, Rodgers & Hart, must have felt as they traversed their city; Mott, Delancey, Yonkers, Childs - how it must have been back then.
Since Manhattan begs for bubbles, i'd pair this with something from "America's House of Sparkling Wine," Schramsberg, which has nothing to do with NYC at all, but for some reason I just make the association. Maybe it's the font style.
Finally, here's something cool - combining wine, music and manhattan - City Winery is the first fully operational winery in New York City. Don't know if the wine is any good (let me know if you've had any), but with musical acts like Nick Lowe, Jakob Dylan and a Klezmer Brunch, this might be a must-go.
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