Livin’ in New York City Post 16: Upscale Bars, Fire Spinners and Soul Food

The Up & Up: a place where you can get a hell of a cosmopolitan.

It’s unbelievable. I can only count on one hand the amount of days that have actually felt like winter. Everything else has been lukewarm with little snow. Maybe it’s because of my Midwestern upbringing but even the cold days have felt fine to me. While everyone else has been bundled up in parkas, scarves and Carhart gear (even though it’s clearly obvious that some of these people wearing Carhart have never lifted anything over 50 pounds), I’ve just been wearing my normal flannels. Sometimes when I’ve gone to do some errands for the LIC Corner Café, I’ll just walk outside with my sleeves rolled up in supposedly cold weather. 

Despite winter in New York being a let down, especially compared to the beautiful colors of fall and the scorching heat of summer, there’s still much fun to be had in this city. As I’m sure most of you can surmise, I have a special affinity for Greenwich Village. Not just because of Joe’s on Carmine Street, the artists, the many restaurants and small businesses and The Cellar Dog, my favorite bar in the city, but because of the history. Before this place was only inhabited by the rich who are pretending to be starving artists, this was where the poor, hopeful musicians, painters and writers flocked. 

Many special places in the Village still uphold these ideals like The IFC Center, The Comedy Cellar and the classic landmark Cafe Wha?, which was the starting place of many icons including Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen before he had the E Street Band, Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen and Richard Pryor. But there was one location that has become legendary, despite folding up over 50 years ago: The Gaslight Café. While modern audience might recognize this place from the film “Inside Llewyn Davis” and the series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” the cafe that hosted so many iconic musicians and stand-ups folded in 1971. 

However, the location itself, at 116 MacDougal Street, still exists and is now the site of a bar called The Up & Up. So, you bet I went there to step on this hallowed ground. Despite the stage being gone and no one particularly funny in attendance, this place still felt like it had the Gaslight magic. This bar is underground and still feels like a speakeasy with darkness permeating every inch of the place. It’s mysterious, elusive and a bit sexy. And the service? Unbelievable. Not only was their Insanely Good Cosmopolitan, well, insanely good, but the staff was friendly and attentive. 

I swear to God, my water glass was never empty. Just when it looked like my glass would, at last, be empty, one of the bartenders would swoop in and fill it back out. After being at the bar for about 40 minutes, I asked one of the bartenders if they knew where the Gaslight stage was. She said yes and pointed right past me. The stage where Lenny Bruce debated about which was more appropriate for children to see in movies, sex or violence, or where Bob Dylan performed his early works was right behind me. I just saw all of these people sitting at tables, enjoying drinks and bar room snacks, completely oblivious towards the sacred site that they were just sitting on. 

This space in The Up & Up was where the Gaslight Cafe’s stage used to be. This spot was where legends performed from 1958 to 1971.

For those that are wondering about my jobs and think “how exciting could working at a café and as an assistant be,” I’ll tell you. As some of you might be aware, my boss Terri’s husband is a musician named Pat Irwin. A literal rockstar. First, he was a member of the B-52’s from 1989 to 2007. So, that’s awesome. He’s also the composer of the music for several television shows, including “Dexter: The New Blood” and the Nickelodeon classic “Rocko’s Modern Life,” and is a member of the band SUSS. I’ve known Pat for a while now and it’s always interesting to talk to him about music, film and culture. 

One day, Pat and Terri had lunch with a couple of friends and I got talking with them since the café was pretty slow during that time. One of their friends was Art Baron, a trombone player who has performed with so many of your favorite people: Bruce Springsteen, She & Him, Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor and so much more. He also was the last trombone player that the legendary Duke Ellington hired to be in his band before Ellington’s death in 1974. Hearing Pat and art talk about their lives in music was relentlessly fascinating and it just goes to show you how every job you have is elevated in New York.

The LIC Corner Café is a small, cozy place that has the natural ability to bring people together, including fantastic musicians.

As for my job as an assistant, we had a pretty good celebration recently that was the talk of my boss Karl’s social circle. For Karl’s birthday, we threw the most incredible house party with an incredible theme: A Vampire Circus. The only thing that was as fun as this party was setting up for the party. For decorating, we strung up gold-and-black fabric along the walls, we covered the light bulbs with red gels so the light had this eerie color and a projectionist came in to shine a full moon on one of the blank walls. Between the dim and mysterious lighting and the fabric and the decadence of it all, we essentially turned this Queens house into a bordello. But the nice kind of whorehouse. The kind that governors would visit while snake oil salesmen would be swindling people outside in the dusty streets of Tombstone. 

We went into this vampire theme hard and that included the beverages. Karl concocted this amazing margarita with mezcal and pomegranate juice that looked like blood and for the presentation, we would be serving it in IV bags. So, hours before the party is going to start, I show up in a suit to help do the last-minute preparations and to be available throughout the whole night. Karl has a whole bucket of the margarita and he needs it to be injected into all of these IV bags. So, I spent the next half hour filling all of these bags in a full suit. When he came back and saw that I was done so quickly, I just told him that I mastered the art of using a syringe one-handed. 

Oh and did I mention that this party had fire-spinners? Because it did. When Karl and I first discussed the theme, we grew very excited and I said jokingly something along the lines of “are you going to get some contortionists or some fire-breathers or something?” Then, he said, “I actually know a guy who manages a fire show. We could totally get him.” And that’s how the house burned down. Okay, I’m just kidding but the party was amazing. 

The key to breathing fire? Always keep your head up because fire naturally propels itself in an upward direction.

After such excitement, I spent the next week working and wanting something wholesome. Something that reminded me of the true values in life: family, tradition and murder. Actually, I had just watched “The Godfather” and I realized something: I have never eaten a cannoli. The idea of it sounded delicious: a crunchy hollow shell stuffed with creamy, sweet ricotta cream. But I knew that I had to go someplace truly authentic to have this Italian delicacy. For the first time in months, I returned to Little Italy. 

I went to Ferrara, the famous Little Italy café and bakery, that claims to be the first espresso bar in America. But I wasn’t interested in coffee. I needed something sweet. I ordered my first cannoli and the waitress couldn’t believe that I had never eaten one before. Just in case I didn’t like it, I also ordered a nice side of blackberry gelato. Fortunately, this cannoli was rich and delicious. I just couldn’t believe that I had gone the first 22 years of life without one. I now understand why Clemenza needed to “take the cannoli” after Rocco blew Paulie’s brains out in “The Godfather.” 

I hope that I go to Little Italy again sometime soon because I need another one of those cannolis and maybe I’ll chase it down with an espresso. Speaking of espresso, did you know the legend of the Americano drink? The popular belief is that it came from World War II when American GI’s would water down espresso so it tasted more like the coffee they were used to. Nowadays, I see many immigrants and first-generation Americans enjoying the beverage in the LIC Corner Café. So, congratulations Italy! We fixed your coffee. 

Little Italy cannoli and gelato: the best kind of cannoli and gelato.

One day, I found myself wanting to go to the Upper East Side for a very specific reason. One of my favorite romance films, as well as my favorite film starring Audrey Hepburn, is “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” which shot all of its exterior scenes on location in New York. So, while the apartment of Hepburn’s Holly Golightly was made on a Hollywood set, I was able to see the stoop to her apartment building. The same building that she never had the keys for so she would always have to buzz her neighbor Mr. Yunioshi, the character in the film that makes you regret picking this movie for date night. I mean, I love “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” but why did they have to cast Mickey Rooney and put him in yellowface? Just why? Despite certain portions of the film not holding up, I was still so glad to see this iconic filming location and I hope to see the rest of the locations for this magical film. 

Now, in the time I’ve been living in New York, I’ve been to all five boroughs and I’ve seen a lot of neighborhoods. I’ve been to Bed-Stuy, Bushwick, Dumbo, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Park Slope, Fort Greene, Flatbush, Bensonhurst, Long Island City, Tribeca, Soho, Noho, Little Italy, Nolita, The East Village, Greenwich Village, The Lower East Side, Hell’s Kitchen, Midtown, Lincoln Square, Pelham Bay and Washington Heights. But I had never been to Harlem before. So, I went.

If Greenwich Village is the cultural pulse on the right wrist of New York, Harlem is the pulse on the city’s neck. It was an amazing place and the people were so friendly. You just felt the community of this neighborhood. One guy asked me if I could bum him a smoke and I said that I wasn’t a smoker. Now, in some other neighborhoods he might have said in return “Fuck you then you asshole!” Or something along those lines. Instead of that, this guy said “No worries. Have a good one.” That’s when I knew I was in a good place. 

While in Harlem, I went to The National Jazz Museum which had a fascinating exhibit on the spectacular Pixar animated film “Soul.” Now, I love this film and seeing the history of jazz in all its waves as told by the shaping of this film. Since the museum’s exhibits are on a rotating basis, I look forward to seeing what comes to this museum in the future. 

When you’re in Little Italy, you get some Italian food. When you’re in the Lower East Side, you go to Katz’s. When you’re in Harlem, you get some good soul food and, for that, I turned my sights to Sylvia’s Restaurant where I had some amazing catfish, rice and mashed potatoes along with unlimited cornbread. Top that with a bunch of hot sauce and a peach cobbler and you have the makings for one for the best meals you can eat in the city. 

I do wish I had planned out my trip to Harlem more because, while I went to the Jazz Museum, saw Langston Hughes’ home and had some amazing food, I wanted to check out The Maysles Documentary Center. This place was founded as a haven for documentary filmmaking and has several education programs designed to bring up the next generation of filmmakers. They also show many documentaries and, on the day I went to Harlem, they were closed. So, the next time I go to Harlem, I will be seeing a film at Maysles. 

In between exploring new sides of New York, I’m still sticking by my favorite usual haunts. That includes the Cellar Dog. I swear, if anyone wants to visit me in New York, this will be one of the first stops. On the one hand, this bar is underground in Greenwich Village and feels brash with rough artwork and dark lighting with a lot of beer, ping-pong and pool flying around. But there’s also a sense of dignified life to the place because of the live jazz bands that perform there. 

However, I think I’m less interested in eating out or going to expensive places in the next couple of months. As we go from winter to spring, I want to enjoy the more scenic elements of New York. I want to see Central Park, Washington Square and Prospect Park all explode with life. I can’t wait for outdoor events to be more common and I am looking forward to seeing what comes from the temperatures slowly rising.

This Upper East Side stoop was used as a shooting location for “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” as the apartment building for Audrey Hepburn’s Oscar-nominated role of Holly Golightly.