SEA OF BLUE
The cherry blossoms were over and done, but there were azaleas and early rhododendrons here and there. The first Japanese garden in the U.S. was created here in 1914. It is welcoming and serene with its bright red gate standing in a pond and a hilly path alongside. However, the real highlight on this day was the span of 45,000 blue flowered plants in the bluebell wood as shown in the header photo and below. Getting to the garden was easy: we took the Q train from 63rd Street to the Prospect Park station and then it was a very short walk to the entrance on Flatbush Avenue.
RECENT READING
Everything in Its Place: First Loves and Last Tales by Oliver Sacks
This is the second posthumous book by Sacks who died in 2015. The vast majority of these essays have appeared elsewhere in the years between 1987 and 2015. Even though I might have read a few of them previously, I enjoyed “hearing” Sacks’ voice again. He writes from a deep knowledge of science, medicine and the arts, and his writing combines warmth and humor with compassion for his patients. The book is divided into three sections arranged somewhat chronologically in terms of the essays about his own life. I particularly enjoyed “Libraries” about his love of books and reading; the several pieces on Tourette’s, dementia, and bipolar disorder in the Clinical Tales section; and lastly his humorous and poignant take on gefilte fish in “Filter Fish.” Dr. Sacks is a good companion for several hours of contemplative reading. (~JWFarrington)
FINE DINING–JoJo
Every so often, it’s fun to splurge on a special restaurant, one that is more elegant or with more sophisticated cuisine. We opted not to go to the Bar Room at the Modern on this visit, a dining experience we’ve enjoyed in the past. Instead, we discovered JoJo, chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s first restaurant now in a new location. It’s tucked in a pretty block of E. 64th Street and you enter by going downstairs to the lower or main level. That level is attractive, but not as lovely as the upstairs dining space where we sat.
It has windows overlooking the street, lots of natural light, and is mostly done in whites with a touch of color in the variety of bread and butter plates—clear pink glass, tan ringed china and other patterns—-at each place setting. Even the napkins are different with a beige stripe against white linen.
The menu is a mix of the familiar and the unusual and highlights locally sourced ingredients. We began by sharing two appetizers. A platter with two fat stalks of white asparagus accompanied by a pool of mustard mayonnaise and a small bowl of delicate peeky toe crab dumplings in a citrusy broth. Both were excellent and evoked spring.
For entrees, the Chief Penguin had the roast organic chicken with roast potatoes and onion rings while I delighted in the seared salmon (served medium-well per my request) in the pea green curry with bok choy.
Wines by the glass were expensive, but good. It was such a lovely experience, we’d like to return!
Note: Contents and photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).
