The Master. Pianist Alex Tuchman

A long overdue visit to be sure, but The Kitchen Island crew arrived in Gotham a week ago for a virtuoso piano recital by the internationally renowned Alex Tuchman, pianist extraordinaire and one of Webster’s seemingly infinite supply of nieces and nephews.

Bach, Beethoven, Schumann; a brilliant display of talent, virtuosity and many years of practice. But this is a food blog, right? So, let’s at least touch on some food!

Click on “Continue Reading” for the gory details!

Our Arrival

Our Weekend Domicile

The trip was relatively uneventful, at least until we arrived at the northern end of the NJ Turnpike and exited for the Lincoln Tunnel in what turned out to be a Herculean attempt to reach our weekend domicile, the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, a distance of no more than 4.3 miles. We figured that, after covering the first 294 miles in just under five hours, we had plenty of time to cover this final leg of our journey and make the concert with room to spare. How foolish of us. With what must have been every single human being between Boston and Chicago trying to get into that evening’s Lion King performance, our bedraggled selves, after more than two and a half hours during which we hit a top speed of 8 MPH, washed up at the foot of the Guest Services desk pleading for mercy and a strong drink. No matter where you are in the world, be it on the Beijing-Tibet Expressway or in the Buenos Aires MSA, approaching the maw of the Lincoln Tunnel on a Friday evening is its own hell.

The Penn Club

After a harried check-in and hurried clothing change, we hustled out onto Broadway – which was wall-to-wall kids swarming Minnie Mouse, Spiderman, Goofy, Batman, Bloomberg and other NY cartoon characters who seemingly were just wandering around at the intersection of Broadway and W. 46th St., bumping into one another and high-fiving the fourth-graders from Dubuque. One block south and a quick left on W. 44th, we make our way to the Penn Club, the venue for tonight’s performance.

Slightly winded and slightly late (Wanda, negotiating five blocks at a fast march in heels, was also slightly sore), we arrive during the third movement of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 18, with no noticeable ill effects (on the performance or on us). The young Herr Tuchman, provided an exemplary performance – so attested even by his own sister, if you can imagine! – and a fine time was had by all.

Quitting the club and walking along 44th St. back to Times Square prompted a spirited discussion between me and my betrothed about the need for any additional refreshment one might consider on a Friday evening in the Spring of 2013 in Nu Yawk City and, after multiple options were discussed (and several passed and eyeballed), a decision was made to avail ourselves of the offerings of The View. And so, 15 minutes later, we find ourselves comfortably ensconced at an outer ring table on the top floor of the Marriott in what is the only revolving rooftop restaurant in the Big Apple. And no sooner do our respective posteriors get embraced by the seat cushions than we discover that they have been expecting us! Not the restaurant; the whole dang city, as was evidenced by the wonderful welcome sign that was erected for Wanda on the roof of another hotel one block north!

The whole city apparently was expecting us!

Adult beverages ordered – The Earl for your humble correspondent and a fine Pinot Noir for the Missus – we proceeded to make short work of the buffet offerings. (The chocolate buffet was of considerable interest to me. The name “Webster” seemed to be superimposed on the eclair tray.)

This, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the many laborious efforts made by the dedicated staff here at The Kitchen Island to bring to your not-insignificant selves the most penetrating and in-depth reporting of food options everywhere! Indeed, while I was cogitating the calculus for fitting the largest number of chocolate products on an 8″ plate, Wanda was making mental notes on the ginger shrimp, marinated antipasti salad, and braised short ribs so as to bring these masterpieces to you worthies in the not-too-distant future.

Wanda sampling the fare while enjoying a 360 degree view from, well, The View!

And so she shall! If you’re following this blog, you’ll receive a notice when the next recipe is posted. (If you’re not following this blog, shame on you! For redemption, click on the “Follow” button in the lower right hand corner of your screen and enter your email address). In the meantime, you can tell from Wanda’s expression how difficult she finds all this research!

Bon journey, mes amis!