New York is My Washpot

Yesterday evening I was walking through the intersection of Varick and Franklin downtown in Tribeca to meet the Blogger Gals for our NYC Restaurant Week 2008 reservation at the upscale Vietnamese restaurant Mai House. As I walked unassumingly through a small crowd, I suddenly heard, "Action!"

I did a half-duck and hastened my pace across the street, realizing that I had just walked through a film set - whether it was for a movie or television production, I did not know. I did briefly observe a blonde girl in pink with her hair swooped to the left and pulled back in a neat ponytail. The director was frantically trying to get her to cross the busy intersection for his shot, and she was pointing to the passing cars and raising her arms in a questioning gesture. Assuming that the relatively small production crew was shooting an independent film of some sort, I took no further notice and continued on my way.

Later, Misguided Misadventures was able to ascertain that we each must have separately walked through a follow-up clip for America's Next Top Model or a recap for The Tyra Show on our respective commutes to meet at Mai House. The blonde in pink was Whitney, the first plus-size model to be crowned by Tyra Banks in Cycle 10.

At Mai House, I selected the Green Mango Salad (Chile Oil, Cilantro, Red Onion), Glazed Spare Ribs (Orange and Scallion Salad, Chiles, Ginger Caramel), and the Holy Basil Chocolate Ganache (Passion Fruit, Kumquat) from their Restaurant Week three-course menu, which was served by a pretty and friendly waitress, who did not treat us like "Restaurant Week patrons". We were provided with courteous and prompt service and were not rushed out for the next seating. And as always, I enjoyed good conversation with City Wendy, DrunkBrunch, Fiesty Red, Misguided Misadventures, and Satire City.

Meanwhile uptown on a beautiful tree-lined street in Hell's Kitchen, the A-List comedian / former SNL actor was picking up my roommate in a red Ferrari (rather than a few of the Jaguars we rode in last week, including a brand new one, which prompted me to show him my brand new yellow MetroCard, fully loaded from the 50th Street station showroom). During their third date, he invited her to ... California to see one of his shows, a photo shoot for a leading entertainment magazine ... and, oh yea, a little something called the Emmys in September.

"It is a cliché that most clichés are true, but then, like most clichés, that cliché is untrue."- Stephen Fry, Moab is My Washpot

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