Evenings in NYC...

We had dinner each evening with Peter, Sophie and two of her sons (the eldest was away on a school trip). As in past visits, Peter took us for some of the most amazing sushi. Another night we took them to their favorite vegan restaurant, which was also incredible.

The most unusual dinner by far was on the concierge level of NY Presbyterian Hospital on 68th Street. We had been along when Peter brought his mother to the hospital and waited in the car while he negotiated to get her an upgrade to the special floor. Apparently no one can say no to Peter, and she was admitted to the floor that has a private dining room that family and friends can pay to join the patient for a three-course meal—luckily it was much tastier than hospital food usually is.

Despite already having dessert at the hospital, Peter said he was dropping me and Jimmy off for ice cream. I wasn’t thrilled about eating again, but it turned out we weren’t there for the ice cream after all. Although it was a real ice cream shop during the day, at night it was a secret bar with the entrance behind this wall of ice cream cartons.

It was very crowded, so we squeezed in near the bar. The cocktail menu was intense with ratings of each drink by strength, complexity and wow factor. I had the Old Silk Stocking, which had activated charcoal to make it black, and Jimmy had the 1040 5th Avenue, which was a modern take on a Manhattan with rye bread on the top.

We enjoyed our drinks and then rushed to the subway so we could watch Saturday Night Live live for the first time in many years.