Audrey Hepburn thought Paris was always a good idea. It is—no doubt about it.
Oh Audrey. You little Coquette you. Paris IS a good idea but sometimes……
New York City is always a good idea too. And that’s where Bonaparte and I were headed earlier yesterday.
…New York is better. Especially if you are a born New Yawka and wanna visit ya sons!
So read on.
Bonaparte suggested we go into the City for lunch.
Let’s head downtown!!!
A couple of days beforehand, he also suggested I call the boys to see if they could meet us. So I got in touch with Roman and he told me he had to work on the Saturday Night Live set. I couldn’t get in touch with Jake but figured he was incredibly busy with his new position at NBC Nightly News.
Following?
Bonaparte said not to worry if the boys couldn’t meet us because we would just ride into New York, find a place for a nice relaxing lunch and enjoy ourselves.
But in giving it one last try, I texted Jake Friday night. I explained that I couldn’t get in touch with him but wanted him to meet us for lunch and that Roman had to work.
Jake texted me back that he could meet us. When I told Bonaparte, he was stunned. He and Roman had planned a surprise for me and something got lost in translation.
Roman in his “Oops” moment! He forgot to tell Jake that lunch was a surprise for me! No big deal. I was just happy to be with the boys!
So it ended up that my surprise was supposed to be the boys meeting us at Le District, a new French food court downtown. Oops!
We went to Le District at Brookfield Place downtown Manhattan.
And the surprise really wasn’t. But it didn’t matter because we ended up having a great, great time.
The weather was perfect. The sun was shining and we spent a fun afternoon at Brookfield Place in Downtown NYC!
Brookfield Place offers great views of the Hudson. And you get a close up view of the many goings on!
We stumbled upon this exhibit of inflated rabbits throughout Brookfield Place. Something tells me this is NOT the White Rabbit Grace Slick sang about!
Tulips were in bloom throughout. It was a nice touch. Holland in the City? Well–we DID take the Holland Tunnel into Manhattan!
It was also nice to see the new World Trade Center. This is weird for me because I worked at the OLD WTC before it was destroyed.
We had lunch at Beaubourg Brasserie in Le District at Brookfield Place.
..and we had a terrific time!
Le District at Brookfield Place is a French food court of sorts. For quite some time I’ve been wanting to visit Le District and finally got to go there.
Our French greeters at Le District…
….a nice looking Apricot Lemon Tart! (I wish they would’ve spelled it the French way “Tarte”–it would have been a bit more authentic!
…more sweets!
Roast duck. Le Yum!
I need to tell you about it.
First of all, if you do venture down to Brookfield Place and Le District, take advantage of the valet parking. Seriously. The price is far better than the local parking garages. We paid $35.00 for four hours—which is a steal in Manhattan. We were told that we could text ten minutes before we wanted our car so that it would be at the ready when we were to leave. I cannot say enough about how great the valet service was.
Second. OK. And this almost pains me to say it. We were just slightly disappointed in Le District—and I’ll tell you why.
Le District was touting itself as an authentic French market of sorts. I pictured different departments of France throughout the marketplace.
Through these doors, I visualized the country of France in New York City!
In one area, I envisioned Brittany and the foods that are indigenous to the area—like buckwheat crepes, far, and cidre from Bresignon.
This cidre rocks. It’s sweet but not overly sweet and we always have a steady supply when we are in France. We thought we could get some at Le District–but we couldn’t!
I was looking forward to Calvados from the Normandy area. Visions of Foie Gras and truffles from the Périgord region.
I didn’t see ANY foie gras anywhere in Le District!
Socca from Nice. The thought of La Tarte Tropezienne and Nougat from Senequier in St. Tropez had me performing the happy dance.
Socca, a crepe made from Chickpea flour is a staple in Nice–it’s also easy to make at home!
I also thought we would be able to purchase La Tarte Tropezienne. Sort of like a Boston Cream Pie without the chocolate.
We bring a supply of Senequier nougat home with us every year, and we thought we might have seen it at Le District!
Only it wasn’t like that.
As great as the concept is of an “authentic” French market/food court, improvement is needed. We found mustards and other items that can be found in high end grocery stores. The selection of cheeses was nowhere near it is in France However, we did manage to purchase an excellent chevre as well as a great peppercorn pate. All was not lost.
We had a delightful lunch at Beaubourg Brasserie. We had an outdoor table which was covered by a heated overhang. Great for those days like yesterday—when the weather is still a bit cool. Our server was a blast. A young man from Belgium who engaged in animated French conversation with Bonaparte.
Service was excellent and my apologies for not having pictures of our food, but we were just having such a great time that I didn’t even think of photos!
Roman had Croque Madame, Jake had a salad, Bonaparte went with his usual. Hangar steak and frites. I opted for the Steak tartare. And it was good but could have been a bit spicier.
Roman’s Croque Madame was mouth watering. I’m sorry that I had to use this stock photo but we really were having such a great time that I honestly didn’t think of taking pictures!
It didn’t really matter because we just had a great time with each other!
After lunch we walked around a bit and bid adieu to the boys!
Jake found a great stand for glace! He was very territorial too!
We picked up some car-a-mels and other sweets from La Cure Courmande. This is a really cute little corner of Le District!
We walked around the grounds some more. Um. Nobody bothered to tell me about the bit of salad green stuck in between my teeth. Merci Bow-coo!
We had a fun afternoon and we were glad that we experienced Le District. There is lots of potential for this food court—those who are in charge just need to make it a bit more authentic French rather than the USA version of what French food is like. And I’m not being snotty either. I honestly think that anyone who has spent time in France would think the same as me.
Bye Bye New York. Can’t wait to get back!
I’ll miss you…..BTW, Like my lipstick? I used Cover Girl Outlast All Day Lipcolor in 550–Blushed Mauve. It DOES last all day! I’m not kidding!
Well, today has been a long day. Rain. Retail. And now I’m literally ready to go to sleep. At 8:00 in the evening!
Enjoy your evening and I send my love to you! It was fun to be….
Back In the New York Groove! Ace Frehley for you…XOXOXOXO!!!
