Under the Sea and Around the UES

About once a year or so, my girlfriends and I try to get together to see a Broadway show. Last fall we rocked out in the 50s with Hairspray! and this past Saturday we went “Under the Sea” with The Little Mermaid, Disney’s latest Broadway masterpiece. Of course, tickets to a show also mean an excuse to make plans for dinner, plans for drinks—plans, essentially, for the whole weekend. Which is exactly what we did.

Since our group of six was gathering from various parts of New York and New Jersey, we met at my apartment on Saturday afternoon, after buses and trains had arrived and parking spots had been found, before heading to Tini’s for (a very early) dinner. We walked into the little Italian restaurant on the corner of 81st and 2nd just in time for our 5:00 reservation—which we really didn’t need, as the place was relatively empty during the early bird hour. But the emptiness worked in our favor, as it allowed us the opportunity to relax and catch up over a long, slow meal before the 8:00 show.

After ordering a bottle of wine (a smooth Chianti) and an appetizer (crispy fried calamari) for the table, we began the difficult task of deciding what to order for dinner. Tini’s menu was full of delicious-sounding items, and we all had trouble choosing just one. But when we did, we made excellent choices, which included papardelle in a veal ragu with fresh pesto, gnocchi with sweet sausage and porcini in a light tomato sauce, roast pork loin in an apple reduction, grilled octopus, and artichokes stuffed with shrimp, fava beans, and scallops. While we may not have had room for dessert after such scrumptious meals, we ordered it anyway: an amazing tiramisu, a slice of rich ricotta cheesecake, and a creamy chocolate mousse. All were homemade and absolutely delicious, and we shared them over cappuccinos and complimentary shortbread cookies.

After dinner, we hailed cabs down to the theater, where we burned off some of the calories we had just consumed by fighting our way through the Times Square crowd. We arrived in just enough time to find our seats before the show started, again working off even more calories as we climbed to the very last row of the mezzanine. Yet despite our slight vertigo, we had an excellent view—the rather small size of the theater ensures that nearly every seat has a great vantage point—and settled in for what turned out to be an amazing show.

For six girls who basically wanted to be the Little Mermaid when the original Disney film came out in the late 80s, the show was enchanting. But I’m convinced it would captivate even those audience members who didn’t already know every line and the words to all of the original songs, as, in true Disney fashion, the set was brilliant, the scenery amazing, and the acting and, most especially, the singing, were absolutely wonderful.

We left the theater humming “Under the Sea” and hailed cabs back up to the UES, where we stopped at Auction House for drinks. Since Auction House is quite possibly my favorite bar ever, I was eager to share it with the girls, some of whom had never been. But, at 11:00 on a Saturday night, Auction House was much more crowded than I was used to. It was a struggle to pack our coats into the already full coat rack and maneuver through the crowd with the glasses of wine we had just purchased at the bar. With patrons filling the plush sofas and windowfront tables that I typically gravitate towards, we were left standing awkwardly next to one of the couches, forming a tight circle in an effort to protect ourselves from bumping and bustling that would send our wine glasses flying. Though we still enjoyed the warm, slightly Victorian atmosphere, the hip indie soundtrack, and, of course, each other’s company, I promised to bring everyone back on a week night or earlier on a weekend evening, when Auction House is much less crowded and much more enjoyable.

Our numbers began to dwindle as the evening came to an end and those who lived nearby headed home. Yet, with my friends Lisa and Kate spending the night at my apartment, our weekend was not yet over. Despite laughing late into the night, the three of us woke up early Sunday morning for brunch at The Vinegar Factory, the Vermont-style cafeteria on the second floor of Eli Zabar’s 91st Street location. Slightly sleepy and still humming songs from The Little Mermaid, we filled up on sweet and savory breakfast treats, including a basket full of assorted breads, blueberry and raspberry whole grain pancakes, a western omelette, and, best of all, real Vermont maple syrup. Our long and leisurely meal, followed by a stroll along the East River promenade and through Carl Schurz Park, was the perfect start to our day and the perfect end to a fabulous weekend.

And yes, “Under the Sea” is still stuck in my head.