My plan this week was to eat healthy plant-based meals and write a lot, so of course I procrastinated and found myself eating rich and delicious snacks at cafés and restaurants all over the city. Fail. Then again, what better way to enjoy my last month of maternity leave than to visit some of my favorite places?
10 Things I’ve consumed / enjoyed / considered this week:
A selection of notes from Joan Didion to her husband, Gregory Dunne, that describe sessions with her psychiatrist. As always, I like Didion’s “cool, forensic clarity,” and reading the notes makes me wish I’d kept a record of some of my therapy sessions. I look forward to reading more in the forthcoming book.
An article on Joan Didion’s relationship with Noel Parmentel Jr. in Vanity Fair. It was apparently Parmentel who was the great love of her life, but he was not interested in maintaining a relationship with her so he suggested that she marry Gregory Dunne. And she did! I’m curious to know if the dynamic between Parmentel, Dunne, and Didion as described in the article is accurate.
The apfelstrudel at Café Sabarsky, an old favorite I couldn’t resist as we were walking up Museum Mile on Wednesday. For those unfamiliar, Café Sabarsky is a Viennese café in the Neue Galerie, a lovely little museum of early 20th century German and Austrian art and design. Their wiener schnitzel, bratwurst with sauerkraut, apfelstrudel, and sachertorte are all delicious. It’s as close as you’ll get to Vienna in New York.
Infinite License by Omer Bartov in The New York Review of Books on “how the memory of the Holocaust has, perversely, been enlisted to justify both the eradication of Gaza and the extraordinary silence with which that violence has been met.” A lot of what Bartov writes here strikes a chord.
The Berlingots de Cartier ring in pink chalcedony and garnet that I tried on at the Soho store this week. So gorgeous.
Clips of Corey Booker’s 25-hour Senate floor speech (it wasn’t technically a filibuster) and this article in New York magazine about his motivations. Bravo, Senator Booker! Also, the West Wing episode in which conservative Senator Stackhouse stages a marathon filibuster to delay voting on a Bartlett healthcare bill. In the episode, President Bartlett and his team rely on Senate rules to give the Senator a much-needed break (yielding the floor for a question does not end the filibuster). Of course, we can’t expect that kind of bipartisan respect and support from the Trump administration — the White House promptly mocked Booker’s speech and commented that he was seeking an “I am Spartacus” moment.
An omelette and french fries at Balthazar, classic treats from another favorite New York institution.
Moon, a 2009 Sam Rockwell movie about a man who experiences a crisis as he ends a three-year stint on the far side of the moon. It’s a compelling story and I thought the acting was very good. I then happened upon this New Yorker cartoon (slide 8) that cites the movie — ha! Sam Rockwell is having a moment.
The cherry vareniki at Mari Vanna, a Russian restaurant near Gramercy Park. The food was solid and the atmosphere was fun. It has a homey vibe and is a little less hole-in-the-wall than the Russian Samovar but not as imperial as The Russian Tea Room.
Anne Applebaum on regime change, as part of my research for Letter No. 14. She makes an important distinction between change in administration (e.g., the ushering in of the Obama administration after the Bush administration in 2009) and regime change or “the eradication of the federal civil service, along with its culture and values, and its replacement with something different,” which is what Musk’s DOGE is trying to accomplish.
Hope you all have a great weekend, and if you have any new NYC restaurant recommendations please send them my way! Until next week, xoJess.