Category Archives: 2) Frequent Destinations

October 18, 2012 · 1:51 pm

Iowa destination dining: The Northside Cafe in Winterset

Outside the revamped Northside Cafe in Winterset, Iowa

Once upon a time there was an old beloved cafe in the central Iowa town of Winterset called the Northside. A charming place with high ceilings, a stamped tin ceiling, a long wooden counter with swivel seats, booths with softened vinyl, old photos, and an old-fashioned sign above the counter that flipped every few seconds to advertise another local business (“Lenny’s auto: instant financing”). The food was nothing to write home about but I took out-of-towners there to soak up the scene. (Did I mention the Northside was the setting for a scene  starring a love-struck Clint Eastwood in the film “Bridges of Madison County?”).

There was also, about 10 years ago in Des Moines a beloved cafe called Chat Noir,which served creative fare inspired by New Orleans, France  and other Euro spots in a funky old house in the historic Sherman Hill neighborhood. After a strong run, it closed and we still miss it. But now it is back…sort of. The new owners of the Northside are the former owners of Chat Noir. During a Saturday lunch at the Northside earlier this month, we recognized familiar faces ( one of the twin sisters who are the cafe’s co-owners) and several favorite dishes (the muffuletta, the crab and shrimp bisque) but many new things. And the vibe is familiar – welcoming and hip but not too. Plus a new small town coziness. It’s like a mash up of theNorthside and Chat. We loved it and we will be back. When you go try the pulled pork sandwich (not goopy with sauce but instead dry smoked pork), the bisque, sweet potato fries, cold-pressed  ice coffee, fresh apple pie. Yum.

Address: 61 East Jefferson Street, Winterset, IA 50273
Phone: (515) 462-1523

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October 1, 2012 · 5:08 pm

My friend’s new art gallery on NYC’s Lower East Side! William Holman Gallery

An old friend who has a great eye – take it from me, the daughter of  art dealers who ran a well-known gallery in suburban Detroit for many years  – is opening a new contemporary art gallery on New York City’s  Lower East Side on Oct. 4.  For more details see below and check out:
http://www.wholmangallery.com. Very exciting! I got a sneak preview of the artwork late last month   during a NYC visit and it’s terrific!
The gallery also is conveniently located near a good corned beef sandwich at Katz’s Deli – as was my parents’ gallery in suburban Detroit – the Stage Deli – come to think of it. Other dining options I’ve heard about recently near the gallery on the lower east side: Mission Chinese Food (some dishes with bacon!)  at 154 Orchard Street and  Japanese food at Blue Ribbon Sushi Izakaya 187 Orchard Street (Houston Street). My how the neighborhood has changed since the 70’s when I used to go with my grandmother to shop for clothing, at bargain basement prices, on Orchard Street.
 

Gallery News  
August 2012
 
William Holman Gallery has arrived on the Lower East Side of NYC! We are proud to represent a group of very talented and seasoned American and international artists including: Peter Bonner, Anthony Brownbill, John Cunningham, Michael Davis, Nicolette Jelen, Tom Judd, Massimo Lippi, Robert Seyffert, and, Sally Tittman. Additionally, we retain collections from the estates of Olin Dows, 20th century American artist and Carmel Snow, former editor of Harper’s Bazaar.
 
While we ready our new gallery space at 65 Ludlow Street, NYC, 10002 we invite you to browse our website at www.wholmangallery.comand become acquainted with our artists. To stay connected with our latest news, follow us on Twitter @WHolmanGallery! For contact information, please go to: www.holmangallery.tel\
Deep Trees, 2011, Glass Engraving in Light Box, 12 x 12 x 4″

Inaugural Exhibition:
Nine Artists
4 – 30 October, 2012
 
The gallery will initiate its first exhibition season with a group show devoted to the work of the nine artists who will make up our first season. Exhibiting artists are: Peter Bonner, Anthony Brownbill, John R. Cunningham, Michael J. Davis, Nicolette Jelen, , Tom Judd, Massimo Lippi, Robert Seyffert and Sally Tittmann.
 
For more information contact press@wholmangallery.com

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September 30, 2012 · 3:13 pm

Say it’s not so: Des Moines’ Weather Beacon is no more

Des Moines

Driving through downtown Des Moines last night we were struck by the absence of the famous Weather Beacon – a 500-foot television station transmitter tower lined with lights that perked up the sky above the city, letting us know the weather forecast by its color and flashing/or lack of flashing. (Red meant warmer weather ahead; white – colder weather in sight; flashing meant precipitation.) My stepdaughter E. in particular was fascinated by it as a kid when she used to visit us from Oklahoma. “Does every city have a weather beacon?” she once asked. No – and now Des Moines no longer does either, alas. (Some other cities do have a weather beacon,  according to Wikipedia including Dubuque, Sacramento,Sydney, Copenhagen, Toronto, Istanbul and New Orleans, where I’ll be next weekend. Who knew? See photos below!)

Word has it some genius is designing a computer app to replace the weather beacon but that’s hardly the same. More details from the DM Register:

Iowa lost two treasures in less than two days. First, Wall Lake native and famed singer Andy Williams died late Tuesday. Wednesday, word came from KCCI-TV the station was switching off its beloved Weather Beacon for good.

The beacon was to flicker off a final time at dawn Thursday. Station owners decided costs and upkeep of the colorful icon outweighed the benefits of keeping the beacon lit — much to the anguish of central Iowans who grew up with the forecast lights.

“We are losing a true landmark,” said Bernard Harmeyer of Altoona. “I always looked to the tower to see what was going on with the weather. It made (KCCI) stand out from the other stations.”

First lit in 1960, strings of colored lights at the edges of the downtown transmitter tower for Des Moines’ CBS-TV affiliate gave an at-a-glance forecast on the capital’s skyline.

But the traffic light bulbs used to create the colorful forecast are no longer manufactured. Station officials ordered custom-made bulbs, but the color flaked off the red and green bulbs, which regularly forced engineers to scale the 500-foot tower to replace bulbs.

The tower, KCCI reported Wednesday, was built to meet 1980s code, and any remodeling would have forced expensive repairs.

The Weather Beacon went dark in 1973 because of high energy costs. When KCCI moved to its current location at 888 Ninth St., the tower was rebuilt and the beacon returned in 1987.

Former Des Moines Register Iowa Boy columnist Chuck Offenburger rallied the station to return the beacon in many columns through the 1970s and ’80s. Now retired and living on a Greene County farm, he was ready to sound reveille in the 21st century.

“Occupy KCCI!” he said Wednesday. “Look what other fine restorations there are around Des Moines — the World Food Prize headquarters, the Temple for Performing Arts, Terry Branstad.

“Surely the Weather Beacon can be made over and given extended new life, too, can’t it?”

Sydney

Brisbane

Melbourne

Kitchener

Toronto

Copenhagen

Aachen

Osaka

Istanbul

Fresno

Sacramento

San Francisco

Des Moines

Dubuque

New Orleans

Boston

Flint

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September 27, 2012 · 2:26 pm

One of top 15 architecture cities….Mason City, Iowa!

Stoney Creek Inn

Front of the Park Inn Hotel (right) and side of the City

People from beyond Iowa tend to find it remarkable that Mason City Iowa has such a treasure trove of Prairie Style homes – by architects including Frank Lloyd Wright. But Conde Nast travel mag is in the know: It recently listed Mason City among the top 15 cities in the world of noteworthy architectural history, according to Wright on the Park, a Mason City nonprofit instrumental in restoring and reopening The Park Inn Hotel, the last remaining hotel designed by Wright.  The hotel plus the Wright-designed Stockman House (both of which offer public tours) and the Rock Crest-Rock Glen residential area, where you can take a self-guided tour of the area’s historic homes including many Prairie Style homes, no doubt won Mason City the same destination nod as cities including Barcelona (presumably for Gaudi!) and Tel Aviv. Word has it the restaurant has opened at the hotel (it wasn’t opened yet when I visited about a year ago.)

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September 25, 2012 · 8:16 pm

Unabashed tourists – the Circle Line and Hotel Carlyle in NYC

Interior of Bemelmans Bar in New York City

Sometimes, you just have to be a tourist and so we were on a spectacular late summer/early fall day last Sunday in New York City. Three friends and I took the 2.5 hour lower Manhattan Circle Line cruise and it was magical, with fantastic views of Battery Park, the former World Trade Center area with the 9/11 memorial and the still-rising Freedom Tower/One World Trade Center, Wall Street, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island – we all thoroughly enjoyed, even the New Yorker among us. (Next time I hope to take another boat ride I read about recently in the NYTimes that it offered by the New York Society of Architects.)

Later that day, we ate an okay french meal at Le Monde on Broadway near 108th and met an old friend for drinks at, of all places, the Old New York  bar at The Carlyle Hotel on the Upper East Side (complete with a glamorpuss cabaret singer…not Judy Collins, alas, who I gather was singing nearby at the famous Cafe Carlyle…where Woody Allen plays his clarinet in a jazz band on Monday nights…pricey cover charge: $135) I didn’t realize until later that the charming Art Deco bar (photo above) is named after  Ludwig Bemelmans,  creator of the classic Madeline kids books.

I forgot to mention a good place for coffee and a light breakfast I went to with another friend on Columbus Ave. near 72nd Street – Arte Around the Corner (with stick to your ribs croissants) and a good diner for a late Monday morning breakfast (The Manchaster Diner on Broadway near 108th.)

1 WTC rendering.jpg
One World Trade Center design as of May 2012.

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September 25, 2012 · 2:06 am

Taking the bus to Laguardia – and nabbing an earlier flight home in Minneapolis

I paid $2.25 (the price of a bus ride) to get to Laguardia airport this afternoon which is much better than a $40 cab ride – not as fast of course, but not as long as I feared. It took me an hour – from the time I picked up the M60 bus at 106th and Broadway to my arrival at Laguardia’s Terminal C – and frankly seemed faster than the express bus I rode into the city (for $12.50).

I had a three hour layover in Minneapolis so of course my arrival and departing gates were minutes away from each other (as opposed to my outbound flight when I had 37 minutes to get from one end of the airport to the other.) Noticing that there was an earlier flight to Des Moines (at 7:15 vs. 9:30 p.m.) I went to the gate for the earlier flight to see if I could get on. There was room but Delta wanted to charge me $50 (which United wasn’t going to do when I tried to do the same thing a week ago in Boston). So I said no thanks but then the Delta person saw that my 9:30 flight was overbooked so she waived the $50 fee. So here I am home – although my bag won’t arrive until 11 p.m. So I guess it pays to ask and stand your ground….at least sometimes!

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September 23, 2012 · 10:55 pm

Lower east side NYC – tenement museum, Dudley’s, economy candy, pok pok

My friend C.  Is opening  an art gallery on the lower east side of NYC  so we went to get a sneak peek. great old former industrial space, with exposed brick walls and lots of light and wonderful selection of art work (more on the William Holman gallery in a later post) we went on the Irish outsider tour at the tenement museum. I liked the tour I took several years ago there where we got a look at all the floors /cultures in the building, (Jewish , German catholic, etc) but it was interesting to get a more in depth look the Irish . We had a drink next door at a hipster place called Dudley’s, walked around the lower east side dropping in at Economy candy, Russ and daughters, katz’s deli, pok pok (which was more of a hole in the wall than expected but seems worth a try.)

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September 23, 2012 · 2:20 am

Exploring park slope by stroller

I fit right in during my Park Slope visit yesterday  because I was pushing a stroller. Some might even have mistaken me for a mother since this is the kind of place where 50 something mothers are not unheard of. My four month old niece was in the stroller and once I got over my apprehension about handling the stroller (which is a bit different than the ones I had with my kids 20 years ago) we had a grand time. We sTrollered around prospect park on a gorgeous afternoon and sat on a bench at the edge of a green lawn and people watched. Then we walked along 7th avenue window shopping. All the while it was a smile fest, my niece and I i smiling at each other. (except when she slept.) bliss. We stopped at a bagel shop near union street, where I had some good apple cider and rugelah. Earlier I ate an excellent lunch at Miriam’s  on fifth with my brother. A israeli-inspired place …the scrambled eggs on some sort of crispy slightly sweet fry bread served with fiery Harissa was delicious. Went to a good resale shop near y, spotted a tv actor (Derrick from”smash”), got carry out from a middle eastern place called zeitoin,  and  sadly said goodbye for now.

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September 21, 2012 · 2:39 pm

Delta, Eric Kayser, AG kitchen in NYC

I was not optimistic about making my connecting flight from the start yesterday because I had only a 37 minute connection in Detroit and sure enough I almost missed it. At 9:45 I was stuck in the plane in the rain on the runway in Detroit  thinking there is no way I will make my 10 am flight to NYC. I was in the last row of the plane and I had to collect my luggage on the jet bridge before getting the next flight. And my arrival gate was on the opposite end of  the airport. I had also called delta twice and was told the NYC flight was leaving on time. But I had to give it a shot. So when we finally got to the gate I leapt out of my seat and made it about to mid plane. Then I quickly spotted my luggage among the bags piled on the jet bridge (one  advantage of having a shocking pink bag) and I ran. And ran from gate c30. By the time I got to gate a27 the plane was boarding. I had to bend down with my hands on my knees and catch my breath. And I developed a cough. But I got on that damn plane. Moral of the story: it’s worth trying. But would have been nice if delta could have told me the flight was delayed 25 min.

At laguardia I ended up taking the airport bus to grand central. Never done before and it did take longer than a taxi but price was right – $12.50 plus tip for driver and it was comfortable.

I went to lunch with my aunt S. at a lively French boulangerie on third ave in the 70’s. The place was packed at 2 p.m. Good salads, sandwiches, pastries. Later I met my friend m at AG  Kitchen  on columbus and 73rd. Fun place with latin-influenced comfort food – roast chicken, smashed potatoes, guacamole, lobster spinach balls. Gorgeous weather and great time to be in NYC.

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September 7, 2012 · 2:35 pm

My recent travel story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune – The High Trestle Trail in Iowa

I forgot to mention that a story of mine about riding bikes on central Iowa’s The High Trestle Trail at night ran a few weeks ago in The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune – for more details see: http://www.startribune.com/printarticle/?id=165756086

Night riding on The High Trestle Trail in central Iowa

Fresh air, exercise and an art bridge

  • Article by: BETSY RUBINER
  • Special to the Star Tribune
  • August 13, 2012 – 2:41 PM

The other night, I did something new and possibly stupid: I rode my bike on an unlit trail through rural Iowa. It was dark, except for the dim beam from the cheap flashlight I jury-rigged to my handlebars and the occasional flickering light of passing bikes. It was quiet, except for the periodic rustling, croaks and calls of who-knows-what. It was spooky.

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