Cross Town Thoughts
GOOD
MadMen ending. The real thing.
The Affair. Ray Donovan.
Pope Francis charms the U.S.
New York weekends. Ocean Grill. Mermaid Inn.
Forked around Long Island twice. 
Ogilvy Account Director mAdBen. Seattle star.
BAD
End of MadMen.
Emojis. Symbols that replace words.
ISIS thugs. Paris. U.S. World. Under Siege.
Guns. Guns. Guns,
Top Ten Reasons we’ll miss David Letterman
10- Marquee on 53rd and Broadway
9- Preserved Old Ed Sullivan Theater. Regis
8- Memories of City Squire Motor Lodge. Red Coach Grill
7- One hour earlier in San Fran
6- Paul Shaffer. Chris Elliott under the stairs
5- Snark before it was invented
4- Early morning crazy Dave comes to Late Show
3- Rupert Jee. Larry ‘Bud’ Melman. Mujibar & Sirajul
2- Jaundiced political acuity
1- Gorgeous suits. Worldwide pants
Let’s see if I can stay awake for tonight’s final bow.
New Year’s Weekend Eve. Bar Boulud. So good. Telepan. Pretty bland. Dovetail serene. Too much bread, wine and cheese in between.
Constellations. Choice. Chance. Life. Death. Infinity. Balloons. Strings. Theoretical astrophysics. Bees. Jake Gyllenhaal. Ruth Wilson. New play in previews on Broadway. Thought-provoking show. Genius concept. Staccato scenes. Masterclass acting. Stellar directing. Gazing up from the front row.
GOOD
mAdBen & Neil deGrasse Tyson at CannesLions. 
Parts Unknown. Bourdain in Massachusetts.
MadMen7. Bobby Morse’s dancing exit.
Of Mice and Men O’Dowd Franco
Realistic Joneses. Letts Collette Hall Tomei
Sushi Nakazawa
Eleven Madison Park
BAD
Rape of the leaves. Construction next door.
Sochi Olympics. Return of Putin.
Crying Wolfowitz. Right-wing and media fear-mongering.
Ebola.
Doldrums between holidays. Lip-synched Christmas carols. Regem angelorum. Glimmer of a glow. James Franco. Best SNL in years. Nicki Minaj killed it. Bieber impression surpassed the Beebs himself. Unusually funny show. Homeland’s homage to Benghazi. Really?
Will & Kate. Duke & Duchess’ first date in Manhattan with mAdBen’s top boss. WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell. Mad Men rule. Reigning American couples compete for regal photo ops. Barack & Michelle. Chelsea & Hill. Grandma-in-waiting.
NFL playoffs shaping up. Niners need spanx. Bye bye Harbaugh. Smart matters. Chargers’ Eddie Royal fell short of plucking Pats off their throne.
Marathon weekend. Dr.Husband’s birthday always overlaps with New York’s longest race. Breaking news. A Kenyan won! High winds almost blew runners and farmers market away. Kevlar and squash prevailed.
Del Posto dining experience surpasses. Freshest food with creativity chiave. Lidia Bastianich matriarch of Gotham’s tavola Italiana. Cacciucco di Livorno. Another version of seafood stew. Sauce sublime. Meaty pasta with lamb neck ragù.
Peyton Manning v. Tom Brady. Stats aligned. Discordant score. Niners out. Tomorrow Stray honored. Giants #92.
Unique Saturday late-night sushi summit at Nakazawa on quaint village Commerce Street. No wasabi shmears nor soy sauce here. Purist omakase only. Skipjack, mackerel, scallops, uni taste as if they’d just jumped out of the sea onto the simple chic plates. A quiet table at the back window enhanced the 20-piece folie. Rumored to have been enjoyed also by Pitt and Jolie.
Twin Peaks return? Laura Palmer said she’d see us in 25 years. It’s here. Ray Wise, Leland Palmer is currently playing a cult leader on Y&R soap. So, he’s available. Calling David Lynch. Can’t wait. Meanwhile, Homeland is back. Carrie escapes dreaded motherhood, off to Afghanistan as Brody’s baby clone Frannie stays back home. Sociopaths on both sides of the terrorist conflict.
Pats, Giants and Niners win. We’ll take what we can get. Don’t celebrate yet.
Columbus Avenue Farmers Market. Next to the Natural History Museum.
And 13 years after 9/11. Nice to see a happy face at Engine Company 74.
Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Full circle. Things happen. Times change. Downtown reigns. Back again. 
The Mermaid Inn. Jackson Hole. Elizabeth’s Table. Momoya. All wonderful in their own ways. Vibrant, fresh, friendly.
Hotels are a test. NYLO pet-friendly. Allergy hell. After a night of 3 pills and a sock over my face, had to check out, but full refund. Last minute respite at old fave Excelsior Hotel . One suite left. No pets, no sprays. Good night’s sleep. Yay.
And you never know who you’ll run into at Tarallucci. A cool cat who should get a modeling gig. Jobs are good. 
Weekend in Manhattan. 5-star Broadway play. Lobster. Sun. Son. Especially son. Best Mother’s Day. Central Park. Blissful getaway.
The Realistic Joneses. Fatalistically familiar. Giggled for hours after. Will Eno wrote a modern day Godot meets Gonzo. It spoke to my inner voices. That’s good. Well… Toni Collette & Tracy Letts epitomized long-married dynamics in crisis. Marisa Tomei stole the heart of the piece with her languished anguished random musings. Flawless comedic timing. Michael C. Hall’s non sequiturs held the most truth. An experienced cast enhanced a beautifully written play about life and free restaurant mints.
Photo by: Ben Levine
Side Trek . NYC 