Up on the Roof

Wednesday, April 17, 2013 – Up on the Roof

This photo was taken the Sunday morning after the engagement.

I’ve been so elated since Elisa and Christian got engaged last Friday that I haven’t been able to sit down and write for several days.  I was too much in the moment, savoring every second of the excitement that continued throughout the long weekend.  Now that I’m back at home, however, I’m finally starting to come back down from that cloud.  

The big moment took place shortly after Elliott and I arrived in New York for a visit.  We had known for a couple of months that Christian was planning to propose to Elisa, but we had no idea when it would actually happen.  The proposal took place up on the roof of their apartment building on the Lower East Side after a long day at work for both of them.  The fact that it was a gray, chilly, damp and windy evening didn’t make it any less romantic – just think Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw on the moors in Wuthering Heights, but with the twinkling lights of the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop.  By the way, thanks to Teri, Christian’s mom, for noting that their engagement has a theme song, Carole King’s Up on the Roof.

Elisa was totally surprised by the timing.  Christian proved himself to be a master secret planner.  He managed to obtain Elisa’s ring size, arrange for a beautiful ring to be made up, and then lure Elisa onto the roof at the right moment without arousing any suspicion on her part.  They were beaming when they came over to the hotel just minutes after the proposal.  We were all especially touched by the fact that the ring Christian gave Elisa incorporated the diamond that my father had chosen for my mother’s engagement ring 66 years ago. 

Memorable moments deserve great food, and our dinner that night became a festive celebration.  It took place at a nearby restaurant, a tiny, quintessentially Manhattan place called GentlemanFarmer.  The food was imaginative and delicious.  Here come the details.  (You knew I couldn’t skip this part!)

First of all, we toasted with a Zinfandel rather than the more traditional champagne or other bubbly stuff.  Then we shared three starters:  tuna tartare, a beautifully layered dish with the raw tuna crowned with an avocado-based topping on a bed of sugar peas and figs; a Spanish-influenced dish of baby octopus, potato, Niçoise olives and arugula; and a dish of lobster tail with beurre blanc and white truffle on a beautifully seasoned bed of frisée.   All three were winners.   

 

Elliott declined to participate in this part of the meal, however.  He was saving his appetite for the rack of lamb he ordered.  Elisa, Christian and I had plenty with two main courses:  a tasty dish of red snapper on a bed of vegetables, and a stellar mushroom tortellini with truffles.  (We decided to skip the wild boar, bison ribs and ostrich steak that were featured on the menu.)  Of course, you can’t celebrate without dessert, so we ordered a pear tart with vanilla ice cream and a luscious crème brulée. 

It was already ten p.m. when we walked out into the chilly darkness but we were all too excited to go to sleep.  Elliott and I went back to the hotel and I started making phone calls.  It was well after midnight when I finally got to bed.  By the way, the location of our hotel (the Comfort Inn on Ludlow Street on the LES) was great, but I would not recommend it unless you like postage-stamp sized rooms. 

More weekend details to follow, including a couple of museum exhibits, a 30-plus mile trek around the perimeter of the island of Manhattan, and lots more celebrating and eating.