Restaurant Review: Boat Basin Cafe

One of the best features of New York City is that, despite the bumper-to-bumper buildings, there are plenty of green park spaces to unwind, exercise and generally escape from the streets and noise. Although Central Park has the bigger reputation, Riverside Park has always held the more important place in my heart (though this obviously biased, since I grew up less than a stone's throw away from it). If you know where too look, Riverside Park holds many delightful secrets. Since the weather was so absolutely gorgeous today (4/8/12- strong sun, cloudless sky, perfect breeze, the whole nine yards), my parents and I took a walk in the park and ended up at the 79th Street Boat Basin on the Hudson River. I had passed this cafe several times before, but never tried it. In the end, we gave into temptation.

Although the menu at the Cafe was somewhat limited, the food itself was perfectly scrumptious, and it more than made up for a small menu in location, location, location. As you can see from the image to the left, the terrace is set above and right beside the river, providing a fresh breeze (albeit a little too strong on this particular day) as well as perfect exposure to however much sun each patron desired.

The second layer of the restaurant (right) was directly behind the terrace and separated by heavy plastic screens. It contained a vast open space with a full bar, plenty of tables and, of course, big screen TVs. Despite the fact that it was Easter Sunday (when I assumed most people would be at home with their families), it was a full house with patrons shouting and cheering at whatever game was playing (although honestly it got a bit annoying after a while).

The most unique layer of the restaurant was the furthest in (left). For those not familiar with the area, 79th Street & Riverside Drive is notable for its large traffic circle leading to the Westside Highway, and the third layer of the restaurant was sunk directly into the circle (that curving path on top of the arches is what the cars drive on)! Aside from offering the most sun for any interested patrons, this third layer is a pretty cool spot.

If fancy food is not your preference, but you love outdoor seating and a casual environment, then this is place for you. Drop by on the next sunny day. http://www.boatbasincafe.com/ 

War Horse: Movie/Play Comparison

After seeing a moving performance of the original War Horse (see my review) at Lincoln Center last month, I was curious to see how Steven Spielberg's feature film stacked up. Now that I have viewed both, I think I can safely say that, despite their differences, both are fine pieces of work in their own rights.

In terms of plot line, both the play and the film are essentially the same. Various elements were altered, added or omitted (ect..., ect...) throughout the film, but most of these were relatively minor, and didn't take away from the main message of the story. On the plus side, several distinctive scenes from the play (plowing the field, English and Germans working together to release the star- that would be the horse, Joey- from a trap of barbed wire, and the first appearance of a tank the the battlefield) were beautifully preserved in the film, retaining the spirit and passion seen in the live performance.

In one respect, the film actually out-performed the play. Throughout the story, the horse Joey passed through the care of many different people, French and Germans as well as English. Despite the searing conflict of WWI that served as a backdrop for the story, and no doubt the bitter feelings between these nations, Joey had the ability to bring out the finest qualities in whoever he met (the barbed wire scene referenced above is a perfect example). This theme was visible in the play as well, but Spielberg's abilities brought it further to the main, strengthening the all-powerful theme of hope present in both play and film.

Overall, I would say that Spielberg has done an excellent job preserving the vision, scope and, above all, the spirit of the original War Horse. For anyone unable to see the live performance, his film would be a fine substitute. Go and enjoy.
 

Engineering an Empire

I first discovered this remarkable series essentially by accident, but the results were mindblowing. After viewing a few episodes on YouTube, I was craving for more almost immediately. Hosted by actor Peter Weller (of Robocop fame and apparently holding a Master's Degree in Italian Renaissance art history- see "Da Vinci's World"), the series originally premiered in 2006 and is divided in 14 episodes, each covering a specific culture and/or time period:

1- Rome
2- Egypt
3- Greece
4- Greece: Age of Alexander
5- The Aztecs
6- Carthage
7- The Maya: Death Empire
8- Russia
9- Britain: Blood and Steel
10- The Persians
11- China
12- Napoleon: Steel Monster
13- The Byzantines
14- Da Vinci's World

I've always been a fan of historical documentaries, but Engineering an Empire was something else altogether. In addition to superbly rendered 3-D virtual reconstructions of famous monuments and palaces,  much of the series was filmed on the actual locations where many of the events took place. To cap it all, actors dressed up in historically accurate costumes to portray the famous rulers and other personalities that once walked through those locations and made those events possible. All of these features make the history easier to relate to and well as adding more "realism" to the mix, setting Engineering apart from almost any other documentary series ever made.

The one small drawback of the series (although not one immediately obvious to me- it came via later contemplation) was that there was a little too much emphasis on "western" cultures. The Aztec, Mayan, Persian and Chinese episodes were all well and good, but on the DVD set the Roman and Egyptian episodes were each given their own disks, while the other disks each contained three episodes. Granted, those two episodes were twice the length of all the others, but 4 more episodes would have balanced the whole set out (I thought coverage of India, Japan, the Mongols and the Incas would round out the series very nicely).

In spite of this minor issue, I can safely say that this is one of the most remarkable and diverse historical documentary series' ever produced, and have no qualms about calling it a 'must-have' for any history or engineering enthusiast.