Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti and writers for the website talk with the women and men making news in New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities around the world. Thanks to Ian Herman for his wonderful piano introduction.
Broadway Week is an exciting happening in the Theatre District for two weeks from September 3rd to the 15th when Broadway favorites are on a 2 for 1 offer. See a performance for the first time or see it again! Some of the great shows that participate include Wicked, Chicago, The Great Gatsby, Sufffs, Hamilton, Water for Elephants, Aladdin, and more!
Now the question is, where to dine? There are restaurants close to the Great White Way that have pre-theatre menus and tasty specials while ensuring you get to the show right on time. Here are eight of our favorites that are very close to the Times Square neighborhood. The restaurants are unique choices with different price points to please all. Many of them require reservations, so make your plans.
1604 Broadwaylocated at 1604 Broadway is a new culinary, entertainment and nightlife venue from forces in the NYC nightlife and Latin Music Industries, Paul Brown and Pedro Zamora. The four-level space houses three unique food concepts and a nightclub all rooted in Latin music, cuisine and entertainment. Their lovely new all-day restaurant, Palma Verde, offers a three-course prix-fixe for $55. Start with Smoked Tomato Soup or Palma Verde Salad. Main selections include Thanksgiving everyday and their Marinated Skirt Steak Frites. As a special treat get a bag of cookies to-go for intermission.
Le Tout Va Bien at 311 51st Street offers a pre-theatre prix-fixed menu from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., ideal for getting to your show on time. For $38 the meal includes a choice of a starter such as Homemade Country Pate; entrees like Coq Au Vin, or hangar Steak and Frites. Top it off a choice of desserts that include Crème Brulee. This charming French Bistro brings a bit of Paris to the theatre district with exquisite drink, food, and service.
Estiatorio Milos on West 55th Street in Midtown is a few steps from New York City Center and so close to all the Broadway theatres. This elegant restaurant offers both pre-theatre and post-theatre dining with three courses for $65. The pre-theatre dinner is served from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. and the post-theatre dinner is served from 9:30 p.m. to closing. Start with Salmon Tartare or Milos Tomato Dakos. Main choices include Whole Grilled Dorade Royal Colorado Lamb and more. Top off your meal with Seasonal Fresh Fruit. There is an optional wine pairing for each course with wonderful Greek wines.
Carmine’s is in the heart of Times Square at 200 West 44th Street. Chef Glenn Rolnick helms the kitchen of this popular New York restaurant that has a tradition of family-style dining with very generous portions of Italian classics and a wide variety of cocktails, wine, and beer that will suit your party. Enjoy signatures like Chicken Parmigiana, Stuffed Mushrooms, Penne Alla Vodka, Salmon Oreganata, and Porterhouse Contadina Style. Guests will want to save room for dessert to enjoy options like Tiramisu, Italian Cheesecake, and a classic Espresso Martini.
Heritage Grand Bakery, Restaurant & Pizza Bar is located at 8 West 40th Street. Their Happy Hour is served from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and dining in their modern, welcoming venue is a pleasure. There are drink specials that include wine and select signature cocktails for $10 and food specials that include their Neopolitan or Thin Crust Margherita Pizza for $10.
Mermaid Oyster Bar Times Squareat 127 West 43rd Street is known for delectable seafood. Their Happy Hour, served from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. offers specials on Littleneck Clams, Fried Calamari, Artichoke and Spinach Dip and more. There are also specials on select craft cocktails, wine and beer. It’s a great place to relax before starting off for your show.
The Terrace and Outdoor Gardens at the Times Square EDITION is on eat 9th floor of the Hotel at 701 Seventh Avenue and West 47th Street. The Broadway Express pre-theatre menu by Chef John Fraser includes three courses for $64. The menu has the choice of an appetizer such as Trumpet Mushroom Carpaccio, Lioni Burrata, or Empire Caesar Salad, a savory menu such as Whole Roasted Maitake Mushroom, Broccoli Caciao e Pepe, Grilled Dorade, or Skirt Steak Frites, topped off with a dessert option of Lemon Torte Caprese, Tiramisu, or Panda Cotta.
Pink Taco at Seventh Avenue and 41st Street will satisfy all of your cravings for Mexican style food along with a beverage menu featuring refreshing cocktails. Enjoy table shares such as Guacamole, Nachos or Street Corn. Menu items also include Salads, Fajitas, Burritos, and of course, Tacos. Don’t miss out on dessert with Tres Leches Churro or their Pink Fried Ice Cream. The lively, welcoming atmosphere will get you ready for a great show.
Davis Lindo (Romario Simpson) had a clear path to promotion if he stayed in his native Jamaica and followed in his father’s footsteps. Wanting to make it on his own, Lindo completed a tour with Jamaica’s Royal Military Police, and under a diversity program, comes to the UK . Upon arrival, he texts his father back in Jamaica: “Hey Daddy, Arrived in Aberdeen. Today Scotland, tomorrow…maybe New Scotland Yard?”
Granite Harbour, now streaming on BritBox, gets its name from the Rubislaw Quarry where an estimated six million tons of granite were once mined, giving Aberdeen the nickname, Granite City. The quarry was closed in 1971, filled with water, and closed to the public. Granite, however, has another meaning, defining a hard rock that can be polished and used as a foundation for buildings and monuments. That sums up Lindo who comes onto the Aberdeen team with a tough attitude, polishing his techniques as he learns, yet demonstrating that he is the rock solid member of an arrogant and, at times, inept group.
Romario Simpson as Davis Lindo
The first season introduces members of the Aberdeen police department: DCI Cora MacMillan (Dawn Steele); DS Lara Bartlett (Hannah Donaldson); DI Jay Mallick (Bhav Joshi); and DS Simone “Monty” Montrose. As the newest recruit, Lindo has a lot to prove and he’s thrown into the deep end of the pool right away. Out shopping for new clothes, he happens upon a rally where an energy company executive, Clellan Coburn (Ron Donachie), is announcing that his oil company will transition to green energy by merging with a Norwegian company. “It’s taken us a long time to get on the green train, but now that we have, we’re not getting off,” Coburn tells the crowd. While most there support the company’s new direction, others are worried about their jobs. The head of the green company, Karolina Andersen (Katia Winter), tries to reassure the opponents with the proclamation that Colburn Oil and Gas will transform into Coburn renewable Energy.
After the announcement, someone throws a bottle at Coburn and says, “I’ll kill you first, Coburn! That’s a promise.” Lindo also witnesses an argument between Coburn and his brother, Shay (Gary Lewis), who opposes the merger. When Coburn is found dead the next day, the protestor, as well as Shay, emerge as prime suspects who wanted the energy company executive dead. But as the team begins to examine the merger, others are added to the list.
Lara Bartlett Hannah Donaldson as DS Lara Bartlett
Although Lindo hopes to become a detective, he already is one. In the first season, he’s methodical as he looks at the evidence, digs deep into each suspect’s background, and doesn’t look for the quick fix just to make the team look good. His ten years in the Jamaican RMP prepared him well, better in fact, than the two team leaders, MacMillan and Mallick. And his time in Kabul taught him about leadership, guiding a team and, most importantly, listening to subordinates even when their assessment might differ from the obvious solution.
After Lindo’s performance in the first season, he should be on more solid ground as a team member. Yet MacMillan still is keeping him on a short leash. Adding to Lindo’s problems is a visit from his father, Grantly (Patrick Robinson), who was high up in the Jamaican police department and is pressuring his son to come back home and join the island’s force. Lindo wants to prove himself without interference from his father and having his father imply that Lindo’s time in Scotland is coming to an end adds to resentment from Bart, his partner.
Sam Garioch as Duncan McFadden and Lesley Hart as Grace McFadden
This time around the stakes are high as the team goes up against one of the city’s most notorious crime families headed by the daughter of the deceased kingpin. Grace McFadden (Lesley Hart) and MacMillan go way back as schoolmates but now are on opposite sides of the law. Publicly Grace says the family has gone legit, but Cora knows better. When one of Grace’s foot soldiers turns up dead from an overdose of ketamine, she denies that he worked for her. Since CK, a mixture of cocaine and ketamine, is now flooding the streets of Aberdeen, Cora suspects Grace’s organization is responsible for the traffic and the team has its eye on Grace’s nephew, Duncan.
Dawn Steele as DCI Cora MacMillan
Meanwhile, Bart and Lindo try to help a young, pregnant Iranian woman, Mariam (Afsaneh Dehrouyeh) who was being smuggled, along with her husband, into Scotland on a freighter. When her husband goes missing, she seeks help from Katie Forsyth (Kate Bracken), a former drug addict who now works with a local charity. Katie takes Mariam to the police to report her husband missing, but without any evidence, they can’t investigate. Lindo, however, believes her, his suspicions raised by interviews with the ship’s captain and crew who seem to be hiding something. MacMillan resists supporting Lindo until his digging turns up a link between the freighter and the CK drug traffic. Whoever is behind the drug gang wants Mariam silenced. When her location is leaked, Lindo knows someone on the team is responsible and takes it upon himself to find a safe house for her, refusing to tell MacMillan the location. Resolution of the crime will shake MacMillan’s team to its core and, once again, Lindo’s instincts prove to be spot on.
The standout in this series is Simpson, whose resume includes roles in Django and Star Wars: Andor. He’s particularly effective during interrogations when his ability to empathize with a suspect or a victim is on full display. As his partner, Donaldson holds her own. The weak link, unfortunately, is Dawn Steele, the experienced and talented Scottish actor who should have demanded a better story line for her character. MacMillan comes off as arrogant and inexperienced when a woman in her position would certainly have exhibited exceptional skills to lead a criminal investigation team. Maybe we will see a more effective team leader in season three.
Claire had an idyllic childhood in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, a fairytale marriage to Nick, and then what she always wanted, a baby, Lucy. An unimaginable tragedy struck and in the aftermath, Claire struggled to put her life together. She moved to a small town in Wisconsin. When people asked why that midwestern state, she said because the state looked like a child’s mitten.
After six years, Claire’s life settles into a welcome routine. An artist, she works on her collages, goes on long runs, and explores her small town. On her frequent visits to the local Y, she keeps bumping into Erik, who is project manager of Ten Chimneys, a summer retreat built in the 1920s by Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, a critically acclaimed American stage duo of the 20th century. He asks Claire whether she’s familiar with theater. “My closest friend growing up was – is – an actress,” she responds, wincing because of the pain just that simple statement delivers.
When Erik asks Claire out, she says yes. She learns that Erik is divorced from Annabelle, although they have an amicable relationship parenting their three children — a son, Spencer, who has learning issues and may be on the spectrum, and twin daughters, Hazel and Phoebe. Erik says that Annabelle will love Claire, and she does. Soon, Claire is dating Erik, best friends with Annabelle, and included in their friendship circle. On weekends, Erik and Claire are often at Annabelle’s house with the children, Annabelle’s new boyfriend, Scott, and another married couple, Eva and Gabe.
While Claire is thrilled to have found not only a boyfriend, but a social group that includes children, she worries that when they discover her past, she will lose everything – again. Frequent calls with her mother in Rehoboth help, but in so many ways, Claire doesn’t believe she’s worthy of being happy. And while Annabelle and the others embrace Claire, they often comment that she never talks about herself. Was she married? Did she have children? But Claire gives nothing away – until someone comes to Wisconsin who could blow her world apart.
Maribeth Fischer’s novel is about relationships – friendship, marriage, and parenting. Are second chances possible? When Claire explains her decisions, will others understand, or condemn her as selfish?
Truth be told, when I began to read Fisher’s novel, I thought it might be formulaic – a woman with a mysterious past meets a man, falls in love, and then worries that her secret will destroy the relationship. But A Season of Perfect Happiness is more complex, as are the characters. While Claire has secrets, her social group also has something to hide, an indiscretion that makes a mockery of loyalty. Friendships often endure out of habit, long past their sell by date. When Claire comes into this circle, she’s forced to face her own decisions, but those who are quick to judge her must deal with their own guilt.
Without giving too much away, Fisher shines a much needed light on the psychological issues that women face during and after childbirth. With anti-abortion laws being passed in many states, pregnant women are too often placed in serious medical jeopardy when they cannot be treated, no doubt adding to any mental strain they may be experiencing. How many, like Claire, will blame themselves rather than a system that doesn’t respond to their needs?
Fischer also delivers encouragement to writers. She wrote a version of this novel in 2008 and it was rejected by agents, even though she had a track record as a novelist. Another agent took a chance on her and the result is this wonderful book which truly is A Season of Perfect Happiness.
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