We hired a duo of violin and cello. Straight from the beginning, they were super communicative,…read moreincredibly professional and flexible enough to accommodate all of our requests. During the ceremony, their playing was beautiful and they coordinated with the venue staff smoothly and seamlessly to give us a perfect ceremony! We would definitely recommend these magnificent musicians to anyone who is getting ready to tie the knot. Thank you so much!!

Capriccio Ensemble made our wedding day so unique and special! Natalie was amazing to work with -…read moreshe's so kind, thoughtful, and really passionate about her work. She also is very professional, yet personable, and answered all e-mails promptly (even on weekends!). She is also incredibly talented! We wanted a solo violinist for our outdoor ceremony of about 120 people and the result surpassed all expectations. My husband and I had a blast sampling all of the songs on Capriccio's user-friendly repertoire template that we used to choose our favorites. Each song we selected was truly special to us, and when I heard Natalie play them during the ceremony, it gave our ceremony that extra dream-like element. Natalie was there every step of the way helping us to customize our ceremony to our liking. She remembered every detail, arrived early, and even coordinated with our officiant. I highly recommend Capriccio Ensemble!

My favorite dish was not from a NY chef O_O Don't judge. There is good reason behind this…read more.. Last Friday after work, I went straight to LIC for Le Grand Fooding event. This was a very wise move because we got there half hour before doors opened (7PM for non VIP holders) and were only a few feet away from entrance. It didn't take long before the line wrapped around the block. Imagine a mass of eager, excited and hungry people lined up. Getting anxious as 7PM came closer. Tick tock tick tock. Once in awhile you get a huge whiff of freshly baked dough. Ahhhhhhh! It was the ultimate torture. So close yet so far away. Seriously. Once the line got moving, everyones spirits were on a high. I for sure was cheesin =D Upon entering we were handed 4 different colored stubs to use for the night. Yellow for Veuve Clicquot, red for a pizza with wine pairing, blue for a Belvedere cocktail from the guys of PDT and a white one for a Belvedere cocktail from Erick Castro of Rickhouse in SF. Let the awesome night begin! We were greeted by a strong smell of cheese which as if on auto-pilot, made us line up for Chef April Bloomfield's offering of braised beef and onion pie topped with a robust bleu cheese. It was a perfect way to kick off the night- a brief exchange of words with the chef and a bite of warm straight off the oven mini pie. It was reminiscent of an onion soup in pie form with braised beef as bonus. Yum!!! On to the next one...as I stuff my face with said pie, I headed straight for the next line. Now if you have read my previous reviews, you'd have noticed how much I appreciate swine. I'm kinda sorta in love with it. And now I'm kinda sorta in love with Chef Laurence Jossel and his wood grilled pork with tomato jam. Cassy: Hello chef. May I please have the fatty pieces? Chef: You're a woman after my own heart. *Swoons* Need I say more? I had a generous portion of wood grilled fatty pork with smoked tomato jam on garlic bread. It was succulent, flavorful and absolutely delicious. The jam was a nice touch. It was a little sweet and complimented the pork well. This dish made dining for a good cause 100 times better. Thank you chef for putting love into your food. He served each dish with a smile. We also got to try a number of other dishes and drinks: - 2 vegetable dishes from Chef Jeremy Fox and a memorable lavender infused sugar dusted almonds. - grilled scallops with sea salt and fennel seeds on greens from Chef Syhabout. We had second servings =D - flute of Veuve Clicquot - David Chang's beet chips with goat cheese mousse, tapioca and granola. It was light and totally unexpected. - Squid pizza and vegetable pizza paired with cote du rhone - Pickled cucumbers with shaved lamb tongue from Torrisi. - Parkside Fizz cocktail from PDT was very refreshing. All in all it was a successful night. I ate well without waiting for more than 10 minutes each dish. I'd do it again, in a heartbeat.

In this all out showdown between NY and SF to determine who has the best food, I was pleasantly…read moresurprised. $50 for a regular ticket gained you entrance into a world of unlimited food, waiting in lines with no Fast Passes, excellent espresso from Nespresso, S. Pellegrino sparkling water flavor pairings, and some of the best alcohol around. And all proceeds going to Action Against Hunger. Hi-five! The decorations were beautiful and modern and it was a relatively beautiful and warm fall night. MOMA PS1 was an excellent venue for Le Grand Fooding. The event coordinators oversold the event IMO, but after people started to leave, most of the lines weren't too bad. I didn't get to try everything, but I still had a delightful time. I won't break down every dish that I tried, but here were some of the highlights for me: NEW YORK CITY Chef Dan Barber (of Blue Hill) served up an unlisted dish. I'm unsure as to what the exact components were, but it was good, albeit it lacked some of that wow! factor. Pulino's Chef Nate Appleman offered beef cooked in beef fat over an anchovy crostone that I managed to sample two of before they ran out. Excellent! What I kept going back for and will probably crave was from db Bistro Moderne. Chef Laurent Kalkotour created hte Camemburger DB especially for Le Fooding. The ground sirloin burger slider hid a surprise in the center - a delicious camembert cheese - and when you bit into it, the burger oozed just enough to really enjoy the perfectly (rarely) cooked patty with the perfect sear. This was definitely one of the more filling dishes. They were also handing out the recipe card for this, which I shall endeavor to recreate someday when I'm feeling particularly adventurous and have guinea pi - - I mean /friends/ over. SAN FRANCISCO My favorite, and therefore the best, dish was served up by Frances from SF. For the full duration of the night, the line spiraled around the whole beach sand area for Chef Melissa Perello's suckling pig confit with summer fruit mostarda. Behind the counter area, Perello and her sous chefs visibly worked hard to maintain a high standard of quality in each dish that went out. Although just helping out his friend for the event, Christophe Hille of Northern Spy Food Co (in NYC) was gracious enough to chat for a short time while he was cooking to the side. ALCOHOL Okay. Let's get to it. Despite what some of my co-conspirators may claim, I do remember how much I had to drink. Even with the extra tickets that Jimmy C handed to me. (Thanks, Jimmy!) If I hadn't eaten my money's worth, I definitely drank my money's worth by the end of the night. And so.. more for my memory than for anyone reading this, a breakdown of the alcohol that I managed to score: - 2 flutes of excellent champagne by Veuve Clicquot - 2 Belvedere experiences with the white tickets - 1 Rhône Valley wine (& pizza pairing) - 2 Belvedere experiences with the blue tickets - 1 more Belvedere experience with another white ticket - 1 large swig from a bottle of Belvedere that the kick ass bartender at the end of the night opened. He wouldn't give me an unopened bottle to take home though. :( Boo. I should have showed more skin. (Kidding!) - 2 smaller swigs from the bottle of Belvedere Umm... holy bacon. How was I not falling over plastered?

Around 2017, when my life was moving at an absurd pace, a close friend and fellow hip hop obsessive…read moreinvited me to see Yasiin Bey at the Apollo Theater. I had grown up listening to Mos Def and expected the wit, warmth, and effortless cool of "Ms. Fat Booty." Instead, Yasiin Bey arrived in a more poetic and experimental mode, with the intellectual intensity and Rick Owens aesthetic of an artist still pushing forward. Arriving by subway and seeing that incredible Apollo sign glowing over 125th Street immediately made the night feel important. The theater felt more like a temple than a concert hall, with its deep red interior, velvet seats, and intimate layout bringing the audience remarkably close to the stage. I remember sitting in the auditorium thinking about how many legends had performed there and how much of the music I listened to every day had passed through that building. Throughout the performance, the crowd listened with such intelligence and appreciation that the evening felt almost like attending a class inside a concert. Yasiin Bey was cerebral, theatrical, and willing to challenge expectations, while the Apollo audience completed the exchange with its focus and responsiveness. Sitting there felt sacred and deeply moving, as though I had entered a living tradition rather than simply visited a famous old theater. Years later, my fortune had changed dramatically: instead of power lunches at Casa Lever on Park Avenue, I was schlepping couches into fifth-floor walk-up apartments in Harlem. After one job, as a snowstorm began, I passed the Apollo on my walk to the subway, and its iconic sign brought back a happy memory from before my capitalist world collapsed. On the 6 train downtown, I thought again about how honored I had felt to enter a place so central to Black music, New York, and the culture that shaped my identity. Some institutions can be understood through photographs and history books, but the Apollo has to be entered, heard, and felt, and I hope to bring my children there someday.

Please be mindful that this is a tour of the Apollo theater at an alternate location as the actual…read moretheater is under construction til at least 2026. We were a group of 10 and joined another large group. The tour/presentation was led by the legendary Billy aka Mr Apollo. There are no words to put into how transformative this experience was! Please book a tour of the Apollo. Even not physically On site they do their very best to preserve the history. Everyone was So helpful and friendly. High spirits And they truly care about not only The theater but the neighborhood as well. Great for all ages and super interactive!

After seeing Never Fall So Heavily Again in Oakland last weekend, I can recommend that you keep…read moreyour eyes on this crew. You won't be disappointed. There are few productions that allow us to lose ourselves. Laughter, tears, dancing... I loved every minute of it. I knew no one upon arrival but felt as if the cast members were old friends by the time the show ended. I'll drive through the pelting rain and wind anytime to see Brickabrack do their thing because they do it so well.

I thoroughly enjoyed Never Fall So Heavily Again. The writing was excellent, and all of the cast…read moremembers were emotionally connected to the play and to one another. They were raw and vulnerable and it was beautiful to watch. I'm a word nerd and love language, but this play also used movement to tell the story, which added additional dimensions and really touched me. I am delighted that the Bay Area has such a vibrant group of artists, and I can't wait to see what BrickaBrack does next!

I give it 5 stars but overall the event was way too crowded. Food fests are always mayhem but this…read morewas the high level form. You have to just bump your way in sometime eat up some place and try to grab that noodle or whatever dish you are eyeing. I like organized chaos so I didn't mind being bumped a little. This was the place to be last week, 50 hand picked restaurants serving all kinds of goodies and there were drinks and sweets to sample. I skipped most of the sweets and went down to just trying the real food. Some vendors ran out almost right away and since line was long outside I got in the spot after 730pm. I know Dough pretty much ran out first I guess each donut is expensive and all but once I got near the shelves on their carts were completely empty. Of course, so much food to still sample such as Luke's lobster (shrimp roll that I had more than twice). Line was not that bad actually, Boomwich was there, I think Fletcher's BBQ I looked for and didn't see but Ofrenda had one of my favorites. (See my pic of the taco, had that at least three times). STELLA ARTOIS was the official sponsor of the event and they made sure you were not thirsty. I had the beer and the cidre , awesome indeed. I was loving the vibe of the drink isle itself, so many beers like Southern tier and Sixpoint (multiple variations). Upstairs there were more vendors and VIP which I didn't get into but still experience was amazing. Veggie egg rolls and sliders were passed around. I was here with Monica and we both got our eats on. I was so stuffed for the rest of the night. Definitely a highlight of the year so far was to attend this event. I can't wait to come back next year.

What an awesome Friday night date! We went to The Village Voice 10th Annual Choice Eats Tasting…read moreEvent with friends and it was a feast! It was an evening of well dressed people engaging in staggered gluttony and too-many-bites-to-count with over 50 restaurants represented. We made sure to have a light lunch, arrive early and choose wisely which bites we wanted to use for our stomach-retail. The Metropolitan Pavilion is perfect for so many tables. The space was spacious and clean. The plaques above each table distinguished each table and types of food they were serving. There was DJ playing 90s and 2000s songs. VIP lounge upstairs, and free whisky glasses for drinks. This year, Guinness and Stok coffee sponsored and served the best drinks. Guinness introduced a pale ale that was cold and refreshing and great break from the massive amounts of food. And the Guinness table had a tangy light red ale that was so unique! Stok coffee offered 3 flavors. The not-too-sweet cold brew offered slightly sweet smooth coffee that was perfect digestif to the multiple meals. Food: Most of the food was ok. The stand outs were: 1) Kailash Parbat's crispy corn basket. This was crunchy basket of buttercorn and beans; it was so delightfully different and offered so much contrast of textures that it really stood out in my mind. 2) Seared scallop- it was perfectly seared and although it was sitting out, it still maintained its perfect firm texture and sweet oceanic flavor. 3) Chocolate from Confectionery. This dark piece of chocolate was sweet, tart with chewy tart raspberry gel was one of my favorite desserts of the night. 4) Raclette from El Raclette. This was gooey melted semi-hard cow's milk cheese is roasted and scraped onto a plate of roasted potatoes, pickled pearl onions and cornichons. This was one of my absolute favorites! If you are a fan of melted cheese, you must try this dish! The cheese was gooey, roasted and had bits of crunchy caramelized rind. It was heavenly. I liked it so much that I waited twice in line. 5) The passion fruit ice cream- ohhh! I loved this! This was my other fav dessert! I loved the tartness of the ice cream and buttery creaminess. It was a wonderful time! Thanks to our friends for the invite!

The show was amazing... my very first experience at an orchestrated concert! The Star Wars movie…read morecatalog is one of my favorites. The drinks here were strong and the ambience was delightful... I can't wait til next time.

We finally got back into the hall for a NY Philharmonic concert last week (reviewed separately),…read moreand we came away very pleased. The sound was good, both warm and reverberant, at least in our seats (middle of the orchestra, about 11 rows back from the stage). We marveled at the clarity of the acoustic, and in general the setting with some seating now behind and above the orchestra. The seats are comfortable with a decent amount of leg space unless you're rich over six feet. During intermission we were able to get into one of the patron lounges, which was small but pleasantly arranged with drinks and sweets and some seating spaces. And we stepped out on the balcony overlooking Lincoln Center which, in spite of construction, was a treat (see the photos). All in all, ours was a delightful visit, and we anticipate quite a few more in the 2026-27 philharmonic season.

Got to see Chicago here, which was a great production. The stage was still easy to see higher up,…read moreand the theater design was beautiful with a big chandelier and nice ceiling design. Only issues were the first row after the section break has a big partition, so the front row their feet up so they were front and center in our view. I don't know a way around that, but it wasn't ideal. We saw a huge restroom line after on the upper level so we went down to find out that was the only restroom. Also not ideal. Souvenir section was tiny and right in the walkway so hard to get to. No elevator, but those aren't common. I like the theatre's old school charm, but it is on the smaller side compared to other theaters. You aren't going to pick a show based on the venue, but this one is still a good time.

I must give a massive thanks to the box office staff for giving me a rush ticket on the day I…read moreattended my matinee. I came from work and saw that there were $20 rush tickets for 2 pm performance on 3/5, and was happily seated on the 3rd row of mezzanine. I had a great time at the show. The view was fantastic and sound quality was superb. I still have the cell block tango playing in my mind on repeat. The seating arrangement was a little rough as tree seats did not allow for any wiggle room. It was so hard leaving my seat at intermission. Bathrooms were relatively clean but because there was only one designated bathroom for women, there was a long wait to enter.

I swung by to catch the end of a free lecture about traffic noise. *Beep, beep!* Seriously…read more I hadn't had dinner. So after the lecture, I staggered over to the Lab's pop-up, Roberta's. Picture some kids' lemonade stand that opened everyday - well into the children's adulthood. Over the years, the kids added barbecues, toasters and coolers to an expanding swath of plywood. Roberta's! As I waited for a cold-pour apple cider (with a Momofuku corn cookie for dunking), I enjoyed looking at flower beds full of carefully preened tea roses. Beautiful! I took my haul to one of Roberta's unfinished picnic tables, snacked on my seasonal savories and listened to the traffic noise. *Beep, beep!* I was excited to see how a once empty lot has become a fun, vibrant and educational destination.

Get yourselves over to the Lab before it closes on October 13 if for no other reason than to use…read morethe fabulous public restrooms. Restrooms that work, are clean and provide a pleasant experience. The way it should be. Now that's innovative. The program offerings span a spectrum from good to super awesome -- all focusing on cities, living in cities and what makes cities work, not work, move towards the future, etc. You can grab something from Roberta's to snack on (the Lab's hipster concession partner) while you learn some stuff. At night the twinkle lights make the spot look magical. I'm a fan!