I hope you enjoyed a long, festive July 4 weekend wherever you were. Thankfully, I spent it in the city.
“Thankfully”? Yes, thankfully. It feels like the city is yours when there is a mass exodus of hundreds of thousands of people. Public transportation is less crowded, streets are less noisy, you can finally breathe … meh, it’s New York. No one can breathe, but you get it.
Since I had been completely riveted watching Wimbledon on ESPN for the last two weeks, I made no plans to celebrate the Fourth. Thank goodness for big brothers! He and his family were coming into the city to celebrate with his mother, and he invited me to join. The locale was up to me.
When I am asked to choose a place to eat, I must go into a Zen-like state of reflection, reference experiences and process all of the factors involved. I’m like the mad professor of food and dining. Our criteria for the Fourth were: family-friendly, fun, lively, someplace I haven’t been and, most importantly, located uptown (no-brainer)! Downtown would be buzzing with anticipation of the Macy’s fireworks show.
I suggested La Marina (@lamarinanyc, www.lamarinanyc.com, 348 Dyckman St., 212-567-6300). I tried to call to see if there was space for six so we wouldn’t waste time driving up there, but there was only an automated system. Frustrating, but as a family, we decided to roll anyway.
When we turned onto Dyckman Street, I was amazed by all of the fun and current restaurants and eateries there since my last visit a long time ago. We parked (my sister-in-law has some real parking mojo) and made our way across Dyckman to a raucous La Marina.
I guess I have the restaurant mojo, because there was a table immediately available outside by the water for six. Only issue was it had no shade. Again, the Harris clan soldiered on. Glad we did. With a view of the Hudson and crazy jetskiers racing by, the George Washington Bridge (lit up for the holiday) and an American flag-clad raw bar not 10 feet away, La Marina was talking to me.
After getting our first pitcher of fruity, sweet and refreshing white sangria, I took a minute to look around. The dining space looks like the covered veranda of an expensive waterside mansion. I was thankful for the separation from the bar/hookah lounge and the beach area, where Hot 97 was broadcasting that day.
The food was appropriate and respectable. The boys had mac and cheese with shrimp and a chef’s blend burger. The adults had salads and roasted chicken. I had the miso Chilean sea bass.
My nephew said the mac and cheese was too cheesy (from the mouths of babes), and the burger disappeared in a blur (take that as good). The chicken was moist and seasoned well and had crispy skin to boot. I could have used a bigger portion of the sea bass for $28, but it was prepared as it should be. The star of our table was the yucca fries—crispy but chewy, savory but sweet.
We stayed for another round of drinks, dessert (the key lime tart was bomb!) and the sunset before being chauffeured across Dyckman by NYPD back to our car in order to make our way downtown-ish to see the fireworks. But we were turned back on the highway at 79th Street by NYPD and ultimately missed the fireworks while driving around upper Manhattan. Thank goodness for sangria! It’s about the experience, right?
Thanks, bro and family, for a fun Fourth! La Marina, I will return for a night out of revelry, cocktails and yucca fries. I guess I need to start planning my Labor Day now. Wait … that’s the U.S. Open. Tennis!
Enjoy, get eating and thanks for reading!
Kysha Harris is a food writer, culinary producer, consultant and owner of SCHOP!, a personalized food service offering weekly and in-home entertaining packages. Questions? Comments? Requests? Feedback? Invitations! Email her at kysha@iSCHOP.com, follow her on Twitter and Instagram @SCHOPgirl, on Facebook www.facebook.com/SCHOPnyc or chat with her on Instant Messenger at AskSCHOP, Monday-Friday, 6-8 p.m. For even more recipes, tips and food musings subscribe to her blog at www.talkingSCHOP.wordpress.com.
