We celebrated Diana's January 2nd Birthday in New York City with a trip to the Met, wherewe enjoyed the Ancient Near Eastern Art collections and the amazing new Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands. We had a late lunch at the perfect new Nolita restaurant called Oficina Latina which this post is about and then on to Cinema Village on 12th Street for a viewing of Emilio Estevez expressive new film The Way.
Needless to say it was a wonderful day full of surprises.
Where else but New York can you experience beautiful Middle Eastern culture, pretend your traveling the Pan American higway, and then experience a walk from the Pyrenees across Spain.
The new New Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia at the Met are really beautiful and very enlightening. They show the political as well as artistic history of these storied lands.
It occured to me while wandering the galleries that they way to get rich and powerful in those ancient days was to take over countries.
The galleries are have been authentically created and include over one thousand works the Museum's Department of Islamic Art. the galleries are arranged by geographical area and show art and culture that existed in these regions over a time period of over thirteen hundred years. 13 centuries!
My choice of restaurant was applauded. Not only is it fun to walk around Nolita, it is such a hip and vibrant community, the atmosphere, vibe and food and drink offered at Oficina Latina was exceptional.
The concept of the restaurant is based on the Pan-American highway is a system of routes built in 1923 starting in Monterrey, Mexico and extending 16,000 miles down to Buenos Aires, Argentina. They recreate the stops along the this route with a menu and cocktails that reflect the rich ingredients of these destinations.
This exotic drink that we enjoyed at the end of our meal of scrumptious tapas and dulce desserts was this interesting presentation of a Venezuelan rum that is served with lines of cocoa, sugar and cinnamon and slices of orange. You touch the orange in the lines and the swig a shot of rum and then suck the sugared orange. So delicious.
They have a good wine list and I enjoyed an interesting wine,a Tannat from Vinedo de los Vientos, the Vineyard of the Winds, in Uruguay. You can also enjoy interesting South American Cocktails or Beers, we liked one called Cucapá Chupacabras, and there is a huge list of spirits. The food was very good and quite satisfying. New York Magazine Review
Our last event was seeing the great Emilio Estevez film The Way. A precious film that I am sure you would enjoy.
Things to do, places to see, with food and booze
We would have to agree with you about the atmosphere of NoLita. We can't get enough of the dining options on Prince St. in NoLita! There are so many delicious choices. Glad that you had a great birthday and enjoyed Oficina Latina!
Posted by: 9300 Realty | 06/12/2012 at 09:42