Some higher power than I had declared August 5th as National Oyster Day, and to recognize this important celebration, a number of restaurants in Manhattan were offering oysters for an eye-whopping $1.50 each. Certainly an opportunity like this couldn't be passed up, so myself and my better half got ready to head into the city and eat as many oysters as we could, but first we needed to make a stop. The same day also happened to be the Ayiti Rasanble festival taking place at Lincoln Center's Hearst Plaza, a free outdoor show from the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, featuring Haitian dance groups.
We took the subway down into the city and covered about half the numbered lines (6-4-7-1) to get over to Lincoln Center. I had been to a few outdoor Lincoln Center functions, but those always took place at their more spacious Damrosch Park. This festival took place at Hearst Plaza in which seats are provided under the shade of trees, which helps alot in the summer. Plus there's a lawn on the side of the Lincoln Center restaurant in which visitors can perch up on and catch an eagle eye view of the stage. The forecast called for clouds and threatening rain all afternoon, so there was the slight possibility the performance might've been disrupted or even cancelled if it down-poured hard. By the time we arrived there were a few clouds and a group was already on the stage performing. With each passing minute the sky opened up more and more until it was a perfect blue summer's day. We actually were late as the show started at 1pm, but we weren't there until almost 3pm, so we probably missed the previous group(s) entirely. Some people danced on the sides and a few children up in front of the stage tried to mimic the dancers. The group we arrived for were about at the tail-end of their slot, and afterwards took questions from the audience regarding their music and other topics concerning Haiti. It was around this time she saw a girl sitting a few feet away from us that she thought she recognized from high-school. Curious to see if it was who she thought it was, she tapped the girl on the shoulder, asked her, and indeed it turned out to be her. She left Haiti in the late 90's to come to America and these former schoolmates ended up in the same crowd only a few feet away from each other in more than twelve years later.
The next group was a little more exciting to see for me, simply for the fact the team of dancers would hop off of the stage after each song, dress into a new costume, then get back onto the stage for the next number. Naturally, all the singing with the constant beating drums was done in Creole, so I really didn't know what any of the songs were about, that left the dance routines for my entertainment. What got the biggest rise out of the audience was when the team's leader dressed as Baron Samedi, a Haitian folklore character that guards the cemetery. With a purple hat, cape, and a cane, the lady dressed in character went into the crowd and danced up and down the aisles. Some of her dance moves seemed a little inappropriate for the venue, especially with children around, but I guess customs are customs as it was supposed to signify how the spirit imitates humans. Soon enough this second group we had seen was done, and they too were open for questions from the audience. It was about this time we decided our bellies had waited long enough for oysters, so we cut out of the festival a little early, even though there was about one or two acts left. We looked up the restaurants that were participating in National Oyster Day, and conveniently enough we found a place within yards of where we were at Lincoln Center. The Atlantic Grill has a number of locations, but for our purposes we visited the one on W. 64th St., just off Broadway. We sat in the bar section that had some small tables set up, and surely enough there an the advertisement card for the $1.50 oysters. This particular sign the special was only in effect after 9:30pm Sunday through Friday, but on National Oyster Day this price was good for the entire day.
The wine list was a tad bit pricey, even for a glass, so I started off with a beer instead. A glass of Whale's Tale Pale Ale which I found dark and a tad bit bitter for eight bucks. After a few sips I realized I needed to go to the bathroom and happily the Altantic Grill has three to offer in which men or women can use. We were there for oysters and we didn't hold back; we started out with a dozen. On the side I originally ordered some potato crochets, but after the waitress said they were all out, we switched to the crab & pearl cous cous, and it became the highlight of the meal. It comes out in a small metal dish and its little tiny balls of Israeli cous cous with shredded pieces of crab meat. Not satisfied with only twelve oysters, and wondering what their cherrystone clams would taste like (even though it wasn't National Clam Day too), we mixed it up for the second round and went with six oysters and six cherrystone clams. We probably could've gone on to eat several dozen more oysters, but after a while all the $1.50's can add up, so we drew the line after round two. To walk off the food, even though we really weren't full-full, we took the few block stroll to catch the train back home at Columbus Circle instead of the more closer Lincoln Center stop. National Oyster Day had been a huge success and celebrated the only way it could be; eating a ton of oysters.
I would fear for my blood cholesterol if this same higher power would one day declare a National Red Velvet Cake Day......
We took the subway down into the city and covered about half the numbered lines (6-4-7-1) to get over to Lincoln Center. I had been to a few outdoor Lincoln Center functions, but those always took place at their more spacious Damrosch Park. This festival took place at Hearst Plaza in which seats are provided under the shade of trees, which helps alot in the summer. Plus there's a lawn on the side of the Lincoln Center restaurant in which visitors can perch up on and catch an eagle eye view of the stage. The forecast called for clouds and threatening rain all afternoon, so there was the slight possibility the performance might've been disrupted or even cancelled if it down-poured hard. By the time we arrived there were a few clouds and a group was already on the stage performing. With each passing minute the sky opened up more and more until it was a perfect blue summer's day. We actually were late as the show started at 1pm, but we weren't there until almost 3pm, so we probably missed the previous group(s) entirely. Some people danced on the sides and a few children up in front of the stage tried to mimic the dancers. The group we arrived for were about at the tail-end of their slot, and afterwards took questions from the audience regarding their music and other topics concerning Haiti. It was around this time she saw a girl sitting a few feet away from us that she thought she recognized from high-school. Curious to see if it was who she thought it was, she tapped the girl on the shoulder, asked her, and indeed it turned out to be her. She left Haiti in the late 90's to come to America and these former schoolmates ended up in the same crowd only a few feet away from each other in more than twelve years later.
The next group was a little more exciting to see for me, simply for the fact the team of dancers would hop off of the stage after each song, dress into a new costume, then get back onto the stage for the next number. Naturally, all the singing with the constant beating drums was done in Creole, so I really didn't know what any of the songs were about, that left the dance routines for my entertainment. What got the biggest rise out of the audience was when the team's leader dressed as Baron Samedi, a Haitian folklore character that guards the cemetery. With a purple hat, cape, and a cane, the lady dressed in character went into the crowd and danced up and down the aisles. Some of her dance moves seemed a little inappropriate for the venue, especially with children around, but I guess customs are customs as it was supposed to signify how the spirit imitates humans. Soon enough this second group we had seen was done, and they too were open for questions from the audience. It was about this time we decided our bellies had waited long enough for oysters, so we cut out of the festival a little early, even though there was about one or two acts left. We looked up the restaurants that were participating in National Oyster Day, and conveniently enough we found a place within yards of where we were at Lincoln Center. The Atlantic Grill has a number of locations, but for our purposes we visited the one on W. 64th St., just off Broadway. We sat in the bar section that had some small tables set up, and surely enough there an the advertisement card for the $1.50 oysters. This particular sign the special was only in effect after 9:30pm Sunday through Friday, but on National Oyster Day this price was good for the entire day.
The wine list was a tad bit pricey, even for a glass, so I started off with a beer instead. A glass of Whale's Tale Pale Ale which I found dark and a tad bit bitter for eight bucks. After a few sips I realized I needed to go to the bathroom and happily the Altantic Grill has three to offer in which men or women can use. We were there for oysters and we didn't hold back; we started out with a dozen. On the side I originally ordered some potato crochets, but after the waitress said they were all out, we switched to the crab & pearl cous cous, and it became the highlight of the meal. It comes out in a small metal dish and its little tiny balls of Israeli cous cous with shredded pieces of crab meat. Not satisfied with only twelve oysters, and wondering what their cherrystone clams would taste like (even though it wasn't National Clam Day too), we mixed it up for the second round and went with six oysters and six cherrystone clams. We probably could've gone on to eat several dozen more oysters, but after a while all the $1.50's can add up, so we drew the line after round two. To walk off the food, even though we really weren't full-full, we took the few block stroll to catch the train back home at Columbus Circle instead of the more closer Lincoln Center stop. National Oyster Day had been a huge success and celebrated the only way it could be; eating a ton of oysters.
I would fear for my blood cholesterol if this same higher power would one day declare a National Red Velvet Cake Day......
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