A perfect New York day.

Recipe: Provençal Romano Beans

Wake up, naturally

I have, on rare occasions, set no wake-up alarm. When my body shakes off the residuals from deep sleep to the sound of my superintendent greeting everyone in the neighborhood, I’m at peace. If you have nowhere to be, I highly suggest setting no alarm at all. See what happens. Sometimes I’ll wake up at 6AM. I was pleasantly surprised one night when I went to bed at 10PM and woke up at 10AM. Twelve delicious (Dakota Johnson-style) hours of sleep. The perfect New York day would start by waking up naturally.

Morning Routine

The steps to my morning routine start with Transcendental Meditation, into brewing coffee followed by morning pages. An important note and recent addition to my coffee is a small cup of grass fed whole milk on the side. The softness of waking up and deep diving into meditation is a drug I wish I could bottle up for y’all. Brewing coffee as an act never gets old. I could invest more into a luxe setup but I love the one I currently own. Upon the first sip of coffee lightened with milk, I release a guttural noise. The blue ballpoint pen glides over the Japanese pages as thoughts, dreams, desires and my subconscious flows out. This piece of my day is so dialed in I’m at 1064 days of doing it.

Phone Call/Breakfast (no specific order)

a cute little breakfast I made recently. salumi scramble with pecorino and toasts, 2025.

Somehow my presence on social media emerges as I start to repost, add links to posts or like stories. Inevitably a friend calls as I’m making breakfast. Perhaps one of the greatest joys is imagining your friend having breakfast with you. Obviously there is nothing better than actually being together. The chats are always lovely making space for godly intervention in a blissful breakfast accompanied by the familiar voice of someone you love.

A trip to the Market/going to a gallery

Noguchi Museum, 2022

If I’m doing development for a recipe, I’ll dash off to the market with a big tote. If I’m having a day of pleasure and leisure I’ll head to a gallery or museum. Since being introduced to the Chelsea galleries, I have a hard time organizing myself to pay and agree to a timed slot for a museum. My favorite museum to visit is The Noguchi where tranquility is abundant and shapes are about as abstract as you can imagine. Two galleries come to mind that always have something interesting on view, David Zwirner and Pace Gallery. At the market I do have favorite vendors. She Wolf for bread, Norwich Meadows for peak produce and Halal Pastures for more boutique items and fabulous eggs. A real carpe diem moment is to go to the galleries and the market, if you can. I get a huge hit of dopamine from both places, so best to not overdo it.

Dinner In (most likely)

Roasted Chicken with Salsa Verde and Fries

These days if I’m meeting someone for dinner it’s early. Call me American, call me old, I truly don’t care. My digestive system loves dining early. My sleep (which I’ll get to) loves dining early. If I’m making dinner, honey, I am cooking at 4:30PM. My night has to be reserved for entertainment and introspection to round out the day. Waiting for dinner time, which some of you have decided is 7-8PM, I don’t think so. You’ll catch me with a fork or spoon in hand at 5:30, promptly. Seriously, I will eat for an hour and take my time, but I’m eating early. For my perfect New York day, it’s probably a pasta I’ve mastered countless times. Ideally, a phenomenal cut of steak (aged and grass fed), fresh horseradish crème fraîche dolloped on the plate and a warm tumble of wilted spinach seasoned with olive oil and lemon.

A movie or a show?

If it’s a rainy, perfect New York day, I’ve already done this part during the day, before dinner. I love going to Film at Lincoln Center. The films start at the showtime, precisely two trailers play five minutes before the feature. The average age of movie-goers is 65. It’s perfectly quiet. I love it. There is a show I have saved for one of my next perfect days in New York. Josh Sharp’s new show “Ta-Da” is playing at the Greenwich House Theater until August 23rd. The cultural importance of live performance renders me to a place of awe. This sensation cannot be beat. I would argue that awe is important to living a long and relatively happy life. The indescribable feeling of wonder mixed with respect challenging your own perception of the world in a positive way can heal just about anything.

Couples Therapy

Dr. Orna Guralnik has gained my full attention. She’s captivating in her practice. Something so revealing, so intimate as therapy laid out for the world to witness. Orna transcends the screen though, her message is universal. Her multi-disciplinary practices make her razor sharp. When you watch this show you see what full attention can look like because Dr. Orna is giving it. Every twitch, every head tilt, she’s clocked it. It’s not that I love trauma-porn, I genuinely love to see how a professional can help people get to the next phase in their relationship.

Sleep

my unmade bed, 2025.

Alas, the perfect New York day is complete with one of the hardest things to achieve. Great sleep after a perfect New York day, honey, I might not want to wake up. I’ve always known how much I adore sleep. I squeeze those hours mindfully taking refuge under the covers. The best sleep I can get usually involves putting my phone away an hour before bed. I’ll lodge a pillow under my knees if I’m on my back or between my knees if I’m on my side. I let the softness and cocooning take place. When I lay down, within minutes I’m out. The next day, if I can remember one of my dreams, the next perfect New York day has already started.