A Trip to Elizabeth Street

My cousin Erin invited us to a wine bar on Elizabeth Street last night to celebrate her birthday. You remember Erin; she is my god daughter, and organized our family Christmas party in a restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn, this year. When Erin was born in Albany, New York, I was going to law school there. I ran over to the hospital to see the infant, and I was her first visitor. And twenty-seven years later, here we are, celebrating on Elizabeth Street in New York City.

Before the get together, TD and I wandered along Elizabeth Street which is in Nolita, "north of Little Italy." It's really east Soho. Erin lived on Elizabeth Street before she moved to Park Slope, and the street has lots of great charming shops.
Eleven is a cool vintage store with clothes for men and women.


Billy's Antiques and Props on Houston had horror masks and dummies inside.


The yard of the Elizabeth Street Gallery was full of architectural remnants.


We had a little something to eat at a restaurant on Spring Street called Bread. I love eating outdoors. Mobs of people passed by on the narrow sidewalk; kids, tourists, people walking home from work. A man sat at the next table with a big dog named Maggie. I had a salad and a pasta with pesto and asparagus.


It felt like being in Europe. As dusk fell the cornices on Spring Street stood out against the darkening sky like sculptural setpieces.


We toddled on to Xicala Wine Bar to have a drink or two with Erin. She was already ensconced with her beau Andrew and some friends. More of her friends came in, from childhood, high school, college and work. We were introduced to her friend Lauren DeJulio. When I was growing up my uncle Brian, Erin's father and a lawyer in Albany, had a posse of cool friends, and one of the sweetest and nicest was John DeJulio. When my grandfather died in Albany, John offered that my siblings and cousins and I could all sleep in his big house. Lauren is John's daughter, and although she was six or eight at the time, she remembers us all camping out. Lauren's mother now lives on Martha's Vineyard, and Lauren lived for some time in Paris, so I got to talk with her about two of my favorite places on earth. Here are Lauren and Erin:


We left three hours later. It was fun. Erin is out and about, enjoying life in the city, making her godfather proud. Happy birthday Erin.