Let’s Hear it for a Dairy Row

Cat’s covered - No muss, no fuss. No worries about indoor or outdoor dining. Feline ferals in a nearby NY town get to dine in a colonnade setting on a homeowner’s lawn where they get to enjoy fine dining. No worries about social distancing. Or mask wearing. Or weather. An umbrella does the trick. Since the ferals are regulars, no reservation’s needed, and the staff, well they live in the house. So no tipping.

Another Row? - There will be if Upper East Sider Jeremy Berman has anything to say about it. And what’s the millennial lawyer advocating for? A Dairy Row to celebrate the Second Ave. block between 81st and 82nd Streets, on the east side of the street, where frozen dairy is served at Anita Gelato, 21 Handles, Pinkberry, ATeaz, Insomnia Cookies, and Burger Fi. Anita’s is the newest entry and has the best gelato on the UES, maybe Manhattan, according to Jeremy, who goes so far as to tell Sedutto to “move over.” Not only that, but his pooch loves Anita’s vanilla gelato which he laps up as Jeremy sips espresso and enjoys one of the new flavors, a blend of halvah and pistachio. Turns out, Jeremy’s not only a gelato maven. He’s also been crocheting little dolls called amigurumi since his last year of law school when he saw a Star Wars crochet kit and asked his now-wife to buy him one for Christmas. Now let’s see if he can get a Dairy Row. PS: NY’s always had an aptly named Row - Striver’s, Theater, Restaurant. Why not a Row called Dairy?

Some byes, some hi’s - Election’s over but the city’s streets are still reeling from closures. In the 80s and 90s on the UES, it’s arrivederci to Roma’s Pizza and Otto’s Tacos and to the Starbucks on 87th and Lex. And hi to Hot Thai, and to Rife which is opening in the Peri Ela location on Lex. Seeing businesses boarded up in anticipation of protests following the election made it even more distressing. Thankfully, though, post-election on the UES was met mostly with cheers, some jeers. All peaceful. At about 9 p.m., the streets were filled. Horns were honking. The bar/restaurant scene was standing room only with under-30s taking up the tables and street as they watched and listened and cheered as President-Elect Joe Biden’s speech came over TV screens that are usually used for Sports viewing. The only confrontation I saw was between a masked foursome. Two were wearing MAGA hats. Two were wearing tee shirts that said, “We Voted. We did MAGA.” After a few heated words, an elbow bump. Biden kept talking.