Be Careful of What You Wish For

I have always been amused at the experiences I have when eating out with Big Daughter. Case in point, when my friend and I went to Balthazar for breakfast a few months ago, we were squeezed into a tiny table between a friendly, tattooed older Soho rocker babe and several intimate couples. We were pretty much in the Gobi Desert. So much for the experience of being in Paris, I think it was more like Libya. When I went back to Balthazar with Big Daughter a week or so later (yes, I am sometimes a glutton for punishment when seduced by pretty white china teapots and bread baskets with chocolate bread), we were seated smack in the middle of the main dining room at a prime booth, complete with overly attentive service. We were in Paris in NYC! I don't know which comes first in NYC, food or beauty -it sure seems that beauty is where it's at. (Of course, after reading that waitstaff in Balthazar must cover bounced checks, I will no longer eat there). That same day, we also got a prime spot for lunch at Gemma, the new space in the Bowery Hotel complete with, you guessed it, a lot of solicitous waiter attention, We joked that this was our B for restaurants day because later that evening Big Daughter took the family to Buddakan (where she's a hostess) and we were treated like royalty. A testament to her hard work and sweet manner. I was impressed by Buddakan; the food, the professionalism and the ambiance. Every manager came to say hello and each of them was truly an ambassador of hospitality. But I'm getting beyond myself. Big Daughter does not expect this special service but aside from Buddakan, where is she known to staff and co-workers as a genuine, hardworking sweetheart - she is unfortunately attended to because of her looks. I am sympathetic because it means she can never hide, or be anonymous and disappear in plain sight (all things I take for granted). Recently, she took me to Rohm, a lovely new Thai restaurant on E. 20th between Madison and Park. For whatever reason, I had some misgivings -perhaps it was Friday night on Park Avenue (something I never even consider.) Or maybe it was my mood - I am not always the best company at 8:30 p.m. on a Friday night, after work and then my private clients. But she persisted, her friend Shan and his family had just opened the restaurant and she had promised to stop in. Big Daughter is very loyal to her friends. When we arrived, the place was buzzing and every table was taken, and people were still pouring in. Shan seated us in the upstairs area, which gave us a vantage viewing point of the whole space. On the ceiling, there was a striking collection of hanging lanterns. Unfortunately, our status as special friends of the owners meant that we tasted the wonderful food faster than the long-suffering table sitting next to us. In this case, beauty made things ugly and we were both mortified (as was her friend). As each appetizer kept arriving, and 8 pairs of eyes looked at the food -one of them a very, pregnant mother-to-be, it became increasingly difficult to enjoy the food. In desperation, I rifled through my bag and offered crackers, fresh-cut mango and cheese. In addition, we handed over a side of rice which accompanied the tasty green curry with duck. Rohm had just been mentioned in Citysearch and was overwhelmed with business. There is a dearth of affordable, good Thai in the Flatiron district and Rohm hit the spot. The cook apparently had a panic attack in the kitchen (after preparing our food) and mixed up all the food orders. We were thinking of eating under the table but that was not an option. Big Daughter's response to the confusion in the kitchen and the envy at the adjacent table, was to accuse me of being "a good Samaritan." I knew she was starving but found it hard to enjoy the very well-prepared food. Oh the perils of success and beauty -hand-in-hand they can be a true bane on one's existence and kill the appetite -even in a good restaurant like Rohm!