Celebrating My Birthday with Friends
I always enjoy eating out, especially when it is with dear friends celebrating special occasions.
Earlier last week, a group of friends and I gathered in New York City for my belated birthday dinner. As many of you know, my birthday is August 3rd, but it took quite awhile to find a day that fit all our busy schedules. We dined at the celebrated Le Bernardin restaurant, which is co-owned by my friend, Chef Eric Ripert. Le Bernardin is ranked among the best restaurants in the world. It received its four-star review from The New York Times only three months after opening in 1986 and is the only New York four-star restaurant that has maintained its status of excellence for more than three decades. It also holds the highest rating of three stars from The Michelin Guide. We had the most delicious meal. I was also gifted with an 18-foot dawn redwood tree which is now planted in a perfect location at my Bedford, New York farm.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
-
- It is so refreshing to be able to dine out again in New York City. Here I am at the entrance to the French seafood restaurant, Le Bernardin, with the distinguished maître d’s. On the right is Tomi Dzellalija, Le Bernardin’s Directeur de Salle.
-
- We started with a bottle of J. Vignier ‘Aux Origines’ Blanc de Blancs champagne – a sparkling complex and traditional champagne produced in the Champagne region of France. It was a wonderful start to our Chef’s Tasting Dinner.
-
- I was joined with some of my dearest friends, Here are Stephen Sills and Terre Blair.
-
- Also joining me for dinner are Dominique Bluhdorn and Kevin Sharkey.
-
- And here is my friend, Charlotte Beers.
-
- We were seated in the main dining room at Le Bernardin and started with a seafood trio, which included, of course, my favorite Royal Osetra caviar.
-
- This is Fresh Heart of Palm Carpaccio. Heart of palm is a vegetable harvested from the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees, most notably the coconut, juçara, açaí palm, and peach palm.
-
- Another dish included this thinly pounded tuna served with foie gras.
-
- My longtime publicist and friend, Susan Magrino, and her husband James Dunning, Jr. stopped for this quick snapshot.
-
- Dessert included Praline Mousse served in an egg shell. Everything was incredibly delicious – every morsel devoured.
-
- Here’s a lovely photo of my friends, Steve Gerard and his wife, and my banker, Jane Heller.
-
- And here are Memrie Lewis and Charlotte.
-
- Chef Eric Ripert came out with my birthday cake that he made especially for me. Here I am with Chef Eric, Jane and Susan.
-
- As we were leaving, we took more photos – we were all dressed in our finest formal black attire. Here I am with Susan and Kevin. It was such a wonderful evening with good friends.
-
- I was also gifted a very beautiful tree by Stephen Sills and Dominique Bluhdorn. This is a Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the dawn redwood – a fast-growing deciduous conifer. It is the sole living species of the genus Metasequoia. It’s one of my favorite trees.
-
- The deep green needles transition to a brilliant bronze before falling later in the season.
-
- The root ball of this 18-foot tree is quite large, more than three feet in diameter.
-
- The planting of the tree was also part of the gift. The project was led by Max Apton, owner of Sweet Clover Design. He and his team do a lot of work for Dominique and were happy to deliver the tree and get it planted here at my farm.
-
- I chose to plant the tree near my tennis court and across the carriage road from my chicken coops. Here, a hole is made at least twice the size of the tree’s root ball.
-
- It is very important to feed the plants and trees. I always say, “if you eat, your plants should eat.” Here, a good amount of fertilizer is sprinkled into the hole and the surrounding soil.
-
- The crew then manually turns the tree, so its best side faces the carriage road.
-
- With the help of our trusted Hi-Lo, my crew coreman, Chhiring Sherpa, gently lifts the tree and places it into the hole.
-
- The tree is adjusted by hand so it is perfectly straight.
-
- And then the crew removes the protective wire basket and burlap from the root ball. The purpose of the wire basket and burlap wrapping is to protect it during transportation and to keep it all together while positioning in its planting hole. Once the tree is in place and ready to be backfilled, these materials are no longer needed.
-
- Finally, the hole is completely backfilled and the soil tamped down to remove any air pockets. And remember, never plant a tree too deeply – leave it “bare to the flare.”
-
- I think the tree will be happy here near a grove of other beautiful dawn redwoods. Thank you for such a special gift, Stephen and Dominique. And thanks to my dear friends for a lovely and very memorable evening.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
