Hone

Chapter 9A Recipe for Change

 

Before Geoff and his wife, Martha, became part‐time residents of New York, he long enjoyed his visits to the city and the opportunity to hang out with Steve. Beyond the fascination with watching a dyed‐in‐the‐wool Manhattanite interact with the mass of humanity that is the city, he knew he was in for certain experiences. He was sure to hear about Steve's latest health obsession, along with whatever new device he had acquired to monitor some aspect of his existence. He was sure to be spirited away to some impossible‐to‐find cocktail bar and plied with fanciful drinks. And above all: He was sure to eat exquisitely well at some place where Steve was a regular or, occasionally, an investor.

The Goldbachs briefly had an investment in a highly rated restaurant in New York's East Village in the late 2000s. The restaurant, the Tasting Room, was a 26‐seat establishment opened in 1999 at the corner of First Avenue and First Street (or as Kramer from Seinfeld put it, “the nexus of the universe”). The restaurant was owned and operated by Renee and Colin Alevras; sadly, Colin passed far too young from a form of brain cancer in 2022 at the age of 51. We remember the restaurant's offerings as being highly original for the time: small plates, a large wine list focused on American wines, including many highly nontraditional varietals. The Tasting Room had a farm‐to‐table focus before that was a thing. In many ways, to dine there always felt like a special occasion. ...