14
FORBES.COM JUNE 30, 20 19^FACT^&COMMENTSteve Forbes Cont.RESTAURANTS:
GO, CONSIDER, STOP
Edible enlightenment from our eatery
experts and colleagues Richard Nalley,
Monie Begley and Randall Lane, as well
as brothers Bob, Kip and Tim.
z MAMO
323 West Broadway, between Grand &
Canal streets (Tel.: 646-964-4641)
>q^\nmbo^\a^_LZeoZmhk^FZk\^eehÌl]^eb\bhnl
and unique creations make this Italian and
Provençal restaurant a place to go. Start
with the roasted cauliflower Romanesco,
the endive salad tossed with seared tuna or
the fried artichoke cacio e pepe. Perfect mid-
course choices: crispy-crusted pizze focaccia
al tartufo with Parmesan and fresh truffles
or the MAMO meatball served on polenta.
?hkiZlmZmkrma^\Zi^eeb]ÌZg`^ehmhll^]pbma
tiny shrimp and dusted with pistachios, or for
eb`am^k_Zk^ma^k^ÌlZl^Zk^]\h]bgZe^fhg\Z-
per butter sauce. For dessert choose the rich
chocolate mousse or the creamy panna cotta.
z Bistro Pierre Lapin
99 Bank St. (Tel.: 212-858-6600)
Peter Rabbit would feel right at home in this
new, cozy French bistro with its bold cabbage
rose wallpaper. Though the deviled eggs
Zk^gÌm]^obebla^ghn`a%Zg]ma^fnlmZk]lZn\^
pbmama^kh`ghgl]^o^Zn!o^Zedb]g^rl"li^-
cial is likewise bland, the soupe aux oignons
!hgbhglhni"%\hjZnobg%Öhnke^ll\ah\heZm^
cake and crème brûlée are just right. The
perfect conclusion to the meal: a vodka mar-
tini au pamplemousse (vodka martini with
`kZi^_knbmcnb\^Zg]`kZi^_knbm\hk]bZe"'
z Bellini
Mr. C Seaport hotel, 33 Peck Slip, South
Street Seaport (Tel.: 212-766-6600)
A trend in recent years at newly launched ho-
tels is to install a star chef or well-known res-
taurant within to accommodate hotel guests
and attract outside patrons—to mixed results.
This restaurant and hotel, having combined
the internationally iconic names Bellini and
Cipriani, unexpectedly disappoint in the food.
Though the menu offers many familiar Italian
dishes, the final results lack spark. In the
end, most offerings are executed in standard
hotel fashion—with quite high prices.
z Donohue’s Steak House
845 Lexington Ave., at 64th St.
(Tel.: 212-744-0938)
>lmZ[ebla^]bgma^*2.)l%mablBkblain[Zg]
steak house is quietly peopled with locals,
celebrities, socialites, journos and out-of-town-
ers. Owner/proprietor Maureen Donohue-
Peters has spent her life here and oversees ev-
erything. The classics—jumbo shrimp cocktail,
crab cakes and herring in cream sauce—are
Zeea^k^%Zehg`pbma\Ze_Ìlebo^kZg]hgbhgl%
la^ia^k]Ìlib^%khZlmmnkd^rZg]ahg^r&]bii^]
fried chicken. Bur gers, steaks and chops are
cooked to perfection. The cheesecake: a must.had numerous conversations and held
multiple Q&A sessions with the same
person. He continuously probed at what
was actually said in particular situations,
the way in which it was said, what the
surrounding environment was, what the
moods of the persons involved were and
what was happening around them, such
as what the demonstrators were chanting
outside the White House.
Many a time interviewees
phne] ^q\eZbf%ÉRhn Ze-
ready asked me that sever-
al times before!” But Caro
knew what he was doing
as he extracted priceless
insights and information
from the people he was
questioning, who had long
_hk`hmm^ghkaZ]gÌmk^Zebs^]
the light they could shed
on what had taken place.
Caro is stunningly incisive
k^`Zk]bg`ablln[c^\mlÌi^klhgZebmb^lZg]
how they achieved levels of political
power in a democracy that were prob-
ably without precedent—and what they
used that power for. That is particularly
true of Robert Moses, who was never
elected to office yet was infinitely more
]hfbgZgmmaZgZgrh_ma^G^pRhkd`ho-
^kghklhkGR<fZrhklpaha^e]h ̈\^
]nkbg`abl--r^ZklZlma^[nbe]bg`\sZk
of the region. In fact, Moses was probably
the greatest builder in world history.
Certainly no other politician in mod-
ern times has run the U.S. Senate as ef-
_^\mbo^erZg]ikh]n\mbo^erZlErg]hg
Chaglhg]b]bgma^*2.)l'>o^g?kZgdebg
Khhl^o^em\hne]gÌmfZm\ama^ ]hf^lmb\
legislative achievements that Johnson
accomplished when he took office after
the assassination of John Kennedy and
pushed through his Great Society agen-
da. Only Johnson could have gotten
Congress to pass the monumental Civil
Kb`aml:\mh_* 2 /-hkma^Ohmbg`Kb`aml
:\mh_ * 2 /.maZmÕgZeer`Zo^:_kb\Zg&
Americans the franchise in the South.
:lp^ZpZbm<ZkhÌlÕgZeohenf^hgChag-
lhgÌlik^lb]^g\r%p^dghpa^Ìee\eZkb_r
paZmChaglhg]b]bgOb^mgZfZg]li^ee
out the costs of that conflict on Ameri-
can society, then and to this day.
Just as impressive is the way Carore-creates the worlds that these two
men inhabited from the time of their
births until their deaths, truly “the life
and times of” writing at its best.
But to occupy readers until the John-
lhgohenf^blÕgbla^]%<ZkhÌl_Zl\bgZmbg`
book Working gives us insight
into what makes him tick and
why he chose Moses and Johnson
for study. Call this a “mem-
oirette.”
<ZkhÌl ngk^e^gmbg` ink-
suit of facts and his in-
sights will leave you in
awe. For example, he knew
maZm Fhl^lÌ h[l^llbhg mh
build highways in the Big
Apple meant the bulldozing
of numerous community en-
claves. But how were those
displaced actually affected
by the evictions? Caro took
one mile of a partic-ular highway and
tracked down, as best he could, those
who got tossed out of their apartments
or uprooted from their stores and places
of business to learn, firsthand, how their
lives had been impacted.
Or take the Hill Country of Texas, an
Zk^Z[b``^kmaZgG^p>g`eZg]%pa^k^
Johnson grew up. People there live on iso-
lated farms. It was a harsh and lonely exis-
m^g\^%Zg]k^lb]^gmlp^k^gÌmbgma^aZ[bmh_
talking much to outsiders. So Caro, along
with his wife and son, moved there for
three years. Thus, he was able to vividly
paint what life there was like and what
Johnson had actually done in his youth.
Caro has no illusions about the na-
ture of his subjects as he graphically
chronicles their immense, undeniable
achievements and their colossal short-
comings. He definitely proved, for in-
lmZg\^%maZmma^\hgmkho^klbZe*2-1M^qZl
^e^\mbhgmaZml^gmE;Cmhma^N'L'L^gZm^%
pab\aa^hlm^glb[erphg[r 10 ohm^l%pZl
actually stolen by ballot-box chicanery.
R^mChaglhg%ZlZrhng` \hg`k^ll-
man and against immense obstacles,
brought electricity to the Hill Country.
Caro vividly and movingly describes how
grinding and severe existence, especially
for women, was before the juice came.
After reading this brief, brilliant
book, one can only say, “Wow!”F