Is Lenox Hill New York’s version of the Eighth in Paris?

Sitting at Amaranth for dinner on a Sunday night next to a very loud and tipsy Carla Bruni with her husband, the President of France, I thought for a moment that I was in the 8th Arrondissement. It’s easy to draw a parallel between the two neighborhoods. Both have fabulous restaurants and are home to Hermes. Both have an international flare and boast well healed residents wearing $800 footwear. And, both have a veneer of respectability that seems to melt off when one enters the local haunts.

I was a recent transplant to the neighborhood having moved to a floor-through apartment in a brownstone located on 63rd off 5th, a swank address indeed. My apartment once belonged to ZsaZsa and Eva’s mother who rented the home to Edie Sedgwick in her Factory Girl days. Given the location and provenance, why was my rent so much less expensive than something half as grand in the West Village? Not even for a moment did I think I would end up on the Upper Eastside, until by chance, I was recommended to a sublet of an editor returning to Italy.

The benefits and amenities of Lenox Hill were pleasantly surprising. The first joy I discovered is that the area South of 72nd and West of Lexington, is an unofficial stroller free zone. And the spawn that are allowed access are most well behaved. The proximity to the Park was another unexpected delight. There is a true luxury in being able to step into the Park to take a stroll or run with no notice. The only drawback to the neighborhood is that there are no grocery stores in ten block radius, and there is the temptation to order take-out from Nello or walk to the Pierre for a snack.

The elegance of the people I have discovered has been a true delight. Doorman along residential Park Avenue often open the doors to taxis even if the passenger aren’t arriving guests or residents to their buildings. The streets are cleaned every day and the restauranteurs and shopkeepers say good morning and smile.
People leave their apartments with their hair combed, though they may return slightly disheveled from a martini or two too many later in the evening.

Like the 8th, the neighborhood is a mix of sophisticated residents and eager tourists. But, only in New York would the First Couple of France be seated adjacent to two lady tourists from the mid-West dressed in vintage Acid Washed jeans who seem to use phemaldehyde as lip moisturizer…

Mr Gatsby’s Haunts
Amaranth
21 East 62nd
www.amaranthrestaurant.com

Le Bilboquet
25 E. 63rd

Monkey Bar
60 E. 54th

Rouge Tomate
14 E. 60th