After lunch with wowe.  Wednesday, March 20, 2013.  First day of spring, sales tax due.

Wolfgang Wesener and I have lunch now and then, usually at some place of culinary interest.

This time I suggested MOMA, since I can bring in a guest for free -- we all know how expensive museum admission has gotten -- and we could have a bite in the Terrace 5 café on the 5th floor.  It has floor to ceiling glass with a lovely view overlooking the MOMA garden.

But it turned out a little different.  Wolfgang was running late so I spent some time sitting in the sun in the garden.  It was really cold and the sun was sharp as a knife.

Finally I went inside to look at some art.  The place was so packed with people moving around in semi-slow motion, lurching in unpredictable directions, in clumps and pairs.  I got restless.  I kept fleeing from them, trying to find a gallery or wall that was empty of people.

I did stumble into a couple of interesting spots -- a room of Joseph Beuys vitrines, a room with some paintings from his (male) students in Düsseldorf back in the day, a Carl Andre pile of 120 bricks ...  And so on.

But the crowds proved daunting so I went downstairs, and found my way to the Modern restaurant (another Danny Meyer oasis) via a back route.

I arrived at the reception desk just as Wolfgang did, and we sat at a small table in the bar area.  We had a bottle of sparkling water, cold and prickly on the tongue.  Wolfgang ordered a glass of wine and I had a glass of beer, dark and peppery.  We shared a tarte flambée, yum but kind of like a snack, and I ordered a salad.  Wolfgang sat pensive, as usual.  We talked a bit about this and that, a mutual friend or two.  Very low key.

Then I had a cappucino.

Then we left ... taking the M train downtown .............