Match 65
29 East 65th Street (Between Madison and Park)
New York, New York 10065
212-737-4400
Joel Meyerowitz: Between the Dog and the Wolf
It is opening night for Joel Meyerowitz at Howard Greenberg Gallery. He showed two collections of images: “Between the Dog and the Wolf” in the main gallery and “Morandi, Cezanne and Me” in a side gallery.
The opening was jammed and it was good to see Meyerowitz in good health wearing all black with a matching black Leica casually flung over one shoulder.
Between the Dog and the Wolf is a translation of a common French expression which refers to twilight. In his artists statement Meyerowitz said: “It seemed to me that the French liken the twilight to the notion of the tame and the savage, the known and the unknown, where that special moment of the fading of the light offers us an entrance into the place where our senses might fail us slightly, making us vulnerable to the vagaries of our imagination.”
In the second series, Morandi, Cézanne and Me, Meyerowitz was granted permission to photograph the studios of both Morandi and Cezanne. Meyerowitz was entranced by the grey walls in Cézanne’s studio, and he photographed just about every object there – from vases, pitchers, and carafes to a skull and Cézanne’s hat. In Morandi’s studio Meyerowitz was allowed access to all of the objects that Morand used to create his perfect still life paintings. He was allowed to sit at Morandi’s table where he photographed shells, pigment-filled bottles, funnels, and watering cans against the same paper that Morandi had left on the wall. The paper is now yellow with age and created a rich backdrop for the photographs.
Match 65 Bistro
Beneath the red awning and string lights on 65th street are bistro chairs full of diners enjoying the perfect fall evening. It is a joy and a sweet sadness, fall in New York, because everyone who lives in the city knows that is coming. The cold and the grey and the wet and the slush and the dark. So we enjoy the preciousness of every moment.
The bar is to the right when you enter and is staffed by a charming young French woman. You can dine in tables in the bar area but I opted for table in the dining room in the back. There are large mirrors that reflect an infinity of diners and soft light globes in an infinite regression. Old black and white photos line the walls. In the back is a large sign with red type that announces Match 65-brasserie, cafe, comptoir-vins du pays, apertifs, bieres de luxe, plats du jour and digestifs.
Service was quick and efficient but hurried due to the large number of diners but small staff. The cafe was comfortably full-not so crowded as to be unpleasant but full enough to suggest popularity and success.
Most of the bistro classics are on the menu: moules frites mariniers, pan roasted salmon, tuna provencal, steak frites, and branzino. There is also an offering of enticing salads, hors d’ oeuvres, and garnitures.
I was surprised by the price points. The roasted salmon was $35 (Odeon is $31), the steak frites was $43 (Odeon is $40),the macaroni and cheese was $22 (Odeon is $13), the French onion soup was $15 (Odeon is $14), and pommes frites were $12 (Odeon is $11).
My experience at Match 65 was good but it is no Odeon.
I ordered the chicken paillard (with cherry tomatoes, baby cucumber, asparagus baby beets, mesclun greens, and feta cheese). I also had the pommes frites to give them a try.
The chicken was very thin but the temperature of the chicken could have been warmer and its consistency and flavor reminded me a bit of cardboard. The salad was excellent: fresh and well balanced. The pommes frites and the bread were average.
Paris Match
Paris Match is a French weekly news magazine. A judge has banned Paris Match from re-publishing graphic CCTV images of the Bastille Day attack in Nice in 2016. Paris Match was planning to publish images showing the moment when a truck plunged into crowds of people celebrating France’s national holiday, killing 86 and injuring hundreds. In an article defending the decision, Paris Match’s managing editor wrote that the magazine “wanted to pay tribute to the victims… in a duty of memory, so that society does not forget.”
Paris Match has faced legal action and censure several times before over the publication of private and sensitive images and interviews, including what it claimed was the last interview with Princess Diana before she was killed in a 1997 car crash in the French capital.
I inquired about the unusual name of the bisto and I was told that they originally named it “Paris Match” after the magazine. However, the magazine protested (trademark infringement I suspect) and so they changed the name to Match 65.
Review
Service: 8. Professional but hurried. Good timing. Authentically French staff from the host to the servers.
Archetype: 8. All of the signifiers of the Archetype are represented.
Food: 5. Average bistro food. High price points. Interesting specials of the day which would be worth trying.
Energy: 7. Good bar and sidewalk scene. Busy but not obnoxious. Authentic bistro decor and vibe.
Resources
Paris Match Magazine
Howard Greenberg Gallery
http://www.howardgreenberg.com/
Joel Meyerowitz