Two weeks ago, when the thermometer sank below 20 and indoor meals were still banned in the city, New Yorkers continued to cling to the remnants of their social lives.
On East 60th Street, the owners of the former Le Bilboquet were gathered in open-air houses, wearing hats and scarves while nibbling on Cajun chickens and sipping Bordeaux. One block, 10 tables at clubby La Goulue struggled to share four heaters, while tables caught onion bowls for extra warmth.
But just a short flight away – to Tony Palm Beach, Florida, where La Goulue recently opened an outpost depicting a mirror image of the Manhattan mother ship – all the tables and chairs in the bar are full. Employers laugh and live it, apparently ignoring the dangers of twinning during a pandemic.
“We got rid of New York!” Said bistro owner Jean Denoyer. “We take everyone’s temperature when they arrive and keep the doors and windows open so that fresh air circulates.”
Le Bilboquet owner Philippe Delgrange is also in Palm Beach, where he launched the sister of his famous box this week.
“[Palm Beach] he really works with you, he doesn’t try to put wood in your wheels “, he said, without a doubt, referring to the way in which the restaurants in New York are only now, after two months of closure, allowed to put tables inside at a capacity of 25%. “I have seen so many friends of mine, I can’t believe it. And all our New York staff are asking to come and work here. ”
Denoyer and Delgrange are among the hordes of New Yorkers now enjoying life in Palm Beach County, where the influx of energy is palpable. Although masks are required inside commercial units in the county, people are, of course, allowed to remove them while eating or drinking and there are no specific spacing rules – so it’s not uncommon to see bars full of maskless patrons.
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Confusion, delays and objections were abundant at the conclusion of the roller coaster on Saturday …
Some Nordics feel as if they have landed in a parallel universe, with old friends and favorite gathering places transported in a sunnier setting.
Upper East Sider, Joe Wagner, 63, arrived in South Florida in late January with the intention of staying for two weeks, but decided to stay until March. Enjoy dinner indoors at La Goulue. “Sometimes I feel a little insecure. In New York, I was tied to the house. But it seems like so many people here are more relaxed because they already had COVID, “the real estate developer told The Post.” They say, ‘Don’t worry, I have antibodies,’ and they say, ‘It’s great.’ , but could you come back a little? ”
Indeed, COVID infection rates in Palm Beach County have risen to 7.57% this week. In New York, it fell to 5.08 percent from a high of more than 7 percent.
New York restaurants are finally allowed to have indoor dining with a 25% capacity starting Feb. 12, but Palm Beach units are running at full capacity.
Café Boulud in New York is closed until the end of 2021, but, at his brother’s in Palm Beach, the meals are mixed in the lush courtyard. The restaurants in New York Bice, Sant Ambroeus and Almond have locations on the island. Even Swifty’s late watering hole was resurrected in Palm Beach.
While legendary New York spots such as 21 and Cipriani are closed, an elegant monkey bar premiered at the new Opal Grand Hotel in Palm Beach County this week, and the New York Host restaurant group (Campagnola, Bill’s Townhouse) reveals a new Delray Beach, Florida., Steakhouse, Avalon, later this month.
It’s hard to find an empty spot in any of the hot restaurants in the area. “I can’t believe the amazing number of people this year – it’s like a prison break!” said John Lehmann, 59, who lives on the island and runs a sports marketing firm.
“I feel alive again. I could move here for the rest of my life, ”excited 47-year-old Long Island housewife Erica Holzer on the Opal Grand Oceanfront, where she and her husband have been staying for eight weeks. “They are taking precautions, but they are not absurd. We went to Monkey Bar and had a great time. It’s so free to be here. ”
The feeling of freedom also transcends restaurants. Fitness addicts can only take masked spin sessions with a virtual instructor at New York gyms, but SoulCycle now holds outdoor classes on the greenery of the Royal Poinciana Plaza on the island. It is located next to an outpost of the Paul Labrecque salon in New York, where customers catch rays in the yard, while the colors set them and the nails dry.
Lincoln Center, Broadway and Carnegie Hall are all dark, but live jazz performances have just been announced for later this month at the Kravis Center in West Palm.
“It’s a relief to be here. It looks like we can finally breathe, “said Greenwich, Conn., Event consultant Boo Huth, 60, who visited South Florida for nine days.
While most of those who travel to the New York area are undoubtedly privileged, low-priced rates and hotel stays allow for a wider spectrum of visitors.
“The irony is that living in Florida is actually a third less expensive than living in New York – and young people realize that,” said Gene Pressman, 70, a former Manhattanite whose family founded Barney and now lives in Palm Beach.
“Palm Beach was full of downtown [Manhattan] people, but now the people in the center are here, “added Pressman’s wife, Christine, 48.
And after the blockade of New York, the social scene in Palm Beach – and its lack of social distance in some places – can cause a culture shock for newcomers.
“People say it’s like the Wild West here,” said Todd Herbst, owner of the new Elisabetta’s restaurant in Palm Beach. “I am just amazed at how open everything is here. It’s as if COVID doesn’t exist, but we need all the staff to wear masks and we don’t allow parties for more than 10 people. ”
“I came here last week and it feels like a different world,” says Charles Rosenberg, a Soho resident who works in commercial real estate. The 30-year-old plans to stay in Palm Beach for a few weeks. “But I think when spring comes, New York will feel that way again.”
However, Upper East Sider Joe Wagner is not ready to head north any time soon. “A friend of mine sent me a picture of him at La Goulue in New York, wearing a hat and two scarves and saying his fingers were bleaching,” Wagner said. “I sent him back a photo of my pool.”