Smoke, Broadway @ 106th

In the summer we pass the open doors and windows of Smoke and often pause to listen to the music of trumpet and trombone and piano and drums and bass -- and if we're lucky, vocals.  I've longed to go in and take a seat at the bar or at a table, to sit inside rather than gazing in from the outside.  But that is one of the nice things about New York -- you can indeed listen to music from the sidewalk -- and the band is just 30 or 40 feet away -- closer than in most concert halls.  And what a concert it is!

Finally, we booked a table and sat with friends not 10 feet away from the small stage (where sometimes, up to 16 musicians play jazz!).  The menus are waiting on tables dressed in off white cloths, a candle burning in the center.  An old-time wooden bar lines one wall.

We ordered from the prix-fixe ($29) menu -- which is really the regular menu from which you can choose two courses -- either an appetizer and entree, or an entree and dessert.  Of course, you can order all three (and pay for the third course -- as we did).  Wonderful recorded jazz played as we sat and talked with our friends, before our orders arrived and before Eve Cornelious and Mosaic began playing their first set at a little after 7.

We started with an appetizer of seafood meatballs -- which was like a wonderful bouillabaisse of compressed shrimp, clams, and scallops in a white-wine parsley broth.  The reduced balsamic dressing perfectly coated the crisp, organic baby greens salad.  We ordered among the four of us one steak with spinach and mashed potatoes (an additional $10 charge to the $29 prix fixe) and three orders of barbecued baby back ribs with baked beans and bacon braised collard greens.  The ribs were tender and covered in a sweet-aromatic sauce.

Jeremy Pelt's trumpet harmonized with Dion Tucker's trombone, making that sound that makes you want to swoon for its beauty.  Eve Cornelious's voice has a range from deep mellow to craggy sass.  We were smitten by the music and that hour of listening (and eating) went by far faster than we would have wished.

We finished our meal with three desserts:  The apple tart (which tasted as good as the one I'd had in Paris at the Place des Vosges -- caramelly, light  appley -- with a side of butter-cream ice cream .  The wine-soaked pear with shortcake and vanilla ice cream.  The chocolate rich brownie sundae with hot fudge, walnuts, whipped cream, strawberries, and chocolate ice cream.  I felt sated -- and craving more.  At Smoke, sensory notions come at you from all directions -- fusing taste, texture and sound.