Monday, November 9th, 2009

Each week, My Upper West interviews an Upper West Side resident who helps make our neighborhood the diverse and interesting place we love.  Today, we talk to Dena Rosenberg, Legal Assistant and Sales/Online Marketing Assistant at Pour, west 70’s.

So, what do you do all day?
I work at Pour, on 75th and Amsterdam. We’re a boutique wine store, bringing the sommelier experience home to the Upper West Side.  Our small store specializes in food-friendly wines from smaller producers (lots of organic and biodynamic wines) and in helping people make good food-and-wine decisions.  Our manager/buyer is a restaurant veteran (and an amazing pastry chef!) and the best at putting together a menu/wine list.  We also have nifty information cards about each wine we carry.  Our prices range from about $9 to $100 per bottle, with most of the stock falling in the $15-$30 range. We pride ourselves on being good neighbors, and we hope people see us as the neighborhood resource we think we are.

How long have you lived on the UWS?
I’ve lived on the Upper West Side for about five years, in two different periods.  I shared a place on 95th and Columbus in 2004, and my husband and I have been in our apartment on 79th for a little over three years.

What made you decide to move to the UWS?
My last apartment was in the West Village, where I thought I’d be happy as a clam and want to stay forever—but I missed the wide avenues, the parks nearby, and being able to cross the street on Halloween.  Now that I’m here, I don’t want to leave–it feels like home much more than anywhere else.

What is your favorite thing about the neighborhood?
The farmer’s market in front of the Museum of Natural History.  No, wait: grocery stores!  No, wait: the dog park at the museum!  No, wait: Dovetail!  No, wait…

Riverside Park or Central Park?
I wrote my undergrad thesis on Central Park, so I’d be very disloyal if I said otherwise.

Describe your best celebrity sighting on the UWS.
I’m not going to mention anyone who comes into Pour—we’re very discreet—so I’ll go with Billie Jean King getting into her USTA car every morning of the US Open.  Or stroller-dodging down Columbus with Anderson Cooper.

What is your favorite meal on the UWS? Favorite place for a cocktail?
Aside from my apartment, Dovetail (77th and Columbus) is a no-brainer.  The staff is wonderful and gracious, the chef will do whatever he can to make you happy, and the wine list is great—it’s the restaurant version of Pour!  Only with foie gras.

If you could change one thing about the UWS, what would it be?
Can we make the sidewalks two-lane?  One for meandering and one for getting places?  Thanks.

What would you like to see filling the empty storefronts in the UWS, or what would you like to see more of in the UWS?
I’d like to see more cafés/coffee shops.  It’s great to have Joe (Columbus and 85th) around, but it’s hard to believe they’re the only ones bringing the good coffee movement up here.  A good independent bookstore would be super as well—there’s been nothing since Ivy’s Books/Mystery Ink closed, and that’s really too bad.  Perhaps someone could combine the two?

Horse and carriage rides in Central Park: romantic, too touristy, or cruel?
Both romantic and touristy.  And less of a hazard to cyclists than the pedicabs!

What are you looking forward to most: completion of Lincoln Center’s renovations, Trader Joe’s on 72nd and Broadway, the shops at Columbus Square, or completion of the 96th Street subway station?
I’d have to go with Trader Joe’s, although a completed Lincoln Center would be nice, too—bring a little more life to that corner!

What is your favorite thing to do in the ‘hood on a nice UWS day?
Go for a long walk around Riverside Park with the dog, ending up at Joe.  Head down to the dog park and hang out, and have brunch/read the newspaper at Nice Matin (79th and Amsterdam).  Nap in the afternoon and then head to Shake Shack (77th and Columbus), catch a concert at the Society for Ethical Culture (64th and Central Park West), stop in to Pour for their tasting, head home and run into my sister in the lobby of my building.

Who is your favorite UWS resident, past or present?
Marjorie Morgenstern.

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