During my earlier career, as a model for the iconic fashion maven, Eleanor Lambert, I’d frequently lunched here with one of the designers who hired me either for their print ads or as a runway model. But that had been a lifetime ago, and I didn’t miss it. Café Carlyle now seemed stuffy and over-decorated to me, its fawning waiters obtrusive. It was always restorative to get away from my hectic work schedule in Westchester, and so I tried to take a day for myself in the city whenever possible. A little window-shopping and perhaps a haircut at Vidal’s with Karin and then lunch at one of the charming restaurants on this fabulous Avenue. Urban life was so different from my everyday world, and just the break I needed. Today, I’d chosen to take advantage of the beautiful weather to enjoy a meal at a sidewalk café. I settled in at a corner table at Le Paris Bistrot, where I could observe the passing crowd of chic women with designer handbags and five-inch stiletto heels.
