Every Brilliant Thing, Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe’s play about a person creating a list of everything wonderful in the world to help their mother cope with depression, is at the Hudson Theatre. It’s a feel-good show that’s not to be missed.

Lucky for us, we saw it with Mariska Hargitay in her Broadway debut, as we all sat on stage as part of the audience. For those who aren’t Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU) fans, she’s been the star of the show since it premiered in 1999, more than 27 years ago. That makes her character, Detective-turned-Captain Olivia Benson, the longest-running character in an American primetime live-action drama.

My meal at La Grande Boucherie was not as perfect. The food was fine; the service, atrocious. We shared everything from a Caesar salad to a burger, which we asked them to split for us as others at nearby tables had received. They didn’t.

When our waiter stopped by and asked, “How is everything?”, he was already heading toward another table before finishing the sentence. He knew the script, but not how to pause for a response.

The food we shared was fine: a hearty salad served first, as requested, then the burger.

I highly recommend seeing the uplifting Every Brilliant Thing, and lowering expectations when dining at La Grande Boucherie.

La Grande Boucherie NYC
Midtown
145 W 53rd St
New York, NY 10019
(212) 510-7714
boucherieus.com/