On Monday Amanda had to actually get up and go to work. So she launched us into the scary world of managing the subway on our own using her NFT (Not for Tourists) guide to all things Manhattan, including a transfer from one train to another unescorted. Our assignment: Sleep in, and then meet her for a tour of the office in SoHo. I felt so proud when we pulled it off.

Amanda works for Great Performances, a catering operation known for handling society weddings and corporate fund-raisers. (Her first night on the job involved an event at The Met with Bill Clinton.) They also have a solid commitment to social responsibility. A peek at GP's web site is an introduction to corporate inspiration. Seriously. Check it out.

Amanda toured us through the prep area where more than fifty chefs do their chop, roll, pierce, and marinade routine. Then she took us next door to the Mae Mae café, a working restaurant where Great Performances holds tastings for clients.

The café is also a wine bar, but we didn’t imbibe. My daughter went straight for the mac and cheese, but I opted for a bean soup and some smoked cheese tucked inside grilled flatbread. We topped off lunch with a split-three-ways chunk of white cake slathered with vanilla frosting and raspberry filling that left our eyeballs rolling around in our heads. Wow.

Mae Mae’s décor includes books tucked away on shelves (speaking my language!) that gave the place an ambiance between intimate and tony intellectual. A great taste, literally, of SoHo.

My girl and I spent the afternoon doing bus tours of uptown and downtown. I was most struck by the change in Ground Zero since my last visit three or four years ago. Whereas before it looked like a deep, empty basement, today a building has risen above ground level.

We met Amanda after work for a night out at the Off-Broadway production of C. S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, set in Hades and aptly described by the Times as one “hell of a good time.” Starring Max McLean, it is about a demon mentor providing instruction via correspondence about how to trip up their mutual patient, a Christian male. Great use of light and sound effects, brillliant performances, and ... it left us thinking. The arts at their best.