KahyZen : Las Queridas

Chez Lucienne
Address: 308 Lenox Ave, New York, NY 10027
212-289-5555
Landmark - Red Rooster

Seeing these women always transports me back to our lives in the East village when my biggest worries were completing research papers, capstone projects and deciding what new restaurants to explore. Fun times I tell you. Since then, there’s been important job offers, marriages, baby and loads of grown up sturvs.

Even though we all live in NY (w. exception of Rose and Gaurav),catching up has been challenging; so, last spring, we agreed to a mandatory monthly meet-up, you know, girl-time of sorts. So far, we’ve been pretty good, we've had brunches, dinners and power walks or strolls through central park. Since Ches had to cancel her trip to India at the last minute, we decided to schedule this hang-out in Harlem and ended up at Chez Lucienne; the first French restaurant in Harlem. I’d been eager to check it out since I read about it in Time Out, so it was a nice surprise when Ches made reservations there. The food was great, the dessert was meh! (perhaps it was our chosen dessert) but the service was 5 star and the ambience was perfect for some good ‘ol chit chat.

As usual and as with all conversations I have with these gals it always putters off to talks on self-development; swapping tips on career successes, advise on how to be better at what we do and just general words of wisdom and encouragement on personal growth. They remind me why it is important to only surround oneself with people who can and want to lift you up. Like every friendship we have our ups and downs and like every true friendship we learn to work it out. Brunch was the great; but it was a greater foreplay for working towards achieving set/new goals.

Madeleine Albright said “there is a special place in hell for women who do not help each other”.

Who are your friends? Do they compel you to be a better person?