New York State of
Mind
CSI's Marg Helgenberger loves New York for the
accents, the street-vendor hot dogs, the hotel bars, the three B's,
and … how much time do you have?
.
Marg Helgenberger grew up in a tiny
Nebraska town - North Bend,
population 1,200 - but left as soon as she could. "I got my Social
Security card at the age of 11 because I knew I needed to make some
money," says Helgenberger, 48, a veteran actress best known for
playing forensic scientist
Catherine Willows for seven seasons on
the top-rated CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. While growing up in
Nebraska, she paid her dues working in the soybean fields, in the
cornfields, and even in a meatpacking plant. At 23, she found
herself in New York to join the cast of Ryan's Hope. She now lives
in
Santa Monica with her husband and her son, but she still thrives
on the
energy of the
East Coast's cultural center. No fewer than
five times during our interview, she ended some anecdote with, "I
don't know, I just love New York." And it wasn't for lack of
something to say - quite the opposite. She was so jazzed about New
York that she scheduled a second interview just to talk about it a
bit more. "I love how everywhere you turn, there's something new,"
she says. "There's a surprise right in front of you on every
corner."
You lived in New York when you were younger,
right?
In the '80s. I lived on the Upper West Side. I was right out of
college, which is a good time to live in the city. Anytime is good,
but that is a particularly good time. And I happened to move there
with a job. I was going to school at
Northwestern University, and a
casting scout saw me in
The Taming of the Shrew. Who would have
thought that would happen? And before I knew it, there I was, in a
soap opera.
That was Ryan's Hope. Where did it
film?
It's no longer on the air, but it shot at two different locations:
at a tiny little studio on 51st between Ninth and Tenth avenues,
and at a new studio near the Hudson River, which is now where The
View shoots. I've been on The View many times. Every time I go back
there, I see the same crew guys; it's a time warp. Maybe it's
because I'm getting older, visiting my roots, but I have gotten so
nostalgic again for New York.
What do you miss about New York when you're not
there?
Walking around the city. It just makes you feel stimulated. I miss
the people, their energy and directness. They're up-front in the
way they deal with you. I love all New York accents, and I think
New Yorkers have a pretty sophisticated wit. In
California, you're
either at your home or at your job or alone in your car. In New
York, you're always around people. You have to see people.
Do you get recognized in New York? I'm especially
curious about whether you get recognized by crime-scene
investigators or by police?
I guess I do. I wouldn't necessarily say there's an overabundance
of that. About a month after 9/11, I was coming to New York to do
some publicity, and I wanted to go down to ground zero. They
weren't letting people down there yet. But I knew a guy in Los
Angeles who had been with the NYPD, and I asked him if there was
anyone he could call. The guy he put me in contact with was in
charge of the Port Authority recovery mission, and his name was Lt.
John Ryan. It was the most memorable experience of my life - to be
down there, at that time, when things were still smoldering and
falling apart. I get teary just talking about it. That day, I ended
up having lunch at the firehouse with all these firefighters, and
honestly, I'll never forget it. John Ryan still sends me a
Christmas card every year, and I send him the latest CSI DVD.
That's been since the second season, so he has a lot of DVDs.
So let's get down to the nitty-gritty. When you
visit New York, where do you stay?
I always stay at the Loews Regency Hotel. It's old-school, really
great service, a New York tradition. And it's just one block from
Barneys, so that can't be bad. There's a salon right around the
corner called Minardi. The guy who does my hair on CSI used to work
there, so I have him hook me up with a nice blowout. What woman
doesn't want a nice blowout? Especially if you want to go out to
some special place for dinner.
What restaurants do you especially
like?
I recently went back to Babbo, which is good. I like Italian,
period, and I love Italian accents. Another great little Italian
place is a restaurant in
Midtown called Osteria Serafina. And I
still like grabbing hot dogs off the street. They hit the spot.
How does Marg Helgenberger take her street-vendor
hot dog?
Mustard only. Sometimes with relish. Back when I lived there, I
used to get it with sauerkraut. I can't handle that now. Though I
still think I can handle things, which is why I was drinking Patrón
last night. I went to see Talk Radio on Broadway last night, which
was so great, and it's set in the '80s, during the time when I
lived there, so it brought on lots of nostalgia. I went out with
the playwright, Eric Bogosian, and Liev Schreiber, who was so great
in it - you know, I worked with him on CSI - and we were out late.
Ugh. Why do I still think I'm 23?
How many shots of Patrón did you have?
Shots? I didn't have shots! No, no, I was drinking Patrón with soda
and lime. I haven't had shots in I don't know how long. Well, no,
wait, yes I do. It was with
Quentin Tarantino and the Wu-Tang Clan.
No, you did not.
[Laughs] Quentin directed our Season Five finale, and he's friends
with the RZA. After the shoot, we went to the Palms hotel and then
on to this really swinging place. It was really special. But you
don't want to hear about that; that's Las Vegas, not New York.
Honestly, I could hear about that all night. But
we'll get back to the subject. What's your favorite New York
bar?
Now that I'm a mother, I don't really go to bars. I like the
Library, in the Regency Hotel. It's really cozy, with paneling and
bookshelves. Feinstein's is the Regency's piano bar. They have a
lot of really great people. Keely Smith - she's a jazz singer who
was married to Louis Prima - is there quite often. Diahann Carroll,
Betty Buckley, even Donny Osmond! And I like hotel bars; I always
have. They make you feel like you're on a vacation, even if you're
not. There's a mysterious feeling to hotel bars. I don't like a
scene; I'm not into it. I just like a regular bar - something to
eat. God knows you need something in your stomach.
Where do you go shopping?
You know, I'm fond of the three B's: Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, and
Bloomingdale's. But going downtown is a whole other experience.
There was a cool shop I happened upon in Nolita called Hable
Construction. It's a tiny little shop owned by sisters - one of
whom happens to be a fabric designer - and they make tchotchkes and
pillows. When I was renovating my house, I used some of their
fabrics, and one day, as I was walking down Elizabeth Street, lo
and behold, there it was: Hable Construction. [The store in Nolita
has since closed, but there's another one open in the West
Village.] That's why I love to go into that area: It's so arty and
unexpected. You'll find housewares next to clothing stores next to
bodegas next to comic-book stores. Also on Elizabeth Street, too,
is a place called Me&Ro, where they make great gold and silver
jewelry with Sanskrit engravings and with a tiny little stone or a
tiny diamond. I practice a lot of yoga, and I used to practice
aikido, so I'm into that whole vibe.
There's this leather-goods shop that apparently has been there for
20 years, according to the guy behind the desk. It's called Peter
Hermann, on Thompson Street. And it's the kind of place where you
see one thing in the window, and then while you're paying for it,
you see something else and then something else.
There are great antiques shops downtown. I stopped into one and
bought a lamp, which they're shipping to me. The place is called
Paterae, and they have great lamps and chandeliers; it's on Broome
Street. And I went into a cool little stationery store called
Greenwich Letterpress, which is on Christopher Street. I just can't
get over how much that street has changed from what it was like in
the '80s. Back then, it was basically all shops for gay men; now
it's stationery shops and moms pushing their strollers.
Oh, there's one last one I wanted to mention, because the guy who
owns the place was really cool. It's called the Lively Set, and
it's this fun, funky antiques place on
Bedford Street. It reminds
me of that scene in Borat where he walks into the antique Civil War
shop and starts destroying everything. In fact, the owner told me
that last year
Ashton Kutcher walked in, and the owner was worried
he was going to get punked and that everything in the store was
going to get broken. But as it turns out, Ashton was just another
shopping tourist.
What's your favorite museum?
I love the MoMA. I went to it about a year ago, after their big
renovation. I actually explored some of the floors that I'd never
seen before, the more contemporary art, as opposed to the
impressionistic, which is kind of eye candy. And I could appreciate
it now that I'm older.
Francis Bacon really stands out in my mind -
so vivid and visceral. I love the Met, too, but I think you have to
go with specific goals. Otherwise, it's way too overwhelming.
If friends of yours had only a weekend to spend in
New York, what would you tell them they had to do?
If there were a good play or musical going on, that would be on the
list. I saw Grey Gardens on Broadway, and Christine Ebersole is
brilliant in that. It's one of those legendary Broadway
performances. And I saw Spring Awakening, which I loved. Those kids
just had this incredible excitement and exuberance. Or to go to
some cool dance company would be great, as well, because there are
so many great dancers and dance companies in New York. Obviously, a
walk through
Central Park. I especially love the Central Park Zoo.
I think we'd head downtown and just explore, because it's so
completely different from Midtown, and it's where I seem to be most
of the time. It's so much more intimate and funky and special, and
there are so many pockets of ethnicity and artistry and people.
People are just cool in New York. They're hip and sophisticated and
self-assured. You have to be tough to be in this city. Not in an
aggressive way, but you have to be a take-charge person.
Way back when, my mother would visit me in New York, and that's
when I'd go and do the touristy things, like visit the Statue of
Liberty, which I'd like to do again. The Empire State Building? Eh,
I don't know about that. It's just one tall building. But the
Statue of Liberty is interesting. You take a boat ride out there.
And the UN is a fascinating place to visit. People kind of forget
about it, because it's so
far east. But it's pretty interesting.
Riverside Park is another place people forget about. I used to go
there all the time when I lived on the Upper West Side. I love
water and rivers. I grew up in a town that was on a river, so the
Hudson is calming to me. And I hear they've cleaned up Riverside
Park quite a bit. Oh, and, wow, Union Square Park! I just went
there the other day, on Friday; I couldn't believe how lively it
was. It was amazing. This city is an amazing turn-on. I just can't
seem to get enough of it.
She Said...
Where Marg Helgenberger investigates in
NYC
LODGING
Loews Regency Hotel, expensive, (212) 759-4100,
www.loewshotels.com
DINING
Babbo, Italian, moderate to expensive,
(212) 777-0303, www.babbonyc.com
Osteria Serafina, Italian, moderate to
expensive, (212) 832-8888, www.serafinarestaurant.com
NIGHTLIFE
Feinstein's at the Regency, (212) 339-4095,
www.fein steinsattheregency.com
SIGHTS
Central Park Zoo, (212) 439-6500,
www.nyzoosandaquarium.com
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, (212)
535-7710, www.metmuseum.org
Museum of Modern Art, (212) 708-9400,
www.moma.org
Riverside Park, (212) 639-9675,
www.riversideparkfund.org
Statue of Liberty, (866) 782-8834,
www.statueofliberty.org
Union Square Park, (212) 639-9675,
www.nycgovparks.org
United Nations, (212) 963-8687,
www.un.org
SERVICES
Minardi Salon, (212) 308-1711,
www.minardinyc.com
SHOPPING
Barneys New York, (212) 826-8900,
www.barneys.com
Bergdorf Goodman, (800) 558-1855,
www.bergdorfgoodman.com
Bloomingdale's, (212) 705-2000,
www.bloomingdales.com
Greenwich Letterpress, (212) 989-7464,
www.greenwichletterpress.com
Hable Construction, (212) 989-2375,
www.hableconstruction.com
The Lively Set, (212) 807-8417
Me&Ro, (917) 237-9215,
www.meandrojewelry.com
Paterae, (212) 941-0880
Peter Hermann, (212) 966-9050
BROADWAY
Grey Gardens, (212) 239-6200,
www.greygardensthemusical.com
Spring Awakening, (212) 239-6200,
www.springawakening.com
Talk Radio, (212) 239-6200,
www.talkradioonbroadway.com
We Said
…
Where we investigate in NYC
LODGING
Chelsea Lodge, moderate, (800) 373-1116,
www.chelsealodge.com. This quaint townhouse, with its great
location and even better room rates, has hordes of loyal fans.
Hotel Mela, very expensive, (877) 452-6352,
www.hotelmela.com.
New York City's first new hotel of 2007, the
Mela (which means "apple" in Italian) is also the first new lodging
in its Midtown Manhattan neighborhood (just off Times Square) in
over 20 years.
DINING
Burger Joint, inexpensive, (212) 708-7414.
Is this greasy spoon - situated, strangely enough, inside the posh
Le Parker Meridien hotel - the home of the Big Apple's best burger?
Many say so, and after biting into one of their juicy beef
belt-busters and digging into an order of shoestring fries served
in a paper bag, we'd have to agree.
Carmine's, moderate to expensive, (212)
221-3800, www.carminesnyc.com. The eats are served family-style at
this cozy Italian spot (don't miss the broiled porterhouse), which
is appropriate since everyone here, from the bartenders to the
busboys, makes you feel like one of their own.
SHOPPING
Dylan's Candy Bar, (646) 735-0078,
www.dylanscandybar.com. Swapping designer clothes for candy, Ralph
Lauren's daughter, Dylan, opened this retro sweet shop in 2001.
Take along the kiddos and introduce them to all the treats you
loved as a child, including Zotz, Razzles, Cow Tales, and
Chick-O-Sticks.
DESTINATIONEast Broadway, between Oliver and Rutgers streets. Chinatown’s most eclectic thoroughfare (per New York magazine) is ripe for exploring. Here, you’ll find everything from the popular bubble-tea drinks (May’s Bakery) to Hello Kitty kitsch (Jumbo Philatelic Company) to Manhattan’s busiest library (the Chatham Square Branch of the New York Public Library). There’s a lot to see, so make sure you wear comfortable shoes.