Join author and tango-dancer extraordinaire Dr. Lewis Gross on Saturday, June 5 at 5pm at the Montauk Playhouse Community Center for a reading from his book, Montauk Tango, followed by tango lessons and treats from his family restaurant 668 The Gig Shack.
About the book:
Montauk Tango:
From the Ashes of 9/11 to the Frying Pan of a Hampton’s Restaurant
by Lewis Gross
NEW BOOK EXPLORES HOW ONE LOWER MANHATTAN FAMILY REINVENTED ITSELF AFTER 9/11
The events of September 11, 2001 rendered 30,000 apartments eligible for asbestos abatement, destroyed or displaced nearly 18,000 small businesses, caused the loss of 140,000 jobs and the displacement of approximately 20,000 residents of Lower Manhattan.
Where did these residents go? How did they move on with their lives?
Holistic dentist and author, Lewis Gross, a member of the Community Board, founder and president of the Downtown Little League, and self-described ‘mayor’ of Tribeca was one of those residents. Forced to decamp to his family’s summer home in Montauk, he describes his family’s journey after that fateful day in his new book, Montauk Tango: From the Ashes of 9/11 to the Frying Pan of a Hampton’s Restaurant.
“We were the lucky ones,” says Gross, “we had a second place to call home. Most people didn’t. But it was no less traumatic for us, especially for my young son whose school had to be closed. He didn’t want to go, and we didn’t want to leave.”
After the shock of their unscheduled move, the family had to establish themselves as residents in what was previously their weekend escape and begin to reclaim some semblance of normalcy to their shattered lives. Gross’ wife, an amateur chef and yoga instructor, had an idea: she’d trade in her yoga clothes for a chef’s apron. The family set their sights on owning a restaurant and with no prior experience, purchased a run-down ice cream parlor that they converted into a Bohemian bistro, befitting their idyllic seaside resort.
But Montauk Tango is much more than an account of a family’s foray into the restaurant business. With Gross’ dental practice in Lower Manhattan, he faces another transition: weekend fatherhood. During the week, he enjoys a single life in the city and falls in love with the tango. Back on the island, his wife spreads her wings — it is her restaurant after all, he is only a silent partner — and his boys try to find theirs. Ever the modern husband, he strives to be supportive and celebrate her accomplishments but questions about his definition of happiness nag him.
“In the final analysis,” says Gross, “owning the restaurant was an investment in marriage, parenting and community.”
About the Author
Like the striped bass, author and holistic dentist, Lewis Gross migrates seasonally between the coasts of Tribeca and Montauk. In between tango lessons, he finds time to work on his second book, The Amalgamist – the Da Vinci Code of Dentistry, a medical mystery exposing the mercury cover-up in dentistry.
Montauk Tango is available on iuniverse.com, montauktango.com and amazon.com.