IN CONVERSATION: "LOCAL & GLOBAL" Featuring Erica Jackowitz, Co-Founder of Roman & Erica

BY DAVID GRAVER

Few people understand the world of luxury travel and leisure time like Erica Jackowitz who founded the high-touch lifestyle concierge service Roman & Erica with her husband, Roman Chiporukha. Jackowitz and Chiporukha, who reside in the mid-70s, aim to manifest dreams in various ways— from securing exclusive dinner reservations to orchestrating life changing vacations.

These two Upper East Siders also run Rêve Travel Club, which hones in on ultra- luxury travel, and Chiporukha is also an organizer of a Michelin-star dinner on the edge of Earth’s atmosphere, through his space-tourism company, SpaceVIP. Tickets for the dinner, hosted in a pressurized capsule attached to a space balloon, sold out (despite a price tag of $495,000 per ticket). To learn more about their life on the UES, VICINITY sat down with Jackowitz.

Can you tell us about your history with the Upper East Side?

The concept of a “New York minute” was most certainly derived from those who live on the UES. I’ve been an Upper East Sider for the past 25 years and I couldn’t be more thrilled about it. It is my home, the place where I choose to raise my family, and where most of my friends are—including the “downtown” ones who inevitably caved and made the move uptown.

What makes it quintessentially NYC?

It’s residential and where you want to live. The streets are wide and never feel crowded. Any retail desire can be fulfilled, alongside the museums, parks, bars and restaurants. Name it and we got it. I’ve never not lived within a one-to-two block radius from a pharmacy, grocery store or bodega and that’s a big deal for being able to access anything you actually need in that New York minute.

What are the most appealing Upper East Side attributes?

In choosing to raise a family here versus a suburb, I would often get the question, “don’t you want a backyard?” Answer: it’s called Central Park. I mean is there a better backyard in the world? The last conversation with my mother on this topic ended with me saying: Mom, if you run out of milk in the morning it’s a half an hour minimum for you—to go into your car, drive to the store, park the car, get out, get the milk, go to the register and go back home. I’m down and back from the bodega in five minutes and if I’m really being lazy, they will deliver to me within ten. Living on the UES provides a life of ultimate convenience, sophistication and unfettered access to any want or desire.

Any recommendations?

Bilboquet, at any time, lunch or dinner, with a nod to their Sunday brunch if table dancing is what you’re into. Le Veau d’Or, a very French hotspot. Sushi Seki for go- to sushi. Sushi Ishikawa for one of the city’s top Omakase. Campagnola for quintessential neighborhood Italian or Scalinatella. I head to The Mark for truffle pizza. Mansion Diner on delivery for best diner food! 2nd Avenue Deli for pastrami on rye with sautéed onions, and matzo ball soup. Sables for their lox and lobster salad. Ouris Market for specialty grocer. Agata & Valentina, as a gluten-free outpost and their chocolate mousse is perfect. Also, Chez Fifi!

What about your favorite night on the Upper East Side?

I came up with the idea of doing an UES restaurant crawl with friends, where each person had to secretly choose their favorite dish at their favorite restaurant. From there, we all set off on their culinary adventure. I picked salmon tomato from Sushi Seki, one friend picked truffle gnocchi from Nica Trattoria, another chose veal parmesan from Campagnola, and another went for Oreo ice cream in the soft serve with extra Oreos from Emack & Bolios. Roman picked shepherd’s pie from Finnegans Wake. The night turned into a legendary UES evening, hopping from place to place enjoying exquisite dish after exquisite dish. The simple act of sharing the food you love with people you love made for one of those unforgettable NYC nights.

Can you paint a spectacular picture of something you did for a client?

I recently planned a trip to Tuscany for one of my clients. Unbeknownst to her, her boyfriend was planning to propose and approached me for help. I had the idea to send them truffle hunting and have the ring buried prior to their arrival so that my client would dig it up thinking it was a truffle, only to realize it’s an engagement ring and look up and see her boyfriend down on one knee!