Weekend in NYC, Part 2

On Sunday morning, we headed back to the Lower East Side for brunch at Little Giant. Although they don't normally do large groups (we were almost 20), the owner agreed to accommodate us. I quite enjoyed the selection of baked goods, especially the melt-in-your-mouth buttermilk biscuit (emphasis on the butter).

After our meal, we went on a walking tour of the Lower East Side, guided by a friend of Dr. S' family. As we listened to our guide describe the history of the area, we stopped outside the Tenement Museum and almost missed noticing that we were right outside a gelato shop. Not just a gelato shop, a gelato lab. Unfortunately, I was so stuffed from the morning that I couldn't even indulge in a sample. Another item for the next trip.

We made our way towards Seward Park, stopping in at Kossar's Bialys for a warm, oniony bread snack. Our guide described the history of The Forward, a Jewish-American newspaper as we stood outside the Forward Building, the former office of the publication. Walking in this part of the Lower East Side, you can't help but notice all of the Chinese stores and signs everywhere. It reminded me of an essay I read a while ago about New York Jews and Chinese food.

Our next stop was the Museum at Eldridge Street, a restored synagogue. We attended a special concert called The Mystical Trumpeter in the synagogue to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. Four performers played from different parts of the sanctuary, sometimes together, often solo. The avant-garde and improvised pieces were largely atonal, often just breathy sounds and squeaks. We left after the first half and had drinks at Les Enfants Terribles, where most of the wait staff spoke French, and the menu had many interesting African-inspired selections.

We had a whirlwind of a weekend, packed with activities and it all went by so quickly. What impressed me most about New York City was the density of the buildings and stores, and the vibrancy of the people on the streets. I didn't plan to do or see anything in particular on this trip, but I would love to explore more of the neighbourhoods and eat more of the food next time I am here.

Weekend in NYC, Part 1

Dr. S and I went to New York City for a weekend trip to celebrate her father's birthday. Our afternoon flight on Air Canada landed late at LaGuardia, and we immediately hopped in a cab to go to Carmine's in the Theater District. This boisterous and crowded restaurant was in full swing by the time we got there at 20:00. Everything was served family-style, with massive platters of salad, eggplant parmesan and veal scallopine weighing down our table. Our dessert selection ended up being a gigantic banana split/cake/ice cream concoction shaped like a ship, fittingly named Titanic. Pretty tasty, great for a large group.

In the morning, we left our hotel and headed for the Union Square Greenmarket. With a bright sky overhead, we perused the stalls, many selling many local and organic items. I was impressed by the range, say, of lettuces or herbs or tomatoes. It's amazing that this market runs four days a week, 10 hours per day. We noshed on olive bread, cheeses and giant peaches... an unconventional but tasty breakfast!

Our next stop was at the Essex Street Market, an enclosed market building in the Lower East Side. We were told of a shop that sold chocolate-covered bacon by a New York friend at dinner and had to check it out. Roni-Sue's Chocolates is a tiny shop with barely enough room for a dozen people to stand inside. The display featured about 20 kinds of chocolates. Interestingly, I recognized a few pieces from the recipes in Peter Greweling's Chocolates and Confections. We learned that the bacon is purchased in the market, then deep-fried by another restaurant, then dipped in chocolate on the premises. And now, dear reader, is when you find out that your inexperienced traveller made a crucial error. He did not sample any of the bacon-chocolate, nor purchase any. I had thought we would be back the next day and didn't want it to melt on our walk. Oh well.

Later in the day, I decided to walk down Fifth Avenue towards Central Park. It's a fancy street, full of high-end fashion retailers and lots of tourists. Near the golden statue of Sherman at the edge of the park, I met up with Dr. S and spent some time watching a breakdancing show before heading into the park.

As one of the most famous landmarks in New York City, I only knew of it by name and didn't realize it was so big: 4.1 km from south to north, spanning 50 blocks. It has a pond, a zoo, horse-drawn carriage rides and spacious avenues. We only spent about 20 minutes walking around, but it's a charming green space in the middle of Manhattan.

For dinner, we went to Vong, a French-Thai restaurant. I didn't get any photos of the food (partly out of embarassment, partly due to poor lighting) but let me say that it was superb. Lobster-daikon rolls full of plump sweet flesh with zing from slivers of finger. Duck breast in a tangy tamarind sauce. Vegetarian pad thai. A piece of salmon perfectly cooked. And for dessert, warm Valrhona chocolate cake with coconut sorbet. Fantastic.

Our evening entertainment was a show at the Music Box Theatre called August: Osage County. The set was incredible, a three-story miniature house that let you see the characters go up and down and in and out. The story was dark but with lots of humour, an Oklahoman family drawn together after a death. I recognized Madeline Martin in the cast from her role in Showtime's Californication. IMDB tells me she is just 15, incredible! Dr. S and I walked home with the fading neon lights of Broadway behind us.