High Line, Chelsea Market, Pok Pok

We were eagerly looking forward to a walk along the High Line this morning. We got on the G line at Clinton-Washington, and transferred at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn stop to the A line, where we boarded an express train all the way to the 34th Street/Penn Station stop. From there it was a short walk through some heavy construction to the 30th street entrance of the High Line. This entrance is the start of Section 2, and there was active development of Section 3 going on. With a bright sunny sky overhead, it was quite thrilling to be exploring Manhattan from a 3rd-story vantage point. There are numerous lookout spurs to check out the street below, and lots of benches to take a break. One of the current art exhibitions is a series of sculptures exploring the idea of urban monuments called Busted.

Towards the end of Section 2, near where the High Line goes through a few buildings, we started seeing vendors selling souvenirs and food. We stopped for some paletas and enjoyed them from the "Urban Theater" viewing platform above 10th Avenue.

For lunch, we left the High Line at the 14th Street entrance, and walked over to the ground floor of Chelsea Market, where we found a over a dozen specialty food shops to tempt us. We were all pretty hungry and settled on The Lobster Place. The selection of fish, seafood and sushi was top-notch and Flick remarked how there was not a hint of fishiness in the air. At the back of the store is where you can buy cooked lobsters for lunch, from one-pounders up to 3.5 lbs, as well as buy made-to-order sandwiches. I got an oyster po' boy, and a lobster roll for Flick, and New England clam chowder for Gabe. Very, very yummy, but pricey. I only had a quick browse around the other stores, but it's worth spending some time here if you like food!

Our post-nap excursion was a walk up towards Flushing Avenue, to grab a snack at Il Porto. This pizzeria/restaurant has a wood-fired oven, and Gabe chowed down on a pepperoni slice with gusto. We popped into Fresh Fanatic across the street for some fruit, but for a place that sells organic/health stuff, I like Khim's Millennium Market on Myrtle better: brighter and better organized. To tire Gabe out, we played for a bit at the nearby playground.

Our evening wasn't done: we hired our friend's babysitter so that we could go out for dinner! We chose Pok Pok NY, a celebrated Isaan Thai restaurant in Cobble Hill. Our party of four demolished the:

• papaya Pok Pok (green papaya salad)
  
• Vietnamese fish sauce wings (marinated in fish sauce, fried, then tossed in caramelized fish sauce!)
  
• laap pet isaan (chopped duck salad)
  
• het paa naam tok (spicy forest mushroom salad)
  
• cha ca "la vong" (catfish marinated in turmeric with rice vermicelli)
  
• khao soi (curry noodle soup)
  
• sticky rice
  
• roasted peanuts with chilies and lime leaf
  

So good. Because we are gluttons, we capped off the night at Brooklyn Farmacy and Soda Fountain with a Peanut Butter Cup sundae, and a slice of apple pie.