Nearing the end

We were happy to welcome Monday, it meant express trains and getting around a little easier. Plus, our trip was winding down; home was on the horizon. We were burnt out, but we kept on since we had sights left to see, and eats to seek out.

We took one last recommendation from a New Yorker and tried Vezzo pizza in Midtown. We ordered cheesy garlic bread to start. It was thick and much different than I expected.





Our Margherita pizza followed, it was exceptionally thin. The crust was crisp, but almost non-existent. Ingredients were fresh. It should have been a winner, but it reminded me of pizzas I make at home with Flat Out flatbread. This was flat bread, not pizza. This was only the second place we were served fountain soda (the first was at Spumoni Gardens) it came as a surprise that we were charged for a refill. We should’ve stuck with the delicious free NYC tap water, but whatever…

Moving on, our next stop was the Top of the Rock, which is the observation deck at Rockefeller Center. The halls to get there from the subway made me nauseous. It reeked of greasy fast food and Subway bread. We couldn’t get to the ticket outlet fast enough. Admission was included in our City Pass. Getting our tickets was quick and painless. However, it was never mentioned that we had to wait until 1:30 to enter. We had 45-minutes to kill. Waiting around is not something either of us wanted to do, but we sucked it up and waited. Outside. I couldn’t stand the food court smells in those halls.

I enjoyed the fresh air, but it didn’t take long for my feet to grow weary. I took a seat on the planter, careful not to disturb the freshly planted flowers. Relief lasted about 5 minutes, and then the doorman scolded me. As we waited, he scolded another dozen people who also grew tired waiting to enter. Finally, time passed and we entered the doors only to be scolded by the doorman again. He insisted it wasn’t time, yet. We pointed to the clock. He had no choice but to waive us on.

We were herded like cattle to wait for the elevators to take us near the top. Then, we were forced to watch a short film about the building before being herded again to be taken up to the observation floors. The first two floors are obnoxious with the big glass panels obstructing the views. The top deck is where it’s at. It is open. Had I realized, I wouldn’t have wasted time on the first two trying to snap photos between each glass panel. Visibility wasn’t great, it was incredibly hazy, but we hung around about an hour taking photos and trying to make out the different buildings.



















Leaving was no easy task. Once again, we hurried just wait while we were herded into elevators. I’ve been up on many observation decks and none were as much of a clusterfuck as this one.

Afterwards, we went back to Katz’s Deli. This time we had corned beef and pastrami.



The pastrami is so good. It was the best thing I ate in NYC. We left a little room for dessert so we sought out Sugar Sweet Sunshine bakery, which came highly recommended for cupcakes. We ordered two: Sexy red velvet and pistachio. Both had ” the moose” aka satin buttercream, which seemed to be their signature icing.



They weren’t the most attractive cupcakes, but I don’t mind as long as they taste yummy. We each dug in and gave each other the same look. “Ick.” These were among the worst cupcakes we ever tried; I can only recall those we had in Vancouver being worse. The cake was dry. The icing was bland only leaving a strange artificial taste. It was very odd, I’ve never considered myself a great baker, but I can make a better cupcake. I swear this place is highly rated because it’s fairly cheap, only $1.75 per cupcake.

Next we went to the Metropolitan Museum; again, admission was part of our City Pass. We walked around admiring the artifacts, but I grew tired of it early on. Still, we pressed on absorbing all that could. But in all honesty, I liked the building itself better than the items that make up the museum.





The arched-windows, the columns, the arcs of the ceiling and wood floors were really lovely. I appreciated the experience for a much different reason than most, I suspect.

Wall Street was our next destination. We enjoyed seeing this area of the financial district. It’s the heart of America, if not the world.













We went to Fraunces Tavern, which claims to be Manhattan’s oldest standing building built in 1719. George Washington bid farewell to his officers of the Continental Army there after the revolution. We had a sampler of beers: Strubbe Pils, Victory Prima Pils and Erdinger. The Strubbe was a favorite. It was a great bar; we soaked up its history and wished the walls could talk. I’m really happy we made this stop. It was a highlight.

We walked over to the Staten Island ferry, it was already boarding so we had perfect timing. The views were nice as we pulled away from Manhattan and it was nice to catch another look at the Statue of Liberty.





We hopped on the train when we docked and rode it to the end of the line. From there we walked and took a bus to see the Atlantic Ocean. We saw it, but that’s about it, it was a residential neighborhood and the gardens that butted up to the ocean were closed under lock and key. We rode back to Manhattan admiring the city lights at night.





We made it to all five boroughs; we can honestly say we experienced NYC. Brooklyn was our favorite, if you were curious.

Our last adventure was to find that ultimate pizza slice. I had two more popular pizza places on my list; both were in the West Village. It was one neighborhood we had not yet visited. It was young and happening. It was bustling, I liked the feel. Our first stop was Bleecker St Pizza. We tried a few slices.



Their Nonna Maria, like Margherita, was my favorite. Excellent! It was my favorite slice I had in NYC. It was crisp and topped with flavorful sauce and gooey cheese. The white pie was really good, too. Even the Sicilian was a winner. Ahh! Bleecker Street why did I not find you sooner? It was priced right, too. Slices were $3. Second, we were off to find Joe’s Pizza. They only had cheese and Sicilian slices when we arrived, we tried one of each.



This was bad pizza. It was flavorless and dry. We didn’t even finish either slice. It was that bad.

We were in desperate need to recharge our batteries so we headed back to the UWS. Frank stopped at New Pizza Town and ordered a calzone to go. I wasn’t the least bit hungry so I didn’t order a thing. Back at the hotel Frank ate his Calzone which was very good, while I packed our stuff. Then, I fell into bed and promptly crashed.

One Speed, Go!

We woke Sunday, giving NYC a chance to grow on us. We headed to Nolita to try Lombardi’s and a sandwich shop. The latter was closed. Lombardi’s was our sole destination. We grabbed beers at the bar. Frank had some cream ale, and I had Yuengling, my new found favorite. We were seated in the basement. We looked around and saw that the Margherita and White pizzas were popular. Majority ruled, and we got half & half, too.



The white pizza was not very good. The crust couldn’t hold the ricotta and I thought the ricotta was overpowering, you couldn't taste anything else. The Margherita, on the other hand, was good. It could have been better if it had a crisper crust.

Next, we sought out Cheesecake. Rice to Riches turned up in a search, it was close by, and we walked over. Only to find it is a Rice Pudding shop. They only had cheesecake flavored rice pudding. I’ve never liked rice pudding so we left and tried Eileen’s Special Cheesecake instead.





Frank got a small cheesecake and a few cookies (3 were cheaper than 1). It was a bit pricey, but very good. The cheesecake was light and fluffy and not overly sweet. We liked the peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies best, the white chocolate macadamia nut was dry and cloying.

We thought we’d check out MoMA next. We searched for directions; unknowingly Google led us to the MoMa design store in SoHo. We came across Dean & DeLuca, and Balthazar so I thought it could be a happy accident. Frank loves French onion soup and I thought we could grab a bowl at Balthazar. There was a line just to wait to be seated. We tried to find seats at the bar, but struck out. We explained that we were only looking to grab soup and run. They seemed like they were going to work something out for us, but instead the put us aside and had us waiting for a table to become available. There was no way we were waiting 40 minutes for soup.

We left, and found directions to the actual MoMA museum. Ironically, it was directly across from Il Gattopardo, the Italian restaurant we dined a few nights earlier. Anyway, admission was included in our City Pass. The museum had some great pieces and some odd ones.









Overall, despite its larger size it reminded me of my experiences at the Art Institute in Chicago. Next, we were off to the Lower East Side, Katz’s Deli was our destination. It was mobbed, Frank waited in line why I secured us a table. He ordered corned beef reuben, corned beef sandwich and an order of potato pancakes. He only intended on the reuben, but there was confusion and he was left with both sandwiches.





We weren’t terribly hungry but we polished it all off. Finally, we had a meal that met our expectations. We thought delis like Katz’s were on every corner. They are not, but finally we knew where to grab a yummy delicious bite. We felt like we had turned a page.

We had tickets to Charlie Sheen at 8:00pm so we rested back at the hotel a short bit before heading to Radio City Music Hall. The 20-minute ride to rest 30-minutes just to take another 15-minute ride seemed to make little sense, but we needed it. Radio City is a great venue. We suspected, even if Charlie was a train wreck, it would be a neat experience. And it was. Charlie was even amusing. The show could’ve been better if the audience asked better questions when they were given a chance to ask anything… Do you like Canada? C’mon, really? More lame questions followed. Charlie answered each one. He even gave a guy $100 when he asked for it. James Lipton and Darryl Strawberry were in attendance; both took the stage and asked a question.





It wasn’t the greatest show ever, but it was better than he’s been given credit for. I’m happy we saw the show to form our own opinion, rather than those that are spewed as part of the media circus.

Frank wanted to try another Italian restaurant, we came upon Trattoria Trecolori. We hemmed and hawed a bit before entering, but we gave it a try. Frank ordered veal with eggplant and mozzarella and I had minestrone soup.





The veal was extremely tender; it was good, just under seasoned. My soup was different than minestrones I’ve had before (it had peas), it was decent, but not worth $8. After dinner, we walked over to Roxy's for cheesecake. Perplexed by the options Frank asked the hostess which flavor was her favorite, "Snickers" she said.



We got one expensive slice and did the touristy thing. We sat at the little red tables in Times Square and ate our cheesecake. It was good, better than we both expected. It left us wishing we had tried the original. Afterwards, we returned to the hotel to rest up for our last full day.

"NYC, it'll grow on you"

We were so sore Saturday morning we needed a break. Our bodies simply could not handle much more. My left foot was so swollen my shoe barely fit. I ended up buying Band-Aids for Frank to tape his toes. We were a bit reluctant, but we ventured out. We decided to try Shake Shack. It was very busy, but less packed than Friday night. We beat the lunch crowd so we were able to score a table right away. I had a cheeseburger, Frank had a Shack burger and we split an order of cheese fries.



The burgers were good. Buns are my number one complaint and these were tender, airy and suited the meat well. In the world of fast food burgers I still rank In-N-out higher, but I did like Shake Shack better than Five Guys. The fries were crisp, but there was something off with the cheese. They would have been better paired with regular ole ketchup.

We took the subway to 42nd St. While, waiting for the bus. A tour bus – think zoo exhibit on wheels – filled with tourists stopped to gawk out the ginormous window that covered the entire side of the bus. We noticed them before we caught some “random” guy break out into a full Broadway dance number. Frank played the role of a New Yorker well, it didn’t faze him a bit. This caught the attention of those on the bus, and they were rather amused. Finally, our bus showed and I watched twinkle toes fade off into the distance.

Soon we arrived at the pier where the Circle Line boat tours depart. The City Pass provided us with admission to the 2 hour semi-circle tour. It was due to depart at 1:00pm, but it didn’t leave until the boat was at capacity. It was 1:40 before we pulled away. At first, I was bothered that there was no outdoor seating. Even though, it’d be cold, I knew it’d be my best opportunity for photos. We sat on the lower level and Frank noticed that the windows opened. I cracked mine just enough to allow unobstructed photos, that way I wouldn’t freeze all the passengers that inevitably crowded around me. The tour took us by New Jersey, Ellis Island, Liberty Island, Brooklyn, Long Island and Manhattan.









































We had a narrator that pointed out different sights and shared tidbits. We found it amusing when he said, “New York is not for everyone, but give it time… it’ll grow on you.” It was nice to sit for a few hours. My tired achy body needed it. I enjoyed the sights, but it really confirmed what I had been thinking the last few days - I liked Chicago better. Visiting New York City gave me a greater appreciation for my hometown.

Feeling a bit refreshed, we walked around trying to find a bite nearby before heading to Queens. We came upon half a dozen places with less than an “A” grade. We couldn’t bring ourselves to try them. Finally, we stumbled on Bab Marrakech in Hell’s Kitchen.



Frank had a lamb pita and I tried a merquez sausage pita. Both were pretty good. It worked out that we had no expectation. Service was friendly and the prices were fair.

The ride to Queens was lengthy with no express trains, but I didn’t mind because it wasn’t crowded and I was able to sit the whole way. We got to Citi Field.



We went to buy tickets, but $40 seats were all that were available. We couldn’t see spending $80 to watch two teams (Mets vs. Nationals) we didn’t care about. We waited around to see if we could pick up tickets for less from scalpers, but we had no luck. I knew that Queens had its own Chinatown in Flushing so I searched for a highly rated Chinese place. I believed I found a gem when I came across Asian Jewels Seafood Restaurant, one review suggested that it was comparable to restaurants in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

We were sold. Excitement grew on our way over. We entered the dining room only to find banquet style tables heavily decorated for a wedding, "Best Wishes Ming and Tao". The hostess greeted us, but turned us away, the restaurant was closed for the wedding. She could see the disappointment in our eyes. She tried to tell us about an another place to go but her English wasn’t strong and she couldn’t translate for us to understand.

We searched some more. We came up with a few hits, but when we arrived we saw those ugly “B” “C” and “pending grades” in the window. We finally settled on Green Papaya Thai. It had an “A” and 4 stars on yelp. We ordered chicken pad Thai and spicy basil beef.





The pad Thai looked like it had all the right components but the flavor was off and it was far too sweet. There was no spice at all. The basil beef had a little kick and it was by far the better dish of the two. We decided not to fill up; we were determined to find good eats to satisfy our hunger. We gave up on Flushing. We went to Brooklyn.

It was nearly a two hour ride to L & B Spumoni Gardens. When we got off the Subway in Gravesend, I was a little concerned about our safety. It was the first time in all of NYC that I felt the neighborhood might have been sketchy. Frank reminded me that there is no reward without risk, so we pressed on. After, a couple blocks I relaxed. Soon after, we found the restaurant. It was packed. It reminded me of pizza places on the Southside of Chicago. The similarity was comforting. We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table. We came for Sicilian pizza – they are known to have the best - but we were tempted to try their Italian dishes those that whizzed by smelled and looked delicious. We stuck to the plan and ordered a small Sicilian with sausage.



The pizza arrived and we were anxious to dig in. The sauce was spot on, the sausage was in thin slices, which was unexpected, but it was really good. The pizza reminded me of Chicago style pan pizza. The crust was thick and pillowy. It would have been excellent if pan pizza wasn’t my least favorite of all the different styles. I decided then, that no where would have Sicilian slices that I’ve learned to love at Siena Deli. None would be crisp or buttery enough. I enjoyed it for what it was, it was the tastiest pizza we had thus far. We liked the no nonsense staff, and we thought we might return for to try pasta or veal. We suspect they do it up right. I would’ve loved to try the spumoni, too. But it was much too cold to snack on ice cream. We paid our tab and headed back to Manhattan. Satisfied, at last.

We thought we’d catch a movie, but when we got to theaters in Times Square there was nothing we wanted to see. We headed back uptown. We toyed with stopping for a drink at the Amsterdam Alehouse, but we liked it best when it was dead. I suggested we stop at the grocery store pick up Modelo Especial and lime to enjoy back at the room, the coziest bar in NYC at that given moment. Frank agreed. We made our purchase and stretch out in bed. Cheers! Gah. Blech. It was skunky. We bought old skunky beer at the store. I should’ve known. I tried to hide it with additional lime slices, but we also bought the driest lime in existence. It was a complete fail. We rolled over in disgust, closed our eyes tight and begged the Sunday would be a better day. Maybe, just maybe New York would grow on us.

Wearing Thin

By the time Friday rolled around, we were wearing down. Our bodies ached from cold, our feet throbbed, our knees creaked, and we growing tired of average or overpriced food. Yet, we were sure things would turn around by hitting Chinatown and Little Italy. Two places we had really looked forward to visiting. We found Chinatown first. It was underwhelming and overwhelming all at the same time. The sidewalks were smaller and more crowded, ladies would whisper “purses and Tiffany jewelry” as I walked by; it was so shady. I mine as well had been trying to score drugs. Restaurants were few and far between.

We found Little Italy in no time. We were anxious to find delis with heros and such, but we came up empty. At best, places advertised Boars’ Head meats. We get that at home, and I’m not a fan. We tried to dine at a few restaurants but it was too early, they hadn’t opened yet. We did try ravioli from a deli across from Ferrara’s Bakery.



It was a shame that it wasn’t very good. Frank loves cannolis so we stopped at Ferrara’s to try theirs since they came highly recommended.



It was a bust, too. Giving up on Italian, we sought out Chinese. A number of places had ratings below an “A” displayed in the window. We couldn’t bring ourselves to try them. We searched for Prosperity Dumpling. I heard it was very good. When we finally came upon it we were happy to see that it earned an “A”. It’s a little hole of a place, too. Being that I questioned its cleanliness, I cannot imagine the condition of “B”, “C”, and “pending grade” rated places. I ordered fried dumplings and wonton soup.



It was dirt cheap, well, by NYC standards anyway; the bill was less than $10. The dumplings were really good. The wonton soup was average, but it was nice because it warmed me from the inside out. We wandered around some more, stopping at Starbucks to warm up before heading back on the subway. We didn’t get far, because my Metrocard went haywire. It wouldn’t let me through the gates; it kept reading “Already used” every time I swiped it. We were forced to waste time, and try again later.







Whatever issue my Metrocard had previously resolved itself. Thankfully.

Next, we were Brooklyn bound. We were determined to find a good deli. I had one noted with top notch ratings, we were on a mission to find Graham Ave Meats & Deli. When we got off the Subway, I spotted a White Castle. Frank had to go. He ordered a chicken rings and double jalapeno cheeseburgers. He was quite happy. I passed, I learned my lesson in Chicago in February. Walking around, we liked what we saw, we were digging Brooklyn. We found the deli, but got turned off from the outside. We went to a few others in the area and they all had Boars' Head meats. So, we went back to Graham Ave Deli and ordered a Godfather and eggplant stuffed mozzarella. As it began to snow, we found a bench and dug in.



We were met with utter disappointment. We were determined that good food existed in Brooklyn so we were going to find it, but being rush hour on the Subway, it was not in the cards right then. It was just too crowded and we knew it would take forever and day.

We went back to the hotel. We were beat. I laid in bed and searched for restaurants. I was determined to come up with a new list of places to try, because we were striking out. Terribly. I came up with a list. Shake Shack was nearby and it had great reviews. While it wasn't something we'd usually seek out (we can get great burgers at home), I thought it might be just what we needed to start fresh.

Frank agreed and we walked over, we entered only to walk right back out. It was mobbed. It didn’t strike us anything special so we bailed. Shortly, thereafter, I received a couple more recs for Shake Shack on Facebook after complaining about our poor luck. Maybe we’ll give it another shot? Just not now.

Instead, we hightailed it to Chelsea. We thought we try a happening untraditional NY pizza place, Artichoke Basille’s. We liked the feel of Chelsea off the bat. We were hopeful. When we arrived, they conveniently had a table available for two; we were sure things were turning around. We ordered beers to start; I couldn’t resist trying their Artichoke beer. It was refreshing with a light citrusy taste. Then, a meatball roll and Sicilian wedge followed.





The roll was like what I know to be Stromboli. It was surprisingly tasty. We both enjoyed it. Neither of us liked the Sicilian slices, however. Their signature Artichoke pizza looked great; we should’ve given it a try even if Frank doesn’t like artichokes. After dinner we searched for a bar in Chelsea, but everything was trendier and more expensive than what we wanted. So, we hopped on a bus uptown back to the UWS. We stopped back at the Amsterdam Alehouse. It was a much different place on a Friday night. It was packed to the gills. We were able to get a table. We ordered drinks and an order of deep fried mac n cheese. The beers hit the spot, but the mac n cheese was hugely disappointing. We bailed soon after. Feeling defeated, we returned to the hotel.