nadsat

Our second day in The Big Apple was primarily spent exploring. We started the day with breakfast at City Hall in Tribeca with Jeff. Once again this was just a short walk from his apartment. It was a good breakfast but probably our most lackluster meal of the trip. A lackluster meal on this trip was still top notch though. We didn’t suffer at any meal.

From breakfast it was up to former World Trade Center site or “ground zero” (NYCers hate this term by the way). There’s not much I can really say about it. It’s more or less a construction site now but it is still primarily just a big hole in the ground. I still wanted to see it though and I’m still glad I did. It was just something I felt I needed to do.

After the WTC we took a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge and experienced some amazing views of the city. There is a nice walking/bike path right up the center of the bridge that made it an easy walk. We walked the entire length and back. I had my feet in Brooklyn for a few moments and then back to the safety of Manhattan. It is interested to note that the section of Brooklyn under the bridge is a hip little area referred to as “DUMBO” or “Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass”. It’s full of lofts and other hip, overpriced living quarters.

After the bridge we ventured out into the Village with Jeff, Maki, and Billy. We stuck to the West Village primarily and after trying to get tea in “Little Britain” at a place called Tea and Sympathy, we made our way over to a tea room called Atrium in the Meat Packing district. Afternoon tea was a new experience for me but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I especially liked the scones and clotted cream. Sandy and I enjoyed it so that we had tea and scones our last day in NYC and I’ve since gotten her a small teapot. I’m waiting on her to supply the scones.

The night was spent with a couple of Sandy’s friends from the Jersey days. We saw a comedy show that wasn’t really worth mentioning but had a pleasant evening out afterwards. We walked a bunch, had classic NYC cheesecake at Junior’s near Times Square, drinks at a BBQ joint in the Village, I learned the term “gayborhood”, and we found ourselves at a hole in the wall, prohibition style watering hole.

It was called The Rabbit Club and it was located down off the street in the West Village. There was no sign and any other indication that the establishment was a bar. There was just a black door and a buzzer. Ring the buzzer for entrance and you were greeted with a gritty little bar, worn exposed brick/stone walls, an impossibly narrow walk way past the bar, and minimal seating. The noise level was manageable for such a small place though and the beer list was impressively European. The Rabbit Club just clicked with me. It was exclusive but not elite. You had to know someone who had been before to find it and ringing the bell took some nerves but once inside the atmosphere was friendly and welcoming. The bartender was courteous and helpful. The entire mood was jovial. It’s the kind of bar I’d like to spend a lot of time at.

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“I’ve had years of cramped up city life, trapped like a duck in a pen. All I know is its a pity life can’t be simple again.”

Bluegrass fans and certainly Tennessee folk should recognize the lyric above from the classic, Rocky Top. Why a bluegrass lyric about mountain living to start a story about NYC? When people think city most think New York City. It’s THE city to a whole host of Americans. No one thinks the HBO series, Sex and The City, takes place in Chicago, LA, Atlanta, or Boston. Most people associate the term, “the city”, and certainly the city life with New York City.

I’ve been to NYC once before. I was up with my Dad and sister so she could visit NYU (did every teenage girl go through an “I want to go to NYU and study psychology” phase?) but being in the city was a totally different experience this time around. Sandy and I went together, leaving from Charlotte early Friday morning and returning Monday evening. One of her older brothers lives in lower Manhattan and she had not seen her nephew yet so it was a perfect excuse to go up. It was a full, tiring, but very satisfying weekend in the city.

Obstacle 1: Riding the Subway. I’m not anti-public transportation, I’m just not used to it. I’ve never lived in a place for any significant period of time that had a decent, usable rail system. MARTA in Atlanta is only useful for getting to the airport and possibly Braves games. The Skytrain in Vancouver was nice but I never had to truly commute on it. I hate buses, those are awful anywhere, but train or rail systems aren’t bad in general. So perhaps obstacle is the wrong word, maybe “new experience” is a better one. Public transport is best left for short trips in my opinion. Riding the A-train from JFK to lower Manhattan was not a pleasant experience. For getting around the island throughout the day, it was great.

The A-train, soon to be our go to rail line, was crowded, long, and cold on Friday morning. Combine this with the fact that we were dragging along our luggage and were both fighting runny noses, and you have a not so enjoyable experience. On the runny nose issue, I don’t think I’ve ever used more hand sanitizer in a weekend than I did that weekend. Part of it was trying to limit the spread of my germs and a distinct feeling of disgust after touching anything on the subway or in the station. Luckily I was wearing gloves most of the time and I eventually got comfortable with the grime.

Our first day was a full one. We had gotten up at 3:30 that morning to catch our flight out of Charlotte and were beat by the end but we made the most of it. We got our bearings for the city, walked a ton, visited the Museum of Natural History, had our first of many slices of pizza, our first of several slices of cheesecake, I purchased a much needed scarf, visited the mecca for classic American style, met Sandy’s adorable nephew, and enjoyed a knock out dinner with Sandy’s brother and sister-in-law.

Our agenda for the trip was pretty simple. Sandy wanted to see her family and a close friend from Jersey. I wanted to eat cheesecake, meet more of Sandy’s family and friends, and visit two stores, Brooks Brothers and J. Press. We both also wanted to just take in the NYC experience.

After arriving at about 9:45 am in Tribeca (southwest Manhattan), at her brother’s apartment, we got to see her six month old nephew, Billy, and sister-in-law, Maki. From there it was into the streets to find a good slice of pizza in nearby Little Italy. Little Italy was certainly nearby, in fact we ended up over shooting it. We had a vague idea where it was but took extended tours of Soho and Chinatown on our way. After encountering a few places not yet open for lunch (who isn’t open for lunch by 11:30?) we settled in on a little hole in the wall called Rudy’s in the heart of Little Italy for a couple slices of pizza.

After lunch we hopped on the subway to the upper west side to visit the Museum of Natural History. After a complete but not exhaustive tour of the museum we decided it was time to eat again and cheesecake was what we wanted. We had planned to visit Zabar’s as Sandy had talked them up and they were just a few blocks from the museum. Upon arriving we found out they had no fresh cheesecake so we hit the streets again. We didn’t know exactly where we were going but decided we would know it when we found it.

Walking on 83rd we came across, Cafe Lalo. It looked like a nice little cafe and Sandy thought it looked familiar, almost like the cafe in the Tom Hank’s movie, You’ve Got Mail. It was one in the same. They had pictures from the film and little note outside by the entrance. Inside it was small and tables were jammed right up against one another but it created a cozy feel rather than a crowded one. The dessert case in the front was massive and had an extensive, mouthwatering selection of different cheesecakes, pies, and cakes. The menu was very impressive with a nice selection of hot and cold cafe-type drinks and a dessert list large enough to occupy a few months worth of sampling. It even included a list of alcoholic hot chocolate specialties.
We each had a huge mug of hot chocolate and slice of something sweet. Sandy had some sort of chocolate banana cream pie and I had the brownie chunk cheesecake. Both were great. The cheesecake was not as firm or dense as the typical cheesecake. This was probably a good thing though as we were both over halfway to a sugar-induced coma by the end of the meal. We were impressed though. The petite Asian girl sitting next to us polished off two large pieces of cheesecake without even blinking an eye. This place seemed to have some die hard fans, always a good sign.

After the cheesecake, we strolled over to Madison Ave where I purchased the aforementioned scarf at J Press and visited Brooks Brothers‘ flagship store at 346 Madison. This was an experience in its own and one that I’ll write about separately.

After the brief shopping experience we tiredly made our way back to Tribeca to Jeff and Maki’s apartment. From there we showered, recuperated briefly, and then set out for dinner. It was really amazing to me, but our best meals weren’t but a few blocks walk from Jeff and Maki’s apartment. NYC has phenomenal food in every neighborhood. No matter which part of the city one lived in, a fantastic meal is probably not more than a couple blocks away. I could get used to that. Easily.
We ate at ROC, a modern Italian restaurant with a wonderful atmosphere, great service, and of course excellent food. Sandy had a clam dish and I enjoyed a nice piece of salmon over a bed of mushrooms and other vegetables. Those that know me are probably shocked by this. I generally don’t care for mushrooms. It’s not a flavor issue but more of a texture thing. Somehow the texture issue was eliminated in this case and the mushrooms were a great addition to the fish. Sandy and I agreed that while not the most flashy, this was probably our favorite meal of the weekend. Great food, company, and wine; what else does one need?

It started to snow while we were enjoying our meal and we ended up walking in a light snow/sleet mixture. Sandy and I were dead tired. We had an incredibly full first day but I could not imagine a better way to have spent it.

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I’ve got a new project in the works called Single Guy’s Kitchen. It’s my own little site to cover my food inspired interests. It will center around cooking for a single male (myself). I’ll also include kitchen tips, possibly some restaurant impressions, and who knows what else. Nadsat isn’t going anywhere but it will probably go back to being more personal. Not personal in the myspace/livejournal sense but rather write about whatever interests me sense. I’m hoping this change will allow me to just write more and not feel pressured to stick to a theme.
Keep your eyes open, more content is coming.

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I park my car out on the street and to save myself from the Augusta heat I park it under a tree. While this keeps my car cool it makes keeping it clean a losing effort. I especially hate dirty windows and for the past two weeks I’ve been accumulating a sticky tree sap-like substance on my car.

So rather than buy some expensive bottle of windex or some automotive window cleaner I decided to use a homemade alternative. I mixed equal parts white vinegar and water in a spray bottle and went to work. The vinegar easily dissolved the sticky gunk on my windows and then buffed out nicely with crumpled up newspaper (an old detailer’s trick, no streaks and no lint). The only downside is that my windows and hands smelt like vinegar afterwards. That’s not a smell that comes out easily.

Vinegar has a hand in almost every homemade cleaning solution. Get a bottle of vinegar and a box of baking soda and there should be very little that remains dirty in your home. So far I’ve only tried the vinegar/water solution on my car windows and bathroom mirrors but I’ll be trying some new solutions in the future. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you my faithful readers updated on all the different things I try.

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