Category Archives: New York

April 25, 2012 · 1:57 pm

The Beach Cafe- Don Antonio – French Roast – MOMA’s Cindy Sherman

Before the torrential downpour on Sunday, I went to brunch on the upper west side and brought bagels from my new favorite bagel shop in NYC, Absolute Bagels, which were a big hit with my relative – no easy feat.  Walked across Central Park in the drizzle, browsed through Peru guidebooks at Shakespeare and Co. books on Lexington and 69th before visiting my aunt. we went to dinner nearby at the Beach Cafe (69th and Second Avenue)- good spagbol and chicken pot pie, comfortable neighborhood spot. Tried to take a bus back to the upper west side but the nor’easter had begun and I was soaked and buffeted by the wind within 10 minutes so managed to find a cab. best $14 I’ve spent lately.

Monday, met my college friend C. for breakfast at French Roast on 85th and Broadway. Nice easy going place. good coffee and oatmeal. Then onto MOMA which was packed with people on a rainy Monday. Was glad I had gotten a tix in advance – there was a huge long line. I also see that there’s a slight discount if you buy the ticket online (maybe $22 vs. $25 per ticket). The Cindy Sherman show was fascinating – and enjoyed the Diego Rivera Murals exhibit. also really like the free audio tour.

Met my brother for a very good lunch at Don Antonio, a gourmet pizza place with reasonable prices and nice ambiance, on w. 50th near 8th Avenue. Then walked up Fifth – didn’t get the madhouse scene in front of Abercrombie and Fitch. I’m told people are standing in line to see the shirtless buff guys who wander around the store. I’ll pass.

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April 22, 2012 · 1:31 pm

cafe habana, Tacombi, Zucco , Duane Street Patisserie – from soho to lower east side to tribeca in nyc

On another gorgeous day, I met my old friend M at Grand Central station where she arrived from Connecticut and we took off for five hours of walking and talking. Glorious. We started in Soho or near taking the #6 train to the Spring Street stop and from there somehow found our way past Lombardi’s pizza (have you noticed almost all of my visual landmarks are restaurants or food shops?) and a small outdoor crafts display (where I yet again bought a pair of earrings for one of my daughters) to Cafe Habana. We just missed rush hour and ordered at the counter, then ate outside on a red bench in the sunshine – cuban sandwich, grilled corn on the cob rolled in white stuff (queso?) and a jicama salad (too much food so M took the salad back to Connecticut.) A few doors down we spotted Tacombi, an airy garage with various stations serving tacos and beer – one station was an old VW bus selling tacos. Clever idea.

On the Lower East Side, we walked past the knish store on Houston, then quickly toured Russ and Daughters appetizers (just to look at the smoked fish, white fish salad and rugalah  so my pal M – who grew up in Forest Hills – could get a taste of home). We walked past a crowded tiny french diner called Zucco on Orchard Street that I’m listing here for future reference. Then we just kept walking through one vibrant neighborhood after another, tons of people walking around, sitting at outdoor cafes, the city never looked better. We passed through Chinatown, Little Italy, City Hall area (and before that a park full of Chinese people playing board games akin to checkers)while people gathered in a dense crowd around them watching intently. We ended up in Tribeca on Duane Street, which I finally found after several missteps – and we had cold drinks and two, only two, delicate chocolate-dipped leaf-shaped sugar cookies,  at the Duane Street Patisserie, popped into Lucca, the amazing furniture store, across the street, and at the little british store nearby (working class).  After  goodbye beers  at Cafe Centro on the east side of Grand Central, M left for home and I walked to have dinner with friends at a penthouse apartment on 1st and 33rd street across from NYU medical center with a beautiful view of the East River. Then back on the 34 bus to the #1 train to the opposite side of the city and the other river –  my friend’s apartment on Riverside drive overlooking the Hudson. Loved it all!

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April 21, 2012 · 1:21 pm

Absolute Bagel-Rita’s frozen custard – Do Hwa korean food in NYC

I’ve been somewhat lost on the bagel front ever since H&M Bagels closed on the upper west side of NYC. But yesterday I stumbled into Absolute Bagels on Broadway near 107th street and was impressed with the bagels, not to mention the lox-cream cheese and bagel sandwich. So all  is not lost. A little further south as I was walking down Broadway on a spectacular spring day, I happened upon  Rita’s frozen custard – and since frozen custard something I rarely find these days, I bought a small cone. Yum. I walked all the way from 108th to Central Park (with a stop at Pinky’s for a splurge mani-pedi because my back was aching and I needed to rest for a bit) then back west to Lincoln Center where I took the #1 train to meet my brother and sister-in-law and her mother for dinner at an excellent Korean restaurant, Do Hwa, at 50  Carmine Street. Now I understand why they like Korean food! (we had very good bbq beef, bimimbob, a pancake with kimchi in it, and beignets, oddly, on the house.)

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April 14, 2012 · 4:25 pm

getting from Newark Airport to Manhattan’s upper west side

Time to contemplate for real getting from Newark Airport to Manhattan’s upper west side since I’m going there next Thursday and it still looks like the Air Train is the best bet in terms of speed and price although I’m tempted to try the shuttle bus option on the way back to the airport. No way I’m paying $50-70 for a taxi.

Here’s what I picked off of, about.com (i think):

  • Air Train: The Air Train offers connecting service to NJ Transit and Amtrak trains which will bring you into Manhattan. Surprisingly, this can actually be much quicker than taking a cab or bus, and it is much more affordable. $11.55 one way will bring you from Newark Airport to Penn Station. AirTrain connects the NJ Transit “Newark Airport Station” to the airport terminals. Consult the schedule to determine the schedule of connecting trains. Service is available from 5 a.m. until 2 a.m.
  • Private Shuttles: Several companies offer shuttles to Manhattan, including:
    • Newark Liberty Airport Express : Available from 4 a.m. – 1 a.m., these shuttles leave every 15-30 minutes for midtown Manhattan and every 2 hours to downtown Manhattan (from 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.). One-way fare is $13, but you can save by buying round-trip tickets, as they are $22. One free child under 16 is included in the fare. You can choose to disembark at Grand Central, Port Authority or Penn Station, in addition to midtown hotels. The ride takes about an hour. Return schedules and more information are available on their website.
    • Super Shuttle: Available 24 hours a day, this shuttle provides door to door service for your party. Fares are $15 – $19, depending on destination. No reservations are required to get from the airport to your destination, but they are required for your return trip to the airport. Consult their website or call 1-800-258-3826 for more information. Book your SuperShuttle Transfer through Viator.

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March 24, 2012 · 3:40 pm

A Costa Rica transportation tax for a Des Moines to Newark flight – HUH?

I swear, this do-it-yourself online plane-ticket reservations stuff is so confusing. Yesterday, I finally settled on taking a Des Moines to Newark flight on United in April after weighing various other options to get to NYC. (LaGuardia was more expensive; the flight to Newark is direct! etc.)  The ticket was $359 when I first spotted it. (Not cheap, I know.) An hour or so later it was suddenly $396. I wondered why. So I looked at the fine print and saw that the ticket price was still the same ($338) but the additional taxes/fees had increased from $21.60 by $37. So I looked at the breakdown of the taxes/fees and saw that it included a $15.75 “Costa Rica transportation tax.” Say what?

Then all of a sudden the original $359 fare popped up onto my screen so I just grabbed it – no questions asked. Grrrr

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March 17, 2012 · 11:02 pm

getting to manhattan from Newark airport

There are he low-cost, low-stress, low-impact way to Newark Liberty.

There are now direct flights from Des Moines to Newark Airport and it doesn’t look too taxing (or expensive – if you skip the cab) to get to Manhattan from Newark. Haven’t been to that airport since the 1980s when I used to fly – okay this will date me – People’s Express.

Here’s the scoop on the AirTrain:

Operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, AirTrain provides easy connections to NJ Transit and the rail lines that run on the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line. AirTrain also offers a simple way for passengers to get to and from Manhattan and points north, or Philadelphia and points south. It also connects passengers to airline terminals, rental car facilities, hotel shuttles and central parking lots. Best of all, you never have to worry about traffic conditions.

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February 11, 2012 · 4:51 pm

A NYC restaurant that warms my Azkenazi heart!

When I used to work in a newsroom, once a year – right around Passover – I’d issue a blanket warning to my non-Jewish podmates: I will be eating something that looks really disgusting. But I like it – in small portions and only this time of year – so deal with it. It’s called (you guessed it) gefilte fish.

So news of a new restaurant in NYC, Kutsher’s, that makes its own gefilte fish automatically caught my attention (especially since I eat the non-homemade fish that’s packed in a jar, entombed in a grey-yellowish  jellied consume.) The NYTimes reviewer didn’t particularly like the restaurant’s gefilte fish but he gave a thumbs up to other eastern European Jewish favorites of mine like Kreplach soup and matzoh ball soup…so next time I’m in Tribeca (I was there last in September) I’ll try to find the restaurant – Kutsher’s (the owner is connected to the  famous faded Kutsher’s resort in the Catskills.) To see what I”m talking about check out:


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December 2, 2011 · 2:26 am

Japanese restaurants in New York City

Tying up some loose ends from our trip last week to New York City, here are two Japanese restaurants for future reference:

– Menchanko 55 on W. 55th street – an inexpensive Japanese noodle house with good soup, vegetable appetizers, rice balls. No sushi.  I had the soup with brown broth, pork slices, veggies, noodles. Yum.

– IchiUmi – a Japanese seafood restaurant my friend Merida recommends, located at 6 E. 32nd street. It’s website promises: “The best sushi and seafood buffet in NYC at a very affordable price.”

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November 29, 2011 · 3:15 am

Bad luck with Delta Airlines but good corned beef with dad in Detroit

arrgh…On both my departing and return flights between Des Moines and NYC, there were mechanical problems that caused delays and/or heart palpitations. En route, during the Detroit to LaGuardia leg, as we were trying to land in a cloudy rainy New York City, the pilot suddenly reversed course and went back up into the clouds. “You may have noticed we tried to land,” he explained over the intercom. “But we decided not to as a result of an anomaly in the braking system.”

WHAT???

He then told us he’d be trying to land again in 10 minutes and there shouldn’t be any further problems.

GULP.

After what seemed like a very long 20 minutes, he did successfully land the plane on what appeared to be an exceedingly long runway. (good idea) and as the wheels touched down and the pilot pumped the brakes, we passengers clapped. And eagerly deplaned.

Then today, we get in the plane at LaGuardia on a beautiful sunny day, taxi out to the runway for an ON TIME departure, only to return to the gate because some water is leaking in the bathroom. An hour and a half later, we are airborne and our chances of making our connecting flights (having lost our original one-hour layover) are slim. I did call from the stalled plane and was told my daughter – who was going onto Cedar Rapids – wouldn’t be able to go on the 4 p.m. flight to CR if she missed the 12:20 one – but there was one seat left on the 7:51 p.m. flight. Feeling like a contestant on Lets Make a Deal, I had to choose between door #1 or #2. And decided to book the 7:51 and try to go standby on the 12:20 should we arrive in time. So we arrive in Detroit at 12 and of course the connecting flight is miles away in another concourse but I run and run and get to the gate just as the door is closing and I BEG the already harried-looking desk person to let Lily get on standby. She balks at first but I look pathetic enough that she gives me the ONE SEAT left on the whole damn plane. And away Lily goes. And of course I’ve now missed my 12:24 p.m. flight to Des Moines (in yet another concourse) and the 4:35 p.m.  is unavailable but, earlier, when the plane was stalled at LaGuardia, I grabbed a seat on  the 7:30 p.m. flight.

Best of all, I call my dad in suburban Detroit and he picks me up and we have a very nice unexpected afternoon together starting with a delicious corned beef sandwich at a little deli on Woodward Avenue (Deli Unique in the Ramada hotel of all places.) So all ends well….and I’m finally home in Des Moines.

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November 26, 2011 · 2:52 pm

New York City – Japanese noodles, a Fireside chat, drink at doc’s

During our annual whirlwind tour of NYC during thanksgiving we have:

– eaten very good japanese noodle soup at a restaurant that begins with an M on West 55th Street. (I’ll dig up that name when I can.)

– Strolled past the cool Lady Gaga holiday windows at Barney’s on Madison Avenue

– Had a long leisurely lunch with an old friend from London in the “casual elegant” Fireside restaurant of the Omni Berkshire hotel in midtown

– Met an old college friend for a beer at Doc Watson’s on 2nd Avenue between E. 77th and 78th

– Dodged the crowds watching the parade balloons being inflated on the upper west side by ducking into Scaletta for dinner (good bolognese!)

– Dodged the crowds watching the parade on Thanksgiving Day (at one point, I simply joined the tail end of the parade after the crowds along the sidewalks got to large and scary). I was the irritated looking woman in civilian clothes walking along side cheerful yellow and red costumed paraders holding up the Macy’s inflated stars. My expression: don’t dare to stop me.

– Cut through the crowds of people about ready to Occupy Best Buy on the upper west side after Thanksgiving dinner

– Took a glorious late night walk on Thanksgiving from central park west to central park south and then up Lexington Ave. to E. 69th where we stayed

– Joined 10 other relatives at a chaotic Penn Station to take the train to Southampton.

– Bought some last-minute gifts in Southampton – a novel at Book Hampton, an ice cream b’day cake at Carvel, some knickknacks at Home and Nature

 

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