Tag Archives: lower east side

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!