Nobody 787

Sunday, October 11, 2009
Nobody # 787

Nobody Asked Me But:

BEST EATING DAY – PETER LUGER AND SARABETH

Our best eating day in NYC was Wednesday. The first part was an accident. We were in Lord and Taylor’s, wanting to eat a light lunch before our scheduled steak dinner that evening. We went into the smaller of their two Sarabeth’s restaurants. I grabbed a table while Barb checked out the walk-up. She came back with a bowl of tomato soup and a chocolate pudding, both to share. It was the best tomato soup either of us has ever had – pieces of fresh tomato delighted at every spoonful, and the pudding with whipped cream rivaled Bradley Ogden’s legendary butterscotch pudding at Yankee Pier in Larkspur.

Although Peter Luger’s steak house is rated as one of the best in the country, it is also legendary for its arrogance. So I had some trepidation about going. It was a long cab ride just to be treated rudely. Wrong again! Everyone treated us great (with one small exception) and the steak was outstanding. We had the porterhouse for two. They serve it sliced on a tipped platter so the juices will run down and pool at the end. Their famous steak sauce lived up to its reputation, but dipping pieces of steak into that juice was even better. (And the rolls were otherworldly.)

The only exception to the perfect treatment was our waiter’s bit with the check. I signed two traveler’s checks and when he picked them up he asked if I wanted change. Since no change would have amounted to a $42 dollar tip, I told him I sure did.

More about food next week.

THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD

I won’t argue with the wheel as the greatest human invention, but my choice for a close second is the iphone. It is amazing! Who needs a laptop? Heck, who needs paper and pen? I can take notes, take pictures, take movies, talk, listen, send, receive, check out the headlines, the Bruins, the scores. I can even locate the closest Starbuck’s.

I must confess, though, taking notes with the small keyboard was a little bit at first. On my day one in NYC notes, I see that I had a jamburger for lunch.

And can someone please explain how in the he&* the iphone can know the location of my every photo. After uploading the pictures to my computer, all I have to do is click the little i in the lower right hand corner and the photo turns around showing a map with a pushpin almost exactly where I took the shot. I can even change it to a satellite view. Amazing!

Now if Apple could just find a way to dump AT&T!

KING OF THE HILL

WARNING - This Nobody is about the wonders of New York City, so if you hate the Big Apple you had best skip it. But you’ll be sorry. Let’s see. Where do I start? How about with my favorite experience, other than just being there of course. It was the Empire State Building. Going to the top was wonderful, but just seeing it every day gave me shivers. Part of it may be a trip back to yesterday when I was young. Reading about it and seeing pictures always thrilled me. Being there did not disappoint. While most NYC skyscrapers are in groups, the Empire State Building stands alone, seeming to rule over all Manhattan - the old king still dominant over the new kids on the block.<<<

Added attraction – On Fifth Avenue, as we were walking to the Empire State Building, we came to a block where 12 police cars were parked, their lights flashing. Barbara, being Barbara, asked one of the officers what was going on. His reply was that it was a anti-terrorist security drill.<<<

My runner-up building thrill was being able to look out of our hotel room window at night and see the lighted top of the Chrysler Building – another dream made real.<<<

They go together like Tracy and Hepburn, Anthony and Cleo - or is it Caesar and Cleo? What are they? NYC taxis and expensive. But boy do you want one when it is raining or when your feet cry out for help. And that’s my last word on those yellow dreams and nightmares.<<<

NEW STARBUCK”S

I could have added dozens, but I tried to be considerate to my wife who had more than coffee on her NYC agenda. So I settled for five new ones. Actually I could have added eight more without disrupting Barbara’s sleep, but I discovered one I liked a lot, less than a block from our hotel, and I returned there every morning. Yes, I have become a creature of Starbuck’s comfort over a SBs adventurer.

But not totally. I chose my four others with care. One was in Rockefeller Center, one in the Empire State Building, one in the Sony Building and the last one in Macy’s. Can you believe that Macy’s, which fills a city block and climbs upward 11 stories, has three from which to choose? (And a MacDonald’s too.)<<<

Our hotel, the Kitano, was on Park Avenue, just two blocks south of Union Station. It is Japanese owned and operated and, despite a couple of minor flaws we were very satisfied with our choice. Barbara Travel Agent scores again!<<<

A word about NYC blocks: The North-South ones are very short, more like half-blocks. They run 20 to a mile, or so our tour guide told us. East/West blocks are the opposite. Each one is at least the equivalent of a block and a half. And, yes, the cross-town traffic on them is BBB – bad beyond belief.<<<

OTHER LARGE PLEASURES

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island - I was a bit casual about these two, figuring I had seen enough pictures and read enough print about them. I told Barb that a float by would be enough. But they were important to her and so we took the tour. Barbara 1, Jim 0. They were both awe-inspiring. Lady Liberty especially. She was more beautiful than I ever imagined.

As for Ellis Island, to me it seemed the personification of America.<<<

The concert - Peter, Tom and Judy – Yarrow, Paxon and Collins, that is. Each of the three has written a children’s book, and they came to sign and celebrate Paxon’s “The Marvelous Toy”on Saturday at the Border’s in the Time Warner Building. We love signings and all three of the singers, so I said “let’s go, it will be cool to say that we went to one in NYC.” Little did we expect a full-blown free concert. They sang at least 20 songs – each one a thrill.<<<

The lights tour – we about froze our you-know-what’s off on top of the double-decker bus but the lights were incredible. The view of lower Manhattan from Brooklyn was incredible plus.<<<

Yankee Stadium–rain delay-Yankees clinch the pennant – We went with Gary and Sheena on the subway. Barb wore her team shirt purchased at the Yankee story of Fifth Avenue the day before. I ate a sausage dog, we each had soft Caravel in Yankee cap bowls and a good time was had by all.<<<

YS add on – Even though I am a Yankee hater and despite the fact that they beat the Red Sox and clinched the AL East, it was a thrill to watch a game there and to see a darkened “House That Ruth Built” right across the street.<<<

Bryant Park – named after the poet and adjacent to the NYC Public Library (where I found my friend Jim’s books listed in their electronic catalog). It is a wonder with its carousal and twinkling lights. It even has an outdoor reading room with books and racks for magazines newspapers.<<<


The Top of the Roc – The view and everything else about Rockefeller Center was terrific. Luckily we went earlier then our ticketed time and avoided a hard rain shower.<<<

The museums – The Guggenheim with its Kandinsky exhibit (Is the painter following us? He was also on exhibit at The Tate Modern in London when we visited there) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art with its Warhol’s, Lichtenstein’s, Pollock’s, Picassos and so many others were both “I wish I had more time” experiences.<<<

TO BE CONTINUED