A Country Mouse Goes to the City: A Weekend of Fun and Friends

A totally wonderful weekend of fun and friends -- where do I begin? I guess at the beginning. On Thursday last, two country mice from Brewer arrived at the Tupelo airport at 6 a.m. to await the first leg of their flight to NYC. Originally scheduled to arrive in NYC around noon, after numerous delays, etc., they finally got here at 7:30 p.m. But not to worry, we quickly dropped off their bags and got them right back out to enjoy what was left of the day (or make that night).
After a quick trip on the subway, we arrived in Brooklyn's DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) area and the Empire Fulton Ferry State Park. We got to see the Watertower at night but were unable to photograph it successfully. The views of downtown Manhattan and both the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges are breathtaking here. Next, it was to the base of the Brooklyn Bridge to begin our one-mile walk over the bridge back to Manhattan. The nighttime views on the bridge were stunning. Thanks to a cool spell, the weather was absolutely gorgeous and made walking across so pleasant.
Upon arriving in Downtown Manhattan, it was another short subway ride to Washington Square, for a wonderful outdoors supper under the lights at the Shake Shack. We enjoyed burgers, 'shroom burgers, fries and a Shake Attack concrete for dessert. From here, we ended our night with a short sightseeing walk back to Herald Square.
On Friday, we were greeted with rain, and even though it did slow us down some, we tried to carry on. We began our day with breakfast (dessert) at Ferrara's in Little Italy. We lingered over our "dessert" and coffee because of a strong downpour, but were soon back on the streets again, checking out the sights in Little Italy and Chinatown. We walked back up Broadway, stopping in the Pearl River Market for a short shopping break. Then it was on to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill for an excellent and picturesque 3-course lunch. Afterwards, we enjoyed walking through the Garden of Eden Marketplace, which is a speciality grocery store selling all types of products that aren't available in "the country." Because it was once again raining, we caught the subway back to our apartment, where we dropped off our packages and Kelsey (so she could nap), and then on to Macy's and the cellar to look at all their cooking wares. At this point, the rain had stopped again, so we walked to Grand Central Terminal and enjoyed watching part of rush hour here. Then it was back to the streets, where we walked up Fifth Avenue back to Herald Square. After a quick change, we were off to Times Square to see Memphis, which was absolutely outstanding. The music and the nonstop action was so good! I've enjoyed all the plays I've seen so far, but this has to be one of my favorites. After a late-night supper, it was back to the apartment for a few hours of sleep.
We awoke to sunshine and blue skies on Saturday, so we started out walking down Broadway towards Union Square (which the rain prevented us from visiting on Friday). Along the way, we saw Beecher's Handmade Cheese and stopped in for a visit. And were we glad we did. According to them, their stores (this one in the Flatiron District and one in Seattle's Pike Place Market), are living museums where visitors can witness the 5,000 year old art of making cheese. We had plans to grab breakfast in Union Square's Green Market, but instead we dined on fresh (still warm) bread and a delicious grilled Flagship Caprese Sandwich, prepared for us at their cafe. And as we enjoyed our treats, we sat at a counter and watched cheese being made.
Back out on the street, we had to drop in at Fishs Eddy and look at all the dishes. Then on to the Union Square Green Market, where we enjoyed seeing all manner of fresh vegetables, plants, breads, cookies, pastas, meats, eggs, and more. After resting for a bit in the shade of Union Square Park, it was on to Chelsea Marketplace, home of Food Network, to check out all things food. This was also our lunch stop, where we dined in the halls of the marketplace on pasta, bruschetta, lobster, crab and shrimp sliders, a sandwich on fresh bread, and a traditional egg and cheese croissant with potatoes. Then there was more exploring in the marketplace before heading outside and upstairs to the High Line, an old, elevated railroad track that has been converted into a wonderfully landscaped park 300 feet above the city.
When we descended from the "garden in the sky," it was to the subway for a ride to Coney Island where we got to see and taste Nathan's Hotdogs, along with seeing the famous amusement park, which still has the Cyclone (wooden roller coaster) and the Wonder Wheel (Ferris wheel, which has both stationary cars and rocking cars that slide along a track). Both of these rides are protected as designated NYC landmarks and listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Arriving on the boardwalk, we were pleasantly surprised to find a sand sculpting contest underway, and we got to see some pretty amazing sand creations. We could have stayed longer here, but we had to head back to the subway for the ride back to Herald Square.
Arriving back at "home," we quickly changed and were off to the theater to see Wicked. For those of you who might not be familiar with this play, it is the story of how the Wicked Witch became "wicked" and Glenda became the "good witch." It was another absolutely amazing night at the theater. For our late night supper afterwards, we chose John's Pizzeria, where their motto is "No Slices." And a surprise for us in this restaurant was the ceiling -- nothing we had ever seen or imagined to be in a pizzeria.
Sunday dawned another beautiful day -- sunny and not too hot. Our day started out with breakfast at Hill Country Chicken where the nicest young man ever waited on us. The restaurant decor is a fifties-style kitchen. And the perfect ending to our "country" breakfast was a Cowboy Pie. Their description on the menu is "A candy bar in a graham cracker crust -- made with dark chocolate, butterscotch chips, dried coconut, and toasted pecans." And the ingredient holding all these goodies together was sweetened condensed milk. What's not to like about this!
Being energized for a morning of exploring, it was back on the subway and to Harlem we go. We dropped in at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church to enjoy their music. Afterwards, we walked around and enjoyed the beautiful details on the old buildings and saw some of the famous restaurants, including Red Rooster, Lenox Lounge, Sylvia's, and Amy Ruth's. Actually, I just added Amy Ruth's in this list because I like the chef's story. As a youngster growing up, his parents would send him to Alabama in the summer to work on his grandparents' farm. He found that he didn't like the farming part, but instead preferred to stay inside with his grandmother who taught him to cook soul food. When he opened his own restaurant in Harlem, he wanted to honor her and what she had taught him, so he named it after her. A tour guide recommended this place for the collard greens. Because we had lunch plans, we did not get to enjoy a meal at any of these restaurants, 9but I still have a little time left.) After "restaurant row," we went by Abyssinian Baptist Church where we were too late to enter, but we could hear the preaching from outside.
After an enjoyable morning in Harlem, it was back to the subway for the ride to Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant (Bed-Stuy) neighborhood, located in the central portion of Brooklyn. Thanks to Sara, and her watchful eye, she had seen on Food Network Star a part (she thought) of the name of Justin Warner's NY restaurant -- Door Dine. When she told us about this, it took a little searching, but we finally found the name and located the restaurant. It's actual name is "Do or Dine," but on the sign it looks like Door. Those who are fans of this show know that Justin is known for his unusual combinations of foods -- they actually do work, but are unlikely pairings. Well, we got to experience just this while dining here. I have to say that this is the most unusual menu I have ever seen, and even though I was a little unsure about trying some of the dishes, every one that we tried turned out to be absolutely delicious. We started with Foie Gras Doughnuts and Nippon-Nachos, both of which were excellent choices. For our entrees, we each chose a different one, but our choices were Briskets and Gravy, Granola Griddlecake, Berunchu Ramen, and A Chicken and Woffals. As weird as they sound, they were wonderful. The Briskets and Gravy was beef sausage and gravy served over crispy-bottomed biscuits. The Granola Griddlecake was an extremely thick pancake that contained granola and then topped with greek yogurt and blueberries. This was Kelsey's vegetarian choice and the rest of us ate her leftovers as our dessert. The Berunchu Ramen was a bowl of ramen noodles cooked in (I believe she said) beef, chicken and lamb broth, with a poached egg, fresh corn kernels, bacon, spinach, and more. And the Chicken and Woffals was a crisply pan-fried cornish hen on a waffle with a maple mustard sauce topped with candied ginger and duck liver pate. This cornish hen and waffles was so much better than the wings and waffles that I have had at other places. This has been my favorite dining experience of our trip so far. I'm not sure that I will ever eat anywhere as unusual as this again. As an aside, on the very day we dined here, Food Network Star's finale aired and Justin Warner won!
Extremely full and happy, we left Bedford-Stuy on the subway headed back to walk and view the historic Brooklyn Brownstones. This was a beautiful quiet area with beautiful buildings. We also explored Pier 6 with its unusual playground. Here there was a really fancy splash pad, a slide area with all types of slides, and a giant sandbox. And being Sunday afternoon, there was no shortage of kids (and adults) enjoying the playground.
A very long walk later, we again entered the subway and headed for Roosevelt Island, dropping Kelsey off so she could nap. Exiting the subway under the water at Roosevelt Island, we were so thankful for the three steep escalators that took us to ground level. By this point, I don't think we could have done that many stairs at one time. Roosevelt Island was calm and breezy just as it was on July 4th, and Sara and Becky even got to see a few old people in their motorized wheelchairs riding the streets. After sitting a spell near the water, we took the tram back to Manhattan. The tram station is near Serendipity and Dylan's Candy Bar, so we had to peek in at Serendipity and visit Dylan's.
Back to the subway again for the ride to Herald Square and a change of shoes. Kelsey joined us as we again rode the subway to Little Italy for a nighttime sidewalk Italian dinner. The night was so nice and we enjoyed watching the people as well as an excellent view of the Empire State Building from our table. After finishing dinner, it was late, but we headed back to the subway for the ride to South Ferry, where we boarded the Staten Island Ferry for a midnight ride to Staten Island. The ferry was not too crowded and we were able to stand (or sit) and enjoy the nighttime views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. Upon disembarking at Staten Island, we learned a little-known fact -- the Staten Island Ferry is closed every Sunday night/Monday morning from midnight until 1 a.m. So we enjoyed an hour in the Staten Island Ferry building awaiting our 1 a.m. departure. We enjoyed visiting with a family from Chile, who were also surprised to learn this little-known secret. Arriving back in Manhattan, it was back onto the subway for the ride home. By this time, it was 2 a.m., and Kelsey, unfortunately, had to go to work Monday morning.
On Monday, we slept a little later and then lounged around until Kelsey made a take-off, so that we wouldn't get in her way. Then we walked around the Midtown area a little, stopping in K-Mart and Penn Station, before heading to our noon reservations at Frankie and Johnnie's, where we enjoyed another delicious 3-course meal. July 16 - August 10 is the 20th anniversary of NYC Restaurant Week, so they are offering 20 days of dining out at participating restaurants, where a 3-course lunch is $24.07 and a 3-course dinner is $35. So it is an excellent time for sampling 3-course meals!
We might could have seen all these places in less time, if we had gone in a more organized fashion, but we decided that we needed the time on the subway, etc. for resting in between adventures, and naturally, we wanted to contribute our part to support the subway system. I tried to give these two country mice a highlight of my six weeks here in one long weekend. I think we were pretty successful!