A Tuesday of Exploring

Mary's Fish Camp -- no, that's not the door under the air conditioner

         As the end of my summer in NYC draws nearer, I find myself trying to decide what things I must see again and what things I haven't seen and must see before I leave.  Today, I decided to go to the Chelsea Market once more.  Now, the question was, how was I going?  I looked at my map, and an idea occurred.  Why not start at what is, for the time being anyway, the beginning of the High Line and walk it to the market.   At present, on this end, the High Line begins at West 30th Street and runs to Gansevoort Street (just beyond 14th Street) on the other end.  I was so glad I started at West 30th, because I got to see a part of the High Line that I had not seen before, and because I got to see some really great art and beautiful greenery along the way.  It is amazing how so many of the apartments and buildings that border the High Line have created art of their own.  I thoroughly enjoyed these discoveries and the talent exhibited.  Since you are walking 300 feet above the street, you are up among the upper floors of buildings you would ordinarily only see from street level.  And all along the way, people have created art in their windows, on their porches, and on their walls.  Hope you enjoy seeing some of it as much as I did.  This journey was so enjoyable that I just kept right on going on the High Line when I came to Chelsea Market and continued to the end at Gansevoort Street.  

          Rick had told me about a new app called Chefs Feed, which I had downloaded.  This gives chefs' recommendations of where and what they like to eat.  I had checked out the area and determined that Mary's Fish Camp was going to be my choice for a mid-afternoon lunch/early supper.  A fish camp sounds exciting, right -- at least, Cole's used to be anyway.  Walking to this charming restaurant was almost as fun as eating there.  The streets were old and quiet with trees lining many of the streets.  This was in the West Village area very near the Hudson River.  When I reached the restaurant, if I had not have had the address, I might have missed it, because you have to look very closely to find its name.  It was even hard to find the door, but I located the blue double screen doors that reminded me of the screen doors we used to see so often in the South.  Going inside, I found the cutest restaurant ever.  It had a bar with 9 stools and tables and chairs for about 20 more people.  There were large plate glass windows across the front and on the side.  The interior was blue and it had paintings of Florida postcards and the Wachee Mermaids (I suppose this is from the Weeki Wachee ones in Florida).  The windows were filled with bouquets of black-eyed Susans and Queen Anne's lace.  Since I was alone, they asked me to sit at the bar, which I ended up thoroughly enjoying.  The kitchen was right there, and I got to watch them preparing the food.  I had an oyster po' boy, which was absolutely delicious from the hot toasted bread to the unusual hot sauce to the freshly (lightly) breaded fried oysters.  

          Afterwards, I backtracked to Chelsea Market for a few "must have" items I wanted, and then it was on towards Union Square.  Ever since I have been here, I have wanted to go to Big Gay Ice Cream or their traveling truck for some unusual soft-serve ice cream.  For the past couple of weeks, their ice cream truck has been on hiatus, but returned to service this past weekend.  Today, I asked Rick to follow them on Twitter and let me know where the truck was.  I didn't do it, because I always forget to check.  Of course, Rick didn't fail me, and I got a text telling me it was near Union Square.  When I arrived and found the truck, there was quite an impressive line waiting to get served.  When it was finally my turn, I asked the lady for her recommendation, because I thought both the wasabi pea dust and the toasted curry\ied coconut both sounded delicious.  This is when she told me of an "off the menu" item called "Fusion," which is half of each.  So that's what I got -- soft-serve ice cream in a cone half dusted with toasted curried coconut and the other half dusted with crushed wasabi peas.  I think the wasabi pea dust was my favorite -- but I do like wasabi peas.  And upon getting to the last bite of my cone, I found such a nice surprise -- the bottom of the cone had been filled with the pea dust creating the perfect surprise ending!

          It's been another great day for this country mouse in the city.   I can't wait to get back to Mississippi and make some good homemade vanilla ice cream and sprinkle it with wasabi pea dust.  Who wants to join me?   

On a building at the beginning of the high Line at West 30th Street

A building along the High Line.  I think this is beautiful!

Cute window shade along the High Line

Building art on the High Line

The female version of the window shade.

The High Line Zoo -- someone's porch

A view from the High Line looking down the street across the Hudson River and into New Jersey

The view looking the other way toward Midtown

More building art (above and below)

A view of the Empire State Building from the High Line -- not because I'm particularly fascinated by the Empire State but because that's the block that we live on.

A section of the High Line Park

I just liked these buildings.

Near the Gansevoort end of the High Line where you can still see the actual railroad tracks.

Building art on Gansevoort Street (above and below)

Mary's Fish Camp -- the only signs I saw.

Some of Big Gay Ice Cream's offerings with a real cone to the right.

My "off the menu" Fusion

From Performing Art to Street Art

          Thursday turned out to be a lazy sort of day.  We haven't had too much rain since we've been here, but Thursday began with rain.  Not to worry, I could finish my blog and then go out.  Around noon, I headed out to Bryant Park for their Broadway in the Park series.  For an hour during lunch, performers from different shows are featured on the stage in Bryant Park.  What's not to like about this -- one of my favorite parks and highlights from shows on and off Broadway.  This particular day included performances from Voca People, The Fantasticks, Jersey Boys and Traces.  Voca People are 8 performers dressed in total white, from the white skull caps to the tips of their white shoes.  It is a beatbox/a capella/vocals only show -- and they were outstanding!  Of course, Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons  -- I think I must know all of these songs.  Traces is a type of circus which mixes the traditions of circus with the energy of street performers to create a new kind of circus.  Those of you who are my age may remember John Davidson, who was the special guest of the day.  He talked about playing the role of Matt in the Hallmark Hall of Fame version of The Fantastiks back in the sixties.  On Monday, he will return to the cast as Henry, the Old Actor.  I'm hoping to work this play in next week as I have never seen it.  (Ms. Gibbs was my English teacher not my drama teacher back in the day -- I know this was an always see play on the drama department's trips to NYC.)
          Afterwards, I headed to the east to Katz's Deli to try their famous pastrami sandwich on rye.  And it was delicious, but a word to the wise, share this sandwich with one or two other people  -- it is HUGE!   The place was absolutely packed and they had a unique way of cutting down on stealing.  When you enter, a man gives you a red ticket.  You order sandwiches at one place, sides at another, and drinks at another.  At each stop, the price is written on your ticket.  And you must present the ticket in order to leave. If you lose your ticket, there is a $50 lost ticket charge.  Obviously, they have had problems or this system wouldn't be in place.  I enjoyed watching the man prepare my sandwich.  They slice the hot meat right in front of you, giving you a small slice to taste.  It was a nice little show.  And the spot is marked where "I'll have what she is having" happened in Harry Met Sally.  As I was leaving, BBC Reality was starting to film in the midst of all the chaos of lunch hour.
          Walking back up Houston, I enjoyed all the public art (both planned and the unplanned graffiti) along the way, so these are most of the pictures I'm sharing today.
           And the perfect ending to the day for Kelsey was the fact that we went to a lottery rush for tickets to Rent.   From 6 to 6:30, you could enter a drawing for $25 front row tickets.  At 6:30, they draw 8 names.  Mine was the last one drawn so we got to see Rent so close that I was a little worried if the actors made a misstep, they might be in my lap.  The raffle and the show was a fun experience and so worth it to see Kelsey so excited!

I know -- it's s sign but I liked it!

Another Exciting Adventure

Hi, Y'all!  I'm not sure what this says, but my story (and I'm sticking to it) is that this building is speaking to me!

          Wednesday turned out to be quite an interesting day full of adventures and discoveries.  Since our time here in NYC is fast coming to an end, I have been going back over our lists and trying to do something each day that is still left on our list.  Plus, each day, I read about things to do in New York, that I deem worthy of a peek, so I am continually adding to that list.
          The Rockefeller Plaza Greenmarket re-opened for the summer today, so I headed off in that direction.    I arrived during the lunch rush, but found the market to be an extremely nice and miniature version of the market that I frequent in Union Square.  So many choices for lunch, but after a trip through the entire market, I decided on a pumpkin whoopie pie from Millport Dairy in Pennsylvania.  I had bought butter and cheese from them in Union Square that we loved, and the gentleman was so cute and he offered me such a deal I just couldn't resist.  One pie for $2 or 2 for $4 -- such a wheeler and dealer, but, of course, I fell for it.  Anyway, Kelsey needed a chocolate whoopie pie for breakfast.
          Then it was on towards Central Park to check out the Plaza Food Hall.  It is another upscale food court, but all the food is so beautifully displayed.  I wasn't hungry because I had already had my whoopie pie, but I thought it all looked delicious!  And, anyway, I love looking at food displays.  I tried to find the portrait of Eloise so I could welcome her back to the Plaza, but wasn't successful.  So that will give us another opportunity to come back and search again.
          Leaving here, I headed towards The Original Soupman's stand, a/k/a the Soup Nazi from the Seinfeld show.  Along the way, I discovered some more buildings that I liked.  By the time I arrived at the Soup Nazi's, it was 3 p.m.  They were not very busy, so I took a chance and snapped a couple of photos.  The "rules" are still hanging up.  I had passed by here years ago, but it was closed, and I erroneously thought that it was a small shop.  Actually, when the doors are opened, it is just a stand on the street.  I guess that's why the rules are so important!
          Up to this point, I had not walked on this section of Broadway, so that's the street I chose for my return trip.  Along the way, I came across a Signature Steak 'n Shake.  This is something new to me, and I'm including a picture for all my friends and family who are Steak 'n Shake connoisseurs.
          A friend of Kelsey's had suggested the Delicatessen as a nice place to dine, so earlier in the day, I had made reservations here.  And as soon as she arrived home from work, we were off to the Soho district.  We had a wonderful meal of fried catfish tacos and mushroom macaroni & cheese served in a cast iron skillet.  Delicious!
          Earlier in the day, Rick (a big Chobani yogurt fan) had forwarded a tweet to me about a new Chobani yogurt bar opening in NYC.  It was reasonably near where we were, so I insisted on going there for Rick, even though Kelsey was not very interested in going at all.  Never fear, along the way, she recognized a street name and knew that a tatoo shop she wanted to see was located here.  After a quick search on her phone, we had the address and were off.  She got some good pictures of the Wooster Street Social Club and got to check in on Instagram here -- making our trip to Chobani worth it for her.  After our detour to the tatoo shop, we arrived at Chobani to find Fox News 5 filming a news segment.  The reporter was in the kitchen, so we ordered a bowl of Toasted Coconut + Pineapple and sat down in the window to eat it.  They finished up filming in the kitchen and came out and sat down in the window also.  She was talking to everyone and asked me if they could film my reaction to the yogurt.  I said, oh, no, I'm not from here, so I couldn't because I have an accent and that wouldn't work.  During this time, I told her about my husband forwarding the tweet to me and that that was the reason we had stopped in.  So in the end, she talked me into doing a quick interview.  It was fun!!  I felt like such a celebrity because not only were they filming it, Kelsey was snapping pictures non-stop on the other side.
          And believe it or not, thanks to Rick, we have been Direct TV customers forever -- so long, in fact, that when we first got it, they did not carry local stations, so we had Fox, NBC, etc. out of New York and California.  Since we had these stations from the beginning, we have been able to keep them, and our NY Fox channel is, what other than, Fox 5.  So Rick was able to record the news and see me on the news "bragging" about how good Chobani yogurt is.  What makes this even funnier is that I don't like Greek yogurt, but I will have to say that toasted coconut, pineapple, hazelnuts, and agave syrup certainly sweetens it up enough that I might could develop a taste for it.  This just reiterates that I never know what adventures are awaiting me each day -- and this one was for you, Rick!
          After this exciting visit to Chobani, we had just enough daylight left to head for 75 1/2 Bedford Street,  site of the narrowest house in the city.  We had read about this in Kelsey's book, The Best Things to Do in New York 1001 Ideas.  It was narrow, but upon checking the buzzers on the door, there are apparently 8 apartments in this tiny building.
          Prior to tonight, we had only been on one of the main streets in Soho, and we absolutely loved exploring the side streets of this area.  Charming buildings everywhere you look!  But alas, it was time to head back in -- we had to be in in time to catch the news so we could see me sound "country" on television.  Actually, when it aired, I'm sure I'm a little deaf, but it didn't sound that "country" to me!

Rockefeller Plaza Greenmarket

Look at all those details on the top of this building.

A building with some many details -- hard to imagine!

A close-up of the details

Soup Nazi's rules

Soup Nazi's store front -- yes, that's the entire store area!

His chef's cap said "Yogurt Master"

Getting interviewed -- check out the spoon "in my hair"

Such a cute bakery!

The narrowest house in the city

And someone famous has even lived here.

75 1/2 Bedford Street

Exploring on the East Side

          On Tuesday, since my fellow country mice had returned home and I had no one to play with, I decided that it was time to start visiting places on my list that I had not yet seen.  Two such places were the atrium in the Ford Foundation Building and the Lipstick Building.  Plus I knew it was quite possible that I might make a few discoveries along the way.  Both of these buildings are on the east side down in the 2nd and 3rd Avenue areas.  So it was down towards the East River I headed, crisscrossing back and forth on the streets and avenues attempting to discover some unexpected finds and trying to stay out of the sun as much as possible.  

          As always, I am fascinated by the buildings.  The older buildings especially contain so many intricate details that I am continually amazed.  I just had to snap a few to share.  I don't know anything about the buildings, it was just that the details "spoke" to me.  

          The atrium in the lobby of the Ford Foundation Building was quite spectacular.  I liked the fact that the  offices in this high-rise building looked out over an atrium.  It truly was an area of calm in the midst of constant motion outside.  I couldn't photograph it, but there was also water flowing in the center pool.  And everything was so quiet in here that you could actually hear the sound of the flowing water.

          Continuing on, I walked though the Tudor City area of Manhattan.  It was also a quiet, shaded area with a beautifully landscaped flower garden that had benches for sitting and reflecting.  Upon leaving this area, I happened on a very long shaded concourse with some unusual sculptures and a garden named  for Katharine Hepburn.  Walking down this concourse, I found myself at the United Nations Building.  I did not have this on my "to do" list, but I was glad I had the opportunity to see it.  Upon returning home, I did a little research and found that this is the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, gateway to the United Nations.  The ten sculptures are called Walking Figures by Magdalena Abakanowicz.  And the Katharine Hepburn Garden is the largest public garden on the east side of midtown Manhattan. 

          Next, it was on toward the Lipstick Building, which I could now see in the distance.  Along the way, I found a restaurant named for me -- Mimi's.   (I'm Nora's Mimi anyway!)  And across the street from Mimi's was a really unique building that I just happened to like -- imagine that!

          Arriving at the Lipstick Building, I couldn't understand why it is called Lipstick, but when I showed Kelsey the pictures, she was able to point out to me that it looks like a tube of lipstick with the actual lipstick sticking out on top.  I don't think you can see this from my pictures, but maybe you get the gist.  

          On the return trip, I saw the building with the beautiful and extremely detailed top.  It was very pretty sitting up in the blue sky.  You can always find art work just about anywhere you go in the city, and I came across this little area with cute circus type murals around on different buildings.  My favorite was the giraffe. So this turned out to be a day to mark off some items on my list of things to see and to discover more places that I hadn't even imagined!

It's amazing to see this much detail over an ordinary window.

Loved the details and then the columns over them.

Atrium in the Ford Foundation Building

Unusual sculptures

Concourse leading down to the United Nations Building

The United Nations Secretariat Building

A building named after me -- what about that!

Pretty building across the street from Mimi's.

Lipstick Building

Loved the details on the top of this building.

For Nora!