Posted by Rachel
July 15th, 2013
Top Ten Highlights from NYC
In no particular order…
1. Cycling round Central Park
It is hard to establish the scale of Central Park until you see it from overhead, a giant rectangle of green surrounded by high rise concrete and glass. With a little less time on your hands, navigating it by bike is a good way of seeing the various nooks and bridges, baseball fields and lakes, just keep to the slow lane to allow the lycra clad athletes to lap you at high speed.
This one mile stretch of elevated park lies on a former railtrack that once swept over the westside of the city. Thanks to a couple of neighbourhood residents who campaigned to have it restored to a public space and not demolished, this is now a major destination with benches facing out over particular sights, flowers and plants planted the length of it, and even some classy food trucks to pick up a paleta for your walk (try the cucumber and lime lolly pop from La Newyorkina).
I didn’t go a day without eating pickles in some form while I was in the city, but this place is a veritable mecca for pickle enthusiasts. The giant vats of pickles take centre stage here, with quarter sour, full sour (being 3 months pickled) being the lingo of choice for these pickler. I took away some delicious pickled mango and slightly spicy okra.
I was defeated by a bagel at Murrays, they are sheer whoppers compared to London’s Beigel Bake’s. I went for a very tasty salmon pastrami, with a cream cheese, caper and tomato (!) filling (there were gravalax, norwegian, scottish offerings for the smoked fish element). They wrap them tightly in a brown bagel paper then sliced straight through the lot to serve. Then most of it falls out on your lap as you take a bite, but you can see why the place comes highly recommended by locals.
5. Pastrami Sandwich at Mile End Deli
Mile End Deli is a New York take on a traditional Montreal Jewish deli, specialising in pastrami sandwiches, poutine (that curious combo of cheese curds, chicken gravy and chips), meat hash and the like. I tucked into an exemplary pastrami sandwich on pumpernickel and pickles.
6. Vintage books at Bonnie Slotnick
On the vintage book trail, I headed to Bonnie Slotnick in the West Village. The website says it all, “don’t like us on facebook, don’t follow us on twitter”, this is about the pure pleasure of tactile books. This selection is riveting,with original versions of Julia Child as well as the obscurest of topics, like the banana book I picked up, exploring the storing, prepping and eating of the great nana.
7. Cocktails and Pork Buns at Momofoku Ssam Bar
David Chang’s Momofuku (meaning Lucky Peach) is a New York institution and part of his burgeoning empire of hip eateries. His signature is the Pork Belly Steamed Buns, which lived up to every expectations, soft, sweet with melting soft pork belly. (Pic credit Tripadvisor)
One piece of advice for visiting Moma, go with plenty of time to spare and a warm jumper. The city’s Modern Art gallery is one of the finest of its kind, so allow a lot of time and prepare for the freezing air conditioning. I was lucky enough to catch the Le Corbusier exhibition, which is on until September 23rd, and features an extensive selection of the architects sketches, painting and drawings.
There’s a lot of pressure to have the perfect dinner for the last night in town, and Diner was the perfect place to fulfil that. In an unashamedly cool part of Williamsburg, next to sister restaurant Marlow and Sons, this places feels like you are eating in a train carriage, with its vaulted ceiling and sloping tables. The cocktails and food were excellent, I guess what you would label it modern American: a punchy string bean salad with bacon vinaigrette starter followed by a beef shank with grilled radicchio, corn on the cob and jalapeño pickles.
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9 thoughts on “Top Ten Highlights from NYC”
heading to NYC in 70 days!!! Thank you for the ideas….
OMG Murreys!
I used to have to bring over a dz. sesame for a French friend – my rent for 2 weeks.
Those things are mamouth. The minis used to be the ‘normal’ size.
They weigh a ton too
PS for MOMA take the elevator to the top and come down with a stop in the Italian cafe on the 2nd for lunch
Rachel, when are you coming to San Francisco? I love NY and know it well as my sister lives there. Golden Gate Park in SF is bigger than Central Park. We are smaller, but just as fun!
Rachel, I love you ;-). However, as I fear my love is in vain, 2nd best would be to find out what Highlight 8 is.
Hi Rachel,
Next time you are any New York you should try Katz’s Delicatessen. They have the best pastrami sandwich in the world!
http://katzsdelicatessen.com/
Thanks for the great recipes!
Cheers,
Paul
Ah yes, I’ve heard of Katz deli – very famous also because that’s where they filmed the movie, When Harry Met Sally!
For a real NYC experience go to Sammy’s Roumanian on the Lower East Side. Vodka in frozen blocks, seltzer in the sprit bottle, chicken fat in syrup jars, entertainment worthy of a bar mitzvah in Brooklyn, it’s something only folks from NY know. Try the Strand for books next time you’re in NY. I love the highland too. Best thing NY has done in ages.
Thanks, Lisa. I hope to go back to NYC soon. Will put your suggestions on the list.