It was time for my first major trip to New York City! The last time I visited New York was in the summer of 1982, when my Mom, Dad, and I saw the world-famous Empire State Building and a few other famous landmarks. I have never been to NYC in the winter, so I was apprehensive about the conditions there. What has changed? What has stayed the same?
I ended up eating only half of it. We also tried the Matzo Ball soup, which seemed quite bland, without any seasoning or salt (unlike anything I've eaten). Alex selected a Black & White cookie for dessert, while I chose a Hamantaschen with raspberry filling. The Hamantaschen cookie was quite delicious. In addition, we also ordered some drinks: chocolate milk, a latte, and a mocha. The mocha and latte were poorly prepared, and I didn't drink mine. So, overall, there were some hits and misses at Ess-a-Bagel. I am not likely to return to Ess-a-Bagel due to the long waiting time and mediocre quality of soups).
After lunch, we returned to our hotel to change into something warmer and then walked to the
Grand Central station. It's a distinctive landmark and a well-proportioned terminal, which, in addition to trains, also houses many shops and restaurants (and even an Apple store). We liked some of the Scandinavian-infused coffee flavors and sandwiches sold.
Grand Central feels very upscale and even has a fabulous grocery store that sells everything, which makes Whole Foods look low-end in comparison. The vast selection of meats, cheeses, desserts, loaves of bread, etc., blows everything else away.
From here, we walked to the nearby
N.Y. Public Library. The library's building is quite large and resembles a Roman temple. Like all public places in New York, there was a long security line to get into the library. We went in and explored multiple floors.
There was a very nicely decorated Christmas Tree on the first floor.
On the third floor, a lovely reading room with desks and computer terminals is available to the public. It wasn't as large as I pictured, but it was surprisingly busy, even on Saturday evening, December 17.
For some reason, we felt exhausted (maybe due to jet lag) and spent some time drinking water (Inna drank three 16-oz bottles, and I drank one bottle also) in
Amy's Bread Cafe on the first floor.
Eventually, we felt better and resumed our walk down 5th Avenue toward
Rockefeller Center (the Rock). On the way there, we stopped by to admire the beautiful Saks 5th Avenue Christmas display and light show. Many beautiful dolls from Nutcracker and other famous fairy tales were on display (some with some mechanical movement). In addition, the Christmas Light show played continuously with music to the delight of all the onlookers.
Eventually, we made it to the
Rockefeller Center, where a giant ice rink was being made ready for everyone's enjoyment. We didn't stay too long because it was incredibly crowded. We left after taking many photos.
For dinner, Inna made reservations at the well-regarded (on both Zagat and Yelp)
Avra Estiatorio Greek restaurant. For an appetizer, Inna and I shared a delicious Greek salad using fresh tomatoes and greens. I was stunned by the quality of the vegetables used - since tomatoes are not currently in season, and most of the ones you can buy are tasteless. These tomatoes were fantastic! Inna and I also shared the Pikilia or 3 different dips (Tarama - Carp roe spread, Melitzanosalata - roasted baby eggplant spread, and Tzatziki - yogurt, garlic, cucumber) with pita bread. The dips were delicious, but we preferred Tzatziki over the other impostors. For the main entree, Inna and I shared a freshly cooked King Salmon, which was very deliciously prepared. We ate all of it with vegetables. For dessert, Inn and I shared a chocolate cake with ice cream, which was delicious.
We got home quite tired and quickly fell asleep. It was an excellent start to our New York City Christmas holiday.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
After taking a shower in the morning, we decided to get breakfast at the well-regarded
Bouchon Bakery. It was frigid outside, and we had to wear a thermal base layer.
We walked about 15 minutes from our hotel to
Bouchon; by 9:45 a.m., it was already packed. I chose the coffee cake, while Inna picked a ham, cheese croissant, and a pain au raisin (for dessert). The pain au raisin (raisin bread) was the best of the pastries, while the coffee cake was a bit dry.
After our mini breakfast, we took
UberX to the
American Museum of Natural History. Although we ordered the
N.Y. City Pass, the line at The
Museum was long. Eventually, we got our entry tickets and tickets to today's planetarium show, "
Dark Universe," at 11:30 a.m., Alex was not feeling well, but we eventually reached the planetarium. "Dark Universe" was just a bit too boring, as I kept falling asleep repeatedly. I don't recall much helpful knowledge besides sound and visual effects. I have already read enough on my own to learn about dark matter, dark energy,
Exiting the planetarium, we explored the many different exhibits, first starting with the large African Animals, followed by Dinosaurs, primates, African peoples, Asian peoples, paleontology (the study of human bones, DNA, and evolution), rocks and meteorites, precious minerals, and gems. The Museum is enormous, and we spent the entire day there without seeing everything.
Around 5:00 p.m., we decided to return home, as we had the musical
Chicago to watch at 7:00 p.m. We also wanted to feed Alex (since we would be returning too late from the theater for dinner). After catching
UberX back to our hotel, we found a nearby pizza joint and ordered a few slices for Alex. Alex thought the pizza was similar to California's
Pizza My Heart (and that's high praise from Alex).
After watching the fantastic performance of
Chicago on Broadway, we ate dinner at the well-regarded Japanese
Sakagura Restaurant.
Inna made reservations for 9:45 p.m. We made it by 10:00 p.m. from our theater (as we spent a few minutes at
Times Square).
For an appetizer, we ordered mushrooms or Kinoko Ohitashi. They were different from what we usually eat. We also ordered tuna tartare - Maguro Tartar. In addition, we shared some fried shrimp, also called Ebi Stick and Tori Tsukune. For soup, we shared Inaniwa Hot Udon, which was quite delicious. The waiter recommended the crème brûlée (Japanese style), and we also ordered it. It was lovely.
Monday, December 19, 2016
We finally got up in the morning and decided to have a great breakfast at the nearby
Lexington Brass restaurant.
Inna and I ordered Smashed Organic Avocado toast (avocado, pomegranate seeds, toasted slivered almonds, roasted cherry tomato, and toasted whole-grain country bread with a poached organic egg). In contrast, Alex ordered the Croque Madame (baked ham, Gruyere, jalapeño, & fried egg).
Our breakfast was really delicious but quite expensive. Toast with Avacado is quite popular in New York, and we've seen it everywhere (but not so much in California).
After breakfast, we headed to the subway in Grand Central, taking metro #5 to downtown (Fulton Street) to see the
9/11 World Trade Center Memorial.
It was only 4 subway stops, and it took about 28 minutes to get there. It was pretty nippy outside (26 F), and we waited a bit in line to get in (even though we had printed tickets in our
New York City Pass).
Once we got through the mandatory bag screening (standard in all NYC attractions), we turned in our coats and started the tour of the two World Trade Center Towers. It was a depressing tour with many photos, videos, and mangled metal parts on display. There were many remnants from the site on display and pictures of victims. I did not realize how many artists and non-finance types had businesses in the World Trade Center.
There were quite disturbing videos of people falling off the Twin Towers.
The intense heat twisted and warped some of the debris left from the two Twin Towers. We got a much better appreciation of the sacrifices made by firemen and other rescuers to save people from the falling buildings.
After the tour, we took a few photos outside and decided to get a late lunch at the nearby
Eataly Italian Grocery Store and Restaurant.
We did not immediately realize how large and extensive Eataly's selection of fine Italian foods was.
Eventually, we agreed that
Eataly was the gourmand's paradise. There was freshly baked Italian pizza, pasta, gelato, and freshly baked pastries. Alex ordered a "Margherita" pizza, which he ate all by himself (including the crust), which he usually skips. Inna and I shared an "Insalata Mista" and a "Capricciosa" pizza. The pizza was fantastic, with a thin crust and fresh ingredients! After dinner, we shared some gelato (cherry and pistachio) and delicious pastries. Alex said that it was the best gelato he had ever had!
After finishing our dinner in Eataly, we realized it was getting very dark, so we took a few more nighttime photos of the magnificent new World Trade Center. We inquired about tickets to ride the WTC's elevator to the top but found them quite expensive. Instead, we decided to ride the elevator to Rockefeller Center (for which we already had tickets in our New York City Pass).
We returned to our
Intercontinental Barclay Hotel, and after some rest, we decided to visit the Rockefeller Center. On the way there, we stopped by the magnificent Saks 5th Avenue storefront (on 5th Avenue, across from Rockefeller Center), mobbed by people watching a Christmas lights show.
We enjoyed these displays and were very impressed with the artistic work involved.
Some displays were animated and played famous scenes from Nutcracker and other fairy tales.
It was getting very late, around 10:30 p.m., so we finally proceeded to the T
Top of the Rock (aka Rockefeller Center).
The line was short, and we had tickets from our New York City Pass, so we decided to enjoy the city's evening view. It was freezing at the top, but the view of New York City Skyline was spectacular.
I took many photos with my Canon 5DS and Inna with her iPhone 6s. When it got too cold for my hands, I warmed them up in a funky "Rainbow Room" with blinking lights.
On the way back to our hotel, we marveled at the view of Atlas holding the World in front of the
St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
In the morning, we finally got up and decided to have a scrumptious breakfast at the nearby
Lexington Brass restaurant. I ordered my usual
Smashed Organic Avocado toast (avocado, pomegranate seeds, slivered almonds, roasted cherry tomato, and toasted whole-grain country bread with a poached organic egg). In contrast, Inna ordered Croque Madame (baked ham, Gruyere, jalapeño, fried egg). Our breakfast was delicious, but we had to wait some time to get seated.
From here, we walked to the nearby
Empire State Building and decided to get a view from the top. The line to the top was very long, and we waited about 90 minutes (from 10:30 a.m. until noon) before we could finally take the elevator to the 80th floor and then from the 80th to 86th floor.
The view on the clear winter day was fantastic, and we could see all the buildings clearly, including Ellis Island and the
Statue of Liberty, the
World Trade Center,
Brooklyn Bridge, Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, and most of Manhattan Island. Although I enjoyed the view, I hated the long wait. It felt like being in Disneyland (except for no roller coasters).
After some time at the top, we returned to the ground and decided to rest. We found a Korean food court in a nondescript space, selling all Korean delicacies. It was full of Asian students, almost like being in Seoul, South Korea.
At
Marseilles, I had the Onion Soup Gratinee (country bread, gruyere) and Orecchiette (lamb shank, ragout, gremolata, pecorino). Inna had the wonderfully delicate Tortellini (jumbo lump crab & ricotta, spinach, herb butter sauce). Alex decided on the Marseilles Burger (dry-aged custom ground beef, burgundy onions, rosemary aioli, and cheese). All of the dishes were quite delicious.
Afterward, we lingered a bit in
Times Square, which was heavily lit up and full of people (as usual). It's packed any time of the day or night.
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
In the morning, we decided to find a new breakfast restaurant, and after some research on Yelp and Zagat, we found
Casa Lever, a well-respected, trendy Milanese restaurant for New York dealmakers.
The insides were quite fancy-looking, with many original
Andy Warhol lithographs of famous celebrities such as Versace, Aretha Franklin, etc.
I ordered the Crostino Milanese (scrambled eggs and Parmesan cheese). Inna had the Raisin Brioche French Toast (exceptional), while Alex had the Buttermilk Lemon pancakes. The food was exquisite but expensive.
Finishing our delicious breakfast, we boarded subway train #5 (at the 51st Street Station) toward the
Brooklyn Bridge. We wanted to walk the
Brooklyn Bridge and then explore the various neighborhoods in Brooklyn (such as Brooklyn Heights).
The
Brooklyn Bridge was quite long (we measured over a mile while walking it) and was completed in 1885. We enjoyed walking across it and seeing the beautiful views of Manhattan and Brooklyn from the bridge. We could also see the
Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island in the distance.
Once across in Brooklyn, we walked down to Brooklyn Heights. We found many brownstone houses (no more than 7 stories high) and regular homes for non-bankers. There were lots of people walking their dogs and strolling about.
We also found a few synagogues and restaurants. It seemed like a y place to live, especially with the beautiful Manhattan skyline view.
Since it was getting late, around 1:45 p.m., we decided to try the famous
Juliana's Pizza near the Brooklyn Bridge.
Juliana's pizza was highly rated by Zagat and Yelp, so we tried it. A long line was outside the restaurant, but we decided to wait anyway.
It took us about 30 minutes before we were seated. We had an amiable waiter, who made the experience in Juliana's enjoyable. We would gladly return for more pizza when in Brooklyn.
Alex ordered the Hearts of Romaine Caesar salad for an appetizer, while Inn and I shared Matt's Mix (Baby Spinach, Romaine, Tomato, Yellow Peppers, Red Onion & Kalamata Olives). Both of the salads were quite delicious.
For entrees, we ordered two small pizzas (small, in this case, a 16" pie). Alex chose the
Margherita pizza (tomato, mozzarella, and basil). At the same time, Inna and I decided to share the #1 special (mozzarella, scamorza, affumicata, pancetta (Italian bacon), scallions, and Oregon-grown white truffles in olive oil). Both pizzas were some of the best we've ever tasted, and even Alex was very impressed. He usually thinks
Pizza My Heart in Los Gatos has the best pizza.
After lunch, we grabbed some fresh, homemade American ice cream at the
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. Only a couple of primary flavors were available, including chocolate, vanilla, and butter pecan, but they were all heavy, dense, and delicious.
We walked around Brooklyn Heights a bit more and then decided to try the famous pastries at
Almondine Bakery. The pastries there were delicious. Eventually, we took the subway back to our Intercontinental Barclay Hotel.
In the evening, we had tickets to see the dramatic performance of
Dangerous Liaisons on Broadway, about which I wrote in a separate review.
Dangerous Liaisons was quite riveting, but the theater was only half-full. It's too bad because Dangerous Liaisons was highly well-acted.
Thursday, December 22, 2016
In the morning, we decided to try breakfast somewhere else. Since seating at Manhattan Espresso Cafe was limited, we decided to try breakfast at
Demarco Coffee.
Inna and I ordered
Croissants with Egg Salad, while Alex chose a
Croissant with Ham and Cheese. Our croissants were cold (I would have preferred them warmer), but
Alex's Ham and Cheese croissant was warm. I also ordered a
Mocha for me, a
Latte for Inna, and
Hot Chocolate for Alex. Overall, breakfast at
Demarco Coffee was satisfactory (and much cheaper than at other places).
From 51st Street, we decided to visit the
Frick Collection near
Central Park. We took the subway there (to save time and walking energy). We really enjoyed exploring the
Frick Collection of famous paintings, such as Rembrandt's Self-Portrait, Titian's "Portrait of a Man in a Red Cap," Hans Holbein's "Portrait of Thomas Moore," and Renoir's "Mother and Children (La Promenade)."
Inna thought that Renoir's "La Promenade" was the best painting in the Frick Collection.
After enjoying the Museum, we decided to explore the nearby
Central Park. With the help of a tour guide, we came up with a loop to see the best highlights of the park, including Bethesda Fountain, Bow Bridge, Wagner Cove, and
Belvedere Castle.
We started our tour with Bethesda Fountain, shown below. It was turned off in the winter, so we continued our walk toward the Bow Bridge.
Bow Bridge is a very short bridge over the half-frozen lake below. From there, we continued to
Belvedere Castle (the highest point in Central Park).
In
Belvedere Castle, there were nice overlooks of the whole city and some pleasant classical music from street musicians (who played a selection of Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Bach's Air on a G String).
Exploring New York City's
Central Park was a lot of fun.
For late lunch, we decided to try the elegant
Sant Ambroeus restaurant on the Upper East Side (near the
Frick Collection). We ordered the following dishes for our late lunch/dinner. They were all very delicious but costly.
• Pasta alla Bolognese for Alex
• Panino/Francesino for Boris
• Ravioli al Prosciutto for Inna
• Giandula (hazelnut) dessert
• Profiterole dessert
We were packed in our subway-like sardines on returning to our
Intercontinental Barclay Hotel. However, we made it back in time for some rest before seeing the famous
Fiddler on the Roof Musical.
After the musical, we realized that the famous
Grom Gelateria was near the Broadway Theater. We have always loved
Grom when we visited Florence and Siena in Italy, so we were excited that
Grom has made it to the United States. We ordered several delicious flavors, including pistachio and chocolate with orange. Grom Gelato was fantastic, and we hope to stop by there again!
The frigid winter evening was starting to irritate us, and we wanted to drink something hot to warm ourselves (especially after eating ice-cold gelato). Conveniently near
Grom Gelateria was an exciting tea house called
Argo Tea Cafe. We ordered exotic tea concoctions, including Matte Latte and Earl Grey Vanilla Crème (like London Fog). The teas were excellent! We wished that a tea house like this existed in San Jose.
Wanting a quick, inexpensive breakfast, we tried eating at the
Fresh & Co. Eatery near our
Intercontinental Barclay Hotel. Alex ordered a croissant with an egg omelet but did not like it. I had the toasted bread with crushed avocado, which was quite delicious. I also shared a fresh blueberry muffin and an almond croissant for dessert. The pastries were not bad (but not as good as some of the other bakeries).
After breakfast, we took New York's Metro #5 train to the
Guggenheim Museum. Unfortunately, other than Kandinsky, Pablo Picasso, and Marc Chagall, I did not like most of the paintings in the
Guggenheim.
However, the
Guggenheim building is unique and worth seeing on its own merits.
Quickly finishing with the Museum, we took another metro train from 68th Street to Bowling Green station (near Battery Park) to see about visiting the
Statue of Liberty.
Seeing a long wait (over one hour), we explored Wall Street instead.
Near the Bowling Green metro station, we saw the famous "
Charging Bull" statue mobbed by tourists. I could hardly see the statue behind the hoards of people taking photos around it. From here, we ran into the beautiful
Trinity Church.
The organ was playing inside, and we walked around the church to explore its design and architecture. We also had a chance to step outside the church, in its cemetery, where many ancient, worn-out gravestones decorated the premises.
Moving on, we walked from the start of Wall Street to the financial center of New York.
We ran into the
Federal Hall building where George Washington took his oath of office as the first president of the United States and saw reprints of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. I was surprised to learn that this
Federal Hall served as the seat of the U.S. Government and U.S. Treasury for a time.
In addition, I was surprised to see a Trump building right on 40 Wall Street - across from the famous
Tiffany Jewelry store.
Inna was interested in seeing the best
Tiffany store in the World, so she explored the beautiful diamonds and pearls. All of the items were quite delicate and refined, and I could see some wealthy banker purchasing some of these items for his wife.
After finishing with Wall Street, we decided to explore the famous Greenwich Village. We took the Metro and dug around, eventually finding our favorite
friend's apartment.
Getting hungry, we realized that the U.S. best-rated pizza restaurant was nearby. Although we already had enough pizza (from previous days), we stopped by
Keste Pizzeria.
We were surprised there was no line to enter the restaurant, so we quickly sat inside. Alex ordered the Margherita pizza; he said it was the best. Inna and I shared the classic Keste #1 (Tomato sauce, imported buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto di parma, arugula, pecorino grand cru, basil, extra virgin olive oil).
Both pizzas were fantastic, making
Keste the best pizza restaurant in the United States.
Later on, while exploring Greenwich Village, we ran into the
Big Gay Ice Cream Shop. Since it was highly rated on both Zagat and Yelp, we decided to stop by and give it a try. I ordered the famous Salty Pimp (soft-serve Vanilla ice cream with chocolate layer). Alex selected the Hot Fudge Sundae, which he enjoyed a lot. Inna had the soft cone of Rocky Roadhouse (rocky road), which was also quite delicious. While we liked the
Big Gay Ice Cream Shop, we thought Grom gelato was superior.
We also explored
Washington Square Park, which had a Triumphal Arch (similar to the one in Paris) and a well-lit Christmas tree.
However, it was getting dark, so we did not stay too long. I was surprised that a musician played piano in the dark, to the delight of all other onlookers.
After a lot of strolling around Greenwich Village, we got tired and returned to our hotel room to rest. Later in the evening, we saw a new Broadway performance of the musical
Cats on Broadway's Neil Simon Theater.
I had seen
Cats in Houston, Texas, in 1993 and wasn't very impressed. However, Inna had never seen it and was curious about this famous Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. I wrote a separate review of the show. Overall, I liked
Cats much better this time, and Inna thought the costumes and stage decorations were fantastic.
After the show, we had a late-night dinner at the
Russian Samovar restaurant near the Neil Simon Theater (where
Cats was playing). Inna and I ordered a couple of Russian favorites for our late-night dinner, including the famous Olivi'yea salad, Mushroom Vareniki, and Meat Bliny. We also ordered the famous Russian tea in glasses with lemon and jam/varenye. There was a lot of impromptu dancing and deafening Russian music (Fiddler, singer, guitar player). It seemed like an enjoyable place my Dad would have enjoyed.
Saturday, December 24, 2016
We got up relatively late and were outside the hotel at 10:30 a.m. We were ed from the day before and had a hdifficultytting up. A cold, heavy winter rain poured outside, and we picked up three umbrellas from the hotel lobby.
At first, we stopped by for breakfast at
Demarco Coffee. I ordered a croissant with egg and cheese. Inna and Alex ordered a croissant with ham and cheese. I also ordered a mocha for me, a latte for Inna, and a hot chocolate for Alex with some small dessert.
Since it was raining, we postponed the trip to Brighton Beach in favor of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met). I was misinformed about Met's closing time. Usually, on Saturday, the Met Museum closes at 9:00 p.m. However, the Museum closed at 4:45 p.m. because it was Christmas Eve.
When we arrived at the
Museum, there was a massive line at the main entrance. However, another way inside was possible, and we took it. It was much shorter, and we could quickly exchange our
New York City Pass tickets for the
Met's official tickets. We also purchased Met's Audio guides to help with the tour (though they did not prove illuminating as expected). Halfway through the tour, the audio guides' batteries died (and we had to return to have them replaced).
We enjoyed the
Met's immense collection, starting with Greek and Roman vases and statues, moving on to Oceania (New Guinea) artifacts, contemporary Art (including famous paintings by Pablo Picasso), Faberge's collection of eggs, and the classic French and Italian sculptures.
We were tired and hungry, then stopped by Met's
PetrCourt cafe for lunch. Inna and I ordered afternoon tea with tiny sandwiches, while Alex had a whole sandwich. The food was extremely overpriced and not exceptionally well-prepared. I would have skipped it next time.
After lunch (which took much longer than expected), we realized that we did not have much time left (after our Audio guide batteries needed to be replaced), and we focused on the Renaissance era European painters, such as Rembrandt.
The
Met has an extensive collection of
Caravaggio,
Rembrandt, and
Van Dyck; we enjoyed these paintings.
With the
Met museum closing at 4:45 p.m. (unusually early for Saturday), we returned to our Barclay hotel using the subway (train #5) and rested a bit. Inna had an idea to visit a bookstore, but most bookstores were closing early (due to Christmas Eve), so she decided to try another activity.
We decided to explore the nearby
Bryant Park and Ice Rink as they were mentioned as two of the highlights of things to do in New York City during Christmas. When we arrived (after a 15-minute walk from our hotel),
Bryant Park was overflowing with ice skaters. At first, we decided to try ice skating, but seeing the crowds and the high rental cost ($20), we decided to skip it and just walk around, exploring all the cutesy shops.
Facebook had a large tent set up, offering free
Virtual Reality demonstrations. At first, we stood in a line to try our
V.R. (the line did not seem very long) but eventually decided that the demo would take too long.
Eventually, we got a bit hungry and decided to eat Sushi at the Yelp-rated
Inakaya Japanese restaurant. We ordered the 5-course Edo tasting menu. We started with Seaweed Salad, followed by three kinds of Sashimi: grilled Yellowtail tuna fillet and roasted duck slices, Miso soup, 7 pieces of Sushi arranged by the Chef, and green tea ice cream. The Sushi was delicious but overly expensive. There was nothing particularly outstanding about Inakaya. Our previous Japanese restaurant -
Sakagura - was superior (and cheaper).
After dinner, we explored
Times Square. Many street performers did stunts, and we enjoyed watching some of them.
Sunday, December 25, 2016
In the morning, we stopped by for breakfast at
Demarco Coffee. We were unsure whether it would be open on Christmas Day, but thankfully, it was (as the other breakfast spots were quite a bit more expensive).
Like the day before, I ordered a croissant with egg and cheese. Inna and Alex ordered a croissant with ham and cheese. We had a mocha and latte to drink and enjoyed our quick breakfast.
From here, we decided to see New York's giant Menorah in the Southeast corner of City Park. We walked down 5th Avenue with all the glitzy, trendy, high-end shops, including
Tiffany,
Bergdorf Goodman, Gucci, and many others. Some of the window displays were quite fancy and marvelous. We even found Trump Tower on 5th Avenue, surrounded by police.
The giant Menorah did not impress us at all. It was large but rather ugly. We could not believe our eyes. We would like a better-looking and more impressive Menorah. Is this really the best we can do?
Since the famous Fairmont
Plaza Hotel was nearby, we decided to explore it. The
Plaza is a fancy hotel where many favorite movies were previously filmed. It's also renowned for being one of New York City's top spots to get married.
When we entered the
Plaza Hotel, we saw many very fashionably dressed men and women enjoying the Christmas buffet. They were all smartly dressed in suits and expensive dresses.
After taking a few photos, we continued to
Central Park, exploring the
Wollman Ice Skating rink nearby. It was filled with ice skaters. However, the line to skate was long, so we decided to skip ice skating this time. We did enjoy strolling through "The Mall" - a straight, tree-lined corridor with statues of famous writers. We also saw a wonderful statue of
Alice in Wonderland and took some photos of it.
We explored Manhattan's Lower Eastside for lunch and settled on
Katz's Delicatessen. Because of the Christmas holiday,
Katz was one of the few open Jewish delis, and the restaurant was mobbed with people.
We had to wait in a long line to order sandwiches and in a separate line to order a burger for Alex. I ordered a matzo ball soup and a Katz's Pastrami Hot sandwich to share with Inna.
The Matzo Ball soup was quite delicious (much better than the one in Ess-e-Bagel), but I did not get much enjoyment out of it, as the restaurant was mobbed with people.
The wait time to order was very long, and getting a table was also problematic. Inna did manage to find a table after 30 minutes.
Katz's Pastrami Hot Sandwich was expensive (at $19.95) and very plain. It came on some basic bread, but there were no vegetables on it (I was expecting at least some lettuce and tomatoes). Alex's cheeseburger was a junior version and not exactly as I ordered. The people working the grill did not speak adequate English, and it was hard to understand what they were saying. The whole dining experience turned me off at Katz's Deli, and I don't see myself eating there again. This is the famous restaurant where Sally showed how much she enjoyed her sandwich in "
When Harry Met Sally."
Katz employs a bizarre food ordering system that I have never seen anywhere. You wait in a sandwich ordering line with a ticket when ordering sandwiches. A Katz employee makes your sandwich and marks many numbers on your ticket. You have no idea what these numbers mean, and you cannot leave the Deli without showing your ticket to the cashier. If you want to order a burger (or something on the grill), you must wait in a separate line for that item. God forbid if you lose your ticket!
Later in the day, we saw
The Illusionists at Palace Theater on Broadway. It was a magic show based on the famous acts of magicians (Houdini) of the early 20th Century and was fun to watch. Some acts were impressive, like the floating woman, the floating ball, and the example below of a man lying on two nails.
After the show, we looked for dinner restaurants, but all were closed due to the Christmas Holiday. We wanted to eat at the famous
Wolf and Lamb Steakhouse that our Chabad rabbi recommended. Still, the restaurant would not take any additional patrons when we arrived (The Illusionist's show finished at 9:30 p.m.). Alex ended up eating a burger from a street food vendor, as we could not find any other open restaurants.
Monday, December 26, 2016
In the morning, we stopped by for breakfast at
Demarco Coffee. We had our usual breakfast croissants and coffee for breakfast. I also tried a raspberry muffin, and it was delicious.
Inna and I discussed where to go next. We thought about going to
Chelsea Market but did not know if spending the rest of the day there was worth it. Instead, we returned to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art for a second helping.
Since our Metro cards expired, we had to buy three temporary cards for $3.00 each. Once we arrived at the 77th Street exit, we walked quickly to the
Met Museum. We dropped off our coats, and I purchased tickets at the electronic kiosk.
We ended up exploring a couple of different sections of the Museum, including European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (visiting famous European Hotel Rooms),
The American Wing (with famous Tiffany pieces), Arms & Armor (from Europe, Iran, and Japan).
After finishing with the 1st floor and getting a small snack, we moved to the 2nd floor, focusing on 19th and 20th-century European Paintings (mostly Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Degas, and Renoir). We especially liked the paintings by Van Gogh and Renoir.
At around 3:00 p.m., we were tired from all the walking and decided to get lunch at the nearby Grazie Italian restaurant. I had a sandwich on Focaccia bread, while Alex had a personal Margherita pizza.
Since I got a message from JetBlue that my return flight to Oakland was delayed by one hour, we decided to get dessert at the highly-rated
Cafe Sabarsky. This Cafe is part of the
Neue Gallery, which features Austrian Art focusing on Gustav Klimt.
Cafe Sabarsky had some of the best-looking cakes since our trip to Vienna, Austria, and we ordered a couple to try. I ordered the apfelstrudel, which Inna loved, but I thought I was too dry. The Himbeer (Raspberry, yogurt, poppyseed cake) was simply divine. With fresh raspberries, it was close to the quality of Demel in Vienna, Austria. We also enjoyed delicious Kaiser Melange (coffee with whipped cream). We must return to
Cafe Sabarsky at the
Met or Upper East Side next time.
Finishing dessert, we strolled back on 5th Avenue, past the large Temple Emanu-El synagogue, toward the upmarket shops. As it was past Christmas, all the shops were open. We stopped by Bergdorf Goodman, marveling again at the beautiful window displays, before returning to our
Intercontinental Barclay Hotel.
We ordered
UberX initially to take us to JFK airport, but the driver seemed unable to come. I eventually canceled
UberX and took the cab, using a fixed $52.00 fare to JFK.
JFK Terminal 5 is much better than San Jose's new airport, with many reasonably priced food stalls, iPads, and charging stations.
Our JetBlue flight to Oakland was delayed almost two hours, so instead of departing at 8:20 p.m., we left at 10:15 p.m., landing in Oakland at 2:00 a.m. PST. The flight was uneventful, and we liked JetBlue's free chips.
We ordered an UberX to take us home. The pricing in the early morning kept creeping up, but our driver drove quickly, and we were home by 3:10 a.m.
We had a fantastic but very tiring New York City trip. New York is undoubtedly one of the greatest cities in the World!
NYC Trip Report Card
Positives
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the best Art Museum in the United States.
- Broadway Musicals are significantly better in singing, dancing, and stage work quality than touring companies. It's definitely preferable to see a musical on Broadway.
- The Frick Collection is a fantastic, small museum.
- The American Museum of Natural History is quite extensive and very illuminating, with delightful exhibits, dinosaur skeletons, and a large Planetarium
- New York has so many outstanding restaurants that it's challenging to make a wrong choice. On this trip, our favorite restaurants included the following:
- Keste Pizzeria - for the best pizza
- Cafe Sabarsky - for the best Viennese-style cakes and Viennese coffee drinks
- Eataly - for Italian pizza, gelato, and pastries
- Casa Lever - for Milanese dishes and high-end atmosphere
- Sakagura - for delicious, authentic Japanese Sushi
- Grom - for the best Italian gelato with unique local flavors
- Avra Estiatorio - for delicious Greek delicacies
- N.Y. City Pass was beneficial and saved us a lot of money and time
- Central Park is huge and a delight to explore
- Christmas window displays at Saks 5th Avenue, Lord & Taylor, and Bergdorf Goodman are fabulous
Negatives
- The Guggenheim Museum is highly overrated. The building is lovely, but its collection of paintings is paltry.
- Ess-a-Bagel is highly overrated (Matzo Ball soup is terrible, the waiting time can be very long)
- Katz's Delicatessen in Lower Eastside is highly overrated. The dining experience is horrible.
- Petrie Court cafe in the Metropolitan Museum is expensive, with mediocre food and slow service.
- Times Square can be jammed at any time of the day. It's just too crowded.
