Miraculously managed to make it into JFK airport yesterday before the big NYC snowstorm shut everything down. Actually it turned out to be not as bad as originally forecast — more like three inches, rather than six — but the storm still really screwed up air travel yesterday; and as I'm just in town until Sunday for my dad's 70th birthday celebration, I'm thankful that I get to spend my weekend stomping around in the Manhattan slush rather than pacing agitatedly at LAX.
There was a time when I'd arrive in Manhattan with a checklist of all the people I wanted to see, all the places I wanted to eat, all museum exhibits and record and book stores I wanted to hit, etc. But limited to a three-days on a whirlwind visit like this one, I just didn't feel up for trying to cover every inch of the island. (Maybe I'm just too California mellow these days; I don't know. Or there's that annoying "getting older" thing...)
I did manage to grab lunch with my Mom at the always excellent Bar Pitti, dinner with my pals Tom, Maria and Rebecca at Craftbar — the "spicy fish stew" wasn't actually very spicy, but it was delicious — and couple of slices at the highly-touted Bleeker Street Pizza. (The crust was ultimately too thin and crunchy for my taste, but it definitely hit the spot.) And I tramped through Central Park (above) and made it over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's newly remodeled Greek and Roman wing, which was fantastic; they have numerous artifacts and pieces I hadn't seen before, including a couple of restored bedrooms from Roman villas. I learned something new from it, too: Apparently, the Romans believed that the farthest reaches of Africa were ruled by pygmy tribes who — in the curator's words — "engaged in epic battles with cranes". Here's part of a 3rd century C.E. mosaic panel inspired by this legend:
Man, screw 300 — THIS is the swords n' sandals movie I wanna see!
At first I was jealous you made it to the Met to see that exhibit. Then I remembered that the final challenge on "Project Runway" showed it off.
TV is sooo educational...
Posted by: Sarah Parker | February 24, 2008 at 01:57 PM
What, no Knish? I remember a time when you begged me to overnight the Shimmel treats!
Still lovin' you...
g
Posted by: Gary Poole | February 25, 2008 at 09:44 AM
Ah yes, the wondrous Yona Shimmel's... I gazed longingly at their front door as I passed in a cab, but that was as close as I got to Knish Heaven.
Posted by: Dan E | February 25, 2008 at 10:47 AM