The Write Ingredients

There's nothing like eating in New York City.

Yep, I went traveling again. This time I headed east, following Husband to NYC for a business meeting. We only went for a few days, but that's still plenty of time to eat, drink and walk throughout the town. There are over 000000 restaurants in New York City, and everyone I know had a recommendation of a place WE HAD to try. Which is tough, because really, there are only three meals in a day. Unless of course, you eat lunch twice, which I found myself doing on my third day.

But first, we had to get there, cab it in from JFK and wait in a slower-than-molasses check in line with the Princess Cruise Lines guests. Their shuttle bus pulled up just moments before our cab, and we were paying the price. Eventually we were able to check our bags (For $3 a pop) and wander the four blocks toward Central Park. But first we had to stop for lunch. We wandered a bit and found a lively place just two blocks south of the park called Rue 57. Once seated, I felt very crowded (I would learn that space in New York is tight, so tables are tight, as our bathrooms, and in general, personal space.) At least we had one wall, so we weren't floating in an island of diners.

I had been craving tuna. and not the stuff from a can. So we started with the tuna tartare. It was just what I was looking for. There was the subtle hint of wasabi and a mild sweetness neither of us could identify. I chose the beet salad for my entree, which is not my usual thing, but when it arrived in front of the woman next to me (and I mean right next to me) I knew I had no ohter choice. The beets were thinly sliced and arranged flat on the plat. And there were grilled pears and toasted goat cheese surrounding a nice clump of frisee. The beets were sweet and full of flavor, and the goat cheese, while it would take a miracle to ruin goat cheese. And the wine. Strange, but our waiter was from South St. Paul. He recommended a wine from Connecticut, and I chuckled, saying, "If we can make wine in Minnesota, they can make wine in Connecticut." He laughed back and asked where in Minnesota they make wine. He's obviously been gone awhile, what with all the vineyards in the area and put out remarkably good wine. As was the one from Connecticut. I'll promise to find the name of it, somewhere. And sorry there are no photos, but we were squished and sometimes its just hard to whip out the camera and tell your place to "Smile!"

I've been to New York twice, and both times spent time in Central Park. Husband had only been there on business and has rarely left Midtown. After our lovely and lively lunch, we headed north and wandered the wild hills of Manhattan. There were families and people everywhere, and to me, I think it would be weird to have to pack up the family to step foot on some grass. I live in South Minneapolis, but I'm just feet from the parkway and the river and an endless field of grass and trees. We wound our way by the zoo and found ourselves at the Metropolitan Museum.
They don't allow food in the galleries, so there's little to report there. But after the museum, we grabbed an ice cream treat from a street car and wandered our way back south through the park.
We stopped and watched the remote control boats and a small boy hit each ball his mother/nanny threw to him. Nicely done.

Later that night, sushi and an Irish pub.