Tocqueville had been a tricky one to confirm, but I’d been impressed by the menu and was looking forward to a good dinner to round out my trip. I had heard good things about the sea urchin angel hair carbonara, but was also tempted to give the chef free reign and create a tasting menu. I figured “don’t ask, don’t…
Tag: NYC
NYC – Day 10, Part 2, Ice Time
To finish off 2013 with a bit of activity, I wandered up to Midtown to skate at Bryant Park Winter Village. It’s actually really beautiful. The park is taken over by the rink, but there are also wooden shops with crafty goods in typical Christmas-market style. And a giant Christmas tree. Obviously. The great thing about this rink is that…
NYC – Day 10, Part 1, True Colours (Bleeding Blue)
Revisiting Clinton St Baking Company to fill up on pancakes and hash browns seemed like the best plan today, seeing as dinner would not be until after 9pm and I didn’t want to rely on arena food in the mid-afternoon. The chocolate pancakes were as good as I remembered, and I was glad to bid farewell to this lovely café.…
NYC – Day 9, Part 2, DUMBO
Once I got to the Brooklyn Bridge, the elbows came out and I felt like I was back in London. On Oxford Street. During Christmas shopping period. URGH. Whilst I was trying to be polite and considerate, standing out of the way to avoid large groups whilst taking my photos, trying hard not to just stop walking suddenly whilst in…
NYC – Day 9, Part 1, Fitting In
Today was a fairly free day, so I thought I’d mooch around such that I ended up in DUMBO for around 2.30pm, have a cup of coffee and then take some pictures of the bridges and the Manhattan skyline over sunset and the blue hour. Great idea, except it was freezing. Literally. Not one to be deterred (ha!) I mooched…
NYC – Day 8, Pie Pie Pie Pie Pie
The theme of the day is pizza. Down in the Lower East Side on Grand, there is a pizza school Pizza a Casa which teaches 10 people at a time to make dough using ordinary ingredients (none of your “must have 00 flour” brigade here) in ordinary home ovens. I realised that ordinary in the US is slightly less hot…
NYC – Day 7 Part 2, Opinions on Hype
Another snap decision on the train on the way home, and I jumped out at 8th St/NYU to walk back via Ippudo. I was fully expecting to put my name down for a couple of hours later, and go home in the meantime, but was told 15-20 minutes so I waited. It’s very very hyped, so it had a lot…
NYC – Day 7 Part 1, Beautiful Brooklyn
The plan sort of went out of the window today. I had decided on a Brooklyn brunch, a walk across Prospect Park, then the G train to Queens to visit MoMA PS1. It started out well, I took the 4 train aiming for Grand Army Plaza, but the first one to arrive was an Express so I got off at…
NYC – Day 6 Part 3, An English Girl in an American Audience
The play was excellent, although a matinee performance might be more appropriate. Then you could spend the rest of the afternoon in the pub with a few scotches pondering then experiencing the fragility and unreliability of memory. It’s a familiar subject, and well suited to long hours of contemplation. The life in limbo, no certainty about either what has gone…
NYC – Day 6 Part 2, The Remains of the Day
Between the Rushing this morning and the play this evening, there was a significant gap which looked like a challenge. I crammed in as many miles as I could. First stop: the High Line. Whilst it’s probably not at its best in December, I like the idea of this elevated railway-turned-park. The views at certain points are spectacular, and the…