NYC Day 3

This was a day of Coulda-Shoulda's.

Shoulda woken up early. But I slept in, until about 1100. Perhaps I shoulda gone to the Met yesterday and done the ferry today, as the weather was once again beautiful.

First I went over to Ground Zero. Didn't feel much. Infact, I felt rather empty. Almost like I didn't want to be engaged in the whole morass of suffering. Thought of all the shoulda's that led up to 9/11.

Went over to Delancy Street. Ate some wonderful coq au vin at Cafe Charbon on Orchard Street, while I wrote postcards. I coulda taken the Tenement Museum tour, if I had gotten there early enough to buy tickets before they were all booked up.

Over to the Empire State Building. Like the Tenement Museum, I shoulda gone much earlier. Must say that it isn't nearly as impressive from the ground, during the day. The outside line didn't look too bad, so I joined the queue. Once inside, I saw that it was going to be a mistake. The line took us up some stairs to the second floor, where is curved and curled around like the line for a Magic Mountain rollercoaster ride ... or the security line at LAX. We were told that the expected waiting time was 2 hours, however, for just a little over twice the price, we could skip to the head of the line, etc etc. At which point I decided that there were other things that would better occupy my time, and I left.

(I did not take this photo, although I wish I had) Went over to the Guggenheim. Again, not a fan of the art particular to this museum, but it was open late this evening, and I was excited about the spiral walk
down. Shoulda checked out the website more carefuly. Turns out I was doomed to disappointment again. They were getting ready for a retrospective on Spanish art, and all but two side exhibits were closed. The
Lucio Fontana was, well disappointing. And the Kadinsky Gallery was even worse. A good thing that the ticket was only 1/3rd of the normal price. However, I was able to look out over the atrium on both floors, and get a feel for the museum. Then I went down to the atrium, had a seat, and poured over my AAA book looking for a good Italian restaurant in which to dine. Decided to fill my tummy at
Patsy's Italian Restaurant. Mostly because they advertised good risottos, but also because it would be easy to get to and leave from.


When I got to Patsy’s (a name which would make one think Irish intead of Italian), I was promptly seated, it being too early for the after-theatre diners. My waiter was a charming, rugged, transplanted pear tree. When I proved myself at being able to pronounce my order with a proper accent (or at least, being able to give the correct pronunciation), he responded with a torrent of that beautiful language, of which I caught maybe every other word. He sent over some bruschetta (brus-ket'-ta, not bru-shet'-ta) on the house, and frequently checked back to see that I was enjoying everything, which I was. I ended up deciding against the seafood risotto special. Portobello mushrooms marinated in a lovely aged-balsamic vinegar sauce, with spring greens to temper the sweetness of the vinegar with a little bitterness. Filet mignon, medium-rare, with caramelized onions and a white sauce flavored with truffle oil; with the most delicious garlic mashed potates on the side. Yes, by the end, I was full and sated. Alessandro tried to tempt me to stay with dessert, even una grappa (?) on the house, but I knew it was time to go, and bittersweetly bid goodnight to my handsome cameriere.

I will add a little note and say that I am not adverse to dining in a restaurant by myself. Happens all the time when I'm travelling solo ... mostly because I'm jut not social enough to meet and dine people while I'm on the go. However, I would always choose to eat with other people ... if only to have more dishes to sample from. I adore eating family-style. The Korean side of my family had numerous get-togethers as I was growing up. Lots of family-style dinners at Korean and Chinese restaurants where I would get to sample 10+ dishes at a single seating. Must say that I miss it.

Anyway, dinner was a wonderful way to say goodnight to a rather ho-hum day. I caught the train back to Monkster's and collapsed into bed.