Friday, April 2, 2010

NYC (Part 5) - Food, Friends and I'll have what she's having

The array of food in NYC is amazing. We didn't eat fancy, as we had blown our budget on show tickets, but it was all delicious! I cook a lot at home, so it just makes me happy to have someone else cook for me. Plus, I love the diners and the fact that you can get anything off this huge menu at anytime day or night just puts a smile on my face. I'm not a food snob. I like what I like and I don't care. We ate at a little deli across the street from our hotel and I got a Greek salad and a glass of wine at midnight. Happy! Belle had cheesecake for breakfast one day. Vacation rocks. Giant Belgian Waffle Greek Omelette - spinach and feta, my fave One afternoon, we met up with a friend of mine who lives in Brooklyn. John was kind enough to come over and meet us. John and I have been internet friends thru the Isla Mujeres boards for many years and have missed each other by a day or two on the island, so it was really fun to finally meet him in person! Two other Isla board friends who live in Connecticut were unable to meet up with us. Ann was busy and JoAnne had broken her foot. It would have been fun to get us all together. John and me in front of Katz's Deli John met up with us at a bar called 'Lucky Jack's' and had a drink, then headed over to Katz's Deli. Katz's touts itself as New Yorks Oldest (since 1888!) and best deli and it's on Houston street, which they pronounce 'HOW-sten', the silly Yanks. Silly or not, these guys know how to make a sandwich! First, the proper protocol: When you walk into Katz's you are handed a ticket. Then you order food, drinks, etc at different counters and they add it to your ticket. DON'T LOSE YOUR TICKET!! If you do, it's a $50 charge to get out! Even if you don't order or pay, keep the blank ticket. Thankfully, John warned us about this. So we went in and split up. John ordered sandwiches, Pam got the fries, Belle and I were sent on beer duty. Laura got a table. We sat right next to the table where Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal sat in the famous 'I'll have what she's having' scene in When Harry Met Sally. The sandwiches were amazing!! The meat was perfectly spiced, juicy and to die for. The pickles were outstanding and the fries were crispy perfection. A pitcher of cold beer to wash it down and great company made this lunch the best meal of our trip. Jerry Lewis is one of the many celebs who's picture graces the walls. the tickets! Dont' lose the tickets!!! Look! We still look like supermodels even after all that food After lunch, John took us on a walking tour through the East Village. He told us about the history of the area and we ended up at Washington Square Park. It was a beautiful day, not too cold. We hung out at Washington Square Park for a little bit and then John walked us to a subway station. He swiped us all through the turnstile with his card and directed us to the proper train, explaining to us what stop we needed to go to. What a great guy! This is Santos, who we met at a hot dog restaurant one night after theater. We had hot dogs and fresh papaya juice or mango juice and fries. $4.99. Santos explains the difference between men and women in this short video: Cindy was our waitress on our last night. We ate at a restaurant/bar across from our hotel. It was about midnight and there were a lot of drunk people, so it was pretty funny. We saw a guy with his fly unzipped and we saw two groups of guys getting bounced for fighting. We'd seen West Side Story that night, so we asked if they were the Sharks and the Jets. They actually laughed! Anyway, Cindy will now sing for you, she was adorable: Bye Bye, NYC! I love you and I'll see you again soon!!!

2 comments:

Ann said...

Hopefully the next time you come up, Jo & I will be able to meet you! The food choices in NYC are amazing--when we went in in Dec. we stopped at a small wine bar & had a great meal & it was very reasonable!

Anonymous said...

I have seen Katz's Deli on the Food Network and the Travel Channel. That sandwich and fires looked amazing!



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