I was extremely fortunate that be able to spend an afternoon during the holidays hanging in Manhattan with my old pal Dave (mentioned occasionally on this blog). We wandered, we ate, we talked. Most excellent.
I’m from L.A. originally; Dave is from the Bay Area, but now lives in the Valley. I’ve been on the East Coast for 17 years, and have always gotten up into Manhattan a few times a year. Most of my time there was spent in the company of Higgins. It’s definitely odd to be in town and know I can’t call him up and get together. I last saw John in September when I was up on a business trip; I posted these photos. Last January, I took these photos with a keychain camera.
Anyway, enough morbid reminiscing, let’s tour the city!
Is there another city in America where you can happen upon outfits like these? Perfect for those new belly dancing classes you signed up for. But the really great part is the little sign in the corner of the window.
Hope springs eternal.
Dave wanted deli, so the obvious thing to do was head down to the Lower East Side to Katz’s Delicatessen. It’s been around for almost 120 years, but it’s the meat you’ve got to respect. Yeah, if you’ve heard of Katz’s, it because of that scene in When Harry Met Sally…, but there are better reasons to go. Such as the pastrami, which was melt-in-your-mouth good. We got the platter, with brisket, corned beef and pastrami. I also got a chocolate egg cream. Good stuff. Then, I mentioned getting a black and white cookie. I remembered that Higgins said the best in town were at Rocco’s on Bleeker in the Village. I Googled for the address and found it in a comment by Higgins about Rocco’s and its cookies. He spoke to us from beyond the grave through my BlackBerry. Fitting.
The black and white was really good. As we walked up the street, we passed Bleeker Street Pizza, which had all these signs out front claiming that they had been proclaimed the best pizza in New York, or the best thin crust pizza in New York. We couldn’t resist and got a slice. It was amazingly good, with a very delicate thin crust.
Tags: photos, New York City, Katz’s Delicatessen, Rocco’s, black and white cookie, Bleeker Street Pizza