NYC - Part III

Day 3 in NYC.

Since we hoped to leave in the early afternoon, we used this day to get a couple of letterboxes in the Riverside Park area and we wanted to eat lunch at a place I found on the Internet - Strictly Roots. Strictly Roots is at 2058 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd (aka 7th Ave) between 122nd and 123rd.

Okay, after the disappointment that was Vegetarian Dim Sum House (I am beginning to wonder if all the Americanized Chinese takeout I have eaten over the years has corrupted my palate and I am just unable to enjoy true Chinese food. After all, this place is raved about so much - did we hit it on a bad day or do I just not know good food when I eat it?), Jen and I needed some good food. We needed to hit a place that would feed us, feed our souls and minds. And boy, did we find it. This place has some mad, cheap grub that will stick to your ribs. The food is served cafeteria style but they also have fresh, made to order items on their menu. We stuck to the heating trays and just pointed up our lunches. Each item is priced differently, by serving. Jen asked for the plantains and the tempura tofu which were each $1. Yeah. $1 per serving. She got a juice and was all set for $4. Her plate:

A close up of the plantains:


Man, these were good. I was picking the caramelized sugar out of my teeth all the way to the Delaware Water Gap.
I ordered the collard greens, the red beans, and the mac and cheese. With a juice, my total came to $10. Even though we shared each others food, we still couldn't eat it all.

The collards:

I loved these. Jen thought they tasted overcooked and from a can but I know better. My mama is from Alabama :-) These were delish.
The mac and cheese:

This was good. Day-um good. We ate all of this. It was creamy, cheesy and pure comfort food. I would go back just for this.
The beans were okay, but with plates full of stand out food, they suffered by comparison. They had some baked goods but we passed on those because of the amount of food we ordered.
The Strictly Roots mural:

Yeah, get thee to this place :-) But avoid the bathroom - yeesh. That's all I am going to say about *that*.

One last thing - per my previous post.....do you have any idea how hard it is to letterbox in a city that people can't wait to help you out? Walking around with papers in hand, looking confused guaranteed someone stopping to offer directions. We had a person pull over in their car while we were at the Cloisters! So, in our best helpful tradition and to try to keep the NY nasty reputation alive, I offer you this:

This is Jen, trying to discreetly rehide a box in the Riverside Park area. Miss White Shirt and Black Purse is lost and is supposed to meet someone here. She decides, of all the helpful and nice NYers around, to hit us up continually for advise and directions. Us! The only people around who don't want to strike up conversations with complete strangers, who could care less if someone is lost, who don't want to talk to ANYONE. We are only concerned with getting the box, stamping in, rehiding, with no one else around the wiser. She came up to me 3 times - 3 TIMES - with inquiries about the location, the time, can she borrow my phone, blah, blah, blah. I am proud to say that I did my best to brush her off and turn her away. It is sad when a couple of folks from Syracuse pretty much display the only "typical' NY behavior :-)

Edited to Add: Strictly Roots menu

NYC - Part II

Sunday - Day 2



Three things I have decided about NY.

1) No one sweats in that city. Seriously. We would head out and by the time we got the subway station on Broadway, the sweat would be pouring down my neck and my hair would be soaked. People were just strolling around me, cool as a cucumber. WTF?? I spent most the time looking like a drowned rat. One benefit was that I sweated so much my need for public bathrooms was practically nil.



2) People are way, way too nice in NYC. We practically got a private tour in one of the museums we visited. Every time we even as much as slightly paused on the sidewalk, someone would ask us if we needed directions. Once, just slowing down in front of the steps in a subway station, I asked Jen if we were heading up or down town. Two old men were right there asking where we were heading. Once, walking down a street in Harlem, we asked one man for directions and the three of us were interrupted by another woman chiming in with her version of the directions. Where is the cynical, push-you-aside-to-get-where-I-need-to-go New Yorker?



3)Every single freaking male subway employee is African-American, Hispanic or some other non-Caucasian demographic and is absolutely drop dead GORGEOUS. Is is a job requirement? Ladies, I am telling you, we saw some FINE men working those trains and they knew it too. They knew we were checking them out and were all about making eye contact and smiling.



Sunday, our plan was to hit a couple of 'living' museums, you know, the type where they have restored private homes to a certain historical era. We had a few letterboxes we wanted to get and we were going to hit Vegetarian Dim Sum House in Chinatown and an art place.



First up, the Morris Jumal Home. We thought it was closed because it was locked up. We finally were let in with a scolding from the employee because we wandered from door to door and she couldn't find us. Now, she was a good old-time brusque New York public servant :-) The Morris Jumal House:



Jen acting as Henry the Navigator



She did an awesome job. Usually when I travel with the husb, I have to do all the navigation so it was a treat to relax and be told where to go. It was also a delight to travel with someone who shares my delight in public transportation and living museums :-)



I don't know what I was thinking but I took no pictures of the Merchant's House Museum. The Morris Jumal House was fine but if you like this kind of stuff, the Merchant's House Museum is a must see stop in NY. This place is great.



I was very excited to go to Vegetarian Dim Sum House in Chinatown because I heard so much good about it. Maybe it was an off day but I wasn't really impressed and I don't think Jen was either. All the fried food had a tired, identical taste as if the it was all fried in the same old oil. Jen did like her fresh kiwi juice:



We ordered sweet and salty dumplings, which were stuffed with vegetables and decent tasting:


Spinach dumplings. I actually liked these but I don't think Jen cared for them.


Steamed 'pork' buns. Blah.


Fried turnip cakes. Blah.

Sorry about the quality of pictures - I tried taking these without a flash as to not disturb the other diners.

After eating, we hit Pearl Art Store on Canal Street. You could tell it was back to school time because there were tons of students wandering around clutching their supply lists. The store was awesome and Jen was positively orgasmic, wandering around, looking at all the handmade paper. I actually think she might have moaned once or twice out loud LOL. The paper was beautiful and very reasonably priced. I picked up two sheets to use to make books.


We found two letterboxes this day, one up by the Cloisters and one, Halloween Adventure, which ranks right up there in my fave five boxes ever. We had a blast with this box. Location was great, clues were great, it was just awesome. I would definitely recommend this box to anyone heading to NYC.

New York, New York.....

a helluva town
The Bronx is up but the Battery's down ***

The stay-at-home orders were trumped by parental duties. Saturday, 5:30 am, I hopped in the Prius (gas prices, y'all) (51.2 mpg down, 49.1 mpg back) and tooled on down the highway to attend to one of the youngsters.

Easy drive down for the most part until I missed the Lincoln Tunnel exit. How? I never have before. I was truly and honestly lost in New Joisey. Yikes. I started following signs to the Holland Tunnel (get me out of the industrial wasteland and back to sweet civilization!) and resigned myself to driving up to midtown on the westside highway. When, lo and behold (seriously, it happened like a revelation minus the angel singing) I spotted a very, very small sign for the Lincoln Tunnel. I followed them all the way through some part of New Jersey right to the tunnel and it was backed up. Seriously, backed up like I have never seen it before. I was stopped in traffic way, way back from even when the curve begins. It took me almost an hour to get through.

Then I am through and right smack dab on 42nd and NOT 34th. So I do one of those little rectangular drive arounds trying to get where I need to be and 9th Ave is closed off for some dadblamed street fest.

I have never had such trouble getting to 31st. I did make it though and we loaded up the prius with stuff for a storage unit. Where did the offspring get her storage unit? Way, way up in the 260's. I don't even know the exact street. I thought we were back in New Jersey.

We unloaded her stuff and headed back. We couldn't manage to manuever to the Henry Hudson so we stayed on Broadway and it was a cool straight easy shot down. Until we hit the 50's and then it was stop and go, bumper to bumper and took 40 minutes to go the 30 blocks.

At this point, we park the prius (for $20 in a lot. #1 there were no, and I mean no, spots around. #2 husb would have had a hissy fit if he knew his prius was parked on the street) and picked up the roommate. We didn't get vegan dim sum but walked to 23rd and 6th to Burritoville and I treated the girls to dinner. I got a vegetarian chorizo burrito with black beans, brown rice, vegan cheese and sour cream in it. That puppy was huge and I inhaled it. Very delicious. I drove all the way back that night with my jeans unbuttoned.

After dinner, we put all the youngster's dirty laundry in the prius and headed north back home. We arrived home and I was in bed by 11 pm. Exhausted. I have already taken two naps today. All I kept thinking about was those people I know who have kids in their late 30's and early 40's. Those suckers are going to have to do all this college moving shit in their 60's!!! Points to me for having my kids in my 20's :-)

Mad props to me though......in a couple of weeks, I get to do it all over again. We will load up the Element this time - gas mileage be damned - and I get to move her into her very own apartment (lease signed and paid by us). This trip though, I will actually stay a couple of days to get her all settled and drive her crazy :-)


***extra points for anyone who knows where this is from (nothing to award you but I can give imaginary 'points'!)
5/21 - Edited to add: Ooooooh, we have a somewhat, kinda, contender here, folks. 3 sailors dancing - one was Gene Kelly, one was Francis Albert Sinatra and the last was Jules Munshin, all on 24 hour leave in NYC.