1. An Uber driver picked me at 7:30 this morning and dropped me off at the Metro-North railway station in Tarrytown. I immediately bought a round trip ticket to Grand Central Terminal and back along with 25 bucks worth of rides on the MTA subway. I boarded an express train that only stopped once on the way to Grand Central and, as the train glided into Manhattan, I admired the serenity and breadth of the Hudson River.
Upon arriving at Grand Central, I went to the main concourse and made sure I remembered how to read the railroad system signs. It didn't take me long to remind myself that the Tarrytown train is on the Hudson Line and I made sure that I'd know, when I returned later in the day, which train I would be checking the times for.
I don't travel to Grand Central a lot, but when I do, I enjoy walking a short distance south on Lexington Ave. and stopping in at Zucker's for a cinnamon raisin bagel, not toasted, with a light smear of cream cheese and a medium cup of coffee with milk. It only took me a few seconds to figure out the logistics of their Zucker's ordering system (they have protective measures in place). I took my order out onto Lexington Ave., stood at a table, and began my day of enjoying the activity around me in NYC.
Soon, I hopped on a 4 train and headed to Lower Manhattan. I boarded an express train that overshot my destination, but it was no big deal. I got off the train at the Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall stop, emerged from underground, sat down for a few minutes, and with the help of google maps, I figured out my very simple walking route north and east to O'Hara's Irish Pub on Cedar St. near Trinity Place.
I was ahead of schedule as far as meeting Scott. Near O'Hara's is the one time nerve center of the Occupy Wall Street movement, Zuccotti Park. Today, things were considerably, immeasurably quieter than in September 2011 -- in fact, it was very mellow. A handful of us were seated around the park. A small knot of food trucks served people coffee, water, or an early lunch. I gazed up at the towering World Trade Center, watched bicyclists on pedal and e-bikes, pedaling deliveries, and marveled at how quiet and unrushed the world around me was.
2. Scott arrived in the park around 11:15. Because Ed and Mike and I had had an awesome time at O'Hara's Irish Pub back in March 2017, I will forever consider it mandatory to pay O'Hara's a visit, if at all possible, any time I'm in Manhattan.
O'Hara's is a homey, welcoming, bar with a distinctly small town vibe (country music was on the juke box!). Scott and I bellied up to the bar and I ordered the only beer I've ever drunk at O'Hara's, a Dirt Wolf 2IPA from Victory Brewing. When I've drunk IPAs since arriving in New York, they've been mostly hazy New England IPAs. Dirt Wolf is much more of a western IPA, much more similar to the beers I used to drink in Oregon. I really enjoyed its resinous and piney flavors and its bitter finish. It was a fun change from the more juicy hazy IPAs and Scott and I agreed that yakkin' over a Dirt Wolf in O'Hara's was about as awesome of a start to a day as we could imagine.
Once we finished out beer, we hopped on a subway to Brooklyn. I wanted to introduce Scott to the local chain of restaurants called X'ian Famous Foods and their very tasty western Chinese cuisine. I don't know anywhere else to go to eat this kind of Chinese food. I had been to the X'ian near the Museum of Modern Art a couple of years ago and, because I wanted to spend time in Brooklyn, I recommended to Scott that we eat at their location on Willoughby Street. The food today was every bit as flavorful and awesome as I remembered. We shared a bowl of spicy cumin lamb hand-ripped noodles, a X'ian burger (was it spicy beef?) prepared between two pieces of a kind of flatbread that was terrific, and an order of spicy and sour lamb dumplings -- heavenly.
3. I recommended to Scott that we go to Brooklyn because I wanted to return to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. I was last on the promenade in 2012 and I wanted to see the new skyline across the East River that now included the World Trade Center and I wanted to gaze at the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and at watercraft, like jet skis and water taxis, darting on the water. I also enjoy how relaxed the other people are who are strolling, sitting on benches, and enjoying this remarkable spot.
After this peaceful time at the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, we hopped on a subway and headed to Greenwich Village and managed to secure a table outside at the very busy Blind Tiger pub. We each ordered a Company Lunch IPA from Maine Brewing, my first ever Maine Brewing beer. We both agreed that it was nice drinking an IPA that wasn't exploding with bombs of flavor, but that was balanced, easy to drink, refreshing, and rock solid.
Once we finished our beer, we weren't quite finished yet. To my utter delight, we strolled from the Blind Tiger to the mellow scene at Washington Square. On our way to Washington Square, I was struck by the number of young people serenely riding bicycles, gliding on scooters, and enjoying their skateboards. Some buskers were out performing music in the Village and Washington Square itself was replete with good vibes and people taking it easy, enjoying the cooler weather, and the serene social scene.
I guess, to me, the general mellowness everywhere we went kind of tied the day together. So much about New York City is ordinary -- everyday people walking dogs, buzzing around on bicycles, riding scooters, sitting in parks with take out food, enjoying a bagel at Zuker's, getting from one place to another on the train, enjoying western Chinese food in X'ian courtyard, strolling, yakking, and relaxing on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. Yes, I'd like to return to NYC and visit museums and galleries, possibly hear some live music, go to the theater, and visit historical sites -- but, I really enjoy just hanging out in NYC -- sitting in a bar or two, walking from place to place, being in parks, eating some casual food, having great conversation with a longtime friend, just doing ordinary things in a city filled, like every city, with ordinary people.
I caught an express train to Tarrytown. I hired an Uber ride back to the Langford's. Josh had been to the beer store and purchased a peerless variety of beers. I drank my last Kolsch from Salem and drank very short pours of a stunning coconut, cinnamon, coffee stout, a saison, and a tripel. I was wise in keeping my pours small. I slept well afterward, was not revisited by remnants of beer in my system through the night, and felt good when I woke up.
No comments:
Post a Comment