NYC - from Pastrami to Foie Gras

This article by Mimi Sheraton in the New York Times a week or so back is a great descripton of what we (similarly) spent much of our time doing on a recent visit to this, one of the greatest of all cities (and only a few hours away from God's Country). If there's anything that keeps me relatively "grounded", it's a day or six in Manhattan. One of these trips we'll have to do the lately trendy thing and go to some other borough, but for now Manhattan is all I can manage. We spend a lot more time looking in restaurant windows than at historic buildings I suppose - we walked by the Cafe Cluny Ms. Sheraton mentions, during construction of the furniture on the sidewalk, and only the name printed on the windows gave any indication of what was going on with the space - but we apprectiate the beauty of the neighborhood and the fact that it is a real neighborhood. St. Vincent's also was, of course, in our path, as well as the delicious Roll and Dough, home of the soon-to-be-famous 'bing'. These tasty little grilled pastries were so good, we immediately decided we would have to learn how to make them ourselves. Food is our focus, and why not?; we ate everything from the above pictured pastrami sandwich from Katz's (the "I'll have what she's having deli" from Harry Met Sally), to tiny little tea cakes out of a street cart in Chinatown, to an opulent three hour feast at one of the world's best dining establishments. We got menus from any place that would give us one, even from Per Se, which is way over the top as far as our budget is concerned, but which is currently regarded (by those who make these decisions happen) as possibly the top restaurant in the U.S. today. No shows, one museum, lots and lots of walking, and all sorts of food in all sorts of venues - that's what a trip to Manhattan means to these rubes from Kent County!

And now, to get truly grounded, we're off for a morning at Dixon's Auction in Crumpton. See you there!