Day 7. 12/26/21

Hope you are doing well –

It was a beautiful day in NY today.. mid 40s (although dipped down when we headed to dinner). We started the day with breakfast at Jack’s Wife Freda in the West Village and it was so nice out we opted to dine al fresco. Food was good (they use a lot of labneh in the breakfast dishes, which is quite nice). From there we walked around the West Village stopping at a few special streets including Grove, Christopher, and the Washington Mews. Each delightful in different ways. We wanted to see Grove Court, which was built in the 1800s as worker- or low-income housing, but now is higher than market rate. There are 6 townhouses set way back from the street where entry is through a cobblestone path. There’s a locked gate so entry is really only for residents and their guests. I managed to photograph between the bars of the gate (!!)

After walking around the village we headed to ICP (International Center for Photography). The ICP had two major exhibits and some other smaller shows. One of the two exhibits was by Gillian Laub called “Family Matters.” For about 20 years she has photographed her family and used the images and the series to address how society’s problems manifest within more intimate or family situations. Her story, as shown through images and simple text, is probably the story of many who have had to deal with close family members whose politics and beliefs diverge from your own. 

Then we decided we needed some kind of snack and I thought the idea of sharing a hot pastrami sandwich at Katz’s which has been on the lower east side since the 1880s or Russ & Daughters would be perfect and both were within about three blocks of ICP. So, Katz’s had a line that went around the block and the predicted wait time was around 90 minutes just to get inside and then a likely wait inside and Russ and Daughter has not re-opened since Covid began; they only have take-out. So we dashed back to Chelsea Market (by taxi) since I needed to run an errand, and while there we had an appetizer at the oyster bar.

Then we headed back to the hotel for a drink and off we went to Junoon, a great Indian restaurant for dinner. I was there in October when I was in NY with Carol so I now feel like a regular. Actually, I had eaten there previously when they were located a few blocks away. It’s quite upscale but the food is truly wonderful. We were the only non-Indian diners but we fared well. Shared two starters (eggplant chaat with raita, tamarind, red onion, and some other ingredients; and an octopus dish that was cooked tandoori style) and one main course – a spicy goat with red chili oil and spices, and of course we had naan and saffron rice that had little berries and tiny pieces of zucchini. When it came time for dessert the guy who was clearing the table told us to get this dessert called “Cricket.” Not to offend, we took his advice and out came this adorable little cricket made of chikoo (?) mousse, chocolate and green colored coconut (for the grass)…  We probably would have opted for the bread pudding or rice pudding. But the Cricket was quite good. We taxied back to the hotel at about 10:30 and called it a night.

What more can I say – there’s a lot more folks panhandling and clearly winter in NY is not very accommodating for people without a roof over their head; the number and variety of “parklets” for dining outside abound; the number of languages spoken on the street can astound you; and as the need for physical structures for banks decreases great bank structures are finding other purposed like Trader Joes in a former very grand South Brooklyn Savings Bank and a CVS in the building that housed NY Savings Bank in my day.

Assuming our flight really takes off on Tuesday night, tomorrow’s plans include the African Burial Grounds near City Hall, the obligatory, always must-see Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree (It’s always great and it doesn’t matter how many times you see it), a pitstop at the post office to ship some gifts that we’ve been carrying around but didn’t present because of cutting the trip short, possible visit to the Summit at One Vanderbilt (we have tickets for next week and not sure they will let us change the date), and a drive to two other neighborhoods a bit more distant from the center of the city – and then return the rental car.

All the best – Fern