NYC October 31 2021

Greetings –

Given that the Brooklyn day (yesterday, October 30) did not materialize due to weather, we made the best of Saturday in Manhattan and concluded with dinner at Junoon, a wonderful Indian restaurant in the Flatiron neighborhood. I’d been to their previous spot and I think I like this reincarnation is better. Restaurants all seem to be reinventing themselves post Covid. So Junoon has two rooms. One is called the bar and the other is called the dining room, but full meals are served in both spaces. The difference is that if you choose to sit in the dining room, you have to order the pris fixe meal which apparently has lots of choices. We opted for the a la carte dinner and ate in the bar which is a really nice space. We settled on several small plates including eggplant chaat which had really thin slices of crispy eggplant and tamarind chutney and masala chaat; a butternut squash dish that was a sort of soup that included roasted squash, pickled onion, pumpkin seeds, some oranges and a coconut based soup; a spicy dish that was some kind of chili chicken (murgh); and a fish dish – I think it was snapper cooked in coconut milk and fenugreek, and other spices.. and there was some tomato and hearts of palm in there too. All wonderful, and reminded me that NY has so many great Indian restaurants (something sorely lacking in the Bay Area). Naturally we had some very yummy dessert.

Like all other restaurants in NY everyone had to show both IDs and vaccination proof; I think NY is much stricter than California on all of this. Given all the rules, it is surprising that we didn’t need to show any vaccination proof on the subway.

The rain had started by the time we were finished eating, so we took a taxi back to the hotel.

Sunday, October 31

We are flying out this afternoon, but naturally wanted to take full advantage of our remaining hours and minutes. We headed to High Street on Hudson in what is probably still the West Village but at the southern end and had a good brunch.. both savory and sweet. Staff was already decked out for Halloween (as were many passersby). From there we headed to the somewhat controversial new open space gem — Little Island –- a 2.4 acre park built atop a former pier and jutting out over the Hudson River. It sits on stilts that look somewhat mushroom-like and there are fantastic views from just about everywhere. There’s an amphitheater, places to sit and relax, several participatory music “sculptures,” prohibits alcohol and bicycles (as it’s made for strolling and relaxing); it’s accessible via a series of ramps that get you to the same places the stairways do. It’s free to the public, opens around 9 am and is open at night. So what’s the problem?

Well, it was paid for (265 million dollars I think + guaranteed subsidy for maintenance and upkeep for 10 years) by millionaires (Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenburg) who happen to have a Diane von Furstenburg dress shop about a block away. And people were upset because there doesn’t appear to have been any real community involvement or consensus about creating this park. Personally I’d rather see millionaires put money into these public places than fly to the moon in private vehicles. Still, many people thought that this amount of money could have been used to house homeless and address pressing social problems in NY. I will say that on the morning we were there, the park was populated by families who appeared to have come from all parts of the city and beyond. Everyone was enjoying the space, the view, and the random music. I didn’t expect to like it but I did – My only beef (if I had a voice as a New Yorker) is that there are actually several parks in the vicinity, not to mention the HighLine which is nearby. Seems like this largesse could have been dedicated to the creation of a wonderful park in some other parts of the city. That said, it’s a wonderful space, a joy to see people (individuals, seniors, kids, families and Instagram-crazy young people) having fun. 

We strolled around the whole “little island” and then headed to the hotel to pack. But enroute, we needed a little food fix. We stumbled on Rosa’s Mexicano where we shared a wonderful trio of enchiladas (mole, suiza, and mestiza) along with pomegranate margheritas. And then we were ready to hail a cab to get our bags and fly to California (me to SFO and Carol to LAX).

It was a great trip, somewhat nostalgic, but all good. Next time, I’ll show folks Brooklyn.

I’m back in Oakland where it does feel like home, but I’ll always have that special place where I grew up, studied, and the place which shaped my values (Brooklyn and New York).

Next travelogue should be in December/January when we head to Malta (via Rome and Geneva for Xmas, and a brief stop in Paris when we head back.)

Thanks for reading or peeking at the photos. 

All the best – 

Fern