Oh boy- was I excited — — going to New York at Christmas — — my mind was abuzz with vague impressions of how the Big Apple would be. 🙂
Reality: New York in winters was like a 40 year old beautiful lady-just past her prime-in whom you can see traces of her past glory.
I had always visited earlier in summer or fall and the stark- almost naked trees against a grey gloomy sky, the cold wind, lack of sun all contributed to a rude feeling of dismay. Maybe if it was snowing- or even snowed once while I was there the despair may have turned to magic (I have never experienced falling snow!!)
However, New York is New York — definitely the city which never sleeps- cold winds, or sunny days (a welcome break when the blue sky with white cumulonimbus clouds scattered), day or night New York-ers -are always on the go. All cafes, restaurants, bars etc we visited (and we visited many) were filled to the brim with people (holiday season ?) and even at late night , or should I say early dawn hours -the roads were alive with traffic, metro with people despite the cold.
Christmas time= Christmas décor everywhere, Santa’s galore, Christmas goodies to gobble and drink — — that is how I had envisaged — -tough cookie- the city is politically correct and unlike New Delhi at Diwali — wherein all market places are glittery and glowing — whatever Christmas cheer I saw in shops and in the main city areas, was muted and totally absent at most places. However walking around nieghbourhoods popular with Christian residents I had my fill of fairy lights, riendeers, santas climbing out of chimneys, tin soldiers lined up in a row etc etc
Attended a Christmas Eve mass at the Church of St. John in Manhattan and it was beautiful. Not only the building- exterior and interiors but also the entire ceremony.
The pastor (high priest/ father- not sure of the correct designation) read out passages of the story of the birth of Jesus — while he read- the same was simultaneously depicted through these huge puppets. A brief 2 minute reading followed by hymns sung by the choir followed by hymns sung by the entire congregation and so on for the two hour ceremony. what made it so enjoyable was that each person had a booklet provided with the textual content of the entire proceeding- the text that the pastor read/ the hymns sung by the choir and the words as well as the scales for hymns to be sung by the congregation- easy enough to understand and follow- such that even people who like me — unfamiliar with the words could sing along in-tune
What is it about churches that it fills one with a sense of peace and serenity when one enters. Is it the high ceilings, the focus on the Pulpit/ altar, the muted colours, the acoustics of the place, the smells or the lack of people (if there are a few they are totally absorbed in their prayers)
A far cry away from our Hindu temples which are kind of noisy and busy- with multiple people milling around (often not quiet or ruminative in persona), the pujari at the altar doing something or the other, the bright hues (usually). maybe if visited in early morning hours the sense of peace may be experienced- do not know — have never been to a temple in the very early hours 🙂
Another fun place we visited was the Science Museum at Crown heights, Brooklyn. I simply love museums — especially the ones geared towards children- they ae so interactive and the exhibits explains tough concepts in such a simple and fun way that even grown-ups can enjoy. The world of Micro-organisms captured minute microbes via microscopes such that after seeing a few I got the creepy crawlies and refused to see further. the exhibits exploring the animal world — (recognizing the various meanings of the different barks of a dog/ how animals solve puzzles- shown on film and the same puzzles set out for you to solve), the exhibits explaining sound ( through use of various sized pipes) of light / illusion/ colours/ diffraction/ space and what not . An entire section was devoted to bubbles and had loads of kids blowing these gigantic bubbles in various shapes and making pictures through light interacting with water, etc.
In all what impressed me most was the inherent discipline the kids seemed to have- no jostling to reach the exhibits- they would patiently form a line and wait their turn, each would have their turn at play ( for eg make a single image with bubbles- just once) and then move on and let the next kids have a turn. No unnecessary splashing of water/ no fidgeting with the knobs and buttons till they came undone. At each area there were student volunteers who served as experts to the kids and were available for answers that the kids may seek.
The best exhibit was the box where you could feed your face co-ordinates in the program and see how your face would have looked if you were of a different race- an asian/ a hispanic/ an african/ an oriental or a caucasian. Fascinating.
Food was the focus of this trip — and we tried various cuisines:-
tho’ not a food blogger — am jotting down all that we had in the 10 days I was there
Having grown up on Enid Blyton, I was keen to sample Christmas goodies > but would you believe it not one place offered a traditional Christmas buffet!!!
The Ritz Carlton was the only one which offered something even vaguely close to traditional Christmas fare– so that is where we went-
Manhattan Clam Chowder (different from the original chowder in that it was tomato based and slightly sweet), the roasted ham with pineapple and cranberry raisin sauce on the side was succulent and tasty (the first time I have liked it), the rack of lamb — I guess was a popular dish ( Having grown up having mutton- I did not like lamb) — the Cornish game hen- another popular dish (the platter had to be refilled multiple times) was not a patch on our Indian Tandoori chicken. The seafood buffet with oysters, crab claws (raw) and prawns was another popular item- and my daughter vouched for them- Me not being too much of a sea food person — avoided the same- tho’ the cold seafood pasta salad was delicious. The other staples of Christmas- the grilled winter vegetables, pumpkin something, sweet potato, the potato bake were okay, I guess. Nothing to write home about , I felt.
The dessert stations was heralded by this huge gingerbread house exhibit — decorated richly with icing, candy, M&Ms, gummy bears and what not. the selection was huge- sugar candies, tarts (blueberry/ apple/chocolate), pies, caramel custard, tiramisu, wine infused pomegranate jelly, yule log, wined assorted berries served with cream and chocolate sticks and a huge many more — a picture would have spoken much better than i can — but the focus was on stuffing my face rather than capturing images 🙂
Christmas Cocktails at Rolfs– a german bar (interestingly the servers/cleaners seemed of Indian origin)
It was 3:00 in the afternoon and the place was packed- two deep to the bar. yet everyone peacefully co-existed without any shoving and pushing and each one of us fitted in finding our own place to stand/ the lucky ones to sit. We had Eggnogs — the most delicious I have ever had (not that i have had too many) and multiple bailey-based cocktails- we sampled two of them and did not know which we liked better- they were both great. A must do if these are regularly served in the bar at times other than christmas.
Other stuff we ate were the
Criff Dogs — similar to but so much yummier than the Hot dogs
Pizza/ Burgers (other than those of the regular fast-food chains)
Thai- Tom Yung soup, Potstickers and Pad Thai
Ethiopian at Zoma at Columbia — -loved their Injera breads and the Telba salad (Injera bread,
tomato, peppers, lemon, ground flax seeds)- served with the Honey wine- amazing.
Also had their nonveg platter- helpings of beef/ chicken/lamb/salad served with injera bread. Enough to feed three hungry people!
Mexican with amazing margarita- The traditional one was the best — tho ‘ the jalapeno infused one did open up my so so blocked nose !!! with servings of beef/ chicken and lamb and salad with injera rolls. Helpings were enough to feed three hungry people
French crepes for breakfast- another highpoint- at the Pates et Traditions at
Williamsburg. A cute cafe
with pictures of France, its cities and towns, ingredients and herbs, poems and people- all giving one a flavour of a mini-France
Moroccan food — the grilled meats, the Merguez sausage with dips and salads, and a ginger martini.
Tapas with Octopus/ buttery spicy corn are two I particularly recall- tho’ we had quite an assortment.
A really high end -(Private Dining) Italian place- Bacaro. Nearly each menu item on the list had at least one ingredient which was not known commonly. Dessert we had was an Olive oil ice cream !!! to be had with a sprinkling of NaCl :) — amazing taste- a must try when occasion arises
Octopus was the discovery of the trip — a firmer shrimp……. not fishy to taste at all- even liked by someone not enthusiastic about sea food fare ( me !)
A note on some observations on the restaurant/ pub scene- again as compared to what I have been exposed to In Delhi. Most places look humble in decor, some are downright shoddy (but clean and well maintained) — exposed pipes/ AC vents- coloured gaily, ordinary wooden chairs and tables, rustic brick work- unfinished — but each of them is crowded- vouching for the high standards of food and drink served.
Tables tend to be placed very close to each other- yet it is tough to overhear what the people on the table next to you are talking about. So different from the Delhi crowd- where often conversations can be heard two table away :) — am I being too prejudiced here ???
Well I saw a Drag Show !- a much acclaimed one — about which all on yelp were raving about: LIPS.
After the 30 minutes of wonder wore off- it was just a tired old bar with over the top dressed hostesses and waitresses lip syncing and prancing to tunes -some very dance-able and hum-able and others not so.
Had a really cool shot- Cinnamon Whiskey- it warmed me up nice and proper. The cocktails however, (named for the drag queens) were overly sweet- the food we did not taste as reviews said it was not worth it. But Frankie (the bartender) voted the best drag bartender of NYC- was friendly, obliging and with a great sense of humour and an infectious laugh- again a contrast to the reviews -which said bartenders here were rude and insulting — so I guess reviews should be taken with a pinch of salt!!
Left Lips to go dancing and apparently the most cost-effective place to dance your heart out without restraint (especially if you are a gang of girls) are the gay bars. they have good booze (if you want), great music, food (for the hungry) and no one giving a damn as to what you do (maybe a handsome guy may differ in the last assessment)
SO NYC is there- but do not get taken in by words- it needs to be experienced — and there is no saying that each experience will be the same as the earlier one –