I've been planning on taking Alex and Nick to New York City. Denise, their mom and my ex-wife, wanted to come. The trip we took out west a couple years ago went so well I agreed to bring her along this time too. The boys seem to like it. We were there from June 10th - 14th.

Naturally, I was excited about the food possibilities of New York. I knew that I wouldn't be able to explore culinarily the way I'd like with my vegetarian sons and their mother, who was a vegetarian for years until just a few months ago. With a few exceptions, I wouldn't be going for the food.

New York style pizza was an obvious choice. 42nd Street pizza near the Hudson river was a pleasant surprise. Excellent pizza.


Notice the lack of toppings. See? It's not all about me.


We couldn't eat the whole thing. This was a good food start.





For lunch on Sunday we went to Mary Ann's Chelsea Mexican. We were looking in through the window trying to decide if we wanted to go in and a guy sitting near the front window gave us an enthusiastic thumbs-up. We laughed and went in. He said to us, "I've been coming here for twenty years - you'll love it." We did. It was fantastic.





For a snack Sunday evening, we went to a NYC staple - Papaya Dog. Small grilled hotdogs with sweet papaya drinks. I know, it sounds weird, but it works. Denise and Nick had ice cream. Alex had a mango drink. It was cheap and not bad.





After walking through Central Park from the Guggenheim to the Natural History Museum we found this deli/grocery near the Natural History Museum. It was carryout and we all had something we liked. Okay, this is important - Nick had the best bagel of his life here. Nick is a bagel hound. He eats more bagels than any other foodstuff. We ate lunch in Teddy Roosevelt Park and it was a nice picnic. But for Nick to have the best bagel of his life is certainly noteworthy.

This is a pretty sad picture but my Cuban sandwich was delicious.





For dinner Monday, we went to Little Italy. I've never seen so many restaurants crammed into a few blocks. I knew we weren't going to go wrong. We ate at Positano Ristorante.

I had Spaghetti alla Puttanesca and a glass of Montepulciano. It was delicious but I would have liked it better if it had more anchovies in it.




Nick HAD to have a cannoli. Denise and Alex wanted gelato. I wanted espresso. We all got what we wanted here. I don't remember the name of it but it was good. Nick liked the cannoli but we all agreed that Corbo's Bakery in Cleveland made better.


We walked from Little Italy to Chinatown. There were several amazing fish markets. I wish I would have had a place to cook. Everything looked so fresh. The crab were still moving. I'd never seen such a variety of shrimp as this.





Tuesday for lunch, I forced everyone to go to Les Halles. It's an authentic French bistro. I love their cookbook and I really wanted to try their frites. Besides MOMA and The Met, this was a must visit for me.

I had Maguez, Frites, Salade. (Moroccan lamb sausages, french fries, & salad) It was terrific. And the frites were superlative.


For dinner Tuesday, I found this deli/grocery a few blocks from our hotel. This was ideal. Everyone got to pick out what they wanted. I had pretty good grocery store sushi and a little chicken salad.


Our last meal in New York was lunch on Wednesday. I hadn't had any NY corned beef. I forced everyone to go to Carnegie Deli.


Good pickles.


Holy crap! Just look at that sandwich. It had to be close to two pounds. I love corned beef. I try to have it at least once a year. Lou & Hy's - excellent (and sorely missed). Corky & Lenny's - terrific. Slyman's - fantastic. But this was transcendental. Tender beyond belief - it was almost falling apart. Lean without being the slightest bit dry. It had a mild flavor that fills the mouth. The bread would have been disappointing if it would have even mattered. Alex asked why they even bother with the bread. It really added nothing. I told him that without the bread they couldn't call it a "sandwich." If they called this "old dead cow soaked in salt water between two slices of stale rye," I'd still eat it. So should you. (Yes, I did eat all of it.)


Alex had latkes. Excellent. Some of the best I've ever had. I still prefer Corky & Lenny's.


Denise ordered "potato skins with cheddar and bacon 'bits.'" This is what she was served. It had to be close to a half-pound of bacon. I didn't try it but she liked it.


Nick's blintzes. If you thought my praise for the corned beef was profuse - stand back. Nick has never had a blintz. He was skeptical of everything on the menu and was leaning towards a bagel. I thought this a good idea. If you can't a get a good bagel in the Carnegie Deli what's the world coming to? After bagels every morning for breakfast and several lunches he was bagelled out. So, I steered him towards the cheese blintzes. Through a leap of faith on his part he decided to try them. I was already swooning over my corned beef when he cut his first corner of blintz. I was watching, hoping he'd like them enough to get a meal out of them. When he put the first bite in his mouth his eyes got big and he had a surprised look on his face. I asked, "Are they okay?" He gave me a big grin and nodded vigorously while he forked in his second bite. Okay, he was happy, so I returned my attention to the corned beef.

When I was half done with the sandwich (and already thoroughly full) I surveyed how everyone else was doing. I had a little bite of Alex's latke, I inquired about the bacon "bits," and Nick offered us a bite of the blintzes. He cut us off three bites and Denise, Alex and I all had a bite almost simultaneously. Wow. This was not just one of the most delicious things I've eaten while in New York, this was one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted. A few days later, I'm still a little shaken by the experience. How could they be this good? Someday, I'll have to go back for more.


New York Style Cheesecake. Terrific. Creamy. Sweet. There is nothing like it. But, the blintzes were better.