just another saturday in New York City
So yesterday Drew and I took the train into NYC.
first we headed downtown to Chinatown. I hadn't been to that area in ages and ages. The neighborhood never changes. Crowded sidewalks, shops with their wares spread out on the sidewalk competing with sidewalk vendors, the smell of fresh fish veing sold on Canal Street (your dinner can crawl into your shopping bag if you like). On Mott Street you can buy all sorts of stuff -- handbags,scarves, Chinese fans, silk dresses, toys....
Restaurant row is on Mott Street too. the restuarnats all used to be Cantoneses, but now yu can find a variety of cooking styles, incuding Hunan and Sezhuan, and even Korean, Thai and Vietnamese. Our favorite chinatown place, however, is a traditional Canonese place called Wo Hop.
There are actually two Wo Hop restaurants on Mott Street -- a street level restaurant at 15 Mott that can seat about 150 people, and a .much smaller space in the basement at 17 Mott. Osetensibly they have the same menu, but people will line up and wait to eat at 17 Mott even when 15 Mott is half empty. we planned on a late/lunch/early dinner to avoid the crowds.
the ambiance is ....well... think about your local storefront Chinese take out place, only with waiter service. just a short step up from fast food.
but the food is....amazing. they have a few spicy dishes ---they have to in this day and age -- but we stick with the traditional Cantonese food when we're here. won ton soup, lo mein, sweet and pungent chicken....
had to laugh when ...well the waiter, a chinese immigrant, was struggling with English when he took the order of a Hispanic family that was also struggling with English ....so he took their order in Spanish (typical New York).
after we ate we wandered about the neighborhood for awhile....even headed up Mulberry Street to wander around Little Italy for awhile. really wanted a cannoli from Ferrara but we were too full from dinner, and we didn't think the pastries would survive the trip home.
Next up up, a subway ride to Times Square. it's a pedestrian mall now, and we decided to sit awhile and people watch, we left there around 6:30, to walk further uptown -- we had tickets to see Sondheim on Sondheim. As we walked up 7th Avenue I saw a large contingent of police and firefighters headed down towards Times Square. I said something to Drew along the lines of "something is happeneing that we'll see on the news tomorrow." and I was right: 'Very Lucky': Cops Comb Foiled Times Sq. Bomb Clues
the show was ....well, if you love Stephen Sondheim, this was a magnificent tribute to the man and his music. there's footage of sondheim -- interviews from years past as well as interviews done just for this production -- where he talks about his life and his work. and o the stage a magnificent cast sings some of his best....Vanessa Williams was wonderful. Tom Wopat ....was replaced by his understudy at last night's performance (ah, well...). but the real treat is Barbara Cook. 79 years old and still in good voice! I saw her one-woman show about 10 years ago, and was amazed even then....she's been singing Sondheim's music for awhile now.....
overall, a wonderful NYC evening....
first we headed downtown to Chinatown. I hadn't been to that area in ages and ages. The neighborhood never changes. Crowded sidewalks, shops with their wares spread out on the sidewalk competing with sidewalk vendors, the smell of fresh fish veing sold on Canal Street (your dinner can crawl into your shopping bag if you like). On Mott Street you can buy all sorts of stuff -- handbags,scarves, Chinese fans, silk dresses, toys....
Restaurant row is on Mott Street too. the restuarnats all used to be Cantoneses, but now yu can find a variety of cooking styles, incuding Hunan and Sezhuan, and even Korean, Thai and Vietnamese. Our favorite chinatown place, however, is a traditional Canonese place called Wo Hop.
There are actually two Wo Hop restaurants on Mott Street -- a street level restaurant at 15 Mott that can seat about 150 people, and a .much smaller space in the basement at 17 Mott. Osetensibly they have the same menu, but people will line up and wait to eat at 17 Mott even when 15 Mott is half empty. we planned on a late/lunch/early dinner to avoid the crowds.
the ambiance is ....well... think about your local storefront Chinese take out place, only with waiter service. just a short step up from fast food.
but the food is....amazing. they have a few spicy dishes ---they have to in this day and age -- but we stick with the traditional Cantonese food when we're here. won ton soup, lo mein, sweet and pungent chicken....
had to laugh when ...well the waiter, a chinese immigrant, was struggling with English when he took the order of a Hispanic family that was also struggling with English ....so he took their order in Spanish (typical New York).
after we ate we wandered about the neighborhood for awhile....even headed up Mulberry Street to wander around Little Italy for awhile. really wanted a cannoli from Ferrara but we were too full from dinner, and we didn't think the pastries would survive the trip home.
Next up up, a subway ride to Times Square. it's a pedestrian mall now, and we decided to sit awhile and people watch, we left there around 6:30, to walk further uptown -- we had tickets to see Sondheim on Sondheim. As we walked up 7th Avenue I saw a large contingent of police and firefighters headed down towards Times Square. I said something to Drew along the lines of "something is happeneing that we'll see on the news tomorrow." and I was right: 'Very Lucky': Cops Comb Foiled Times Sq. Bomb Clues
the show was ....well, if you love Stephen Sondheim, this was a magnificent tribute to the man and his music. there's footage of sondheim -- interviews from years past as well as interviews done just for this production -- where he talks about his life and his work. and o the stage a magnificent cast sings some of his best....Vanessa Williams was wonderful. Tom Wopat ....was replaced by his understudy at last night's performance (ah, well...). but the real treat is Barbara Cook. 79 years old and still in good voice! I saw her one-woman show about 10 years ago, and was amazed even then....she's been singing Sondheim's music for awhile now.....
overall, a wonderful NYC evening....
Barbara Cook will be 83 on October 25!
ReplyDeleteI made her younger than she is? in any event, I am so happy to see her singing on the Broadway stage.
ReplyDelete