Americana

On 57th between 6th and 7th Streets is a four star hotel called Le Parker Meridien. You walk in through the marble floored hallway, turn right and go down a hall with a dark gray curtain, follow the neon sign, turn the corner and you are in The Burger Joint. Rose chandeliers don't class up this little space with cardboard menus warning: "If you don't know what you want when you get to the front, you will be sent to the back of the line." And there is a line. So, as a break from my stroll down 5th Avenue (St. Patrick's Cathedral, NY Central Library, back to MoMa to see the fourth floor with Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol, I got a burger and Coke to go and found my favorite picnicking/napping spot so far in Central Park. I could paint signs and make some money because this spot was so good. And the burger was great.

Later, a few of us went to a Latino Film Festival film, then on to the Meatpacking District to find some food and more music. I was told by a "subway friend" that this was the place to go," an "Adult Disneyland" he called it. "Dress up," he said, then listed all of the celebrities he had seen in the past few weeks: Lenny Kravitz, Sarah Jessica Parker, etc. He wasn't kidding...block after block of people dressed UP. I felt like the country bumpkin from Seattle, and by Seattle standards, I was dressed UP. Anyway, I decided that I am more of a Greenwich Village kind of girl. Greenwich Village could be called the Seattle of NY, in fact, the other night the band we saw looked a little grung-y with their flannel, so I felt right at home. We did have some great food, though, at a Malaysian restaurant called The Fatty Crab. My favorite dish was a salad made of fried pork fat and watermelon. I know...it doesn't sound good, but we trusted the waiter and it was fantastic. We also had Malay fish tempura in a coconut chili sauce, crispy duck, and the chili crab. I had no idea what time it was, but we finished our dinner at 1 am. When I get back to Seattle, I will sleep for a week!

Today Elsa and I were planning to head to Chinatown to taste our way through; imagine how excited I was for this. However, it rained a dark, dreary rain that made me feel like I was in a sauna with all of New York. We got out of film festival Latino film #2 and decided to head to her apartment, which is just north of I-House, in Harlem. Elsa grew up in Taiwan and her mother sends her home with Taiwanese food every time she's home, so since Elsa is my kindred spirit in love for food, she brings me treats to class, like her mother's taro cake and a Vietnamese sandwich ("I figured you would have one less thing to taste when we go to Chinatown.") See why I love this girl? So we went to her place and she made noodles with a package of "Taiwanese" mince that her mother made, topped with steamed Romaine. It was great to have home cooking after three weeks of eating out, and to me, eating this treat from her mother was like striking gold.

Entering my last week in NY and I feel like my to-do list has grown by about 100 things. I'll see how much I can fit in this week, but it may effect my blogging activity somewhat!