It was a beautiful day in New York on Tuesday. The sky was clear, the air was calm, and the sun was out enough to keep up warm. I still needed my gloves and coat but it wasn’t uncomfortable like the previous days.

We all slept in and didn’t leave the house until about noon. First stop was another trip to Rizzo’s. I still think they beat out Grimaldi’s for their pizza. We even spoke with the owner’s son who runs the joint now and he described to us the ins and outs of their pizza, which was very informative.

Later, Jes and I took the R Train back into Manhattan and stopped at Fifth Ave. Jes had to check out the giant Apple Store and then we walked across the stree to Central Park. On our way to the Central Park Zoo, we stopped at The Strand Bookstore, which is right on the sidewalk. I got a nifty moleskine that was New York-specific with maps galore and a bunch of pages with tabs to keep track of all the places I’ve visited. I’ve been using a little notebook this whole time and this will be perfect for all the stuff I jotted down.

The Central Park Zoo is located on the lower east side of Central Park. The admission was $8 and it was totally worth it. It was a little weird to be hanging out with sea lions and monkeys in the middle of the city but it was cool at the same time. The zoo was clean and had a variety of animals. The rainforest exhibit was really interesting with a bunch of birds and other animals I hadn’t seen before.

After the zoo, we wandered Central Park. Jes bought a book to read so he found set-up camp on a bench while I went around taking photos. Over by the pond, I met a little Chinese girl who was probably about 2 years old. She had such a good time chasing the pigeons and watching/pointing to the ducks in the pond. She followed me around and would point and grunt each time she wanted to know what something was. She didn’t say much but tried her best to say “duck” and “pigeon”, which came out more like “guck!” and “jija”, respectively. Meanwhile, her grandfather (I think) was seated on the bench behind us making sure I wasn’t going to walk away with her. Haha.

Jason met up with us around 6:00 and we walked down Fifth Ave to grab a snack and pick up Jia from work. We tried the kabobs from the street cart and it was yummy. Imagine cuts of beef on a skewer grilled over a fire and drowned in a sweet hot sauce. They give it to you on a hot dog bun for easy eating while you walk. It was pretty tasty.

Dinner was at Sushi Samba in Gramercy Park. It was our last night in New York so it ended with an expensive/fancy meal. It’s a Brazilian/Japanese fusion place that served yellowtail ceviche and langosteen soup. The food was good but way overpriced, as expected. It’s a trendy place to go after work for drinks and some eel and mango rolls. Definitely not your cheap New York eats fare or setting.

Here are the photos from Tuesday.

On Monday, we took the subway (V train to C) to Brooklyn to eat at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria. They claim to have the “best pizza in New York” so we had to try it. It sits near the water and next to the Brooklyn Bridge. There was a line out the door and it was 2:30 in the afternoon. Once seated, we had to wait to order and our food took a whiAle. I had the Margherita pizza, which had fresh mozzerella, tomato sauce, and fresh basil. The crust itself was chewy and had a lot of flavor by itself. Overall, it was a very good pizza but I’m not sure if it’s the “BEST”. I still enjoyed Rizzo’s and their service was much better there too. Grimaldi’s has a bit of attitude when you enter and they only take cash. Rizzo’s also takes cash only but they’re friendly and hook you up with free stuff.

After the pizza, we took the subway back up toward Chinatown. I couldn’t believe it but I somehow found the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory without having to walk around much (unlike last time). Jes and Jason hadn’t been there before and it was something worth going to. I had the lychee ice cream instead of the sorbet this time and it was yummy. Jes had almond cookie and Jason had ginger…all good too. Around the corner, we found a place called Hong Kong Station where you order from their noodle menu and then their toppings menu. Each item is only $1 each. So, we ordered thick noodles in broth with beef shank for only $2! It was pretty good but you could tell that they dump MSG in their broth for the extra tastiness.

Next stop was Chelsea Market in the meat-packing district on the lower west side of town. It’s where they have gourmet grocery stores that carry things like squid ink, 6 different types of prosciutto, and so many different types of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. On the second floor is the Food Network office and studio. You can also get tickets for Emeril Live but apparently they’re not easy to get.

While we waited for Jason to return from getting his eyes checked near Times Square, we went to the Crumpler store. They manufacture my camera bag that I love so badly. At the store, you can browse their complete line of bags and accessories. You can also see how they customize their messenger bags. I saw some of the more recent ones they made and it got my wheels turning. Hm…perhaps I should get one made…*rubs hands together*.

Dinner was at Katz’s Delicatessen where they filmed one of the most famous scenes in “When Harry Met Sally”. They even had a little sign hanging above the actual table that shot the scene. The pastrami was cut thick – different from the really thin pieces I’m used to. It was really tender and not too salty. They’re chicken noodle soup was really good too. The broth was light and full of flavor and they give you a lot of noodles. By the way, if you want to eat quickly, don’t sit at the tables that say “Waiter Service Only”. The old man waiting on us is just that…old…and slow. He was really nice though – it just depends on what experience you’re going for.

OK, that’s it for Monday. Here are the photos. If you’re looking for photos from Friday or our weekend in Philly, scroll down to the posts for each day. They should be at the bottom of each post.

This afternoon we explored Queens and Flushing. It started with some $2 pizza at Rizzo’s (just minutes from Jason’s place on Steinway between 30th and 31st). The pizza was yummy, the garlic twists were tasty, and the guys working there were really friendly. In fact, the guy at the counter gave us a free slice of pizza and my fruit punch was also on the house. When I asked if I could take photos of their pizza, he let me go behind the counter so I didn’t have to take the photos through the glass. How cool was that?! We’re definitely going to have to go back one more time before we leave.

Then we hopped on the R Train and headed east. Transferred onto the 7 Train and headed northeast. We stopped at Shea Stadium for a stroll down Flushing Meadows. We got to see Shea Stadium where the NY Mets play and Arthur Ashe Stadium where the U.S. Open Tennis Championships take place each year. The park was big and scenic but the weather was cold with gusts of 10 mph. We walked over to the Unisphere, which is basically a gigantic metal globe that was built for The World’s Fair a long time ago. I recognize it more for being the backdrop of the last fight scene in the Men In Black 2 movie. **Correction: It’s MIB1**

After that, we got back onto the 7 Train and got off in Flushing. It’s best known for being a big Chinatown. It was bustling with lots of Chinese immigrants running a variety of shops and restauarants and many of them didn’t speak English very well. We tried the 75-cent Peking Duck, watched the noodle guy hand-pull noodles that we later ate, and bought baked goods at Taipan Bakery. For dinner, we went to King 5 Noodle House (Prince St. at 39th) for Shanghai-style pork dumplings and warm home-made soy milk. It was crazy how much food we got for $24 for 3 of us.

It was an afternoon of exploring and cheap eats. I’m officially pooped out and need a good night’s sleep. Here are photos from today.