Our trip to NYC was a good one. The Excelsior Hotel is a great place to stay if you can get a reasonable rate. It's right across the street from the Museum of Natural History. I figured we parked somewhere under the Hayden Planetarium in the constellation of Orion. On Friday we had a fine lunch at Land Thai Kitchen. The place is small, but big on hospitality and flavorful food. They don't hold back on the robust spices and chilies. The Massaman curry with chicken, the green curry with chicken and the wok cashew nut with shrimp were all top shelf. Thanks to Gastropoda for the deem. I went again on Saturday night and ordered take out to bring back home. Our waitress from the day before, Pookie, remembered me. I found this a comforting touch. How many places have I been in where a person remembers me from a one time visit? In a city of millions of people.
On Friday night we met friends for an early 6:30 dinner at Fatty Crab at their Hudson Street location. Without a doubt, I can rank this as one of our worst dining experiences in Manhattan dating back to 1980. What's up with that, Zak? Where is Zak Pellaccio amidst your empire? Nowhere man. It is something I don't even want to blog about. The food and music were that lousy. The decibel level at the place was in the redzone continually. Think hardcore-screamo-noise-pop-grunge-garage-punk cubed. The food was flat, meagre and exorbitantly priced at $155 with 4 glasses of wine before tip. Luckily, the gracious people we met there made it all worth it. I tried to get even by posting on City Search, Chowhound, Menupages, Yelp, NY Magazine and post #80 on eGullet. I felt that I had to say something.
Maud and Max are good, very talented and humble people. They both have that languid southern feel. We like that. We were fortunate to get to meet you both. Big up to both of you. Thanks again for taking the time to get together. And Maud, bless her heart, managed to drag herself away from Ancestry.com for a few hours.
On Saturday we made for the Chelsea Market before the swarms of people attending the NYC Wine and Food Festival clogged the place. After walking around the West Village and the LES, we decided to try Sigiri for lunch. The place is small, but big on their welcome. The curries were bold and robust. There is no holding back here either. We shared the prawn and chicken curries. Sri Lankan cuisine is similar to southern Indian, but different and unique in its own way. Sigiri is definitely on the return visit list.
Saturday night we made the obligatory visit to Fairway Market for Parmigiano cheese, sherry vinegar and a few other things. Aldea and Locanda Verde will have to wait till our next visit. Our energy levels were not optimal so...
On Sunday, the line at The New French was very long so we opted for Petite Abeille just down Hudson Street a few blocks. It was decent enough. The staff were very friendly and the food was good. Nothing exceptional, but solid fare.
We spent the rest of the day walking to Washington Square and Union Square.
In NYC the rare always happens. It is bound up with the people of the city. This is why I love NYC. The people make NYC. This is what makes us keep coming back.
P.S. Oh, these were all over the pavement.
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