Nice day out and about in NYC

[Fat Guy]

Today was our eighth wedding anniversary so we decided to do a few fun things around the city.

We started with a walk through East Harlem, up Third Avenue to about 120th and down Second Avenue back into the 90s where we live. On the way up, after a quick stop at the 96th Street library to return a book, we grabbed a slice at Il Fornaio pizzeria on Lexington between 97th and 98th (1505 Lexington Avenue, 212-876-0683). I had received a credible-seeming e-mail tip (when you get the amount of e-mail I do, and you act on as much of it as I do, you learn how to detect this sort of thing with great accuracy) indicating that this little place -- which I had never noticed in more than a decade living within eight blocks of the location -- had a reliable old-style New York slice. This turned out to be correct, and Il Fornaio will now be my neighborhood pizzeria of choice.

We cut over to Third Avenue and checked out a few of the 99-cent stores in the low 100s, where we saw some really great (and tasteful) stuff. I really wish I collected Jesus memorabilia because I see so much I'd like to have. Does anybody know what the baby Jesus riding a rhinoceros is all about? You can get porcelain-like statuettes of that for 99-cents a piece. There were also some of those pictures where you see different images depending on your angle of viewing, for example Jesus alternating with Mary. We purchased two small straight-sided stainless steel bowls with tight-fitting plastic lids (I anticipate these will be good for carrying portions of dog food when we take day trips) and several gift bags (you know, those brightly decorated mini-shopping-bags that are useful when you're too lazy to wrap gifts). We thought about stocking up on toothpaste but we were suspicious that the Colgate products on offer might be counterfeit.

There are a number of establishments on Third Avenue selling fried food in infinite variety, and the original plan was to sample some of it, but the sun was beating down pretty hard and it was therefore hotter than anticipated. So we went for coconut ices from a street vendor (50 cents for a small, one dollar for a large) instead. These were ices, as opposed to snow cones. The vendors seem split about 50/50 between the two types of products. I prefer ices. We also skipped Morrone's bakery on 116th Street between Third and Second (324 East 116th Street, 212-722-2972) because my last couple of trips there have been disappointing. The onion rolls are worth trying, though. And though it would have been just a short detour we skipped Patsy's pizza between 117th and 118th because, though it is excellent, we didn't have six hours to deal with the slow service. (2287-91 First Avenue, 212-534-9783). I note also that there is a White Castle in the neighborhood. (351 East 103rd Street)

Heading back downtown on Second Avenue, I finally realized the dream I've had ever since I first spotted the Halal Chinese Food restaurant: I actually ate there. Following in the steps of the great Wilfrid, who was the first to pursue this lead and report back to us, I tried one of the chicken dishes and, like Wilfrid, concluded that the chicken at this place is far and away superior to average New York Chinese-food chicken. It's almost on the level of the fresh ("not long time refrigerated") chicken dishes at Grand Sichuan International Midtown. Not the dishes themselves -- they are fairly generic at Halal Chinese -- but the chicken. And I can also confirm Wilfrid's observation that the restaurant doubles as an Islamic book and novelty shop. There are quite a few audio cassettes of Islamic lectures available as well, at three dollars each. Many of them seem to focus on marital issues and have titles like "Divorce and Custody." There are also some very nice wall-clocks for sale, painted with what I assume are scenes from the Koran. The menu is standard Chinese-hole-in-the-wall-with-food-photos-above-the-takeout-window but there is no pork and there are some lamb dishes. Prices are very attractive -- an almost-too-big-for-one-person portion of pretty much any chicken dish plus a heaping pile of white rice costs $4.25. You can super-size that into a lunch special with egg roll and such for an extra buck fifty. The employees all appear to be Chinese. (2127 Second Avenue at 110th Street, 212-722-5250)

By the way, they seem to be setting up a carnival in East Harlem between Third and Second in the one-teens.

After that we took the dog for a walk, watched a video, and took a nap.

The eighth anniversary is traditionally supposed to be bronze, and in some modern texts is also linen and/or lace. We have all the bronze we need and I'm not sure linen and lace make good gifts, so we decided on a culinary designation. We chose to label our eighth anniversary our Lobster Anniversary, and we headed to City Island for a very early dinner in the hopes of avoiding traffic (a success in that regard).

The fantasy was that we would get an outrageously large lobster, like maybe six or seven pounds. We selected the Lobster Box, which is one of the more highly regarded places out there (though I assume they're all quite similar -- at least such has been my experience as far as food quality goes). The Lobster Box makes an attempt to be upscale, with valet parking and a recently renovated premises. Much to our surprise the largest lobsters available were three pounds. We ordered a three pounder and a two pounder. I think we probably received two two-and-a-half-pound lobsters because there was no identifiable size difference. One had clearly been treated as a three pounder, though, because it was a bit overcooked and therefore tough bordering on dry. The other was right on target; one of the best and best-prepared lobster specimens I've had in recent memory, and I'm just back from being in the Canadian Maritimes. A very hard shell, super-firm meat, sweet, with no identifiable defects. A female, even. Service was comically incompetent but everything made it to the table eventually, if not exactly when it was supposed to. The clam chowder was very weak, the mussels would have been good had they not been allowed to cool to lukewarm sitting on the pass, and the included iceberg-lettuce salads were ridiculous. The lobsters come garnished with overcooked vegetables of yesteryear. We didn't try the desserts -- the photographs on the dessert menu do nothing to arouse the appetite. (34 City Island Avenue, 718-885-1952)

The plan for after dinner was to go to the concert in Central Park. For some reason we both thought there was such a concert, so we saddled up the dog and walked down to the great lawn at around 9:00pm, hoping to catch the last hour and perhaps some fireworks. But we were mistaken and there was no concert. Just as well, we were tired of being out and about and wanted to get home.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Happy Anniversary Fat Guy. And Mrs. Fat Guy too.

[Fat Guy]

Thank you, Plotnicki.

[Damian]

Happy.

[Fat Guy]

Thank you, Damian.

[LaNiña]

A happy and a healthy and many more.

[Brad S]

Nice Story FG.

Many more to come.

[Beachfan]

Congratulations!! May you have many, many more!

( Me and Ms. Beach are great fans of the institution of marriage)

On a more mundane note:

1) Does your lobster experience prove that lobster is the luck of the draw? (My experience outside lobster pounds). Identical lobsters, one perfect, one sad.

2) Is the pizza place worth ** (i.e., worth a detour)?

[LaNiña]

How does it compare to Patsy's on E. 117th St?

[macrosan]

...99-cent stores in the low 100s, where we saw some really great (and tasteful) stuff. .... Does anybody know what the baby Jesus riding a rhinoceros is all about?

That just has to go into the "Famous eGullet phrases" thread

Happy Lobster Anni, Steven. Nicely atmospheric description of an easy day around town, which I enjoyed reading.

[anil]

Eight years already !!!! Wow Congrats-times-eight then !!

[Fat Guy]

Thank you Nina, Cape, Beachfan, Macrosan, and Anil.

Macrosan, I thought the top contender for "famous eGullet phrases" was surely the cleverly pejorative "vegetables of yesteryear."

Nina/Beachfan: Il Fornaio doesn't compare favorably to Patsy's, nor is it worth a detour. It is simply a serviceable neighborhood slice joint, something that is remarkably rare on today's pizza scene, dominated as it is by such awfulness as Famous Famiglia, Ray Bari, and the various permutations of Ray's. The phenomenon is similar to what we've been discussing on the is-food-better-than-it-was thread: The run-of-the-mill has nosedived, even as the high-end gourmet establishments have proliferated and raised the bar, so we must celebrate those who have maintained a moderate level of quality at the low end. This particular holdout is a delightful old Greek gentleman named Frank, who recognizes his customers and is happy to have the local schoolchildren hanging out in his shop playing the two video games in the corner. The slices taste like the slices used to taste at neighborhood slice joints, which is to say not at all like Patsy's. It's the doughy, cheesey, baked-in-a-stainless-steel-gas-oven pizza that gourmets typically shun. It's not fabulous in any way, but is built around homemade dough, acceptable cheese, and a well-balanced sauce that seems to feature fresh herbs. The ratios of crust-to-cheese-to-sauce are correct. A slice is $1.50 and a personal pie is just $2.25. The place closes at 8:00pm and is not open on Sundays.

Beachfan: The quality of a restaurant lobster experience is somewhat luck-driven, though you seal your fate as soon as you make the bad decision to get a whole steamed or boiled lobster. As far as I'm concerned, the methodology of cooking a whole lobster is so inherently flawed that you'll always have overcooking or undercooking in either the claws or the tail because on any given lobster the claws should ideally cook longer than the tail. Females seem to fare slightly better because they have larger tails and smaller claws, and you can get a whole steamed or boiled lobster pretty close to right (as one of ours was) if you're careful, but it's an uphill battle. In every serious professional kitchen I know of, lobsters are dismembered prior to cooking and the tails and claws are cooked separately for different lengths of time, while the bodies are made into stock. This seems to me the best use of each part of the animal. Nonetheless, the whole lobster experience -- like the steakhouse experience -- is part of the culture and can be enjoyable when the planets are in alignment. In addition, although steaming or boiling a lobster is one of the simplest things in the world to do, it is a rare whole-lobster-oriented restaurant that does it right. Overcooking is the norm everywhere I've been, and that includes a fair cross-section of the places that are supposed to be the best. Certainly I can do a better job at home almost 100% of the time, and I am by no means an experienced lobster cook. Then you have the lobster itself, which can be variable. Even if you get lobsters straight off the day boats there will be better and worse lobsters. That's just how it is. There's no good reason to pay $18 per pound for lobster at a restaurant on City Island when in less time than it takes to drive there and back I can get an equivalent-quality lobster for around $8 per pound and cook it better at home. I actually saw some on sale for $4.95 per pound in New Jersey the other day. On an anniversary-type occasion one does not behave rationally, however.

[jaybee]

Thanks for your story, FG. I love reading well-told stories about everyday experiences.

And Happy Anniversary.

[Fat Guy]

Thank you, Jaybee.

[Varmint]

Sounds like you and Ellen had a fantastic day, Steve. Congratulations on the 8th, and I hope you continue until your 68th.

[Fat Guy]

Thank you, Varmint.

[Kim WB]

Just one more adding tot he congrats..and, replacing bronze, linen or lace with lobster is a great idea....next year is the foie gras anniversary? followed by....this is a great new way to celebrate marriage! Except for whatever year is diamonds, cause when I hit that, I want one of those diamond anniversary bands...I'm reverting back to tradition!

[Fat Guy]

Thank you, Kim. Should we take a stab at creating an anniversary food chart?

Here's the non-food one, from alt.wedding on Usenet:

http://www.wam.umd.edu/~sek/wedding/annive...versaries2.html

[Rachel Perlow]

I actually saw some on sale for $4.95 per pound in New Jersey the other day.

Where???

Oh, congratulations. I think Jason and I will follow your tradition and have a lobster anniversary too. But that's next year. Our 7th is upcoming. What do you suggest should be the theme?

[Fat Guy]

Thank you, Rachel.

The sale was at Shop Rite in Paramus, I believe.

I will think about an appropriate 7th Anniversary food.

[Fat Guy]

Here you go:

http://www.shoprite.com/weekly/week32/AdTa...ges/8_4p01C.jpg

Forgive me, the price is $4.99, not $4.95.

[Rachel Perlow]

Lord, everything is online now, even supermarket circulars.

[tommy]

seedless grapes only 99 cents a lb!

[ummmmm, does anyone actually really ever buy the kind *with* the seeds?]

[Fat Guy]

Tommy: I prefer the kind with the seeds -- the Red Globe variety. They have the best flavor of the widely available table grapes, in my opinion.

Rachel: We've been perusing store circulars online for ages. We don't get any of the North Jersey or Westchester circulars in our newspapers, and in fact we rarely buy newspapers now that we read everything online. So every week or so we check everything from Shop Rite to Target to Stew Leonard's. We buy lots of loss leaders.

[CathyL]

Happy anniversary, Steven & Ellen!

I was going to ask, if the 8th is lobster, what do you have to look forward to for your 50th? but someone beat me to it.