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May 18, 2005
New York - Day 1 (0)
After a nice flight from DFW to JFK, I found a seat in baggage claim and read while waiting for Karen to drive in from Hartford. After an hour, she finally arrived. We dropped the car off and caught a cab into the city. On the way in we both tried to look at the skyline to see if there was a difference. (Take into account that it has been 5.5 years since Karen and I have been to NYC…can you tell that I am jonesing for a hot dog from a street vendor? I mean, a lot has happened in the last five years. We’ve had 2 kids, I quit smoking, and we both got five years older.)
We checked into our hotel, the Bryant Park Hotel. (Check out their website….cool flash intro.) So this is the swankest place I have stayed at…here or anywhere. It is right across from Bryant Park (of course), which is behind the NYC Library.
After acclimating to the room and getting unpacked, we went down to the Cellar Bar. It was packed with the after-work crowd. The DJ did some fun and different stuff, mixing your typical DJ fare with classics (Rolling Stones, Dixie’s Midnight Runners, Def Leopard). The drinks had the New York sticker shock, but they were mixed well and quite large.
After a few drinks, we took a cab to our favorite casual Italian restaurant in NYC, Ballato’s (55 E Houston – pronounced “Howston” for anyone more familiar with the Texas version). Karen and I have been going to Ballato’s on every trip we’ve made to NYC since 1992. The place seemed deserted when we arrived, but picked up toward the end of the night. We sat across form the owner and a friend who gave us recommendations, like “Everything on the menu is good. If it wasn’t I wouldn’t put it on the menu.” Karen had the veal saltimbocca, which was outstanding. I ordered what was billed as a “lamb chop.” What came out was an entire rack of lamb! I can hardly describe how tasty and tender this giant, uncut rack was… The 1998 Barolo we had was so good, that it was gone, before we had finished the meal.
The Bryant Park Hotel
The Bryant Park Hotel - Front Door
Bryant Park - Complete with free WIFI!
Bryant Park - Carousel
Ballato's Restaurant
We Just Had a Great Meal!
Posted by Rich at May 18, 2005 8:19 PM
