I love Toast’em’s. I had never been a big fan of toaster pastries, thinking that items like Pop-Tarts by Kellogg’s were for little kids. Over the last few years, I discovered Toast’ems when I was shopping at the Dollar Tree and needed to bring a snack with me on my walks in Manhattan in the afternoons. These delightful treats carry so well and there is such a variety of flavors to choose from.
The Frosted Strawberry Toast’em’s
You do not even have to heat these pastries as they are good just out of the bag. They have the same consistency as a Pop Tart at half the price and sometimes they have a bonus pack where you get an extra package of pastries for the same price.
The taste is delicious with fillings that include…
I had been shopping in the Boscov’s Department Store in Woodbridge Center in Woodbridge, NJ recently and I walked into their Candy Department on the second floor to admire all their candy selections.
The shelves were ladened with products from Hershey’s Easter candies which rang true for a department store company based in Pennsylvania. So many wonderful food companies are based in the Lancaster and surrounding communities.
On one table I eyed one of my favorite holiday treats on the display table near the register, a decorated butter cream Easter Egg by the Lerro’s Candy Company. The beautifully decorated egg came in two sizes, and I preferred the larger one that would last until Easter morning.
This sweet Easter Egg was nicely decorated with all sorts of flowers and edible embellishments. The center of…
I first discovered the ravioli from Pede Brothers in the frozen food section of Dollar Tree and for $1.00 a package I thought I might as well give them a try. I was surprised by how delicious they were when I made them at home.
First, these raviolis cook in about three minutes in boiling water and are perfect coming out of the pot. They are so tender on the outside and creamy from the ricotta cheese on the inside that they ooze when they are cut. They blend so well when they mix with the sauce.
What is nice about a package of their ravioli is that there is just enough for two people with a nice salad and garlic bread or nice sized meal for one person who is really hungry.
With the Easter holidays coming up, the aisles of the local stores are filled top to bottom with Easter candies of all assortments. One particular that I found that I had not eaten in years are the Spangler Bunnies, Chicks & Eggs, a delicious marshmallow candy that comes in various colors and the shapes of bunnies, chicks, and eggs that are perfect for any Easter basket.
These soft and sweet little candy figures are very similar to Circus Peanuts, another item that the company makes. This specialty item is only available at the Easter holidays. The consistency is slightly firmer than a traditional marshmallow but these rich treats taste of a sugary goodness in each bite.
These sweet treats are only available at the Easter holidays.
I have been in love with Circus Peanuts candies since I started eating. When I was little, we used to go to Joe’s Fruit Farm on Washington Valley Road in Bridgewater, NJ for our local fruits and apple cider. In the store front area of the farm (which was still going strong into 2006) used to have the old ‘penny candy’ jars.
When I was in elementary school, I used to go shopping with my mother there and used to beg for three things: red licorice strings, orange slices and Circus Peanuts. I still remember that little white bag I got filled with two of each (if I was good) and saved the Circus Peanuts for last.
Circus Peanuts by Melster Candies
I love the soft marshmallow consistency of these orange treats and…
I have to share this new snack I found on the grocery shelf. These puffs are amazing! I love munching on these for my walks.
The Cheddar and Sour Cream puffs are the best!
Don’t miss these treats when shopping for the home. They are gluten free and Kosher for those of you who have dietary restrictions. They also taste so good!
I recently came across Munch Rights snacks on a recent trip to Dollar Tree and have enjoyed the quality and taste of the three flavors that I have tried. Going from bag to bag I wanted to try them more.
First what I like about the Munch Rights snacks is that they have 0 trans fats, very low in saturated fats and low in calories. For people with special dietary concerns, the snacks are gluten free (due to their corn meal base) and Kosher. These guilty pleasures are a welcome to someone who absolutely loves Fried Extra Cheddar Cheetos. The problem I have like most snackers is that once I open the bag, I have to eat the whole thing because they are so addictive. Munch Rights takes that guilt away.
Please check out my new blog, “Add This To Your Grocery List” and then add it to your cart.
I carry Mrs. Freshley’s snack cakes when I walk around Manhattan for MywalkinManhattan.
Mrs. Freshley’s Dreamies snack cakes.
Don’t underestimate the quality and taste of Mrs. Freshley’s products. I pack them for my journeys around Manhattan for my walking project. It brings back that taste of childhood during recess, for a bag lunch dessert or coming home after school. Even as an adult, I love snack cakes.
When I roam the aisles of the Dollar Tree, I am always looking for snack foods to bring to work with me to save on the ever rising prices at the vending machines. A snack cake can cost now $1.50 for one piece. When you have a craving for something sweet, you need to bring it from home.
This is when recently, I came across Mrs. Freshley’s Swiss Rolls on the shelve. A box of eight twin packs is a $1.00 instead of the Hostess brands that will run between $3.50 to $4.00 a box. The quality and taste are very similar.
I have only had the Swiss Rolls, which is a thinly rolled chocolate sponge cake with a sweet creamy filling. These light desserts are then dipped in…
Johnson’s Popcorn at 1360 Boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ
Taking a trip down the Jersey Shore is always fun especially on a late summer afternoon during the week when there are not too many people around and you have the whole Boardwalk to yourself. When I arrived at the Ocean City, NJ Boardwalk, it was mostly locals walking around, enjoying the sunny afternoon jogging, power walking and conversing with neighbors. You could see it was a tightknit group on the Boardwalk that day.
I have been coming to Ocean City, NJ only recently staying the night six years ago when I thought I might have a job close by. I started to explore the shore towns and made Ocean City my headquarters for that trip…
I took time out of my walking project to take a detour to the Javis Center to the Annual New York Restaurant Show. I try to keep up with the latest trends in what kitchen equipment is new and innovative, how computers and apps are changing the way we order and have food delivered and new food stuffs that will be gracing the tables of banquet halls and restaurants not just in New York City but all over the country. What scares me the most of the Hospitality industry is how some people in the industry are trying to take the hospitality out of it by computerizing everything to the point where you don’t see people anymore.
The NY Restaurant Show just keeps getting smaller each year
By walking the entire show, I saw more things that will improve the industry and more money saving items will make cooking easier and better in design and sanitation. One of the best items that I saw in new kitchen equipment was the The Self Cooking Center by Rational USA from Rolling Meadows, Illinois. This oven does it all. With the combinations of heat and steam in one single appliance, it offers new possibilities when it comes to the professional preparation of food (Rationalusa.com (888)-320-7274).
The machine was interesting in that it could cook multiple items perfectly with just the touch of a button. Each of the cabinets were cooking something different. One time I stopped by the display they were cooking a pizza and another time they were cooking and cutting a roast. Each item was cooked perfectly and the unit looked like it was easy to clean.
The Food Section of the show has grown this year. About five years ago, the show had cut back on the number of food merchants and companies that carried lines for commercial restaurants. I guess they felt that people were eating their way through the show and just wanted lunch which is further from the truth. I think the restaurant food companies have a big place in the show as you are seeing the equipment, the computer programs and the merchandising. Now how do you tie the actual product into all that? By having the equipment not just cook the food but what types of foods for a commercial kitchen can be offered.
There were many commercial restaurant vendors at the show this time around and it was such a success with the customers walking the show, I am sure this area will get bigger again as more vendors know this is open to them. The visiting participants seemed to enjoy it and it got a lot of buzz amongst the buyers.
It seems that Brooklyn, NY is quickly becoming a hot-bed for new food start-ups and incubators. One vendor that I sampled were Brooklyn Patisserie (19 Fifth Street, Brooklyn, NY 718-852-1768) had the most delicious croissants and cinnamon danishes that I had sampled. They were light, buttery and had a wonderful sweetness to them.
Another area vendor that I sampled was Brooklyn Cured (www.brooklyncured.com Brooklyn, NY 917-282-2221) for deli meats and salami. I sampled both their pastrami and their maple bourbon ham both of which had a nice smoky taste to them. The ham had a hint of sweetness due to the maple syrup flavoring the meat. Another Brooklyn vendor was selling Middle Eastern Hors D’Oeuvres that were filled with meats and spinach. Rose Gourmet (1677 McDonald Avenue (718) 382-1226) had an interesting cheese filled puff pastry called a Burekas that had a nice bite to it and these savory tidbits were very popular with show goers.
A further standout from Brooklyn was Table 87 for their flash frozen coal oven pizzas (table87.com). They provide the whole package to the customer in way of the freezer, the oven, trays, cutter and the pizzas. The whole concept is sold to the restaurant. The pizzas are really of high quality and the tomato sauce, which I always think is the base of the pizza tasted of real tomatoes.
There were many options to choose from with high quality Asian products at the show. Walong Marketing Inc. http://www.AsianFoodsOnline.com (877-675-8899) offered many different vendors at the show. Some of these were dumplings that had been steamed and fried for sampling at the show. They had a wonderful mixture of ground pork and spices.
These sweet little desserts have a sweet rice flour wrapped on the outside and a delicious ice cream in the center. Two of them I was able to sample were the vanilla and mango.
That was when I was able to get near the display as it was a very popular vendor at the show. TMI Trading Company (info@twinmarquis.com (718-386-6868) was sampling Lo Mein noodles by Twin Marquis, that were tender and flavorful and adhered to the sauce they served with them.
The ever popular Chef One also represented by TMI Trading Company was sampling dumplings and spring rolls that were steamed and fried and had a nice flavor with every bite.
Their representative told me that the cost factor for these popular items was very fair and were extremely popular in non-Asian restaurants and bars. The company’s dumplings never last that long when they are displayed for sampling.
Chef One Dumplings
The show offered some interesting items in the Beverage area. Tractor Beverage Company (DrinkTractor.com) had some interesting non-carbonated and carbonated sodas and teas. The one that stood out to me was the Blood Orange Soda that had a nice hint of the fruit and a light flavor. There is a big difference in the all natural sodas and the ones that are artificially flavored and you could taste the difference. Plus these sodas are usually lighter in color.
Another beverage vendor that stood out was Fruit-n-Ice (Kanawati Enterprises 249 Lodi Street Hackensack, NJ 07601 (866) 265-9569), who sells the complete package of mixes and machines for a retail spot.
Fruit-n-Ice
The mixes come in many fruit flavors that are mixed with ice, almost like a Slushy that you might get at a 7-11 but higher quality. I sampled both the Passion Fruit and Mango and both were quite good. The appearance of the machine makes a colorful statement and the quality was very good. I visited them again in 2020 and the quality of their product is wonderful.
There were some stand out desserts at the show that were interesting. A few that stood out were Little Red Kitchen’s (hello@littleredkitchenbakeshop.com (347) 815-4824) Blondies and Brownies that were being sampled. They were rich, dense and rich in flavor.
Outrageous Baking (www.outrageousBaking.com (303) 449-4632) was sampling the most moist and flavorful Cinnamon Coffee Cake, You could the buttery taste and cinnamon in every bite.
Two unusual desserts I sampled were a Fruta Pop (www.frutapop.com) which makes a gourmet alcohol infused popsicles that were the perfect adult dessert. They were sweet, fruity and you could get a slight buzz from the pop. These were delicious as they had almost a fizzy mouthfeel to them. They are the perfect dessert for after a barbecue or dinner party. I sampled them again in new flavors in 2020.
Another delicious dessert was the Stroop Club (chantal@stroopclub (512) 400-8906) Stroopwafels, a Dutch dessert treat. These buttery delights are a light waffle like cookie filled with a sweet glaze that tastes like a cross between maple syrup and cinnamon. These little cookies are perfect with coffee or hot chocolate.
Two breakfast vendors sampling at the Restaurant Show stood out amongst the others. New Hope Mills (181 York Street Auburn, NY 13021 (315) 252-2676) has the most delicious waffle mix that produces the lightest waffles. They were being made fresh at the show and with a little maple syrup make the perfect breakfast. Bosquet (bosquetgourmet.com) makes a gluten Buttermilk Waffle mix that is also very light and you would never know the waffles were gluten free.
Another product that I thought was unique and stood out was the Gourmet Fries Seasoning by Chef’s Fun Foods (www.ChefsFunFoods.com (977) 233-3007). The vendor deep fried French Fries and doused them with seasoning, giving each bite the spicy flavor of tomato ketchup or garlic salt. It is a nice spin on not using salt.
Another group of vendors that was interesting was the computer and tech companies stream lining how we order, budget and cost out recipes. The technology has changed so much in the last twenty years that we can now tie in building a recipe, costing it out, build in the retail cost and connect it to cooking it and setting up the inventory of the ingredients. So when you cook the dish, it is already setting up the inventory you will need in the future.
There was even a table that explained all the dishes on the menu and you could order them with the touch of button and a runner would bring the dish out to you and when you were ready to pay, you just put the credit card into the table and pay for it. The salesman got annoyed with me when I asked “doesn’t that take the whole purpose of going out to converse with other people and engage in conversation?” He moved onto the next customer.
So much more can be attached to the Smart Phones and companies like DiningEdge (www.diningedge.com (561) 260-4975) are bringing this straight to the customer with ordering and scanning products.
So much change in the Restaurant industry is going on with new products, new ways of looking at decor, security and staffing but the take away I got from the technological part was that they are taking out the human factor at the expense of saving money on staffing which I think is wrong. The whole point of going out is to meet people, have a good meal with nice conversation and to be social. Isn’t it what Hospitality is all about?
Walking the NY Restaurant Show is a couple of miles long but you see the innovation of the future and figure that every time we go out to eat, it started by walking the isles of this show. Miles of show!
The New York Restaurant Show is every March.
The Restaurant Show in revisited in 2020:
The Restaurant Show this year was very quiet in comparison to previous years. The Flu scared everyone away and the show just did not have the same amount of people milling around. You could walk down each aisle without bumping into anyone.
That being said there were many innovative companies that the industry missed this year. Amongst the vendors I have seen in the past, there were many that stood out. Off to the side of the show, there was a new food innovation area where many small vendors were showing their wares.
In the dessert area was Baci Gelato (Info@BaciGelato.com/1-888-441-BACI) whose flavors were really delicious and refreshing in a building that was getting hot with all the walking. Their Melon Gelato was really refreshing and light and had a hint of sweetness. The Lemon Ice was tart and sweet and also refreshing when wondering around the area of the show.
A new line of Cheese breads, Pao De Queijo, from Brazil really stood out. These light cheesy round breads can make the perfect appetizer or addition to a bread basket. With each bite these small bread bites have a chewy, cheesy taste of Parmesan and cheddar. I talked with the representative of La Toca Blanca (m.pacheco@whitetoque.com-(201) 723-0838) and he told me this was something he grew up with and was proud to sell. These little balls of cheeses are highly addictive and delicious. I had to pop more than a few.
One of the beverages that tasted nicely and was refreshing was from Piper & Leaf Artisan Tea Company (www.piperpartner.com.-(256) 426-9620). These light tea blends had a nice flavor when they were able to seep and the flavors became more complex. I tried their Strawberry Shindig which was light and had a hint of the infused strawberries and their Lemon Berry Blush with tastes of sweet strawberry and a hint of lemon from the lemon grass infusion.
Another beverage company that was a stand out was Blossom Botanical Water (drinkblossomwater.com-(855-325-5777) with their line of infused refreshing bottled waters. All six of their flavors are standouts and when properly chilled it really brings out the flavors of the drinks. Of the six, the Lemon Rose was the big winner with its hints of rose petals and light sweet lemon flavoring and the Mango Hibiscus with its tastes of the rich fruits with an added tartness.
One of the bakeries that stood out was the Brooklyn Patisserie Bakery (www.brooklynpatisserie.com-(718) 852-1768) from Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn. This line of breads, scones, pastries and desserts stood out for their quality, taste, appearance and the fact that with every bite you could taste the whole butter in the dough and the fresh fruit in the danishes. Their apple and berry danishes made me visit the booth many times and their Chocolate Croissant was filled with a nice amount of sweet chocolate.
Another dessert product that was popular in the show and I have been to their cafe in Little Italy for over fifty years is Ferrara Foods (www.FerraraNYC.com-(212) 226-6150) with their decadent cannoli and tiramisu. Their pastry shells come in two sizes and the cannoli filling comes prepackaged so that you have the perfect filling for each bite.
Another Asian product that is new to the market and is just entering the United States is Mrs. Tran’s Kitchen (Murrayintltrading@yahoo.com-(718) 230-7888) When I was talking to the representative with the company the business was started by the General Manager of the company’s mother from her traditional recipes.
Their lines of dumplings, spring rolls and samosas are light, flavorful and really give a nice alternative when having Dim Sum with a product containing real vegetables and are Halal and MSG free. Their line of dumplings are light and flavorful.
Mrs. Tran’s Dim Sum Lines
Of the many savories that I tasted, there were more than a few that stood out. The French company Aviko (www.avikofoodsservice.com-(908) 375-8566) specializes in potato products. They offered delicious versions of French Fries which were cooked to perfection and on display for tasting. The two real products of theirs that stood out were their Gratins in both Gratin Cream and Cheese and Gratin Cheese and Broccoli.
Aviko’s Potato Gratins are heaven in each bite
Every little bite of these gratins has a rich, dense and sharp taste of the cheese and the broccoli version I think is the best for its richness and complexity of flavors.
Another standout at the show were the mixes from Drum Rock Products (www.drumrockproducts.com-(401) 737-5165), who offer a selection of batters, breaders and fritter mixes.
They also have a line of pancake and waffle mixes that there were not sampling. The ladies had mixed the fritter batter with a mix of seafood and also battered shrimp. The batter adhered beautifully and had a wonderful crisp and crunchy outside and the seafood was moist on the inside. The flavoring had a nice malted flavor to it.
The delicious breadings and mixes from Drum Rock add flavor to seafood
Another standout product that was being sampled was from Balkan Bites (www.balkanbites.co-info@balkanbites.co). The ladies were sampling something called a ‘Burek’ which is a savory stuffed phyllo swirl that was filled with feta cheese and ricotta, beef and onion and potato and onion. These little bites had the rich butter taste of the flaky dough and the favorable fillings.
Each bite had a nice complex flavor of the meat, cheese and the dough. The beef ‘burek’ had nice spiciness to it.
The best and ultimate food that I tasted at the show in 2020 was Crunch Rolls (www.crunchrollsfactory.com-1-877-4-Crunch). This delicious versions of the modern egg roll are out of this world good.
This product is the ultimate appetizer or snack as they are breaded and deep fried on the outside and filled with flavorful savory fillings on the inside. All of the flavors are interesting. The Buffalo Chicken are spicy and sweet, the Hungarian banana pepper has a interesting twist to a calzone, the Mac & Cheese is decadent and the Steak & Cheese gives the Cheesesteak a new identity. This will be a very popular product in the market.
The Buffalo Chicken Crunch Roll
Leaving the food section of the show and entering the equipment and furnishings section of the Restaurant Show I noticed a lot of interesting designs both in dining equipment and display pieces to add conversation to any restaurant or specialty shop.
The Culinary Depot (Sales@culinarydepot.biz-(845) 352-8200) handles the lines of many manufacturers and one line of serving dishes that stood out to accent any buffet line was the Maximillan Steel Chafer dishes. These are total redesign of the traditional chafing dish and there is a beauty and elegance to their design.
The Maximillan Steel Buffet designs are clean and elegant
The IFI Gelato Collection (www.ifi.it-info@ifi.it-export@ifi.it-39-0721-20021) has some interesting ways of serving up the traditional gelato products but the one that stood out the most is the Tonda serving freezer. This revolving freezer shows off all the flavors carried in your sampling and only stops when you get to the one you want to serve. I can see an almost “I Love Lucy” sitcom value to this product of revolving treats.
Another kitchen product that mesmerized me at the show was the Peel-a-ton by Astra Inc. (www.e-astra.co.jp-(310) 733-7586). This automatic peeler is a cross between peeler, gizmo, bar conversation started and toy for bartenders.
What makes this product so unique is the way it peels the fruit in a whimsical way of taking off the skin while creating a garnish for the very drinks that contain the fruit. It is a nice way for a restaurant to both create garnishes and have the fruit ready for the kitchen while keeping the customers amused.
Peel-a-ton is an interesting piece of equipment
Another interesting addition to any restaurant is from the Compaction Technologies Inc. (www.compactiontechnologies.com-(612) 230-2200) with their new twist to trash disposal with the Ecotrash trash can.
Not only does this compact garbage, recyclables and food waste into a neat package but the design would fit into upscale food establishment or food court environment. They make waste disposal easy and sanitary while creating an elegant look in three colors.
Compaction Technologies Ecotrash machine
Another unique food court item that may not garner much attention but is needed was for the bathroom.
Wiz Kids Products (infor@WizKidProducts.com-(954) 323-2485) offered a new twist to the toilet seat with a set of vertical urinal screens in different colors and scents called the Splash Hog. They were not only decorative but hid smells. I knew this because they were using them in the bathrooms of the Javis Center.
Splash Hogs by WizKid Products
Two technology products that are going to change the way we do business and the way we capture customer information are by KounterTop for integration of information in the kitchen and by Eyecatch, a company that uses eye contact to ‘read’ who we are as a person.
Eyecatch (www.eyecatch.com-(954) 641-8451) is cutting edge technology that has been used on the West Coast for some time now. I had heard it is big in Seattle. The computer reads who you are and tries to guess your age and then sets up a profile about you starting when you walk in the door and then what you buy. The representative said that it will then start a profile on you and even offer you coupons and incentives the more times you come into an establishment. I thought it was interesting but to invasive and “Big Brother”.
KounterTop (Kountertop.com-(650) 900-4499)is an all in one computer program that schedules and staff, does Food Prep Management from waste to ordering and food rotation and also tracks sales, safe tracking and tip out management. It basically runs all your paperwork and back of the house reports to keep you up to date on restaurant profitability. I used to do it all by hand.
These are the developments and changes that are going to take our industry into the 21st Century. The scary part is that it is almost like a “Twilight Zone” Episode where everything gets automated and you no longer need humans to do the work anymore. Things are developing very fast but the industry has to remember something. We are still in the Hospitality field and you need the human touch to make people feel welcome. This changes are good for some aspects of the business not so much for others.
Every year the technology changes surprise and excite me but scare me at the same time. Who is going to be running the show soon? It will be interesting to see when I visit again in 2021 when more developments keep happening. Still, it was an eye-opening show.
The Restaurant Show in 2022:
It was nice to be back at the show. There was no show in 2021 because of the COVID pandemic and the show in 2022 was also smaller than in the past. These are not the shows of 2003-2004, when the entire building was being used for the show.
The show still was packed with new technology and innovative products.
The show in 2022:
It has been over two years since the Restaurant Show of 2020 when at the end of the week the whole country shut down because of COVID. Even though the mask mandates have been dropped, people are still leery about attending these shows. The crowds on the two days that I went to the show rather thin. Sundays are always quiet and filled with college students, but Mondays are when all the Industry people arrive at the show and even then, the crowds were like what a busy Sunday would be ten years ago.
The thing about the Restaurant Show is that it is a third of the size that it was back in 2003 when I first attended the show as part of my job as a professor when I was teaching in the School of Hotel Management at the Katharine Gibbs College. My Dean wanted everyone in our college to attend the Hotel/Motel Show, the Fancy Food Show and the Restaurant Show to keep us abreast of what was happening in the industry. It is an eye-opener with all the new technology that has changed over the last five years alone.
On the Sunday of the show, I was able to walk the whole show in about three hours, a big difference from the Fancy Food Show, which it takes me the whole three days and I barely finish that. Even the Hotel/Motel Show has gotten smaller than this. It is because the food vendors have left the show and I hate to say it but the participants of these shows like to sample and eat while they are walking around.
I saw some very innovative machinery, computer programs and food items at the show this year and wanted to share them. There is so much going on and so much progress that things I had to figure out by hand are now a touch away with updated POS systems that figure out everything from what the best sellers are on your menu, to what you need to order to how much you should cook and how much money are you making on just on the dish but in overall sales for the restaurant. Technology is giving more information quicker and more precise. This is at a time when restaurants need the information as they are closing left and right because of COVID.
I still find the show fascinating and love to see all the new developments. I also notice that the salespeople are so bored that they are always chasing after me. I sometimes think they look at me and think I am going to place big orders with them. When they see that I am a college professor, they immediately back off. Still, it is nice to talk to the vendors who are interested in meeting other industry people who might help them in the future.
There were a lot of standouts at the show in 2022:
In new machines for the Hotel/Restaurant industry, it seems that microchips are ruling innovation.
One of the most interesting piece of equipment in the Coffee business is the S9X Smart Coffee Roaster by the Stronghold Technology Inc. The beautiful coffee roaster not only roasts the coffee bean but the equipment looks so nice on a counter that it fits any modern kitchen. The sales person also told me it is the perfect piece of machinery if you are going to go into commercial roasting.
The rice serving machine, Fuwarica, was another interesting piece of equipment that not only proportions rice into things like sushi. What is interesting is that you measure the amount of rice that you want and then cook it. It then has a rice warming hopper to keep the rice hot before serving, a rice double beater to keep the rice fluffy and a touch panel display so that every portion is consistent.
The representative was making small pieces of sushi and colorful rolls with the rice when it came out.
One delicious piece of equipment that I kept wanting to revisit is the Le Waf, the ultimate French waffle. This delicious mix was studded with pearl sugar and then the waffle was cooked, the sugar caramelized on the top to give it a sweet and crunching coating. Not only did it have a nice, malted taste with a sweetness in every bite.
The Le Waf waffle is amazing
The most unusual and most interesting robot at the show was the SERVI by Bear Robotics, this robot server that moves on command, serves drinks and dishes and welcomes you with a pleasant tone. I thought this thing was the perfect vice in a sitcom.
The machine moved all around the aisle that the display was located and followed customers at the food show, showing us how it moves plates. I can see one day that we will no longer need waiters a restaurant anymore. The robot serves drinks, food and greets the guests.
Another all-in-one drink machine, The DrinkBot by the Botrista Company. Similar to many soda dispensers but these handcrafts drinks and can create a menu to make custom drinks. What I thought was nice is that the syrups are automatically measured, dispensed and mixed by the machine. It can also mix and dispense thicker, more natural ingredients all while keeping the beverages chilled.
The drinks that they were serving that afternoon were really refreshing and had nice flavors. This would be perfect for any home bar.
Some of the food innovations from the show were really good and there were some interesting products some of which I have seen before and others I have tried in various restaurants.
Some of the beverages that stood out from the fountain dispensers was the Bruce Cost and the Yuzu sodas that are made in Brooklyn. These small batch sodas made of all natural ingredients is a real standout.
These refreshing drinks are made with all natural ingredients and sweetened with organic cane sugar and have a zesty flavor to them. I love the Blood Orange and Pomegranate flavors of the Bruce Cost and the White Peach and Red Shiso & Apple in the Yuzu line. These sodas are like a good wine. They don’t rob the food you are eating from its flavor and the flavors are light and fizzy. The would be nice with lighter lunch dishes and all types of Asian cuisines.
Another interesting drink mix is 1883 by Maison Boutin from France. These interesting mixes can be blended with sparkling sodas and used in mixed drinks. The syrups are made with French Alps water and pure cane sugar with all natural ingredients. Their intense flavor is a good addition to any drink.
Another food product at a very busy booth at the show is locally made in New Haven, Connecticut is Gelato Giuliana which is freshly made in small batches. Ms. Giuliana created the recipes that she learned in Italy for a cafe that she later opened up.
These delicious gelatos have such intense and fruity flavors are so rich and decadent. I was only able to try the Strawberry Cream (the line was long) and it was delicious with the sweetness of the strawberries coming out in every bite.
The line of Giuliana Maravalle’s delicious gelatos
The last food product of the few that were featured at the show was delicious Macarons from Macaron Paris which are made in Manhattan (talk about local). Again the line was long for the product and I was only able to try the Birthday Cake flavor and I can say that one is enough. These delightful little cookies are immensely sweet and creamy. It melted in my mouth.
Don’t miss these delightful little cookies and maybe visit their cafe in Manhattan.
I was able to attend just a few lectures at the Javits Center in the two days that I attended the Restaurant Show as it was so spread out. Still, I got a lot out of it. Don’t miss these wonderful recommendations at your local grocery store.
Visiting the Restaurant Show in 2023:
I have to say one thing, this is the incredible shrinking show. What once took up two floors and most of the upstairs how now been reduced to the lower level of one section of the building. Even this section of the building was not totally taken up and a lot of the floor downstairs was curtained off. They even offered me a free ticket to go to the show.
The first day of the show was typical of the shows of the past. It was really busy and loaded with college students who were hungry and crowded around any food vendor who was at the show. I mean, this is the food vendors job to try to sell their wares but people try to make a meal out of it.
One guy said to me that he was tired of feeding hungry people and not selling anything. I told him that you never know who you are feeding and it could mean sales in the future. He then agreed with me that this had happened in the past.
The NY Restaurant Show in 2023
Still there were some interesting vendors at the show. Slowly the show is allowing the food vendors to return who they banished pre-COVID on the premise that people were using them to have lunch. I think this is further from the truth. Alright people eat away but you never know when someone is going to buy eventually. You have to have the attitude that every bite could mean a sale in the future.
The technology companies I had seen at the Fancy Food Show in the summer and there were still a lot of systems on the market that are making changes to food inventory and ordering. The most impressive and fun object at the show was the Plato robot waiter.
This friendly little fellow was the star of the show
This little robot is programmed to be so friendly and engaging. It is perfect for room service or just to serve entrees at the table in your restaurant. This little robot just smiles and giggles. He entertained the crowds on the first day of the show.
Another equipment vendor that was very popular at the show was the Marra Forni Pizza Oven. The oven was amazing in that the thin crusted pizzas were being cooked in almost 60 seconds. I have never seen pizzas being cooked so fast. The oven was creating small personal pizzas one after another to a hungry crowd of show goers but it was the quality and the way the oven cooked the perfect pizza with a crisp crust and the perfectly cooked bottom.
The Marra Forni Oven was one of the most popular booth’s at the NY Restaurant Show
The pizzas were crisp and well cooked and lead to long lines at the show
The pizzas were perfectly cooked and fed a lot of hungry people at the show
There were not a lot of food vendors this year as last year but the numbers are growing as show goers are looking for more local and sustainable products. It will be several months before the International Fancy Food Show but several New York State vendors were at show displaying and sampling their wares.
Owner Ryan Chaif was sampling his fancy well made Ginger Ale, Soulless Soda, in both the original and the Lime Ginger Ale. They had a nice bite to them with less sugar than a regular soda. The owner had been craft brewer.
The sodas had a refreshing flavor with a bite in the taste. The Ginger Ale was definitely different from other sodas I have tried at the show.
The owner of Soulless Ginger Ale Ryan Chaif
I revisited another vendor from last year who was just as popular this year as it was last year, The Crunch Factory’s Crunch Rolls. These crunchy, crackly appetizer rolls are delicious. They are a like a breaded egg roll filled with a variety of rich and savory ingredients.
The Crunchy Crunch Rolls were perfectly deep fried with a variety of fillings
The fillings include Buffalo Chicken, Mac & Cheese, Banana Pepper, Steak & Cheese, Corned Beef Reuben and Pepperoni Pizza. When you bite into these crisp rolls, the creamy ingredients just flow out. I was able to sample the Steak & Cheese, the Buffalo Chicken and the Mac & Cheese. The Mac & Cheese tasted like Kraft Mac & Cheese with a sharp Cheddar taste.
The Mac & Cheese Crunch Roll
Director of Sales & Marketing at Crunch Factory Darren Neaverth serving up Crunch Rolls
Another great food vendor who offered an interesting snack product, B’Cuz granola snacks. These interesting bites of granola and various flavorings had a chewy consistency with a great flavor. I was able to sample the S’mores and Maple Pecan and both were delicious. The Maple Pecan had a nice combination of maple syrup and honey. It offered an excellent healthy alternative to regular snacks.
The NY Restaurant Show was rather small this year and I was able to tour it all in about two and half hours. It was not like the shows in the earlier 2000’s that took up the whole bottom section of the Javits Center. The show also offered many interesting speakers and discussions on the Metaverse, AI and changes in the industry since COVID.
There are going to be a lot changes in the restaurant industry going forward.
In 2024:
The Restaurant Show one of the smallest I had seen in years and there was no Food Pavilion as in previous years. I was able to walk the show in about 45 minutes as I had seen most of the vendors in previous shows. Also, it was very quiet both on Sunday and Monday not like previous years when I walked the show. I look forward to the Fancy Food Show coming up in the Summer.
My blog on the NY Restaurant Show in 2017 “Day Seventy-Walking the NY Restaurant Show”:
I started my walk today with a walking tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sometimes the Soup Kitchen gets to be too much before these walks and since making my goal of two thousand hours, I have wanted to calm it down. My next goal will be twenty-five hundred hours but I can take my time on that one.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art at 1000 Fifth Avenue
I toured the Asian galleries with other patrons of the museum. The exhibition was the “Crowns of the Vajra Masters: Ritual Art of Nepal” which was a tour of the famous crowns of Nepal. The funny part of these crowns were that they had always been in the collection but had been marked incorrectly by museum for the Armory Galleries as helmets. When they discovered what they had in storage, they put them out on display and soon will be restored so we won’t see them again for a long time.
The “Crowns of the Vajra Masters: Ritual Art of Napel” exhibition at the Met
The unique part of the tour that the docent told us is that they had never been out on display together since they had been bought to the museum and the first time ever had been displayed at the museum the way they are now. You really had to have the details explained as the symbolism of each crown stood on its own, with their Buddhas and flowers described in detail. All of them were accented with semi-precious jewels.
After the tour was over, I had enough time to walk around the new “Visitors to Versailles” exhibition. This is an exhibition you should not miss while it is open. It has all sorts of the pictures and artifacts on the creation of the building, how it progressed, who visited and how it continued to be added on up to the French Revolution and into the modern times. It was fascinating to see the progress on how it started as a hunting lodge right up to the modern gardens that were installed. Be prepared for at least a two hour visit for both exhibitions to see them properly. It was better than spending the morning cutting vegetables.
The “Visitors to Versailles” exhibition at the Met
I started my walk around the neighborhood at East 72nd Street, walking the lower part of the street passing familiar businesses and apartment buildings. It is amazing how fast scaffolding goes up. It must grow on its own because in just a few weeks, more buildings are surrounded by it or are in the process of being redone or knocked down. As I have said in previous entries, Manhattan is changing at a pace that you cannot keep up with it. You can walk a block and a week later it seems that something is in the process of change.
This is true on the first Avenue I walked today, the ever-changing York Avenue. It just seems like the entire Avenue is being rebuilt. I have never seen so many new buildings going up on one street. The rest of the blocks will certainly be going through the transition.
If you want to tour the FDR Walkway tour of the river, cross over at East 71st Street and York Avenue and cross the walkway here. It has the most beautiful views of the river and of Roosevelt Island. This is one way to get down to East 59th Street and the edge of the neighborhood. You can also cross over the East 63rd Street entrance as well to the river walk.
The Riverwalk along the East River
York Avenue has the Cornell-Weill Hospital between East 71st to East 68th Streets so these are busy blocks and then you pass the tranquil Rockefeller University between East 68th to East 63rd Street where most of the property facing York Avenue is landscaped and park-like and very pleasant to walk by. I just wish the campus was more open like the Columbia is where you can walk around the Quad. At the end of York Avenue at East 59th Street under the Queensboro Bridge starts the exclusive Sutton Place.
As I have said in a previous blog, really look at the beautiful artwork on the Queensboro Bridge, with its geometric designs along the sides, its beautiful tiling and its vaulted ceilings. The now closed supermarket under the bridge must have been amazing to shop in when it was open.
For lunch I stopped at Go Noodle Chinese Restaurant at 1069 First Avenue (See review on TripAdvisor) which was part of a series of restaurants near the bridge. It’s a nice restaurant to sit in and people watch. The lunch specials are reasonable and very good.
I started my meal with an egg roll and then had shredded chicken with string beans for my entree. The food here is very good. The entree was loaded with chicken cooked in a brown garlic tasting sauce with properly sauteed string beans. The egg roll was better than most I have tried at neighborhood Chinese restaurants but standard with roast pork and shredded cabbage. At $8.25 for a full meal plus the soda, not a bad price for lunch and it was lunch and dinner for me.
Their Chicken and String Beans was very good
After lunch, I needed a rest from the large lunch and all the walking and I stopped in Twenty-Four Sycamore Park on the corner of York Avenue at 501 East 60th Street right next to the Andrew Haswell Green Park on the other side of the road. This delightful little park is very popular with the kiddie/nanny set and had kids scrambling all over the place on this hot day chasing after one another while all the adults sat in the shade and talked amongst themselves. It was a nice place to just sit back and relax. I just tried to avoid the squirt gun fight going on.
As you turn to the lower part of First Avenue, you still see traces of the older part of the city but as you enter the higher East 60’s, things start to change. More and more new buildings are going up. The popular St. Catherine’s Park is between East 67th to 68th Streets and according to the park system mimics the Santa Maria sopra Minerva Church in Rome in its layout to honor St. Catherine (NYCParks.org).
This is another popular spot in the neighborhood for kids and adults alike. Kids were running around all over the park while the parents were relaxing under the shade trees. The sandbox seemed to be really popular with the kids jockeying for space in it.
When reaching East 66th Street, you will come across the large condominium complex of Manhattan House, which was built between 1950 to 1951 and designed by Gordon Bunshaft for the firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in the modernist style. It overlooks a garden that runs the entire block with two sculptures by the artist Hans Van de Bovenkamp (which you can see from the sidewalk through the windows).
Some of the famous people who have lived there include actress Grace Kelly and musician Benny Goodman. The apartment complex reached landmark status in 2007 and take time to walk around the front garden of the complex. It looks like something in Fort Lee, NJ.
Second and Third Avenues are mostly commercial but have many spots to look over and visit. Walking down Third Avenue past East 66th Street is a plaque on the site of the Nathan Hale, the American Patriot and spy, hanging by the British during the Revolutionary War. The site is much debated based on its location near the Dove Tavern on the Old Post Road. Another is by the Yale Club near East 44th Street. There has been a debate where the Royal Artillery Park was located.
If only Nathan Hale knew where he died would now be a TD Bank, even he would be shocked. It shows just how much Manhattan has changed.
Down the Avenue at East 60th Street is Dylan’s Candy Bar at 1011 Third Avenue, a giant emporium of candy and sweets, (which I hate to say is an exact copy of the old FAO Schweetz, which I ran back in the 90’s when I worked at FAO Schwarz Fifth Avenue. It was very reminiscent of the department due to the fact that the designers of the store, store management and buyer all came from the store to work with Dylan Lauren, designer Ralph Lauren’s daughter. My boss, Jeff, is one of her partners).
She took the creation and made it her own in a store that stocks 7,000 types of candy and a small cafe on the third floor. With the inspiration of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”, the store leads into a real life ‘Candyland’. The store is stocked with a rainbow of sweets and treats and one of the top tourist spots in the City (Dylan’s Candy Bar press).
Dylan’s Candy Bar NYC at 1011 Third Avenue (closed January 2024)
I stopped at Bloomingdale’s Department Store at 1000 Third Avenue at 59th and Lexington Avenue, the famous ‘Bloomies’, for another visit to ‘Forty Carrots’ (See review on TripAdvisor) on the 7th Floor. I swear on a hot day this is one of the best solutions. For $7.00, I had a small strawberry yogurt with rainbow sprinkles that cooled me down after this part of the long walk around the neighborhood.
40 Carrots inside Bloomingdale’s New York City 1000 Third Avenue
I got a chance to walk around the store and look at the merchandise. I have to say that the store has changed a lot over the years. It has gotten more upscale and the merchandise more expensive. It still has its past allure but has gotten more elegant in its feel.
Walking back up Lexington Avenue there are a few buildings of interest you really have to see. At 131 East 66th Street and Lexington Avenue is The Studio Building, considered one of the purest Italian Renaissance-palazzo style apartment buildings in New York City. The twelve-story building was designed by Charles A. Platt for developer, William J. Taylor, who had developed ‘studio’ apartment buildings on the West Side of Manhattan. Mr. Platt also designed the other sister building at 130-134 East 67th Street (CityRealty).
The buildings are distinguished by the handsome and large cornice and its very impressive entrance portals flanked by columns and topped with broken pediments on the street-side. The building has a nice tall, wrought-iron fence and four string courses (CityRealty). The buildings were designed landmarked in 1949 for their unique design. Both buildings are quite breath-taking to look at for their elegance.
As you walk further up Lexington Avenue, you will pass the Seventh Regiment Armory, whose entrance is at 643 Park Avenue, that goes the full block from Lexington to Park Avenues (you can see the statue dedicated to the regiment on Fifth Avenue), the Armory was built between 1877-1881 and is considered to have one of the most important collections of 19th Century intact interiors in New York City. It is now used as a performance art space.
The building was built in the ‘Silk Stocking’ district of Manhattan and was one of the first regiments to answer the call of arms by President Lincoln for the start of the Civil War in 1861. It was designed by Charles W. Clinton of the firm of Clinton & Russell and had been a member of the Regiment. It had been used as a military facility and a social club Armory History).
Further up the road between East 67th-69th Streets is the famed Hunter College campus. The students were out in full force when I was walking around the campus. Like Rockefeller University, this college dominates this part of the neighborhood with students and businesses catering to them. The problem is that the rents are getting so expensive, the students can’t support the upscale businesses that surround the campus and I am beginning to notice that there are more and more empty storefronts around the neighborhood. Still, it has a great bookstore to visit.
The rest of Lexington Avenue is surrounded by businesses and apartment buildings that are rapidly changing like the rest of the city. It is funny to walk down these blocks months later to see buildings under scaffolding or businesses that were once a part of the neighborhood for years suddenly disappear.
This is why Park Avenue is so nice. It never really changes. Dominated by pre-war and/or Victorian apartment buildings, it still has the look and feel that it did in the 30’s although there is a lot more money here now than then. Here and there is an old mansion or a small shop and I have found it home to three small but interesting museums and galleries.
At Park Avenue & 66th Street is the front part of the Park Avenue ‘Seventh Regiment Armory”. Built in the Gothic style by architect Charles Clinton in 1880, you can see the real detail of the building on the Park Avenue side. The former home of the Seventh Regiment it is now the home of the performing center.
The Americas Society Gallery at 680 Park Avenue is a unique and small little gallery located in the Spanish Institute. There was an interesting exhibition “The Metropolis in Latin America 1830-1930” on the development of cities in Latin America that was very interesting. Another museum/gallery next door to that is Italian Cultural Institute at 686 Park Avenue, who has the tiny ‘Museo Canova’ with the works of Italian artist Antonio Canova.
His “The Tempera Paintings of Possagno” was cataloged in 1817 and reference is made to those paintings depicting “various dance moves, frolics between nymphs and lovers, muses and philosophers, drawn for the artist’s personal knowledge and delight.” (Museo Canova pamphlet). They were interesting little paintings of nymphs and little angels dancing around each other.
The Americas Society and Spanish Institute is housed in the former Percy Rivington Pyne home that was built between 1909-1911 by McKim, Mead & White. Mr. Pyne was a director of the First National City Bank of New York and the founder’s grandson. The other part of the Institute is the former home of Oliver D. Filley (husband of Mary Pyne Filley, Percy Rivington Pyne’s daughter).
The Museum has rotating exhibitions during the year and the admission is free to the museum for certain exhibitions.
The inside of the museum during one of the exhibitions in 2024
Italian Cultural Institute at 684 Park Avenue is housed in the former home of Henry P. Davison, a financier that was designed by the firm of Walker & Gillette in 1917 in the Neo-Georgian style. All three of these homes were saved by Margaret Rockefeller Strong de Larram, Marquesa de Cuevas in 1965 and all three of these homes (now Institutes) were designated as a New York City landmark by the New York City Landmark Preservation Commission on November 10, 1970. Take time to look at the plaques attached to the three buildings and the architecture of the homes. It forms one of the last intact architectural ensembles on Park Avenue (Wiki).
The exhibition had interesting sketches of famous Italian women not just in Italy but all over the world. It was a nice retrospect on women who have shaped industry all over the world.
Artist Salvatore Catalano at the opening of the exhibition
This tiny gallery is only open at certain times of the year but always has interesting exhibitions and they give you plenty of time to walk around.
Further up Park Avenue is the Asian Society and Museum at 725 Park Avenue which was founded by John D. Rockefeller III in 1956 with a vision, to create an institute that would build bridges of understanding between the United States and Asia (Asian Society pamphlet). The museum houses the collection of John D. Rockefeller III on the third floor along with an exhibition of local children’s art and their interpretation of Asian Art. The bottom level houses a well-received restaurant and gift shop. It is an interesting exhibition on Hindu and Buddhist Art.
Madison Avenue also offers a wide array of interesting architecture and retail stores. At the very top of Madison Avenue is the home of the main store of Ralph Lauren, which is housed in the former Gertrude Rhinelander Waldo Mansion.
The home was built by the old money heiress between 1893-1898 designed by Kimball & Thompson in the French Renaissance revival design. It has been leased by Ralph Lauren since 1983, whose company redesigned it as a retail store. This is a store that proves that the ‘brick & mortar’ store is not dead with its elegant displays of merchandise.
Madison Avenue from East 72nd Street to 59th Street is really an Avenue of extremes. Just like the uptown blocks from East 72nd to East 96th Streets is full of extremely expensive but always empty looking stores. More and more of the store fronts are empty as even the raising rents are affecting this area of the city as well. Still, it is a great Avenue to window shop.
Still, you will find a collection of top American and European upscale shops that cater to that ‘certain’ customer. Needless to say, this part of Madison Avenue I never notice that busy and late at night the Avenue is practically barren.
One stands out on the Avenue is the St. James Church at 865 Madison Avenue near the Ralph Lauren store. This graceful and beautiful Episcopalian church was built 1810-1883 in various locations until in 1884, the present church designed by Robert H. Robertson was designed and built to open in 1885 in the Romanesque style. It has been added onto since the church has been built. Look at the graceful details around the church when you pass by.
I reached the top of Fifth Avenue that evening and was totally pooped! It was 8:20pm and starting to get dark. I just wanted to get back home at that point. I don’t where I garnered the energy, but I walked from Fifth Avenue and East 72nd Street to Port Authority at West 42nd Street and collapsed on the bus ride home.
On the 25th of May, I started my day at the Soup Kitchen again lucking out at a somewhat quiet day working on the Bread Station. We did not get any donations of sweets or desserts, so it was just bread today and we were able to butter away.
I walked up Sixth Avenue to the Museum of Modern Art to pick up tickets for the museum’s restoration of the movie, “Rosita” with Mary Pickford. This silent film had been all but lost until a print was found in Germany. Most of Mary Pickford’s films were destroyed by the actress herself who I had once read in biography that she did not want to see herself in old films. Pity, she would have been thrilled to see the theater was packed to the gills and they were turning people away.
I had lunch at Halal Guys food cart on the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 53rd Street. I have been coming here for years and the lines for their food always keep increasing (See review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com).
I had one of their combo sandwiches ($6.00), which is loaded with chopped chicken and gyro meat on a soft pita bread. It is so good, and I highly recommend it when visiting the MoMA. It is nice to have a sandwich or one of their platters and just sit by the stone benches by the CBS Building and watch the world go by.
Halal Brothers cart is always busy on the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 54th Street
I started my walk of the Upper East Side with a walk-through Central Park. On the way to the pathway into the park, I noticed a rather weird sculpture by British Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibane entitled “The Wind Sculpture”.
The artist created this sculpture to replace a more radical sculpture that had been taken down. The theme behind the piece is tolerance and highlights global migration (The Guardian). The artist concentrates on the themes of Colonial and Post-Colonial art.
As you pass the Batik colored sculpture, you will enter the walk way to Central Park Zoo, one of the biggest tourist spots for kids in the City. The Zoo, which is now part of the Wildlife Conservatory, has been part of Central Park since the 1860’s and then was renovated again in 1934. The current park was designed in 1984 and was reopened in 1988.
The Wind Sculpture at the entrance of Central Park off Fifth Avenue (no longer on display since 2020)
Like the rest of Central Park in the 1970’s and 80’s, the place got run down. Now it is more open and naturalistic to the animal’s home environment. Don’t miss the seal tanks and the penguin room as I find those the most interesting to visit. Try to get to the seal feeding at 2:00pm when the seals are not too tired of looking at tourists. The gardens are nice along the perimeter of the zoo to just sit and relax on a warm sunny day.
One thing not to miss is the Delacorte Clock just outside of the park. Every half hour, the clock chimes and all the animals do a dance routine. It starts with two monkeys’ hitting the bell and then the animals dance around the clock. There is an elephant, goat, bear, kangaroo, penguin and hippo that dance to songs like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and 24 other children’s songs. The clock was a gift from philanthropist George T. Delacorte, who also donated to the park the “Alice in Wonderland” statue and the Delacorte Theater. It was designed by artist Fernando Texidor in partnership of architect Edward Coe Embury and was dedicated in 1965 to Central Park. Try to get to the park to hear the songs and watch the animal’s dance.
I also took my first tour of the Tisch Children’s Zoo right next to the main zoo and this rather more mellow counterpart is more for younger children to see and pet smaller animals. Part of the original park, Lawrence Tisch saw to the renovations and it reopened in 1997. This is a great place for the under 12 crowd.
Between the late-night ambulance calls and the work in the Soup Kitchen and the long walks the days before, I relaxed on a grassy knoll in the park near the Fifth Avenue entrance off East 66th Street. I just fell asleep next to a bunch of other people who also were falling asleep in the park.
On a warm, sunny day under a shade tree, there is nothing like it. It is so relaxing to just look up at the trees and the sunshine and not believing you are still in the middle of a busy city. I can’t believe this is the same park of the 80’s when you didn’t dare enter. Just don’t do this late at night.
I walked up and around Fifth Avenue to East 72nd Street and walked back down on the park side. There are two interesting statues to take time to see. At Fifth Avenue and East 70th Street is the memorial to architect Robert Morris Hunt. Unveiled in 1893, this memorial was designed by Daniel Chester French, who was the sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Robert Morris Hunt designed some of the most prominent mansions during the ‘Gilded Age” and whose work is still a part of the New York City landscape.
The other sculpture is the memorial to the One Hundredth & Seventh Infantry at Fifth Avenue and East 67th Street. This memorial was designed by sculptor Karl Illava and was dedicated in 1927 to the City. Mr. Illava, a New York City resident, had been in the 107th as a Sargent and wanted to convey the horrors of war.
Across the street from the Robert Morris Hunt Sculpture is the Frick Collection housed in the former home of industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The mansion is one of the last intact surviving “Gilded Age” mansions left on Fifth Avenue. It was designed by architect Thomas Hastings of Carrere & Hastings between 1912-1914 and was lived in by the family until Mrs. Frick’s death in 1931. The house and all its artwork were willed as a museum and since that time, it has been expanded to add a research library and now has travelling collections on top of their permanent collection that contains many “Old Masters”.
I set out to see the new “George Washington” exhibition on the creation of the statue for the Virginia State Capital that was destroyed by fire in the last century. All of the models and drawings were accompanying the display to see how the work was created. After that, I just walked through the galleries to see all the paintings and sit by the fountain in the middle of the old house. The weather got to me and I left the City right after visiting the museum.
The inside of the Frick Museum (currently closed for renovation)
I finished my walk of this part of the neighborhood after another day in the Soup Kitchen on May 30th. I was lucky that there were so many people at the Soup Kitchen volunteering that I got put on the Spoon station wrapping spoons. I needed that after the week of walking around that I did.
There was a restaurant I wanted to try for lunch that I had passed when walking around First Avenue earlier in the visit, New Wong Asian Food Inc. at 1217 First Avenue between East 65th and 66th Streets (See review on TripAdvisor). This little Chinese ‘hole in the wall’ caters alot to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital crowd and seeing the lunch in front of one of the hospital workers, I order the same thing, the General Tso’s Chicken lunch special with fried rice ($7.85).
I thought it was a little to American even for me. It was a large portion of tempura-like fried chicken pieces in a sauce that had not flavor to it. I mean none! It looked so good on the plate that I ordered it because of the worker and someone else ordered it because they saw it on my plate. It looked good but it was so over-fried and under spiced I would suggest not ordering it.
It was a sunny warm day and I decided to double back to see some of the sites I had passed earlier and visit some of the small museums and galleries, like the Asian Society at 725 Park Avenue, the Americas Society Gallery at 680 Park Avenue and the Museo Casnova at 686 Park Avenue. I also revisited some of the sites on Park, Madison and Fifth Avenues ended my day at Glaser’s Bake Shop at 1670 First Avenue (See many reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). This meant that I had to try a few things like the Lemon Crumb Danish ($3.00) and the Kitchen Sink Stuffed Cookie ($3.50). After all that walking, I figured I could walk this all off.
Glaser’s Bake Shop at 1670 First Avenue (Closed in 2018)
My last part of the day before going home I just relaxed at Carl Schurz Park at East 84th Street. I just ate my dessert and walked the boats go by. On a warm sunny late afternoon, there is nothing like sitting in the park and watching the river traffic go by and people walk their dogs and kids play in the playground (See reviews in earlier blogs).
Who says the Twitter generation does not have fun? I did not see many cellphones out while the kids were chasing one another around. By the way, they did finish that luxury building across the river in Queens next to the housing projects.
As I passed Park Avenue and East 72nd Street, I saw an unusual sculpture in the Park Avenue Mall by artist Tony Cragg made of fiberglass with the most unusual spirals called “Hammerhead 2017”. This British artist has been working with uses a form of mixed materials and is part of the “Art in the Park” program. Don’t miss this geometrical sculpture on the mall.
I did walk from York Avenue and East 84th Street back to Port Authority on West 42nd Street. Along the way at the very edge of the neighborhood, there is the famous hotels, The Pierre at 2 61st Street, where I had once worked for a week in college in the sales department and the Sherry-Netherland at 781 Fifth Avenue. These start the upscale hotels and stores of Fifth Avenue until about East 50th Street. I was exhausted by the time I hit the East 59th Street.
Still, it is an interesting neighborhood, loaded with small museums, parks, stores and public art. That’s why these entries are getting longer as there is so much more to see and so much more time to spend walking around. Hey, I had to work off the Chinese meal, two pastries, two protein bars and three Cokes. I need to buy stock in Coca Cola.
When I toured the neighborhood again for my birthday in 2024, I spent the afternoon walking around the East 59th Street entrance to the Central Park Zoo to spend part of the afternoon. The zoo was surprisingly busy for a Friday afternoon and it always a lot of fun to visit.
Central Park in the Fall of 2024
I just wondered around the zoo, taking in the sunshine of the beautiful 75 degree day and getting phone calls from friends and family wishing me a happy birthday. Just wondering around the zoo watching the seals and penguins was a nice way to spend the afternoon.
The view of Midtown from the zoo is just spectacular
The Fall Gardens as I entered the Central Park Zoo in the Fall of 2024
I just relaxed after I took all the phone calls (I consider myself a lucky person that so many people reached out to me on my birthday). I just sat by the seal tanks and watched the seals.
The seal tanks
The seals were really playful that afternoon and were enjoying the warm weather like we were that afternoon. One of them spent his time staring at all of us staring at him.
The seals were getting playful
This little guy just stared back at us looking like he wanted to be loved!
Watching people at the book stands just outside Central Park at East 60th Street
After a full morning at the Soup Kitchen and then a trip to the zoo, I spent my birthday at the Lowell Hotel for High Tea, giving a toast to my father who passed a decade earlier (who this blog is dedicated to-you can see this on my blog of Walking the Streets of the Lower Upper East Side), then getting my haircut and another trip to the Met to just walk around and enjoy some of the new exhibitions.
The Met that evening
Me visiting the Asian Galleries at The Met
The Rotunda of the Met during one of the Member’s Nights
I ended the evening with dinner at Perrine, the main restaurant inside the Pierre Hotel. The Perrine Burger had been on my bucket list to try so I spend my birthday lunch at The Lowell Hotel and dinner at The Pierre Hotel. Pricey but hey, it was my birthday and it had been a long year between work and graduation.
The front of Perrine Restaurant in The Pierre Hotel at 2 East 61st Street and Fifth Avenue
Talk about a beautiful place to spend your birthday dinner!
Perrine in the late evening
They gave me a large table to work at in Siberia
My birthday dinner: The Perrine Burger with French Fries
The perfect comfort food on a cool October night
The Perrine Burger is excellent and tastes just as good as it looks
Yum!
Now what is a birthday dinner without dessert? I had the Pink Cake at the Lowell Hotel, plus the waiters gave me a set of Madeline’s with a candle in them. What more could I ask? I still had all those sweets in me so I decided on a fresh fruit dessert and ordered the Apple Galette, which was out of this world!
My birthday dessert at Perrine, the Apple Galette with hot tea. What a way to end my birthday! I had anther special toast to my father!
The Apple Galette was just delicious. The perfect combination of tart fruit and cinnamon with the delicious Vanilla Sauce and topped with Ice Cream!
Me enjoying my dinner at Perrine-Happy Birthday to me!
I could not have asked for a better birthday. Who says the Upper East Side is dull! There are so many wonderful things to do and experience. Once in awhile you just need to treat yourself well and pamper yourself a bit. Everyone works hard and on your birthday you deserve something special. I know that I did. I stopped at the Lowell Hotel for a special birthday treat and had Afternoon Tea. That was something!
My birthday cake at The Lowell Hotel
The French Rose Champagne toast on my birthday to my father
The special toast on my birthday to myself and to my father, who would have shared this day with me. This is what I love about Manhattan and New York City.
Fifth Avenue and 60th Street the night of my birthday. I never tire at looking at it
See read my other Blogs on walking the Lower Part of the Upper East Side:
Day One Hundred and Sixteen: Walking the Streets of the Lower Upper East Side:
mywalkinmanhattan 