It has been nice being on this side of town again. It has been a few months since my last visit to the Upper West Side. I had a long day in the Soup Kitchen working on the Bread Station and of course, they put me on the dessert section handing out cookies and pies. They kept me going until we ran out of desserts half way through service. How I walked all the Avenues from West 72nd to West 58th Streets in some parts, I don’t know.
After Soup Kitchen, I revisited Lions, Tigers and Squares at 238 West 23rd Street for a sausage and onion pizza square ($10.89-See Reviews on TripAdvisor and Diningonashoestringinnyc@Wordpress.com), which is a deep dish Detroit pizza with the cheese baked into the crust and loaded with chopped sweet onions and spicy sausage. I took the pizza and relaxed on the High-line. I just watched everyone walk by and get jealous watching me enjoy my pizza.
Lion’s and Tigers and Squares at 238 West 23rd Street (Closed May 2025)
Their sausage and pepperoni pizza is really good
After lunch, I walked up 9th Avenue which leads to Columbus Avenue by West 59th Street. The lower part of the Upper West Side is a neighborhood of extremes. This part of the Upper West Side is rather unusual in that once you pass West 70th Street everything is large block long buildings, new architecture and one of the most impressive cultural arts centers in the world.
In 1967, New York City planner, Robert Moses, had most of the neighborhood, over 67 acres demolished to make way for the new Lincoln Center complex. You can see the difference in the neighborhood as you pass West 71st Street and the change in each block. Some of the more historical buildings made the cut to survive and the rest were demolished. The City pretty much cleared the area of all buildings and housing and redeveloped everything south of West 70th Street from Columbus Avenue to Riverside Drive and the Hudson River to just past West 59th Street. You can see a distinct change in the architecture south of the low 70’s.
The area was once known as ‘San Juan Hill’ and ‘Lincoln Square’ and was the center of the Puerto Rican and Black community more so than Harlem and East Harlem was at the time. The whites were concentrated to the east from Amsterdam Avenue to Central Park West and the Blacks and the growing Puerto Rican population to the west to West End Avenue. The area was slated for demolition and renewal by the city planners.
I watched the neighborhood change from getting ready for Halloween to getting ready for Christmas (it tells you how long I spent on this side of the City), so I got to see how people decorated their homes during the duration of the holiday season.
Brownstones decorated for the holidays.
With the exception of some of the historical buildings and the Brownstone area between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West, they pretty much looked like they leveled the neighborhood from about West 71st Street all the way down to West 58th Street. Everything here now is relatively new in comparison to the rest of the Upper West Side.
The City leveled the neighborhood for the Lincoln Center complex
It is now filled with large apartment complexes, colleges, schools and office buildings though here and there some of the historic buildings were saved from the wrecking ball. With the exception of a small amount of brownstones and the apartment houses facing Central Park West, most of the buildings below West 71st are only about thirty to forty years old.
My first part of walking the neighborhood was walking down the new extension of Riverside Boulevard which is being built on claimed land that was once part of the railroad tracks. This area of the city has been added to on the shoreline of the Hudson River and the the City is just finishing the extension of Riverside Park with Hudson River Park.
This section of green space hugs the Hudson River from West 72nd Street to West 59th Street with new plantings, paths and playgrounds along the way. During my entire trip in the neighborhood no matter the weather, there were joggers, strollers and residents of the neighborhood sitting on the benches talking. This park has created a new neighborhood on the edge of this part of the Upper West Side.
The new Riverside Park on the West Side of Manhattan
All along Riverside Boulevard from West 71st Street to the extension by the walls of West 59th Street is lined with innovative luxury resident buildings that have a beautiful views of the Hudson River and the New Jersey Palisades. On a sunny day by the park, the views must be amazing from the windows facing the windows.
Turning the corner at West 70th to Freedom Place which dissects the riverfront from West End Avenue, you begin to see the changes that Robert Moses and the City of New York made when they leveled the neighborhood for Lincoln Center and the universities. The architecture changes from prewar apartments and brownstones to modern buildings of the sixties, seventies up to current construction. These are much bigger more modern structures that change the complexity of the neighborhood.
Freedom Place and Freedom Place South are separated by resident structures between West 66th and West 64th Streets. This area is morphing again as buildings are being sandblasted back to life or being rebuilt. Freedom Place is an Avenue in transition as the neighborhood is changing again and bringing in a whole new set of residents.
Unfortunately though these buildings don’t have the personality of those above West 71st Street. The detail to the architecture is more ‘big box’ then the stonework with carved details. What is does show though is a new modern neighborhood in Manhattan. These is one detail that stands out. On the corner of West 62 Street is Collegiate Garden, a small rose garden with benches to relax. When it was in bloom during the end of the Summer and beginning of Fall it was in full bloom. It was a nice place to just relax and watch people walking their dogs.
West End Avenue in this part of the Upper West Side does not have that pre-war classic look to it. In this section of the neighborhood it is modern apartment buildings dominated by 150 West End Avenue. This complex of modern apartment buildings covers from West 70th Street to West 66th Street. From West 63rd to West 61st Streets from West End Avenue to Amsterdam Avenue is the Amsterdam Houses which were built in the late 50’s when the neighborhood was being leveled.
The Amsterdam Complex on Amsterdam Avenue on the West Side
They are currently going under a renovation. Still it was creepy walking through the complex. Someone threw something out the window when I walked by. Also most of the construction workers stared at me as I walked through the complex as I had to criss cross it several times to walk this part of the Avenues. I still get that debated look on everyone’s face of whether I am a cop or DEA.
Like West End Avenue, Amsterdam Avenue is very similar to West End Avenue dominated by new construction, the Fordham University campus, two high schools one being the famous Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts where many famous actors, singers and performers have graduated from.
This part of Amsterdam Avenue is a place of extremes right across the street from one another. You have the Amsterdam Houses right which were built in the 1950’s right across the street from Lincoln Center which was built in the 1960’s. Literally a huge change in walking across the street.
I walked all through the Amsterdam Houses and got a lot of looks from the construction guys who were working on the renovation of the complex. Like most of the neighborhood, even the complex is going through changes. The whole complex was under scaffolding or under wraps as all the buildings were being fumigated. It is so strange that the City would have built this complex in this area considering what Robert Moses thought of the poor and being across from the new ‘jewel’ of the neighborhood, Lincoln Center.
If you thought you were in some upscale part of the area trust me I was reminded when a bottle was lodged from one of the top floors at me when I was walking around. It is amazing what people will do when someone was just walking around. That was the wake up call to what gentrification is doing to change the neighborhood. It will be interesting to see what the results of the renovation will look like. The weird part about this complex is that it sits like an island in the middle of a neighborhood that is getting richer and richer.
As you pass the Amsterdam Houses though, you are reminded that this is now a neighborhood of culture. Right across the street from the projects is Lincoln Center, one of the most influential and prestigious entertainment complexes in the world.
The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a 16.3 acre complex of buildings that house the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Ballet and the New York City Opera. Built as part of the “Lincoln Square Renewal Project” during the Robert Moses program of urban renewal in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the complex spans from West 60th to West 66th Streets between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues.
The Lincoln Center urban renewal site in the 1960’s
Under the direction of city planners and civic leaders that included John D. Rockefeller III, almost the entire neighborhood from West 59th Street to West 69th Street from Amsterdam to West End Avenue was leveled of its tenements and the has become home to two college campus, two high schools, the sprawling Lincoln Center campus and many new apartment buildings that now line the streets from the Hudson River to Columbus Avenue.
Over the past fifty years, the entire neighborhood has changed with new buildings for schools and housing on the spot where black and Irish gangs used to do battle. This once area of immense black culture has given way to an upper middle class enclave that now includes the Time Warner Building with the Mandarin Hotel and upscale shops.
As you continue the walk up Amsterdam Avenue, you will pass Fiorella H. LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts whose Alumni reads like a Who’s Who in the entertainment world. On the next block up from that is the Martin Luther King High School, which specializes in Law, the Arts and Technology. At lunch hour and after school the neighborhood is teeming with teenagers gossiping and yelling at one another. Nothing has changed in the 35 years since I graduated. The conversations are still the same.
LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts at 100 Amsterdam Avenue
As you cross over the West 70th Street border of the neighborhood, you start to see the older section of the neighborhood and this is the tail end of the neighborhood before everything below was leveled. You will see a distinct change in the architecture and how the city planners must have saved the more historic buildings of the neighborhood bounded east of Broadway.
Passing Sherman Square, a small pocket park on the corners of Amsterdam, Broadway and West 70th Street that is dedicated to Civil War General William T. Sherman once had a past all of its own as the notorious “Needle Park” of the 60’s and 70’s, where drug dealers and pushers used to habit.
I had to watch “The Panic in Needle Park” again to see how this stretch of the neighborhood has changed. Between Verdi Square and Sherman Square with the new plantings, trees and freshly painted benches and a branch of Bloomingdale’s around the corner, it is amazing how a city transformed itself in 35 years. The area is now loaded with new housing, restaurants and stores (and its still morphing!).
Sherman Square near West 71st Street (Formerly Needle Park)
In the lower part of Verdi Square, you can continue to admire what the Art in the Parks is doing with the statue “In Sync” by artist Kathy Ruttenberg. This unusual sculpture looks like a deer mashed with people and the strangest expression on its face. It is part of the project “Kathy Ruttenberg on Broadway, a series of sculptures by the artist. It is a cross between some surrealist beast in “Alice in Wonderland” or you would see “Over the Rainbow”. What I loved about her work in this outside show was how depicted nature in such an unusual fashion.
In Sync by Kathy Ruttenberg
“Kathy Ruttenberg on Broadway: in dreams awake”: features six large-scale, figural sculptures artist on the Broadway malls between 64th and 157th Street. In her first major outdoor installation, Ruttenberg created narrative works, combining human, animal and plant forms that bring alive a wonder world in which different species merge and figures serve as landscapes. The artist employs a variety of sculptural media including paginated bronze, glass mosaic, transparent cast resin and carefully orchestrated LED lighting. The interaction among color and form, opacity and transparency and even light itself used as a medium highlights the inherently theatrical nature of the visual storyteller’s art (Broadway Mall Association 2018).
Ms. Ruttenberg was born in Chicago but her family moved to New York City. She received her BFA with Honors from the School of Visual Arts in 1981. It was noted that her work expresses a distinctly feminine perspective with mostly women as main characters and masculine characters depicted in complex but usually secondary roles. The natural world and our relationship to it underpin her work and feature broadly in her narratives (Wiki). Try to see the works before they disappear in February of 2019.
Sitting at the corner at 171 West 71st Street and Broadway near the intersection with Amsterdam Avenue is The Dorilton Apartments which looks like a Victorian wedding cake. The apartment building is a reminder when apartment buildings were not glass boxes but graced with elegance and loaded with carved marble and statuary.
The apartment building was designed by Janes & Leo, the New York based architectural firm of Elisha Harris Janes and Richard Leopold Leo for real estate developer Hamilton Weed. The building is noted for its opulent Beaux-Arts style limestone and brick exterior, featuring monumental sculptures, richly balustraded balconies and a three story copper and slate mansard roof. The building was finished in 1902 (Wiki).
You can see through the gateway in front to the courtyard of the building, something similar to The Dakota and The Ansonia a few blocks away. Residents enter their building through a narrow entrance that leads into a recessed courtyard and the masonry archway over this entrance rises to the 9th floor. The doorway to this courtyard is comprised of a stone doorway topped with globes, all of which is sandwiched in between detailed wrought iron fencing (Wiki). You can see from the building that it sits as a grand dame amongst the new buildings in the area and was spared the wreaking ball by being on the right side of the neighborhood.
As you cross into West 72nd Street, you are greeted by the upscale coffee stands that are now in Verdi Square which lies above Sherman Square. It just goes to show how thirty years has changed this once downtrodden section of the Upper West Side. There is still grit along this side of the Avenue but slowly, like the rest of Manhattan, is covered up by scaffolding and will either be sandblasted or torn down to make way for the next high-rise. Still as written in various other walks, West 72nd Street still holds onto its charms with older shops in its business district that are geared to the locals and not the tourists.
On the way back down Amsterdam Avenue by the corner of West 63rd Street is the firehouse FDNY Engine 40/Ladder 35 made famous by the David Halberstam novel “Firehouse” based on the events of 9/11 which was published in 2002. Mr. Halberstam discusses in his book the tragedy of that day and the companies losing their members (eleven) in the collapse of the towers.
The memorial outside the firehouse shows the members who were lost that day. Take time to look over the memorial and say a prayer for these members who gave up their lives to make us safe.
Engine 40/Ladder 35
After meeting Mr. Halberstam at a book signing, it inspired me to write my novel, “Firehouse 101” a fictional tale taking it from the standpoint of the people were survived and were left behind to pick up the pieces of their own lives. My novel took it from the standpoint of the neighbors and friends where Mr. Halberstam took it from the stand point of the non-fictional lives of the fire fighters lost. I swear for the couple of weeks that I criss crossed the neighborhood and passed this firehouse, I just kept thinking of the sacrifice these men made and how that inspired books to be written.
As you pass the firehouse, you are walking in the back section of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Towards the bottom of the Avenue heading to West 59th Street is Fordham University and Mt. Sinai Hospital campus which run from Amsterdam Avenue to Columbus Avenue as you cross West 59th Street. As you walk from Amsterdam Avenue to Columbus Avenue down West 59th Street, you pass these active campuses.
At the corner of West 59th Street and Columbus Avenue is the William J. Syms Operating Theater that was built in 1891. This is the last part of the old Roosevelt Hospital that was part of the neighborhood. William Syms was a gun merchant, who had had surgery at the hospital. After a successful surgery at the hospital, he wanted to give more than his bill which the hospital would not accept (Wiki).
William Syms Operating Hospital at West 59th Street
What he did is upon his death, he left Roosevelt Hospital $350,000 of which $250,000 was to be used for an ‘operating theater’ and at the time used the most innovative materials to keep out bacteria. It had been used for this purpose until the 1950’s and left to ruin. The structure today was gutted and it now going to be used as a private school. The building is now part of modern structure that has been expanded. Look to the details of the building and the signage that is carved in.
As you walk further up Columbus Avenue, you pass the front part of the college and hospital campus and the new construction that happened in the 1960’s to the 1980’s. By the time you get to West 62nd Street to West 66th Street you get to the Lincoln Center complex and its grandeur especially at night with the lights of all the buildings ablaze. It is even more beautiful as we got closer to the holidays when everything was being decorated for Christmas.
Across the street from Lincoln Center is Dante Park which is located at the corner of Columbus Avenue, Broadway and West 66th Street. This little triangle of green across the street from the Empire Hotel and Lincoln Center, was originally called Empire park. The park, which was established in 1921 by Americans of Italian decadency and named it after Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet. At Christmas time, there was one of the most beautiful Christmas trees in the City lit in the park which was part of neighborhoods Annual Winter’s Eve festival, which takes place in the last week of November.
Across the street from Dante Park is the Empire Hotel, a small boutique hotel that has been part of the neighborhood since 1923. The hotel was built by Herbert DuPuy, who had knocked down the original structure in the park and opened this unique hotel on December 5, 1923 (Wiki). It has been part of the neighborhood dining experience since with a series of restaurants over the years that has graced the ground floor. Between the park and the hotel it sits in contrast to the rest of the neighborhood that has been rebuilt over the years.
Columbus Avenue gets interesting once you cross over West 68th Street as the modern structures of lower Columbus Avenue give way to the smaller brick buildings that house a series of homegrown restaurants and stores with an every growing number of national chain stores. Back in 1984, just as the economy was booming due to the rise in Wall Street and junk bonds, Columbus Avenue from West 70th Street to West 84th Street was the new ‘happening neighborhood’ with papers touting it as the next Madison Avenue.
Through several booms and busts in gentrification and the rise of rents, there is not much left of that era except the American Museum of Natural History. On my walk through the Upper West Side in the few months that I have explored the streets of the area, I have started to watch stores and restaurants change hands and open and close with lighting speed. Some have moved further up the Avenue and others have transplanted to other parts of the City.
These articles tell the Boom and Bust of the neighborhood:
Broadway has seen the most changes from West 59th Street to West 72nd Street with loads of new apartment buildings and stores built along the street since the 1980’s. I remember all the construction along Broadway in those years and I have never seen this section of the City change so much. Many modern apartment buildings are popping up along the street and this is going all the way up into the 90’s and 100’s now. Still it is interesting to see the old and new structures mix in various parts of the neighborhood.
I ended the walk in the neighborhood by walking across West 72nd Street, looking at the street come to life after work hours. The restaurants started to fill up and people were walking up and down the street heading into stores for dinner. I saw the guys lighting the lights around The Dakota at the corner of West 72nd and Central Park West. It is such a beautiful building.
I walked down to the Museum of Modern Art on West 52nd to see a movie and I just relaxed for the rest of the evening. It had been a long afternoon and my feet were killing me.
Please read my other blogs on the Lower Part of the Upper West Side:
Day One Hundred and Twenty-One: Walking the Borders of the Lower Part of the Upper West Side:
*The blogger wants to note that this is a combination of many different dates, so it does jump around a bit.
In 2018:
After such a wonderful Christmas holiday in Cape May, I decided to change my plans around and stay in Cape May this time for the Annual Firemen’s Convention which is in mid-September. This is the best time to visit the beach as most of the tourists are away, the kids are back in school and the water is still warm. Hurricane Florence was coming up the coast so it was not the greatest weather but I always find things to do.
While attending the convention in 2018, I was booked at the Chalfonte Hotel in Cape May, which is considering the Southern Grande Dame of hotels. I had stayed at the hotel’s Southern Quarters, the smaller B & B setting next door during Christmas and it had been a nice stay. The room had been decorated with holiday ornaments and decorations. I had a slept like ‘a log’ during the holidays. It had been so quiet at that time of the year.
The Weekend before the Convention 2018:
When I had originally booked the reservation for the weekend, I was told that the restaurant, The Magnolia Room, would be open. Later I found out it would be closing for the end of the season on September 7th and I would not be able to try it for dinner when I was visiting Cape May. This meant a special trip ahead of time. So after work on September 6th on a whim I made a special trip to Cape May to check out the culinary delights of the Chalfonte Hotel.
I called the hotel at the last minute, booked a room with a shared bathroom ($100.00) and off I went down the Garden State Parkway from Bergen County to Cape May which is one side of the state to another. With one break stop, I was there in two hours and forty five minutes.
I got to the hotel by 4:30pm and it was still nice out. Hurricane Florence was just starting to make landfall in Florida and it was supposed to be gloomy all day long but we lucked out the tentacles of the storm had not hit New Jersey (that would come later the next day when I left) and it was still sunny, clear, warm and still a little humid.
I was happy because I got my room immediately and was able to get to the beach for a swim before dinner. One thing about the Chalfonte Hotel (see review on TripAdvisor) is that it is old and I mean old. The rooms themselves have been updated and painted and the beds and furnishings are new and comfortable but the room I got with the shared bath could have used a scraping and repainting of the whole room.
The Chalfonte Hotel in Cape May at 301 Howard Street
The windowsill was beginning to rot, and I could see in the gingerbread decoration on the roof was rotting as well. The hallway carpets were clean but could have used a good shampooing to bring out the color. Even though the hotel is clean and maintained, it still needs a good gut renovation to bring it up to current standards. It is nice it could be a showplace.
In 2022, I had a back room that was much larger than the usual rooms that I get. It was located on the back side of the Dining Room and surprisingly was very quiet even when there was a wedding on Saturday night. It was also located right next to the communal bathroom, so it was like having my own bathroom. The light shined at the top of the windows, but I just slept on the other bed, and I slept soundly both nights. I needed the rest.
The beach is only three blocks away and since it was off season already and later in the afternoon, the beach was quiet. The water was perfectly warm and the waves were low and no current from the storm (we really lucked out with that) so swimming was nice. I could ride the waves with not much worries. Still I kept close to shore and did not venture out too far.
The Cape May beach
It was nice to just lie on the beach and just relax. I had not been to the beach all summer and it was nice to just put my feet in the ocean, hear the sound of the waves and just relax on a towel and get some sun. I had not done this in over a year. The salt air is so soothing. The nice part was the beach at this point was practically empty and was filled with mostly locals.
After the beach, I went back to take a shower and relax. I took a quick nap on the bed which I have to say are soft and firm at the same time and I completely relaxed. I didn’t even want to go down for dinner but there was a fried chicken dinner with my name on it downstairs.
The Fried Chicken at The Magnolia Room is legendary
The Magnolia Room (see review on TripAdvisor), the hotel’s main dining room, is off the main lobby and located towards the back of the hotel. You really do feel like you are in a Southern hotel in Charleston or Savannah with the long narrow dining room, the pink tablecloths and the over-head chandeliers. It is like stepping into a Southern Plantation. It is elegant and homey at the same time.
You can dine outside too to hear the concert on ‘Ramble’ nights
Cape May like most shore towns in the Northeast have to depend on foreign help as the college students have to go back to school and there are only so many people living in town to fill the jobs. My server, Michaela, told me she was from Albania and could not have been friendlier. She was the one that told me that the Fried Chicken Dinner was the most popular. The nice part is that the three course meal is $39.00 which includes an appetizer or soup, the main entrée and a dish from the set menu (it is no longer offered this way in 2024). Another nice aspect of the dining room is that they give hotel guests a 15% discount for eating there and I thought that was very nice.
The menu posted outside on the porch
The new menu for The Magnolia Room in 2024
I traveled three hours to try the Fried Chicken so off the order went to the kitchen. I started with the Chicken Soup with Garden vegetables. Hunks of chicken in a fresh broth with a rough cut of fresh vegetables made the soup almost a complete meal. A good appetizer to offset the Fried Chicken. The nice part was the vegetables were really fresh and it had a well rounded flavor to it.
The Magnolia Room’s Southern Fried Chicken
My Fried Chicken Dinner at The Magnolia Room in 2019 and 2024
The Fried Chicken was a bit of a disappointment. Even though it was a nice sized piece of chicken (almost half the bird) and the meat was juicy and moist and perfectly cooked, the coating had no flavor to it. It really needed some spices and I had to end up loading it with salt and pepper. Every bite was crispy and crunchy but not much flavor to it. The fresh Parker House rolls the same thing. They tasted good but were not moist (I found out later that they had been made in advance and had been defrosted).
For dessert, I had the Chocolate pie that was created by one of the owners of the hotel. It was pretty incredible with its dense filling and fresh whipped cream topping. I devoured that in a couple of bites.
The Chocolate Pie at the Magnolia Room at the Chalfonte Hotel.
In 2022, the Magnolia Room was open for both dinner and for breakfast the next day on my first night at the hotel. Lucille and her niece, Tina both retired from the hotel during the pandemic (although they do check in) so a new chef was hired for the hotel. They have kept the old favorites and added some new ones.
For dinner in 2022, I enjoyed the New England Clam Chowder again which had not changed a bit. The soup was thick and rich with a lots of clams dotting the soup and a taste from the cream.
I enjoyed the Fried Chicken again and it was almost a half a chicken that was moist and tender. I have to admit it needed a lot of salt. I could tell when Lucille was not in the kitchen working her magic. It was good but did not have that extra something that was the secret to her cooking. They also did not have her biscuits anymore and replaced them with cornbread that was good but not the same as those moist biscuits whose secret was a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
The delicious Fried Chicken dinner that has become a tradition in my Firemen’s Weekend
For dessert, I enjoyed the Peach Cobbler with some ice cream. It was delicious and made with local fruit. The only bad part was it needed to be heated. It was nice to eat inside dining room with all the beautiful chandeliers all lit. I originally sat outside but it was so dark so early that I could not see. There was nice jazz band outside playing. I think after dinner they moved to the King Edward Bar.
The specialty cocktail was strong and on top of all the driving I did in the afternoon, it made me even more tired. Still, I had enough energy to go to the Kings Bar, which is a small bar off the main lobby for an after-dinner drink and listen to one of the local groups that play there.
In 2023, the Magnolia Room was being used partially for a group of rug makers and it was such nice weather that we ate on the porch again. It was a really nice evening on the porch. The weather was warm and clear and thee was music in the air. A country band was playing that night and it was a lively concert.
The wonderful mixed drinks of the King Edward Room and the freshly baked rolls served before dinner.
That night I enjoyed the Caesar Salad, the delicious Crabcakes with Mashed Potatoes and String Beans and for dessert, the Chocolate Pie. Some of the repeats from previous years but good solid comfort food to me.
The Caesar Salad
Lucille’s famous Crabcakes with Mashed Potatoes and String beans.
The Chocolate Pie was the star dessert again.
The King Edward Bar is a small room that is off the wrap around porch and next to the history room that is part of the main lobby. There are about a half dozen tables around the small room which were always full and a small bar in the back. The service there is extremely friendly and the bartenders can mix a drink. Be prepared!
In 2024, I was back for dinner with my traditional Fried Chicken Dinner and it was very good this year. They had a new chef who put their own twist on the menu. It still was not the Fried Chicken that Lucille used to cook but still delicious.
I wait every year for this
For dessert, they had a new dessert on the menu called a “Snow Pie”. which was a chocolate filled pie in a graham cracker shell with a whipped top and crunches. God was this wonderful, it was sweet and delicious and nice to look at.
The Snow Pie for dessert in 2024
The Snow Pie in all its glory for dessert at The Magnolia Room
When at the hotel, it was nice to just sit back and drink a Cosmo and listen to the Jazz band. Every night during the season that have a different group there perform every night. It is nice because you don’t have to just sit in the bar. You can sit on the wrap around porch in one of the many rocking chairs, feel the breeze and listen to the music. I sat in one of the chairs and just relaxed. I started to fall asleep.
I went back to the room in the main building just for a quick rest and then I would go back to hear the music group. I fell asleep the second I hit the comfortable bed and did not wake up until much later that evening and then went to bed. I had one of the best night’s sleep I had in a long time.
I woke up completely refreshed and ready to start the day. Since the hotel was not full, I had the shared bathroom all to myself with no one banging on the door. I took a quick shower, dressed and went downstairs to try the second part of the culinary trip, the Magnolia Room Breakfast Buffet.
Magnolia Room at the Chalfonte Hotel
Now I am big breakfast fan (as many of you must know from my dining blog, “DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) and when there is a buffet I am in high heaven. The food at breakfast just had more zing to it then at dinner. I just could not put my finger on why. I found out when I met Tina Bowser, one of the Magnolia Room’s two well know cooks. Her mother was Dot (Dorothy) Burton, one of the two main cooks at the hotel and as we talked we discovered that we lost our parents at the same time.
Dorothy and Lucille in the kitchen making the famous fried chicken a few years ago
I never had such a heart to heart with a complete stranger and we both talked about our losses and how much we both missed our parents. Funny how you can bond with a complete stranger who was going through exactly what I was going through. It was interesting when Tina said that she still felt like her mother looked over her shoulder when she cooked and could still feel the nudge when she did something wrong.
After our long conversation, she mentioned that she now worked side by side with her Aunt Lucille Thompson, her mother’s sister who was just as well known. Now I had heard so much about her mother and aunt that I asked for a favor, I wanted to meet her Aunt Lucille. She said no problem and I was able to go back in the kitchen to introduce myself.
Lucille Thompson on the Chalfonte Hotel porch
It is amazing to meet an 87 year old woman who still gets up every morning to cook for the hotel guests, make all the biscuits and rolls from scratch and prepare all the crab cakes, chicken coatings and then prepare breakfast. She was sitting down making her homemade rolls when I met here. It is always such a thrill when you meet a famous cook and Lucille and her family are so well known in the industry.
Lucille seemed thrilled when I made such a fuss. She told me of all her time at the hotel and the countless hours in the kitchen. I could tell there was pride in her voice on her cooking like it was her baby. She put a lot of effort into the food to make it special.
It was then she told me she had not been in the kitchen the night before and the she had made the dinner rolls in advance. That was the reason why there had been such a difference in flavor of the food. It’s not that it was not good it was but it just didn’t have that touch that was missing. There was such that sense that the person who gave it that extra care was not there to oversee it.
I complimented her on the soup and on the chocolate pie I had for dessert but she gave the credit to that to the owners wife, who made the delicious chocolate pie and the chicken vegetable soup. It was she though who made the Southern Breakfast I enjoyed so much. She seemed thrilled that I was so thrilled to finally meet her. I then left her alone to do her magic in the kitchen while I got back to the buffet.
Now this buffet is really nice. On the buffet we had fresh scrambled eggs, thick bacon, Amish sausage, fried hash brown potatoes, fried red tomatoes, spoon bread, fresh rolls and Danishes that were made by the kitchen as well as fresh fruits, juices and a complete waffle bar. This was all you could eat and they have never seen me at a breakfast buffet. Unlike other people who just fill up their plates and then to waste food, I circle the buffet, try a small portion of things and then go back for more so that I don’t waste.
My advice is that you have to go to the Chalfonte Hotel just for the breakfast buffet if not for anything else. Those fried red tomatoes are so sweet and crisp, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I had never eaten anything like this before. The homemade rolls when they are still hot are addictive and the Danishes are delicious and burst with fruits and cinnamon. The sausage is those fat Amish sausage that crack when you bite into them, and you can taste the freshly ground pork and sage. It was wonderful breakfast full of good food, great service and a beautiful room to eat in on a sunny morning.
Breakfast on the porch
Having breakfast on the porch at the Chalfonte Hotel in the summer of 2024
My view from the porch in 2022 and 2024
In 2022, the buffet was gone due to COVID, and the food service manager told me it would not be coming back. I guess when the old cooks left, they took that tradition with them. The food was a la Carte now and they opened the porch for breakfast on this beautiful sunny morning. I had a Sausage, Egg and Cheese Breakfast sandwich with a side of freshly made hashbrowns that were well spiced and salted.
The breakfast sandwich was on a Sesame seed bun and was sweet and savory at the same time. It was so nice to just sit outside and watch people walk by. It was a clear and sunny day perfect to eat outside. It was an enjoyable breakfast.
My breakfast sandwich in both 2022 and 2024
Yum!
By the time I finished it gave me a chance to get a quick walk into downtown Cape May, the Washington Mall, to look at the shops before I left. I needed to work off the breakfast. It was a bright sunny day, and I could not believe what the weatherman had said. I walked around the beach and the other half empty hotels that proved that the season was over. After a quick rest in the room, I checked out of the Grande Dame of Cape May for a trip to the zoo. It had been a great stay, truly relaxing and just what the doctor ordered. I had needed this rest.
By the time I left the hotel for the Cape May Zoo (see review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com) up on Route 9, it started to get cloudy and by the time I was walking into the zoo, it poured! Going to a zoo in the rain is not much fun as the animals took shelter too and I didn’t get to see many of them unless they were in a protected environment. As there was a break in the weather, some of the peeked out and greeted the visitors. I enjoyed visiting the zoo but have to say it is another Eighties type of zoo that is need of an update. I think there must be more interesting ways to have animals live then in some of the smaller exhibitions.
When I returned to zoo again in 2022, the place was packed with firemen and their families watching the animals who all looked so bored. I felt for these animals who needed to stretch a bit and being contained in a small area. I could see that they were well taken care of but animals like giraffes and buffalo need room to roam around. The Cape May Zoo is really big but still I could see that look on the animals faces. It looked like the seniors in a nursing home.
The entrance to the Cape May Zoo in the Summer of 2024
Admiring the giraffes in their area of the zoo
I did not like the look the Snow Lion had on his face
In 2022, I decided I wanted to explore the state and drove up Route 9 which would take me directly to Newark. Big Mistake! It took five hours to get home going through all those smalls towns. I really did see the middle of the State of New Jersey but it took over five hours to get home with traffic instead of the two and half by the Garden State Parkway. I am glad I did it once.
NJ State Firemen’s Convention 2018 and 2019:
The next week I returned to Cape May for the annual NJ Firemen’s Convention when about 8,000 fire fighters from all over the State of New Jersey convene for the Annual Convention. I can’t take the crowds of Wildwood and I stayed at the Chalfonte Hotel for a second time.
This time when I checked into the hotel, I was ‘upgraded’ which I find a dirty word in the hotel industry. It means that you are not getting the room that you were promised. In my case, I was moved out of the main hotel to the ‘Southern Quarters’ annex next door. It was no problem for me. I figured the wedding party that checked in that day all wanted to be together and it meant that I got a better room with my own bathroom (no more sharing).
The weird part was that I got the same exact room that I had at Christmas when I spent one night here on December 26th, 2017 (See Day One Hundred December 2017). Still I enjoyed the piece and quiet of the annex and it was nicer then the main hotel.
The only part about the room at the annex was that it was a top floor room of an old Victorian house and at one time must have been the attic. I am so tall that I had to lean down to brush my teeth and take a shower. Still it offered a lot of privacy when I finished my meetings.
The first day of the convention was really gloomy. The storm had finally hit land down South and it was misty and cloudy our first day of the convention. Since we did not have to be at the meeting until 1:00pm, I got up early and went to Uncle Bill’s Restaurant at 261 Beach Avenue in Cape May (see review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) for breakfast since the Magnolia Room was closed.
Uncle Bill’s is a institution in the South Jersey Shore area. It was founding in 1962 in Stone Harbor and has expanded to five other locations on the Southern New Jersey shore. I could tell by the food and service it is the typical Jersey Shore restaurant which caters to family who like nice size portions at a good price.
The Pancake and Egg breakfast platter at Uncle Bill’s will cover both breakfast and lunch
I love the breakfasts here. They cook the eggs in clarified butter so they have that creamy taste to them and the pancakes I ordered in the platter were as light as air. When the Pancake and Egg Platter was served ($12.95), it could have fed two people. It was a great shore breakfast.
Uncle Bill’s at 261 Beach Avenue is wonderful for breakfast. A real beach breakfast.
In 2022, I enjoyed breakfast again at Uncle Bill’s which I think is the ultimate breakfast beach spot. The place was mobbed this time and full of families who looked like they were enjoying their last vacation of the season. To get in and out of the restaurant for touring the area, I ate at the bar.
I had the most delicious Bacon, Broccoli and Cheddar Omelet with wheat toast ($8.95) and was just enough to get me through the day. I love the eggs here because you can taste the butter from the grill in every bite.
The breakfast was amazing
After breakfast I had some time on my hands before the meeting and had planned to visit the Wildwood Historical Society at 3907 Pacific Avenue in Wildwood, NJ (See my reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). The Society is only open from 9:00am-2:00pm so the only time I could have gone was that morning due to all the meetings.
The Wildwood Historical Society is an interesting little museum filled with photos and memorabilia from all eras of Wildwood’s history. Rooms were dedicated to the fire department, police department, the military, the schools, the amusement areas and the government. Each room had all sorts of artifacts and loaded with pictures in albums and on the wall.
Wildwood Historical Society at 3907 Pacific Avenue
In the hallways was old artifacts from the amusement areas that had been part of the fun of the parks over the many seasons. Many were pieces of the old parts or old rides and signs. Towards the back of the amusement area display were old restaurant menus and hotel displays.
The amusements display at the Wildwood Historical Society.
The museum can be a little overwhelming because there is so much crammed into the rooms that there is a lot to see at one time and the only problem with the museum is its limited hours. Surprisingly when I was there, the morning was so gloomy that there were many people from the convention there as well. A group of us were watching a video of the history of Wildwood, NJ before I left for the convention.
The Dracula’s Castle artifacts.
The Annual NJ Firemen’s Convention is interesting. There were about 8,000 fire fighters from all over the State of New Jersey in the convention hall all ready to vote on issues. We had the usual welcome speeches, flag salute and color guard and then it was business as usual. We wrapped by 2:30pm so we had time to walk around and see the fire equipment displays.
Since it was so cloudy most people packed up and went back to their hotels. I walked the Boardwalk to my favorite pizzeria, Joe’s Italian Pizzeria at 2812 Boardwalk between Magnolia & Poplar Streets (see reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) for one of their giant slices of pizza.
Joe’s Pizza 2812 Broadway in Wildwood, NJ (Closed April 2026)
The slices at Joe’s are double the size of a normal slice of pizza and they even put a little swirl of sauce on top to finish it off. Their pizza is consistent and delicious and it is fun trying to eat that giant 28 inch slice. There are two problems with the place though. One is that it is cash only in the 21st Century and second is that try to load their glasses up with ice and give you very little soda so you have to ask for just a little ice. Otherwise it is a nice place for a slice.
The slices at Joe’s are huge!
As I left the Boardwalk it got darker outside and there were very few people walking around the Boardwalk. I left to visit the Hereford Lighthouse at 111 North Central Avenue in North Wildwood, NJ (see reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). The Hereford Lighthouse is a Victorian Lighthouse that was built in 1874 and was operational until no longer deemed functional after the early 1960’s and a more modern structure was built leaving this building to rot away. Preservationists saved the building and restored it in 1983.
The Hereford Lighthouse at 111 North Central Avenue
I was surprised on how busy the museum was that afternoon. I guess people just did not want to walk on the beach on such a gloomy day. Each floor of the lighthouse shows it use and progress over almost one hundred years, with period furniture, family heirlooms and pictures, sea-going maps and nautical items. Floor by floor you see family living arrangements and the life the families had when they lived here.
The lighthouse meeting room.
The most beautiful view is from the top of the lighthouse on the third floor which had a spectacular view on the ocean and the surrounding area. What fascinated me the most was the history of the families who lived here and how they adapted to life here. The pictures of the holidays in the lighthouse were interesting. They even had a family reunion of the children who lived here a few years ago and to see these kids as children then as senior citizens was pretty remarkable.
The view from the top of the lighthouse.
What I liked about the museum was the gardens that surrounded the property. Even though it was not a nice afternoon out it was nice to walk through the flowered paths and shrubs and then take the back path to the bay area behind the property and see the bay and ocean. On a nice day in the middle of the summer it must be something.
The gardens at the Hereford Lighthouse.
After my trip to the Hereford Lighthouse at 111 North Central Avenue, I drove through the neighborhood to see the changes in the town. Even though Hurricane Sandy did not affect the Wildwood’s the way it did other shore towns there has been a lot of building in both North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest with the edges of Wildwood proper going through the change.
The light of the lighthouse on display.
All these towns are being knocked down and rebuilt with newer homes and businesses. Here and there are traces of the old Wildwood but slowly the towns are coming into the modern age with new condos and homes being built replacing the small shore houses of the 50’s and 60’s. Even the old motels that catered to the tourists are slowly disappearing which is going to affect all of us at the convention as these places vanish. I could see that the towns are becoming year-round communities.
When I got back to Cape May, I visited two other historical sites in town and then saw the sun set on Sunset Beach in West Cape May to round out my day.
The Greater Cape May Historical Society is housed in the old Hughes home that was built in the 1700’s and lived in by the family for generations. During the Gilded Age, the family came into money and built the larger Victorian home in the front of the historical home and used this home for a guest house. It has been lovingly restored and now all the floors are open for touring.
The Cape May Historical Society in the summer of 2023.
What an interesting visit I had to the Cape May Historical Society’s Memucan Hughes Colonial House. This tiny museum is only open between June 15th-September 15th and after that only for special events.
It is a fascinating little home that was built somewhere between 1730 to 1760. The original house no one is too sure if it had been built for the original owner or had been there and added on to as the records for the age of the house are unclear.
The sign in the summer of 2023.
The home consists of two small downstairs room filled with period furniture and decorations and there is an upstairs with three small rooms that have just opened up to the public. The front room Mr. Hughes used as a tavern that he kept open until almost the 1800’s. He had catered to a growing whaling industry that needed some form of entertainment in this quiet town that was isolated from the rest of the state.
The Pub in the front room of the house for meals and conversation.
The Front Room of the house served as a pub for visiting travelers.
The room was set up for dining and amusements. The Lincoln Crib is in the background.
The Lincoln crib was built by Abraham Lincoln’s father.
The Arrowhead and Pipe collection in the Pub Room.
The front of the house is decorated as tavern to greet guests. There were tables filled with games and items that would have catered to the trade but still you knew you were in someone’s home. There are vintage card tables, board games and some household items.
The Living room at the Cape May Historical Society
The back room is a closed off kitchen with a fireplace and spinning wheels and wash tubs, all the things to run a household. There were also children’s toys, kitchen and garden gadgets and family items to personalize the house.
The narrow stairs lead to the upper bedrooms and the attic loft.
The upstairs bedrooms and the attic room were open in the summer of 2023, and I got to see the whole house. The upstairs is supposedly haunted, but I did not see anything. What I did see was how large the house really was and why the family of eight were able to live in this small house.
The upstairs bedroom
It was interesting to tour the house and grounds that are beautifully taken care of by the Cape May Garden Club. In the summer months, the gardens were in full bloom and at Christmas, the house is nicely decorated on the outside for the holidays. My nex stop was the Cape May Fire Museum right down the road.
Cape May Firemen’s Museum at Christmas time
The museum in the summer of 2023
When I was in Cape May, NJ recently and came across the Cape May Fire Department Museum when walking around the town. It is interesting little museum that tells the history of the Cape May Fire Department.
The museum showcases the history Cape May Fire Department since its creation in the late 1880’s. There have been some serious fires over the years that have destroyed sections of the Cape May resort community.
Hotel fires displayed at the Cape May Fire Museum
Some of the resorts oldest and grandest hotels that were made of wood have been leveled by spectacular fires. The department has framed the articles around the building.
The inside of the Cape May Museum
There is also large collection of patches from fire departments all over the country, displays of equipment from all eras of firefighting and some displays that are dedicated to retired firemen from the department with their equipment.
Patches and Bunker gear
Some fascinating old fire equipment is on display as well. All of this is marked accordingly along the walls. In the middle of the museum there is an antique pumper to admire that has been fully restored. All the pieces of equipment are dated and described so that you can see the transition in fire fighting over the years.
The Chief’s desk
Cape May Fire Department News:
The museum is open and free to the public. Please come and enjoy the history of the City of Cape May Fire Department. Shirts can be purchased inside the Station. The career personnel on staff will be happy to assist you. The antique Fire Engine is a 1928 American La France and is house inside our museum.
The 9/11 exhibit at the Cape May Fire Museum
The back of the historic engine in the museum.
I ended my evening before I left for dinner at the Ravioli House at Sunset Beach watching the sunset. I have seen this many times, but I never get bored of watching the sun set over the beach. I know that it is getting very popular with the firefighters and their families as I saw many trucks and a lot more people than I normally do at Sunset Beach. I spent the evening watching the sun set on this beautiful stretch of beach, which has probably one of the most amazing sunsets in the world.
Sunset Beach in all its glory in the summer of 2023.
Sunset Beach is a marvelous place to visit for sunset
Sunset Beach in Cape May, NJ is one of the most beautiful beaches in American and is ranked 24# on TripAdvisor as one of the breathtaking beaches to visit. The beach site in Lower Township in Cape May and is at the very end of Sunset Boulevard which is a direct run from downtown Cape May.
One both sides of the parking lot, there are gift shops and a small café grill. These have limited hours after Labor Day Weekend. The grill is closed after the holiday weekend but sometimes stays open depending on the weather after the Labor Day weekend.
The beach is amazing as you can see the pleasure boats in the distance coming in and out of the small harbor just north of the beach.
The Sunset Beach is really beautiful in the off season when not a lot of people are there
The Start of the Sunset in December 2022
Looking out into Delaware Bay is quite spectacular with its moving waves and the way it glitters in the sun. In the warmer months, it is just nice to walk along the shore and watch the birds. In the winter months, the breezes get to be too much and a short visit is nicer.
The beginning of the sunset
Any time of the year though, make sure to be here for sunset and that is when the beach works it beautiful natural magic.
The setting of the sun
The sun disappearing in the horizon
The sun disappearing
At sunset you will see an array of colors with the sun setting in the distance. The last time I visited the beach in September, it was a combination of oranges, purples and blues as the sun set. The lower the sun the more brilliant the colors. They become more complex as the sun gets lower.
The best part of the view is that it is played out on the large stage. It covers the whole sky, and it looks like the sun is going to sleep in the bay. You can almost touch it. Each night when the sun sets it’s a different color in the rainbow in the sky. The backdrop of the small stone formations and the SS Atlantis Concrete Ship make it more dramatic. Everyone applauded the sun setting and then it was a mad race to get out of there as I Googled the restaurant and realized that they closed at 9:00pm that night. Thank God I parked down the road facing Cape May.
For dinner for all five years of the Convention (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021,2022 and 2023), I went to my favorite restaurant in Wildwood, The Ravioli House and Bakery at 102 Bennett Avenue in Wildwood, NJ (see reviews on TripAdvisor and LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com). This has become my Saturday night in Wildwood tradition. I love their bakery which is located in the back of the restaurant which has a separate entrance.
The bakery has cases of Italian pastries that are all beautifully displayed and you just want to try one after another. I settled on a chocolate éclair ($3.00) just in time to spoil my dinner but what is wrong with eating dessert first? This delicious pastry was loaded with vanilla custard and topped with a thick layer of chocolate icing. There is nothing better but making a choice was hard. The custard doughnut that looked like a peach would have to be tried as well.
The Ravioli House at 102 Bennett Avenue in Wildwood, NJ
I managed to walk around a little before dinner and then went in for dinner at The Ravioli House for the second year in a row. It was loaded with fire fighting families and groups of people from the convention. The restaurant was busy that whole evening and I could tell that they were short on help.
It some time for dinner but I was in no rush. Dinner here is well worth the wait. I started with one of their garden salads ($3.95) which was loaded with fresh greens, cucumbers and tomatoes. No hot house vegetables here. The salad was crisp and nicely accented by the oil and vinegar dressing.
The tossed green house salad at Ravioli House
For dinner, I had the Trio of Ravioli ($19.95) which ended up being a duo since they ran out of spinach ravioli. So I just had the meat and cheese ravioli which are freshly made in the restaurant and were as light as air. The meat ravioli were some of the best I have eaten.
The Trio of Ravioli at Ravioli House was my dinner in both 2022 and 2023.
For dessert, I had the Peach Custard Doughnut ($3.95), which was a doughnut, split in half, filled with cream rolled in sugar and liqueur to give it that peach color exterior. It was well worth the second dessert but was a little sweet to end the meal.
The Peach Pastry dessert at the Ravioli House.
I ended up talking to the owners daughter again who works the register. I swear it was like ‘Some Time Next Year’ visiting places I had last year.
The Bakery at the Ravioli House is amazing!
There was no Convention in 2020 because of COVID and in 2021, the Convention was a one day walk through where we showed our cards, went into the Convention Center, filled out our forms and voted. We exited the building and then signed in with the department representatives. That was the extent of the Convention. About fifteen minutes.
I got to bed early that night when I started to get tired after listening to the band at the King Edward Bar for a bit. I said ‘I’ll just lie down for a second’. I woke up at Midnight and then went back to bed.
My last morning in Wildwood was nice. I woke up early, checked out of the hotel and headed to the boardwalk for breakfast. I had walked around the Boardwalk the day before and passed Franconi’s Pizza at 3318 Boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ (See review on TripAdvisor and LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com).
In 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023, the owners were outside shoving menus into everyone’s hands in the three years I attended the Convention in Wildwood and one of the items on the menu was a breakfast special for firefighters for $5.99. I thought I have to try this. I was not disappointed in the three years I ate here and now look forward to visiting the restaurant every time I come to the Wildwood Boardwalk.
Franconi’s Pizza at 3318 Boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ
I have never had breakfast at a pizzeria on a boardwalk before but this is the standard that all should be set. The food was delicious! For $5.99, I got two pancakes, two eggs, two slices of bacon, a mound of potatoes and two slices of toast. The juice was separate. It was meal that could have fed two people and everything was delicious.
Breakfast at Franconi’s is wonderful.
All the food was cooked in clarified butter and you could taste it in the scrambled eggs which were fluffy and in the pancakes which you could taste in the caramelization of the outside of the pancakes. I was so stuffed that I rolled out of the restaurant. It was one of the best breakfast’s I ever had out and I highly recommend it when walking the Boardwalk in Wildwood in the morning.
The pancakes at Franconi’s are especially good!
In 2021 and 2023, I had the number eight breakfast special, which was two slices of French Toast, two scrambled eggs, two pieces of bacon, two pieces of sausage and hash browns for $7.95 which included hot tea and coffee. The breakfast could have fed two people easily. The eggs still tasted the same with the wonderful flavor of the clarified butter and the French Toast was two big Texas Toast slices cut in half, so it was four big pieces. The French Toast was loaded with cinnamon and had the most wonderful, sweet, caramelized flavor to it.
In 2022, I was walking around the Boardwalk Saturday afternoon after a day of touring historical sites and the Cape May Zoo, and I wanted a snack before I went back to the hotel and relaxed. I would be eating dinner late, so it was no big deal. I stopped at Franconi’s again for a Meatball Parmesan hoagie ($8.95) and it was delicious. It was a seven-inch sandwich loaded with freshly made meatballs and topped with their delicious marinara sauce. It was the perfect late lunch and just enough where it did not fill me up when I was having dinner at Ravioli House.
The meatball sandwich at Franconi’s is excellent
In 2018 and 2019, it had cleared and was sunny and blue outside. It was a spectacular day to walk around the Boardwalk. The morning meeting went by quickly as I could see that everyone wanted to get out of there and go outside to enjoy the sunny morning. We started our meeting at 9:00am, voted for our new officers for the Association and were out by 10:30am.
Most people were outside walking around the fire equipment or walking with their families on the Boardwalk by the time I got outside. I took one last walk on the Boardwalk to stretch my legs before I left for Newark, DE for the Cornell versus University of Delaware football game (we lost 27-10 but not the blood bath of last year). So there was a distance to drive.
Cornell versus University of Delaware (We can’t seem to beat them!) Watch the game below.
I left Wildwood until ‘Same Time Next Year’ for the next convention. There are a lot more places to explore and restaurants to try. You never know what you will come across in a shore town.
NJ State Firemen’s Convention 2021:
In 2021, things had changed a lot due to COVID. The Convention went from a two day event to a one day walk through where all we did was get scanned in and then fill out the form to vote and get that scanned and then walk out of the convention center. Some people wore masks and some didn’t but we were not there long enough to worry about it.
I decided this year to make this a working vacation trip since I had pulled my back out and needed to catch up on trips down the shore to visit museums. I was going to stay at the Chalfonte Hotel again for two nights and do the walk through voting but on my way down to Cape May, I decided to visit many of the shore towns to visit their historical museums for my blog, VisitingaMuseum.com.
So my trip started early Thursday morning with my first stop being the Ocean City Historical Museum at 1735 Simpson Avenue in downtown Ocean City, NJ. It was a beautiful morning with not much traffic so it was easy to manage the trip into town. I forgot what a picturesque town Ocean City is when you enter it. It looks like a little New England town.
It took a bit to find the museum until I realized that it was part of the town’s Municipal complex and you had to go through the museum to enter it. It really is an interesting little museum. I liked the history of the shore town with its Victorian hotels, the progression of the Boardwalk over the years, the ship wrecks of the coast line and the exhibit dedicated to Princess Grace Kelly whose family used to vacation here during the summers. I was surprised when the Royal family visited as well when she came home (See review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com).
The Princes Grace Kelly exhibition at the museum
After the visit to the museum, I walked down a few blocks to the shoreline where the Boardwalk was located and took a long walk down the length of the Boardwalk to see what was still open. My therapist suggested a lot of walking for me and that is what I did going all the way to the end and back. Still it gave me a chance to visit old businesses I had been to before.
The Ocean City Boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ
I started with lunch at Manco & Manco Pizza at 816 East 9th Street on the Boardwalk. I love the pizza here and when I am in Ocean City, NJ this is the only place that I go. The sauce is well spiced and the pizza is always delicious. It has that nice tomato sauce swirl that is so famous at the Jersey Shore and they use a high quality mozzarella cheese on their pies. The place was mobbed that day and the line was ten deep while the other places on the boardwalk were quiet (see my review on TripAdvisor.com).
After that, I walked back down the Boardwalk to Johnson’s Popcorn at 1360 Boardwalk for a small popcorn for dessert. I had tried the caramel corn many times before and this time I decided on the Cheese popcorn. It was amazing! (See my review on TripAdvisor).
You could tell it was a combination of Cheddar and what tasted like Blue Cheese as well. It was so rich and savory you could taste it in every bite. They really loaded on the cheese coating. I happily munched on it on my way back to the car needing several napkins to wipe up what I could not lick off. What was nice is that they give it to you in a bag so the extra popcorn spills over and you get extra. This more than filled me up on my next trip to Sea Isle City Historical Museum.
The bins of fresh Caramel Corn scream “Buy me!”
Sea Isle City was really quiet the afternoon that I was there and it seemed that the whole town had rolled up its sleeves and then left. There were not that many cars on the road so it was easy to get around. It took a bit to find the Sea Isle City Museum as it was tucked into the Municipal Building behind their library. It was a small historical society manned by very dedicated and helpful volunteers. They looked like they were happy to see a visitor and explained the whole museum to me.
They had a very interesting ‘Wedding Dresses through the Ages’ exhibition when you walked in which displayed residents of Sea Isle City’s wedding costumes from the late 1880’s through today which the volunteers said were very popular. There were various historical displays of kitchens, fishing equipment and items from old hotels and restaurants. There were also binders of families that lived here for generations. Outside there was a Diamondback Turtle Refuge and a small botanical garden dedicated to the former President of the museum.
The “Wedding Dresses Through the Ages” exhibit at the museum
I knew I would never get to Stone Harbor in time to see their museum so I took my time to drive to Avalon, NJ. There was no one on the road but me so it was a quick trip and I got to the Avalon History Center at 215 39th Street in time to have about an hour to tour the museum. It was just the right amount of time.
Since I got there before it closed, I was the only one in the museum and a staff member greeted me and let me know if I had any questions that he would be in the back. After that, I was alone to enjoy looking at the displays.
The Historical and Hotel Gallery at the Avalon Museum
The Avalon History Center is similar in displays to the other shore historical societies. There were displays on local hotels and restaurants, a small history on the growing music scene from the 1960’s and 70’s, the formation of the railroad head at the shore and big display on the Beach Patrol, which is a big part of the culture at the shore. It recorded the competitions over the years and its importance in the town. Outside these is a small garden and out buildings to explore.
The Business Gallery at the museum
After I left Avalon, I followed the Shore Highway to Wildwood and wanted to walk the Boardwalk there have a stretch before I arrived at the Chalfonte Hotel for the evening. So with a brisk walk with the ocean air, I found myself back at Franco’s again at 3318 Boardwalk indulging in a Cheesesteak ($8.95). I would highly recommend it. It was the best cheesesteak I had eaten outside of Philly (as Wildwood caters to the Philly crowd and probably knows their way around a cheesesteak). The sandwich was on a fresh chewy roll loaded with thin steaks and a large portion of Cheese Wiz on top. It was like heaven in each bite.
The cheesesteaks at Franconi’s rival anything in Philly
I got to my room at the Chalfonte Hotel later that evening. I have to say that I have been staying at this hotel now for almost six years and I have never seen it so run down. It just looked like they had not done any renovation work in a long time. I was not impressed by the peeling paint and the stained carpets in the second floor hallways. My room had water damage in the corner of the room (I could not believe that they would sell this room).
Voting the next morning took only fifteen minutes. We showed our ID’s, filled out the form and had them scanned and walked out of the Convention Center. Done in minutes and then off to the Boardwalk again to visit restaurants and stores.
Breakfast again was Franconi’s and I swear their breakfasts are the best on the Boardwalk. You can not top their French Toast platter with scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage with a side of Hash Browns (see review on TripAdvisor and LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com).
The French Toast Platter at Franconi’s.
I spent the rest of the morning walking off breakfast by touring the entire Boardwalk and then walking back. From here I visited a series of museums that have been on bucket list for a long time. I also stopped by a series of farms along the way to look for the elusive Beach Plum jelly.
My first stop was the Stone Harbor Historical Museum at 9410 Second Avenue in Stone Harbor, NJ. This delightful little museum has an extensive collection of artifacts packed into a small space just off Downtown Stone Harbor.
The museum like many along the shore has the history of their tourism, the competition in the Beach Patrol, artifacts from homes and families from the area and even had a 9/11 exhibition that was donated from the Stone Harbor Fire Department chief (See reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com).
Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum at 500 Forrestal Road
The next museum on my list was the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum at 500 Forrestal Road in West Cape May. This unique museum at the Cape May Airport explains the region’s role in WWII. Serving as an Army base during the beginning of WWII, there were stories from locals about their time in the armed forces, how the area catered to our uniformed soldiers and their stories about training in the area and then all the vehicles from planes to trucks. Plan to be here for a few hours (See my review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com).
In 2022, after the convention was over, I visited several other historical sites that I was not able to visit or have time for in June for my Father’s Day weekend visit.
Dennis Township Old Schoolhouse Museum at 681 Petersburg Road in Woodbine, NJ
I finally got to visit this interesting little museum in historic Woodbine, NJ. The museum is surrounded by a neighborhood of historic homes, so the town has a nice feel to it right in the middle of a farming community.
The Farming display at the museum.
There is a display on the basket making industry that supplied all the baskets for fruits and vegetables for the farmers in New Jersey, the shingle making industry that prided itself on making the shingles for Congress Hall in Philadelphia and the renovation of a local cemetery of historic significance to the town.
The Basket Making display.
The Military Display at the museum.
There are pictures of the historic Methodist Camp that was located here, a display on local Veterans and their artifacts, pictures of home management on the farm and in rural New Jersey, an antique pipe organ and pictures of the local renovation of the Ludlam family cemetery. There is a little bit of this and a little bit of that displayed at the museum and well organized in this former one room schoolhouse. The docents were also really nice.
The School display at the museum.
There were also displays of period furniture, farm equipment, clothing and accessories, the town’s police and fire departments and a complete library on the town’s history and a place where people can come to study their genealogy. There is a lot packed into this small museum.
The Museum of Cape May County at 504 North Route 9.
The Museum of Cape May County changed their hours the week before and now it is only open on Wednesday and Friday afternoon, so I had to plan to visit it another time when I was in the area. I was a little bummed because it had nice grounds that I took a moment to walk. That is when I went back to the Cape May Zoo (see above) which was a madhouse that afternoon on a beautiful sunny day.
When I returned to Cape May in 2024 for the Convention, I finally after almost five years in trying (between COVID closures) finally got to tour the house, the barn and the carriage house. It really is a hidden gem that is wasted with the hours the museum keeps. It really is an interesting museum if you can get on the tour.
The inside of the house The Living Room
The inside of the house The Dining Room
The inside of the Carriage House with buggies and carriages
The inside of the Barn and its artifacts like the farm equipment of Cape May
This is the problem with many of the historical sites I visit. They are so interesting to visit and have some much to see but the hours they keep I often wonder when people are able to visit or when they visitors in general. It is a real problem with volunteerism.
Church Landing Farm/Pennsville Township Historical Society at 88 Church Landing Road
The Church Landing Farm was my last stop on my way home. I had tried to visit it on my last trip, and it had already closed for the day, and it is open just one day a week. Still this small historical society should not be missed.
The sign welcoming you
The farmhouse is decorated in period furniture from Victorian times to the 1920’s and shows the life of gentleman farmer, Daniel Garrison, who built the house between 1840-1845. Most of the furnishings were donated with the exception of the Garrison family portraits which were donated by the family,
The Electric Light sign near the themed buildings
Where the museum really shines in in the individual sheds that have different themes to them. One is a Fishing Hut to move around during the season, a one room schoolhouse, one dedicated to the local high schools with uniforms and spirit items including football pictures and trophies. My favorite was of the local amusement park that closed in 1969. The artifacts of the park were really interesting that included old rides, signs, prizes from the games and pictures of the park in its glory. These were fascinating. I walked the grounds again before I left and went back to Hudock’s for some ice cream before the long trip home.
The small themed farm buildings
In 2021, on my way back from visiting all the museums, I stopped at two farms in search of Beach Plum jelly, something of a local delicacy in Southern New Jersey. My first stop was the Beach Plum Farm which is part of the Cape Resorts. I love coming here for breakfast (See TripAdvisor review) and to just look around at the gift shop and the grounds. It has really expanded over the years.
The Beach Plum Farm
I also took quick tours of the Lewes Maritime Museum at the Cannonball House at 118 Front Street in Lewes before I took the ferry to Cape May and the Museum of Fine Arts & Popular Culture at 507 Washington Street in Cape May, but they were rushed, and I did not get to really enjoy them. The Lewes Maritime Museum was loaded with information on the Revolutionary War and the local fishing industry.
Cannonball House at 118 Front Street in Lewes
The displays inside the Cannonball House are very interesting
The Museum of Fine Arts & Popular Culture displayed work of the Surrealists and featured many items from the curator’s collection and works that he had done himself.
The Museum of Fine Arts & Popular Culture at 507 Washington Street Unit 104
The gift shop had an array of gift and food items to choose from and the small restaurant even expanded since my last visit two years ago. There are many fresh and frozen items to choose from as well as gourmet gift products and even fresh eggs from their chickens. There were lots of breakfast and lunch items on the menu.
I love walking the grounds and looking at the garden beds, chicken coops and looking at the crops which were in their last stages of growing as the summer grew to close. It has gotten very commercial since my first visit about ten years ago but the farm has grown more popular and has really expanded. I could not find the elusive jelly.
Down the road is the more authentic working farm, the Rea Farm and their Market. This is more of what you would think of as a farm. The fields are in the back and the owner of the farm’s wife works the farm stand market. She and I talked for almost an hour about life on the farm and the Farm Act and protecting precious New Jersey farm land.
The inside of the farm stand.
It was here that I found the Beach Plum jelly ($6.95) which I thought was reasonably priced. Mrs. Rea said that she made the jelly herself and that all of her fruit jams and baked products are made at the commercial kitchen they had in the old farmhouse. They also too had a nice selection of baked products and fresh eggs. It was less fancy as going to Beach Plum Farms but just as nice of an experience.
The outside of the farm stand getting ready for Halloween in early September.
On the Saturday nights that I spend in Cape May during the Convention, it is always dinner at the Ravioli House in Wildwood, NJ. Dinner that night was back at the Ravioli House in Wildwood, NJ. Because of COVID and the number of people at the Convention, the restaurant had set up a tent with outdoor dining in their parking lot next to the restaurant. Thank God it was a nice sunny warm night that was perfect to dine out.
I love the food here and before dinner I managed to sneak in a piece of pastry from their bakery. I had one of their St. Joseph custard filled pastries ($3.75) about an hour before dinner. I should have waited though as it did put a slight damper on dinner. Still I was starved.
The Ravioli House bakery is located behind the restaurant
Since it would be both lunch and dinner for me and I planned to head back to the hotel after dinner for a long walk, I decided to have a big meal when I saw some of the things on the menu that I had not tried in my last few trips to the restaurant.
I started with the Chicken Pastina soup ($4.25) which was a flavorful chicken stock loaded with fresh vegetables, chunks of chicken and Pastina, which are small pieces of pasta in the shape of a thumb nail. The soup was rich in chicken flavor and was the perfect starter for a cool night.
The Chicken Pastina Soup
Since I was starved, I decided to try the Trip Around Italy ($26.95), which was a sampling of all the pastas on the menu that included two stuffed shells, four ravioli and a big portion size of both Gnocchi and Spaghetti along with a large meatball and a piece of sausage. All the pastas were fresh and made in house and the meatballs and sausage were also made in house along with their fresh red sauce.
The dish was amazing but filling. I was starved and somehow I ate everything including a whole bread basket of fresh rolls to dip the sauce in and butter. The pastas were delicious and the cheese filling in the ravioli and stuffed shells was a combination of parmesan, ricotta and mozzarella which felt creamy and you could taste the complexity of the mixture. When the waitress came to collect my plate she could not believe I ate everything on the plate plus the rolls. She said most people take half of it home.
The ‘Tour Around Italy’ can feed two people
After a dinner like that I did not need any dessert and ended up taking a long walk around the neighborhood to work it off and digest. I think I walked about a mile and a half from the restaurant to the Boardwalk and back.
The wonderful homemade rolls at Ravioli House.
In 2022, I was back at the Ravioli House again for my annual Saturday night dinner. Since I had had the meatball hoagie a few hours before, I did not want to have a huge meal like in the past. I decided on the Chicken Picante, which was two nicely sized chicken breasts sauteed in butter, lemon and wine and topped with capers. What was nice was it included a small salad to start with fresh greens and a light oil and vinegar dressing and a side of their homemade spaghetti with their flavorful marinara sauce.
The House Salad at Ravioli House.
For dessert, I had stopped in the pastry shop behind the restaurant and eyed the St. Joseph’s pastry and decided on that for dessert. The rich sweet filling with the rich pastry dough was a special treat for my last night at the shore.
The Chicken Piccante was delicious
I ran into the owner who mans the register every time I come on (her mother is supervising in the kitchen at 80) and reminded her of my previous visits. We were laughing over the bread story last year when a firemen’s son, (who was challenged), stole the bread off the table. She laughed and said for some reason she remembered that. When I left, I said, “Same time next year.” She seemed please that I have made this part of my tradition in visiting Wildwood.
I drove back to Cape May through the Wildwoods and could not believe how quiet it seemed. Most of the hotels in town were not full and even the Boardwalk seemed quiet that evening. It was busy but not like two years ago. I think most people voted and then went home. The hotels by the Boardwalk still had vacancy signs. When I arrived back in Cape May, their downtown was hopping.
The next morning I toured around Cape May and revisited some of the sights from the day before and walked down to the beach. It was so warm that people were hitting the beach and walking around downtown. I tried to go to Uncle Bill’s Pancake House again a few blocks away but the line was about fifty deep with families and a waitstaff that was hustling as fast as they could. So I walked a few blocks away and went to an old standby, The Mad Batter at 19 Jackson Street for breakfast.
Unfortunately it was the same thing but this time with young couples and older families waiting outside. I lucked out with the host and she let me eat at the bar so I was immediately seated and served. Breakfast as usual here was fantastic. I could not believe how fast breakfast came out as the whole restaurant was mobbed from the time I got there to the long line left when I departed.
The bar area at the Mad Batter at 19 Jackson Street
I had a Three Egg with Cheddar and Bacon and a side of home fries with toast. The bartender at The Mad Batter does mix a very strong Mimosa. The omelet was excellent and so well spiced. The hash browns had a bit of kick to them with the peppers. The service was excellent. When I left, the line was still long to get in.
The omelet was excellent.
On this beautiful morning, I left for the Cape May-Lewes Ferry to visit my mother for an overnight trip. I owed her dinner for her delayed Christmas present. So off I went taking the ferry again across Delaware Bay while watching the Michigan State-U of Miami Game.
The evening my mom, her partner and I went to Big Fish at 20298 Coastal Highway in Rehoboth Beach, DE which was part of my mother’s Christmas present that we had not been able to plan since I had gotten hurt over the summer. It was a relaxing evening where we all indulged in their sweet Fried Shrimp platter and various appetizers. After three days of running around visiting museums, stores and restaurants for updates on my blog and visiting small towns and farms to add to these blogs, it was nice to just relax.
The Big Fish Grille at 20298 Costal Highway in Rehoboth Beach, DE
In 2022 and in 2023, I was visiting for an early birthday meal with my mom and Jane. Since I would not be seeing her again until December because of college, I took the two of them to Confucious at 57 Wilmington Avenue in downtown Rehoboth Beach.
We ordered a lot for dinner because we were all starved. We started off with delicious thin-skinned pork dumplings and pan-fried soft-shell crabs and for the entrees we ordered Mu Shu Pork (they make this so good!), General Tso’s Chicken, Spicy Singapore Noodles and the owner always sends something complimentary to the table, my mom’s favorite, Fried Rice. It was such a nice meal, and it was funny toasting my mother three months early.
Everyone’s favorite, the General Tso’s Chicken at Confucious.
The Beef Chow Fun at Confucius is always a hit with us.
Their Mu Shu Pork is fantastic. This is why we always order it.
The next day I took off for home but not after another visit to the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk. I had to have my Louis Pizza fix. Louis Pizza at 11 Rehoboth Avenue right near the Boardwalk and is the best place in town to get pizza. After a slice and a quick walk on the Boardwalk to enjoy the sunshine, it was back home again to answer calls and get back to work.
My favorite lunch at Louise’s Pizza, a slice with an icy Coke.
Well, another Convention season is now over and now I am a Life Member of the NJ State Fireman’s Association. Quite an accomplishment for seventeen years on the department.
Places to Eat:
Magnolia Room/King Edward Bar@ The Chalfonte Hotel
301 Howard Street
Cape May, New Jersey 08204
Open : Sunday-Saturday 8:30am-10:00pm/6:00pm-9:00pm
Hours: Sunday-Saturday-4:00pm-9:00pm/Bakery-10:00am-9:00pm (In season)-Please check with the restaurant as it closes as the season winds down. Both close down on October 14th.
Built in the nineteenth century, the Chalfonte offers ‘the view from yesterday, genteel Southern-style hospitality, ornate gingerbread verandas line with comfortable rocking chairs and a constant sea breeze to rejuvenate and refresh. The Chalfonte’s distinctive ship-like profile, crowned by her Italianate cupola, now occupies nearly an entire city block. The hotel was built in 1876 by Civil War Colonel Henry Sawyer and was originally planned as a boarding house. Sawyer’s Chalfonte underwent most of its expansion between 1876 and 1909 and the present footprint is much as it was in 1909. This venerable Grande Dame by the sea still retains its Victorian Charm-louvered door to let the breeze through, Southern cuisine in The Magnolia Room and original antiques and fixtures throughout.
President Lincoln and the Chalfonte:
The history of the Chalfonte Hotel begins with a story that rivals “Gone with the Wind”. Sawyer arrived in Cape May in 1848 at the age of eighteen, a supporter of the Union side in the Civil War. He enlisted in a Pennsylvania regiment since a New Jersey one had not been formed. After three months service and rising to the rank of Captain, he returned home only to re-enlist in a New Jersey regiment. In June 1863, after being captured during a bloody exchange at the Battle of Brandy in Virginia, Sawyer was incarcerated at Libby Prison in Richmond.
In retaliation for shooting two Confederate Cavalry prisoners of war, the Confederacy proposed to execute two Union prisoners, drawn by lottery. Sawyer was on of the two selected in the lottery of death. When Sawyer’s wife heard new of her husband’s execution, she did not go into a state of morning, instead rushing cross country to Washington to meet with President Lincoln and beg for his intervention. As a result, Secretary of War Stanton warned the South they would execute two Confederates if they executed the two Union prisoners. Upping the stakes, one of the Confederate prisoners selected was the son of General Robert E. Lee. The situation ended with Sawyer being released in a swap with Robert E. Lee’s son. He resumed active duty and returned to Cape May in 1875 as a recognized war hero.
Sawyer’s Chalfonte:
Having bought a parcel of land in 1872 at the corner of Howard Street and Sewell Avenue in 1875, Sawyer began construction of “Sawyer’s Chalfonte” (Chalfonte means ‘cool fountain’ in French; Sawyer’s reason for using the name is unknown). In 1876, Colonel Sawyer bought all the rest of the square bounded by Columbia, Franklin, Sewell and Howard except for the lot at the corner of Columbia and Howard except for the lot at the corner of Columbia and Howard.
Cape May’s inclination away from resort hotels in favor of the intimacy of cottages had already begun. This trend was sealed in the fall of 1878 when the city suffered yet another disastrous fire. Previous fires had seen the total destruction of the Mt. Vernon Hotel in 1858 and of more properties in 1869. While the fire of 1878 reduced Cape May’s count of hotel rooms from 2200 to 200 in a single night and marked the demise of large hotel construction in the rest of Cape May, the Chalfonte, standing unscathed beyond the fire’s reach was about to experience an unprecedented expansion.
The same year Henry Sawyer extended his then two-year-old boarding house down Sewell Avenue, adding nineteen rooms to his existing eighteen. The original residence and addition were significant improvement in architectural refinement over the pre-Civil War hotels. While in no way extravagant, the building had a simple dignified Italian form (sometimes known as ‘Cube Italian’ in Cape May) with a balanced plan and façade.
In spite of suffering the ravages of time and storm, with minimal foundations, the first three phases of the building are soundly built with an eye to graceful resolution of any geometrical anomalies. Sawyer owned the hotel for another ten years, selling it in 1888 after just thirteen years of ownership. He died in 1893.
Chalfonte Today:
Between 1888 and 1911 the Chalfonte was extended to its current size, adding another twenty-three rooms along Sewell Avenue, enlarging the dining room and providing delightful architectural riddles for future preservationist to solve.
The University of Delaware versus Cornell Football game in 2018
Michigan State University versus University of Miami game in 2021:
I took some time out of my regular touring and took a historic tour of the pubs and bars of lower Manhattan with the Cornell Club. The club had arranged this tour through one of the local historical tour companies in the City in which we would be touring sections of local historic watering holes. This included the Frances Tavern, Delmonico’s and India House.
We met on the stairs of the National Museum of the American Indian which once upon a time was the U.S. Customs House. Here we met our tour guide and we started our discussion on historic bars and restaurants and their place in lower Manhattan.
The tour started with a talk on the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House building located at 1 Bowling Green. The building was designed by architect Cass Gilbert, who also designed the Woolworth Building with construction beginning in 1902 and was finished in 1907 and considered a masterpiece in Beaux-Arts style (Wiki).
The interesting part of the building is when you look up to the roof to see the statuary of ‘The Continents’, also called the ‘Four Continents’ of Asia, America, Europe and Africa. Located on the main cornice are standing sculptures representing the great seafaring nations, representing American seagoing commerce (Wiki and tour guide).
The interesting part of the discussion was that the U.S. Custom House sits on the site of Fort Amsterdam, the fortification constructed by the Dutch West Indian Company to defend their operations in the Hudson Valley. It was the center of the settlement (Wiki and tour guide).
Our next stop on the tour was walking around Bowling Green Park across the street from the U.S. Custom House. The park is the oldest public park in New York City and is one of the two rumored places that Peter Minuit ‘bought’ the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans in 1626 (the other being in Inwood Park) and had once served as the Council grounds for the local Native American tribes (NYC Parks.org).
The park was first designated a park in 1733 when it was offered for rent at the cost of one peppercorn per year. There had been a gilded statue of King George III erected there in 1770 and an iron fence (still there and a New York landmark) installed in 1771. On July 9, 1776 at the first public hearing of the Declaration of Independence, the statue was toppled by angry citizens and melted down for ammunition (NYC Parks & Tour Guide). The crowns that used to line the fence had been sawed off and you can still see traces of it on the fences.
The area surrounding the park became a fashionable residence in the late 18th century and mid-19th century, the area gave way to business and manufacturing. The park has since gone through many renovations, including the most recent 2004 which re-landscaped the park and added new bluestone sidewalks, plantings, gas lamps and hoof benches (NYC Parks & Tour guide).
Just north of the Bowling Green Park is the 7,100 pound statue of the ‘Charging Bull’ by artist Arturo DiModica. Mr. DiModica is a self taught Italian artist who had once worked in the foundries and then immigrated to New York City in the 1970’s. He became part of the 80’s art scene in lower Manhattan.
DiModica states that “Bronze figure of the bull represents the strength, power and hope of the American people for the future.” This was dealing after the Crash of the Market in 1987. Considered ‘guerrilla’ art when it was illegally installed in front of the New York Stock Exchange during the Christmas holiday season in 1989, the statue was moved to its current location in the Spring of 1989 and been there since.
Next to the statute, another statue has been cast and placed near the bull. “Fearless Girl” was installed in 2017 the night before International Women’s Day and was created by artist Kristen Visbal and was commissioner by State Street Global Advisers as a marketing campaign for their index fund. Ms. Visbal is a graduate from Salisbury State University with a BFA and currently runs the Visbal Fine Arts Sculpture in Lewes, DE (Wiki).
The artist says that the statue of the young girl shows her as being “brave, proud and strong.” There has been criticism between the two artists on the meaning of the statutes (Wiki).
The first historic bar we visited was the Fraunces Tavern at 54 Pearl Street (See review on TripAdvisor). The restaurant has played a prominent role in history before, during and after the American Revolution, serving as a headquarters for George Washington, a venue for peace negotiations with the British and housing federal offices in the Early Republic. It is owned by the Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York Inc. and claim it is Manhattan’s oldest surviving buildings with the current being built by Stephen DeLancey, the son in law of New York Mayor Stephanus van Cortlandt in 1719 (Wiki).
We only stayed at the bar for a short time, looking at the period furniture and some of the museum quality artifacts before some of the members of our group ordered a drink. I have to tell you one thing, they get very testy if you sit a table and don’t order anything. Check out their website at http://www.francestavern.com for the menu’s and full history.
Our next stop on the tour was historic Stone Street, a cluster of historic buildings along Stone, South William and Pearl Streets and Coenties Alley. The street’s stores and lofts were built for dry-goods merchants and importers shortly after the Great Fire of 1835, which destroyed many remnants of New Amsterdam (Wiki).
The entrance to Stone Street
The street had been neglected for years but a partnership between the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission and other city agencies, the Alliance for Downtown New York and Stone Street business owners transformed the area into the lively entertainment area that contains several restaurants and bars (Wiki & the Tour Guide).
The buildings of Stone Street.
The middle of Stone Street now is lined with tables used by all the restaurants for seating and is a very active area during lunch and Happy Hour time. We walked among the busy tables and looked at the menus but didn’t stop here. I had stopped earlier at Justino’s Pizzeria at 77 Pearl Street for a snack (See review on TripAdvisor). Their pizza is quite good although I think that Pranzo at 34 Water Street is better. They give you a better slice and the sauce is much spicier.
After we left the Stone Street Historic area, we walked up Broad Street to see the New York Stock Exchange and the Federal Hall District. This is the seat of the financial center and the capital of the financial world.
The New York Stock Exchange at 8-18 Broad Street was built in 1903 replacing the original Victorian structure which had been built in 1865. The building was designed by architect George Browne Post, who was a native New Yorker who studied architecture and civil engineering at NYU. He designed it in Second Empire design (Wiki and the Tour Guide).
Standing on Wall Street, you can see the 1903 building rise ten stories above the sidewalk. Six Corinthian columns steadily rise from a seven-bay-wide podium set between two rectangular pilasters. He complimented the six columns with symmetry of seven with a center flat arched doorway with three more on either side. The podium symmetry continues to the second store, where directly above each street-level doorway is a contrasting round-arched opening. Balustraded balconies between floors provide the classic ornamentation as do lintels with carved fruit and flowers (Architecture of New York Stock Exchange Building & Tour Guide).
New York Stock Exchange at 8-18 Broad Street
We passed the now closed Stock Exchange building and continued on to Federal Hall at 26 Wall Street. We discovered that this is not the original building but its replacement that was built in 1842.
Looking down Wall Street at the NY Stock Exchange and other historical buildings
The original Federal Hall was a Greek Revival structure completed in 1703 and served as New York’s first City Hall. It was where the Stamp Act Congress met to draft a letter to King George on opposition to the Stamp Act and after the Revolution for the Congress of the Confederation held under the Articles of Confederation. It was renamed Federal Hall when it became the first Capital of the Newly created United States in 1789 and hosted the first United States Congress. On its steps, George Washington was sworn in as the first President. That building was demolished in 1812 (Wiki & the Tour Guide).
Federal Hall at 26 Wall Street
The current structure, completed in 1842 and one of the best surviving examples of neoclassical architecture in New York, was built as the U.S. Custom House for the Port of New York. Later it served as a sub-Treasury building. It is operated today by the National Park Service as a national memorial and designated the Federal Hall National Memorial (Wiki and the Tour Guide).
The statue of George Washington was designed by John Quincy Adams Ward in 1882. Mr. Quincy Adams is an American born artist from Ohio. He trained under known artist Henry Kirk Browne and is the brother of artist Edgar Melville Ward. He moved to New York City in 1861, was elected to the National Academy of Design and was a known sculpture of historical busts and monuments (Wiki).
It was erected on the front steps of the building, marking the approximate site where he was inaugurated as President of the United States. Part of the original railing and balcony floor where Washington was inaugurated are on display in the memorial (Wiki).
We also looked at the original J.P. Morgan Building at 23 Wall Street or known as ‘The Corner’. The building was designed by Trowbridge & Livingston and built in 1913. It was known as the ‘House of Morgan’ so there were no signs with the Morgan name. The building was designed in the classical architecture and Morgan made sure that it was designed only four feet high (Wiki). When I asked the tour guide why, he basically said everyone knew who J. P. Morgan was and he didn’t have to prove it.
JP Morgan Building Wall Street 23 Wall Street
The foundation of the building is constructed deep and strong enough in order to support a forty foot tower if it needed to be built. The company moved its operations to 60 Wall Street and the company sold the building and it has had several owners. Our tour guide said that the building was rumored to be turned into condos (Wiki and the Tour Guide).
We moved down Beaver Street towards Wall Street and our second stop of the tour at Delmonico’s restaurant at 56 Beaver Street. The restaurant has moved and changed since it was founded in 1827. The restaurant has always been since it’s founding a place of society and influence. The restaurant was first operated by the Delmonico family as a small cafe and pastry shop at 23 William Street. Later it would be considered one of the nation’s top fine dining restaurants and the birthplace of such dishes as Baked Alaska, Lobster Newberg and famous Delmonico steak. It was the first restaurant to allow patrons to order from a menu a la carte as opposed to table d’hote. It also claimed to be the first to employ a separate wine list (Wiki & the Tour Guide).
The current location of Delmonico’s was opened in 1926 by restaurateur Oscar Tucci as a speakeasy and this restaurant would continue on until 1986. It has operated in this location at different times as Delmonico’s since and has currently been open since 1998 (Wiki, Delmonico’s History and the Tour Guide).
I found the restaurant to be very formal and a little stuffy for a tour group to visit since we were not all dressed for the occasion. The restaurant patrons were all dressed up and I had to parade through the dining room in shorts, which are not allowed in the formal dining room. We had a drink at the bar and I found it to be excellent. The service at the busy bar was friendly and very inviting and I was ready to stay for some dinner. The bar atmosphere was very engaging and we had a nice time there. It is expensive but well worth it once (See review on TripAdvisor).
We walked down the street to The Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden located across the street from Hanover Square. The land around this part has been in public used since 1637 and in 1730 became known as Hanover Square in tribute to the House of Hanover. It had been the center for commerce and printing in the beginnings of New York and was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1835. The small triangled parcel was not developed into a park until 1952 and was rededicated with new landscaping until the 1970’s. It has since been redesigned again with new plantings, benches and decorations (Wiki and the Tour Guide).
Queen Elizabeth Park September 11th Garden
It was rededicated July 6, 2010 by Queen Elizabeth II as The Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden in memory of the 67 British citizens that lost their lives in the September 11th attacks. Originally named the ‘British Gardens’ it was again rededicated and renamed on May 2, 2012 and the ceremony led by the Dean of Westminster Abbey which included other members of the Commonwealth nations (Wiki). It is such a nice place to just relax and the plantings are beautiful. I told the tour guide that it is a very touching place to visit.
Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Park at 1 Hanover Square
Our last part of the tour was a visit to India House now called 1 Hanover Square, which is located at the very end of the Stone Street Historic district. Located at the southern end of Hanover Square and facing the Queen Elizabeth II September 11th garden across the street, the building was built in 1851 and was the site of the nation’s first commodity futures exchange, the New York Cotton Exchange and was designated a National Landmark in 1977 and a New York City Landmark in 1965 (Wiki & the Tour Guide).
India House at 1 Hanover Square
The structure was built out of brownstone and designed in the Italian Renaissance style by builder, developer and merchant, Richard F. Carman. It had been the headquarters of Hanover Bank and then the Cotton Exchange. Since then it has operated as a private club since 1913 and now houses restaurants (Wiki).
The main facade of the building has eight bays wide, with the main entrance occupying two bays at the center. Windows on the ground floor are tall and set in openings flanked by paneled pilasters and topped by pediment segmental arches Second floor windows are smaller, set beneath gabled pediments and their floor windows are smaller still with simpler surrounds. The building is crowned by a modillioned cornice (Wiki).
We ended the tour at the restaurant on the bottom level where some of the group stayed for dinner. I headed off to the Wonton Noodle Garden at 56 Mott Street for dinner. After a long tour outdoors and the night getting cooler, a steaming bowl of Cantonese Wonton Soup ($8.95) with a side of pan-fried dumplings ($5.00).
Wonton Noodle Garden at 56 Mott Street (this location has moved to 23 Pell Street)
This restaurant in the middle of the heart of Chinatown is my main standby when eating in the neighborhood. Like the rest of the Manhattan, I see the traces of gentrification creeping into the area. All you have to do is look at the buildings above.
My message to readers, please, get off the cell phones and look around you. You are missing a lot! I have walked this neighborhood dozens of times over the years and my eyes were open by all the changes and by the beauty of the surroundings. I will print more of my travels with the Cornell Club in future blogs.
They are very interesting and a detailed perspective of New York City.
It took several weeks to cover the lower part of the Upper East Side. The weather has started to get hotter and now with the Summer here, you have to deal with more humidity. That’s why I like to discover where all the public bathrooms are located in the City. When you drink as much water as I do on these trips, it can become the most important part of the walk (outside the great restaurant find or interesting historic site). You need to know your priorities when you walk the City especially when the temperature hits in the mid 90’s.
Walking the Upper East Side has its extremes in housing and architecture as it moves east from Central Park to the river. Here and there are little ‘treasures’ of buildings and places of business that pop up from block to block. As the weather has gotten hotter and more humid, I have taken my time to really walk the streets of the neighborhood and explore it properly. That is why it has taken so long to finish. There are a lot of great things to see on the lower part of the Upper East Side.
In 2024, I spent my birthday wondering around the Upper East Side just enjoying the beautiful weather and eating at some of the restaurants that had been on my bucket list for a long time, Majorelle and Perrine. I know these were expensive but on my birthday I felt I could splurge this one time. They were well worth the money and better than any stupid gift that I did not need. I just wanted a special day for myself to enjoy and be with me. I had spent the morning volunteering at the Soup Kitchen because I believe you should give back on your birthday. Then the rest of the day was mine.
My walk took me to East 59th Street starting at Grand Army Plaza at the statue of General Sherman, which is a big meeting and tourist site right off the edge of Midtown near the Plaza and Pierre Hotels. Many tourists meet their buses here and it is the southern entrance to the Central Park Zoo and then onto Central Park. On a hot day, many people were sitting on the benches in the shade.
The Statue of General Sherman was created by American and New York artist Augustus St. Gaudens in 1892 and finished it in 1903. He modeled the bust after the General who lived in New York City at that time after the Civil War. Mr. Saint-Gaudens was an American artist who specialized in American Renaissance and Beaux-Arts design whose concentration was in monument sculpture. He studied as an apprentice under artists while at Cooper Union and National Academy of Design and continuing at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris.
General Sherman distinguished himself during the Civil War with his army taking Atlanta and then marched to the Atlantic to cut off the South (Central Park Conservatory).
The Statue of General Sherman at the edge of Central Park
In 2015, the Northern part of the Grand Army Plaza was restored by the Central Park Conservatory which included cleaning the statue and applying a layer of gold leaf covered with wax on the outside. The rest of the plaza was landscaped with new trees and is now ADA accessible (Central Park Conservatory).
This gilded statue now serves as a welcome to the southern part of the park as well as a focal point to the plaza. It sits majestically almost guarding the park from intruders. The interesting part of its placement here is that the Sherman family wanted it placed here after they rejected Riverside Drive near Grant’s Tomb (See VistingaMuseum@Wordpress.com)(Central Park Conservatory).
East 59th Street is a busy part of the neighborhood with a bevy of upscale stores, restaurants and hotel plus a meeting point for buses loaded with tourists and the carriage trade around the park. Central Park is a huge draw to people sunning themselves on the lawns and going to the zoo, playgrounds and the carousel.
I love walking around this area looking at the luxury stores and walking around the Pierre and Plaza hotels, especially around the holidays. Unfortunately because of recent occurrences, the security at the hotels becomes a point of harassment where you can’t even walk around to look at the displays in public areas anymore.
Pierre Hotel at 2 East 61st Street of Fifth Avenue
For my Birthday dinner in October 2024, I enjoyed my birthday dinner at the hotel’s signature restaurant, Perrine. The food and service were wonderful. The only problem was that the restaurant was so quiet during the Jewish holidays I felt alone sitting in the back of the restaurant (I had asked for a large table so that I could grade papers).
Perrine Restaurant inside the Pierre Hotel at 2 East 61st Street
The dinner was the perfect way to end my day walking around the Upper East Side. I had been eyeing that Perrine Burger for so long and on a cool night it was the perfect comfort foods.
The inside of Perrine on my birthday
My table at Perrine
I did not even need a menu I had memorized it and I was having the Perrine Burger. It was one of the best burgers I have eaten in a long time. It was made of Prime Beef and Short ribs and you could taste the difference in the meat. It was gamey and rich
My birthday dinner
Nothing like a juicy burger and fries on your birthday
The Perrine Burger is indeed special
Yum!
For dessert instead of any cakes or traditional sweets (I had all of that at Tea in the afternoon), I order the Apple Galette topped with sweet apples and cinnamon. Another perfect comfort food on a cool October night.
My birthday dessert, the Apple Galette
Don’t miss the Apple Galette at Perrine is amazing!
I just relaxed on this birthday evening, spending my day visiting the things I had missed before and just relaxed and enjoyed them.
Me on the night of my birthday at Perrine. It really was a special evening and a special day. It really cheered me up.
It had a wonderful afternoon in the City on the night of birthday. I had worked in the Soup Kitchen in the morning, then it was a haircut at York Barbers, then off to Tea and a trip to the Central Park to the Zoo, then a trip to the Met and then to Perrine for dinner. I certainly can’t do this all the time but it was the perfect treat to myself in lieu of buying things I did not want or could not use. Sometimes you should pamper yourself. Isn’t it that was life is about? After all that, it was a trip to the Central Park Zoo.
Also, the economy and rent increases have hit this area just as hard as the rest of the City and even the upscale stores of Fifth, Madison and Park Avenues have moved to either less choicer areas or have taken root on Lexington or Third Avenues, making them now more expensive. The old brownstone homes and businesses that used to line the Avenues (See the Avenue walks of the Upper East Side on previous ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’ entries) have given way to modern office and apartment buildings with not as much character and space. They rent mostly to the chain stores that can afford it.
I started my first day after a long day in the Soup Kitchen. They put me on the busy Bread Station where we could barely keep up with demand. Sometimes I feel the homeless and the working poor are acting entitled, like the Bread Station is some sort of Starbucks and we should have exactly what they want to eat. When one guy came down hard on us one afternoon I kindly reminded him that the food here is donated and distribute out what we get. It’s not like we order the bread. It is very generously donated by Amy’s Bread and Rockland Bakery. That’s why I like walking around so much, it gets that irritation out of my system as I realize that it is not there fault.
After Soup Kitchen, I decided on eating a few snacks before I came uptown. Before I got to Soup Kitchen, I stopped at Shamas Deli, a tiny little hole in the wall deli at 150 West 38th Street (See review on TripAdvisor). I had passed this place a million times over the years and decided that I needed an bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. It was okay but for $3.25, I thought it was fair. Not the prettiest place but it serves its customers well.
Shamus Deli in the Garment District at 150 West 38th Street
After Soup Kitchen, I like to go to Fu Xing at 273 West 38th Street (See reviews on TripAdvisor.com and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) for cream and roast pork buns ($1.25) for a quick snack and then for lunch at Non Solo Piada at 302 West 37th Street for lunch. They specialize in Roman street food and make an egg, Italian sausage and cheese wrap called a Cassoni, which is almost like a calzone. Their prices are very reasonable (See reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com)and their selection of tiny pizzas and calzone like sandwiches are not just delicious but reasonable. These two restaurants cater to the Garment Industry crowd who look for a reasonable lunch and thank God, I found them as well. I highly recommend them.
I walked up to East 59th Street via Fifth Avenue and even in the Herald Square area you can see that it is quickly gentrifying. All these old buildings that were once whole-sellers for the Garment Industry have made way for hotels and fancy condos.
Even Fifth Avenue changes from the New York Library on up. It used to be that from East 34th Street to East 59th Streets, there were all of these exclusive stores starting with B. Altman’s at Fifth and East 34th Street ending with the Pierre Hotel at East 60th Street.
Now it looks like a cross between North Michigan Avenue in Chicago and the Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus. The stores and restaurants are more moderate as well as there are many empty store fronts which you would not have seen pre-2008. Now prime upscale real estate sits empty.
Things are changing as you get to the Upper East Side border as well. The stores are still nice but not as exclusive as in the past. I still take a short cut through Bloomingdale’s at 1000 Third Avenue at East 59th Street.
It is fun to look at the displays or have lunch at Flip, on the bottom level or 40 Carrots for frozen yogurt (See reviews on TripAdvisor). When the humidity starts, this is where I like to go to cool off and they have nice bathrooms on the bottom level and on the Forth Floor.
The Magic of Bloomies-60 Minutes 1976
Bloomingdale’s has some great restaurants. I have been to Flip on the lower level of the Men’s Department twice for lunch when walking in the neighborhood. Their Heritage Burger and fries ($19.00) is delicious. The burger was perfectly cooked and topped with onions and cheese. The second time I ate there, I tried their Flip Signature Grilled Cheese, which was a combination of three cheeses, bacon, jalapenos peppers (which it could have done without) served with shoe string fries ($16.00). This was a nice combination of flavors and with the fried egg added it gave it a nice complexity of flavors. It would make a nice brunch item.
I have written many times on 40 Carrots on Eighth Floor for their frozen yogurt and on a humid day, which there were many of during this part of the walk, it made going to the Eight floor of Bloomingdale’s well worth it (See all reviews on TripAdvisor).
As I walk past the store fronts and apartment buildings, I am greeted at the end of East 59th Street at Andrew Haswell Green Park by the Queensboro Bridge to look at the sculpture, the East River Roundabout by Alice Aycock again (See Walking the Avenues of the Upper East Side on ‘MywalkinManhattan.com). It is a nice place to just relax and watch the East River go by. There are nice seats to sit down and relax in.
Below the bridge, there is 24 Sycamores Park between East 61st and 60th Streets. It is a nice place on a hot day to sit under a tree and cool off. They also have nice bathrooms and a great water fountain with cool NYC tap water to fill the water bottles up with on a humid day. It is a very popular park for the neighborhood children and their babysitters so that means a lot of noise. It is a real family environment.
Twenty-Four Sycamores Park at 501 East 60th Street
Since I was meeting a good friend later that evening for dinner and a stay in Long Island City, I decided to walk the length of the Queensboro Bridge to Long Island City neighborhood in Queens, NY. That was interesting. The walk over the bridge led me to downtown Long Island City but along the way I passed over Roosevelt Island, the projects that face the park in Long Island City and then into a very gentrifying Long Island City. I swear the entire neighborhood is being knocked down and rebuilt from ground up. All over the place there are apartment and office buildings.
The Queensboro Bridge on the border of The Upper East Side and Sutton Place at East 59th Street
I spent most of my time walking over the bridge dodging joggers and bicyclist while watching what I was seeing in front of me. What a view of the City! The Manhattan skyline is just breathtaking from the bridge and you get a perfect view of the Upper East Side. I am convinced it is better to live in Roosevelt Island than on the Manhattan itself just for the view. I still can’t believe they built projects with a view of the river and the Upper East Side skyline. That’s the progress of the 60’s.
When I got to the other side, I walked around the area to see a rapidly changing environment. Bike paths were all over the place and smaller buildings were giving way to what looks like another city. I was floored with all this progress and square footage in such a small period of time. Even the next morning when I walked around, I could not believe how much of the neighborhood was being leveled giving way to Long Island City becoming almost a new city on its own. It seems to be happening overnight.
When I walked back over the bridge I walked directly back to the other side of East 59th Street and walked to the theater district to join my friend, Maricel and her friends for dinner at Viv Thai at 717 Ninth Avenue between West 48th and 49th Streets (See review on TripAdvisor). It is the most beautifully designed restaurant with interesting lighting and an enormous dragon to greet you at the door.
The food here is excellent! We shared a Fried Calamari with sweet sauce that was perfectly cooked and I had the Pad Thai with chicken which was flavorful with a generous portion of chicken and noodles.
The Pad Thai with Chicken was delicious
After a quick drink, Maricel and I went to the Fairfield Inn in Long Island City at 2927 40th Road (See review on TripAdvisor), right near where I had taken the walk at the Queensboro Bridge. I was so exhausted from all the walking over the bridge and the rest of the neighborhood, that I went out like a light as soon as I hit the pillow. So much for engaging in conversation.
The Fairfield Inn in Long Island City at 2927 40th Street
The irony was that I had just explored the area just a few hours before. While Maricel slept in the next morning, I explored the area in more detail and the whole neighborhood it seems is being torn down and rebuilt as almost a second city. After the hotel’s buffet breakfast (pretty good), I checked out and took the bus home. Enough walking for those two days.
The Breakfast Room inside the Fairfield Inn in Long Island City
I resumed my walk around the Streets of the neighborhood two days later starting on East 60th Street and then I worked my way up through the neighborhood. There is a lot to see and do in these many blocks. The neighborhood is rapidly changing and in the short time since I have walked the Upper and Middle parts of the Upper East Side many businesses have closed their doors and the store front remains empty.
The ever changing skyline of Long Island City
East 60th Street with its juxtaposed architecture offers a few gems amongst the newer construction. You just have to look up. When rounding 5th Avenue and East 60th Street take time to look at the architecture of the Metropolitan Club, one of the oldest and most exclusive private clubs in the city. The marble work on the club’s exterior has an elegant, polished look to it. The building was designed by Stanford White for the club which was founded in 1891 (Wiki).
Metropolitan Club on Fifth Avenue at One East 60th Street
Between Lexington and Third Avenues on East 60th Street, look to your left as you are approaching Third Avenue and you will see the original entrance to Bloomingdale’s Department Store. This entrance has been incorporated into the current store and notice the mansard roof which was part of the original design of the store when it was founded in the late 1880’s.
The original entrance to Bloomingdale’s on East 60th Street
On the corner of Lexington Avenue and 60th Street, there is a small brownstone attached to a modern building. This was the home of an old woman who owned the last apartment in the building and had lived there for years. She was the reason why the building is still there as they had to build the current building around her.
The Brownstone the lady would not move out of for the building behind it.
She was quoted as saying she would not move for any price as it gave her proximity to Bloomingdale’s. When she died when the current building was finished, the owners simply padlocked the brownstone and there is still stands as a symbol of corporate defiance.
On the corner of 2nd Avenue and 60th Street is Tony and Joe’s Pizza at 1097 First Avenue near East 60th Street (See review on TripAdvisor), an old line neighborhood establishment. I stopped in for a snack and had a slice of pizza and a coke ($4.95). The pizza is pretty good and the staff had their eyes glued to the soccer game that was on TV. It’s a nice place for lunch.
The cheese pizza was really good
I took another break in the 24 Sycamore Trees Park and need a rest in the shade because of the heat. The humidity was really getting to me. The one thing I like about this park is that there is plenty of places to sit under the trees, they have decent public bathrooms that they keep clean and are open until 5:00pm and they have a great water fountain that spurts out cool, New York tap water which is great when filling your water bottle. Its just nice to relax here.
This became my favorite place to relax when I was walking the Upper East Side
When making your way to East 61st Street, you will pass the decorative structure of the Queensboro Bridge, with all its geometric designs on the exterior. This is where you can enter the walkway to walk or bike to Long Island City. If you have a chance to do this, take in the beautiful views of the river and the Upper East Side skyline and at the end of the walkway, walk around Long Island City to see the creation of a new city from the ground up.
Right near the entrance to the Bridge is the Mount Vernon Hotel & Garden at 421 East 61st Street (See TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum@Wordpress.com), a much-overlooked historic home/hotel built in 1799. The museum is run and owned by the Colonial Dames of America. This very overlooked historic building and museum was once the home to Abigail Adams Smith, the daughter of the President John Adams. There is a very interesting one-hour tour of the museum.
The Mount Vernon Hotel Museum was a ‘day hotel’ which meant that City dwellers, mostly the growing middle class, would come up to the hotel for the day for lunch or tea and recreational pursuits. You would spend the afternoon in the formal parlors for games, music and readings.
The Dining Room at the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum
The Ladies Parlor decorated for the holidays in 2025
The tour takes you through all the rooms, dining rooms and kitchen. It is an interesting tour if you like historical buildings. Don’t miss the beautiful gardens in the back of the building (See review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com).
Mount Vernon Hotel & Gardens at 421 East 61st Street
There is an interesting waterfall that lines the building on the corner of Third Avenue and East 61st Street. You tend to miss these public spaces if you are not looking at them. As you walk from Second Avenue to Park Avenue, you enter the Treadwell Farm Historic District.
The Treadwell Farm Historic District was founded in 1967, making it one of the oldest in the City. The district extends from Second to Third Avenues between East 61st to East 62nd Street. This had been once part of the Treadwell family farm which was bought by Adam Treadwell in 1815 from the Van Zandt and Beekman families, who had owned the land previously. In 1854, the family sold the land for development. This happened between 1868-1875 and the they were building Italianate row houses, some still standing today (Wiki).
Treadwell Farm Historic District on the Upper East Side
You will notice that on the side streets from Third Avenue to Fifth Avenue and from East 59th Street to East 79th Street are part of the East Side Historic District which was founded in 1981. According to their Friends Group, it is one of the largest Historic Districts in New York City. This area cover a whole array of architectural types from the grand mansions near Fifth and Park Avenues to the limestone, brownstone and detailed apartment buildings that line block after block of the district (Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District).
When exploring and admiring these buildings in both historic districts, really look up to see the details to these homes. Here and there residents have added plantings and artwork to the fronts of their homes. The growth of vines up the walls and statuary really adds to the detail of these buildings.
When rounding East 62nd Street, I came across the beauty of 36 East 62nd Street with it’s gorgeous stone work, interesting keystones over the windows in the form of faces staring at the street and intricate iron work. This interesting building was designed in 1917 for the Links Club, a golfing club, by the firm of Cross & Cross for the club. The faces really do stare at you when you pass the building but remember to look up and take time to look at the details.
Another historical building is the Cumberland House at 30 East 62nd Street on was once of the home of President Teddy Roosevelt as the plaque states on the building. This luxury apartment building offers many luxury features and stands guard in this historical neighborhood.
The Knickerbocker Club at the corner of East 62nd and Fifth Avenue
The Knickerbocker Club historical plaque
At the corner of East 62 and Fifth Avenue at 807 Fifth Avenue is the exclusive Knickerbocker Club that was founded in 1871 by former members of the Union Club of the City of New York. They had thought that the membership to the club was losing its exclusivity. The building was designed by William Adams Delano and Chester Holmes Aldrich and was designed in the Neo-Georgian style (Wiki).
I stopped for lunch at the Ritz Diner at 1133 First Avenue #1 and the corner of East 62nd Street. The food was so-so. I was surprised for the reviews it has gotten online. I had one of their lunch specials ($12.95) for a bowl of Matzo Ball soup and a Gyro wrap sandwich. The soup was delicious, rich in flavor and the matzo ball was light as a feather.
Their gyro wrap I would avoid. It was a large soggy mess with too much iceberg lettuce and tomatoes. The sauce in it made it even soggier than the cut tomatoes and the whole thing fell apart. I checked the reviews online and it seems that the restaurant does breakfast best.
As I rounded East 63rd Street, I finished for the day. Between the heat, the walking and the afternoon at the Soup Kitchen, I had enough for the afternoon. This more time to explore the neighborhood with a fresh mind.
On my third day in the Upper East Side, I started my day with another long day putting my culinary skills together to work in the Prep Kitchen. We had loads of vegetables to prep for lunch for the next two days so we were all kept busy that afternoon. Surprisingly, I had the energy to walk up to East 63rd Street to continue the walk.
The first thing to check out is the Lowell Hotel at 28 East 63rd Street at Madison Avenue. This elegant little hotel is one of the ‘Leading Hotel’s of the World’ and whose architecture is elegant and inviting. The potted plants and well appointed doorman really give it that European looking touch.
On my birthday in 2024, I finally broke down and went for Afternoon Tea in Majorelle, one of their signature restaurants. I went to try the new “Lilly of the Valley” Tea designed by Dior. It was pricey but this was a once in lifetime experience (unless someone takes me here again). The whole experience was amazing from the time I walked in to the time I left. It was first class all the way.
The floral arrangements along were magnificent. I could not believe the attention to detail the whole hotel paid to every corner of the hotel. Even in the bathrooms nothing was out of place.
The floral arrangements in the lobby were polished and elegant
Majorelle is a quiet corner of the hotel’s restaurants with an elegant and polished look to it. The restaurant was not busy that afternoon with only three other tables having diners. People were well dressed and subdued and the room was polished elegance.
Majorelle set for Afternoon Tea patrons
Nothing was out of place in Majorelle
The table set for one and ready to celebrate my birthday
Ordering from a menu fit for a King! I did not look at any prices this afternoon (it was my present to myself)
The start of the Afternoon Tea service
The Sweets and Sandwiches of the Lilly of the Valley Tea
The Curried Chicken, Lobster Salad and Cucumber Sandwiches
The pastries were so beautiful that I did not want to eat them. They looked as good as tasted!
I toasted my father on the Anniversary of his passing and to my birthday for a happy and safe year. This French Rose Champagne was excellent and a generous pour. Happy Birthday to me!
I had to justify spending the extra $35.00 on a glass of Champagne, I admitted to the waiter that it was my birthday and I should spend it in a special way. They came out later with two freshly made Madeline’s with a candle on the plate for my birthday. I will not tell you how much they sell Madeline’s for here but this was a generous gift that the waiters gave me. I told them I did not say it for something free (this is hardly an Olive Garden) but they could see it was a special gift to myself.
The Madeline’s presented to me with a candle on my birthday
Then came out the freshly baked scones which were still warm from the oven. Everything was made from scratch and made for me for this Tea. Even the Madeline’s were still warm from the oven.
These scones just came out of the oven for me and they were served with freshly made jelly
The additional sweets: freshly made iced cookies, Madeline’s, the Pink Dior Cake and a Chocolate Puffed Cake were presented to me after Tea was served
The Pink Dior Cake that served as a Birthday cake
The Pink Dior Cake was the perfect Birthday cake
Me on my birthday at the Lowell Hotel tea. This was the perfect birthday present to myself. I did make a wish that afternoon but I will not tell it
After I filled myself with sweets and good things to eat, I needed to walk this all off. Even then the sugar was starting to affect me and I needed a stretch or I would have spend out in the hotel’s lobby. I walked outside in the warm weather and walked down East 63rd Street and enjoyed the sunny day. That was some birthday!
Along the way while walking down East 63rd Street, look up and admire the buildings that line the area from Fifth Avenue to Lexington Avenue. The historic district offers all sorts of interesting townhouses to admire.
At the very end of East 63rd Street you will reach the bottom of Rockefeller University and the entrance to the ramp that leads to the walkway that lines the East River. Take time to walk up the ramp and walk up and down the Riverwalk. The views of Roosevelt Island on a beautiful day are just breathtaking.
Rockefeller University (you have to be checked in to get on campus)
The grounds of Rockefeller University on the East Side
At 101 East 63rd Street, you will see a modern slick brownstone looking glass building named ‘The Halston House’, which was once the home of the New York designer, Halston. Many of the designers legendary parties and get togethers of the Studio 54 crowd took place here according to local legend (Wiki).
I visited the Society of Illustrators at 128 East 63rd, a small museum dedicated to the art of comics and illustrations both the whimsical and serious. I had never heard of the museum before, so I toured the whole museum. I got to see the “Kent State” shooting exhibition of the 1970’s and the “Eric Godal: Fighting for Human Rights” exhibition (See Reviews on VisitingaMusuem.com).
Walking on East 64th Street was routine until you arrive at the edge of York Avenue and you start to peak into the Rockefeller University campus. Unlike the other blocks, it just seemed like a row of buildings and stores. This is when newer architecture shows its lack of character of the ‘brownstone blocks’.
Crossing over to East 65th Street, you will notice the historic signs of the twin Roosevelt Houses at 47-49 East 65th Street. This is the New York home of Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt and their children and Franklin’s mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt. The home was finished in 1908 and the President and Eleanor moved into #49 while Mrs. Roosevelt moved into the adjoining #47 house.
The house was their city residence while Springwood in the Hudson River Valley served as their country estate. This is where Franklin started his political run and Eleanor got more involved in her own career in public life entertaining many famous political and foreign visitors. The house remained in the family’s hands until the death of Sara Delano Roosevelt in 1941 and the house was bought by Hunter College where it is now part of the Public Policy Institute of Hunter College. There are tours of the house during the schools year on Saturdays.
As you head towards Fifth Avenue, you will find the Kosciuszko Foundation at 15 East 65th Street. The interesting part of this Foundation is that it was named in honor of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a Polish general and patriot who migrated to the United States and fought in the Revolutionary War. The one time Polish American Scholarship Committee was established in 1923 to bring students to the United States. The building was designed by Harry Allan Jacobs for James J. Van Alen, who was a member of the Astor family (Wiki).
Kosciuszko Foundation Building at 15 East 65th Street
When rounding onto East 66th Street, there are many interesting stone townhouses that line both sides of the street. One of them being the home of artist Andy Warhol at 57 East 66th Street, where the artist lived with his mother from 1974 until his death in 1987. The Historical Landmark Preservation Center erected the plaque in honor of the artist in 1998. It is the first memorial to the artist in New York City.
Artist Andy Warhol is one of the most famous American born artists whose works spread from paintings, sculpture, film and multimedia. He held a BFA in Fine Arts from Carnegie Institute of Technology.
Toward Fifth Avenue at 6 East 66th Street is the home of the Lotus Club, one of the oldest Literary Clubs in the United States founded in 1870. The French Renaissance style building was built in 1900 by Richard Howland Hunt for the home of Maria Shepard, a granddaughter of William H. Vanderbilt. Notice all the detail work on the outside of the old mansion, which was going through a cleaning when I passed it.
At 3 East 66th Street, there is a plaque dedicated to President Ulysses S. Grant as the site of the house where the President wrote his memoirs. It has since been replaced by a stone apartment building. I stopped here for the day as I was pooped from this part of the walk of the neighborhood.
The Ulysses S. Grant plaque outside what had once been the site of his home.
My last full trip of the neighborhood took me from the top portion of East 66th Street to the bottom of East 72nd Street. I had had a long day working the Bread Station at the Soup Kitchen and walked from West 27th Street to East 66th Street via Fifth Avenue so I got to see more of the City as planned.
I walked East 66th Street again and there is more interesting architecture to see along the street. At 45 East 66th Street, look up to see the detailed Gothic architecture and details toward the top of the building. You see more of this type of Gothic architecture at the Park Avenue Armory which stretches from Park Avenue to Lexington Avenue the former home of the Seventh Regiment of the National Guard and was designed by Charles W. Clinton, a former regiment member. It is now used for entertainment.
There is a lot of beauty to the old carriage houses from 110-112 East 66th Street and were probably the carriage houses and stables to the old Fifth Avenue mansions. These brick buildings with their arched fronts and key stones have since been converted into private homes.
At 122-124 East 66th Street look up to admire the interesting iron grilling work with its almost southern looking accents at the top. The design is done in graceful ovals along the grill work. The building is home to the Cosmopolitan Club that was founded in 1909.
On the corner of East 66th Street and Second Avenue in the courtyard of the Sloan-Kettering entrance to the hospital there is an interesting sculpture by artist Barbara Pepper called “MSKCC Twist” that the artist created in 2017.
Ms. Pepper was born in Brooklyn, NY and had studied at Pratt Institute, the Art Student’s League in New York and Brooklyn College and had studied aboard in Paris. She started to specialize in metal work in the 1960’s and her works were known to be outdoor sculptures (Wiki).
When rounding East 67th Street, stop at the New York Blood Center to visit their memorial to the victims of 9/11 just outside the building. The little metal footsteps by the wall are pretty touching and show that the tragedy is not forgotten in any part of New York City.
When walking further down the street, you will reach the twisted statue by artist Tony Cragg, Runner 2017, a creative twisted sculpture that sits on the Park Avenue island surrounded by flowers.
Tony Cragg is from England and studied art at the Gloucestershire College of Art. He uses a combination of synthetic and natural elements to this art and it show in this twisted beauty of a sculpture that looks almost like a moving tornado.
His work is part of the NYC Parks ‘Art in the ok Parks Program’, bringing temporary contemporary art to the parks (NYC Parks.org). Mr. Cragg’s works appear in five different locations on Park Avenue.
Tony Cragg Sculpture
Another interesting piece of sculpture is on Fifth Avenue and East 67th Street on the edge of Central Park. It is the statue of Seventh Regiment of New York 107th US Infantry’, whose building on Park Avenue I passed many times when crisscrossing the neighborhood.
It was designed by member of the Regiment, sculpture Karl Illava in 1927. Mr. Illava it was said drew from his experience from serving in the field of the Regiment and used his own hands as the model for the ‘doughboys’ he depicted (NYC Parks.org). I find it fascinating how many times we pass these sculptures in Central Park without ever stopping to notice them.
Walking past the New York Police Department Precinct 19 and Fire Department of New York Ladder 16 and Engine 28 and admire the beauty of the buildings that they are housed in and the surprise of the buildings are that they are part of Hunter College.
Police Sergeant Nathaniel Bush, who was responsible for designing the force’s new station houses from 1862-1895, laid out the plans for the station. It was a four-story Italian edifice of red brick with bluestone copings and Terra cotta trimmings and used the combined styles of Second Empire, Romanesque Revival, Neo-Greco and Renaissance Revival.
The FDNY building, which was designed in 1886 by architect Napoleon LeBrun, was originally the FDNY Department Headquarters until it moved down to Centre Street, now it just houses the companies. (Ladder 16 history). In 1980, the buildings were declared by the Landmarks Preservation Commission to landmark status (Daytonian New York)
In 1986, when Hunter College wanted to expand the college, there was an agreement to preserve the façade of both buildings and renovate them. A new building was built in the back and the facade’s of the front buildings were preserved to landmark status. The renovations were complete in 1992 with the Hunter portion separate from the civic buildings and the police station uses the the upper floors of the old fire station. These buildings were re-designed as a landmark in 1998 (Daytonian New York).
When walking back to the East River on East 67th Street, take a break in St. Catherine’s Park between East 67th and 68th Streets off First Avenue. It is nice place to take a break and sit down but by no means quiet especially in the summer months that I was walking the neighborhood. Children were running all over the park, chasing one another while parents and nannies traded stories on the benches and under the trees trying to escape the afternoon sun. It has a very nice playground and loads of benches to sit back and relax on.
The end of the block by York Avenue houses the hospitals of Sloan-Kettering and Cornell-Weill and this complex covers from First Avenue to FDR Drive from East 67th Street to East 71st Street. This is a busy area around York Street with ambulances and cars all over the place and security is high. The Cornell-Weill building still is something to see with its large cathedral looking exterior and gardens for guests to relax in the front. Don’t think of lingering as security is all over the place. The same goes for Rockefeller University at the end of York Avenue. You need a pass to go through the gates to walk on their landscaped campus.
As you turn the corner to East 68th Street, head back to the Hunter College campus between Park and Lexington Avenues and stop in the Karl & Bertha Leubsdorf Gallery at 132 East 68th Street (See TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum@Wordpress.com), one of several art galleries that are part of the Hunter College campus.
The Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Gallery-The Hunter Art Gallery at 132 East 68th Street
There was a very interesting exhibition of West Coast LGBT art from the 70’s on display at this small but edgy gallery on the main campus. The best part is that the gallery is free to the public and the gallery takes less than an hour to view so it’s not over whelming.
If you are hungry, there are all sorts of food trucks parked outside the main entrance to the building of Hunter College. Their selection of all sorts of foods cater to the student palate and include hot dogs, Halal foods, hamburgers and fries. All of this for under $10.00.
As you head back to Central Park between Park and Fifth Avenues, you will notice that this area is under all sorts of scaffolding and there is a lot of renovation work on the buildings going on here. A lot of the stone work is being sandblasted back to its original beauty and the homes are getting gutted for present or new owners.
Heading back to Fifth Avenue admire the almost confection of a marble townhouse at 35 East 68th Street with its curbed windows, grill iron work and Queen-Anne decorations. A similar home is at 40 East 68th Street. This large mansion by the park has ornate details and lavish decorations around the windows and roof.
When making the turn around Central Park, stop for a rest under the trees on one of the many benches that line the path on Fifth Avenue. Its nice to stop and people watch in this area.
When walking down East 69th Street, there are a series of stables from 147-161 East 69th Street that have now been converted into homes. These rare structures are a holdover similar to other blocks off Fifth Avenue that used to cater to the elite mansion dwellers. These small buildings were located close enough to their owners but far enough away to not bother them (NY Times 2014). These small structures have now been converted into homes and studios. The stable at 159 East 69th Street was owned by John Sloane of the Sloane Department Store family and the stable at 157 East 69th Street was owned by artist Mark Rothko, who took his life there in 1970.
Carriage Houses on the Upper East Side
The most picturesque part of the of East 69th Street is when you walk between First and Second Avenues on a beautiful tree-lined block of homes full of character and many styles. It is full of marble and brownstone townhouses which have been restored by their owners. It just looks like a neighborhood. I stopped here for the day and relaxed at St. Catherine’s Park. Between all the walking and the heat I was exhausted.
Before I walked the rest of the neighborhood a few days later, I decided to double back to the upper part of the Upper East Side and take a free tour of Gracie Mansion, the home of the Mayor of New York City and his family (See review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum@Wordpress.com). On a beautiful day being next to the river, there is nothing like this tour.
The house is now located in Carl Schurz Park but originally it was part of the estate of Archibald Gracie, a prosperous merchant, who used this as his country home (See write up on VisitingaMuseum.com). The house was built in the Federalist style in 1799. The house was in the family’s hands until 1823 when Archibald Gracie had to see the house to pay off debts.
The formal gardens to the side of the house
The house had many uses over the years and became the Mayor’s residence in 1942.
The tour was really interesting and the best part is the tour is free. You have to go to the Gracie Mansion website at www1.nyc.gov/site/gracie/visit to set up a time and tickets. The tour meets only on Monday’s at 10:00am, 11:00am and 5:00pm and lasts one hour.
The formal gardens in the front of the mansion
It is an interesting tour that takes you through the Susan Wagner addition toward the back of the mansion when the former Mayor’s wife added the ballroom, receiving room and the library. The front of the house that we toured was the original part that included the living room, dining room and foyer and the formal stairs to the second floor. We were able to peak outside into the gardens that were in full bloom to see where they were setting up for a luncheon.
Touring the Wagner Ballroom
Our tour went through some of the historical furnishings of the home and the fact that art work from museums in the City were borrowed to decorate the house. It was interesting to listen to the history of the house and its current use and I highly recommend the tour.
The Wagner Ballroom fireplace from the Bayard Mansion
After the tour was over, I walked from East 84th Street back to York Avenue and East 69th Street to continue my walk of the neighborhood. I started at the hustle and bustle of hospital zone by Cornell-Weill. I walked the campus from East 68th Street to East 70th Streets to see the hospital. The main building is the most interesting and when you walk into the lobby (hopefully as a visitor), it is quite beautiful for a hospital. Security is running around all over the place so don’t linger long here but take time to walk the garden in the front.
I walked past the hospital zone and walked down East 70th Street towards the park. Around this part of the neighborhood, more college campuses seem to pop of with the New York School of Design and Marymount College having branches here. There are also a lot of small art galleries and museums to choose from and take time to visit them (See my reviews and write ups on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum@Wordpress.com).
The first gallery I visited was the New York School of Interior Design Gallery at 170 East 70th Street. The gallery is open when the school is open and is free to the public. It had the ‘Senior BFA Thesis Projects’ of the graduate students on display.
The inside of the galleries
The seniors were reusing historical buildings for modern use and not only had the full design but all the materials that would be used for the interior.
New York School of Design Galleries at 170 East 70th Street
The exhibition on display in the Summer of 2024
The BFA Thesis Project exhibition
Technology has changed since we did these projects in the 80’s and 90’s and they are able to make 3D designs that show the finished product. I was floored by the creativity but realized that we had to do more with less twenty years ago.
The inside of the gallery
If you get a chance to see the gallery when it is open, take about an hour out to visit it. The show was a treat. Try to visit the gallery when it is open.
For lunch that afternoon, I tried New Shanghai Restaurant at 1388 Second Avenue between East 71st and East 72nd Streets (See reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). The food here was excellent and attracts quite the crowd at lunchtime.
One afternoon I had the General Tso’s Chicken with egg fried rice and an egg roll with a Coke ($10.44) and the other afternoon I tried the Orange Chicken with egg fried rice and a egg roll with a Coke ($10.44). Both were wonderful and the portion sizes were huge. You will not need dinner after eating here. Both had a sweet and spicy flavor to them and served with steamed broccoli.
The Orange Chicken with Pork Fried Rice is amazing at Shanghai Chinese Restaurant.
On the corner of Lexington Avenue & East 70th Street are two establishment’s you should not miss that are housed in one of the most picturesque brownstone’s covered with ivy that I have seen in New York City. On the corner at 960 Lexington Avenue is Corrado Bread & Pastry (See reviews on TripAdvisor & DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). The food here is wonderful, very reasonable and if you can nab one of the seats outside, a true New York experience.
Corrado Bread & Pastry at 960 Lexington Avenue (closed May 2025)
The seats overlook this part of the neighborhood and being around the corner from Hunter College, it attracts a mix of students, tourists and Upper East Side socialites. Their sandwiches are unusual with items like Ham with tomato and truffle butter and Brie and Tomato with truffle butter on a French Baguette. The Chicken and Tuna Salad sandwiches are delicious too.
The tiny Chicken and Tuna Salad sandwiches are the perfect snack when walking around
The two times I went their for dessert after a meal elsewhere, I tried the Apple Turnover , which is loaded with sweet apples in cinnamon in a flaky pastry and one of the their Cheese Puffs which are a type of chewy, cheesy popover. A real treat is their Chocolate Porcupine , which is made of layers of chocolate cake and mousse than covered in a chocolate ganache. The dessert is decorated with a face that smiles at you.
Next door and interesting to visit is Creel & Gow at 131 East 70th (See LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com) for the most unique gifts and decorative objects. They have all sorts of items from all over the globe with bowls from India, throws and pillows from Asia, taxidermy of exotic birds and all sorts of shells layered with silver. I have not seen merchandise like this since my travels abroad. Its a real treat.
From Lexington to Park Avenues on East 70th Street take time to admire the tree lined street with its interesting mix of brownstones and stone townhouses. These blocks in the historic district are what make Manhattan Manhattan. This stretches from East 70th Street to East 71st Street in this side of the neighborhood.
As you walk past Park Avenue, notice the Explorer’s Club building at 46 East 70th Street with its Gothic looking entrance. This is the home of the Explorer’s Club, which was founded in 1904 and is headquarters in New York City. The club promotes which bonds explorers in good fellowship and promote the work of exploration (The Explorer’s Club history). Membership is by application and invitation only but they do have a Friends group and the club is open once a week on Monday’s Public Lecture Day for touring. Take time though to look at the outside architecture of the building.
One block down at 725 Park Avenue at East 70th Street is the Asia Society Museum which I visited for a second time. I tried to visit their restaurant but for the second time it was already closed for the day. Since I had seen the upstairs galleries early in the walk of the neighborhood, I toured the gift shop. There are a lot of interesting things to buy at the shop.
At the end of the block on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 1 East 70th Street is the Frick Collection Museum, who was showing the ‘George Washington’ exhibition. The nicest part of visiting the collection is just walking around the private home of the Frick Family (See reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum@Wordpress.com).
The Frick Collection is housed in the former residence of Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919), which was designed by Thomas Hastings and constructed in 1913-14. After Mrs. Frick’s death in 1931, changes and additions to the building were made by the architect John Russell Pope and in 1935 the Collection was opened to the public (Frick Collection pamphlet).
The Frick Museum at 1 East 70th Street (under renovation in 2021-2023)
(The Collection preserves the ambiance of Mr. Frick’s private home and visitors are therefore asked to observe regulations necessary for protecting the works of art and their domestic setting: See regulations on site-Frick Collection Pamphlet).
Rounding East 71st Street the next day, I was determined to finish the neighborhood. With so much to do and see you will miss a lot if you keep your eyes glued to a cell phone.
This includes admiring the tree lined blocks between Fifth and Lexington Avenues with the interesting brownstones, stone townhouses and beautiful apartment buildings. When walking down block don’t miss some of the unique little shops that line East 71st Street.
Folly, a gift and decorative shop, at 157 East 71st Street is one store to stop by (See LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com-Closed in 2019). The shop is tucked into the bottom of a brownstone and has the most welcoming entrance. The owner, Emily Hottensen, could not have been more welcoming to me and her little dog knows his customer service as he will charm you to death.
Folly gift store at 157 East 71st Street (Closed 2020)
The shelves are lined with stenciled boxes of candy, decorative pillows and lamps, stationary and all sorts of items that would make the perfect host gifts. All I did was rub her dog’s stomach while I was there as he wanted a lot of attention.
Folly after it closed during COVID
Another nice shop is Cotelac at 983 Lexington Avenue for the latest in French fashions (See LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com). This small chain of French designer clothing has the most interesting designs in coats, dresses and tops all beautifully displayed. They also have nice accessories on the tables toward the middle of the store.
I stopped at the Hewitt Gallery of Art on the main campus of Marymount Manhattan College at 221 East 71st Street (See VisitingaMuseum@Wordpress.com) to see the ‘Senior Solo Show’ of the MFA students. They displayed their final projects and there was a collection of prints, pictures and oils to view and buy. All the art was on sale, which I had never seen before. The video art by student Corinne Grahn on emotions and the Plus size prints of Brianna Fazio should be seen and these artists watched. The art was very interesting.
Don’t miss the elegant headquarter of the National Society of Colonial Dames of the State of New York at 215-217 East 71st Street. The building was constructed in 1927 and looks like an old mansion. The club runs the Van Cortlandt House in the Bronx for touring.
215-217 East 71st Street The National Society of Colonial Dames
At the Belaire Building at 525 East 71st Street they have a nice sitting area in front of the building with gardens and a fountain that I see the doctors in the hospital use for breaks. It is a nice place to just sit and relax on a hot day, especially one with a lot of walking around.
On my last day in the neighborhood, I went museum hopping. I first started at the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 1000 Fifth Avenue (See reviews on TripAdvisor) and did a walking tour of the ‘California Contemporary Artists of the 1970-80’s’ with a long time docent of the museum, Judy. She was explaining the art and how the artists wanted to forge their own path away from the New York artists. She mentioned the video “Whatever happened to my Future” by video artist, Ilene Segalove and I found it very profound, especially to anyone over the age of 35. I have it below to share with the readers.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art at 1000 Fifth Avenue
I also stopped at the Met Breuer (the old Whitney Museum) at 945 Madison Avenue (See review on TripAdvisor) for the last day of the “Like Life Sculpture, Color and the Body” exhibition. The exhibition was described as ‘Seven hundred years of sculpture practice, from the 14th century Europe to the global present that explores the narratives of sculpture in which the artists have sought to replicate the literal, living presence of the human body’. I found some of the funeral looking works to be creepy and some the contemporary statues to be unusual. This exhibition (now closed) was not for everyone.
The last part of the touring took place at the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden at 421 East 61st Street (See reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). This historic building is one of the last links to 19th century New York and should not be missed.
As I rounded East 72nd Street, my final destination, I stopped at La Crosta Restaurant & Pizzeria at 436 East 72nd Street for lunch (See reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). They have the best lunch specials for $7.00 and their pizza is excellent. I had the Spaghetti with Bolognese sauce ( a meat sauce) and the meal was wonderful as usual. They give a very generous portion size, and the sauce is packed with flavor from the rich ground meats they use in their sauce.
La Crosta Pizza at 426 East 72nd Street (Closed June 2021-Now York Pizza)
My review on TripAdvisor:
Closed
My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:
This was one of my favorite places to go for lunch when it was open. The Linguini with Meat Sauce was delicious.
When walking some the blocks again up by the Met on another day, I tried Tri Dim Shanghai at 1378 Third Avenue between East 78th and 79th Streets for their lunch specials (See review on TripAdvisor). There lunch specials are wonderful and very reasonable as well. I had their specialty, Slippery Chicken which is prepared with thinly sliced chicken cooked with ginger, hot pepper and garlic in a brown sauce with spinach. The dish was rich with flavor and the spinach really brought out the flavor of the meat. Their Hot & Sour soup was really good and make sure to order a side of their Steamed Pork Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings $8.00). They are the best!
As you can see there is a lot to see and do in this part of the Upper East Side and it will take you several days to explore the area thoroughly. You can’t do this neighborhood in just a day but pick out the blocks you want to visit and check out all the sites mentioned in the blog. You are going to be glad you took the time out to research first.
The Soup Dumplings here are amazing.
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:
Met Lecture on California Contemporary Artists by Docent Judy Bloom discussed Ms. Segalove’s video, which is brilliant. I wanted to share this with the readers.
Video Artist Ilene Segalove’s Video: “What ever happened to my Future”
Every year the Brooklyn Botanic Garden opens its doors to the membership for the Annual Rose Night in June. This is when the roses are at their peak of bloom and members and their friends and family come to enjoy a private evening.
The Cranford Rose Garden
The crowds at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens in the Spring of 2024
I have to admit that the weather has played a big role in the way flowers have bloomed this year. Plants have either opened too early or too late. The crocuses opened about three weeks too early and they sat in snow. The tulips opened on time and then were hit with three days of 80 degree weather, which just burnt them out. The daffodils had a good but quick season due to the hot and cold weather. Daffodil Hill and the dogwood trees in the garden were spectacular. What vibrant colors and what a beautiful display that night.
Daffodil Hill when it was in full bloom in April
Rose Night was tough. Normally it is a week earlier as most roses come out on the first week of June but for some reason, they moved it to the second week and a lot of the roses had already lost their petals. The weather had been a big factor as it rained so much in late May and early June.
The beautiful wildflowers in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Still, many of the roses were still coming out and the gardens were awash in colors. So many types of roses were blooming that they almost time themselves. The gardens were full of colors of red, pink, yellow and even green. The overhead trellises were lined in whites, yellows and pinks. Some had aromatic smells while other smelled line a plain flower.
The colorful flowers in the Rose Garden
The crowds were large the night of Rose Night in 2024
It was nice to walk along the paths and spot the names of the roses. Everything is marked so you get to see when the flowers were grafted and developed. Things are timed so intricately in the garden so they all bloom in certain intervals. Some of the beds were beyond peak while others were just bursting out after a long winter’s nap. You will walk in amazement down the paths to see so much.
Rose Garden at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden
It was a beautiful sunny Spring evening and the garden was packed with families picnicking on the lawns all over the gardens, having dinner at the Magnolia Cafe near the middle of the gardens where a special menu was laid out. Others like me were listening to music in the area by the gift shop or ordering Rose Sangria from the bar which was made with infused rose petals (and is delicious).
The Rose Garden Terrace
The crowds were large in the gardens
The musicians were playing show tunes and the gardens hired a wonderful singer for the night. She was doing all the old Cole Porter songs while I was listening to her and the band. It was nice to just relax with a drink and listen to the band with the other members. Some take it really seriously and dress to the hilt in blazers and hats. I sometimes feel a little under-dressed for the occasion.
I took a long walk around the gardens. A lot is being renovated with the new watershed system that the gardens are setting up which will be opened later this Summer. All the daffodils, dogwoods and tulips are long gone making way for summer flowers to enter the beds. There will be a lot more to see later in the season.
The Rose Garden Plaque
The beautiful display of roses in June 2024
There will be other members nights of picnicking on the lawns and movies to see and walking tours to show it all off.
The Cherry Blossom Lawn in the summer months
The crowds in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in 2024
The fountain in the back the Cherry Blossom Lawn
The fountain in the back of the Cherry Blossom Lawn
The fountain in full bloom on Rose Night
The back entrance of the Cranford Rose Garden
The entrance to the back of the Cranford Rose Garden in June 2024
This is the reason why being a member of the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens is so important if you live in the New York area. There are loads of wonderful events to get involved with on a monthly basis.
The pathways in the Rose Garden
For dinner in 2024, I discovered Gino’s Pizza down Flatbush Avenue at 831 Flatbush Avenue and it is a pizzeria whose food is excellent. I have come across this pizzeria on a long walk I did down Flatbush Avenue on the way to Brooklyn College. I have eaten here several times and the food is wonderful.
They make their own tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes, garlic and olive oil and you can taste the flavor in the sauce. I had a Chicken Parmesan Sandwich. Talk about an amazing sandwich.
Not only was it loaded with fresh chicken cutlets but topped with several handfuls of melted mozzarella cheese. The sandwich was a gooey delight and the perfect dinner. They have nice outside seating and I like watching the characters walk by.
In both 2018 and in 2024, Rose Night was a real treat. The weather was sunny and warm with no humidity, the music was wonderful and the Rose Garden was out of bloom at this point (the seasons seem to be two weeks early every year so that roses had already hit their peak) but still enough roses that the gardens were beautiful to look at. It was a relaxing and enjoyable evening.
I returned to Rose Night again in June 2025 and it was another wonderful evening at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It was a sunny and warm night and I got there before the 6:00pm start time and it was nice when the gardens were quiet. I got to take lots of pictures and then walk around the gardens before the Jazz band started the night’s entertainment.
Arriving at the gardens before the start time
The Crawford Rose Gardens that evening.
Admiring the beautiful roses
Walking through the Rose Gardens and admiring the roses
The beautiful Rose Archways
The roses in bloom that evening
Members walking along the Rose beds that evening
Walking along the pathways in the Crawford Rose Gardens
It took a long time to finish the Upper East Side neighborhood above 72nd Street and I wanted to return to many of the historical spots to get more research in so it took longer than I thought.
After a long day in Soup Kitchen (I swear I should do these on separate days) in the Beverage Station, I left the Soup Kitchen exhausted again. I can not believe how demanding the homeless can be.
I took the Number One Subway up to 86th Street and walked down to West 84th Street and Central Park West to walk the ring of the neighborhood. Returning to West 84th Street was like visiting an old friend. I had not been on this side of town in months.
I have walked the length of Central Park West many times in this project from 110th Street past 59th Street back to the Port Authority many times on this project in various seasons and it is interesting to see the park at various times of the year. Still, not matter what season, Central Park is always busy. Whether it is people walking their dogs, people jogging on paths or kids playing in playgrounds, the park is always in use no matter what the weather is during the year.
As you walk Central Park West, take time out to really look at the architecture of the buildings and the beauty of the stone work and the carvings. You will not see this in modern buildings. From the sandblasted outsides of buildings to the redone gilded lobbies, you can see a change in the personality of the structure. People are bringing grace back to the apartment buildings and much care.
As I walked past the ‘Museum Mile” of the Upper West Side in the New York Historical Society at 170 Central Park West and the American Museum of Natural History at Central Park West and 79th Street both displayed their upcoming shows. If you get a chance, go see the “Unseen Oceans” and “Senses” exhibitions at the American Museum of Natural History. Both tell a different story and the new “Unseen Oceans” exhibition helps us discover what lurks a depths we have never been. There is a whole new world to discover here.
The New York Historical Society at 170 Central Park West
At Central Park West and 77th Street, check out the statue of Alexander Von Humboldt, the famous Prussian geographer, naturalist and explorer. Von Humboldt had explored South America to a great extent back in 1700’s as well as extensive exploration in Europe. The Humboldt Squid is named after him as well as he invented the safety lamp for exploration.
The statue by noted artist, Gustav Blaeser, was dedicated in 1869 and was moved to this location much later. Gustav Blaeser was a German born artist whose works can be seen all over the world. He started in the studio of Christian Daniel Rauch (Wiki).
From West 84th Street on Central Park West to Columbus Avenue, it is always a treasure trove of interesting brownstones. To believe that only 25 years ago, this place was almost abandoned, you should see the transformation now with all these old buildings being sandblasted back to life. There is a lot of TLC (tender loving care) going on in the West Side of Manhattan.
Really look at the architecture on West 84th Street from Central Park West to Columbus Avenue and watch the faces watch you starting with 239 Central Park West laden with faces of men and women surrounding it. The beautiful building was built in 1925 in the Neo-Renaissance style by architects Sugarman & Berger. Take time to look at this 16 story Upper West Side classic and watch as it ‘turns heads’. As you pass all the brownstones, really look at the carvings of the faces in all the archways and doorways. You never know who is watching from all angles.
Unlike the East Side, where every Avenue seems to being torn down for another apartment building or office tower, the West side of the island is keeping more of its charms. I just do not see the same changes going on in this part of the island as the zoning seems different. Here most of the streets are under scaffolding to sandblast these buildings back to their original glory with new owners. One thing is for sure, the ownership is changing. I have never seen so many kids running around after school.
Like the Upper East Side, this side of town has its share of schools and there are plenty of kids walking home in groups or with their parents. The conversations are very similar to the ones I heard cross town. Politics, relationships and problems with classmates. It is a amazing the conversations you hear in restaurants, bakeries and on the sidewalks.
The one thing that does not change on the streets of New York is how pampered their pets are. I have never seen so many well-groomed animals. Not to the extent of their East side counterparts (who have about six to eight upscale grooming places) but I can tell people love their dogs.
As I passed down West 84th Street, I visited many businesses I had been to so many months ago like West Side Kids at 498 Amsterdam Avenue, John Koch Antiques at 201 West 84th Street and Books of Wonder at 217 West 84th Street all of which have become some of my favorite stores on the West Side.
West Side Kids at 201 West 84th Street is one of the many nice stores in the area (it just moved around the corner from its Amsterdam Avenue address)
The inside of the new West Side Kids at West 84th Street
When walking down West 84th Street I came across the plaque at 215 West 84th Street, Eagle Court which stands on what was once the home of Edgar Allan Poe’s farmhouse that was located between Broadway and 84th Street. The plaque noted that this is where he wrote the “The Raven” (HistoryHomes.com).
Also, when you reach West End Avenue, pause to look at the lines of brownstones surrounding the block and the beautiful stonework and carvings on each brownstone. The block as well as most of the blocks between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive are classic and detailed in their architecture.
Riverside Drive changes from block to block. Some of the blocks are protected under the Historic districts that they are part of and other blocks are high rise apartments. The West End Historical District runs from about West 80th Street to West 79th Street. Here you will find an array of artistically designed mansions with their large windows and whimsical turrets. These homes are tucked into and around the surrounding apartment buildings.
Riverside Drive on the border of Riverside Park
The West End Collegiate Historic District encompasses even a bigger area of this part of the neighborhood covering from West 79th Street to West 70th Street from Riverside Drive to parts of Broadway. This historic district contains many famous and prominent apartment buildings, brownstones and churches including the Collegiate Church on West End Avenue, the Ansonia and Astor Apartments on Broadway and the Chatsworth Apartments (which are under current renovations) at West 72nd Street.
The historic district around West 75th Street
The pre-war architecture and Victorian style of these buildings are unique to NYC now and should be protected. This type of structure is in danger of being knocked down and replaced with larger more modern construction. Note this in my writing of the Upper East Side which is going through so many changes right now.
The historic district is really beautiful
Walking along Riverside Drive starting at West 84th Street is a treat. There is that juxtaposed mix of buildings with Victorian mansions tucked next to pre-war apartments with a few modern buildings thrown in. All of this is facing Riverside Park, which for most of the time I was walking the neighborhood was still in winter dormancy.
Riverside Drive with the combination of building styles
At West 81st Street and Riverside Drive inside the entrance to the park is the River Run Playground, your first source of public bathrooms. The park was quiet on a winter afternoon but after a few visits to the neighborhood and the weather getting warmer, the kids came out in droves with their parents tagging along.
The beauty of River Run Playground is in the details of the park. The bathrooms have the most beautiful monkey designs molded into the gates, so you have to look up for them.
The park itself is oval in design filled with every whimsical plaything a child could want. What I liked about the park as it got warmer was the hill overlooking the park. The Riverside Park Conservatory and the local neighbors planted the hill with all sorts of Spring flowers which are now popping up. Crocuses, Tulips and Daffodils will line the hills overlooking the park and the river and already it is quite a site.
The beauty of Riverside Drive is that there are many parks within the park. At the entrance to the park at West 83rd Street is the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial Park and Gardens. The 12,000 square foot plaza, enclosed by gardens planters, crab-apple and locust trees and a polychrome granite wall, is part of the West Side Improvement.
The sign for the park and the memorial
The massive Riverside Park expansion directed by Parks Commissioner, Robert Moses and designed by Gilmore D. Clarke and Clinton Loyd was completed in 1937. In 1990, the perimeter gardens were designed and planted by David T. Goldstick. In 2001, the plaza was renovated by Mayor Rudy Giuliani in partnership with the Riverside Park Fund (NYC Parks.org).
The plaza and gardens have served as a place of contemplation and remembrance of the victims of Nazi brutality. The plaza takes its name from the modest granite plaque at its center and was one of the first Holocaust monuments in the United States, the plaque and its surroundings were dedicated on October 19, 1947, by Mayor William O’Dwyer. A crowd of 15,000 attended, including 100 survivors of the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps.
Each year on April 19th, people gather here in memory of the inhabitants of the Warsaw Ghetto, who rose up against their Nazi captors and the six million other Jews martyred during WWII. This plaza is a place a beauty and contemplation and is a nice place to just relax and think (NY Parks.org).
The playground at West 76th Street
At Riverside Drive and 76th Street is the Neufeld Playground, a recently renovated park with two playgrounds for kids of various ages. The best part of the playground is the public bathrooms and like John Jay Park on the East Side, they are open until 5:00pm so this is a great place to make a pit stop and relax on the benches.
The park was named for Henry Neufeld, a prominent cardiologist and scholar who held many prestigious positions in the medical field in his career and worked with the World Health Organization.
When you exit the Neufeld Playground, you will notice the Robert Ray Hamilton fountain, an empty fountain with an eagle statue topping it. The ornate, baroque styled marble fountain is named for Robert Ray Hamilton, the great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton, the great statesman, who was a prominent businessman, landowner and politician in his own right.
He bequeathed $9,000 to the city to create and install it. It is one of the finest and last surviving examples of the decorative horse troughs that once lined the city landscape. It was used for horses to drink in when they were making their way along Riverside Drive (NYC Parks.org).
At the corner of Riverside Drive and West 72nd Street, just inside the park is a statue dedicated to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Known for her many civic and charitable contributions to the government at the time one top of being a teacher, women’s rights activist and raising five children during the Presidency, she fought for the rights of people.
Eleanor Roosevelt Statue by artist Penelope Jencks in Riverside Park
The statue was done by sculptor Penelope Jencks and Michael Middleton Dwyer and the architects on the project were Bruce Kelly and David Varnell. Ms. Jencks is an American artist who studied at Boston University and graduated with BFA.
The monument lies at the threshold of the Riverside Park and is one of a sequence of civic monuments along Riverside Drive honoring people of historical significance (NYC Parks.org). It’s a nice place to just relax and watch the world go by. This is also the end of Riverside Park which ends at West 72nd Street.
One building that stands out right across the street from the beginning of Riverside Park is the Chadsworth Apartment Building at 344 West 72nd Street built in 1904 designed by architect John D. Scharsmith for owner George F. Johnson. It was designed to face the park in an English garden fashion. It was lavishly designed in detail to attract the wealthy patrons of Fifth Avenue, who had started to abandon their mansions after the turn of the 20th century (Wiki).
Done in a brick and limestone exterior, the detail work on the building is magnificent. Carved angels, faces and flowers line the building, and the iron work of the lamps and banisters are just breathtaking. You really have to look beyond the scaffolding to see the true beauty of this building. They just don’t build apartment buildings with this type of detail anymore.
Across the street from the statue of Eleanor Roosevelt sits an unusual twin mansion, one of the many you will see lining West 72nd Street until you hit Broadway. Most of these old homes are now office and shops but you can see the real beauty in them when at one time this part of the West Side by Riverside Park had been fashionable.
This ‘twin’ mansion was actually two homes with a courtyard created in between the two homes. The Beaux Arts home on West 72nd Street was owned by the Sutphen family, and the right plainer mansion was owned by the Prentiss family both designed by mansion architect C.P.H. Gilbert. Both descended from old colonial families, the Sutphen family were the first one to build their mansion and it was finished 1902 and the Prentiss Mansion was built in 1900. The architect built the courtyard to compliment both homes (Wiki).
The twin mansions at the corner of West 72nd Street and Riverside Drive
West 72nd Street is a real hodge-podge of architecture and buildings as it looks like the shopping district is in a constant state of flux with stores and restaurants opening and closing at record speed due to the increases in rent. Still the street has a 70’s feel about it as there are still some holdouts stores from the ‘old days’.
West 72nd Street shopping district
West 72nd Street by the subway stop
One stands out restaurant/deli that fit the bill was the West Side Cafe & Pizza at 218 West 72nd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue (see Reviews on TripAdvisor and my blog, “DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com-Now Closed). The place is clean, the food is reasonable and delicious and the prices are more than fair. Their selection of items is also extensive. This is why I ate there four times on my trip to the Upper West Side.
West Side Cafe and Deli at 218 West 72nd Street (Closed in 2020)
My first trip there, I just wanted a slice of pizza just to have a snack. A slice here ($2.50) is pretty large and was delicious. They know how to make a marinara sauce. Even though it was warmed over, the quality was excellent.
The cheese slice was really good
While I was ordering my slice, I saw someone ordering a sausage, egg and cheese on a buttered roll and it looked so good that when I was walking the streets of the same neighborhood, I had to go back and order it.
The Bacon, Egg and Cheese on a Combination Roll is excellent
So, I ordered it on a combination roll ($4.99) and ate it in Riverside Park. I swear it was one of the best breakfast sandwiches I had ever eaten. The flavors combined beautifully. The sandwich was also huge! It really warmed me up on a cool afternoon.
Riverside Square Park in the Spring
Some of the merchants on West 72nd Street even had a 70’s feel to them. I stopped at Stationery & Toy World Store at 125 West 72nd Street. This is such a great store with floor to ceiling of toys, games, school supplies and anything a kid in the 70’s and 80’s would need for the beginning of the school year. I swear I felt I was in a time warp back thirty years. The best part about the store that it was busy with families so that was encouraging at a time.
Stationery & Toy World Store at 125 West 72nd Avenue
Another great store with a 70’s feel is Westsider Records at 233 West 72nd Street, which is lined from top to bottom with records. Even the guy who works the front counter looks like he works at a record store. There were records that I have not seen in thirty years. It even looks a record store that should be on the Upper West Side.
In the middle of the neighborhood is the famous Verdi Park and Sherman Square, the former ‘Needle Park’ from the movie, “Panic in Needle Park”. This is no ‘Needle Park’ anymore with a Bloomingdale’s Outlet Store and a Haagen Dazs right on the park.
The Bloomingdale’s Outlet store at West 72nd Street is a big draw and has a decent public bathroom
Sherman Square is just south of the neighborhood, but Verdi Square was just as bad.
Sheridan Square in full bloom in the Spring
Now Verdi Square is renovated and dedicated to opera composer, Giuseppe Verdi. The statue was designed by Pasquale Civietti in 1906 (NYC Parks.org). Mr. Civietti was an Italian born artist who had been trained under his brother, Benedetto.
The park itself is surrounding by some of the most beautiful Victorian architecture especially around Broadway with the Ansonia Apartments and the Apple Savings Bank, the former Central Savings Bank. Now the park is nicely landscaped with flowers and plantings with a fancy coffee stand.
Another great place is Malachy’s Donegal Inn at 103 West 72nd Street. I visited the restaurant twice while visiting the neighborhood and it is a real experience to get to know the locals who like to eat there. If you want to meet neighborhood locals, this is the place to come.
The last part of the walk on the way back to Central Park West was passing The Dakota Apartments. One of the most prestigious addresses in New York City and named for its isolation placement in the city at the time. The apartments were built between 1880 and 1884 designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh. Built in the Renaissance and English Victorian design, you can see the detail work all over the building (Wiki).
The Dakota Apartments on Central Park West
The entrance to the apartment building
The logo of the building at the top.
The evil looking grillwork of the outside of the building.
Even though the building in currently under scaffolding, you can see the detail work in the iron work of the fencing around the building with the face of Neptune (I think) facing everyone who walks by. You can also peak into the courtyard to see where carriages once arrived. It is an amazing building.
The borders of the Upper West Side are steeped in history and loaded with some of the most beautiful buildings and statuary and facing two of the most magnificent, landscaped parks in the city.
The residents here are very lucky.
Please read my other Blogs on walking this part of the Upper West Side:
Day One Hundred and Five: Walking the Avenues of the Upper West Side from West 84th to West 72nd Streets:
I started walking the streets of the Upper East Side on the gloomiest misty day. After a long day at the Soup Kitchen taking tickets, I wanted to break out and do some walking. This was not the day to do it. I only got through three blocks. I was able to get through East 72nd Street after lunch, then East 73rd, 74th and 75th Streets before I called it quits. It just got so misty and then really rained. Nothing is worse than New York City in the rain when you need to be outside.
I started my after another day at Holy Apostle’s Soup Kitchen working taking tickets from the guests. I swear I think that sometimes they think it is a restaurant. Some of them get a little entitled but I understand. When you have nothing you want to have some say in something you are involved with on a daily basis. Being near the end of the month, many of them were running out of money and it got very busy. What I really like about being a part of the Soup Kitchen is not only am I giving back to the city but that in some small way I am helping deal with the homeless problem in NYC. It may not be the solution but it gives the homeless and working poor help through the process.
I started my walk with lunch at La Crosta Restaurant & Pizzeria at 436 East 72nd Street (See review on TripAdvisor & DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). They have wonderful lunch specials and for $7.00, I ordered Spaghetti and Meatballs. It was enough to feed two people. I got what looked like almost a pound of pasta and three large meatballs and a side of bread. More than enough food for the rest of the day. Add in a meat pinwheel (made with sausage, ground meat and pepperoni $2.50), it was some meal. I have to admit though they do throw in the spices. I highly recommend the restaurant.
La Crosta Restaurant & Pizzeria at 436 East 72nd Street (Closed January 2022)-Now York Pizza
The prices have gone up slightly since COVID but the food is still excellent. The same cooks stayed with the new owners and the food is delicious. The selection is still the same and there is a lot to choose from. There is so much in the case to want to try. Their Cheese pizza is one of my favorites.
The inside of the restaurant
The restaurant is a little cramped but everyone is walking in and out with their orders. It caters a lot to the hospital employees at Cornell-Weill so there are many to-go orders. I enjoy eating there because there is a pretty lively crowd at lunch time. They also have a nice lunch special where they feature at least three entrees for $8.00 until 3:00pm. That is a very nice deal for lunch.
Wonderful selection of pizzas
The food is wonderful but at times can be a little on the spicy side. Their sauces have a pinchiness to them that you might feel later. Overall though, their portion sizes are more than fair, their food is always freshly cooked and it is always served hot.
The first time I went in was for a quick slice of pizza and a Coke. Their pizza is well-cooked with a flavorful sauce and lots of cheese. Even when the slices are warmed over, they are still have that gooey-cheesy consistency. Even when ordering their entrees, order a slice as a side just to try it.
Their pizza is excellent
In the gloom of the walk, I have to admit that the side streets of the Upper East Side are far different of the Avenues. Most of the streets have not been plowed over for new office and apartment buildings although on some blocks it is slowly happening. The real character of the neighbors of the Upper East Side is in the side streets. Here there is still a combination of brownstones, small stone apartment buildings and on some streets wooden homes and stone carriage houses, reminiscent of and ‘Old New York’, when the wealthy used this a summer retreat and later the outer blocks from their Fifth Avenue homes to house their horses and carriages. Its ironic today how valuable and desirable these buildings are now.
The carriage houses along East 73rd Street
Walking along East 73rd Street between Madison and Lexington Avenues you can see the carriage houses of the wealthy that have now been converted into homes. These beautiful stone structures sit gracefully, still awaiting the carriages return. I was surprised to see so many left noting most of these structures from the old Fifth Avenue mansions have been torn down.
The carriage houses line both sides of East 73rd Street
Rounding Fifth Avenue going on to East 74th Street and Fifth Avenue, I needed to make a bathroom pit stop and walked into Central Park to the Kerbs Boathouse. This is located by the entrance near East 72nd Street and when the bathrooms are open, it has a clean, well-maintained place to do your business. The Kerbs Boathouse was built in 1954 on the site of a former wooden structure and during the summer months the pond in front of it is loaded with kids sailing motorized boats.
Kerbs Boathouse Central Park near the East 72nd Street entrance
I revisited the pond area again in the Spring of 2026 just as the Cherry Blossoms started to flower. The pond was packed with people who rented sailboats where the ‘Big Kids’ played with the ‘Small Kids’ and families were having a good time.
The Central Park pool in the Spring of 2026
The boats sailing in the ponds
Some of the statues that surround the Conservatory Pond are the famous ‘Alice in Wonderland’ located in the Margaret Delacourt Memorial that was built in 1959 by Spanish born American artist Jose de Creeft. The artist studied at the Academie Julian in Paris and studied under artist Mariano Benlliure at the Artistic Foundry of Masriera Campins.
It was commissioned by George Delacourt for his wife, Margarita, who loved to read the book to her children. It is one of the most popular statues in Central Park (Central Park Conservatory).
Alice in Wonderland Statue
The famous poem by the statue
‘Hans Christian Anderson’ statue that faces the other side of the pond. This statute was created in 1958 by artist Georg John Lober for the 150th Anniversary of the author’s birth. It had been commissioned by the Danish American Women’s Association in his honor. Georg John Lober was born in Chicago and was based later on out of New York City. He studied at the Beaux Arts Institute of Design and National Academy of Design working under artist Gutzon Borgium. In his later years, he worked for the New York Municipal Art Commission (Wiki).
You should take some time to walk around the pond and see both statues especially the detail work of the ‘Alice in Wonderland’. These are the favorite of many adults and children alike (Central Park Conservatory).
Hans Christian Anderson Statue
I walked a little further into the park and followed the path and the crowds of people enjoying their time in the park. I got to Bethesda Fountain in all its glory. The fountain was busy with street musicians playing and tourists dancing around. I never get tired of this part of the park.
The Bethesda Fountain is just as glorious as it is now as it was in the Gilded Age. The statue was dedicated in the park in 1873.
The fountain was so beautiful in the Summer of 2024
The area around the fountain was crowded with visitors taking pictures and enjoying the Cherry Blossoms
The fountain in the Spring of 2026
The statue was designed by artist Emma Stebbins, who was an American born and a native New Yorker. She studied at the National Academy of Design and spent most of her professional career in Rome. She was know for her neo-classical works and public sculptures both large and small (Wiki/NY Post/Artist Bio).
Central Park during the Spring of 2025
The band shell in the Spring of 2026
Central Park in the Spring of 2026
The park was packed with locals and tourists enjoying the warm weather and the blossoming Cherry Blossoms. It was fun to watch the City come to life around me. The skaters and dancers were enjoying a Michael Jackson tune from his “Off the Wall” album and with everything going on in the world, it was nice to see people just enjoying themselves.
Central Park in the Spring
Walking around Central Park in the Spring
Watching skaters and dancing
Watching skaters and dancers
Central Park in the Spring of 2026. The colors were amazing!
While touring Central Park, I walked all through the park by the lake area and Boro Bridge to see the park in full bloom with all sorts of Cherry Blossom trees at peak, and daffodils and tulips in showing their brilliant colors. The park was so amazing and everyone was enjoying the Spring weather. It is what everyone thinks of when they think of New York City.
The fountain by the lake
The Cherry trees by the lake
Boro Bridge in the distance
The view of the lake by Boro Bridge
The lake in all its beauty on a Spring day
Walking around the park admiring the Cherry trees
Capturing a couple singing the song ‘Suddenly’, a different version than what I had heard before.
What a delight to hear in Central Park! Talent is everywhere!
Before you exit the park at East 72nd Street, take a moment to look at the Waldo Hutchins Memorial as you are exiting the path up the hill. It was named after the State Representative and Central Park Commissioner Waldo Hutchins.
Here in certain times of the year, you can follow the shadows of the Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter Equinox and follow the shadow to the exact line that follows when the Equinox hits New York City. I am sure this is something most people miss.
At East 73rd Street by Second Avenue you have to visit at night to see the lighted tree show. The block in between Second and Third Avenue is decorated with Christmas white lights and makes a holiday show every evening even when the holidays are over.
East 73rd Street between Second and Third Avenue.
East 73rd Street in the early evening.
By the time I rounded East 74th Street, I had had enough. The rain and mist were getting to me and I was getting tired. I doubled back to the subway and headed home. I would start the walk again later in the week.
My second day in the Upper East Side was much nicer on a sunny day and the weather was about 51 degrees F. It was perfect to walk around. I had spent the morning in Newark, NJ at the Newark Museum for the reopening of the entrance of the museum on Washington Street. It had not been opened since the early 90’s (At least as long as I have been a member and I just celebrated by 25th year. I was honored as a Museum Fellow the night before at the Annual Meeting of the Newark Museum).
It was a big to-do with high school marching bands, politicians including the Mayor of Newark and many council people and all sorts of city and museum officials. The museum put its best foot forward with reopening the museum to the city. After a few speeches, there was an official ribbon cutting ceremony and then everyone entered the museum. Since I had been here the night before for the Annual Museum Membership meeting, I had toured the whole museum including the new Mediterranean and African exhibition’s (which you should not miss). After the museum opening, I just hopped the train over to Manhattan.
Newark Museum front entrance Grand Opening
The Celebration at the Newark Museum for the entrance reopening
I took the Q train back up to the Upper East Side and walked to Fifth Avenue and continued the walk starting at the top of East 74th Street and Fifth Avenue. I wanted to see the street again without all the gloom and rain. The park still does not have that touch of Spring yet but you can see by the buds on the trees that its coming.
I passed the old carriage houses again to get a better look at the doors they use as an entrance and think what a creative layout for a house now. I bet those owners didn’t realize how trendy they would be eighty years later or that some family would be living where their horse and carriage had once been.
As I crossed onto East 75th Street, I noticed there were more carriage houses between Lexington and Madison Avenues. These must have been back-to-back stables for the wealthy. Outside these two rows of carriage houses and the one closer to the East River, all the rest must have been knocked down over the years.
I stopped again as I rounded East 76th Street as it was getting dark and threatening rain again. The weather has been such a mixed bag in the month of March and I didn’t want to risk it.
I doubled back up Lexington Avenue to the Burger One Coffee Shop at 1150 Lexington Avenue (See review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). I had passed the restaurant as I crisscrossed the neighborhood and watched how the cook was making everything through the window. I had a cheeseburger with fries ($8.00) that was one of the best burgers I had had in a long time.
Freshly scooped from fresh ground meat and cooked on the grill right in front of me. The right amount of caramelization and perfectly cooked. Everything on the menu is below $10.00.
Each bite was perfect with a nice feel of seared meat and cool vegetables. I ordered a Mandarin Jarritos Mexican soda, which is a specialty of Mexico, a perfect accompaniment for the meal.
Their burgers are made right in front of you and the fries are always cooked to order. The food here is wonderful!
Their Cheeseburgers are so juicy
They are so juicy
The next day I spent the morning in Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen again working in the prep kitchen. There was a lot of bonding while I cut up eight boxes of chicken breasts and helped prepare some frozen vegetables. I swear we are always busy there, but the numbers never seem to reflex it. We only did 875 lunches for guests.
I headed uptown on the Q subway and made from the 72nd Street stop and walked up to East 76th Street. This area of the neighborhood is dominated by the hospitals. Lenox Hill Hospital sits at the head of the neighborhood starting at Park Avenue and I swear it is always busy here. As you head further down East 76th Street, it is a sea of graceful brownstones and marble homes. Take time to look at the detail work on the buildings and you will see the craftsmanship of a different era when time was spent making these masterpieces.
On the corner of East 76th Street and Lexington Avenue the St. Jean Baptise Church was beautifully lit that night.
One of the more interesting buildings on 77th Street is at 459 East 77th Street. It is a home with the accents of a former church. You can see how they redesigned it keeping the detail work as part of the home. As you head toward John Jay Park at the end of the block note that the bathrooms are open until 5:00pm. By the early afternoon, school let out and the park was dominated by kids, nannies and parents just trying to relax. On a clear day, the view to Roosevelt Island is dominate and take time to really see what the island has to offer.
When rounding the block onto East 78th Street, you get to see the beauty of the Gilded Age’ mansions starting with the old James Duke mansion on the corner of the block off Fifth Avenue. The home had built in 1912 by architect Horance Trumbauer and had been copied from a French Hotel. It has replaced another mansion on the same site.
I had read online after the death of James B. Duke, both Doris Duke and her mother decided to donate the mansion to New York University in 1954. It now houses the NYU Institute of Arts.
The old Payne Whitney Mansion also on Fifth Avenue serves as the French Consulate. It was built by Stamford White in 1906 for Payne Whitney and his wife, Helen. After their deaths, the home became the consulate.
These mansions are part of the line of ‘Gilded Age’ mansions that line East 79th Street between Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue. Homes like this have disappeared off Fifth Avenue, being knocked down for apartment buildings or have been converted into stores, museums or consulates. Still the workmanship and the stonework on these buildings are impressive and you really need to notice the detail work.
Gilded Age mansions on East 79th Street
When I got to the corner of East 79th and Madison Avenue, I passed this unusual statue that I had passed dozens of times but never really noticed it. It is called “Dama a Caballo V” by artist Manolo Valdes.
This interesting looking soldier statue is at East 79th and Madison Avenue by artist Manolo Valdes
Manolo Valdes was born in Valencia in 1942. He attended the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos de Valencia and began his career in the 1960s as one of the founding members of Equipo Cronica, a group of artists who took inspiration from Pop Art to challenge the Spanish dictatorship of Franco and the History of Art itself. Valdés revitalizes these familiar images by taking them out of their original context (Opera Gallery.com).
In the Spring of 2026, East 78th Street was in full bloom with tulips and cherry blossoms. The whole block was awash with colors of nature.
East 78th Street
Tree well East 78th Street
There are other beautiful homes to look over are the brownstones that line 210-216 East 78th Street. There is such magnificent detail work to these brick row houses that all sit in a line on the south side of the street between Park and Lexington Avenues. They have a New England feel to them.
These homes were built just after the Civil War in the Italianate style in design and they have been fully renovated (Zillow.com).
210-216 East 78th Street
210 East 78th Street
Most of East 78th Street is line with a juxtapose of different style homes and really shows its uniqueness from block to block on the way to East End Avenue.
The windows of Tiny Dollhouse with fully furnished dollhouses
There are some interesting stores along East 78th Street, one of them being the Tiny Doll House at 314 East 78th Street. This unique store is the last of its kind in New York City according to the owner. The store is filled to the brim with dollhouses and furniture and accessories for them. There is even handmade items locked behind cases in the store for the collector who knows quality. Even the food for the tables looks real.
The inside of the store is stocked with all sorts of tiny furnishings
The windows change all the time with dollhouses
Walking down East 78th Street is a real picturesque. The streets are lined with elegant brownstones, well landscaped small gardens and decorations. Both during Halloween and Christmas, this block and the surrounding ones are fully decorated.
Street art on East 78th Street
East 78th Street in bloom with Cherry Blossoms
East 78th Street in full bloom
East 78th Street in the Spring
East 78th Street and Madison Avenue
Turning the corner at East 80th Street, there is a lot of interesting architecture. There are all sorts of historic buildings on the street. The first building is at 133 East 80th Street which was one of the first examples of luxury housing byt architect Rosario Candela. This building was built in 1929 just before the Crash of 1929.
Walking further down the block, you really see some impressive old mansions. First there is the Vincent Astor mansion at 130 East 80th Street. The house was built by architect Mott B. Schmidt for Mr. Astor in the early 1900’s and upon his death traded hands until the New York Junior League bought the house in 1947 who owns it now. The house has a graceful elegance to it.
The Vincent Astor Mansion at 130 East 80th Street
The historical plaque of the Vincent Astor Mansion.
A few doors down is the George and Martha Whitney home at 120 East 80th Street. Built by the firm of Cross & Cross this elegant was built in 1930 but harks back to a time of a more Federalist look with the brick face and portical in the front.
George and Martha Whitney Mansion at 120 East 80th Street
The historical plaque at the George & Martha Whitney House
Towards the end of the block, you are treated to Lester’s Department Store at 1534 Second Avenue (See LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com). I walked the whole store and was impressed by their assortment of children’s and teen wear. It reminded me of a ‘preppie’ clothing store of the 70’s and 80’s. They even have a camp registry. I thought about the lucky kids who got to buy their clothes here before spending their summer away from their parents. Who really lucks out in that situation?
Lester’s at 1534 Second Avenue (Closed January 2023)
I finally had to stop at Lexington and East 81st Street as it was getting dark. I never can believe how long it takes to walk these streets especially on this side of time. I took a second trip to Burger One on Lexington Avenue and had dinner this time trying their turkey club sandwich with fries ($9.50). It was excellent.
The sandwich was made with fresh turkey and the tomatoes were ripe. I could barely finish it. This is when I added to my blog, ‘DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com. This is a place everyone should know about. I just thought it was funny the way they looked at me when I walked in. With all the hundreds of customers they must have one of the owners gave me a happy but suspicious look when I walked in for a second time. I thought phow could she remember me.
My last day of walking the neighborhood, I had taken a walking tour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue and 79th Street of one of the galleries. I love the Met. You can get lost in it for the entire day and never see everything. We were doing a tour of the American Galleries and looking over some of the famous paintings. After the tour, I just wanted to get some air and finished this part of the neighborhood.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art at 1000 Fifth Avenue
I started by double backing on East 84th Street and remembered that I had done most of this area in the Fall. It is amazing how fast time goes. I turned the corner onto East 83rd Street and walked towards Madison Avenue and stopped in Sugarfina at 1100 Madison Avenue (Now closed). This is a whirlwind of sweets with a creative twist to the packaging and a price to match. Everything here is very expensive for a piece of candy. They let me have a sample of the sample of the candy, this is more of a business account store. Still the packaging is great.
Sugarfina Madison Avenue at 1100 Madison Avenue (Closed 2019)
As you walk down East 83rd Street, take a look up and admire 222 East 83rd Street. The brick work and landscaping make this home really stand out among the bigger apartment buildings on this part of the block. This beautiful standout was built in 1901 (StreetEasy).
There are two places you should not miss when walking East 82nd Street. One is the Hungarian House at 213 East 82nd Street. The beauty of this brick building is matched by its mission of being the center point of Hungarian American culture and relations. It really does offer a lot of programming while being a center point of Hungarian culture in New York City.
Around the corner from the Hungarian House is the original Ottomanelli Brothers Butcher Shop at 1549 York Avenue. The store has been a neighborhood staple since 1900 and has all sorts of wonderful meats, pastas and groceries that you might need as well as a hot food section that many patrons were taking advantage of when I was visiting that afternoon.
Another gem of a store I discovered when I was finishing East 81st Street was Art for Eternity at 303 East 81st Street (See LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com). This unique art gallery offers a selection of Pre-Columbian Art of museum quality. I saw many interesting bowls and vases. When talking with gallery Director Howard Nowes, he gave me a detailed tour of the works, showing me the detail work of many pieces and explaining their purpose. It was like being back at the Met.
I ended my last day in the neighborhood at another early morning tour at the Met, seeing the new Pre-Columbian exhibition, “The Art of Luxury”, which showcases the treasures of early American art. My last lunch on the Upper East Side was at Harb’s at 1374 3rd Avenue near 78th Street (See review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com-now closed). It is a cross between an English and Japanese bakery shoppe. They have a wonderful lunch special for $20.00 (See my review on TripAdvisor-Now Closed).
The meal consisted of a large cup of English tea, for lunch a Croque-Monsieur (a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with mustard butter) with a side salad with buttermilk dressing and for dessert, a small slice of Mocha cake which was layered with a rich mocha creme. It was a great meal with excellent service.
I took some time out after Soup Kitchen to get some exercise and start my walk of the Avenues of the Upper East Side. I spent the whole morning making lasagnas for lunch the next day and I was tired as it was that afternoon. I ended up walking from 9th Avenue and 28th Street to Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street to pick up movie tickets at the MoMA for that afternoon and then walked to Fifth Avenue and East 72nd Street and walked down to East 72nd Street to re-walk York Avenue from East 72nd Street to East 84th Street and then walk the remaining Avenues. It was turning to twilight when I last walked it and I wanted to see it again. The neighborhood like the rest of Manhattan is changing.
You really are seeing an area in its own transition especially along the Avenues. The side streets have kept their character to a certain point but on the Avenues the old brick buildings and brownstones are giving way to large apartment buildings like its neighbor to the north in the Yorkville, Carnegie Hill and even East Harlem. More and more of the main thoroughfares are becoming large residential buildings.
I started the day first having lunch a small pizzeria called La Crosta Restaurant and Gourmet Pizzeria at 436 East 72nd Street (See review on TripAdvisor-Closed January 2022) for a slice of pizza ($4.00). I needed my carbs for the walk ahead of me. This small pizzeria has a really nice menu with very fair prices. The pizza is really good and they have a good sauce on the pizza which really makes the pie.
La Crosta Restaurant and Gourmet Pizza at 436 East 72nd Street (Closed in January 2022)-Now York Pizza
I would revisit the restaurant again later the next week to try their meatball sub with mozzarella ($7.95) to see if it would make the cut for my blog, DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com (which it has see the review on the site) and was impressed by the sandwich. They loaded the sandwich with homemade meatballs and then loaded with shredded with cheese and finished off in the oven. It was some sandwich.
The lunch specials at La Crosta Pizza are excellent
The inside of the pizzeria
The Cheese Pizza is amazing still here
After lunch, I walked the length of York Avenue. I had really misjudged this part of the neighborhood when really looking at it. When walking York Avenue, I started to notice a difference in the architecture once you hit about East 80th Street. The lower part of the avenue is being knocked down and rebuilt while up in the 80’s, you still have a fair number of small buildings and businesses.
When I crossed over to John Jay Park again for a bathroom break (note this bathroom when walking around the neighborhood. They keep it really clean). I wanted to take another look at the Douglas Abdell statues in the park. They are off to the side of the park in the pathway leading to East 75th Street from Cherokee Place.
Eaphae-Aekyard #2 by artist Douglas Abdell
Really take time to look at the two sculptures. There is a uniqueness to them. It like the way the artist twisted the work to get the geometric forms that he did giving it a juxtaposed pattern.
Kreyeti-Ackyard #2 by artist Douglas Abdell
Douglas Abdell is an American Artist whose work has been seen all over the world. The two statues, Eaphae-Aekyard #2 and Kreyeti-Ackyard #2 use the artists sense of vertical, diagonal and horizontal patterns to create the works (NY Parks System). You really have to take time when in the park to take a look at these two statues and judge for yourself.
First Avenue has a bevy of interesting local restaurants and stores that are concentrated up in the 80’s and while walking up to the upper 80’s, I had to stop by my standby place, Glaser’s Bake Shop at 1670 First Avenue for dessert. You can’t walk around the Upper East Side without coming to Glaser’s (now closed). I love this place!
The now closed Glaser’s Bake Shop at 1670 First Avenue (Closed in 2019)
I got one of their freshly baked chocolate chip cookie sandwiches, which was filled with a mocha cream ($3.50) that was out of this world! I think I have been concentrating on this part of town just so that I can visit here. Everything always looks so good.
It was so sad when they closed
Second Avenue is very similar in feel to First Avenue. In the 70’s, there is a lot of change in the businesses to more commercial establishments with the 80’s still being dominated by more local restaurants and shops. The buildings above East 80th Street are still the smaller brick and brownstone buildings holding the local businesses. All throughout the Avenue there are pockets of local stores and restaurants.
Park Avenue between East 72nd and 84th Streets still is an Avenue of quiet elegance with beautiful older apartment buildings and co-ops that line the beautifully decorated gardens that line the median and the fronts of several buildings. There is very little commercial businesses on the street less a flower shop here and a dry cleaner there It is a block after block of pre-war buildings that have not changed much except for sandblasting clean the exterior of the outside. In the Spring, Summer and the holiday season, the median is nicely landscaped and decorated.
Upper Park Avenue in the East 80’s
Madison Avenue is mainly an upscale shopping district that is getting too expensive for its own good. In the lower 70’s, I saw a lot of empty spaces cramped in between the over-priced clothing and jewelry stores. I think the rents are pushing out the first wave of shops that moved here after Fifth Avenue got too expensive. Even the rents here are getting to be too much.
I am beginning to see these upscale shops moving to Lexington and even Third Avenues in the 70’s. This is pushing out the mom & pop places that dominate those Avenues. It still is one of the premier shopping districts in Upper Manhattan where many European merchants open.
The stores that are located on the Avenue you still have to be buzzed into and is lined with expensive clothing, jewelry, art and decorative stores with a few boutique hotels and restaurants. In the past few months that I have been walking the neighborhood, I have seen some of them move off and to other locations in the surrounding streets. As the twenty-year rents are up, many of the traditional businesses from the 1970’s, 80’s and even the 90’s are giving way to chains or just empty store fronts.
Madison Avenue Shopping District
The stores of upper Madison Avenue
Fifth Avenue is always a treat. Most of the buildings in the area have not changed and stayed mostly residential. It is lined with elegant marble apartment buildings and some modern-day structures. The park is still quiet with the last days of winter slowly becoming behind us. Still on a semi-warm day, there are still kids playing in the playgrounds. I swear, nothing stops these kids. It still is part of the “Museum Mile” and there are smaller gallery spaces and museums.
Metropolitan Museum of Art on the Museum Mile
The front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
On my second day walking the Avenues, I doubled back to FDR Drive to walk along the riverfront. This is a juxtaposed position. There is no one clear walking path on FDR Drive. The cross over pedestrian bridge is at East 78th Street by John Jay Park and you can cross over to walk along the East River. It was 72 degrees the second day on the walk and it just gorgeous outside. Everyone had the same idea that I had and I saw many people walking their dogs or jogging along the water. The walkway is currently being renovated so it stops around 71st Street.
I doubled back to John Jay Park and walked the remainder of FDR Drive by sidewalk around East 79th Street, with many cars driving by at full speed. The sidewalk ends at 72nd Street at the Con Ed building and I don’t suggest walking any further. There is a slim strip of edge of sidewalk and unless you want to be hit by a car, walk back down East 72nd Street. It is full of guys coming and going for work, so it is very busy on this street during the day.
I went back to East 78th Street and went back on the bridge and proceeded to walk up the walkway to East 84th Street to Carl Schurz Park. School had let out by this point and both this park and John Jay Park were loaded with kids for the rest of the afternoon. All of them obviously enjoying the surprisingly warm weather. When walking across East 84th Street, the southern part of the park, I came across a plaque dedicated to Archibald Gracie, whose estate used to be located here and whose family Gracie Mansion is named after (the mayor’s residence).
Gracie Mansion, the home of the Mayor of New York City
Gracie, who was a merchant and shipbuilder and good friend of John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, had bought the land around what was called “Horn’s Hook” in 1798 and built the wooden home as a county estate.
The formal gardens of the house
The house had been headquarters for many prominent residents of the city as Gracie’s position changed to include insurance and banking. He had to sell the house in 1823 to pay off debts and it was acquired by the city in 1891. After different uses, it was renovated and now serves as the residence of NYC Mayor and his family.
I walked down East End Avenue and walked all the side streets between East 84th to East 79th Streets where East End Avenue ends. Most the streets have a dead end with a beautiful view of the river the most scenic at East 72nd Street, where you can sit on the benches and just watch the river. Here starts the Weill-Cornell Medical Center so you will be sharing space with many of the hospital workers out on a break. It also offers views of Roosevelt Island (see Day Ninety-Five “Walking Roosevelt Island”) especially Lighthouse Park.
Roosevelt Island is wonderful to explore on a warm sunny day
As you walk past buildings along the river, you will see the old sign for the “East Side House Settlement” at East 76th Street, which used to be the home for the establishment which is one of the oldest non-profit social service organizations in New York City. It was founded here in 1891 and moved to the South Bronx in 1962. The building still stands now part of the Town School, but the sign still stands as a testament to where it was founded. You can see the sign carved in the stone from the FDR Walkway.
Walking York Avenue, you will pass the same type of construction along the Avenue as the smaller brownstone buildings give way to the larger apartment complexes. There is a little gem off York Avenue at 502 East 74th Street. This small carriage house seems out of place in the neighborhood but has been around since the Civil War. It had been converted to manufacturing in 1892 and most of its existence had been a place of manufacturing. It now has been restored and is now a private residence.
Another building that is interesting is at 450 East 78th Street, a small wooden structure that houses an antique and a blinds store’s that was built in 1910. This small building is relic of a time when this area must have been filled with homes like this. Martine’s Antiques located in one of the stores is a treasure trove of small items and is worth the trip inside. It really stands alone in a neighborhood in constant change.
I followed York Avenue up to 84th Street and crossed down to Third Avenue. Third and Lexington Avenues are very similar in look and in businesses. Third Avenue and Lexington Avenue in the 70’s are really going through a transition as rents are forcing older businesses out. That classic 90’s look of the Avenues is giving way to either empty store fronts or upscale restaurants and shops that should be on Madison Avenue.
Still there are a lot of those businesses hanging that still give it the neighborhood feel and that is more in the low 80’s. One of those businesses is the Lexington Candy Shop at 1226 Lexington Avenue, where I had lunch (See review on TripAdvisor). Founded in 1925, it is a reminder when these types of stores used to dominate New York City until the arrival of McDonald’s in the 1970’s. Even the automates gave way by the early 80’s.
I had eaten here several times before and I wanted to know if it was still as good as it once was then. Trust me it is still great and it is a real New York experience to sit at the counter. I ordered a regular burger and a strawberry milkshake, both of which were excellent.
The inside of the Lexington Candy Shop is very unique and old fashioned
The burger was perfectly cooked with fresh lettuce and tomato on the side and the milkshake was made with Basset’s of Philadelphia ice cream, which I have mentioned in my blogs to Philly and is one of the best ice creams on the market. Both the food and service make Lexington Candy Shop a ‘must see’ for out of towners.
Third Avenue especially in the low 80’s still holds onto it classic New York look but I am afraid not for long. It looks like the whole Avenue is giving way to larger apartment complexes and office buildings. Even the traditional shopping district on 86th Street is giving way to all new buildings. Once the home of Gimbel’s Uptown, the neighborhood is slowly going upscale with a new Shake Shack and Brooks Brothers.
Still there are many unique stores in the area. Flying Tiger Copenhagen recently opened at 1286 Third Avenue, which has great novelty items for kids and seasonable gift items. The sad part is that everything seems to be made in China, not Copenhagen. If you like unusual novelty items, this is the place.
Another great store for kids and one of the oldest toy stores in the city is Mary Arnold Toys at 1178 Lexington Avenue. They have a nice selection of commercial toys and novelties. Most of the items you can find cheaper in other stores though but still it is a great store to look around.
For many, the Upper East Side still has the feel that it has always had since the 1960’s and admittingly not much has changed in some parts of the neighborhood particularly around the side streets but massive changes on the Avenues are happening as rows of brownstones and small buildings give way to large apartment and building complexes and along the East River, there is a lot of construction along FDR Drive. Pretty soon that will all be luxury buildings as well.
St. Jean Baptise Church at the corner of West 76th and Lexington Avenue shined brightly that night.
It is never easy when there is a death in the family and is harder when it happens during the Christmas holiday season. This blog is dedicated to my uncle, Donald Snyder (1929-2017), who passed away December 4th, 2017. I had just come back from my Sinterklaas weekend in Upstate New York when we got the news as I was getting out of class on Monday night. So the next week after Sinterklaas weekend was spent preparing for the funeral.
My brother had flown in for the service so it was nice to have some support and I could see that my aunt and cousins appreciated it. At least we could be there to support our family in their time of need.
My aunt had planned a small and tasteful service for my uncle and it was the first time I had met many of my cousin’s cousins from my uncle’s side of the family. They pretty much talked amongst themselves and were not at the funeral services the next morning. It was going to be a snowy day the next morning and the commutes would have been tough for everyone.
My aunt kept everything simple and tasteful and it was a short service with a smaller internment service at the mausoleum. It was only the immediate family and friends of my cousins who came to the service and by the repast dinner, everyone was exhausted and it was a small crowd of close family (our side) and friends of my cousins. We had a toast to my uncle and then talked amongst ourselves.
After that weekend, the holidays started to speed up again. It is always tough after a big loss to a family but I found ways to support my aunt and my cousins during the holidays as we planned a Christmas dinner right before Christmas Day.
I took my younger brother to the fire department Christmas Party and that was a cultural awaking for him. He had never been in a firehouse before and really did not understand the culture. He was a little shocked to see adults fighting in front of small children and some of the horse play that the guys do on one another. Even though he had a good time and enjoyed the food, it was a different experience for him.
The holiday month continued on with Christmas tree sales every weekend (we sold out by December 18th this year with a record of 315 trees). We had the Christmas Party for the Men’s Association at the Christmas tree site, which is always interesting. We spend most of the time huddling around a barrel fire to keep warm.
This is when the guy’s culinary skills kick in and we see some interesting dishes. I always leave it easy. I made chicken cutlets, baked ziti and double fudge brownies ( I am not going to say how many baked ziti’s, lasagnas and batches of stuffed shells on top of gallons of marinara sauce and pounds of cookies and brownies that I made this holiday season but it was a lot). This party was the first in five meals that I cooked at the holidays trying to keep with the same theme, so I did not have to do double time in the kitchen. Plus, everyone seems to like Italian cooking, so it makes it easy.
Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Christmas Tree Set Up
The party was a great success with about thirty members coming and going all night while we caught up with what each other were doing at the holidays and the parties that they were planning and cooking for their families.
December is always a tough month to get anything done as everyone is running around. Leaving at 11:00pm as I usually do because of work, I had heard they were still going strong into the morning hours.
Arriving at Carnegie Hall that night
The New York Pops with Megan Hilty
I took an about face and at the last minute decided to go to Carnegie Hall for a Christmas Concert starring Megan Hilty, a Disney star, who was terrific.
The front of Carnegie Hall at Christmas
The stage at Christmas time
I got last minute tickets in the nose-bleed section of the theater but still could see and hear everything. I was really surprised being on the top tear and to hear it all so perfectly.
Megan Hilty with the New York Pops
It was an excellent concert with many popular songs of the holidays being performed so well. She did a great job with the more contemporary classics such as “Sleigh Ride” and “Santa Claus is coming to town”.
Megan Hilty with Santa leading the sing a long
Everyone in the audience got so into the show and the last few songs became a sing along and the whole auditorium became alive with song. People really enjoyed themselves and were still laughing and singing as they were leaving the theater.
Megan Hilty’s Christmas Album “Have yourself a Merry Christmas”
Megan Hilty “There’s Always Tomorrow”
Megan Hilty “It’s the Most Wonderful time of the Year”
The last full week before Christmas weekend was non-stop cooking, cleaning and running around. We started the week with the Annual ‘Santa Around Town’ that the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department sponsors every year for the residents of Hasbrouck Heights. We take all the fire trucks and equipment to twelve locations around the town and have Santa meet with all the families. Every year this is a very big deal to a lot of residents and some plan their holiday parties around this event.
Santa Around Town with the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department
Our day started early in the morning when myself, my captain and lieutenant and a junior member met for breakfast and then washed and decorated the truck. This is where a lot of my cooking came into play. I made a sausage, egg and cheese souffle, homemade waffles and fresh cinnamon butter muffins. I had cooked enough for the company and it ended up only four of us showed up. So, we had a great breakfast and then we scrubbed down the truck inside and out and put all the Christmas lights on it. The truck always looks festive in the dark.
For the trip around Hasbrouck Heights, I made homemade French Bread pizza with homemade marinara sauce and double fudge brownies, two items that are very popular with hungry firemen. Along the way, residents make all sorts of Christmas cookies and other holiday treats for us along the route, so we don’t ‘starve’.
The tough part for us was that the generator blew before the last three stops and we had to bring it back up to the house and extinguish it. That was tough as the engine then had to go out of service for the holidays for repair. At least we got it back up to the firehouse in one piece.
The next night I gave my final exam in class and finished the semester on a high note. All of my students got “A”‘s and I could not have been happier with their final project, the tech start up “Buscomonzefi.com” (see ‘Day Ninety-Eight’) and was impressed with them as a class. It was fun going into work every week and I will miss this class.
What was nice was I took some of my team to Biagio’s Restaurant in Paramus, NJ (see review on TripAdvisor) near the college for a wrap up party. I was surprised when only four of my sixteen students showed up. One of my students mentioned that no one would show because of exams and I was almost tempted not to show up but I figured I was starved so at least I could get something to eat. It ended up that all of my Sales & Marketing team showed up and we had a really nice time.
I could not believe how this group of students bonded so much together. I really did see a lot of new friendships being formed that night and for that I was really proud of the project. Plus the food and conversation were excellent that evening. If ever a Professor could be more proud of their students.
I did not have much time to dwell on class as I had to cook a Holiday luncheon for my Stroke & Disabled Support Group that meets every Tuesday in Ridgewood, NJ (See my BergenCountyCaregiver.com site on WordPress.com). I don’t know I got suckered into this but it was a lot of work.
In years past, our group normally ordered in for the party and all I would do is dessert. For years, we ordered in Chinese food but last year most people got sick of it so we ordered in pizza. This year one of the women in the group asked about maybe getting a tray of stuffed shells and of salad. When I mentioned how much that might cost and how I could make it for so much less that’s when I was asked to cook.
Thank God I had made a double batch of marinara sauce because it came in handy. I made the most amazing lunch for everyone and used every skill from catering that I learned from Hyatt.
I got up early that morning and started to cook. I did all the last-minute touches and fried out the cutlets and cut up the salad. The last thing I did was prepare the garlic bread before I packed the car up. I never had so much food all over the car as I had to bring it from home to City Hall in Ridgewood.
The party was a huge success! I made Chicken Cutlet Parmesan with a side of plain cutlets for those who didn’t want all the cheese, a lasagna, two small trays of stuffed shells, a arugula salad, garlic bread, assorted cookies, brownies and cupcakes. Some of the members brought fruit and other desserts so we had a lot of food left.
The whole building came up to the conference room to the party so it was very festive. People from different departments who help us during the year joined us so there were people in and out the whole afternoon. I really think that’s what the holidays are about. Everyone had great time and there was not much left over. All I know is that I was exhausted on the drive home. I had to take a nap when I got home.
There was not much time to rest as I drove out to visit Lillian again on Long Island at her Assisted Living Facility for her annual resident concert (see various blogs on my visits). I had gone last year and had a nice time. I swear even at 99, she has the same spirit that she always has had.
Lillian and I at Christmas 2018
The rest of the afternoon I walked around Cape May, looking at the store windows downtown, walking along the shore and looking at the birds on the beach and the waves and looking at all the Victorian homes that were decorated for the holidays. Even though all the hotels surrounding ours including ours were fully booked, the town was quiet. It looked like a lot of people were away.
She sang and played the triangle as she did last year and all the residents performed a list of Christmas songs to the other residents and their families who attended. It was a nice concert but it seemed have more guests last year. Everyone who attended really enjoyed it.
After the concert was over, I went off and got Chinese food for our Christmas lunch, which I know that Lillian always appreciates. I go to Dragon House (See review on TripAdvisor) for our meals and this one did not disappoint. I ordered Lo Mein and Chicken and String beans with some eggrolls. I swear that Lillian has a good appetite. She can eat. For dessert, I brought some cookies from Park Bakery (See review on TripAdvisor) right next store to the restaurant. To have two such good places to eat right next to one another is great.
Dragon House at 118A Main Street in Kings Park, NY for excellent Chinese food
After our dinner, we talked for the rest of the evening. Since the weather was going to be nice the next day, I got a hotel room and was able to stay late to talk to Lillian for a few more hours. We just caught up and as we talked more, I noticed how much more came back to her. It was the ‘old’ Lillian who I remember. I think she needed it as well. We laughed so much it was like old times. When I had to leave a little after seven, she had a huge smile on her face. It was a very special Christmas for the two us.
I stayed at a very nice Hampton Inn on the South Shore in Commack, NY (See review on TripAdvisor) that evening and just collapsed in the room. It had been a long week already and I was tired from all the cooking and cleaning. I just relaxed that evening and read and wrote out Christmas cards.
The next morning, I got up and traveled out to Montauk on the very edge of the island. I wanted to see their famous lighthouse and museum (which was closed at the time). It was a beautiful sunny and warm day for this time of the year.
The South Shore of Long Island is so beautiful and I highly recommend it in the off season. It is just so nice to visit these small towns when they are not overrun with people from the city. The locals are so nice and you really do remember that it is a farming community out there. Outside of the core of East Hampton and the overbuilt areas of South Hampton, the other towns were like visiting a farming community. All the locals were out in their pick-up trucks carrying local products. It is so different in the off season but so much nicer. Everyone is so laid back.
I wanted to visit the ‘Big Duck’ (see Review on TripAdvisor & my blog “VisitingaMuseum.wordpress.com), a building in the shape of a duck on Route 24 Flanders Road in Flanders, NY. It is very interesting to see a building in the shape of a duck, very similar to ‘Lucy’ the Elephant in Margate, NJ (see review on TripAdvisor & my blog “VisitingaMuseum.wordpress.com).
It is a small building in the shape of a duck that was created by the owners back in the 30’s to promote their duck farm. It’s cute but the guy that volunteers there must not get too many visitors because he NEVER SHUTS UP! God, I to fray going to the bathroom to get away from him and got out of there.
I continued my way through the backroads to the Hampton’s. I now know why it takes so long to get to the Hampton’s. All the roads once you get off the main highway are all local two-lane roads. Most of the towns were quiet before the holidays so it was nice just to drive through.
I got out to Montauk to Lighthouse Park (See review on TripAdvisor) by 2:00pm. I took far longer than I thought but it was well worth the trip. It was a bright sunny afternoon and the view on the point was just breathtaking! The way the sun shone over the beach area and the point was spectacular. The only bad part was the lighthouse was closed that afternoon and would not open until the weekend. The giant wreath on the front of the lighthouse made it very festive.
I had lunch in downtown Montauk and most of the places were closed for the afternoon. The town was really quiet. I ended up eating at Pizza Village at 700 Montauk Highway in (See review on TripAdvisor) in the downtown area. The pizza is amazingly good and their sauce is excellent. I highly recommend it when visiting Montauk. It really warmed me up.
Then I headed back to New Jersey. Is that a long trip? Going over the George Washington Bridge at rush hour right before the holidays is a nightmare. It took over two hours to go from the Throgs Neck Bridge to Route 46 in New Jersey. The irony was that as soon as I got closer to home, we had a dumpster fire at the local Walmart. Never a dull moment.
As things revved up for the holidays, I had my family over to the house for an early Christmas dinner. Since I was going to be away and my aunt and cousin had just suffered a very hard loss right before the holidays, I had a holiday meal at the house.
Even at a time of loss, we had such a nice time. I went all out for the meal. I cleaned the whole house again, did more shopping and prep work and decorated the house. We had such a nice time. I had my two aunts and my cousin over for a three-course meal. As usual, I started the meal with appetizers followed by a full meal and dessert.
I made sautéed shrimp on toasts, pigs in a blanket and assorted gourmet cheeses to start with two bottles of Asti to enjoy with it. For the main meal, I made pork cutlets, a potato puff with lots of cheese and eggs, string beans and my aunt brought some of her homemade apple sauce (I hate to brag but she makes it terrific). For dessert, I brought a seven-layer cake from Mills Bakery (See review on TripAdvisor) and my aunt brought a strawberry cheesecake. We ate a lot.
It was a nice night of good food and great conversation. It was nice to have the house so full of life during the holidays again. It had been so long since everyone had something to laugh about. I have to admit we did have a nice Easter and celebration of our birthdays at the house, so it felt that my uncle was there with us in spirit. Dinner went into the late evening, so I had to clean up the house and run the dishwasher that night, so it was a long night for me.
The next day I was off to spend my Christmas in Cape May, NJ. Most of family had their own plans and I like to spend the holidays by myself to relax and write. It was a gloomy day when I started out that afternoon. I had so much to do before I left like the laundry and the vacuuming, so that the house looked good when I got home. I just didn’t want to have to do much before I got home.
It takes about three hours to Cape May from my house. You are literally going from one end of the state to another. When I finally reached Cape May I made a big mistake and took a turnover the bridge into the Wildwoods. LWhen I tell you that is a dead community at this time of the year, it is DEAD. There were no lights on in any of the homes or in the hotels and there were very few businesses open as well. It is so weird to see a place that you were just in two and half months ago that was so much alive. Since I could find my way out, I had to take the route I knew off the island and drive back down south to Cape May.
The entrance of Congress Hall Hotel at 200 Congress Road
When I arrived at the Congress Hall Hotel (See review on TripAdvisor), it was ablaze with Christmas lights. I have to say that the two days that I stayed at the Congress Hall put me in the Christmas mood. Since my father passed, the holidays have been tough on me and the atmosphere of the hotel was just what I needed. The whole place was decorated for the holidays with garland, trees, bright lights and Christmas cheer. It just made me festive for the holidays.
Congress Hall Hotel at Christmas
The Congress Hotel is beautifully decorated for the holidays
The decorations at the holidays
The spectacular decorations in the lobby of the hotel
I got to the hotel late and wanted to celebrate Midnight Mass and unfortunately no church in town did the Midnight Mass. So, I went to the Our Lady of the Sea Church for the 9:00pm Christmas Eve mass. It was a beautiful mass.
Not quite the elaborate mass I was used to at the Dutch Reformed Church up in Woodstock, NY for the past three years but still inspirational and enjoyable. Even though it is church, I still believe mass should not be stuffy or boring. I think it should be inspirational, engaging and make you reflect on the past year.
The church was beautifully decorated for the holidays with secular decorations of holy, trees, garland and poinsettias. I have noticed over the past decade that more churches have done this. The poor priest was suffering through a leg injury but still gave a nice sermon. I think he was surprised by so many out of towners at the mass.
Our Lady Star of the Sea Church at 525 Washington Street at Christmas
Our Lady Star of the Sea Church decorated for Christmas
Our Lady Star of the Sea manger inside the church
The Manger outside the Church
After the service, I walked around the Washington Street Mall, which is Cape May’s downtown. It looked like every business was trying to outdo one another for the best decorations. All were so elegantly decorated for the holidays with detailed displays, lights and in some cases bows and garland. Inside there were all sorts of Christmas scenes with Santa’s, reindeer and Currier & Ives type displays. Everyone did a nice job and the downtown was very picturesque with the hotel in the backdrop being so nicely decorated on the outside as well.
Washington Street Mall at Christmas
I had Christmas Eve dinner in the hotel’s pizzeria, the Boiler Room, for pizza (See review on TripAdvisor). The service was excellent and the food was wonderful. I had a prosciutto and arugula pizza and it was perfectly cooked and just what I needed after a long drive. They even had music that night. It was a far cry from the two restaurants that I ate at in Woodstock over the past three Christmas Eve’s, where the food was hit or miss.
The Boiler Room Pizzeria in the Congress Hotel has amazing pizza
The food at the Boiler Room was top notch and the Caesar Salad and the pizza could have fed two people the portion was so large. The place was so dark that my pictures came out a little funny but it still shows the quality of the food here. I really enjoy the pizza at the Boiler Room.
The bar area of the Boiler Room was very busy that night
The ‘small’ Caesar Salad for dinner that night
The Prosciutto and Arugula Pizza here is excellent
The dinner was really amazing that night
The Boiler Room was a nice place to dine. There was a lot of activity in the room and the music was wonderful. I was so stuffed after dinner that I had to walk around the Washington Mall afterwards.
I just relaxed on Christmas Eve and walked back outside to look at the downtown and the hotel from a distance. I could not believe how packed the hotel was on a holiday. The place was completely sold out.
The Congress Hotel lobby bar and fireplace.
Christmas was very mellow this year. With my uncle passing two weeks earlier and everything going on in my life and family, I needed a break from everyone and everything in my life.
The Blue Pig Restaurant menu offers many wonderful choices for breakfast and lunch
The Blue Pig place setting
I slept in and relaxed Christmas morning, had a nice long breakfast in the very busy Blue Pig restaurant, the hotel’s casual family restaurant (see review on TripAdvisor) and just enjoyed the quiet morning. The restaurant itself was going full force when I got there. Families were all eating together and it looked like a lot of family reunions were going on in the hotel for the holidays.
The Eggs Blackstone are pretty amazing. A nice combination of eggs, spinach, bacon on a cheese biscuit
The food there is excellent, and I highly recommend eating there when in Cape May. I had this dish, the Eggs Blackstone, that was a unique combination of poached eggs on two cheese biscuits with wilted greens and hollandaise sauce, which I normally do not like that just worked. The combination of flavors mixed so well and with the service of Laura, my waiter that morning, who I could tell has been in the business for years, just made the Christmas morning meal perfect.
The Eggs Blackstone at the Blue Pig
The Blue Pig at the end of service at Christmas time
I sat for most of the morning on a window bench on the second floor of the hotel, overlooking the courtyard of the hotel and the small holiday marketplace the hotel had in the courtyard for the guests. It was nicely set up around the heated pool.
They had a fire-pit for warm up around, small tents with quirky shops to buy local products (although I thought most everything was WAY over-priced) and a small Christmas Cafe with traditional winter treats like hot chocolate and Christmas cookies.
The Christmas tree in the marketplace area
The hotel was decorated to the hilt for the holidays both inside and outside
Even those were pretty but overpriced ($6.00 for four cookies?). It was nice to walk around and Christmas ended up being a bright and sunny day. We had missed the snowstorm that hit Northern New Jersey and I later found out really hit Woodstock, NY.
The Merry Go Round in the courtyard of the hotel
I spent most of my morning doing my writing, call friends and family wishing them a Merry Christmas and talking to other guests who just happened to see me writing and wanted to know what I was up to. I swear that I am never alone when I travel, people just seem to find me.
The train around the courtyard
The Cape May beaches are beautiful anytime of the year
I had my Christmas dinner at the Ugly Mug, a bar/pub that I had eaten at over twenty years ago. Not much had changed since I ate here in 1993 from what I can remember.
The Ugly Mug on the Washington Mall at 426 Washington Street
The food is still excellent. I had a bacon BBQ cheeseburger with fries, not your traditional Christmas dinner but still was wonderful.
The Barbecue Bacon Cheeseburger at the Ugly Mug is a perfect meal on Christmas
The place was really busy with other people who looked like they were done with Christmas as well.
The burger was so good
Even the manager told me that they are always busy at the holidays.
Cape May Town Square at Christmas
The Christmas tree in the Cape May Town Square can put anyone in the Christmas Spirit
Cape May Town Square Park at Christmas
That night I just walked around town and looked at the Christmas tree in the square, which was so elegantly decorated for the holidays. Cape May knows how to decorate for the holidays. I walked around the hotel and looked at the decorations. The hotel was mobbed with people just looking for something to do and a place to sit and chat. People were jockeying for a place near the fireplace and I could see there were some struggles for that.
The lobby of the Congress Hotel by the fireplace
On the 26th, things got back to normal in town. Most of the stores opened and there were sales on everything. I went to the Mad Batter Restaurant at 19 Jackson Street(See review on TripAdvisor) for breakfast, wanting some elbow room from the hotel. I was seated at the bar and it was nice to just look over the post Christmas crowds and watch the parents with their kids.
The food there is excellent. I had the Croustade with scrambled eggs, sausage, peppers and cheese served on a brioche bun. This is a cross between a egg souffle, an omelet and a Texas scramble.
The Crousade is a wonderful combination of eggs and other great ingredients
It really was an excellent lunch
It was an unusual combination but it worked and was delicious. This institution has been around for years and I wanted to try it for a long time. The Mad Batter has become one of my ‘go to’ places when I visit Cape May.
The Mad Batter at 19 Jackson Street is excellent for breakfast
I explored the town for the afternoon. I went on the decorated house tour at the Emlen Physick Estate 1048 Washington Place (see review on TripAdvisor & VisitingaMuseum.wordpress.com), who was a prominent doctor in the town and his house showed it.
His grandfather has invented a famous medical device and upon getting his medical degree, he inherited his fortune and never practiced medicine again. What he did leave was a beautiful home for touring and every room was decorated for the holidays. The woman who gave the tour was an actor playing his mother and it was the week before Christmas. She did a nice job.
Physick Estate Dining Room at Christmas
The Physick Estate Living Room at Christmas
The Physick Estate Main Hallway
After that, I visited the Cape May Lighthouse (see review on TripAdvisor & VisitingaMuseum.Wordpress.com) and climbed the whole thing in about twenty minutes, shocking the guy at the admission office who said that I only had a half hour to spend before they closed. I even surprised myself with how fast I climbed it.
I swear, this walking project is keeping me in good health. What a view! You could see all over West Cape May and the whole tip of the peninsula. The beach was so quiet yet majestic with all the waves crashing and the birds and dogs running around. They also have a small museum next to the building on Jersey flora and fauna that you should check out as well.
The top of the lighthouse has the most breathtaking views
The last part of the evening was when I visited Sunset Beach in West Cape May (See review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). What a magnificent beach this is, located on the very western tip of New Jersey. Sunset Beach has the most breathtaking sunset of any beach I have ever seen and I have been all over the world.
The way the sun sets on the beach and the location of where it falls creates a rainbow of colors anytime of the year. Although it was cool on the beach as it fell, the beach was full of people watching the same natural phenomenon. It was just amazing to see all the colors change as the sun changed positions and more fun to watch the Lewis/Cape May shuttle drive past every half hour. If there is ever a beach that you need to visit, it is Sunset Beach.
Sunset Beach at 502 Sunset Boulevard in West Cape May
That evening was my last night in Cape May and I had to change hotels because the Congress was booked solid for a wedding. I switched to The Chalfonte, one of the oldest hotels and most ‘Southern’ in Cape May. You have to remember that Cape May is below the Mason-Dixon Line and Southern New Jersey is technically the South.
The Chalfonte at 301 Howard Street (see review on TripAdvisor) is located in an older section of Cape May surrounded by Victorian homes. The main hotel was closed for the season (it closes in October) but they keep the ‘Southern Quarters’, a small house next to the hotel, open for the season as it is insulated.
The Chalfonte Hotel at 301 Howard Street during the summer months
As I wrote in my review on TripAdvisor, it was like staying at your grandmother’s or Great Aunt’s beach home for the night. A little rough around the edges but comfortable, warm and homey. I find places like this charming but they are not for everyone.
My bedroom at the Chalfonte Hotel’s Southern Quarters
I stopped by the Beach Plum Farm at 140 Stevens Street (see review on TripAdvisor) for breakfast and to tour the farm. Although the breakfast sandwich I ate was good as well as the home fries, everything was cold or lukewarm.
The property is so nicely laid out and it was fun to feed the chickens who were excited about the feed.
Beach Plum Farm’s gardens and farm stand
The Market Menu at Beach Plum Farm
The gourmet products for sale at Christmas
Feeding the chickens was fun. They got so excited!
I did one last walk around the downtown to see the tree on the square and had a slice of pizza at JoJo’s Pizza on the Washington Mall. I just wanted a quick snack before I got changed for dinner that evening. Their pizza is really good and they have a nice sauce which I always feel is the body of the pizza.
My last dinner in Cape May was at the Washington Inn Restaurant (see review on TripAdvisor), considered one of the best in Cape May. The food and the service were all top notch.
The Washington Inn at 801 Washington Street Christmas time
The restaurant had been on my bucket list for a long time and I was looking forward to eating here. I ordered the Seafood Bisque to start which was perfect on a cool night, the Crab Cakes for my entree and the Bananas Foster for dessert both I recommend very much. The service was excellent but for some reason I expected older waiters to be working in a place like this.
The inside Dining Room at the Washington Inn
The Seafood Bisque
The Crabcakes with fresh vegetables
The Bananas Foster for dessert
The rooms are elegant and romantic for couples. For me, it was just the thrill of eating in such a well-known restaurant with excellent food and service. At its price tag though, it is a special occasion treat.
The Christmas tree in the Reception area of the restaurant
The restaurant is the perfect place to go for a special occasion or just for a wonderful night out. I really enjoyed myself. The food and the service were both excellent and I enjoyed my meal in both 2018 as well as 2025.
I slept like a log that night, being able to faintly hear the crashing of the waves in the distance. They decorated the room with just enough plants and Christmas items to make it look festive.
The Southern Quarters at Christmas time
The Southern Quarters when I got there the evening before
The next morning as I was dropping off my keys, the owner’s son, Dillon, took me on a tour inside the family hotel. It was elegant as it was gloomy. I had read that the hotel was haunted but as he said to me, he had never seen anything. It is weird to see a hotel closed down for the season. All I could think of was the Overlook Hotel in ‘The Shining’. It just had that eerie, someone had just been there looked to it. After I said my goodbyes, I was off to Rehoboth Beach to visit my mother.
On the trip to Rehoboth, I made several stops to towns I had passed through the previous year. I stopped in Millville, NJ first. The downtown has been creating a buzz for itself as an art center especially with the opening of the Cumberland College Arts Annex and the studio area. Artists from Southern New Jersey seem to be pouring into the town as all the buildings are getting renovated and new restaurants are opening. I stopped in a few galleries and looked at menus of what is going to be an ‘arts hub’ of Southern New Jersey.
The next town I stopped in was Bridgeton, whose downtown had seen better days. Most of the stores were either empty or catered to the Hispanic population who worked in the area. Not exactly the arts district they claim to be. There is not much to see here except a lot of Victorian homes in bad shape.
Passing the Bridgeton Old Presbyterian Church historic cemetery right off the downtown in warmer months
Salem was my last stop before crossing the Delaware Memorial Bridge. This is a town that has not been discovered yet. The homes are really gorgeous in the downtown area, all built in the 1700 and 1800’s. Beautiful old Federal and Empire style homes are spread throughout the downtown and the sad part is that they are mostly in bad shape.
Downtown Salem, NJ is the most beautiful downtown
I stopped in the Salem Historical Society at 83 Market Street (see review on TripAdvisor & VisitingaMuseum.com) . This place is not the usual Historical Society with the musty displays and the dusty artifacts with some woman older than God looking you over. It was an interesting, insightful and beautifully decorated for the holidays building with displays of local interest.
The building is made up of three homes, one of which had a hearth fireplace in the kitchen. That part of the building was decorated for a Colonial Christmas. I loved the spinning wheel with the lights and the tree in the older section of the house.
The oldest section of the museum is from the late 1700’s
It only takes about an hour to see the whole building but take the time to really look at the displays as they are so well mounted.
I ate at Bravo Pizza and Pasta at 179 West Broadway (see review on TripAdvisor) in the downtown area and highly recommend their pizza. The sauce was excellent and the flavor was delicious. What was best was that the owner asked me to wait as he had a new pizza coming out, so It gave me time to walk around the downtown area and look at the old buildings.
Bravo Pizza at 179 West Broadway in downtown Salem, NJ
It was so sad to see many of these old homes in such bad shape. This is a place I am surprised that the artists have not discovered yet. Check out the local cemetery with the large historical Oak Tree that covers the graveyard. It is right around the corner from the restaurant and Historical Society.
The Salem Oak Cemetery on West Broadway in Salem, NJ when I visited it in the fall
I finally got out of Salem, it was the long drive down to mom’s from Salem to Rehoboth Beach. When I called my mother, she was wondering what was taking me so long. When I finally arrived around six, she was asking me what I was doing all this time. I told her discovering my State. I never realized how interesting the State of New Jersey is (no jokes everyone).
My mom and I talked about the trip, the holidays and what we had planned for the next two days. My younger brother was coming up with my nieces to celebrate the post holidays. We really had a nice time. My mom cooked ‘the Dinner’ again and we just sat around and I told her about my Christmas. I now know where I get my love for travel details from as she sees how excited I get when I talk about visiting places.
“The Dinner” at Mom’s house
My brother arrived the next morning and we planned everything. We went took the girls to the boardwalk for the afternoon to walk around and ended up going to Thrasher’s (see review on TripAdvisor) for French Fries. I have never seen four people devour a medium bucket of fries so fast. They were just fried and were oh so good. Even in the winter, I never tire of seeing the shore.
Downtown Rehoboth Beach, DE at Christmas time
Santa’s House on the Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach
Our first night at my mom’s she cooked so we had a mellow roast pork dinner and just sat around and talked. It was nice for my nieces who never get to see my mom much and for me who see them about the same about of time. They talked about their trip up from Florida and how school is going.
Christmas in Rehoboth Beach, DE with my family
The next day we took the girls on a tour of Rehoboth Beach and the surrounding areas, we went at twilight to Henlopen Park (see review on TripAdvisor) to see the Christmas lights, which was very similar in feel to the Jackle Lantern display in Croton-on-the- Hudson. It was a huge display of figures, such as Santa’s, elf’s, reindeer and decorated trees lit up by lights all over the park and we were able to drive and see all the displays one at a time.
Even tough we were going out to dinner that night, my mother insisted we stop at the Big Oyster Brewery at 1007 Kings Highway (see review on TripAdvisor) for lunch when no one was hungry. I had some pulled pork sliders that were very good but like everyone else did not have much of an appetite. We had had a big breakfast earlier in the day.
For dinner my last night in Rehoboth, we went to my mother’s favorite restaurant, Confucius Chinese Restaurant at 57 Wilmington Street (See review on TripAdvisor) by the beach. We must have had eight different dishes on the table but you know what, the food here is just excellent and the service matches the food. My mother has been coming here since they opened and know the owners well, so they are always coming over to say high or sometimes they give us a free appetizer, which I think is good business.
Confucius Chinese Restaurant at 57 Wilmington Street
I had to head home the next day but we had a nice time even though it was so short with my nieces. I wish my brother had planned more time. We didn’t get to do too much on this trip since it was so quick. I headed back to New Jersey the next morning, probably seeing my mom again when the weather gets warmer.
The Orange Flavored Chicken is excellent here
The Beef Chow Fun is also popular with us
My last day before the New Year began, I joined my other brother in the New York City for Dim Sum at the Golden Unicorn Restaurant at 18 East Broadway (see review on TripAdvisor), one of the mainstays for going for Dim Sum in the city. I swear we must have gone through half the menu. The food is really good and I love when the carts go around with all the dishes. I love to try many dishes when I am at the restaurant.
The only problem with New Year’s Eve is that the city shuts down all their roads by 3:00pm and it was also 20F outside that day. Trust me, it is not a day you want to be in New York City unless you want to sit in Times Square for hours on end to watch the ball drop. It was 9F degrees that evening.
The New Year brought in my Swearing In with the fire department. I am the Department Secretary (now on my fifth year) and Engine One Secretary (now on my eleventh year) and just keep rolling along. Our Installation Dinner was the second week of January and that pretty much ends my holiday season.
Firefighter Justin Watrel at the swearing in as Secretary of the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department
It was a lot of running around this holiday season but I also was able to raise a lot of money for charity in between working three jobs, editing my book and all my volunteer work. I never seem to just stop and relax.
Now you all know why I had to put the MywalkinManhattan.com on hold.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year Everyone!!
Getting to Cape May, NJ:
Just follow the Garden State Parkway to the very end and there you are in the middle of town.
*Blogger wants to note that the hours change for many of these historical sites and for the restaurants so please check their websites for the most current hours during the off-season and when in season.
Events:
Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Christmas Tree Sale
I had another beautiful day in the city. I can’t believe this is fall with the 82-degree days. It is so funny to see so many people in outdoor cafes this late into the season. It reminded me of when I was walking Morningside Heights in February and it was 82 degrees then. The weather has been very wacky this year and everyone says there is no Global Warming. That’s hard to believe.
I finally managed to sneak into the city to walk the Avenues of the Upper Upper West Side. I had spent the morning in the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen again and they put me back to work in the kitchen. By the time I left chopping loads of chicken breasts up for the next day’s lunch, I was exhausted. With Thanksgiving around the corner, it is going to be busy in the prep kitchen. I had been in the prep kitchen during the holidays, and it is a lot of work.
I started my walk this afternoon by relaxing with lunch at Zhong Hua Chinese Restaurant at 23 West 100th Street (See review on TripAdvisor), a tiny hole in the wall Chinese restaurant I passed when walking Manhattanville. This is right on the border at the official end of the Upper West Side meets the Douglas Housing Projects. I could tell most of the customers came from the housing projects by the customer base walking in. They must be very loyal because the staff knew who everyone was and said hello.
There are a couple of tables to sit at in the restaurant and it is not the fanciest place, but the food is not bad. I had a Sweet & Sour Chicken lunch special. It was okay. Typical Chinese American cooking. It tasted like fresh Chicken McNuggets with a standard red sweet sauce and served with white rice. The combination lunch special was $6.00 with a Coke and was not bad. Not the greatest but not bad. It filled me up for my long walk around the neighborhood.
The Sweet & Sour Pork was okay
Columbus Avenue was my first part of the walk. Columbus Avenue was the new trendy avenue when the city started to gentrify in the early 80’s through the crash of ’87 and now has settled into a more upper middle-class street with a combination of upscale stores and chains. There are so many banks on the avenue that I do not understand how they survive.
This was at one shining moment the center of the island with all the new innovative restaurants and shops opening up here starting with Museum Café opening right across the street from the American Museum of Natural History (it now houses a Shake Shack ten restaurants later). As someone noted in New York Magazine, it looks like a suburban mall with the parking (which is true for most of the island now).
In the upper 90’s, Columbus Avenue has turned into a series of large apartment buildings that must have been started in the late 90’s. It has changed the complexity of the neighborhood which was once all low-lining buildings. The border shared with Manhattanville gets even weirder with a Whole Foods and new luxury shopping one block from the Douglas Houses. It is a strange move, but it seems that everyone is using the Whole Foods from all over the neighborhood, so some marketing person was thinking.
The transition of the Upper West by the Whole Foods and the Douglass Houses
Once you cross over to the 80’s blocks, the architecture turns back into the more traditional low-rise buildings of the turn of the last century which is what gives the neighborhood its charm. Like the rest of the city, there have been a rash of small business closings around the block as the twenty-year leases that were signed in the 90’s when the neighborhood was still transitioning have come up and the complaints that the rents have tripled and quadrupled. The mix is now around the museum bunch of extremely expensive restaurants and realtors. This is not the West Side I remember.
One store that does stand out as being different is the Wild Bird Feed at 565 Columbus Avenue that seems more a hospital than a retail store. It saves pigeons and doves and brings them back to health. The rest is a combination of chain stores and expensive decorating places.
Amsterdam Avenue is pretty much the same as the parts in the areas above 90th Street is new apartment buildings and stores. Most of the chains have moved up to this area with the new buildings. As you move to the lower 90’s, Amsterdam Avenue becomes a series of neighborhood stores and restaurants that are strictly local. There are many great ethnic restaurants as well as all the services from laundry places to shoe repairs and drycleaners. They have really kept Amsterdam Avenue for the neighborhood.
At the corner of 84th and Amsterdam Avenue again is the Urban Assembly Garden that now is producing fall vegetables. It is amazing how everything changes in just two weeks. The kids were out cleaning up the beds when I visited again, and the teachers are eager for you to see what the kids are doing. Try to stop by the stand and at least say ‘hello’ to the kids.
Urban Assembly Garden on West 84th Street and Amsterdam Avenue
Across the street from the garden is West Side Kids at 498 Amsterdam Avenue which was mobbed with families who were shopping after school. There are some small restaurants a few doors down that were loaded with families. I could tell the parents here like their East Side counterparts really look after their kids’ education and welfare.
West Side Kids is now located at 201 West 84th Street
Broadway from 96th Street to 84th Street is a series of chain stores and independents. This part of the avenue is quite nice because it has the island in the middle of the road with trees and flowers still holding on from the summer months. It is being lined with brand new apartment buildings that are sprouting up all along the avenue. I have never seen a block so in transition. This is Broadway from 110th Street straight down to Columbus Circle.
When you turn the corner onto West End Avenue, it is a whole other world. This is the land of prewar apartment buildings, old brownstones and single-family homes. The side streets are unique brownstones where it looks like no two houses are the same. It is straight out of an exterior shot of ‘Sex and the City’.
If you are in the city for Halloween, there is a great holiday display outside the brownstone at West End Avenue and 90th Street. All sorts of movable ghouls and ghost are on display with a pumpkin demon flying up the side of the house. Someone is in the theater business here.
Halloween on the Upper West Side, the owner is very creative
There is a beautiful, tutored mansion that is being renovated on the corner at 274 West End Avenue and 95th Street that you have to see. It looks like a traditional German home attached to a prewar apartment building. This is the side of The Pomander Walk complex.
There are pillared twin mansions on the opposite corners of West End Avenue between 91st and 90th Streets with matching brownstones in the middle of the two homes. Both are being fixed up and the owners are very lucky to own such a beautiful, graceful homes. They look well-maintained and a little out of place with all the apartment buildings on the block.
West End Avenue has many architectural treasures
The Swan House at 95th and West End Avenue is a elegant old building with interesting landscaping around it. People do love their potted plants. The fortress like apartment building at 645 West End Avenue has the most interesting light features on the outside. They look like a giant is holding lanterns. It is straight out of the late 1890’s. I have never seen a light feature like this one. The building was designed by architect Gaetan Ajello and was built in 1912 (City Realty).
The very unique light fixtures outside the building
These are so beautiful
At West End Avenue and 84th Street, there is a plaque to the famous composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, who lived in the building from 1926 to 1943. He did some of his most famous work when living in this building. Word of advice don’t linger too long reading the plaque. The doorman will give you funny looks.
There is another gorgeous mansion on the corner at 272 West End Avenue and 91st Street that has been fixed up and again harks back to the time this was an exclusive neighborhood (more so than then now) and lined with private homes. This beautiful, designed home was built in 1920 (City Realty).
This whole area between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive from 66th Street straight up the west side of the island is lined with interesting apartment buildings. Each one is more unique than the other. It is a real change in these two blocks both in the architecture of the buildings and the feel of the neighborhood. It seems quieter and more reserved and the people walking along the streets seem more serious than their neighbors one block away. I just got that impression on the people living there by walking around at all hours of the day.
Dinner that night was at Cheesy Pizza at 2640 Broadway on the corner of 100th Street (See the review on TripAdvisor & my blog DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). The pizza is excellent made wonderful by their delicious tomato sauce. I get so disappointed by many of these pizzerias in these neighborhoods that I pass. They look so good and end up having tasteless food that makes it a disappointing meal.
Not at Cheesy Pizza. The pizza is full of flavor and loaded with their delicious sauce and loads of cheese. They have some excellent deals with eight specials available all day long for $5.00, which is a steal in this economy. I had the personal pizza with a Coke, and you got four nice slices of pizza that is freshly made for you. I was not only impressed with the quality but with the friendly service as the guys behind the counter seemed happy to see me. I guess it’s the cop thing again. This place warrants a few more visits.
The Cheese Pizza here is wonderful.
Before I headed downtown, I made a special trip to Silver Moon Bakery at 2740 Broadway and 105th Street for dessert (See review on TripAdvisor & my blog DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). The pastries here are excellent and rival their counterparts in other parts of the island. The nice part is they are very reasonable. Nothing is over $5.00. The quality is excellent, and the staff is not snotty like some of the bakeries on the East Side where they want to charge you $20.00 for a cake that costs about $3.00 in materials. I know rents are high but come on.
Silver Moon Bakery at 2740 Broadway (Closed March 2025)
Silver Moon Bakery is the home of the Crumuffin, which I have talked about before. I got a little boring and got a Linzer Tart. It was excellent. The cookie itself was so buttery and tasted like it had just come out of the oven. The raspberry jelly was tart and sweet and the cookie broken apart in my mouth when I ate it. Like a piece of heaven.
The selection at Silver Moon Bakery is wonderful.
That is the one thing about Silver Moon Bakery unlike their uptown competition. The product has not been sitting out all day long. The items are obviously bake in small batches throughout the day. Make the trip on the Number One Subway to 103rd Street to visit the bakery. It’s worth the travel time.
The Crumuffin at Silver Moon Bakery is the most amazing pastry!
Overall, I covered a lot of the Upper West Side, revisited a few haunts that I wanted to see again and got to relax and explore Riverside Park. The Upper West Side has so much to offer, and I will see more when I walk the streets in the neighborhood.
Read my other Blogs on the Bloomingdale neighborhood:
Day Ninety-Three: Walking the Borders of the Upper Upper West Side:
mywalkinmanhattan 