The Museum of the City of New York in the Freelander designed building
I have been a member of the Museum of the City of New York for almost twenty years and what I love about the museum is that its concentration is to be everything about New York City and what makes the City so great. Its development from a Dutch Colony to the Modern Metropolis that it is today. It covers the history so well that they created a permanent display entitled “New York at its Core”, an extensive history of the City from its start as being…
I love coming to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Private Members Nights. It is one of the perks that I enjoy of being a member for the last thirty years. The museum closes at 5:30pm to the general public and we as members get to roam certain parts of the hall on our own for almost three hours. It gives us a chance to visit halls that we have not seen or have not visited in a while and have special discounts in the restaurants and gift shops. There are also special lectures and talks in all the galleries and it is nice to talk to the curators and docents.
I just like the time that I can stroll around the museum at my own pace. We have the same thing when it is open to the public but here you are with other members who really are dedicated art lovers who want to support the museum. It gives all the members a chance to talk to one another about their experiences at the museum and what the museum means to them. Plus, it is nice to see couples and families enjoying themselves.
Since the British Galleries were closed that evening because of a renovation and the American Wing not being opened that night, I spent most of my evening in the in the ‘Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia and Later South Asia’ galleries on the second floor of the museum.
The setup of the newly installed gallery in 2011
I rarely visit this gallery and was the first time since I have been a member to really spend time in them. Frankly, I did not know they even existed as they are tucked into a corner of the museum off the popular European Paintings and Sculpture galleries and can easily be missed. What a fascinating gallery.
The Gallery was full of interesting scriptures, architecture, rugs and carpets, sculpture, decorative objects and jewelry. A small section of the back gallery was closed off that evening, but I was able to check out most of the rooms that evening.
The Gallery opening back in 2011
The galleries are set up by region and by the artwork they represent with the Roman influenced galleries being in the middle.
As I wondered through the galleries, it was interesting to see the fancy and elegant calligraphy work on all of the artwork. Arabic writing is so beautiful to look at. It has interesting appearance as a language as Chinese and Japanese characters have when you look at them. They take an effort and an education to write out.
The Entrance to the Arabic Galleries at the Met
Some of the galleries showcased interesting home and prayer rugs with their interesting geometric and bokara designs. The detail work in the weaving was especially intricate. The use of the different colors especially made the rugs pop out and you can see the craftsmanship in each rug.
The area and prayer rugs in the Arabic Galleries at the Met
Different forms of pottery and chinaware were featured in the cases including pieces called ‘lusterware’ which had a distinct sheen to them. It really showed off the painted details of the artist.
Ancient sculptures from different regions were displayed in the cases that highlighted the royal families of each region along with pieces of building materials to show the detailed work of each structure.
“The Royal Couple” in the Arabic Galleries at the Met
What I thought was interesting was entering the “Greeting Room”-‘Damascus Room’ of a local palace that was brought in detail and is displayed towards the back of the galleries with its elegant cushions, small fountains, colorful designs and wall coverings and just the welcome atmosphere people must have found when entering this room.
The Damascus Room-Greeting Room in the Met Galleries
The exquisite jewels with the intricate silver and gold work and the lattice designs encrusted in semi and precious jewels showed the importance of the wearer and how much it must have meant to be received by the person.
I was able to spend some time talking to the gallery docent and listen to her take on the artwork. This is one of the ‘perks’ of the membership is the lectures and talks we get to hear in the gallery in those evenings.
The Rug Gallery was amazing and the artifacts so detailed.
I was so impressed with what I saw that I came back a second time to really have a look around and to see the galleries that had been cordoned off that evening. These galleries were the ones housing the rugs and many fancy pieces of jewelry. Many ancient artworks could be seen in the cases as well. I ended up spending most of my time both evenings wondering around these galleries.
I could not understand why I had never been to this gallery in the all the years I have been coming to the museum. It just goes to show the depth that the Metropolitan Museum of Art has in its collection.
The ‘Met After Dark’ is so beautiful.
After visiting the museum, I walked back to Times Square to have something to eat. My Dining Club has recommended a wonderful Chinese restaurant that I had never noticed before called ‘China River’ in the Theater District. I must have passed this place dozens of times and never noticed it before. After eating there, I will notice it much more. The food was delicious, and the service was wonderful.
The China River restaurant at 258 West 44th Street
I had gotten there about twenty minutes to ten in the evening and the host said to me that they would be closing the kitchen at ten but said I could order before then. I said I pretty much knew what I wanted so I sat down in the back. I find it annoying though that they always put the single people in the back at a two top right by the kitchen.
The entrance to the China River restaurant
The waiter read my mind when he saw how frustrated I was and gave me a larger four top on the other side of the room with more light. This was a sign that I was working with someone who cared. It was matched by the quality of the food. It was excellent. I was really impressed for Chinese food in the Theater District that was not only delicious but priced fairly.
Since it was so late and I really just wanted a snack and it was a cold night, I ordered Dim Sum. I started with a bowl of Hot & Sour Soup, and it was one of the best I have had in a long time. The soup was rich and spicy with lots of shredded vegetables and pork in it. The chili oil gave it just the right amount of pinch that warmed me up on the cool night.
For the Dim Sum selection, I chose the Pan-Fried Pork Buns, the Spring Rolls and the Crystal Shrimp Dumplings and all were excellent. The Pan-Fried Pork buns were so large that they were a meal all on their own. They were soft with a spicy ground pork filling on the inside and the Crystal Shrimp were filled with pieces of shrimp both perfect for the soy combination dipping sauce. The Spring Rolls were crisp on the outside and filled with shredded vegetables on the inside. It was just enough food to fill me up for the rest of the evening ride home (See my review below on TripAdvisor).
The Crystal Shrimp Dumplings were especially good
The best part was that the restaurant was right around the corner from the Port Authority, and I was able to get in and out of the City in record time.
It was just nice to spend my night wondering around the galleries at my own pace and just enjoy the evening in Manhattan.
I put my walk of the Garment District on hold as many of the museums are having their Private Members nights before the holidays get into the full swing. It gives the members a chance to really enjoy the museums before the City gets crazy with tourists and people are beginning to return to the City.
My first event that I attended was “The Met After Hours” event. It was a well-attended event that members were able to explore the first floor at their own leisure for three hours.
It really was a wonderful night. First it was a warm and clear evening and you could see the stars because it gets dark at 5:00pm. We as members got to the museum before 5:00pm and waited in a long line by the Member’s Entrance on the side of the museum and had to show our COVID vaccine cards and ID. Even though we were all vaccinated, we still had to wear masks the entire time we were in the museum. It was not a problem and did not get in the way of us having a nice time.
For the evening, only the first floor was open and only certain galleries and exhibitions but there was plenty to see and do. In all the galleries, there were docents giving talks on the exhibitions and on the gallery displays that were permanent to the museum.
I started my tour of the museum at the Christmas Tree in the Medieval Galleries. It was decorated for the holidays with full detail but it had been corded off and you could not get as close to it as you once could in the past. They had a very interesting docent who went over the not just the history of the Christmas tree with its German-Pagan roots but how it was decorated by people in different countries at different times of history.
The beautiful Christmas tree is a part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art tradition
She talked about how the manager and the more religious aspects of the art came from Naples and then made its way to the United States with immigration. The works around the tree were collected over time.
Later that evening, they had a singing trio entertaining the crowd with festive Christmas songs. The ladies were very friendly and had wonderful voices. They really put everyone in the Christmas spirit.
I next went to the “In Praise of Painting: Dutch Masterpieces at the Met” exhibition in the Robert Lehman Collection. I was viewing all the works by Rembrandt and Vermeer for most of the evening. It was nice to just take my time and look at the works one by one without rushing like you normally do when the galleries are busy. The gallery was full of portraits and still lives and being a smaller gallery, I was not over-whelmed by the exhibition.
In Praise of Painting: Dutch Masterpieces at The Met should not be missed.
I walked through the American Wing to the American Wing Cafe which was mobbed. Every table was taken and what was really annoying is that in some cases, one person took a table and threw all their things on the chairs and were eating by themselves. They should have had a limit on that type of behavior as I could see that patrons were struggling to find a place to sit down. I just decided to eat when I left the museum. A $16.00 sandwich did not interest me. I just could not believe how much the food had gone up at the museum.
I spent the last part of the evening in the Temple of Dendur Wing admiring the building. I looked over all the ancient carvings and symbols and then realizing that this temple was created during the Roman Era. I thought that was interesting. I remember reading in the book “Dancing with Mummies” on the former director of the museum discussing how New York City beat out other cities to get the temple.
Every time I enter the gallery I think of this scene in “When Harry Met Sally”
It represents what is best about the Met
I ended the evening exploring the Greek Galleries since the rest of the Egyptian Galleries were closed for the evening. I really loved looking at the Cycladic Art and the way that the galleries are displayed. Even though I have been touring these galleries since they opened, it is always fun to see something new or a piece that you noticed for the first time again.
There is something unique about Cycladic Art
After I left the Met, I walked along the Upper East Side, walking down both Third and Second Avenues and noticing all the restaurants and stores that have closed since the Pandemic and it was scary to see. I thought that Madison Avenue was bad with all the empty stores and the cops protecting them but the other avenues were just as bad. It will take a long time for this to come back.
When I reached East 72nd Street at Second Avenue, I stopped at one of my favorite Chinese Take-out places where you can sit down and eat, Shanghai Chinese Restaurant at 1388 Second Avenue right near the subway station. I am telling you this is some of the best Chinese food in the City and very reasonable for the portion size they give you (see my reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com).
Don’t miss Shanghai Chinese Restaurant at 1388 Second Avenue
I had the most amazing Shrimp Szechuan with Roast Pork Fried Rice with a side of Hot and Sour soup, the perfect dishes on a cool night. The soup really warmed me up and the shrimp had a nice fiery flavor to it.
The inside of Shanghai Chinese Restaurant
I was so content from the wonderful meal that I ended up walking all the way back to the Port Authority. It was such a nice night to walk back and enjoy the cool air. It really a beautiful night to walk around Manhattan.
After I returned from visiting my mother for her 85th birthday, I had another Members Night at the Museum of the City of New York at 1220 Fifth Avenue to attend the gallery talk of the Founders of the Talking Heads singing group, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, talking about their time with the group and their experiences. Then we watched the film documentary “Stop Making Sense”, which was filmed over a series of concerts in 1984. The talk and the film were both amazing. I never knew that much about the group, so it was an eye-opener.
The Museum of the City of New York at 1220 Fifth Avenue
Ms. Weymouth and Mr. Frantz had gotten older but really had not changed that much. They were really engaging and such interesting stories about the band and the clubs that they played in the early 1980’s. It was fascinating to hear of the other artists that they knew like Debbie Harry and the Ramones who played the same clubs and the long-closed clubs that they enjoyed like Danceatiria and the Mudd Club.
They also talked about the work they are doing now and the revival of the music that they performed so long ago. It was a real blast from the past and most of the audience like me were either in high school or college when the group was performing so it was a real Gen X crowd that evening. After the talk, they left the stage with a rousing applause from all of us and then we watched the documentary, which really rocked the room. I could almost see people wanted to get up and dance and the applause from the songs after they were finished matched what was going on in the film (I included the link to the film we watched below).
The “Stop Making Sense” talk and showing of the film with Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth
The ‘Stop Making Sense’ talk at the Museum of the City of New York: The Concert Film we saw that night.
“Stop Making Sense”
I went home that evening humming all the songs that I remembered from the film. It was such a great evening and I still could not believe that I never saw the film when it came out my freshman year of college.
Still my favorite videos from the early MTV days: “Once in a Lifetime”
The last museum Members afternoons that I attended was the “Sharks” exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History at 200 Central Park West. This exhibition was open to the members first before opening later in December.
The American Museum of Natural History at 200 Central Park West
I have to say it was interesting and very scientific and technical. I was floored by the number of kids that knew so much about sharks. I was listening to this kid talk to his mother on which sharks were which and he was about eight years old.
The exhibition was on the history of sharks and their habitats and the benefits that sharks bring to the ocean like being bottom dwellers and how their eating habits affect the rest of the ocean population. It was more than the movie “Jaws”.
The exhibition also discussed how sharks have evolved over the years since the era of the dinosaurs and how their population decrease is affecting the rest of the ocean population and food cycles. After about an hour in the exhibition it got a bit over-whelming with the information and I will have to go back again to see it.
‘Sharks’ at the American Museum of Natural History
The exhibition discussion:
After the visiting other parts of the museum in both the Central American Wing and the new Minerals gallery, I went outside and enjoyed the nice sunny day. I ended up walking all over the Upper West Side. Homes were decorated for the holidays and it was festive to see all the garland and trees in the windows and on the outside of the brownstone homes.
For lunch, I went to Tri Dim West, the sister restaurant to Tri Dim Shanghai on the East side at 467 Columbus Avenue for a Dim Sum lunch. The restaurant is right around the corner from the museum and was a nice alternative to the expensive fare at the museum.
I had the most wonderful (but pricy) Dim Sum lunch with freshly made Crab & Pork Soup Dumplings, Roast Pork Buns, Chicken Curry Puffs and a Peking Duck Spring Roll. Everything was made fresh to order and one dish was better than the other. The soup dumplings just slurped off the spoon and burst in my mouth with their juiciness. The roast pork buns had their usual sweetness with the combination of roast pork chopped up wrapped in a sweet dough.
The Peking Duck rolls are delicious
The service was so friendly and welcoming. The guy waiting on me kept spooning the dumplings on my plate. I thought that was taking it to the extreme but it was a quiet afternoon.
It is funny for the people who keep saying that New York City is going downhill and Manhattan is falling apart, yet I see that the museums are doing their best to engage with their members and the public in general with taking all sorts of precautions and safety measures. They are doing their best to keep the public informed while still having a good time.
I was just watching ’60 Minutes’ tonight and it has never been scarier to be in New York City. The hospitals are being over-whelmed by patients that are low on supplies and the medical staffs are tired, burnt out and still stepping up to the plate to help get people better. The streets are empty with people as the last of the tourists left two weeks ago and the crowded streets of Manhattan that only in December were packed with so many people that you could not walk seems like a distant memory.
What should have been a great night for everyone. Michigan State WON 80-69!
As you have read from my last two blog entries, I was in Manhattan from March 7th until March 10th walking the International Restaurant Show, watching the Michigan State-Ohio State Basketball game at Blondies Bar on the Upper West Side for who would be the Big Ten Champion (MSU won Go Green Go White) that Sunday night, at the Anthology Film Archives watching Sandra Bullock in “The Net” for a series the movie theater had on 1990’s Internet films on Monday night and then my last night in the City on Tuesday, March 10th for the Gerhard Richter Exhibition at the Met Breuer for a Private Members Night. All this while everything was going on around us.
The night I went to the Anthology Film Archives, I stopped in Chinatown first to go to Wonton Noodle Garden on Mott Street (see review on TripAdvisor) for dinner. What shocked me was how empty the place was that evening. This is a restaurant that is packed all the time and it is open until 2:00am. The only people who were there were myself and two tables of NYU students.
When I asked the waiter where everyone was, he threw up his shoulders and said “Everything going on in the world”. I knew it did not look good that night as the rest of Chinatown was empty. The East Village was hopping with college students and the neighborhood around me was busy but you could feel the mood shifting.
Wonton Noodle Garden’s Cantonese Wonton Soup with Egg Noodles and Roast Pork can cure all ills.
‘The Net’ Trailer
Sandra Bullock can cheer anyone up!
I felt this at the Restaurant Show where you could walk down the aisles of the show and never bump into anyone. The Tuesday afternoon that I went in to see the show one last time by 3:30pm most people had packed up and gone. The show did not close until 4:30pm. They were ready to go by early that morning. So, my last five days in Manhattan I felt the mood changing as people were not sure what to do.
That last night at the Met Breuer as I walked the crowded floors of the museum enjoying the Gerard Richter Show before the opening to the public, I could hear in the corner’s members saying “I am really surprised they did not cancel this.” and “Could you believe this crowd with what’s going on?” It was like all of us knew this was the last night of “ballyhoo”.
All over the world people are banding together to contribute what they can and keep the human spirit alive by volunteering where they can and helping one another out. I know that between my work at the College and the Fire Department everyone has me running around and my spirit of volunteerism is never lacking.
So, to all my readers especially the ones who are displaced New Yorkers remember that New York City has seen it darker days in the past and has risen to overcome them. There is a real spirit in the City that is not replicated anywhere else in the world and we saw that in the 1970’s, 80’s 90’s and on 9/11 to current days.
That was until 1977 when we rediscovered that spirit and said “I LOVE New York!”
To cheer everyone up, I pulled the old campaign from YouTube from the dark days of the 1970’s and 80’s to show how the human spirit can overcome anything if we pull together. So, this special entry of “MywalkinManhattan” is dedicated to all of you who will never let that spirit die both here and where you live now. We will get through this!
After all “WE LOVE NEW YORK!”
The song that started it all:
The original campaign videos:
New York City after 9/11:
The Original Campaign videos from the 1980’s 1-5:
How the “I LOVE NEW YORK” campaign came about:
This excellent documentary was done by a New York High School student in 2006.
Songs that represent the true spirit of New York City:
Native New Yorker by Odyssey:
The Great Liza Minnelli singing the best version of “New York New York”
I wanted to thank you for following my blog, “MywalkinManhattan”. I hope you enjoy walking along side of me as I explore Manhattan block by block.
I will be on leave from the project of walking around the Island of Manhattan for right now. With the Coronavirus Disease situation hitting our country and the shutting down of services and cultural sites in New York City, there is no unnecessary travel into Manhattan at this time. So I will be stopping my walk for now until things get better.
I had just finished my walk around the International Restaurant Show last Tuesday, March 10th and then had a private members night at the Met Breuer that evening (Please see my VisitingaMuseum.com site) while I was on Spring Break from Bergen Community College where I work.
My updated blog on the International Restaurant Show at the Javis Center:
I was about to enter the Theater District on Wednesday when things started to shut down in New York City. I felt it was just safer to stay home at this time. By Friday, March 13th they did not want people coming into the City unless it became vital.
I was at the Met Breuer on March 10th, the last night before hell broke loose. We had a Private Members night for the opening of the Gerard Richter Show. Here is my write up of the museum on VistingaMuseum.com:
So I have been home updated the older blog entries of my walks and added more pictures and attachments to cultural site and restaurants. So please enjoy Days One through One Hundred and Fifty Nine of my walk around the Island of Manhattan while we wait for things to get better.
To all my readers, my best to all of you and your families at this tough time in our country and please stay safe.
Hours: There are free house tours at 10:30am, 12:00pm and 1:30pm on Mondays only. Check their website for availability. This is one of the few rare treats of New York if you can snare one of the tours of Gracie Mansion. It is a really interesting tour of the first floor rooms and entrance to the gardens of this historic home and the Mayor of New York City’s residence.
This was really a wonderful tour of the mansion given by a woman who has been a docent for twenty years and has seen the changes of the administrations. We went room by room and discussed how the Gracie’s then the Wheaton’s and the other families who lived here use the house until Robert Moses, the great City Planner, decided this should become the Mayor’s residence.
The front of the mansion at the start of the tour in the Summer of 2025
The formal gardens in front of the house in full bloom
The formal gardens to the side of the house near the parking lot
We started the tour on the front porch of the old Gracie Mansion
The tour consists of the first floor only and you can not take pictures inside with the exception of the Wagner Ballroom. We saw the formal entrance, the Living Room, Library, Dining Room and then the hallway leading to the front of the house to the Susan Wagner Ballroom, the newest extension of the house (the front section is the original section of the home built during the Gracie period).
The front rooms you are not allowed to take pictures so as you tour the Living Room, the Dining Room and Parlor rooms, you can not take pictures. When we left the older section of the home and entered the hallway to the Susan Wagner Ballroom added in the Wagner Administration, then you could take pictures in this room only (outside the gardens).
The inside of the Susan Wagner Ballroom
The Chandelier in the ballroom was from an old mansion downtown
The Bayard Fireplace from the Bayard Mansion once located in lower Manhattan
The Wagner Ballroom details
The corniches in the ballroom
History of the Mansion and Gracie Family:
Gracie Mansion, built in 1799 by shipping merchant Archibald Gracie, is the last of the elegant county estates that once lined Manhattan’s East River shore. Gracie hosted elegant dinner parties at his country estate for visitors including Alexander Hamilton, Rufus King, Joseph Bonaparte and Washington Irving.
Major losses during the years after the War of 1812 forced Gracie to sell his estate in 1823 to Joseph Foulke. In 1857, the Mansion was bought by Noah Wheaton. After Wheaton’s death in 1896, the City of New York appropriated the estate, incorporating ts 11 acres of grounds into the surrounding park that was renamed Carl Schurz Park in 1910.
After years as a comfort station and ice cream stand, Gracie Mansion became the first home of the Museum of the City of New York. When the museum moved to a larger building, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses convinced City Authorities to designate the Mansion as the official residence of the Mayor. In 1942, Fiorello H. La Guardia moved into Gracie Mansion.
In 1966, the Mansion was enlarged with the construction of the Susan E. Wagner Wing, which includes a ballroom and two additional rooms. Under the guidance of the Gracie Mansion Conservatory, major restorations to the Mansion were undertaken between 1981 and 1984 and in 2002.
The 2002 restoration transformed Gracie Mansion into the “People’s House” and increased accessibility to the public and City agencies. First Lady Rosalyn Carter and South African President Nelson Mandela are among the many notable visitors.
Gracie Mansion at the turn of the last century
Gracie Mansion is owned by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, operated by the Gracie Mansion Conservatory and is a member of the Historic House Trust.
(Gracie Mansion Pamphlet)
Gracie Mansion Conservatory:
After years of neglect and continual erosion of any trace of history, Mayor Edward I. Koch and founding Chair Joan K. Davison, established the Gracie Mansion Conservatory in 1981. as a public./private partnership.. Under its guidance, the first major restoration of the house was undertaken between 1981 and 1984. Besides creating a connection between the original house and the Wagner Wing, this effort included the display of art, furniture and decorative objects either purchased or more often, lent by the City’s many cultural institutions. The Charter mandate of the Conservatory was not to seal the residence in the past (especially as there is no record of how it originally appeared inside) but to protect its history while accommodating change and progress by successive generations of New Yorkers.
The Gracie Mansion Conservatory continues to operate as a charitable organization dedicated to enhancing and enlivening its namesake. Its mission is to preserve and honor Gracie Mansion’s Federal Period origins while also making sure it remains as forward-looking and welcoming as the city it serves. An increasing share of this work focuses on exploring the many different people and cultures whose contributions to Gracie Mansion and the New York at large gone unrecognized for far too long. The Conservatory also works to improve the surrounding landscape and gardens and provide public programming and educational services, including publications and tours for local school students, especially those studying in New York State’s 7th grade social studies curriculum.
(Gracie Mansion Conservatory pamphlet)
Disclaimer: This information was taken from the Gracie Mansion Conservatory pamphlet press kit given on my tour and I give the Conservatory full credit for it. Please check the website for tour information or call them to find out about group tours.
Hours: There are free house tours at 10:00am, 11:00am and 5:00pm on Mondays only. Check their website for availability. This is one of the few rare treats of New York if you can snare one of the tours of Gracie Mansion. It is a really interesting tour of the first floor rooms and entrance to the gardens of this historic home and the Mayor of New York City’s residence.
This was really a wonderful tour of the mansion given by one of the interns who worked for the Mayor. We started the tour in the extension Wagner Wing addition that was added in the 1960’s by the Wagner Administration. We saw the formal ballroom, library…
This amazing little hole in the wall restaurant is a the perfect retreat when visiting the Upper East Side shopping district or fighting the crowds at Bloomingdale’s. Like most of the non-descript Chinese restaurants that line the streets and avenues of Manhattan, Asian 59 stands out for its very friendly service, reasonable prices and excellent food.
When I was finishing my blog on walking the Upper East Side for my other blog, “MywalkinManhattan”, I had passed this restaurant several times and saw that it was very busy at lunch time and thought that last day in the neighborhood I would try it. I was very happy with the whole experience.
The first time I ate at Asian 59 was for lunch. Their lunch specials are extremely reasonable…
In honor of Small Business Saturday, I am featuring wonderful reasonable restaurants in New York City. The restaurant’s lunch specials are delicious and plentiful.
The food here is excellent! The Beef and String beans is wonderful.
East Garden Chinese Restaurant at 1685 First Avenue (Closed May 2024)
East Garden Chinese Restaurant is worth the special trip up the Q subway train or if you are going to the Metropolitan Art Museum and want a quick lunch. Their food is wonderful, perfectly cooked and full of flavor. The best part is that they have lunch specials that start at $5.95 that come with fried rice or white rice (you can add for an extra $1.00 Wonton, Egg Drop or Hot & Sour Soup). Their combination plates run between $8.75-$9.25 and include pork fried rice and an egg roll.
My first trip to the restaurant (See TripAdvisor for my review), I…
In honor of Small Business Saturday, I am featuring wonderful reasonable restaurants in New York City. Don’t miss this pizzeria’s lunch specials. They are excellent!
La Crosta Pizzeria at 436 East 72nd Street closed in 2022.
(The restaurant closed in January 2022 and is being replaced by another pizzeria named York Pizzeria).
York Avenue Pizza took over the spot but the prices are now double of what they once were when the old restaurant was open.
I came across La Crosta when I first started to walk the rim of the middle section of the Upper East Side for my blog, “MywalkinManhattan.com” and found it was hidden behind some scaffolding around the building that it is located in. I saw several people walking in and decided to take a peek at the menu. It was very nice, very reasonable and had a nice selection. Their reviews on both TripAdvisor, Google and Yelp were very encouraging so when I did the extensive walk of the Avenues and then the Streets of the neighborhood, I decided to try it for lunch a few times. I have to say…
In honor of Small Business Saturday, I am featuring wonderful restaurants that are reasonable in New York City. The burgers and sandwiches here are great.
My favorite is the Cheeseburger Deluxe meal
The Cheeseburger Deluxe with Fries and a Mexican Coke
Yum!
The prices and the service can’t be beat in this small Upper East Side restaurant.
I had passed Burger One a few times when visiting the Upper East Side and this little ‘hole in the wall’ restaurant was very busy feeding the locals who came in for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Their prices are amazing reasonable for all items (especially in a place like the Upper East Side) and they have a nice selection of items for all meals.
The first time I went to Burger One was the first day of walking the Avenues of the Upper East Side (See review on TripAdvisor). The place was humming along with people ordering their lunches and dinners and their delivery guy dashing in and out of the place.
I ordered a Cheeseburger Deluxe (which is a 8 ounce freshly scooped burger)…
mywalkinmanhattan 