Day 6 2/5/09 - USA

Buffalo -> New York

Highlight

• Got up really early to catch my flight, but everything went smoothly and there was no delay.
• I decided to catch the Air Train instead of the local bus since East NY is supposed to be a rough area so it was best not to look like a tourist there.
• The subway system was so antiquated, even worst than London or Sydney. They don’t have indicator boards telling you where the trains are going and when the next train is. The signs for the station are really small and you can’t see, and the subway is dirty and old.
• Somehow I was on some express service (that I didn’t know about) and it didn’t stop at the station I wanted, so I had to back paddle and wasted 20 minutes in the process, since the subway was so infrequent.
• Took 1.5 hours to get to Helen’s place, and costs me $9.
• We hung around her apartment and met her flatmate and generally caught up. We were waiting for her friend to come and meet us and for that horrible rain to die down before we went out.
• Well, we didn’t end up heading out until 3pm, and by that time it seemed the sun has decided to come out. This also meant that there was a huge line of people who just seemed to have materialised to go to the Cherry Blossom Festival in the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.
• Before we joined the huge line, we stopped off to pick up some delicious The Jamaican takeaway of jerk chicken and a huge pile of rice.
• We waited in line for ½ hour, but found out we could have skipped it with our employee free pass.
• Finally we were able to witness a whole swamp of weirdos all dressed up in manga character, people in kimonos, and every mum dad and dog all admiring the cherry blossoms that were in full bloom.
• Stopped by the street trolley for some “Italian ice” and then took the long subway ride out to dinner.
• Dressler was very busy, and we were squashed into a little space. I was not that impressed with the menu as it was very typical American and not at all imaginative. I ended up having 2 entrees as I was still full from my 3pm lunch. The food though was excellent, especially the smoky sauce in my ribs.
• We finished pretty early since there was another table after us and we were absolutely stuffed.
• Went to hang out at the Lower East Side, first to Mason Dixon, the only bar in NYC with a mechanical bull. We watched for 2 hrs everyone getting on and getting thrown off.
• Then off to Fat Baby, another bar on the hip Rivington St area, where I had a beer and we got chatted up by a bunch of weirdos.
• Called it a night around 12:30, and then had to take a long subway ride home, so I didn’t sleep until 2am.

Food

• raisin bagel with cream cheese
• hot chocolate
• The Islands lunch:
  • jerk chicken, a Jamaican delight. Spicy delicious chicken baked with this unique combination of spices from the island, rice and beans, mixed vegetables ($10)
  • plantains ($3)
• rainbow Italian ice
• Dressler dinner:
  • BBQ St Louis Ribs ($14)
  • Bourbon Glaze Pan Roasted Diver Scallops ($15) – Stoneround Grits, Salsify, Wild Mushrooms and White Truffle Oil
  • Troegs Hop Back Amber Ale ($7)
• Blue Light beer