NYC by Mouth

Did you ever spend an extended time with your grandparents as a kid? Like you were dropped off for a week or more during summer vacation? Well, I did. One of the things that struck me about "old poeple" at the time was how much they thought about food - planning, eating, discussing. Of course now-a-days, food is a huge topic in our lives, on TV, and in our cities. I also find myself thinking about trips and visits to places in terms of - "Which restaurant is the best for ____?" or "What should we do for dinner on the last night in town?"

It is with that in mind that I offer a list of foodstuffs that I had on a recent, two-night trip to NYC.
- 1 $17 dirty martini - I know, the price, but it's NYC... and it was good
- 1 hot-from-the-pan traditional English popover - this was pretty dang good and fun to try in "real-life" after seeing it on TV
- 1 wonderful, almost spring-like, Bib lettuce salad with a mustard vinagrette
- 1 hunk of NY strip steak - too crusty for my taste, but great sauces along with it
- 2 glasses of a very nice Malbec HERE
- 1/2 of a very simple and tasty Apple Tart with cinnamon ice cream
- 1 bite of a peanut-butter chocolate cake concoction that the table next to us insisted we try - no joke
- ~5 vodka-sodas (tonic has sugar you know)
- 1 egg, ham, potato & bagel breakfast delivered to the apartment - not a bad way to start the day
- 1 free, 2oz. Illy espresso HERE - who said NYC is expensive?
- 1 Gray's Papaya hot dog - well worth it and not too filling before actual dinner
- 1 not-so-good Moscow Mule - made with lemon. Bad juj-ju... visit Omaha for the real deal
- 3 nice tapas dishes - fresh, spicy sausage; smoked almonds; traditional Spanish tomato bread
- 1/2 of a Cornish game hen HERE - quite tasty, could have had crispier skin
- Mashed yaro root - alot like the most buttery mashed potatoes you ever had, but slightly stickier
- Oyster bread stuffing - not a fan of this fishy-ish flavored stuffing... and I like stuffing
- Really tasty fingerling potatoes at two different spots, and some french fries at one place too
- 2 glasses of a decent red wine
- 1 blueberry, pineapple juice, orange juice smoothie
- 2 glasses of fresh squeezed OJ, a great way to get your C
- 2 shots of unknown name, though we did see some flavored vodkas being poured in
- British breakfast HERE that included steamed eggs with herbs (very good!) and a scone with Devon ceam, also quite tasty
- 1 Vitamin Water at JFK - waaaay overpriced, but I needed the minerals & electrolytes

One thing surprises me - I had no beer during the whole trip. There are still some things I've not been able to sample in true NYC fashion, that I would love to try - pastrami or corned beef at a traditional deli (Carnigie or Katz'), the hearty grub at Vaselka's, Montreal BBQ from one place in NYC that serves it, and I'm sure the list could go on...