I’ve been walking around the city a lot lately. Last Sunday was the first time I felt the city was back.
Compared to the chilling days of last winter, with its empty streets and playgrounds, last Sunday was positively bustling.
My afternoon started with a D ride to the Village, past the line outside Famous Joe’s Pizza on Carmine, and a stop to try on a Panama hat at Goorin Brothers on Bleecker. Yes, this is the way I get through February – shopping for summer hats in the dead of winter.
Next, I made my way past diners in plastic enclosures (remember the ‘70s Boy in the Plastic Bubble?) to the marvelously old-school Porto Rico Importing Co. (GR7-5421, it still says, on their coffee bags), where I purchased two pounds of coffee and a box of English Breakfast tea bags. My only regret is that I forgot to pick up a couple of Hopjes coffee candies as I walked out the door.
After, I continued across Bleecker to Broadway and Bloomingdale’s for a lipstick purchase and stop at the restroom (they only way these long walks around town are doable).
The highlight of the afternoon came when I met my husband and dear friend Jonathan in the basement of New Kam Man Grocery in Chinatown. Downstairs we browsed the aisles of lovely, patterned dishware and chose a charming tea pot with a massive rooster on it. Upstairs, we made our way by the Pocky shelf and the Wasabi peas. And my husband, who loves nothing more than a dried mushroom, purchased an enormous pillow-sized bag of them. After, we walked towards Hong Kong Supermarket, a massive – for Chinatown -- store on two floors on Hester Street. Oh, the offerings…who knew you could get the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese sauce in a jar – by Ragu! Or my favorite toffee, Almond Roca, which they were out of at Kam Man, on sale. But the best part? Hands down -- the music. The Mandarin version of “Oh! Susanna” nearly killed us.
Later, we made our way to Ferrara, in Little Italy, where we ordered coffee, tea, and pastries and stood outside on Grand Street, chatting and watching the world go by. Was it possible? Yes, there was an elderly woman sitting by her second-story open window across the street, watching the world, as well.
It could not have been a more delightful afternoon, made all the better by the fact that New Yorkers were participating in that life-affirming activity of being out and about.