Day 271
Today we had a full day of eating planned. We bundled up Simon in this little suit that I bought at Ross. See, a great place for inexpensive and useful things. This was only $15 vs regular price of $50 and cute too!
First stop, lunch at Katz’s Deli. It’s a bit confusing to order though. When you walk in, each adult gets a ticket and you’re supposed to go to the grill and order there. Apparently each person has their own line so just wait at the shortest one. I think each person can do all the things (sandwiches and drinks) but I didn’t know that so had to go back and find someone to make me a drink. After you finish eating, you have to bring your ticket with to pay. The person who helped you will write the price of your item on the back of the ticket. If each guest does not return a ticket, the missing ticket will be charged $50!
Their famous pastrami Reuben sandwich served with lots of pickles, some salty and some too sour. Yes the pastrami was delicious but wow, this is an expensive sandwich! $16!
A new york egg cream (chocolate syrup, milk, and a spritz of seltzer) for $3.50
The foamy top. They also make it with vanilla syrup. It was refreshing but I prefer the Vietnamese egg soda.
After lunch, we took the subway to the Staten Island Ferry. It’s free so you can ride it all the day long if you like. It doesn’t get that close to the Statue of Liberty but close enough. Ron’s brother William met up with us at Katz’s Deli so took over planning the rest of our day.
Hello Lady Liberty!
There wasn’t much to do on Staten Island so we just waited until it returned back to NYC and caught the subway to Chinatown.
We had a bite to eat at Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant.
The place was packed but people were in and out really fast. We sat at a round table where we had to share with another group of three so Simon was able to be sleep in his stroller underneath the table.
Th dumplings were very juicy and nice thin skin. We only shared 2 orders of dumplings (8 each) so that we would have room for additional “lunch”.
As we left the restaurant, we walked by a vendor selling eggettes. Nice and chewy!
Next stop, Lombardi’s Pizza, America’s First Pizzeria.
We had to wait about 25 minutes for a table even though it was like 2pm. We ordered their standard magherita pizza with sausage on top. The sauce was fresh and light. The cheese were slices instead of being shreds.
Simon had his first bite of pizza with some sauce and cheese. He looks like he enjoyed it, doesn’t he?
After pizza, we went back to our hotel to have a nap before going out for dinner. After we woke up, we bundled up again to find the Halal Guys. Here is Ron and Simon at our hotel. It has been a great location to the subways and within walking distance to Times Square, Fifth Avenue, and Rockefeller Square.
All warm and cozy.
The Halal Guys line on the corner of 53rd St and 6th Ave, across the street from the Hilton. There are two other Halal Guys carts that have no lines but we didn’t know for sure until Ron asked the guy at this line. Apparently the other two carts are more for locals since they know it’s the same but tourists aren’t as trusting or else they just want the experience of waiting in line.
We ordered two combination plates and almost finished both! The meats are lamb and chicken plus some rice, fresh veggies, and some pita bread. You add our own hot sauce and white sauce. The hot sauce was hot! It hits you in the back of the throat. The white sauce was sort of like ranch sauce… but different and very yummy. It’s quite addicting so that’s why we couldn’t stop eating. Simon liked the chicken and pita bread.
After dinner, we walked to Rockefeller Center to check out the tree and ice skating rink. The tree lighting would be on Tuesday evening right after we leave.
Near the ice rink, in view of the huge tree.
Back at the hotel, Simon was quite energetic since he had a nap and because of the time difference. There’s not much room for him to move about in the hotel room except for on the bed or inside his crib. We put him inside his crib so he proceeds to stand up and look around for something to do. Here he decides the remote control is what he wants. It makes me laugh to hear him exerting so much energy to try to grab the remote control.