i had three separate people tell me junior’s cheesecake was the best evar! if three people independently tell me that, it must really be. i had located my theatre for my matinée play and lo and behold! it was right across from junior’s. (the one in brooklyn is the original, i believe. but these guys had the cheesecake too!) my plan had been to watch play, go to grimaldi’s in brooklyn for pizza, back to this junior’s for dessert, then rockafeller building for view of the city. but since it was right here and it had been a while since i’d eaten breakfast at this point, why not? and so i ate cheesecake. mmm! extremely creamy. i was indeed impressed.
walked around a little more. picked up a copy of the new york post and read it for a while. see what i did there? i bought an actual newspaper! paper! to all my newspaper people out there, you’re welcome.
ok, time for play. lend me a tenor was definitely the best choice. i considered wicked, but the seating choices when i was purchasing tickets weren’t the best. i did get great seats for this performance though. anthony lapaglia, tony shalhoub, and justin barthaentertained! all the characters were cast very well, actually. and for his first play, stanley tucci came out strong. it was slapstick, layers of misunderstanding, and singing delivered like clockwork. too bad this show closes in august.
after this since i’d already had my cheesecake, i was ready for some pizza. the sky has been overcast since i had left the hotel. i jumped on the train and headed for brooklyn again. when i stepped out of the station, it started to rain, slowly at first, and then it picked up. i ended up waiting for a few moments under an awning and asked for more specific directions to grimaldi’s. after the water let up, i walked up to a line which didn’t seem to be moving. i heard a local girl walking up the street telling her friend the people wait in line two hours for pizza there. two hours?! rain might start up again, i was already wet on the outside from the first shower and was already sweating on the inside from the humidity. i decided two hours of dripping even more not worth it.
i walked around looking for another pizza place in brooklyn. i came across a fire station and asked the locals for a good spot. after a bit of asking among themselves, they recommended lombardi’s in little italy. back on a train. found lombardi’s but they only take cash. didn’t have enough on me for dinner, so after an hour of trying to figure out my pin to my credit card online, i finally gave up. i was running out of time to make it rockafeller.
i got there in time to see the sun set from the top of the rock, as the event is billed. my empire state building experience was hazy compared to what i was able to enjoy here.
after spending some time high above, it was time to find a missing dinner below. when i reached the bottom, i asked one of the guards where a good place for pizza was. she directed me to ray’s in times square for fresh pies. i found it. i had three slices. three honking big new york slices. and i was very full. and i decided that i was going to walk back to the hotel since i was so full. and so i did. twenty-five blocks uptown past central park, past lincoln center, past a good part of the city. took me a while, not sure how long, but i was ready for bed when i got there.
good night, new york.
>> day 5
