Fast Food

Image via Wikipedia

I must admit that I am a little spoiled.  Where I work in midtown Manhattan, there are at least three of every type of restaurant and deli.  You can grab a quick meal to eat in one of the public spaces on a sunny afternoon, or you can dine in luxury with an entire wait staff at your beck and call.

My favorite lunch, though, is the street food.  The lunch trucks that occupy every corner for blocks around offer such treats as bagels and coffee, gyros, Middle eastern, and South-of-the-Border.  Quite a few of them have been named in Zagats 2011 (and proudly display that fact on the side of the wagon).

Street food was not born here, but it was certainly thrown into the limelight and taken to new heights here.  With very few exceptions, it wasn’t until a few years ago that all I could purchase from a street vendor outside of New York was a hot dog, a sandwich, or perhaps a burrito. 

Things have certainly changed since then.  The Food Network has an entire show dedicated to the street food vendor, and the types of food being served has expanded exponentially.  I think it’s great!  Now I can sample a new dish without committing a lot of time or money to it. And, if I happen not to like it all that much, there is always someone at my office who is willing to take it off my hands.

Everyone has a favorite street food.  Mine happens to be the grilled chicken and rice with yogurt and hot sauce from the truck on 54th Street.  I don’t know what they do to it, but is far superior to anything I have ever cooked at home.  Some days, when at a loss as to what to cook for dinner, I bring a couple of dishes home (and hope I don’t get mugged for it on the train).

Do you have a favorite street food? Inquiring minds want to know.

Enter the World of Magic

Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr

The final installment in the Harry Potter movie series opened today.  According to the morning news reports in NY, there were so many people waiting in line for the midnight showing that the theater had to have a 3:00am show to accomodate them all.  Not only that, tickets are sold out for the next two weeks.  Early estimates put Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 as the highest grossing opening weekend ever.

All this fuss for a boy with a magical wand.

I think everyone should have a magic wand and I am turning mine on all of you.  The tables are turned and you get to voice your point of view today. If you just acquired a magic wand, what would you use it for?

Looking forward to your comments …

What It Means to be a New Yorker

For anyone who grew up or lived in NYC (or wish that they did):

There is no north and south, it’s Uptown or Downtown, and east or west is Cross-town.

You know how to make an egg cream.

You ride in a subway car with no air conditioning just because there are seats available.

You take the train home and you know exactly where on the platform the doors will open that will leave you right in front of the exit stairway.

You know what a regular coffee is.

It’s not Manhattan, it’s The City.

You cross the street anywhere but on the corners and you yell at cars for not respecting your right to do it.

You move 3,000 miles away, spend 10 years learning the local language and people still know you’re from the Bronx, Brooklyn, or Long Island, the minute you open your mouth.

You return after 10 years and the first foods you want are a real pizza from Denino’s or Joe & Pats, and a real bagel.

A 500 square foot apartment is large.

You are not under the mistaken impression that a human being should be able to understand a PA announcement on the subway.

You get ready to order dinner every night and must choose from the major food group menus: Chinese, Italian, Mexican or Indian.

You’re not the least bit interested in going to Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

Your internal clock is permanently set to know when alternate side of the street parking is in effect.

You know what (and where) a bodega is.

Someone bumps into you and you check for your wallet.

You don’t even notice the lady walking down the street having a perfectly normal conversation with herself.

You pay only $230 a month to park your car.

You cringe at hearing people pronounce Houston Street like the city in Texas. 

The presidential visit is a major traffic jam, not an honor.

You can nap on the subway and never miss your stop.

The deli guy gives you a straw with any beverage you buy, even if it’s a beer.

That, my friend, is being a New Yorker!