The Big Apple
When we arrived, we sat at our hotel window on the 40th floor, opened a magnum of De Grendel Shiraz (we Saffers always find some way to bring our own wine, don’t we?) and took in the sights and sounds of Midtown New York City: the noise of police sirens, people shouting in the streets, buskers still singing Christmas carols and the flashing lights of the huge billboards on Broadway. Within minutes of stepping out into Times Square, Adrian managed to spend $60, falling into every tourist trap you can think of, including snapping a $20 pic with Spiderman and Batman for my superhero-loving nephew. We quickly realised we were going to have to reassess our spending!
At 3 am the next morning, we found ourselves wide awake, our bodies still on South African time. So we headed out to take some photos (like photographers do) and to search for an open Starbucks. Cameras in hand, we started a walkabout, snapping pics and competing to see who could take the best shots.
Quick history lesson here: The island of Manhattan was bought from Native Americans for jewellery that was valued at $24 in 1626. Between 1892 and 1954, millions of immigrants arrived in New York Harbour, passing through Ellis Island to become US citizens. It’s estimated that up to 40% of Americans can trace at least one ancestor to that port of entry.
Our wandering led us to the NYC Flower Market. While shop owner Edwin Rodrigues got ready for his delivery, he chatted to us about the gentrification of the area. He came to New York 65 years ago from Puerto Rico, and the only reason he is still operating his business, he says, is because he owns the building. ‘Those big buildings… every floor was flowers. Now, they knock them down and build little hotels all over the place. They’re all standing empty now since Covid!’
We made our way to the Hudson River where New Yorkers like to walk their tiny dogs wearing slippers matching their owners’ coats – partly to keep their feet warm, partly to give them some grip on the slippery streets, and partly because ‘New York’s streets are dirty!’ We got on to the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and the city
skyline glow in the early-morning light, and we managed to tick off something on Adrian’s must-see list by complete coincidence: the warship Intrepid was docked near the ferry exit, on the Manhattan side.
By that time, the cafés were finally opening, so we stopped at UT47 for breakfast. This hip Korean fusion café has the most interesting menu and hot drinks. I tried the mermaid latte with butterfly pearls (still not sure why it’s blue, to be honest… I think there’s a reason why not much food and not many drinks are blue), and Adrian had a green matcha latte.
That evening, we made our way to the trendy Greenwich Village neighbourhood to go to the famous Smalls Jazz Club. Named for its diminutive size, this iconic little basement club seats only 20 to 30 people, so you get up close and personal with the artists. It has shows at 7.30 pm, 9 pm, 10.30 pm and midnight, and by all accounts you’re in for ‘the best jazz you’ll hear in your life’. We ended up seeing Grammy-nominated jazz drummer and composer Otis Brown III and his quartet.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped off for a cheap and tasty dinner: a hot dog and papaya juice at Papaya Dog, made famous by the late Anthony Bourdain.
At the Natural History Museum the next day, I was blown away by the dinosaur bones, but we skipped over the African exhibition; I didn’t come to New York to see a stuffed gemsbok, thank you very much!
We stopped at The Smith for lunch. Their mac-and-cheese is a cut above the rest, and the portions in the US are so consistently huge that Adrian and I often ended up sharing. The cocktails here are legendary. This is not a restaurant you visit when your budget is blown: it’s a whopping $15 for a cocktail, but we bit the bullet and ordered a Manhattan each. When in Rome…