After lunch we headed up to the Hispanic Society. Maxima's mention of it further up in this thread had put it to the front of my mind and several people including TDudette had described or recommended it here on Fodors.

Well it was another excellent Fodorite suggestion. I'm sure all these people would have checked the opening hours, or combined it with other attractions in the area like the Morris Jumel Mansion, but as is fairly typical for us we decided to go at the last minute, rocked up 45 minutes before closing (with no clue) and ran around like maniacs! It really is a rather charming find. The building is very Nineteenth century, neo-classical, "European grandeur" but when you get inside it it has great charm and is wonderfully unrenovated, you could go as far as to say it is shabby but perhaps a better word is underfunded. The place was empty apart from one young girl, the museum guards and a chap trying to move the spotlights with a long pole, he may have been the curator.

The Museum is described on the website as "A free museum and reference library for the study of the arts and cultures of Spain, Portugal, and Latin America." We were drawn there particular to see their Goya (which was of course on loan as these things always are when you pick them out ;)) and the Sorolla murals. However we found a trove of Spanish paintings as well as ceramic galleries, furniture and more. Clearly we need to go back as we didn't have enough time to explore. It is extremely easy to get to as it is right around the corner from the 157th Street subway and very much worth the visit. It really is a pity this place isn't better known.

SueNYC had mentioned the Audubon Society's mural project in upper Manhattan (thanks Sue) in the planning thread for this trip and so we decided to have a walk around broadway to see some of the murals, many of which are on the sides of buildings, tucked in corners, or on the metal shutters shops pull down at night. It was a lovely little walk and we took the next subways stop back.

https://www.audubon.org/news/the-audubon-mural-project

That was probably enough for one day but of course there was more. Some days I manage almost nothing but when I get going it's hard to stop me! I've put all sorts of talks, tours as assorted misecellanea in my online calendar and sure enough there was a talk at the American Museum of Folk Art only minutes from the 66th St subway which we were going right past.

Progol had (thanks!) given us a heads up about their current exhibit, "Art Brut in America: The Incursion of Jean Dubuffet" and we were keen to see it. We are fans of Dubuffet's work which we have sought it out particularly in Paris where he is well represented in public collections and where we've visited his foundation.

http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2013/...ion-paris.html

Anyway the Folk Art Museum's show was all new stuff for us as it is a collection of Art Brut collected by DuBuffet and others. This is what we might call "outsider art" mostly art collected and created by those in psychiatric institutions from the 1920's to 1960s. It was very interesting to see and you could certainly see stylistic influence. The talk "Behind the Scenes: Reminiscences of Dubuffet and Ossorio" was well attended and reminded me that NY is a city that has many art collectors as well as dealers. We skipped the post lecture schmooze fest and headed to Grey's Papaya for a couple of hot dogs!

I think American Folk Art Museum is well worth keeping an eye on and they have an interesting program of free music in the galleries too.
http://folkartmuseum.org

Having just moved here, I'm loving your report! :)

You're hitting some great restaurants (and I think your review bumped Juni up my "must try" short list a bit)! Also, if you're a foodie, check out some of the new food hall concepts that have opened up -- Urban Space by Grand Central is pretty cool (if a dollar or two more expensive than it should be for everything) and the food hall at Brookfield Place downtown is really neat! Keep it coming! :)

See you made the Hispanic Society and the Murals so you can ignore those in the email I just sent to your blog address but all of you should head to the Society of Illustrators. The Children's book art exhibit and their book sale are superb AND although they haven't updated their website, lunch is now A La Carte and reasonable and the exhibit in the dining room is pretty cool. I just had dessert at the bar because I was heading to the Strand Bookstore to get a couple of gift cards.

I also saw this quirky exhibit in a gallery on the Upper East Side - Well worth a short visit if you are in the neighborhood.

http://www.thejewishweek.com/arts/mu...igns-came-life

A Guide Named Sue

SueNYC - thanks for the recommendations.

Bostonblondie226 - glad you are following along too and thanks for the foodie tips I'll check them out. I seem to remember your "mother and daughter" reports which were Fodor's classics and absolutely hysterical if I'm not mistaken!

wtb- not sure if you know Linda Fairsteins books but that's where I learn so much about New York eg William Jumel mansion . She takes her characters behind the scenes in so many places . The books are fiction and her character is a Manhattan DA based on her own life experiences in that field.

Northie, thanks for the recommendation. I love it when you learn about a place from reading fiction! I'll check out the author.

OK - we've been pretty busy with a friend who is in town and tomorrow he is taking us on a tour of the Bronx where he grew up. I was in Arthur Avenue on a food tour years ago (I really recommend this) and went to the Botanical Gardens - but anything else will be new to me and I'm looking forward to it.

MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NY
I love this place, they often have good exhibits and the current shows were interesting to me. Yesterday I went by and saw three small but engaging shows; one on Landmark Preservation, one on social reformer and phtographer Jacob Ris and the one I found most interesting which was on Affordable Housing.
The later may sounds dull as dishwater but to me it's a fascinating topic, but then I'm interested in city planning, space, urban development etc.. It seems everywhere I turn in London, NY and California there's the same conversation about "gentrification" and rental rates. In the Bay Area entire neighborhoods are being completely remade and things seems to be changing faster than one can keep up with. So affordable housing seems seems very au courant. It's particularly interesting because NY has a very unique history of building and managing a whole range of different types of "affordable" housing from public housing through to middle income limited equity buildings. As someone who's just learning about all this it was interesting to see how the state has moved from building and managing housing to subsidizing developers through a range of incentives.


Anyway I really liked this exhibit but I guess it's for the enthusiast as it was very quiet when I was there. The exhibit had some interesting promotional films from the 1950's showing how public housing was seen to be a vast improvement from tenement conditions and I really liked a contemporary video where people who lived, or were raised in public housing, spoke about their experiences. When we head up to the Bronx tomorrow we'll be visiting the housing development my friend's parents moved into in 1935, and where he was raised, so it's a great tie in!

Today we ate lunch at Red Rooster in Harlem (see below for review) and afterwards took a tour of the COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY campus and St John the Divine with a friend. It was lovely to see Columbia with someone who went there and I was quite taken with the core of the campus. Standing on the pedestrian bridge over Amsterdam Ave gives you an extraordinary view both down and up town. I hadn't expected it to have retained such a campus feel right in the middle of the city and it is a very attractive urban space.

ST JOHN THE DIVINE - I was equally pleased to have made it up here too and the church was so much larger and more impressive than I had expected- which speaks to my ignorance only! It may not have the age of the European cathedral but it has the scale and this surprised me. I loved the Christmas tree decorated with origami birds. They haven't put out their nativity yet, but there were quite a number of interesting art installations dealing with food throughout. It was unusual for me to see installations in the small chapels but nice to see a church engaging progressively with ideas through art.

A couple of restaurant recommendations:

CHOP SHOP II (Chelsea) I liked this place on 24th. Yes the music is too loud but the food was great and it's reasonably priced. Good Asian food (Chines and Thai with some other influences) in a modern setting packed with people who like it too. It's a small place so you'll need a reservation in peak hours

http://www.chop-shop.co/flatiron/

BLOSSOM RESTAURANT (Chelsea) - For anyone who is interested in a vegan place we liked this place in Chelsea. It was good solid vegan food without being highly innovative. I'm not so keen on the "fake meat" preparations but I really liked what I ordered which was a tower of vegetables in a yellow tomato puree. It's worth noting the helpings are huge and we were glad we shared a quinoa salad between the three of us! Incidentally it's also kosher if that's something you're looking for too.

http://www.blossomnyc.com/chelsea/

RED ROOSTER (Harlem) - Marcus Samuelson's comfort food restaurant is somewhere we've been meaning to make it to since we arrived, but reservations are something you'll need if you want to come in the evening. The website say just drop by but apparently it's a total scene and often mobbed with people. Luckily we swung by after 2pm today and walked right in though the dining room was pretty crowded. If you're going to swing by for a letter lunch it's worth knowing it goes till 3:30pm.

We went for the whole fried chicken which is served with macaroni and cheese, waffles, biscuits and all the fixings. It's described as being for two but it was far too much food for three of us. Infact if you added a veggie side it would be PLENTY for four! The chicken was excellent, so juicy and delicious and the mac and cheese was incredible along with the cornbread. I don't really want to think about the calorific content and thankfully I won't be having a cholesterol test for a while! The quality and presentation of everything was great and we'll definitely be back, perhaps to try the lunch prix fixe.

http://redroosterharlem.com/about/

Before I forget I wanted to give PAPER BULLETS at the Atlantic Theatre company an unexpected thumbs up. This was rather an unlikely choice for us as we're not really musical fans but then this isn't really a musical. It's more an over the top comedy with musical numbers. Imagine Much Ado About Nothing bastardized into a comedy about the fab four with an ironic feel and a wonderful revolving set. There are so many in-jokes; Shakespearean jokes and puns (and jokes on the authorship question) British jokes and references and lots of jokes and parallels for for Beatles fans. If this all sounds too much -along with pseudo Beatles style musical numbers performed live on stage and written by Billie Joe Armstrong from GreenDay- you should steer clear.

I'm astonished to say we liked it. It is very over-the-top but we found it fun and entertaining - though my brother-in-law wasn't impressed.I'd read online reviews where people found it hard to follow- not sure I get that? Or that they didn't understand the point of one set of characters - I guess they're not used to the Shakespearean comic sub-plot, or that the in-jokes were obvious - believe me most of the Beatles reference my husband got went right over my head, so maybe I'm the dope here. Though I'm certain there were lots of in-Shakespeare jokes people weren't getting.

Yes, the second act is a little too long and they could cut some of it but I really liked the performances and the direction - which gave the whole thing a flat rather absurd feel. I had no idea Justin Kirk was in it and I though he was great in this and in Weeds - where he played the hysterical but hopeless brother-in-law. We went because we saw Billie Joe Armstrong's American Idiot in Berkeley (where it premiered )as part of a season subscription and we thought it would be fun to see his next effort as it was playing nearby.
TIP: If it sounds interesting I'd recommend looking out for the BACK 20 $20 tickets.

https://atlantictheater.org/playeven...epaperbullets/

One last recommendation for today....
A CONTEMPORARY ART TOUR OF CHELSEA

One of the things we always intend to do in NY is to walk around the commercial galleries particularly in Chelsea. So much of the NY art scene is outside the museums but we rarely make it into smaller private galleries. I don't keep up with the reviews and there's nothing worse than wandering into a number of awful contemporary art shows. I know there's good stuff out there but the question is where to start?

A good start seemed to be to take a group walking tour and Merrily Kerr's name was the one that kept coming up, plus she had great reviews on Tripadvisor. I HIGHLY recommend her. We took a two hour walk this morning and she ran it even though we were the only ones who signed up for the scheduled tour, which was very nice for us. It was such a delight to have her guide us through the galleries and to have someone to talk to about the pieces, the context and the artists. Often contemporary art can be baffling and I really enjoyed having someone to help you grapple with it. She had an iPad loaded with additional pictures and she discussed the new architecture of the neighborhood too which was interesting.

Best of all she was knowledgable, unpretentious, friendly and engaging. The scheduled tours are affordable too. We saw a real range of works from photography to sculpture, paintings, video installations and "outsider art". She took us to large loft like gallery spaces and smaller galleries on higher floors. You would need to know some of these places were there and we wouldn't have seen( or learnt) as much if we had gone on our own. However, the experience has encouraged us to seek out some more places to see - hopefully before we leave NY.

If this sounds interesting I highly recommend checking out her weekly tours.

http://newyorkarttours.com/merrily_k..._art_tours.htm

I'm not really sure how to describe yesterday's day out. Suffice it to say we were on a NOSTALGIA TRIP TO THE BRONX with an old friend. Our day began at 11am and ended a 10pm. Yes, that's 11 hours touring the Bronx! It was one of those mad, crazy days where you do too much and spend most of the day in a kind of giddy hysteria - that happens to other people too - right?

My friend grew up in the Bronx and we spent the day revisiting his haunts. Given that he is in his late sixties all you need to know is that we were going back decades. It was fascinating and gave me a real sense for the diversity of the Bronx. This may be among the poorest urban boroughs in the US but it's also a diverse place with wealthy neighborhoods, people from all over the world and a contrasting urban and undeveloped parkland character. Where else could you go from the beach to the projects, and from a river view estate (Wave Hill) to watch the filming of a rap video all in one day?!!

While the common denominator may be the Bronx it's also our friend who is incredibly open and meets people wherever he goes. He says this sort of stuff happens when he's with us, but we only have these sort of mad days when we are with him. Perhaps it's a weird synergy but whatever it is we always have fun.

Details to follow....

@WTB - Thanks for your compliments! :) Just finished another Mother / Daughter adventure trip around Europe in October, so will have to find time to write a report about it one of these days, probably when the temperature drops (if it ever drops!). :)

Glad you liked Red Rooster. I've been a few times and find it always worth the trip!

Keep it coming and looking forward to reading more about the Bronx! :)

What a wealth of ideas and information! I would love to stay in New York for longer than the weekend I occasionally give it. Sounds like you are taking full advantage of the opportunity.

Thanks Nikki and BostonBlondie!

OK back to THE BRONX...A huge sign for a Trump Golf Course,as we came off the bridge, was not what I was expecting to welcome us to the Bronx, but there it was nonetheless. However, we were not stopping and we headed straight for City Island followed by Orchard Beach. Who know the Bronx had islands and beaches? I'm charmed already.

City Island -where we thought of the late Oliver Sacks, a previous resident- was like all seaside towns in the winter, a little empty and perhaps a little grey, but a lobster roll wrapped up to go was an ample reward! I can imagine it's packed here on a summer weekend. It's a small island with a small town charm and it's hard to believe you are still in New York City.

From here we drove on to ORCHARD BEACH. Despite the fact that it was December people were out playing racket ball, walking their dogs, or even barbecuing! As you can tell the weather has been incredibly mild. Our friend told stories about going to the beach in the 1950's and we imagined what Robert Moses' grand pavilion looked like when it was newly built. It is interesting to see the facilities that were developed for working people to enjoy local days outs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/re...the-bronx.html

After the beach we headed to what was formerly known as Hillside Homes in the northern Bronx passing Coop City - one of the large housing developments featured in the Affordable Housing show at the Museum of the City of NY. I guess most tourists don't make it to this part of the Bronx and the residents were amiable, particularly when they heard this was where my friend grew up. People were curious and one guy even hung out of his window to ask what we were doing! This is still a working class community and though it was beset by enormous problems in the 80's and 90's things are looking somewhat better, though rising rents are displacing those who don't make enough to qualify as very low income. Today it's mainly a Black neighborhood and it continues to have an immigrant character (as in my friend's day ) with immigrants now predominantly from the Caribbean.

You could see these changing and intersecting histories at the local synagogue which is now an Evangelical church. We stopped outside and talked to two Jamaican guys who were hanging out. Apparently all the stained glass was still there from the synagogue and we were welcome to go in and check it out. It was so interesting to see, an evangelical church where each window was engraved with the names of the Jewish congregants, one immigrant group replaced by another.

After our nostalgia tour it was time to see the another facet of the Bronx and we headed to the wealthy enclave of RIVERDALE via Greenwood Cemetery where we saw a posse of wild turkeys - really a wildlife sighting in the Bronx, how did they escape Thanksgiving?!! Riverdale was as far from the public housing we'd just visited as you can get in the borough. Some of the domestic architecture was extraordinary and there are historic homes the size of small hotels. We headed to the house and gardens at WAVE HILL where a beautiful view over the Hudson was the reward. This must be a stunning place in the spring when you can see the gardens at their best.

https://www.wavehill.org

By the time we left Wave Hill it was getting dark and I wasn't sure how much more we'd be able to see but none of that was going to stop our friend who had been providing a running commentary all day, here was the Amalgamated Homes built by one of the unions and there was the Hall of Fame at Bronx City College which used to be the engineering school of NYC before it relocated downtown. We were seeing the entire borough through a kind of historic geography, where everything came with an explanation of what is used to be or even who used to live there.

It was dark when we ended up at the new pedestrian HIGH BRIDGE that links Harlem and the Bronx. I was glad to be there as I very much wanted to see it after reading about the opening this summer in the Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/10/ny...-40-years.html
There was no parking but that wasn't going to stop our friend, no he just pulled up on the pavement and put on his blinkers. In his case "coming from the Bronx" means not worrying too much about the rules. While I worried the rental car would be towed he was completely unconcerned.

In the dark the bridge was empty with the exception of a largish group of young men hanging around smoking pot. The view of the lights on, and from, the bridge was beautiful and I'd love to come back during the day to see the full view over the river. The bridge don't have the plantings you see at the High Line but it's a lovely site nonetheless. As we walked back to the car past the large group we realized they weren't just enjoying the view, they were filming a rap video and now we were in the background! I could almost hear the camera man going, "Damn it, where did those old white people come from?!!" If only I knew anything about music perhaps I could tell you the name of the group but unfortunately I don't ;).

By now we'd already experienced about five days out rolled into one but the Bronx still had more to offer as we sped down to the Edgar Allen Poe cottage. Unfortunately the gate was already padlocked and the place was closed, well it was closed until my husband talked them into opening it by reciting "The Raven" from memory, who says poetry doesn't pay! Apparently we were all infected by the" don't take no for an answer" Bronx attitude and we kept meeting friendly people we were going along with it all too!
http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/poe...monuments/1194


At this stage we drove into Manhattan and collapsed over dinner somewhere near Hamilton Heights. A phone call was made and apparently some kids of friends were joining us, though in our exhausted state I can't imagine we were very good company. Thank God they were newly weds and therefore focused on each other! Driving back to Chelsea we drove by Grant's Tomb which was impressive enough for me to glance lazily at it from the back of the car.

I'm not sure any of this is even relevant to anyone else. What can I say, the Bronx is a fascinating and diverse borough and there's a magic in following someone else's nostalgia - particularly when it leads you to see parts of a city you wouldn't necessarily think to visit. But but if someone tries to take you on their trip to the Bronx don't sign up for the eleven hour version of the tour!

A few more things before I forget...

We were back at the Museum of the City of New York for a talk on Landmark Preservation last night and I have to say I love this museum and their wonderful program of public programs.

This afternoon I was at the METROPOLITAN looking at Renaissance paintings as part of the lecture series I'm following from the Great Courses. I always forget what a wonderful collection of paintings they have at the Met and it was blissfully quiet up there this afternoon. It isn't a great place to follow things chronologically as you have to skip from room to room as much of the collection is arranged geographically. However, I loved a comparison made of a Raphael altar piece with the Virgin Mary as a queen like figure and a much more modest, familial representation of Mary and baby Jesus by Durer where you can see his Protestant restrain. It wasn't difficult to walk from room to room following the lecture as the security guards know the paintings well enough to tell you immediately where you can find things and it was no hardship to have walk through rooms of the Vermeers and the Rembrandts.

This evening we were at the Guggenheim for a conversation with Don Delillo which was put on as part of the ongoing Le Conversazioni series. It's really worth keeping an eye on NY museum's lists of special event as there seems to be an endless supply of interesting lectures and public forums. They often included receptions right afterwards and an opportunity to see the exhibit- as was the case at the Guggenheim. In fact the tickets to the talk were cheaper than the exhibition tickets so it was a bargain - plus we were able to enjoy the Alberto Burri exhibit after hours. I liked the Burri exhibition particularly because we heard the curator's introduction prior to DeLillo's reading and interview but I wouldn't recommend it particularly highly unless you are interested in modern Italian art or assemblage. The Guggenheim ran a very interesting show on Italian Futurism a few years a go and this combined with our recent visit to the Estorick in London is slowly filling in some context for Italian modern art in my brain! As always it's lovely to visit the building, though amusingly we saw Peggy Guggenheim described it as her "uncle's garage" in a recent documentary!

Here's the New York Times' take on the exhibit.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/09/ar...nd-burlap.html
http://www.leconversazioni.it/en.html

FOOD - If you're looking for something quick and healthy it's worth checking out Dig Inn a chain focused on simple, fresh, inexpensive food they describe as "farm to counter". You pick a portion or go veggie and there's choice of sides. My veggie meals was less than $6 which is almost unbelievable in NY. It's good quick food without the drawbacks of most "fast" food and a good alternative when you're looking for something simple.

https://www.diginn.com

I'm dazzled by your enthusiasm and energy!

I've been meaning to get to the High Bridge myself -- did you know Poe used to walk it? -- but they put it in such an inconvenient place!

If you return to the borough, try to visit Woodlawn Cemetery. It's worth the trip by itself.

Fascinating trip report about the Bronx. Your nostalgic tour of the Bronx was somewhat nostalgic for me as well, although I never lived there.

I have paintings my mother painted at City Island when she and my father briefly kept a sailboat there before I was born. I have fond memories of going to Freedomland, the history themed amusement park that briefly occupied the real estate that later became Co-op City. A close family friend was principal of a public school in Co-op City for many years.

And my husband attended NYU Uptown, the campus that was sold up the river to Bronx Community College and where the Hall of Fame is located. It housed a liberal arts campus as well as the engineering school. One of several institutions of learning that no longer exist and from which my husband has degrees or has worked.

Fra_Diavolo - sometimes I exhaust myself just thinking about what we're doing but then again I spend lots of time lazing around too and minus some theatre I'm a complete slug a home ;). I read that Poe walked the High Bridge but only after we'd been on it. We saw the wild turkeys at a large cemetery, I thought it was Greenwood but I think I had the name mixed up it looks like it was Woodlawn. Though we just drove past, it looked fascinating.
Believe me I only did so much in the Bronx because my friend dragged us behind him!

Nikki, it's interesting to hear your Bronx memories too. Our friend talked about Freedomland quite a bit, apparently he saw Duke Ellington there! At the Poe Cottage we saw a Freedomland postcard but we couldn't buy one because officially they were closed and reciting another poem wasn't going to solve that problem!

SueNYC told me I'd love this TR and she was right..... We're usually in NYC for a month over Christmas New Year - but not this year, we're waiting till early Spring.

You've bought up so many memories - Russ and Daughter's (met Mark Russ, the son of one of the 'daughters' and the author of 'the book' and interviewed on the doco 'The Sturgeon Queens'....he was just sitting there next to us and I asked 'are you a Russ?'...); Museum of the City of New York (always great); Chelsea art galleries (we've not been on a tour, just walk around ourselves); The Met Museum; theatre, theatre, theatre; FDR Four Freedoms Memorial Park on Roosevelt Island; Eldridge Street Museum (love it - last Christmas Eve we made rugelach there); a tour of the Woolworth Building (we did the amazing 90 minute talk with Anthony Robins - fab), food, food, food; and yes to the talks at the museums (loved going to the Guggenheim to hear about Picasso's Las Meninas a couple of years ago...lucky lucky us, great timing); etc etc etc....

I too write trip reports (on another Forum where I first met Sue) while I am there, great fun and fab to remember all the details.

Thanks for the tip about the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Places. There was a fantastic exhibition on urban design a couple of years ago at the Whitney. I am sure that the location of this Museum you visited was one of the sites mentioned...glad to hear it's still there and I am making a beeline for it for a look.

And you're suggestion about the MAS tours...will look into that.

I am ashamed I've made it to all the boroughs except the Bronx...I am going this next trip and I will follow your path.

We are also going on a tour with Darryl to see the subway art. Sue is coming with us..yay!

http://www.nycsubwaytour.com/

The art in the subway is one of my fave things in NYC. We look out for it all the time, and love love love the PBS documentary on it....part of their wonderful 'Treasures of New York' series. We can't get the series on our computers here in Oz, so we spend time when in the States enjoying the wonderful PBS - especially those docos about NYC. Great for when resting (being a slug) after running around too much! We are still to see the Masstransiscope near Dekalb subway station.

There was an article about tours in NYC here recently:

http://www.traveller.com.au/an-art-l...g-apple-gkhwi7

This webpage is great for information on the locations of all the art.

Along with the subway tour, Merrily's tour of the Chelsea galleries was also included, at length.

Well that's enough for now....lovely to have found your great TR and look forward to reading more.

Doesn't look like I can edit a post once I've submitted it....must use the Preview button and read carefully.

http://web.mta.info/mta/aft/permanentart/

Link I didn't include above about all the subway art.....

Just to say we tried out FLINDER"S LANE - a restaurant IMD mentioned above. I'd recommend the place. It's an Australian chef and you can see it in the food which is modern and fresh with a good balance of what I'd call "green", they incorporates Asian flavors and of course Australian lamb. The wine by the glass was good but not inexpensive. We enjoyed it and It was only about a 30 minute walk from our place here.

Thanks for the suggestion IMD!

Here's a recommendation for a simple vegetarian Indian restaurant on what is called "Curry Hill" at 28th and Lex - CHENNAI GARDENS BY TIFFIN WALLAH. The surroundings are simple and don't expect a wine list but the food was good and they also have dosas which my husband loves. I found this place using the free food app "Chef's Feed". The app aggregates the recommendations of local chefs, while the interface is awful the recommendations have been solid.

Yesterday I headed back to the Signature Theatre to see "Night is Room" by Naomi Wallace. I was interested as I'm always keen to see work by women playwrights. The acting was good but the topic was a bit challenging and though it was all quite emotional it didn't resonate. I'm ot sure if I can blame it on the direction - I think it was just a weakness in the play. I wouldn't recommend it and it's closing soon.

http://www.signaturetheatre.org/tick....aspx?pid=3780

However, while I wasn't crazy about the play i really like the Signature Theatre were we also saw "Steve". It's a modern building that houses several theatre and has a bookstore and a cafe with lots of seating. It's really nice to be able to stop for a cup of tea after the show and the space and a nice relaxed public feel which reminded me of the National in London.

Our time in NY is winding down as we leave for Bogota a week on Saturday (Dec 26th). I've seen a lot of what I hoped to see but there's an endless list of more to explore. Next week we have lots of family coming into town and I'm not sure my sightseeing will continue at the same pace, perhaps I can convince some of them to come on a Street Art Tour of Brooklyn or to come out to Staten Island with us? I'm not convinced it will happen. Tonight a cousin who has lived in Manhattan for decades came over for dinner and he quizzed my husband about how he got to the Noguchi Museum as if it was hard to find. I finally started laughing and said "Queens isn't really that far from where you live!"

I really have nothing to add, I just wanted to be the 100th reply.

But you are certainly welcome on Flinder's Lane.

jennyr261 - delighted to read your reply. I must have been composing my post when you wrote yours as I missed it initially. I'm so glad the TR resonates, it does indeed seem we are hitting lots of the same places or have similar interests! Thanks to Sue for giving you a heads up.

I did see the subway tour and it's on my list, it looks really interesting. I did one in London which I enjoyed and it's a great plan for a wet day! Thanks for the mta art link. Loved that you made rugelach at the Eldridge Museum!

In terms of the Bronx I'd recommend a trip to the fascinating old Italian neighborhood around Arthur Avenue which combines well with the nearby Botanical Gardens which will be lovely in the Spring. We took a food tour with Susan Sez up there a few years ago and enjoyed it.
http://susansez.com

There are just so many tours we didn't get around to including a tour of the Hasidic community in Crown Heights which will have to wait for next time!

You can indeed tour the Chelsea galleries on your own but what I enjoyed about going with Merrily was the opportunity to talk to someone who is very informed about the art. She selected the galleries and was able to really educate is about the work and to engage our questions and comments. However, when we come back I'm looking forward to spending more time wandering the galleries.

If you are interested in Urban Design or space/identity there are two interesting shows on suburbia, first the one on Chinese immigrants in Connecticut at the Museum of the Chinese in America which I reviewed above and another on Black Suburbia at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem - I haven't made it to that one yet. Not sure if they will be running in the Spring.
http://www.nypl.org/locations/schomburg

Oh I loved visiting the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture - we went there last trip with Sue...also saw Striver's Lane and oohed and aaggghed at the City Museum from afar. We went to Red Rooster for lunch with Sue....mac and cheese (with lobster from memory) I loved it.

The exhibition we saw at the Schomburg were videos of black men talking about the various issues they face. I remember writing in my TR at the time that it'd be great to put such exhibitions at the NYPL on 42nd and 5th as well. More people would see them (I think). I don't think they should only be shown at the Schwarzman Building - maybe at both sites simultaneously on occassion. I know I am happy to go to the Schomburg, but many aren't (or don't even know about it).

If you see Sue again, say hi and ask her about Helene Hanff and Apple of my Eye and Columbia University...I'm going to write a short story about it one day....if I ever get off these forums.

Oh, and re Merrily's tour, my partner wasn't keen, but maybe I'll do it anyway! Sounds great.

I forgot to ask you - did you have a shrub at Russ and Daughters. I cannot wait to go back and have another one.

Family around for a meal last night but a busy day today to make up for all the cooking and cleaning. STATEN ISLAND has been somewhere we've been meaning to go for ages and today was the day despite the dull weather. We subwayed it down to the tip of Manhattan where the only issue is running the gauntlet of very aggressive touts trying to sell trips to the Statue of Liberty, it reminded me of India for a moment! The Staten Island Ferry has a lovely new terminal right next to the subway and it's clear that they are putting a lot of money into upgrading the area which is still unfinished. We passed the charming new seagulls carousel which is gorgeous and the first modern interpretation of a carousel I've seen.

http://www.seaglasscarousel.nyc

The ferry to Staten Island is famously free (since the late 1990s) and this has to be the one great NY deal and as such it was packed with tourists who had no intention of staying on Staten Island. However, the ferry is large so there was plenty of space for everyone. The views over downtown as the ferry leaves Manhattan is fabulous and I can't believe it has taken us all these years to partake of this particular NY institution, but I guess I lived in the Bay Area for 16 years before I went to Alcatraz!
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/05/ny...s-reality.html

If Manhattan and Brooklyn have given the suggestion that all of NYC it gentrifying at a rapid rate and that you'll trip over an artisinal something-or-other or a pumpkin-spiced drink every other store, Staten Island provided a firm counterpoint. From what we could see in the area around where the ferry docks this is a resolutely working class community, incredibly diverse with lots of immigrants from a range of different places including Italy, Russia, Poland, Asia and the Caribbean. This area has a down at heel feel though the views over Manhattan are incredible, there are quite a number of attractive older civic building (listed in the AIA guide) and an historic district with quite a number of wooden shingle houses from the 1870's.

We had a walk around but our destination was a Sri Lankan restaurant SAN RASA which had been recommended on the wonderful blog Eating with Ziggy - thanks Sue for the heads up. Anyway Ziggy's recommendation was spot on and we really liked this place. We had string hoppers which we hadn't had since we were in Sri Lanka. They were supper friendly and the place was empty when we arrived at 2:30pm and so we had a long conversation about Sri Lanka which enhanced the whole experience. in fact they even got me to video a short review for them, thank god I'm to on Facebook and don't have to see this stuff!
http://www.sanrasa.com
http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/search/label/Sri%20Lanka

After eating we headed back to Manhattan and enjoyed a great view of the Statue of Liberty which was lit up and as impressive as always.

From there we headed up to the Met for their late night Friday opening which is fun. I'm continuing to make my way through some lectures on the Met (currently on 19th century art) so I spent my time walking through the galleries of European painting. It is incredible what you can see here and that the galleries are relatively quiet. It's just a treasure trove of paintings, Degas, Manet, Monet, Millat, Gaugin, Courbet, Van Gogh, Ingres and LOTS more. It's much more enjoyable to see paintings here than at MOMA as the crowds are much more manageable.

On Friday nights they have lots of special programs and tonight they had a Byzantine Pop up concert with a half hour of male choral music from the orthodox tradition sung in Greek, Armenian and Arabic. What a pleasure and fascinating for us as we'd spent sometime walking the Armenian quarter in Aleppo in 2011.Standing around the Met's Christmas tree listening to the music, I finally felt a little bit Christmasy!

We stopped for pizza at TAPPO on the way home and I can recommend it if you're looking for something simple in the Flatiron. The pizzas are Roman style, super thin crust, which is how I like my pizza and it's not expensive. They also have lots of lunch specials and deals on a Monday night.
http://www.tappothincrust.com My Brother-in-Law recommended the place and I'd go back for a quick meal.

So, all in all another good say, there's just so much to see and do. I didn't make it to the new Gilded Age Furniture exhibition at the Met which has just opened but it's still on my list.

--------------
Jenny my husband had one of the Russ and Daughters "shrubs" and liked it. I'm used to shrubs used in cocktails but his was non-alcoholic.

What I most appreciate about your stay in NY, besides the considerable energy, is the fact you want to go past the veneer and understand the history and the current quirks and situations. Thank you for taking the time to do so.

What IMDonehere says!

"The Staten Island Ferry has a lovely new terminal right next to the subway and it's clear that they are putting a lot of money into upgrading the area which is still unfinished."

Actually, since you want to know backstory...the terminal was beautiful and finished and opened a few days before Hurricane Sandy and then it was under 10 feet of water for a really long time.... It will be better prepared when it re-opens.

If you haven't already done so tweet your review to Ziggy - He doesn't hang out on this forum.

Next time on SI -- Go to Borough Hall for the history of SI in 13 WPA murals and also visit the new Lighthouse Museum. Have fun out of town today.

Thanks IMD - to be honest trying to get behind any veneer (or see more of NY) has exhausted me, I can't quite believe I'm going to Colombia an Saturday and may need a holiday from my holiday, yeah I know "don't look a gift horse in the mouth!"

Sue - thanks for your reply, I did write a comment on Ziggy's blog and I clearly should have posted here BEFORE going to Staten Island, I'm sorry we missed the WPA murals, but thanks for the heads up for next time.

Well yesterday we were in PRINCETON to see friends though I'm not sure how that fits into a NYC trip report. Lets just say the whole place is a facsimile of England. It's all of a piece and the University is clearly designed to awe, so I hope you are impressed by Neo-Gothic because that's what you'll be seeing if you go. I prefer the Gothic architecture of Oxford or Cambridge to the "neo" version in Princeton. I preferred the Columbia campus (or Berkeley where I went) both of which have a more "lived in" feel! However, I'm sure others would prefer the grandeur (or hauteur of Princeton). I guess my own bias is obvious here!

However, the University Art Museum is a gem. It's really very good with an interesting collection ranging from ancient Egypt to Motherwell. I enjoyed the lovely special exhibit on the Pearlman bequest. Lots of Cezannes, Modiglianis, a Sisley, a Van Gogh and more all bought with the proceeds of a refrigeration fortune and donated to Princeton.

Today I really did run around a little too much - so no surprise there! We started the day with a FOOD TOUR OF ASTORIA with Susan Sez . We took an Arthur Avenue Tour with Susan a few years ago which we very much enjoyed and it was good to go out to Astoria with her.
http://susansez.com

What I liked about this tour was how easy it was to get out to Astoria, where you can see a whole range of immigrant influences including Greek, South American, Middle Eastern and Easter European. It was enjoyable to walk around tasting the food and hearing about the neighborhood. Susan is a New York guide and knows the city very well and so there's a bit of history woven through the trip. She has been running these tours for over ten years and has a sense for how the neighborhood has changed which was interesting too.

Do check online for discounts on the tour which can be very good. Highly recommended for those who like food and need the incentive of a tour to get you out to Astoria!

After the tour we headed back into town and my husband went to Strand bookstore and then a concert at the Guggenheim. I went to a lovely carol concert at St Francis of Assisi. It's a lovely parish church on W31st attached to a Franciscan friary which does a lot of outreach to the homeless in the area. The carol concert was lovely with all the old favorites and a wonderful choir. They even dimmed the lights and passed out candles for "Silent Night". Given the ubiquitous and ghastly renditions of carols blasting out of every shop at this time of year it was so nice to connect with a non-commercial spirit of the season and the church was liberal and inclusive.

Afterwards I hopped on the subway and headed down to Culture Project in the village to see MOTHERSTRUCK a wonderful monologue by StaceyAnn Chin. Recently reviewed in the Times this monologue directed by Cynthia Nixon got a Critics Pick.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/15/th...nant.html?_r=0

I'm not a great fan of monologues, particularly since 2008 when theatre seemed to increase the number of monologues to bridge any fiscal gaps - obviously they are a lot cheaper to put on than a full production of a frame, tragedy or comedy. The increase means we've seen more of them and the quality has been variable. However, I have to say StaceyAnn Chin's monologue was very well done and I swayed from laughter to empathy and pathos. I'd highly recommend this to anyone interested in female voices, a feminist perspective, humor or a heartfelt personal narrative that isn't saccharine or sentimental in any way. I enjoyed it very much.

I'll certainly keep an eye on the venue CULTURE PROJECT which is self described as a venue for "socially conscious" theatre.

We leave on Saturday so we only have a few more days in NY and there are lots of things that will remain on the "to do" list for our next visit. I'm still hoping to make it to the Merchant House, the Whitney, the Neue and back to the Met-but who knows what we will manage. We may be derailed by family or friends but that's not a bad thing either! Apparently it will be around 70 degrees on Christmas Eve which seems inconceivable for NY in December so crazy things are happening here this week!

I vote for you all to see the Whitney -- love to hear your views on it. I quite liked Princeton when I visited many moons ago...no doubt appealed to the snob in me. I didn't think of it in comparison to Berkeley or Columbia so will need to think about it in that perspective. Enjoy your last week and see you soon in Colombia (that's with an -o-!)

You're right Princeton is impressive and objectively there's no good reason to compare it to Berkeley or Columbia, they were just foremost in my mind.

We haven't made it to the Whitney yet but I will try to go this week!

Today I went to the Farmer's Market at Union Sq (mainly to drop off my compost!) and then down to the MERCHANT HOUSE. I've been meaning to come here since I arrived in NY as I love small house museums.

http://merchantshouse.org

It's a very nice small museum and the rooms were nicely decorated for the holidays. However, do make sure you have cash if you come on your own as they only take cards for $20 plus charges (two entrance fees), rather old school in this day and age! The house reminded me of 18 Stafford Terrace in London which was saved in part because a family member had lived there for so long without marrying or changing anything.

http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2015/...sambourne.html

Though the Merchant House is earlier, the process was rather similar as the house and furnishings were kept until the daughter of the family died at 93 in 1933. At this time a cousin had the idea of turning their home into the museum. While this will give you a sense of the life up and downstairs in a mid nineteenth century home the museum is clearly stretched thin and could make more of the place with additional funding. However, it's a great place to go to get a sense for the history of the city and the merchant class on which so much of the city expansion was built.

After this I headed uptown to the NEUE GALERIA on the Upper East side a few blocks north of the Met. We've been here several times and it's a delightful small gallery for anyone interested in 20th century Austrian or German arts and crafts. They have an excellent room of decorative arts as well as a Klimt room with the famous portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer which was featured in the wonderful film Woman in Gold. Right now they're running a special exhibit entitled Berlin Metropolis 1918-1933.

http://www.neuegalerie.org

Having been in Berlin this summer we really enjoyed the exhibit but it's a little abstract. They point out interesting links and connections but there's very little historical context, hopefully you know it before you come in and can draw the conclusions on your own. For example a room on the "New Woman" but nothing much about the about the transformation in sexual practices. It is however well worth getting the audio guide which is included in our entrance ticket.

We ate at Café Sabarsky which we always stop at. It has the feel of an historic cafe you'd drop into in Vienna and is quite lovely. This afternoon they had someone playing the piano though it was a bit dirge like! The food it interesting but traditionally German, the cakes are delicious though you should prepare for sticker shock, $8 for tea, really!

Tonight we went back to SPICE MARKET with some of the family who are in town for a couple of days and had a very enjoyable meal. Again the pork vindaloo was a hit and the appetizers were good too. I have to say it's an excellent venue for a group as the food is good to share and everyone enjoyed both the food and the over the top ambiance.
http://spicemarketrestaurants.com/spice_market_new_york

Love the Neue Galerie and also the cafe . Glad you found Spice Market . I'll visit the Merchants house next visit.

Welltraveledbrit, still following along with your NYC adventures. Like you and a few others, we really liked the Neue Galerie, as we noted in our recent TR. Sabarsky's does make you feel like you're in Vienna.

Glad you're still following along Northie and Tomarkot, sound like we have enjoyed lots of the same things..

The city is HEAVING this week and you can see it in the museums, remind me not to come at this time of year if I propose it again!

The museums are packed and even the Member Hours (9:30-10:30 am) at the MOMA were busy. I decided to drop by the Picasso Sculpture exhibit a second time and it was FAR busier than when I first went in November, no surprise really but a reminded nonetheless. I tend to be far too optimistic about such things. this week would have been a much better week for more obscure destinations. I very rarely venture to the permenant exhibit at the MOMA, not because I don't appreciate their holdings (after all they are incredible) but because the galleries are often so packed that it's hard to enjoy the art.

So here's my tip. Today I was exiting the Picasso Sculpture just as the main galleries were opening at 10:30am. I went up to the fifth floor where I immediately entered the last gallery (on your left) everyone else went right to follow the collection chronologically. This allowed me to explore entirely on my own for about ten minuter, what bliss to see the Monet room with none else there except the security guy. AS I made my way back through artistic time the rooms started to fill and when they became intolerable I headed straight for the cafe on the Fifth Floor. They close the balcony in the winter so I wasn't able to sit out and enjoy the view over the sculpture garden but it's a lovely retreat from the madness and they serve an excellent cup of tea!

Today was a museum greatest hits loop so you can immediately guess the next stop was THE MET. This is the place I spend the most time whenever I come to NY, and this trip has been no exception. I love this place and I could visit it daily, yes I'm a museum geek what can I say? I'm still making my way through lectures on the museum and today was all about the decorative arts. First I started off at a new exhibition in the American wing entitled "Artistic Furniture of the Gilded Age"

http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions...the-gilded-age

I don't spend enough time in the American wing and I very much enjoyed this small exhibition. I'm not a great fan of furniture from this period but it was fascinating to see such opulent examples, they really were quite incredible and I loved the photographs of the original rooms. The exhibit is being mounted because the met has opened a new small interior room (donated by one of my favorite places the City Museum of NY) the opulent Worsham-Rockefeller Dressing Room. If this was the dressing room one can barely imagine the rest of the house. What is fun about the exhibit is it helps you do exactly that. Most of the decorative interiors at the Met are not placed in much of a context so this is a refreshing change. The exhibit is also next to the small Tiffany gallery which is ALWAYS worth visiting. I'm dreaming of a vintage Tiffany necklace for Christmas. Too bad we're having a "no gifts" holidays and my husband doesn't read Fodors!

The very best money I've spent on this trip has been joining the Met at a level that gets me into the wonderfully quiet and tasteful members lounge and after a reviving cup of, you guessed it - tea, I was ready to brave the crowds.

Laughing at your Tiffany desires. I remember the first time we came to NY in 1978
Our friends who live on Long Island told us to get a pack of playing cards as you get the the coveted blue bag so we bought lots to give as presents . Of. Course now my daughters buy the jewellery there. I love Lalique and did lash out and buy a piece of jewellery and a small (very) bowl in France.
I don't much about American Art but remember going to a fab exhibition at Brooklyn Art Gallery in the 80's of Eastman Johnson and a Childe Hassams exhibition at the Met.
I usually get my Xmas cards at the Met .
My fav gallery in NY is the Frick . Put city of NY museum on my list . Must be up near the English garden of The park .

Yes Northie the Museum of the City of NY is very close to the Park Conservancy Gardens. I haven't visited yet but the Museo del Barrio is nearby too. I must admit my only interest in Tiffany is the old L.C. Tiffany pieces. if you like Lalique jewelry (which I do very much too) I highly recommend seeing the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon where they have a wonderful Lalique room with a nice collection of his jewelry.

I agree the Frick is delightful, though I haven't made it there on this trip, it's my aunt's favorite museum too! I really need to make it to the Brooklyn Art Museum, six weeks has not been enough time!

On this trip I've been delighted with the painting galleries at the Met which I'm getting to know a little better but this afternoon I really spent a decent amount of time on the Department of European Decorative Arts. I've walked through these galleries before but haven't given them the time they deserve.

http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-m...ecorative-arts

In the lecture series I've been listening to he says that the Met's approach of showing decorative arts along with fine arts was in many ways an American innovation and had much to do with JP Morgan an early trustee of the Met. Apparently Morgan felt that Americans should be able to see the milieu of the cultures they came from and was very supportive of, and generous in funding, the installation of rooms illustrating the decorative arts of a time and place. the french rooms, now described as the Wrightsman Galleries are incredible. You move from the Kign's bedchamber to small private sitting rooms, from grand public spaces to private card rooms. It's just so delightful and it's a very immersive and visceral part of the museum. I particularly love the magical studio from the Ducal Palace at Gubbio with the incredibly trompe-l'œil woodwork.

http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/.../search/198556

I have to say that visiting these rooms is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon and a great way to explore the museum as you could combine the European examples with the American wing rooms which includes a Frank Lloyd Wright interior.

BAR BOLONAT in the West Village - I highly recommend this place particularly if you don't end up with the screeching coven of sorority sisters at the next talk. Ok with that complaint I am now officially middle aged! The place was great and to be fair I think our next door neighbors were not typical of their clientele. If you like Ottolenghi in London this place is a good option.

We've eaten at Baalaboosta which is run by the same Israel chef and we really enjoyed the food at Bar Bolonat this evening. It's a modern restaurant with a Middle Eastern accent, lots of veggies and fresh, interesting preparations. We loved the Japanese eggplant, the fatuosh salad and the pasta with wild mushrooms. We will definitely return on our next trip and we look forward to trying their new place Combina which is a Spanish/Isreali influenced tapas place.

http://barbolonatny.com

Well "happy Christmas" everyone! if you're her in NY you know it's warm and raining. The rain is the perfect send off as it makes me want to leave, yes I'm a weather wimp, I don't mind the cold but I do require sun!

Today I finally made it over to the Whitney which means it has taken me six weeks to go about ten blocks and two avenues south! The day was dull and it was rainy heavily so I didn't make great use of all their wonderful outdoor space over looking the Highline.

I was never a great fan of the Whitney's permanent collection when they were on the UES and i guess that hasn't changed. It's hard for me to get overly excited about a Museum of Modern and contemporary American Art. In a global world it seems modern art should be seen in a broader perspective. I guess I think of regional art museums as depositories of the patrimony of a country like the Prado, the Louvre or the National Gallery Gallery in London none of which are restricted in regard to the art of only their countries.

So, for me the draw at the Whitney as it probably is for most was the architecture (of course this is a famous Piano building) and the special exhibits. I came to see the Frank Stella but left having enjoyed the Archibald Moteley exhibit in which he is described as a Jazz Age Modernist.

Lets be honest the new building and the location at the end of the Highline is a big draw and the museum is filled with people, particularly this week when the city is heaving. I don't have limitless patience for modern art and I find in general that crowds break your concentration and appreciation for art as I mentioned above with regard to the permanent exhibition at MOMA. Anyway, I went through the Stella exhibit with the crowds but returned right before the museum closed and found the galleries almost empty and it was SO much more enjoyable. All of a sudden you could see the drama and scale of the works when they had space around them and I wasn't agreeing with Art news who said "all style and no substance" about this exhibit. I'd recommend for anyone interested in sculpture as well as painting, abstraction, geometrical design and contemporary art.

The Archibald Moteley exhibit was very interesting and I knew nothing about this artist who trained at the Art Institute in Chicago, lived for a time in France but was best known for his representations of African American life and the Jazz Age. This was an interesting contrast to Jacob Lawrence's Migration series which we saw at the MOMA last summer. Moteley's work was much more fluid and played with stereotypes while also taking on the class divide in African American communities which you can also see in Lawrence's work. I'd recommend this exhibit for anyone interested in representation painting, music, portraiture, Black history, The Harlem Renaissance or social commentary in art.
http://whitney.org/Exhibitions/ArchibaldMotley

For both shows go close to closing if you want the galleries to be quieter or sometime other than a holiday period or a weekend. After all the Whitney is a tourist destination these days. In terms of value it costs $22 to get in (free for those under 18 and $!8 for students and seniors) but it's another $6 for the audio guide.

I know you are leaving for home and I apologize for being remiss in offer some holiday advice.

When our family went to the Christmas Extravaganza at Radio City Music Hall, we would have a pool which animal would crap on the stage first.

The smart money was always on the elephant.