I suspect we have many readers who either live in New York City or who commute to the city daily by train. As an ex-New Yorker, living in Boston and New Hampshire, it is now a special treat for me to hop the train to New York three or four times a year to stay for a few days, usually with the excuse of giving a talk or to attending a medical meeting (which I did this past week and this week-end). I change from Amtrak to a Metro-North express in New Haven, and sometimes spend a day visiting my New Haven friends. I do not shop in NY (well, not very much), but I like to visit my old haunts, and to find new ones.
I got up to the front of the train, next to the driver, just after we took the train bridge from the Bronx to Manhattan:
Coming from Boston, I am greeted by the magnificence of Grand Central Station instead of the execrable Penn Station or the idiotic, government-designed JFK airport. Somehow, this lame snapshot managed to eliminate every bit of the grandeur and scale of Commodore Vanderbilt's creation:
Something new: The Grand Central Market. Wonderful food stalls, and perfect to pick up some stuff on the way home: rare cheeses, imported Italian sausages of every variety, 200 types of olive oil, a bread bakery, a patisserie, pre-cooked goodies and dinners, etc. etc. All of the old, bleak empty spaces of the Station have now been put to good use, and the whole place is like an upscale mall, and busy as can be:
And something old on the lower level: The good old Oyster Bar, with the best oyster stew in the world, and a larger selection of oysters - and fresh seafood in general - than you can find anywhere in the world. The entire Lower Level is now a food court, and good enough that I think people come in off the street for a snack. No chain restaurants - good stuff.
