New York – Page 3 – Writing With My Mouth Full

The New York Public Library Map Room

I’ve wanted to visit the library on 42nd Street ever since the map room was renovated. I finally got a chance to stop by one Saturday. Past the security guard and to your right in Room 117 is the Lionel and Princess Firyal Map Division. The entire library is already quiet, but walking in the map room is a completely different experience. It doesn’t feel stuffy inside even though the room holds some 400,000 maps and at least 16,000 atlases, books, periodicals and CDs about carthography. The New York City collection alone consists of maps from the 16th century. Maps cataloged after 1970 are all accessible via the library’s online CATNYP.

From a Henry Hope Reed book, I got the architectural details of the map room. The doorway is made of blue gray Fermosa marble from Germany while the perimeter of the floor is made of dark cream Hauteville with an inner band of Red Champlain ‘Oriental Variety’ from Vermont. The heavily-trafficked areas of the floor are made up of red Welsh quarry tiles. I have to admit that I didn’t even notice the doorway and the floor until I started reading about the room’s details because as soon as you walk in, the paneling strikes you. Eight patterns repeat in French walnut: satyrs, cherubs, lion heads, dog heads, birds, sphinxes, cornucopia and acanthus. The lowered plastered ceiling hides two east-west beams which allows for the six semi-domes around the edges of the map room. There are PL letters in gold on the domes for, what else, Public Library. The chandeliers are bronze with ornaments of acanthus, bayleaf wreaths with ribbons, bearded lions and carved scrollworks. There are shelves that hold a lot of books, but the long walnut tables dominate. The trestle tables are on pedestals decorated with the arms of the city of New York. The bases end in dolphin heads and rest on blocks of Verde Antique marble. Every little bit of detail is impressive. The librarian allowed me to take photographs as long as I kept my flash off.

The New York Public Library is open everyday except Sunday from 11am to 6pm; Tuesdays and Wednesdays until 7:30pm.

Related post/s:
Map Room photos on Flickr

Searching For a Good Taco: Staten Island

For non-New Yorkers, here’s a quick lesson about my city. New York City is made up of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island. In my quest to eat more often outside of Manhattan, Staten Island is the least represented on this site. Although it has the most suburban feel in all of the five, it has been experiencing a large growth of Mexican immigrants in the last 12 years.

The Mexican community–documented and undocumented–have contributed to the diversity of Staten Island, especially on the north shore. Staten Island has historically been known as the “whitest” borough in New York City, but now, almost 2% of its entire population is composed of Mexicans. According to the 2000 Census, Mexicans were the second largest foreign-born group in Staten Island. Besides more affordable housing, the mighty Verrazano-Narrows Bridge helps connect the borough to Brooklyn, Long Island and New Jersey, so a lot of contractors seek out workers there to fill jobs.

I visited to seek out the best taco. I started this food project last year and it’s gotten hot enough outside to warrant a continuation of my search, so I enlisted Staten Island locals Sean and Jane, and of course, Cameron’s stomach, to help me find the best tacos in the neighborhood. I had a few stores in mind from a few Google searches, but we let them walk us to the neighborhoods where the Mexicans live and hang out to find the more authentic tacos. When available, we always bought the chorizo because it was the easiest to compare. I’ve had so many chorizo tacos in the last year and a half that I think I know a good one when I taste one. When the offal kinds were on the menu, though, I gravitated towards them since I didn’t have a lot of them the last three times I went around Manhattan.

My favorites were the longaniza and chorizo from La Conchita, the suadero from Tacos La Abuelita and the cabeza from Tulci-Mex.

Here’s the complete rundown:

1. Taqueria El Gallo Azteca, 75 Victory Blvd., 718/273.6404

We were famished when we arrived in Staten Island via the free ferry ride from downtown Manhattan. We walked past the Taco Bell and made our first stop in St. George. (Who is by the way, not a real saint, but someone who was treated like one because he bought all the land the community at the time needed.) Even though we knew we had to make room for a lot of tacos, we still ordered one apiece from El Gallo. With the semi-chewy bistek, the spicy and salty al pastor and two of the lengua, or tongue, we were off to a very good start.

2. El Campesino, 718/447.1215

The cecina taco was the best. Cecina is a traditional cut of beef in Mexico, sliced thin, salted, and then laid out to dry under the sun. It’s like their version of jerky, really. We also had the lengua, the overdone bistek and of course, the chorizo. Everything was deliciously salty which is why I love simply-prepared tacos–they bring out the Filipino in me.

3. La Mixteca Poblana, 104 Victory Blvd.

They only had the al pastor kind here which is skewered in a vertical rotisserie. Like any gyro store, it slowly spins while cooking. The meat is seasoned with adobo and sometimes pineapple or avocado. What I liked was their brown tomato sauce. It added a toastier taste to the tacos.

4. Tulci-Mex, 108 Victory Blvd., 718/720.1221

They had the most offal selection here, but no one spoke English so it was hard to get a translation. I ended up ordering the only ones familiar to me. The cabeza was a favorite, or the head, because the gelatinuous stuff melted in our mouths. We had the orejas, or the ears, which had some crunch to them. Oh, those little earlobe bones!

5. Las Jarochitos, Port Richmond, 718/876.9090

Finally, a barbacoa kind, or goat! Like any goat stew I’ve had, this one was stringy and gamey. Unfortunately, tiny sharp bones were included. They are really difficult to separate when you’re stewing a goat for several hours and everything falls apart. The cecina and the chorizo were included in our order but they took a while. Thank goodness for cold Coronas.

6. La Conchita, 244 Port Richmond, 718/448.0154

In the Philippines, we use longaniza and chorizo interchangably, but both were available here. We didn’t really care which was which because both were the best we’ve had all day even though at first look, all you can see was cilantro. They were crunchy and the tips were a little burnt, which made a lovely snack when Mexico scored a third goal against Paraguay.

7. Tacos La Abuelita, 229 Port Richmond, 718/273.4648

The tacos here were a dollar each but they had the “especiales” for $2 and $3. We didn’t ask what made them special but the dollar ones tasted good enough. We ordered the buche, or the stomach, the cueritos, or pork skin, and the suadero, which is like stewed beef with all the fat included. The buche was a little unnerving to some of us because it obviously looked like chopped up intestine. The pork skin wasn’t as cripsy as I would have liked, but the suadero reminded me of lechon paksiw without the sour taste.

The best part of this trip to Staten Island? Ralph’s ices after all those tacos!

Dutchess County

We woke up early on Saturday to catch the 9am Metro-North train from the Harlem stop up to Poughkeepsie. I bet it was a beautiful two-hour ride, but I was catching some Zs the whole ride up while the Dr. studied for his board exams next to me. In the Poughkeepsie station, we stepped out to board the Loop shuttle bus. The other six people with us all had tickets to give the bus driver–we didn’t know we had to buy a package from the station clerk. It didn’t matter, though, because two round-trip tickets cost us $52 which was the same price of two Farm Fresh Link weekend getaway packages.

Our first stop was the Plankenhorn Dairy Farm, part of the Hudson Valley Fresh Cooperative. I’ve seen their labels around the city: Think Global, Eat Local. We were welcomed by the owners in their yard. They told us about the history of their dairy farm, their prized cow, Lizzie, and how happy their cows are. When we finally met the cows, I was surprised at how big they were. I guess the cows I see on pasture are not necessarily dairy cows. I thought dairy cows just had milk in them, you know? I had no clue they all have to give birth first before they can produce milk. All of Plankenhorn’s cows are artificially inseminated by different bulls all over the country to make sure that they produce nice calves and good milk. They milk them twice a day, one in the morning and later in the afternoon, after a day of resting in the barn equipped with a giant fan and tire mattresses to keep the cows comfortable.

My favorite part was, of course, tasting the farm’s milk. The regular milk was thin and tasted so fresh, while the chocolate milk was thicker and tasted like melted chocolate ice cream. Both were good with the chocolate cookies the farmers passed around. Because they are part of a cooperative, they can’t sell their milk at the farmers’ market. But you can get Hudson Valley Fresh milk from Zabar’s in the upper west side.

Our next stop was the town of Millbrook for the farmers’ market. I didn’t want to carry fresh meats in my tote bag all day, so we left with only a jar of garlic pickles and an apple turnover. We walked to the main street and checked out one of the antique stores before we sat outside Slammin’ Salmon to eat a hearty lunch of their “garbage” Angus beef burger and haddock fish and chips. We walked around the Millbrook park and playground before we got on the shuttle again for our last stop: Barton Orchard.

The original plan was to stop at Secor Farm and pick our own strawberries. Apparently, the farm is running out of fresh strawberries because it’s been popular the last few weekends. We were dropped off Barton Orchard instead to pick cherries. I’ve never seen cherry trees before, so I was amused to see real trees. I thought cherries hang from tall bushes the way blackberries grow. So I climbed one of the trees to reach the ripe cherries on top. After we filled two buckets, we went to the store to pay for our harvest. Our eight-pound yield cost us about $23.

It was the perfect day to visit the farms upstate. We were so spent that we passed out on the train ride back home.

Take advantage of the Dutchess County Farm Fresh Weekend Getaway with Metro-North:
From Grand Central Terminal or the Harlem stop, take the Poughkeepsie train that will take you to the last stop by 10:57am. Buy the $25.75 Dutchess County package which includes the shuttle bus ticket or call 1-800-445-3131 to reserve a seat at least 48 hours ahead. Outside the Poughkeepsie train station, look for the bus labeled “Dutchess County Farm Fresh Link”. There are three stops and the driver will stay with you until he has to drop you off the train station to catch your train back to New York City.

Governors Island

After a free 7-minute ferry ride from the Battery Park Marine Terminal, we were on Governor’s Island. Back in the 1800s, Governors Island was used by the Coast Guard and the U.S. Army to protect the New York harbor. It became more popular after Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met there for a 1988 summit meeting. Today, it’s a New York City landmark where summer cultural and historical programs are held. Visitors can picnic and check out several historic buildings like Castle Williams and Fort Jay.

As soon as the ferry docked, we walked along the National Monument Boundary and joined a few locals who brought their bicycles with them. The view of downtown Manhattan is as nice here as it is from the Brooklyn Bridge. The manicured lawn around Fort Jay was perfect for our picnic blanket and Sunday paper.

How to get to Governors Island:
Take the 1 subway to South Ferry. The Battery Park Maritime Terminal is next to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. The first ferry ride from Manhattan is at 10am. The last one to leave Governors Island back to the city is at 5pm.

Urban Hike to the Little Red Lighthouse

I lived in Washington Heights for more than ten years and I spent my formative high school years uptown, but like most New Yorkers, I never really made it past my comfort zone even though that already meant way above 14th Street for me. “Hiking” down from 207th to 97th Street was a new experience for both Cameron and me. After a big lunch at home, we took the A train to the last stop in Manhattan and walked towards Dyckman Park where it looked more like New England than New York City.

It was an absolutely glorious day with the sun up and shining. The trees still had their leaves on and the light breeze was enough to cool us down. Through the park, we made it along the Hudson River where there was a walking path right next to the Amtrak rail. A short fence kept us away from it, but it was still exhilarating whenever a train would zoom by. For the next hour or so, we kept walking until we reached a dead end. We had no choice but to cut through thorny bushes and walk on the rocks right next to the river. We probably did something illegal, but the old mattresses we saw tucked under the rocks led us to think other people have gone that way, too.

Twenty-eight blocks later and still no dead bodies to be found, we saw our reward: the 75-year old George Washington Bridge. At the bottom of the bridge, a more legitimate-looking pathway emerged from Fort Tryon Park. We walked towards the picnic area where we saw our second reward: the little red lighthouse, the only one in Manhattan.

It was pretty cool to see it even though I haven’t read the Hildegard H. Swift book because I’ve had a fascination with lighthouses ever since the Dr. and I drove all over the coast of Maine to visit each one marked on our map. The little red lighthouse under the great gray bridge was actually used by mariners passing through the Hudson until it was deactivated in 1947. They were going to dismantle and auction it off, but a lot of people who loved the book convinced the powers that be to keep it as a reminder of an area once called Jeffrey’s Hook. In the book, the little red lighthouse is happy and content until a bridge is built over it. But in the end, the lighthouse learns that it still has an important job to do and that there is still a place in the world for an old lighthouse.

We continued walking until the sun started to set, past the huge sanitation building and the Fairway on 135th Street. Even New Jersey looked pretty harmless from our side of the river. It got dark right away and we made it to 97th Street just in time for red wine, sausages and cheeses at the Vintage Wine Bar on 93rd Street.