New York, Part 2

New York

Enough about Boston; Let's talk New York

Alright, so Boston isn't my cup of tea (ha.), but thankfully this trip also included New York, which is a nation unto itself. As I've mentioned before, I like New York. There is so much happening all at once that it is impossible not to sit back and admire the sheer beauty of the city.

On that note, let me discuss a little more about why I love cities. Right now, there are at least eight million people living in New York City and nearly twenty million people living in the metro area. All of the people there are there for different reasons. Perhaps they were born there or moved their due to the sparkle of promise of Big City (a draw that has been around as long as New York has been a city).

In an average day, each of these millions of people will come into contact with dozens if not hundreds, if not thousands, of people. These interactions range from standing beside someone on the subway to conversations that will lead to life long relationships, or even discussions that will create an empire of commerce or creativity. Together, these interactions form the basic social fabric of the city and there are billions of interactions per day in a city. That, to me, is amazing, but what I love about cities is not so much that, but rather the nature of these interactions.

The vast majority of the interactions we have reflect our fundamental human nature: The vast, vast, vast majority of these interactions are either friendly or at least non-hostile. There are people who look at the city and fear it, but I look at the positive. There is crime and violence in the city, but it is a mistake to assume that that is the city. The city is comprised of the millions of people and billions of interactions that peacefully co-exist in a single place. This diversity and generally cooperative nature gives rise to the individualization and market niches that can only exist in a city.

To me, that is wonderful and why I love cities.

 

 

Classic Modern Pastries in Boston

Seattle doesn't have much of an Italian community. At least not in the same way that you find on the east coast.* While here in Boston, I had to try Modern Pastry Shop to get a taste of what I was missing. The shop itself is located in the old Italian community in the North End. This area is the older part of town and while there is a lot of history here, it is pretty obvious that the narrow streets and twisting roads that are today popular again for their charm were once written off as "obsolete" and in need of urban renewal.

The interior doesn't seem like it has changed much in a long time. The shop itself has been there for over 70 years, but the pastry chefs have, according to their website, been making pastries for over 150 years. I'm happy to say that the cannoli live up to the expectation: The sweet ricotta was perfectly balanced and who doesn't like pistachio?

Boston's Neptune Oyster

So, I didn't care to much for this trip to Boston, but that doesn't mean everything was horrible.

Just look at that lobster roll. Hot buttered lobster. Delicious!

This is the type of lobster that is hard to come by in Seattle and that you wouldn't really see on the menu in the same format. This particular roll comes from Neptune Oyster, which has a near perfect rating on yelp. The restaurant itself retains a bit of classic 1920s charm while serving up some fantastic seafood. The raw bar served up some of the largest prawns I've ever seen (below) and the sandwich above would be welcome for just about any meal. It is a rich, decadent sandwich that I would actually recommend you split between two people (Half a sandwich is just about a perfect amount. More risks lobster overload).

Much ado about Boston

I almost always have something good to say about a place, but I have to admit that I'm a little ambivalent about Boston. Perhaps it was the biting cold weather and time of year or perhaps it was the relatively short period of time that I had there, but I don't have much to recommend for Boston besides some really good lobster rolls. Even the skybar was ho-hum compared to many that I've been to (and there are some very meh skybars out there).

First the facts: Boston is one of the birthplaces of the nation and there is a lot of history embedded within the main downtown city itself. The back bay neighborhood, as much as it is a commercial strip today, is also an excellent example of late 19th century brick work and urban design. There are prestigious universities (Cambridge) and classic institutions, such as Fenway Park, throughout. There is also the Boston Commons, which for some reason I thought would be larger. The Boston subway system includes the oldest subway segment in North America, which is always nice for a transit nerd like myself. There ARE nice things there, but...

...I don't know. I obviously didn't go to the right parts of Boston and the well-below-freezing weather probably didn't help either. Next time I'll try the summer. At least the food is good.