Yankee doodle foodie

Sleep in.  Bliss.  After a night on the town, it was definitely needed.  Coffee was at Joe's in Central Station.  It wasn't bad, but it was no Blue Bottle. 

We were on the food tour. Five stops in the east village but first all 40 of us on the tour had to catch the tube together, get off at the same stop and find each other again.  Not sure why we didn't just meet in the east village,  but I figure it's part of the 'fun'.  Also part of the fun is squashing us all together so he didn’t have to talk too loud.  Not fun when you're in the middle.  So after the first time, I made sure I was the straggler on the side.

First stop, Vanessa's Dumplings.  Not bad.  Second stop, Artichoke Pizza.  That's some kind of creamy artichoke and spinach spread on pizza topped with cheese.  Heart attack material but rather nice. There was a really cool fire station just next door.  Time for something sweet - Butter lane cupcakes.  Choice of 5 cakes and about 30 toppings.  Not bad.  There was a cool marshmallow store across the road that some people went to.  I kinda wished I had too as it looked yum.  Then a hot dog.  It was on the must-do-in-NYC-list.  We went to Crif Dogs and had ones with avocados and salsa.  Finally a patisserie for a cannelloni type sweet which was absolutely disgusting.   Mum had an eclair that had custard instead of cream.  The tour was interesting but there were far too many people. We've discovered that we like walking tours.  When we have our own personal guide.  Or at the least a small group.

That evening we had a date with an old friend on sabbatical in New York and her parents.   Also with the Yankees.  We started with a drink at Hudson Commons bar (we'd planned to meet at Hudsons Library Bar but it was closed - shame cos we had a peek and it was lovely). 

We had bought tickets on stubhub and it turned out they were wheelchair seats.  The security guard said it was fine for us to sit there as long as one of us at least limped.  They were quite nice comfy chairs but it was a little chilly.  OK it was freezing.  I'd bought a hat and scarf as presents so they came in handy.  The game had a few interesting moments.  When Aaron Judge hit a home run into the stands.  When the Yankees had the bases loaded and we thought they were going to all come home but the batter was caught out.  When Jesus Sucre came to the plate and we made Sweet Jesus jokes.

The cold eventually got the better of us and we headed home early.