Urban Space

A food market that doesn't break the bank, Urban Space is your destination for a wide range of eateries.  Featuring Japanese and Mexican fusion, Thai, Greek, Middle Eastern, vegetarian and gluten free fare, as well as baked goods, burgers, pizzas, wine, craft beer, coffee, and ice-cream.  A medley of flavors, exotic and familiar, all under one roof a short walk from Grand Central.  A great place to satisfy eaters of all kinds for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, or just a drink.   

Set up like a food court, seating is at long tables with benches which can easily seat up to 10 people.  Additional seating can be found at some eatery counters.

More information about vendors and other locations:

http://urbanspacenyc.com/urbanspace-vanderbilt/

The Whispering Arches of Grand Central Station

Visiting friends often ask me about unusual attractions in NYC, places that only residents would know and which you'd never find in a travel guide.  Given that my interests take me to places tourists would visit, museums and galleries, I always found it hard to answer that question.  I'd tell them about things I'd read about, like the tunnels beneath the city, the people who live there, and the remnants of old subway systems.  My listeners would nod politely.  Either they already knew about the mole people, or after further questioning they'd be disappointed that you couldn't see the tunnels.  After all, it's not much fun to hear about things you can't see in a place you're visiting from miles or oceans away.


The last time I was put in that spot by a friend from out of town, I told him about the Whispering Arches in Grand Central, something I'd read about recently.  As we were near the station, I led the way down the ramp to the arches by the Oyster Bar.  Standing diagonally across from each other, faces to the wall, we spoke into the marble.  Our voices carried clearly across to each other, just like over the phone.  Excited, we turned, smiled at each other, then promptly turned back to the wall and rambled away.  So much more fun than playing phone with paper cups as kids!  And way more exciting as adults  to carry on a secret conversation in a place through which hundreds and thousands of people pass, gleefully impervious to the glances of strangers.

Macaron Café -More Than Just Cookies

Looking for a cute place for tea?  Check out Macaron Café. Known for, of course, the French cookie, the macaroons at this cafe have been billed by Zagat as "so authentic they'll transport you to Paris with one bite."  The best part is they're gluten-free and made in NYC.  

Flavors range from basic chocolate and pistachio, to tropical passionfruit and jasmin, to creative sesame tahini and honey lavender.  Feast your eyes on the rainbow colored arrays of cookies and explore the wild variety. 

Chase down the crumbs with a pot of tea.  Choose from herbal and black teas, such as rooibois, green tea, earl grey, and blends like vanilla rooibois.

The cafe also serves breakfast and lunch.  Featuring daily specials, their menu includes croissants, salads, and baguette sandwiches of smoked salmon, chicken, various cheeses, and avocado.  Ingredients are hormone free and organic milk and dairy. 

Seating is limited to stools at the counter by the window or at small tables for groups of 4, maybe 6 at a stretch. 

Locations:
750 Third Avenue

625 Madison Avenue

152 West 36th Street
303 Greenwich Street

More Information:
http://macaroncafe.com/

The Frick Collection

Stroll inside the Frick and inhale the 1900s.  View the private art collection of an industrialist, financier and art patron of the Gilded age in his former mansion. 

While a few alterations and additions were made to Henry Clay Frick's residence to render it a public gallery, the old rooms retain the original decor complete with moldings on the walls and ceilings which are adorned with gold leaf.  The living room, wholly preserved from Frick's time, even has the eighteenth century French furniture arranged as it was then.  The original Persian carpet lies beneath the table in the center of the room, dark mahogany-curtains frame the windows,  El Greco's St Jerome graces the wall above the fireplace, and paintings by Masters such as Bellini, Titian and Holbein dot the walls.     

In the library, the musky scent of old leather from the encyclopedias and tomes of art permeate the room and embrace the visitor; antique vases are displayed on the cadenza, and the dark-paneled walls are punctuated with masterpieces from the British school.  The vast West Gallery with furniture dating from the Italian Renaissance could easily be a wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Formerly the Ballroom, the hall had been turned into a private gallery during Frick's time.

Many of the alterations made to the mansion were seamless.  The covered courtyard in the middle of the house, reminiscent of Moorish architecture, used to be an open carriage court.  Now it's a delightful resting area for tired visitors to refresh themselves in soothing greenery.  And the previously open walkway off the 5th Avenue garden was walled off with glass and converted into the Portico Gallery.  At the time of viewing busts by Houdon and Clodion, late eighteenth century French sculptors, displayed there gleamed in the slanting afternoon sun.

Although the first floor of the mansion is accessible, the bedrooms upstairs accessed via a gracefully curved ornate staircase are closed to the public, as are the kitchens in the basement.  Both floors, however, are used by the staff.

Visiting exhibitions at the Frick are representational art, masterpieces and classics, to be displayed in harmony with the mansion's aesthetic.  The Frick takes great pride in its minimalist exhibitions and featured exhibits can showcase only one or two works of art.  At the time of visiting, the museum's widely publicized El Greco exhibit consisted of roughly three paintings. 

There are docent-led tours of the museum free with admission, as well as an auditorium with a video loop providing information about Frick, his family and the museum.

Architecture, sculptures, paintings and antiques, there is something for almost everyone at the Frick.  

More information:  
http://www.frick.org/   

Food Gallery 32

Finding good, inexpensive eateries is hard in NYC.  But they do exist.  Food Gallery 32, serving delicious, healthy Asian 'fast' food midtown in little Korea, is one.

Spanning three floors, the assorted eateries have options for carnivores and vegetarians with prices starting at $6.00.  Find a range of Korean cuisine from the quintessentially Korean rice dish bibampap and spicy-rice cake duk boki, to more familiar westernized dishes like sesame and garlic chicken, and sushi.  For those sensitive to fiery red spice, most dishes can be ordered in varying degrees of spicyness; all are served with sides of kimchi, pickled radish, cole slaw and soup.

Doyaji Pork House is devoted to pork and chicken cutlets -enjoy them solo or over rice.  Noodle 32 serves a variety of, yes, noodles -buckwheat, ramen and rice noodles, topped with kimchi, eggs, beef, seafood and tofu.  Seoul specializes in vegetables, chicken, beef, pork, and tofu served over rice and noodles.  Pan Pan offers Japanese teppanyaki, a style of Japanese cuisine utilizing an iron griddle, and offers meat, shrimp and tofu teriyaki.  Korean School Food serves rice-cakes in a variety of styles.  

The majority of eateries are on the first floor, while the top-most level houses a Rotesserie chicken stall and SPOT dessert bar specializing in Asian fusion tapas.  Read all about SPOT here.   If you're in the mood for something light for dessert, Red Mango by the entrance serves organic pro-biotic yogurt.  Flavors include green tea, mango, chocolate, raspberry and pomegranate.

Seating is throughout the building with the third floor offering the most tables and can comfortably accommodate large groups of over 6 people.  

Location:

NYC Korea Town

11 West 32nd Street

New York, NY 10001

Bosie Tea Parlor & Bar

Dainty sandwiches, delicate pastries, and crumbly scones with clotted cream and preserves, Bosie serves decadent high-tea at reasonable prices.  Set in the West Village in lower Manhattan among criss-crossing cobble-stoned streets reminiscent of England, the glass-fronted parlor is cozy, inviting and -modern, reflective of the times, more Dickens than the Edith Whorton many tea parlors today aspire to.  

Seating is at the bar, at a handful of tables in the front, or, my favorite, in the back in comfy upholstered chairs.  The shelves behind the bar and at the back of the parlor are lined with large copper tins of loose-leaf tea, the flavors circling the globe from African Rooibus and English Breakfast to Ceylon and Japanese matcha.  All are selected and developed by the parlor's tea masters and feature original blends such as Caramel Chocolate Rooibos, Apple Crumble, and Chocolate Hazelnut.  The separate tea menu is a small book with pages of choices, and the tea is served in a cute little pot with enough for a few servings. 

The delectable entrées include, triangular sandwiches of chicken curry, cucumber, and crab; chocolate and matcha eclairs; darjeeling and lemon meringue tarts, crepes, and macarons of various flavors including chocolate, rose, and salted caramel.  All can be ordered à la carte or as a tea service for two where the pre-selected assortment is presented on a three-tiered cake stand.  So Victorian!

For those who'd like to be transported even further to another world, a selection of wines is available.

More information:
http://bosienyc.com/

In the vicinity:

After tea, take in a movie at the nearby IFC Center, or explore the surrounding boutiques and shops.  CO Bigelow Apothecary, the nations oldest pharmacy on 6th Avenue and 8th Street is a delight.  Dating back to 1838, the apothecary doesn't seem to have changed much.  Step inside and enter into a different age.  A pharmacy occupies the back, a cosmetics counter the front and a superb selection of organic and imported body-care products fill the surrounding shelves.  Take in the fine lotions from France, the exotic soaps from Italy, and the beautiful hand-crafted products made in the USA, the best of the best all assembled under one roof rather like a World Expo.

Riverside Church

Overlooking the Hudson River near Harlem, Riverside Church is an American slice of Medieval France.  Modeled after a 13th Century Cathedral in Chartres, the Basilique Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Riverside Church is a National Historic Site.  Built in 1930 by J.D. Rockefeller, the church is a pastiche of architectural styles.  The tower is Gothic and so is the nave which incorporates two balconies under its soaring arches, seating 2000 altogether.  The walls are inlaid with stained-glass windows and a labyrinth, adapted from one at Chartres, is painted on the chancel floor.  The chapel is Romanesque -think smaller arches, lower ceiling, and boasts an intricately carved baptism pool.

Physically the building is an amalgam of the two continents as well.  Limestone for the walls was quarried in Indiana, while many of the stained-glass windows are from Belgium.  Two beautiful rectangular stained-glass windows in the Nathrex depicting scenes from the life of Christ are 450 years old, allegedly the oldest in any American Church, and are sourced to Flanders.

Perhaps the church's hybridism explains its liberal philosophy.  Interdenominational, Riverside has been a stage for political debate and activism through out the years.  Martin Luther King voiced his opposition to the Vietnam War there, and other notable speakers include Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Fidel Castro, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor instrumental in the Christian opposition to the Third Reich.  More recently, the church was active in the Occupy Wall Street movement and donated 100 tents to occupiers and provided shelter to protesters evicted from Zucotti Park.  At the time of visiting Mayor DeBlasio spoke about reforming Pre-K education. 

Mayor Bill DeBlasio speaking.

Also a site for theater and the arts, the church has hosted dance performances, documentary showings, and the NY Family Arts Festivals, an interactive event with arts and crafts, and performances.  

Visiting:

Riverside Church is open to the public and offers free tours on Sunday after mass at noon.  Tours can be reserved during the week for a $10 fee.  

A small cafe on the premises serves coffee, soups and snacks.  For more variety head south along Broadway for tons of cafes, bars and restaurants, including chains like McDonald's.


More information:
http://www.theriversidechurchny.org/


Sights in the Vicinity:

North of Riverside along the Hudson is Grant's Tomb, burial place of Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States, and his wife Julia Dent.  Northeast, in Harlem, the area around Malcolm X Boulevard and 125th Street is home to rows of lovely brick buildings and many beautiful small churches.  
South of Riverside Church, along Broadway, are Columbia University and Barnard College.