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.

Spot Dessert Bar

Spot, St. Mark's Place

Featuring Asian flavors like green tea, yuzu and coconut milk, Spot melds the east and the west in delicious dessert tapas.  Indulge your senses with their specialty Chocolate Green Tea Lava Cake -chocolate cake with molten green tea ganache served with green tea ice-cream on a bed of walnut crumbs.  Scoop some ice-cream and cake, savor and swoon.  Okay, maybe swoon is too strong a reaction, but this tapa is one of my favorites.  The green tea tempers the sweetness of the chocolate balancing out this dessert perfectly.

I've also tried their Smoked Coconut Cheesecake and Kabocha Brulee Cake. The cheesecake served with coconut ice-cream was light and tropical with citrus hints.  And the Kabocha tapa, pumpkin cake topped with condensed milk ice-cream, drenched me with sweetness.  If you like sugar explosions, you will love this.

Also served are cupcakes, flavors include Vietnamese coffee, apple crumble, and red velvet;

macaroons of vanilla green tea, taro and passion fruit among others; as well as cookies, cakes, specialty coffees, teas, bubble teas and special Spot drinks such as Homemade Mango Soda, Thai Iced-Tea Float, and Hot Matcha Latte.

They have two locations.  In St. Mark's Place Spot is cheerful and intimate, a lovely place to visit

with a date or friends.  The restaurant style service was fast and friendly.  Keep your eyes peeled on the street as the bar is below ground and easy to miss.  In Korea Town Spot is on the third floor of Food Gallery 32, a lively self-service place with spacious seating -great for groups or the solo diner.

http://www.spotdessertbar.com/