NYC Trip 2007- Monday, July 16th: D&D, BB, ESB, & FAO

We started the next morning going to the famous Dean & DeLuca (from Felicity I believe, a branch can also be seen in the background from the TODAY show I've been told), which is a famous upscale grocery store, which has satellite coffee shops around the city. On the way Jamie wanted to feel like a native NY'er by buying a bagel from a vendor on the street.

Here Sam is ogling the pastries and desserts (click on the pic to see them better). This was not a staged or reenacted scene...

The original Dean & Deluca store. Their coffee was great, and they had chocolate croissants that were as good as my memory of them in France...


We then walked the Brooklyn Bridge which gave us great views of the city (and the bridge, of course). I think I'll do a separate post just of pictures from the Brooklyn Bridge.


After the Brooklyn Bridge, we walked through Chinatown...









...stopped at a shop of treats that allowed free tastes of everything (I did try the dried crab...it didn't taste too bad, but I was still picking exoskeleton out of my teeth two hours later, click on pic for better view)...

...and then into Little Italy...









...where we found our lunch destination: Lombardi's. The nation's oldest pizzeria (since 1905).






Lombardi's uses coal ovens to cook the pizzas (which pizza classicists maintain is a requirement), though it has become illegal to build new coal ovens in NYC (though existing coal ovens are grandfathered in). As a result, restauranteurs hoping to open a traditional pizza place have been known to scour through abandoned buildings hoping to find an existing coal oven.

Here's our yummy pizza...made with fresh mozzerella. It was really good!









We were also happy to have eaten at Lombardi's.









After lunch we ran across a Pinkberry, which I had heard about on the radio, I believe. It's a frozen yogurt (with a slightly fruity, tangy flavor) that you can get with toppings. I chose raspberries because they looked delicious (they were).

We then took the subway to the Empire State building to go up to the observation deck. We had to wait in a line to go though security (similar to an airport), then get in line for tickets, then get in line for an elevator to the 80th floor, then get in line for an elevator up to the observation deck (86th floor). I think I'll also do a separate post solely devoted to pics from the ESB as well.



We stopped in at F.A.O. Schwarz after the ESB so the Phillips could get their daughter a NYC treat. We enjoyed the lego statues. Here's Hagrid...









...and a dangerous Chewbacca...









...and of course there's the famous piano. We chose not to wait in line to jump on it. I'm sure most of the kids "playing" the piano have no clue why it's famous. If you're interested in your own huge piano, they're listed for the one-time only low price of $250,000.00.