Midtown to EWR

   

We flew out of Newark Airport. From the Hilton Midtown, we walked to the 7th Ave Station and took the E Subway World Trade Center to Penn Station (8 min). In Penn Station, we bought train tickets for the NJ Transit Train. It was $15.25 from Penn Station to EWR, including the ride on the Air Train to the terminal. It took 45 minutes from Penn Station to the terminal.



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The Original Greenwich Village Food Tour

We decided to take a food tour to cap off our weekend. I chose the Original Greenwich Village Food Tour from Foods of NY. It was a 3-hour tour and cost $60. Every once in a while, they'll offer a 15% off special. You get a food tour with all food included and some history thrown in.

We met at Murray's Cheese Shop, 254 Bleecker Street.

Our first stop was Joe's Pizza, located at 7 Carmine Street.

We each got a slice of the pizza. It certainly was better than the $1 pizzas. Nice chewy crust with flavorful sauce and cheese but I'm not sure it was 3 times better.

Next stop was O & Co, 249 Bleecker Street. There are also locations in other cities around the world.

They sell premium olive oils and balsamic vinegars.

This was truffle oil on popcorn. Truffle oil on anything is good!

Next stop was Faicco's Italian Specialties, located at 260 Bleecker Street.

The Sicilian rice balls were delicious and better than any I had in Italy. The risotto was creamy but not mushy.

We also got a taste of sweet soppressata.

We got to sit down at our next stop, Trattoria Pesce Pasta, located at 262 Bleecker Street.

Even though they're known for fish, we had a meatball. This was a very good meatball with minimal breading and the tomato sauce was very good.

We also got to sit down at our next stop--Rafele Ristorante, located at 29 7th Avenue.

They served a rolled eggplant in a tomato sauce. This had great tomato flavor.

Next stop was The Donut Project, 10 Morton Street. They also have a location near Central Park.

We got a mini lemon donut--the lemon zest on top made it extra lemony. So good.

We returned to Murray's Cheese and sampled 3 different cheeses--Tumbleweed cow cheese, Ewephoria Sheep Milk Gouda and  Manouri sheep & goat milk cheese.

Our last stop was Pasticceria Rocco's, located at 243 Bleecker Street.

We got a cannoli. I'm not a big fan of cannolis but I liked these. Nice and creamy filling.

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Tal Bagels

After Levain Bakery, we stopped at Tal Bagels. They have several locations in the upper east side.

I love their bagels. They're nice and chewy. Don't get them toasted. I also like the whitefish spread. So good. 

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Levain Bakery

The best cookies in New York City can be found at Levain's. If you're invited to someone's house for dinner, you better show up with a box of Levain cookies.

There are several locations. This one is at 1484 3rd Avenue.

They only have 5 varieties: Chocolate Chip Walnut, Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Walnut, Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip and Oatmeal Raisin. They're $4 each (the gluten free is $5) but weigh in at 6 oz each. You can order them online but they'll cost more: $27 for 4, $49 for 8 and $68 for 12.

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Food Tour in Flushing

I heard Flushing had the best Chinese food in New York.

Stop in the New World Mall and take the escalators down to the basement.

You'll find lots of stalls. Lanzhou Handmade Noodle looked really good.

I ordered the Beef Tendon Noodle Soup--$8. This was so good. Great bouncy noodles with a rich, non-greasy broth that was full of beef flavor. Delicious!

There are tables in the middle where you can sit down to eat.

Kung Fu Tea was in another corner of the mall. Passion Fruit Slush--$4.25 for medium + $0.50 for pearls. I asked for no added sugar and it was plenty sweet.

Shanghai You Garden Dumpling House, located at 135-33 40th Rd. was known for soup dumplings.

The special of the day was a basket of soup dumpling (xiao long bao) for free if you ordered $10 of food. Otherwise, it was $6.50. These were quite good. They were larger than Din Tai Fung's and the skin was just slightly thicker but the meat and broth were quite good.

Cucumber & Garlic--$6.75. This was a large portion and the cucumbers were crisp.

Handmade Pork Dumplings--$6.75. These were great. The skin was chewy and the right thickness and the meat was well flavored.

Joe's Steam Rice Roll is located at 136-21 Roosevelt Avenue.

Shrimp Steam Rice Roll--$4.50 for small. You could add 3 vegetables and I chose lettuce, bean sprouts and cilantro. This was the best of the day and we had some amazing dishes. The sauce had a hint of sweet and salty and was delicious.

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Whitney Museum

The Whitney Museum also had admission specials on Friday nights. From 7-9:30pm, pay what you wish. Otherwise, the admission is $25.

The Whitney focuses on 20th and 21st century American artists.

Alexander Calder's "Circus"

Georgia O'Keefe's "Flower Abstraction"

Edward Hopper's "Self-Portrait"

Edward Hopper's "Woman in the Sun"

Norman Lewis "American Totem"

Jackson Pollock's "Number 27, 1950

Andy Warhol's "Elvis 2 Times"

Allan D'Arcangelo "Madonna and Child"

"Kitchen" by Liza Lou. This is a full sized kitchen made of beads, plaster, wood and found objects. It took her 5 years to create this installation. 

Simone Leigh's "Cupboard VIII"

Can't remember the name of this sculpture but it was a pile of folded blankets.

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MOMA

The MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) has free admission on Friday nights 5:30-9 pm. Make sure to get in line early or after 7 pm because the line can get really long. Admission is otherwise $25 for adults.

The MOMA has some of the best art in the US.

Henri Matisse's "Dance"

Marc Chagall's "I and the Village"

Gustav Klimt's "Hope, II"

Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon"

I didn't realize "Boy Leading a Horse" was also a Picasso. It's so different from his best known works.

Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night." 

Salvador Dali's "The Persistence of Memory"

Frida Kahlo's "Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair"

Jackson Pollock's "One: Number 31, 1950"

Lee Bontecou "Untitled," a multimedia piece with welded steel, canvas, fabric, cowhide, copper wire and soot.

Jasper Johns "Flag"

Roy Lichtenstein's "Drowning Girl"

Andy Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans"

Andy Warhol's "Gold Marilyn Monroe"

You can zip through the museum and hit the highlights in 2 hours.

Before you enter, you'll be given a coupon for a free t-shirt at Uniqlo, Stop by their store at 666 5th Avenue and pick up the t-shirt.

It's Keith Haring art.

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