It was the release of National Dish, a book by Anya von Bremzen, one of my favorite food writers. Her “search of food, history, and the meaning of home” around the world was appropriately presented in a lively multicultural New York neighborhood of Long Island City.
— Why don’t we walk there? — Tom suggested once we met by Port Authority Bus Terminal.
And why not? Tom knows my penchant for urban walks, especially when bridges are involved. On foot, we have crossed GWB, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and a few other tristate area bridges more than once.
“Kickin’ down the cobble stones, looking for fun and feelin’ groovy,” we headed towards a bridge we’ve never walked before. It spans the East River and has three names — the 59th Street, Queensboro, and Ed Koch bridge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJBhdKrwTOc
The fierce vibe of the bridge took over the moment we got on it off 60th street. Scooters, bicycles, occasional motorcycles were zooming by and crossing onto the pedestrian side at a steady stream, their noise sometimes covering that of cars and trucks over the railing.
The waters of the East River looked intense. I never knew that it was not actually a river but a tidal straight that connects two bays — the Long Island Sound and New York Harbor. Ups and downs of tides in the bays force the water through this narrow channel creating almost boiling looking currents that alternate their directions — ebbing stronger towards New York Harbor and flooding less fearsome towards Long Island Sound.
Once off the bridge, food came up and we mapped a route to the Little Banchan Shop with Korean dishes to go. That shop has been on our list since I got the cookbook My Korea by its owner Hooni Kim, previously of Michelin-starred Daniel and Masa.
We passed PS1, an affiliate of The Museum of Modern Art situated in the former Public School One. Founded by a group organizing exhibitions in abandoned spaces of New York City, it houses quite edgy contemporary works. We visited it five years ago.
https://juliacore.com/beyondthebarre/2018/04/17/moma-ps1/
Our plan was to get some of the store’s banchan offers for our home pantry and split a few on a pier for lunch. As luck would have it, that was the only day the store was closed.
https://culinarybackstreets.com/cities-category/queens/2023/little-banchan-shop-korean-mix-n-match/
Where should we eat? Never fear in Long Island City but beware — food choices are abundant. We continued to our destination looking around, thinking what to settle on. Xian Famous Foods? Korean Kuku Chicken wings? Peruvian RestoBar? Thai Tuk Tuk? Mexican Casa Enrique? Undecided we ended up at Long Island City piers only to face a dilemma of food trucks: Abuela’s Empanadas? Alam’s Halal? Terry and Yaki Asian Halal? Chinelos Birria Tacos?
Bright Chinelos truck with Aztecan motifs won and after going through their extensive menu of quesadillas, fajita bowls, burritos, nachos with various fillings we settled on beef consommé with fresh salsa, lime juice, and sour cream, birria with shredded beef which came as three juicy tacos on excellent tortillas — two to a piece — with crunchy fresh salsa, and a pulled pork torta.
Our lunch was with a view.
Here’s the bridge that we just crossed about an hour ago.
Stuffed to beyond, we walked over to Rockaway Brewery. There was some time before the book presentation.
At the brewery, we were greeted by a furry orange employee whose job is now to protect precious grains from curious and cautious rodents during the night hours. Apparently this has been a popular trend in the city.
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/meet-the-many-feline-workers-of-nycs-breweries-060923
The release of a book on history and future of fascinating iconic food cultures wrapped up our day in a vibrant neighborhood.
This is a stack of National Dish and another book by Anya, Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking, a story of growing up in the Soviet Union told through food. I read it back in 2014, when it just came out. So many memories…
At the presentation, we learned a few things and made new friends.
No matter from which borough you look, Manhattan views are just breathtaking!
I started my watch a little too late, at Rockefeller Center at 50th and 5th. The actual walk began at Port Authority Bus Terminal at 42nd & 8th.
On the way back, the 7 train took us to Manhattan.