I was very hungry at twenty minutes to three this afternoon, and had twenty minutes before an appointment in Tribeca. I was outside a diner. New York is not really America (in so many ways). It has very few diners. In fact, a diner-dedicated post is a great idea...in the making. I'll wait for the Frenchie because this one will need really good photographs.So I thought: Diners seem fast, so...
I sat down. A menu was thrown at me. I scanned the grilled sandwiches section. I chose. I ordered. No pleasantries were exchanged.
Fifteen minutes later I was back on West Broadway, well fed. Inside me was a wholewheat grilled Swiss and ham, and a whole Coke. Wow. Coke is delicious. Which is why I hardly ever drink it.$10, including tip.
You're doing just fine but I'll be happy to cooperate on the dinner photo project.
ReplyDeleteIf possible, combining it with a US-wide Airstream tour. ;-)
Enchanted *sigh*
ReplyDeleteThe cat is ready to hit the road.
I came here to ask why New York is "not America" and what do I find...are you two gadabouts planning another trip???
ReplyDelete(I suppose you mean that NY is well served by cafes, rather than diners?)
Dinahmow...it's a dream trip. Not real. Yet.
ReplyDeleteWhy is New York not America: well, of course I know it's America...BUT.
It's so culturally diverse. Hundreds of languages are spoken. Constant rubbing off of cultural influences. It's fluid, people coming and going all the time. The subway is an equalizer and bringer together of most strata. People come here for a reason. Very few people 'land up' here. So there is an energy and purpose. It's hugely tolerant. That is not very American. It's liberal. Not very American, either. There are no strip malls: that's almost unpatriotic.
Then again all this is set in an American context so obviously it is informed by being American.
But it is rather like Monaco and Lichtenstein, a mini, of-shore (4 of 5 Boroughs are on Islands, after all) country with backbone and character, both of which those silly little places lack.
off- and of-shore? :-)
ReplyDeleteThe way you write of NY makes me, more than ever, want to experience the place.
ReplyDeleteSomeone's bound to want to know why I never did get to The Big Apple. Blame lurve!
(And dream on...)