Two outings with the Vossmans were particularly fun for me. First, Bill and I were able to spend Thursday afternoon with them between their visit to the MoMA in the morning and taking in the Billy Elliott musical that night. One of the places we visited was a place I had wanted to go since we arrived in the City….the Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station.
After traversing the corridors of the main level, we went to the lower level into the restaurant. It’s not fancy, just a plain old 1950s diner with a twist. Like the rest of Grand Central Station, The Oyster Bar seems to be frozen in time. In fact the restaurant has been located there since the station opened. The ceiling is a collection of archways clad in yellow subway tiles and the arch shapes are reminiscent of an old wine cellar. To one side is a colonial style dining area with checkered table cloths, in the middle are three huge u-shaped counters, and to the left is a long marble soda fountain type counter that serves as the raw/cocktail bar. After opting to sit at the bar we were able to see the staff shuck, cook, and cold prep the oyster offerings. The handwritten menu board on the back wall of the bar had an enormous variety of oysters to choose from.
I got four raw oysters from Washington State and they were heaven. One was so big I had to cut it into three bites. They were so fresh I couldn’t believe they came from across the country instead of from Long Island. This was my second oyster experience and was much better than the first time I had them in Midtown. These were fresher and more satisfying. I didn’t realize just how much fun I would have eating oysters. I am now addicted to their lure. Fortunately, Bill found a place called “The Ten Bells” on the Lower East Side that offers more for the money. Looking forward to trying that out next time we are in that area of town.
Saturday I was up early, and I joined Roger and Betsy on a trip to the Cloisters. We all had studied maps to get there and concluded the best game plan was to take the nearest subway up North, then the bus. We embarked the A train at 57th and 8th Avenue, Columbus Circle, and got off at 190th Street nearly to the northern tip of the island. To our surprise when emerged from the subway we were right at the entrance of the park where the Cloisters are located, no bus transfer or complex directions were needed after all.
photograph pending
First, we were able to tour the cute little two story gatehouse which is rarely open to the public. Then we walked the main building though the beautiful perennial gardens. The weather was perfect. Along the walk we saw the Hudson River with outstanding views of the George Washington Bridge. We were taking our time with every detail as we eventually arrived at the main building of the Cloisters. Since the building was actually disassembled in from several abbeys in Europe and then brought over reassembled piece by piece, we felt like we had been transported to Italy instead of being in the northern tip of Manhattan. Inside there are expansive stone rooms, outdoor courtyard gardens, and balconies overlooking the Hudson. The Unicorn Tapestries are divine, the highlight of the medieval artifact collection.
photograph pending
We decided to walk down to the café just inside the park entrance for some lunch. To our dismay there was a 40 minute wait and no outdoor seating due to a wedding party. We then asked a local for restaurant suggestions. We were directed to go straight ahead out of the park, past the subway station and we would see a little three block retail area. It was the cutest neighborhood with old, well kept apartment buildings, the Mother Cabrini Shrine and High School, four grocery stores, and many little eateries. Roger’s good eye spotted our place to eat, Bleu Evolution. We were able to sit outside in an enclosed back patio and enjoy a fabulous, inexpensive lunch. The service was good and once again like the places we frequent in the Village, free drinks were given without fanfare to show appreciation. A block further down was another little subway station and in minutes we were back to the center of the bustling metropolis of Midtown.
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