Lower East Side is where we wander today, in freezing cold (12 degrees max is cold for the season) and on a rainy overcast day. There is supposed to be an Arts Festival with a street fair on 10th Street by 1st Avenue this American long weekend being Memorial Day on Monday, starting from 12pm.
This is how we ended up our wandering. We took in a bit of everything in the end.
We start off by walking towards our local subway station East Broadway and then north on Essex Street when we stumble onto Economy Candy (great name) in the corner of Rivington Street. They are very popular, there were a couple of people already waiting outside for them to open at 10am.
And they did just sell candy (and some dried fruit) but it works - Economy Candy had been in business since 1937 and really had something for every imaginable sweet tooth. Very retro the whole shop, candies from floor to ceiling.
Here is one of many happy customers...
Yep, they did sell Dutch licorice, and many more types in jars behind the counter, so here is another happy customer...
The people in front of us purchased lollies for $50 and the damage for our sins was $22. Nice for our taste buds but perhaps not up waistline. Now if we can just ration ourselves...
On the opposite side of Essex Street was this figure on the roof next to this clock with a somewhat unique clock face. No, we don't know what it meant either. The figure on the roof seemed "Lenin-like" to us.
As we headed north west we did lots of zig zagging on the cross streets and came across quite a lot of good street art and murals. We think the place below was or has been a Speakeasy.
This mural at a playground we thought would make a great t-shirt...
Hans had done some research and had a list of places that we could visit along the way. The first one we came across was this corner, signed posted Joey Ramone's Place. As you can the local traffic sign people had to mount the sign very high up the pole, as this used to be the most stolen street sign in New York when it was at normal street sign height.
A cuppa is needed as we are facing cold winds and some sprinkling of rains. We liked the look of The Bean and it had a crowd. Di's tea was good but Hans' coffee seemed to be missing the kick. The crowd here is funky and trendy and we feel a bit daggy in comparison (well, Hans doesn't really care to be honest...)
Great murals again...
On 77 East 3rd Street is Hells Angels NYC club site. It was interesting and quite neat and tidy outside but of course we were discreet in our photo taking (from across the street). The bench to the left of the entrance was a laugh. It made it clear in no uncertain terms that the bench was for Hells Angels club members and nobody else.
Also, to the left and just outside the photo is a small hotel which makes it clear to its guests that the bench down the street is not for hotel guests. We figure you just don't want the Hells Angels knocking at your door and complaining! That is, if they would knock at all...
An inventive New York City way of hanging up wet clothes to dry...?
Just this weekend is the premiere in NYC for that bicycle sharing system that is spreading around the western world. We can only hope that the new bikes do not end up like the old bikes here in front...
We passed this little shop front on 1st Avenue with this message to its customers... Who knows what is behind all this? And who is Spanky?
Tompkins Square Park is between Avenue A and Avenue B and between 7th and 10th Street in an area referred to Alphabet City. The park has apparently had a very checkered past as a "junkie" haven and squatters paradise and encountered riots when NYPD tried to evict the freeloaders. These days Tompkins Square Park is a nice and very green park with lots of benches.
A little rain did not stop us and we had heard about the dog pound in Tompkins Square Park, that even if have no dog yourself, it is entertaining to just stop there and watch. So we did, and it was... Of course, this being New York City, there are rules...
The dogs seemed to have a ball, including a British bulldog who thought that he was anything but a bulldog...chasing a tennis ball like a retriever. You can't quite see him here as he's in the thick of things trying to muscle the newcomer (the black and white dog).
We were not sure what this meant either, but it looked... Interesting...
Well, then it passed 12 noon and we wandered off to where the street fair was to be, but alas, it turned out to be a non-event. Hardly any stalls and next to no people. We assumed that the cold and dismal weather had kept stall holders and punters alike away. We walked through it on 10th Street, but there was nothing to keep us there.
Is the below street scape and tenement building familiar? Think popular music? Well, 96-98 St Marks Place featured on the cover of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti album. It was also the backdrop for the Rolling Stones video for the song "Waiting of a friend". No, the punter in front had nothing to do with it either.
Lunch time and we had previously passed this small place called Curry Wurst on 1st Avenue close to 7th Street doing German wursts and selling German beer. Perfect. Our combined German server and chef (from Stuttgart, we asked) is cooking up a storm for us here.
Aaahhh.. On tap they had Schneider & Sohn Weisse bier, our favourite.
The glass given to Hans included some key dates, including that this bier was founded in 1872. They definitely got the recipe right over time. Yummy, and it went down very well with our shared Bratwurst platter - Thuringer and Nurnburger - with fries, rotkohl and kartoffel salad (fries, red cabbage and potato salad for the uninitiated). All good although we found the red cabbage a bit too sweet for our tastes. Americanized?
We could have stayed much longer at Curry Wurst but there is more to explore.
Business names and street signs regularly amuse us - Lucky Chicken? Based on the plucked, butchered versions we saw on the grill near the window, we don't think the chickens could be that "lucky"...
Another place on Hans' list was a Ping Pong Bar part owned by Susan Sarandon called Spin New York. We had to check it out on 48 East 23rd street. No cost or issues to just go in and check it out and it was great to see. Down in a basement with a "view" and window to the subway station, it was busy on a Saturday afternoon with every table in use. Looked like perhaps a total of 16 tables or so.
We loved the baskets at each table containing hundreds of balls, and when you lost one on the floor you just got a new one from a nearby basket and keep going. There were literally yellow ping pong balls on the floor everywhere.
Hans had childhood nostalgia, Stiga was the main brand of ping pong tables (and rackets) used in Sweden when he was growing up.
Spin New York is a big open space with a bar on one side and couches for relaxing. We figure they make their money from the bar, as a Corona costs $7 (we can buy an individual bottle at the supermarket for just over $1).
Spin New York is in the Flatiron District and next to the Flatiron building. Here we are with the "iron" between us...
We then wander north to 230 5th Avenue where there is a roof top bar on its 20th floor that has been recommended to us. We take the lift up to investigate but alas the roof top bar is closed due to high wind. Not that surprising really. On the floor below the roofbar is a big open room, called the Penthouse, where they were serving brunch and where punters sat by the windows and drank what we presumed being very expensive drinks. It all looked very civilized, but we resisted the temptation and went back down to street level again. Maybe a sunset drink another day.
At the corner of 5th Avenue and 27th Street is the Sex Museum (has featured in our blog before), but last time Hans missed this amazing piece of machinery in the museum's window. Hmm... It has a pretty obvious name...
We had also been recommended a coffee shop on 27th Street next to The Gershwin Hotel as a place serving good Oz-like espresso. We decided to road test that recommendation so we went inside the Birch Cafe and ordered a Cafe Latte extra shot for Hans and an ice tea for Di. Verdict was yes, this was the best espresso that we have had in New York City. For the record, much better looking coffee shops, but nowhere near as good coffee as in Australia, in general.
Well, time flies and we decided to then call it quits. We wander to the subway station on 23rd Street and take the 6-train to Brooklyn Bridge Park as we need to swing by C-town for some grocery shopping on the way home. We supplement with a couple of bottles of wine at the liquor store on Madison Street and then wander home.
Dinner is leftover Malaysian Chicken Curry for Hans and Pastistio Bolognese for Di (also using some leftovers). Some wine each completes the picture.
Outside is windy and gloomy, so we are quite happy to stay in. Good night.
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