My last day.

I read a log of blogs. One of them is by a food blogger who calls himself the Amateur Gourmet. It was one of the first blogs I had ever read. (this is going somewhere, I promise.)

See... a little while he wrote a post in which he answered the question "if you had one last day to be in New York before you were banished forever and could never return, what would you do?"

Well, I've been thinking about that question ever since, and this is my answer, dear hypothetically-question-asking-public.

I've thought long and hard about who would be with me during this day, but as much as I love so many peoples' company, I think I would have to spend it alone. New York is the city where I learned to be alone. This is where I met myself, where I discovered how to find silence in a lot of noise, and how to enjoy my own company. Really at the core of it, this has been my own journey and if I had to say goodbye, I would need to do it alone.


I would get up early. Really early. My apartment faces east, and my bedroom window has a panoramic view of Brooklyn, so I get woken up to the most fantastic Brooklyn sunrises. There is just nothing like it. So on my last day, I would be up with the sun and say goodbye to my beloved neighborhood in the best way possible... with lots of coffee. I've been thinking about it for the last few minutes, and I just can't pick which of my coffeeshops I would have my last cup in, so this is what I would do. First, since this is around 6 am, I would start at my bagel place, which, and I just don't care what anyone else has to say about this, has the BEST bagels in New York. Yes, I know this is the eternal argument, but since this is my blog, I have the final say. And get an everything bagel with plain cream cheese, for purity's sake. But no coffee. Because their coffee is weak.

And then I would solve my coffee dilemma by getting an espresso at Choice;


...then a cappuccino at Smooch, and then a Chai for the walk at Tillie's.
Since this is a Saturday, I would walk through my farmer's market:

on my way to the waterfront, and then I would wave goodbye to Brooklyn as I walked over the bridge. It seems sad to not spend more time in Brooklyn, but in my humble opinion it's at its' best in the morning, and my New York experience began in Manhattan as everyone's does, and it should really end there. So I would walk the bridge. Which, by the way, is one of the best ways to spend any old day. At this point, it's 7 or so am.

Since I've got some time and this is my goodbye tour I would walk up from there, through China town (stopping at for some street-side dumplings along the way... yes, I know it's still early. I still would.) I'd have a quick cup of tea at Pearl River, then past SoHo, up through the village, to Union Square. I would spend a lovely hour browsing at the Strand, and pick up some books to remind me of my city. Since by now it's 11 am or so, it's time for more coffee. And conveniently, my favorite coffeeshop in Manhattan is just off of Union Square. Oh my.

And now it's lunch time. Now... I've gone back and forth on what to do for lunch. To solve this dilemma, I am going to assume that for this, my very last day in New York ever, my stomach simply has no limits. Just go with it.

With that in mind, I would have two lunches... both of which are, to me, my perfect New York lunch. First I would stop at Maddison Square Park to the Shake Shack for what I can now confidently say is the BEST BURGER in the city. I know. Big words. But after relentless taste-testing, I know I speak the truth. I mean, just look at this... I rest my case. In order to get my meal, I would explain nicely to all of the hungry burger-lovers standing in the usually 2-hour-long wait that it's my very last day in the city and I'm on a tight schedule, and since New Yorkers are really are very kind people when it comes down to it and absolute saps for cheesy stories involving their city, they would step aside very sweetly and allow me to keep moving.

From there, (and remember, I'm magically hungry again) I would take the 6 uptown, and head to the MoMa. Now... I know most people don't think of food when they think of the MoMa, but the MoMa is my very own happy place in the city... the place I turn to whenever I need to clear my head and breathe again, and I do it in a very specific order. First I get lunch at the level 2 cafe and I eat at the bar, which has a lovely panoramic view of the street and is ideal for people-watching. In case you were wondering, this would be my meal:


That is to say, an arugula salad with duck prosciutto, pear, goat cheese, and candied pecans, a creamed cremini mushroom soup with roasted garlic bruschetta, a cherry cloufuti, and a glass of champagne. This is the combination I get every time I go... and if the rest of the world understood how lovely it is, I wouldn't ever be able to get a table, so I don't plan on telling them.

Now that my belly is full (again) I would do what I always do when alone in the MoMa. I would go straight to the 5th floor, turn left, left again, and find myself in front of Jackson Pollack's One.
This is my favorite painting. This is my favorite place in New York. And sitting on the bench in front of this painting just thinking and sketching and journaling have been some of the most lovely, soul-filling moments of my life. So on my last day, I would spend an hour here, in front of my painting.

It is now 3 pm. Which just so happens to be the time for Saturday Matinees. And since I couldn't leave NY without seeing one more show, to Broadway I would go. Now... I've been thinking long and hard about what I would see, and as agonizing as this is, I've come to a decision. Since this is my perfect world, Les Miserables would be revived for a special, one day engagement, and I would happen to have a ticket. Now... it's got to be said that it isn't actually my favorite show. However, I chose Les Mis for two reasons. One is because it was the first show I ever saw on Broadway, and something about ending that way just seems right, and the other is because when it comes down to it, as much as I love small little character driven shows with all my heart, I would need to go out with a bang. And so I would.

Now, when the show got out it would be just around 6, and so I would walk up one of the avenues, to Central Park. I would spend an hour saying goodbye to park as the sun was setting. I'd walk by Strawberry Fields, and sit for awhile with Eleanor Roosevelt...

because, as someone told me recently, "she's always there waiting for you", and I'd like to say hello for a bit on my last day. And while I was uptown, I would stop in for a Grey's Papaya hotdog. Because well, I would just need to.

And then suddenly, I would be ravishingly hungry again. And just as suddenly, my family would be there with me. I love lunches alone, but dinners alone suck. Especially when the food is amazing. And really, I can't think of anyone I would rather spend my last dinner with than them... and so the four of us would head to Craft. or Daniel. Or Jean-Georges. Or Le Bernardin. Or, well... I'm not sure I can choose. But one of them. And it would be lovely. With fantastic food, lots of wine, and lots of laughing. I can't think of a better meal.

And then we would all go to Times Square, where we would go to our favorite bar way above the mess, and have a drink and watch the lights. And I would take a deep breath, and then I would leave.


And that, for those of you hearty souls able to make it through all of that, is how I would say goodbye.


As an addendum... I realize that pizza was not a part of this post. I recognize that this is sort of blasphemous... but well, to get truly fantastic pizza I would need to go to Brooklyn, wait an hour in line, and spend just as long eating a whole pie... and as lovely as that is, it's really a whole evening in itself. And also, to be completely honest, as much as I love a good slice... pizza is just not as dear to me, and therefor as much a part of my New York as it is to some other people. I'm sad to admit it, but there it is. And this is, after all, my day.