From King Kong to Sex in the City

The first time I visited New York, I was seven years old.

I was with my family. I was wearing a pink dress. I remember Broadway, and the Statue of Liberty and The Empire State Building. But the one, most spectacular, magical memory that remains from that short trip actually had to do with food.

I discovered the Automat. a fast food restaurant comprised entirely of vending machines. But what vending machines they were! Put a dime, or a quarter in a slot, and a towering machine with different cubicles would whir and open the door I’d chosen…to reveal a piece of pie on a plate, or a sandwich wrapped in wax paper.

Automat, by Dennis Hopper, 1927

It was so modern, so…Jetson’s!

From that moment on, New York was and is a place I go to to find out what’s new – in art, in theatre, and in food…But I also go to find what’s old….New York is part of my pop culture history, from King Kong to Sex in the City.

I’m going to New York this weekend!

For four days I’ll be looking at art (Kara Walker at the Whitney, The Dinner Party at the Brooklyn Museum of Art), shopping (the Canadian dollar is holding its own, more-or-less), walking, looking, listening to music and…eating!

What’s your favourite place to eat under $50, in NYC? Under $10? Best pastry/bagels/ croissant? Best Thai or Chinese? Most beloved coffee shop? What is your favourite thing to do in NYC, period?

Ann, from A Chicken in Every Granny Cart sent me a generously detailed email about her favs. So now, Beast, Intoteca, and Clinton St Baking Company are on my list…

I’ve never been a foodie in New York. It’s always been about the art, the underground feminist and queer cultures, the films and, well, OK, the kasha varnishkes. It’s still about all that, but now, as my friend The Feminist Lawyer put it, there is this other, secret world…the world of food.

Send me your recs!

And check back to read about my adventures.

I hear there’s a retro Automat in the East Village.