A Very Nice Sunday Morning in New York

In August of 2004, I had to work all day on Saturday, and stayed overnight in a hotel in lower Manhattan. I had to drive to New Jersey and spend Sunday night there so I could do some work there on Monday. But I had most of Sunday free.

On Sunday morning, I went online and checked out three restaurants that I had heard about that looked interesting. Two of them didn't open until late in the afternoon, but Grotta Azzurra opened at 07:30 am to noon for breakfast, noon to 04:00 pm for lunch and 04:00 pm to 12:00 am for dinner. It was the only one of the three that is located in Little Italy.

Chinatown

So I decided to walk there from the hotel, and along the way I passed through Chinatown and took some photos of some things that I had my eye on for a while but hadn't had the chance to photograph previously. And some things that I discovered on Sunday morning.

Here is a Buddhist Temple located near the entrance to the Manhattan Bridge

Chickens in the window of a shop in Chinatown

Great N.Y. Noodletown!

White Swan Bakery in Chinatown

A statue of Confucius at the intersection of the Bowery and Doyers Street

In Kimlau Square, a statue of Lin Ze Xu, a Pioneer in the War Against Drugs 1785-1850

A Chinese war memorial

I walked by this store and it was small and maybe a little shabby, but it didn't look all that iki iki to me

And now you know where you can get your Sanrio

A church in Chinatown

Peking Duck House and a store selling a variety of things

A street in Chinatown

Once I got to Canal Street, there were lots of sidewalk vendors selling lots of things, but mostly fruits and vegetables

Little Italy

Here is the intersection of Canal Street and Mulberry Street

Mulberry Street is lined with Italian Restaurants, with a few other businesses scattered amongst them. Here are photos of a few of the restaurants along the street. Most of them were just getting ready to open.

Il Cortile

Giovanna's

Caffé Sorrento

Sofia's Cucina

Il Palazzo

Caffé Palermo

Da Nico

La Mela

At the intersection of Mulberry Street and Broome Street is the Grotta Azzurra. According to the web site: Founded in 1908 by the Davino family Grotta Azzurra was named for the blue grotto on the isle of Capri. Enrico Caruso feasted here after performances, and Sinatra called it his one and only favorite Italian restaurant, making it the site of many a "Rat Pack" evening.

Grotta Azzurra when I arrived

This photo shows Mulberry Street north beyond Broome Street

I sat at an outdoor table on the sidewalk and this is a photo of the Caffe Roma across the street

I had a great lunch, beginning with some prosciutto and melon, and then some shrimp risotto with truffle oil. I arrived at about 11:30, and couldn't get wine because New York doesn't allow them to serve alcohol before noon. I took my time and ate my prosciutto and melon, and by the time my entree was ready, it was noon and I was able to get a glass of wine to go with my risotto.

At noon, they put barricades at the ends of the street turning the street into a pedestrian walkway and then put out more tables on the sidewalk.

Once I finished my meal I walked back down Mulberry Street and some of the places had little stands out at the edge of the sidewalk selling pizza slices, gellato, pastries, etc.

Grotta Azzurra as I was leaving

Before I left New York, I stopped in this bakery and bought something to have at the hotel in New Jersey in the evening