In a New York State of Mind: A Story in Two Parts

One of the advantages of living on the eastern seaboard is that you are just a hop and a skip away from New York City, arguably the greatest North American city there is, a financial heavyweight, an artistic nexus and cultural melting pot of all peoples and persuasions.

I am fortunate to be living in Northern Virginia, in close proximity to Washington DC, the political nerve center of the United States; ceteris paribus, I’d rather be in New York City.

I have taken countless jaunts to the “City” since I moved back to the east coast from Los Angeles in 1995, and this Memorial Day holiday weekend was yet another chance to visit the Big Apple.

I have also given up on driving to New York, especially on holidays when the traffic on Interstate 95 could be maddening, and also expensive with the high cost of gas and tolls. I now take a bus, which gives me time to catch up on my sleep, and four and a half hours later, I am in Manhattan, for the price of a cab ride from La Guardia to the city center.

This trip was quite special too, as my wife Marilyn and I were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. We started our journey at 9 a.m. on Friday, 23 May, from Manassas, Virginia and after two stops to pick up more passengers, the bus was underway to New York.

Traffic was light until we hit Newark, New Jersey and crawled into the Lincoln Tunnel, emerging on West 34th Street at 2 p.m. for the final stop in Manhattan. I hailed a cab for the short trip across town to my brother-in-law’s apartment on East 59th Street, our borrowed home for the weekend.

It was raining in the city, typical New York weather in late spring. We made sure to pack an umbrella and rain gear, and comfortable waterproof shoes. We knew we’d be walking a lot and by the time our trip was over, we probably walked at least 10 miles around the city.

Dinner was going to be at a Japanese restaurant on the Upper West Side, and after briefly unpacking, we decided to walk the three-mile route, up onto Madison Avenue then to Columbus Circle and Amsterdam Avenue where the restaurant was located. Along the way, we passed by several fashion houses — Prada, Celine, Tod’s, Ferragamo, Balenciaga and many others on Madison and stumbled upon Filipina fashion designer Monique Lhuillier’s flagship boutique.

It is great to know that a Filipina is among the renowned fashion designers in the world, and to have a place to showcase your talent and creativity in a global fashion capital should be a source of pride not just for her, but for all Filipinos.

The rain poured constantly and our small umbrella was of little help, so we made frequent stops to keep dry, barely making it to our 7:30 p.m. reservation at Tsumo. Marilyn has become an astute budget traveler and she found this place online which offered a 13-course omakase dinner for less than $60 per person — what a deal!

Well, the bill did not exactly come out cheap, as we had to order more food — we were quite hungry after our tiring walk and, yes, I had to order premium sake to complement our meal.

Andy, our sushi chef, hailed from Fujian province in China and has been living in New York for over thirty years. As he crafted each sushi piece with elegant precision, we got to talking a little about his life as an immigrant in America.

He started as a kitchen helper prepping fish in the back room of the sushi bar and eventually made his way to the front of the room as one of the chefs. Andy dreams of owning his own restaurant one day, his story an evolving tale of immigrant aspirations and hopes for success.

As they say about New York, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.

After dinner, we decided to have a nightcap at a Georgian restaurant next door and sat at the bar. Marilyn ordered her usual cappuccino and I decided to try some Georgian vintages, which I found to be a little too tannic for my taste. But how often can one get to try Georgian wine, a still unfamiliar terroir for many Americans, or go to eat at a Georgian restaurant? I later found out that there were many in the city.

New York is where all cuisines are well represented, including highly rated Filipino restaurants. Manhattan alone has over 6,400 restaurants.

It was now time to end our first night in the city and I hailed a cab to get back to home base.

Marilyn wanted me to get an Uber but I reminded her that when I am in New York, I always get a cab. It’s my small way of giving back to New York’s cab drivers who are having a tough time competing against Uber, Lyft and other rideshare platforms.

Our driver was from Bangladesh and has been driving taxis for 24 years. Before ridesharing companies came about, he said business was great, and he was able to send money back home to his extended family, helping put nieces and nephews to school, support his parents and pay for essential living expenses.

Nowadays, he said, there was barely enough money for his own family’s needs. I told him to keep the $10 change and wished him good luck.

New York City can throw curve balls at you, but you just have to keep swinging, keep moving, keep hustling, because that’s the New York way.