Walking Off the Big Apple

On these leisurely summer weekend days, the smell of barbecue in the air is practically irresistible. Over the past month, I've found myself out in Red Hook in pursuit of the hometown smells of the Texas in my youth. The place is called Hometown Bar-B-Que, and it's the closest I've found - in terms of spacious ambience, woodsy smells, informality, the baby back ribs, Shiner Bock on tap, friendliness - to the Austin of my college years. Weirdly, outside the premises, Manhattan can be seen in the distance, and the best and most fun way to get there is via the IKEA ferry. You should try this some Saturday or Sunday.



Hometown Bar-B-Que is one of several strong Red Hook businesses that have emerged following Hurricane Sandy, so have a look around. While out there, be sure to take in the unconventional views of the New York skyline and the Statue of Liberty.

Directions: Find your way to Pier 11 (Wall Street) in Manhattan for the IKEA ferry. At the landing in Red Hook, walk a f…

If you've been working too hard and feel a need to reconnect with the city, I recommend sailing around it.


For those interested in a little depth along with their getaway, I highly recommend Classic Harbor Line's AIANY Around Manhattan Architecture Tour.  Shipping out of Chelsea Piers, the architect-led voyage surveys the changing New York waterfront, aka the "sixth borough."



This past Saturday, on a picture-postcard afternoon, I boarded the line's yacht, the Kingston, in the company of a few dozen visitors and natives. Some were architects; others were architecture enthusiasts. The trip begins at Chelsea Pier 62, sails south to New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Governors Island; then up the East River to Roosevelt Island; up the Harlem River, the Harlem River Ship Channel to the Spuyten Duyvil Swing Bridge; and then south along the Hudson River again to Pier 62. Lasting a little over 3 hours, the tour feels like a crash course in New Y…

Note: This post from 2014 should get you in the mood for bird watching.

In the thick green forests of Inwood Hill Park on Sunday, a splendid New York spring day suitable for most anything, I tried my best to find and take pictures of uncommon birds. This week in May is best for spring birding, migratory and otherwise.



In the morning and afternoon I hiked the high thickets and valleys of the park. Along the southern rim, the section of high woods just north of Dyckman Street, amazing little birds appeared in abundance. I snapped pictures of Black and White Warblers, an American Redstart, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a couple of Baltimore Orioles, an Orchard Oriole, a Swainson's Thrush, a few Northern Cardinals, several loud Blue Jays, and a ton of Chipping Sparrows. Later, below at the water's edge, I saw many shorebirds. At a local school near the entrance of the park, a Red-tailed Hawk perched on its favorite rooftop satellite dish (note 2018: The dish has been trashed, but the h…

A walk along the high grounds of Fort Tryon Park and The Cloisters south to Washington Heights equals any stroll in more publicized parts of New York City.  


Not that this area remains much of a secret these days. The motivation for my most recent stroll was prompted by a story published in The New York Times on March 28, 2014 titled "Downtown Food Goes North." The story suggests that Upper Manhattan, until recently, was a culinary wasteland, with nothing contemporary (i.e. local, artisan, farm-to-market) to eat. 




According to the Times, the Upper Manhattan food scene is changing, sporting "the unmistakable signs of menu relevance."

(Editorial aside: Of course, in a city that loses much of its older culture every day, I worry about so-called relevancy replacing traditional mainstays of the city, culinary or otherwise. But as long as the new doesn't crowd out Upper Manhattan's luncheonette counters, diners, and neighborhood bakeries, the way it has in most …

On Easter Sunday, I had arranged to meet a friend on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art at noon for an excursion around the galleries, an experience I dubbed "high church." 


I live on the west side now, about as far up Manhattan as you can go, but I find the A and the C trains extremely useful in taking me downtown to the well-visited parts of "the city." For example, the 81st Street stop (American Museum of Natural History) on the C also offers quick access to the New-York Historical Society (corner of 77th and the park) and Central Park West.


So, in anticipation of Sunday's event, I took the train downtown to W. 81st to start my walk to the other side of the park. Walking to the east side, the location of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is fairly straightforward, if you can follow the paths on the north side of The Ramble, slightly squeezed on the other side by the 79th Street Transverse. (see map below) If you lose your bearings, try to locate the …

(Revised September 2015) Below is the dining room of the only real house Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) ever knew, a place he called The Grange, built in the bucolic countryside of Harlem Heights north of what was then New York City.

This post was originally published on February 6, 2014 on the author's now defunct blog, 60 Guilders.