Bostonian in New York (Day 2)

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4/5
DAY 2 (January 6th, Tuesday): Return to Chinatown, Seth Meyers Monologue rehearsal!, The Tale of a Good Panini & A Bad Bowl of Ramen

Last night, my sister and I discovered that her new dorm has an amazing view of the empire state building, which had been transformed into a glaring beacon of neon Christmas.

I woke up super early because of a loud crash during the night and also because I'm still adjusting to my lumpy sleeping bag. Still haven't figured out the source of the loud crash, but I'll just attribute to it the mischievous dorm ghouls because every dorm has those, right?

dolla fruit rack?!                     giant pocky?!

I arose to a wet, snowy New York and headed back to Chinatown to go grocery shopping with my sister. At Hong Kong Supermarket, in addition to finding the world's biggest box of pocky, I found an amazing discount fruit rack, and I nearly keeled over with joy when I saw two generous bunches of freckled bananas -just the way I like 'em- for a humble sum of $1.00. I excitedly picked up a tray of persimmons when a taitai nearby whispered to me in mandarin, "no, don't get that. It's rotten inside." When I mentioned how some of the persimmons were hard, she said "don't worry about that. Place an apple in between them, and you'll be all set." Wise words. On our way back to the train, I stopped by a street store where a little ama was pushing sandals. I was on the lookout for a pair of shower shoes because three words: dorm bathroom floors. I always hold back from using mandarin with folks because not everyone speaks it, but it seems the moment I hesitantly uttered a few words in mandarin, she opened up to me and gave me a discount. Or maybe she was charging me more when I didn't speak mandarin? Hahaha...

While there, we also grabbed a quick breakfast. I stopped by Fay Da bakery on the way and picked out a steamed cha siu bun to provide some relief while we trudged through this snowy morning. The bun was too sweet for me, not to mention it was relatively expensive for its size ($1.10, smaller than Good Century Cafe's steamed buns) and compared to its competitors. Meh; I would go to another bakery next time. My sister stopped by Kam Boat Bakery & Cafe for a taro bun, which she really enjoyed.

At noon, I headed to the NBC Experience Store at NBC Studios/Rockefeller Center to snag tickets for Seth Meyer's daily monologue rehearsal for his Late Night show. Maybe it was because it was a snowy Tuesday or because it was post-holiday or maybe it's usually like this - but at 12:15pm, I was the fourth person in line, and even minutes past the official ticket distribution time (12:30pm), there were still no more than 20 people in line.  So for those who can't get tickets to the actual show, this is a very fun and much less time consuming alternative.

Almost walked right by Gaia Italian Cafe

Afterward, my friend and I caught the F train to Gaia Italian Cafe, a little Italian restaurant that received rave reviews on Yelp. And wow, those reviews were well deserved. This is not your traditional restaurant or restaurant experience. This nook and its owner, Gaia Bagnasacco, are a real treasure. Gaia owns and runs this ship in nearly every aspect, and her immense love for providing a cozy, authentic experience is obvious in the ingredients. Now, I've never been to Italy, and I honestly have no knowledge of non-Americanized Italian food and culture, but if the Italians are raving about it, than this place must be something special.

My sister got a salad, which came with toasted bread

Gaia Italian Cafe floats somewhere along the lines of my definitions of a restaurant and cafe. When we first stepped in, we didn't realize we had to seat ourselves, order at the counter, wait to be served and then pay at the end of the meal. So things roll a bit differently here, but in a good way.

It's hard to believe that such deliciousness can come at such a small price, but that's because the genuine passion and caring that goes into producing the food is priceless. I ordered the delizioco panini, which just about tops any sandwich I've ever had in my life. Forget college deli paninis because Gaia's made with thin, toasted homemade bread, delicate folds of prosciutto cotto, the most flavorful tomatoes I've ever eaten (I never knew tomatoes could taste like that), small bits of salted anchovy, mustard and soft pieces of mozzarella. I, being a slob, found it difficult to bite through the crispy bread and its soft fillings without spilling pieces and soiling my hands, but it was beautiful and yummy, and I slobbered through it to the tune of techno remix Sam Smith playing in the background. I also happened to be sitting there just as a delivery of san marzano tomatoes came in. Can I live here? Please?

I'm in love with a panini.

After lunch, we took the F train back to secure a place in the line for Seth Meyer's monologue rehearsal. Finding the line was like going on a wild goose chase, and after lots of confusing, misleading directions, we literally found ourselves back where we started and secured spots #21 & #22 - just about splat middle in what would be the final audience group. They led us up, they led us down for security checks, they led us all around. And all of a sudden, I was walking down a hallway lined with photos from Saturday Night Live sketches. My heart started beating really fast. And then: I reached Theatre 8G, where the magic happens. The curtains on neighboring Theatre 8H just happened to be pulled aside that day, and my jaw dropped as I realized: it's the set of SNL. Someday I hope to sit in that audience, too.

But now it was time for the rehearsal. The rehearsal is a fun opportunity to scope out the Late Night setup, learn about what goes on behind the scenes and help influence what material is used in the final taping. Audience members are basically the guinea pigs, and your laughter (or silence) will help gauge whether a joke is kept or killed. The first thing I noticed when I stepped into the theater was Seth sitting in a chair, looking casual without his usual suit/tie. At the roll of the camera, Seth jumped right into delivering jokes. What amazed me the most was his ability to "turn on" and capture us with an intense energy that I don't think even translates onto television. Every rehearsal day is different, and we were lucky to get to see two desk bits in addition to the monologue jokes; I actually found the desk bits even funnier than the monologue jokes. But I don't want to spoil too much. This is a very fun, short and sweet experience that requires a minute waiting time (in total, <1 hour max) compared to waiting for actual shows (3+ hours). If you're in the area/have time/are a fan, I recommend seeing the rehearsal.

One of the jokes that survived rehearsal.

And of course, we had to stay behind to camwhore around Rockefeller and its stunning holiday decor. We took a brief stop in Magnolia bakery just for funsies, which, on a late Tuesday afternoon, still wasn't as crowded as Tai Pan bakery on a Monday afternoon.

At Rockefeller Center

It's hard to capture how pretty NYC looks at night.

To my chagrin, getting back to my sister's dorm meant walking to the closest train station which just had to be Times Square, the light-polluted, tourist magnet, herpes of New York City which I'd been trying to avoid this entire trip. Somehow we survived the hecklers and the blinding lights, bumbled past confused tourists with maps and bags of overpriced souvenirs and finally made it to the glitziest subway entrance in existence. Phew.

By the time the evening rolled around, I was too exhausted and it was way too darn frigid outside to go on a dinnertime excursion. Unfortunately, options were very limited because my sister's dorm is conveniently situated among school supply shops and hipster cafes...and not much else. Finally, we settled on Ajisen Ramen, which I felt apprehensive about because 1) I had just experienced two of the best ramen places in the Boston area (Sapporo & Yume wo katare) and my standards were HIGH and 2) Ajisen's Yelp reviews mostly reiterated the mediocrity of the food, and no, I didn't embark on a 4 hour bus for mediocrity. But alas, the thought of hot soup and noodles being a 5 minute walk away on this face-slappingly-cold night was far too tempting, and I gave in to the possibility of a ho-hum ramen experience.

But then, we decided on a whim to do takeout. That's when my apprehension turned to genuine worry. I'd never heard of takeout ramen, and I could only imagine how ratchet that would be. A voice in the back of my head told me I had just broken the sacred Laws of Ramen, and now I must pay.

Ramen + stuff, soup in container, empty bowl

Now put it all together, and I present to you: seriously ratched ramen.

In the end, all of my worst fears were confirmed....and I'm not sure a sit-in dinner would have changed my experience. The dry, tough faux "cha siu" pork was the worst part. Or maybe it was the slightly congealed faux "ramen" spaghetti noodles. This wasn't "meh"; this was "bleh".  Plus tip, this came out to $10.80, making this dinner by far the costliest, but most disappointing meal so far. Sadness.

As my sister reminded me, "not every meal has to be spectacular." Sigh.

DAY 2 Food total: $16.80