Bright Lights, Big Portions

Hold on travelers, GG is coming to you 'live' from NYC! Leave your belts at home because there will be no big apples here.

I've only been to New York a handful of times, so I'm still pretty excited to go. Anytime I'm there I make a conscious effort to act local and not look like the country mouse, but what's great about this city is that no one cares. You could literally dance down the street in a polka-dot dress with matching poodle, and no one would look twice. I know because I saw it.

Allow me to nerd-out for a moment...

Manhattan itself is not exactly a huge place. It's under 22 km long and just over 2 km wide. In that relatively small space though, it has a resident population of 1.7 million. Include the 5 boroughs and what you get is the most densely populated city in the US, with a resident population of between 8 and 9 million. With a population of that size and diversity, both culturally and economically, you end up with a city where anything you could possibly want (and just as many things you don't want) are readily available.

So just how many restaurants could there be in NYC? Well, according to New York's tourism board, the number is 18,696, but the NYC Department of Health lists more than 20,000 on their restaurant inspection web site. So 20,000 restaurants... that's enough to eat at a different restaurant each day for almost 55 years... sorry, I couldn't resist. I was aiming to hit at least 1,000 this weekend, but I think I only got about halfway there.

What were the highlights? 

Shake Shack - Do you remember the place where you had the best hamburger of your life? Well if that place doesn't happen to be Shake Shack, then fuhgeddaboudit! I couldn't possibly explain how good these things are in words but 'gourmet McDonalds' comes to mind. Maybe it's their deliciously high fat proprietary beef mixture, but even the bun is magical. Good enough that Jon Stewart used one to try to bribe King James to come to the Knicks. How good is it exactly? Check the live CCTV 'Shake Cam' to see the line outside the place.

Beard Papa's - Mochi ice cream. Japanese rice cake with ice cream filling. Am I the last one to find out about these things? It's a good thing they let me buy just one.

Jean Claude - Even though I'll be back in France in 2 months, I just can't stay away from French restaurants. I also forgot just what a pat of garlic butter does to a steak. My friend Carl from Guadeloupe and I both ordered the steak frites, and our first bite (which just happened to be in unison) was followed by a good 15 seconds of silence.

Katz's Delicatessen - An NYC institution, where Harry met Sally, and my Mecca. Is it as good as Sally Albright says? Depends how much you like pastrami.

Union Square Market - We had the good fortune of some great weather, so we took advantage of some great outdoor markets.

The Westside Market - I always have a soft spot for gourmet grocery stores.

Rocco's Pizza Joint - Classic New York style Italian spot. The eggplant parmesan is phenomenal, and it's easily enough food for 2 meals.

Zabar's - More gourmet catering on Broadway. Some of the best rugelach I've had anywhere.

Joe's Shanghai - Delicious soup dumplings. Whoever spills first buys them.

Sadly I didn't make it to the Food Network offices in the Chelsea Market (though I tried) or to one of Sir Flay's restaurants, but I have a feeling that I'll be back soon!

Salad this week for sure.

GG