Just got back from NYC. Impressions:
Halloween in Times Square, weird but not crazy. Everyone was pretty low key. Much better than St Patrick's day which I experienced about 14 years ago...
Cab from the airport smelled like piss? Unusual for a indian/paki driver - they usually have some kind of incense or something which makes the car smell nice.
Found a bedbug in the first hotel room - switched rooms (no apologies from the front desk!!! F#$cking New Yorkers!) - checked the mattress and the rest of the room. Seems OK. Still hung everything from the curtain rod in the bathroom. Spent both nights awake imagining creepy crawlies all over me. No bites visible, so I assume it was my imagination.
Had dinner at Abigail's on Broadway and Olympic Pita midtown. Oh. My. God. At abigail's I ate on the first floor - there were no frum people visible. I asked the waiter if they were still kosher just to make sure. How awesome is that? In Chicago only crazy people and those of us who are
stuckobservant will be found in all the kosher establishments (except maybe one). Also, oddly no certificates posted anywhere visible. Olympic Pita was the same way - chinese people, black people, a few Jews...
At 11:30 PM decided that I should bring back H and H bagels for the family. Walked over from Times Square to Pier 88. Scared shitless because there was nobody around on the street. Didn't want to get mugged on my last night in the city. But turned out OK. Garment bag filled with bagels, now smells like garlic and onion.
