Although I hail from another tribe and am decidedly "twang-free," my Texan bud Maureen and Tennessee pal Stacy both promised me a Yuletide eve to remember this past Friday. With Stacy's momma, Mike (yes, that's her nickname!), and Mike's ribald boyfriend, BV, up from Nashville for the holidays, I had no doubt that the promise wouldn't be baseless.
We gathered in Grand Central Terminal, where BV tried on his best "good ol' boy" stance, declaring that he would be oohing and aahing around the station as we young ladies gathered up the tickets to one of New York's finest holiday events - the New York Botanical Gardens' Holiday Train Show. Once we hit the Bronx locale, we enjoyed ourselves, traipsing through rainforest and desert scenes, before we made it to the Christmas choo-choos.
What a sight it was to behold - a magical scene of New York City historical minatures crafted out of plant parts like berries, mushrooms, pinecones, and twigs. And zipping throughout the wonderland, which featured landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge, the Apollo Theater and the New York Public Library, were an enchanting series of old-time trains and trolleys. (My vehicle-happy nephew would have been ecstatic!)
We all felt like kids in a candy store. Was it possible that the Garden's Gingerbread Adventure would be as delightful?
Heck, no! As Mike put it - "it sucked." Oh, well, it was time to get back to Manhattan anyway for an overdue nap before heading out to the dinner festivities.
From the photo above, you've probably guessed where we ended up: the legendary Joe's Shanghai in Chinatown. And, for all the negative reviews this place gets, calling the restaurant "over-hyped," I've gotta say that the eats were mighty fine. Highlights included the Crab & Pork Soup Dumplings, Fried Spicy Whole Yellow Fish and an off-the-menu order of Sauteed Pea Shoot Greens with Garlic. The accompanying TsingTaos hit the spot too.
At this point, I think Stacy and her kin were too overstuffed on Joe's vittles to continue the evening's festivities. Not so for Maureen and her friend Eric.
Would one more drink kill me? Heck, no! And, with a frigid wind at our backs we quickly gathered ourselves and sashayed over to the closest bar we could find, Winnie's on Bayard. The place seemed like a friendly dive. We ordered up a round. But, something was bothering me. Where had I heard of Winnie's before? What was so special about this joint that I recalled its name?
Once two drunken girls got up to sing "Like a Virgin" in front of an oversized karoake screen at the rear of the bar, I remembered why I'd heard of it. And, by the time we heard renditions of White Snake and Carpenters tunes, we all were glad that we'd stumbled into this bizarro bar.
Merry Christmas,
Touched for the very first time,
Merry Chriiiiiistmas
Let your heart beat, next to mine...
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