Autumn in New York City

“What we glean from travellers’ vivid descriptions has a special charm; whatever is far off and suggestive excites our imagination; such pleasures tempt us far more than anything we may daily experience in the narrow circle of sedentary life.”

Alexander von Humboldt

Here is a photo series from my trip to New York City in November 2021. The first time I went, I made an easy mistake and planned too many things, and a few of those things weren’t worth the time spent doing it. In hindsight, it was an easy mistake to make, because the city is so wonderful and there are so many things to do and see. This time around I was more focused and chose sights in two specific areas: Central Park and the Upper East Side. I decided to see one museum each day. On Friday, I went to the MOMA. On Saturday, I went to the Met. On Sunday, I went to the Guggenheim. And in between museum visits, I walked through the park, visited coffee shops and restaurants, and looked at architecture.

Before I get to the photos, I wanted to share a list of coffee shops and restaurants I visited and what I liked most about them:

• ABAITA, 145 E 49th St
  • I initially couldn’t find this restaurant. I had actually walked past it without even noticing. It was cozy and the kitchen looked out onto the small dining area. I ordered an artichoke pizza, fried green olives (called Tunisian olives and a definite must if you go), and a slice of apple cake for dessert.
• Pazza Notte, 1375 Avenue of the Americas
  • There was a scene in Wes Anderson’s French Dispatch during the food writer’s segment about traveling alone. In that segment, Jeffrey Wright’s character said that no matter how lonely it got when he was on assignment, there was always a restaurant he could go to where he felt like he belonged. A place where he felt like he was at home. In a restaurant, everyone is there for the same common purpose and eating is a universal action shared by all cultures. It’s an individual act performed in a communal setting. Sometimes it is difficult for me to remember that. That regardless of how I am feeling during a trip, I can always visit a restaurant or a coffee shop. It’s here I can be around people, even though I am dining alone. There is something comforting and humanizing and powerful in that realization. When I walked by this particular restaurant, I immediately felt welcome. The patio was strung with orange string lights and it reminded me of having dinner in the dimly-lit backyard under the starry summer sky as a kid. I sat at a small table near the front window and had carbonara and lemon sorbet and listened to the idle conversation of my fellow diners.
• Birch Coffee, 171 E 88th St
  • I went to one of these locations during my first trip and I really enjoyed going to this location on the Upper East Side. I sat on the patio on a picnic table during one visit and had coffee and wrote postcards. In the window, they have a small display table with potted plants and stacks of books and there are pendant lights and vines suspended from the ceiling. The finishing touch is the small floor-mounted radiator underneath the table. On top of the espresso machine, they have some metal stands with little cards on them. The cards have topics for conversation and you can use one while you wait for your coffee with the other patrons. They also have napkins with borders specifically for doodling.
• Maman, 1424 Third Ave
  • I didn’t get an opportunity to dine in here because each time I went, it was at capacity. But the takeout line wraps around the display case and there are baskets of pastries stacked to the brim. By the time you get to the register to order, you want to buy two of everything. I got a pear almond croissant and a chocolate croissant both times that I went. My favorite pastries have apples and pears.

And now, the photos.