Over the weekend, we spent some time viewing new apartment buildings across Manhattan. And honestly, I felt a little overwhelmed seeing them. A lot of interesting and eclectic buildings have been built in New York in the last five to ten years, and the newer they are, the more insane they become when it comes to amenities and hotel-like finishes. Bowling alleys? Golf simulators? “Room service” “catered” by local restaurants? Laundry and housekeeping services on demand? I cannot believe how extensive some of these amenities can get depending on the building. In addition, some of the views at these buildings seem too expensive to be places I’d actually live: one of the buildings we viewed on the east side in the 30s had full, sweeping views not only of downtown Manhattan, but also water views of the East River and Long Island City.

My expectations for apartment buildings has definitely increased since moving into our current building, where we’ve lived for nearly four years now. But at the end of the day, amenities like spas and saunas and bowling alleys are just far too excessive for me. How often would I realistically use them? Chris uses our pool every weekday, and I use our gym every weekday. We love having a package room where our packages are guaranteed to arrive safely. Outside of that, these other things just seem too frou-frou for me to get excited about or be tempted by.

Today, we explored the Riverdale and surrounds area of the Bronx. The only reason I even knew what Riverdale was prior to moving to New York was that an ex-boyfriend grew up in the area and made it sound like he was “from the hood.” Little did I know that Riverdale is actually considered one of the wealthier parts of the Bronx and is known for having large, fancy homes and even fancier schools. And also, little did I know that the now ex was an absolute idiot.

Anyway, we wandered around the area, had some Dominican and Spanish food, and also got to see a gem of a co-op complex: Villa Charlotte Bronte, a 17-unit co-op building that was made as a bit of a protest to the generic “ugliness” of urban living. It was designed in the style of an Italian villa and the builder had advertised it in the New York Times as a sort of permanent vacation, perfect for anyone whose “soul is hungry for the majesty of the river.”

To complete the Italian villa feel, the set of buildings is actually set atop a cliff’s edge above the Hudson River. The property is covered with winding hedge-lined paths, arched staircases, and a sunken courtyard. The exterior walls are made of stucco and multicolored tile roofs. Pretty much all of the units have balconies and varying views of the Hudson. Some are duplexes, other are triplexes. And no unit is exactly the same as the other; some have a terrace off the kitchen (ooooh, this would be a dream for me!), others have a view of the George Washington Bridge, and one even has a cathedral ceiling.

These little architectural gems are part of the charm that is New York City. It’s something completely unexpected, but each Saturday when we explore, I’m grateful to live in a city so varied and diverse as this where you can feel like you’re in a totally different part of the world… even though I’ve just left to visit another borough of New York City.

So the place I was supposed to get my blood drawn at randomly decided to close with about an hour-in-advance email warning to let me know, which meant that I was never able to get my blood drawn as planned this morning. Regardless, I still decided I needed to have my bagel, so I went to the bagel spot I mapped out a couple blocks away to fulfill my craving… until I realized the second snafu of today: the bagel place had gone out of business. DAMNIT. Thanks, COVID!!!!!

I quickly looked up Yelp to find the closest bodega that would offer a reasonable quality bagel, and that took me about 15 blocks south in the theater district. Given that it was a Friday, I figured I could spare the time and get back to my computer a little later than I had planned, so I went. I got my BEC on an onion bagel (they ran out of everything bagel!), and it only cost $3.50! I took my bagel home and enjoyed it with my freshly made chai.

Honestly, the first three bites were very satisfying. But after that, the diminishing marginal utility started settling in. I realized this was because the bagel didn’t have that nice chewiness and denseness that I tend to associate with the best New York bagels. Regardless, I ate my BEC and returned to work.

At around lunch time, I decided I was still full, so instead of having a small lunch, I instead cut up a red grapefruit I got myself (Chris doesn’t eat grapefruit, so more for me). And if you can believe it or not, this grapefruit tasted like the best thing since… I don’t even know. I could not believe how happy I was eating this. This REALLY hit the spot!!!! This is shocking to write, but it even felt more satisfying than all the ataulfo mangoes I’d been eating daily for WEEKS! I couldn’t believe how insanely refreshing this was in my mouth. I ate half of it while on a Zoom call with a colleague, and I could not help but gorge on thick pieces of this juicy fruit.

So in an unplanned and unlikely battle, when it came to satisfying cravings, the grapefruit managed to kick the BEC bagel’s butt. Who would’ve guessed that?

In the beginning of pregnancy, I craved all the Jewish foods because…. I just wanted savory, salty, delicious things. I wanted matzo ball soup and egg salad especially. So I ate those things. Then, the cravings progressed into rice noodles — all the rice noodles in all the forms, so I satiated myself with multiple rice noodles in several forms over the course of weeks. And then this week, all I seem to be thinking about that makes me salivate are bagels. Onion bagels. Sesame bagels. Everything bagel. Egg bagel. Bacon, egg, and cheese (BEC) with toasted bagel.

To date, my favorite bagel I’ve ever had in my life was the just-out-of-the-oven egg bagel from Absolute Bagels in Morningside Heights here in New York City. My next favorite bagel is from Best Bagels and Coffee in Midtown West; not only is their service the definition of fast and efficient, but they are always SO friendly there. Plus, the bagels are always insanely fresh – no need for toasting there. And my third favorite bagel is the coal-oven baked and boiled Montreal-style bagel I had on our last day in Montreal about seven years ago. I still salivate thinking about how toasty and nutty that bagel was.

All I could think about this entire week was: I need a bagel. But will that bagel be smeared with cream cheese (vegetable or garlic/chive is usually my go-to cream cheese, if not plain), or will I add some protein and delicious fattiness with bacon, egg, and cheese? I couldn’t decide. Well, after getting my blood drawn to check my thyroid levels tomorrow, I’m going to treat myself to a TBD bagel nearby, and my entire week will be complete once I have it.

Today, Chris took us to Midwood to explore the area, and our first stop was DiFara’s Pizza. Once upon a time, when I still lived in Elmhurst, I had traveled to Midwood twice to have the famous DiFara’s pizza. Then, every single pie was handmade by the original DiFara grandpa, which was why the waits were always so crazy long. Once upon a time, they had only a few seats indoors, and zero air conditioning during the summer. That has since changed. I did a pizza making class for a work event there in 2019, and not only did they have AC and pizza making classes, but not all the pizzas were made by the same one man show anymore! And this time, when we went, they even sold pizza by the slice! We got a slice each of mushroom and sun dried tomato, and everything about these slices was perfect. The sun dried tomatoes were extra fat and juicy. I don’t know how I will feel if one day, we leave New York. The pizza experience will never quite be the same.

One downside of exploring Midwood on a Saturday, though, is that because the area is heavily Jewish, pretty much all the Jewish businesses were closed for the sabbath. No bakeries or restaurants or bagels for us to try out. I suppose next time, we”ll just need to go there on a Sunday.

Since I moved to New York, I’ve visited four out of five boroughs pretty regularly. I lived in both Queens and Manhattan. I went to Brooklyn all the time. I’ve enjoyed the Dominican and Italian food in the Bronx, not to mention a number of visits to Yankee Stadium (with work, obviously; I can’t stand baseball). But the closest I’d ever gotten to Staten Island was taking the free Staten Island ferry from Manhattan to Staten Island, just for the free boat ride, and then boarding the ferry to come right back. That’s a little embarrassing, but I knew Staten Island would not be an easy place to get around, and it seemed like a foreign land to me even though it’s technically part of New York City.

Today, Chris rented us a Zipcar, and we finally made our first visit to Staten Island. It’s pretty spread out, so it would be pretty much impossible to explore on foot. There is a bus system through the island, but who the heck wants to rely on that to get around? We made good use of time, grabbing some Italian pastries and freshly baked bread from Royal Crown Bakery, eating delicious Sri Lankan food at Lakruwana along Bay Street, and even stopping at a brewery for local beers on tap (well, for him).

While at Lakruwana, I read an article that was recently published on them in January. While I’d read in the New York Times that Staten Island had the biggest Sri Lankan population in New York City (and actually, the biggest Sri Lankan population outside of Sri Lanka!), I didn’t realize that of the 5,000 Sri Lankans here that 30 percent of them reside in Staten Island. I’m sure there are historical reasons for that, but that made me sad that Sri Lankan food was not closer to us for us to eat more frequently. Lakruwana actually originally opened in the mid-90s in Hell’s Kitchen, but after a fire that burnt down the entire restaurant, when the owners, a husband and wife team, were asked if they wanted to re-open in the same area, they decided it would be easier for them to re-open but in Staten Island, since it would be an easier commute for them given they lived there. And so the Sri Lankan population grew, plus the restaurants in Staten Island.

New York City — I’m so blessed to call this extremely diverse place my home. How can you get bored of New York when you are constantly visiting new places like this right here?!

“You always go to Chinatown on your days off,” Chris remarked teasingly when he found out that i went down to Manhattan Chinatown today. While it is not always accurate that I go down to Manhattan Chinatown, it is usually pretty accurate that I go to some Asian area of the city. My general thought around that is… on my day off, I want to get food, and I also want to support local businesses. And thus, Asian food and groceries are not only delicious but a great value, and in addition, I want to support Asian businesses because of the awful impact this pandemic has had on them.

I went to some of my usual standbys, like Fong On for soy milk and grass jelly, and Manna House for some different baos. I also went to a few new spots, such as Tonii’s Fresh Rice Noodle Rolls, Hay Hay Roasted, and Golden Steamer. Unfortunately, I arrived at Golden Steamer too late, and they ran out of their signature pumpkin baos, but they still had their “big bao” or “da bao,” which is stuffed with a pork filling, egg, plus Chinese sausage.

Chinatown always feels like home to me, even when I am discovering new businesses and new foods. And well, of course the food never disappoints.

Although I’ve been to the subway stop at Jamaica so many times in Queens to get to JFK airport, the only time I’ve actually gotten out of the train at that stop and walked around was the one time I had jury duty in 2010. Other than that, I’d never explored the area. What I do know is that the area has a lot of good Jamaican food. What I didn’t know, which is what Chris found, is that there’s a hidden northern Chinese gem there: Beijing Dumpling House. They make Beiing style noodles and dumplings, and if you pay $1 extra, they will top your dumplings with chili oil, lots of minced garlic, and cilantro. We got the pork and chive dumplings, and they were incredible! Something about the texture was just different than most of the other dumplings we’ve had here. I kind of want to go back just to pick up a bag or two of their frozen dumplings.

We also explored the South Richmond Hill area of Queens, which is walking distance from Jamaica. It’s an area known as “Little Guyana,” which is crazy because I had no idea this existed in New York City and can pretty much bet no one else here, except those who live in the area, are aware of this. We had some jerk chicken fried rice and a delicious piece of cassava pone (a delicious, chewy, lightly sweetened cake).

The pandemic has forced us to find and rediscover New York. I can’t get over the diversity of this city and how it never ceases to amaze me.

Since my friend has been staying with us, not only has she been buying groceries for the apartment, but she’s also been introducing us to all kinds of of new snacks at Trader Joe’s. Although I do shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s regularly, I rarely, if ever, walk down the snack aisles at either store. Before living with Chris, I rarely snacked outside of eating fruit or vegetables and the occasional rice krispy or handful of nuts at work. But with Chris, we have endless Aussie treats, from Arnott’s biscuits like Tim Tams and Scotch Fingers to All Naturals Fruit Confectionary fruit snacks. Since my friend left earlier this week, she left these goodies that are addictive. I hate her for introducing these to us, but love her for how sweet she is. These things are too good and will likely go into junk food rotation in this apartment:

Dill pickle kettle chips: perfect kettle crunch and texture, and they taste exactly as you think they would given their name!

iMango iMango fruit and yogurt gummy candies: they have real mango juice in them and are unbelievably good. They really do taste like real fruit!

Kung pao chicken mochi balls: really good chewy texture on the outside, and the filling is savory and not too salty like most frozen foods.

Portuguese egg tarts (imported from Trader Joe’s): Haven’t opened these yet and popped them in the oven, but they look and sound very promising!

Matcha green tea ice cream: My friend said this iteration is a new formula and is really good. It’s not the best matcha ice cream, but it’s a close second!

Today, we went out to City Island, which is an island that is technically part of the Bronx. It’s actually a pretty strange experience to be in a small, idyllic “island” that has endless seafood offerings when you are still actually in New York City because it’s not something anyone would expect. As soon as we drove onto the island, endless seafood restaurants abounded. Some screamed signs for crab and fish, others for lobster and shrimp, and many for all the above. We went to a spot called Crab Shanty that’s supposed to offer really great deals on seafood. And they certainly delivered on this reputation: with our lunch specials of a whole lobster plus two small soft-shelled Maryland crabs, we had salad, soup (clam chowder!), fries, cake (carrot and chocolate – two types!), and tea and coffee. We left with our bellies stuffed with seafood and more.

Afterwards, we drove to the Bronx and took a long walk along Orchard Beach, which is considered the “Riviera of the Bronx.” The beach sits on the Long Island Sound and on a clear day, you can see City Island from here. This really did not feel like the Bronx or New York City at all. It felt more like we were quite far from New York City.

We ended the day in Little Yemen in The Bronx and picked up some spinach and meat bureks from a small Yemenese spot there. It was a delicious day trip.