I made a promise. I promised to take Jacob to NYC if he had a good few weeks at school, and even though the logistics were complicated (long round trip drives, beating the snow storm, etc.), we made it to the Southeast train station for the 8:12 to Grand Central Station. Jacob loves trains, and he loves subways, so we got into town and immediately took the #6 downtown to 33rd street to check out Rattle N Hum, a beer bar that I’ve been wanting to checkout. But even though the website said that they opened at 10AM, they weren’t. We were wet (did I mention it was raining) and I was disappointed (it worked out for the best as I’ll explain later), but we got back on the #6 uptown to 59th street to see some of Jacob’s favorite sites.
We stopped by FAO Schwartz (saw Tom Hanks’ piano), the Apple store, and Heartland Brewery (they weren’t open on time either). We headed next to Rockefeller Center and checked out both the Nintendo store (Pokemon black is coming) and the Lego store (check out the Lego Atlas). Yes there were elevators, lots of elevators. We went to Sony Wonderlabs, learning about the history of computers, and they had some interesting exhibits that were worth checking out. Jacob preferred Sony Place, learning about internet on TV and trying the 3-D Playstation (although I didn’t figure out Little Big Planet 2).
Jacob was tired and hungry, and we got a pretzel from a vendor (not as good as Philly’s by the way) on our way back to Rattle N Hum (http://rattlenhumbarnyc.com/) . This time they were open, and they were setting up for their cask festival. I ordered the Irish Style curry (I’m not sure what Irish style is), with chicken, vegetables and rice. It was good, but not very spicy (maybe that’s Irish style) and I was able to try a couple of local beers (Greenport Harbor Triton, Sixpoint Otis, and the Barrier Green Room) to wash it down. Both the tap selection and the bottle selection were excellent, and I was able to get a Stone Juxtaposition and Cigar City Guava Grove to go. On March 1st they were paying homage to Cigar City, having 24 of their beers on tap. And Rattle N Hum were just getting ready to kick-off their weekend cask festival, and I was able to order their first beer, Cigar City Jai A’lai. Being close to the Empire State Building and a subway stop, I’m sure I’ll be able to make it back soon.
Next we walked a few blocks to the Ginger Man (http://www.gingerman-ny.com/) , and even though the selection wasn’t as extensive as Rattle N Hum, the specialities were worth the trip. They had 2 beers on cask, and I was able to sample them both. The first was from the Swiss brewery BFM, and it was their Cuvee du 7eme, a limited edition beer brewed to celebrate the brewery’s 7th anniversary. The second was from England, RCH Steam Carnival, a beautiful English bitter. The waitress was more beer savvy, the chairs were plush, and the beer prices were notably less than Rattle N Hum ($12 less for the Cigar City bottle). I got the Cigar City Sea Bass to go (my back pack was getting full), and we headed over to the NY Public Library. A great place to hang out, although Jacob and I could never find the Children’s section. It was a long day, and time to head home.
Grand Central to Southeast station, head up the Taconic fighting the snow storm, dinner at Johnny Rockets (got to love the song and dance), and finally home. All I wanted to do was to get out of my wet clothes, but instead there was a 3 foot barrier from the plows at the end of my driveway. Jacob and I had a blast exploring, and he can’t wait to plan our next trip. - 5740/10385
"Blessed is the mother who gives birth to a brewer." – Czech Proverb
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