hudson st / park row / mott st / mulberry st / e broadway / henry st / oliver st / avenue of the finest / brooklyn bridge

9.15 miles

this was a big one. i set out today focused on food, yet the day was much more, as one might hope.

it is martin luther king jr. day, and the sun was out. i walked down hudson street, and it felt like new york in the movies— trendy restaurants with large crowds (and increasingly indoor-like outdoor dining) and the slightest sprinkle of snow, barely there but i saw it. as i exited greenwich village, soho was more commercial, and tribeca emptier— private primary schools and office buildings. then chinatown, teeming with locals and tourists, too populated for my comfort. fruit, shrimp, and fish were arrayed on the streets, and roasted duck hung in the windows. just a little bit up mott street, the crowds diminished and high end luxury shops rose up. a japanese restaurant called ‘mottsu’— i am hoping this is a play on words i am missing. the top of mulberry street is similarly decorated by high end restaurants, and then the quickest moment of little italy, and back in chinatown.

little italy has been pushed into itself more and more by chinatown, or it feels that way. i would be unsurprised if these italians held a grudge againt their chinese neighbors. but! it’s not just chinatown and little italy. just a little lower on east broadway lies a little cluster of latin american restaurants. hebrew writing on the sides of buildings, sometimes fading, can be found sprinkled throughout the neighborhoods.

the sights of today: a woman alone at a restaurant, reading the new yorker; seven dollar (!) lamb over rice; a double date; a little kid on a scooter spotting an illinoiS license plate; a person next to his sacks of belongings, intently reading a novel; a children’s clothing boutique called my little sunshine; a daughter and her mother carrying a bouquet of pussy willow; teenage girls walking and drinking boba; delivery workers taking a break, drinking boba; delivery bikers everywhere; spilled ice cream; roasting duck; chinese grannies playing cards in columbus park; a man scraping posters off of a lamp post; billie eilish hair; a corgi.

the food of today (fabrique bakery, los tacos no. 1, ferrara bakery, factory tamal):

a mysterious bookstore and yes, another poster store. how many of these gems is this city hiding?

reminders of my brother and my father:

i walked across the brooklyn bridge, because i’d never done it at sunset (only during the day and at night). i recommend trying this out alone. i witnessed harried commuters, families of tourists, ambling couples, a few lone people like me, who i couldn’t quite place. i listened to so many languages, the whole world on one bridge.

i stared at the statue of liberty for a long time, as i ate a tamale. i watched her as she marched toward the horizon, away from the city and into the beyond, welcoming each new person to her city.

she is not content to wait. she must meet them in the sea. (her right foot, dave eggers)