John Visits, part I

Momofuku You!

Taking a break from stressful California, John Webber came eastward to NYC and Newport to visit for an extended weekend. We met in New York City. Under the auspices of a culinary adventure, we became lazy and opted for the "healthy" chain resteraunt around the corner, Chop't. That afternoon we caught up, walked, visited the touristy spots, and dare I say it, took the subway. For no apparent reason, we decided the rest of our night would be spontaneous. To that end, we met the one and only David Black downtown -- very downtown -- went to Momofuku Noodle Bar (an ultimately disappointing dream), saw the hilarious "A Life in Her Day" at the offensively liberal Theatre for a New City, and then, out of nowhere, visited Paula Ho to see the midnight showing of "New Year's Eve."

The next morning, with very little sleep, Paula, John, and I embraced our inner Jews and had bagels, lox, cream cheese, and whitefish salad at Hot & Crusty. Paula split off and John and I went to Occupy Wall Street. In the spirit of spontanteity, we opted not to research the movement, only to find that after a 20 minute subway ride, the protest had all but disappeared. We continued to satify our touristey cravings, walking through Wall Street, visiting the church from National Treasure, and trying, to no avail, to get into the WTC memorial. John and I split at Penn station, only to meet in Providence the next morning!

Famous people seen: Jim Kramer on Wall Street, Chef Forgione of Iron Chef America in Little Italy, Senator(s) Thune and Lott in Penn Station ... All in one day!