(Originally written on September 26, 2013 and unintentionally relegated to dusty drafts folder for nearly a year.)
Serendipity. New York City is full of it. Sure, there is leaving your apartment to unexpectedly see a man finishing up whizzing on the building’s main entrance at 3pm on a Sunday, but there are also the happy surprises that occur when venturing out on foot.
Going out to try a burger at Big Nick’s Pizza and Burger Joint (SE corner of Columbus and 71st) a few blocks away, I rounded the corner to find the street filled with pedestrians and a street festival underway. Gyros, fruit smoothies, $20 queen sheet sets (got a set), knick-knacks, posters, hand tools; you name it, they had it.
I had no idea about the street festival and was pleasantly surprised to come upon it. It reminded me of Monterey’s (California) Tuesday afternoon markets, though of course tinged with New York/East Coast hustle-bustle and scale. There wasn’t as much fresh produce, of course, though farms upstate and on Long Island and in New Jersey did have a presence.
Since being here, I’ve also stumbled upon the NYC Triathlon, spotted Matt Dillon in Central Park, and found numerous new pizza joints that I’d like to try simply by strolling the streets. Get out, walk around. You never know what you’ll find.
(I never made it to Big Nick’s, however. It was packed, so I tried the breakfast burrito at Harry’s Burritos across the street instead; another pleasant surprise.)
