Well I arrived on Friday morning at Newark Airport and Dad and I immediately took the NJ Transit into Manhattan. Considering the airport is only 3 stops and about 20 minutes from New York, you would think the prices would be ok. Well from 8 stops away at MetroPark, a one-way is 8 bucks. From the airport, it's 15 bucks. Throw in round trip, multiple people, and you get the point.
So we took the subway to Katz's, a legendary Jewish deli on the lower east side. It's been around since 1888. If you've ever seen "When Harry Met Sally" (one of my faves, I must admit), this is the scene where Meg Ryan's legendary "faking it" scene was held. Even better, I got to sit at the table where she and Billy Crystal filmed that scene! Here's a clip of that scene. No Matt, I did not re-enact it. We split a hot dog, a corned beef sandwich and a pastrami sandwich. You can't get food like this anywhere else in the country. Amazing stuff. Then, we went to Merrill Lynch on 5th Avenue. This one is next to the Trump Towers, so it's the real deal. And long story short, we went over a few financial issues with the people who worked with my late grandfather.
Then it was home where I got whipped in five straight games of Acey Deucey (similar to backgammon) and painted yahtzee. It happens, but the dice just did not come up my way.
The next day, we planned to take an 11:45 train to NY. Well, it got delayed. And delayed. I guess there was a problem with the Amtrak in front of it and our train came at 12:45. After arriving at Penn Station we went northwest on the subway to Canal Street and walked to Little Italy. The streets were closed to cars, so we had the whole street to walk through. The red, white, and green decorations lit up the streets. And there were so many incredible restaurants to choose from, but we knew where we were going: Umberto's Clam House.
I first heard about this place on WFAN radio, when Joe Bengino and Steve Somers did a six hour radio show from there. It's so much smaller than I imagined it. 20 tables maybe. We had the best baked littleneck clams ever. The clams were fresh and lemon and bread crumbs were amazing. We also had biscuits, which were toasted crisp Italian bread smothered in olive oil and a ton of fresh chopped garlic. There was so much, I could taste the garlic for the next two days! The we had linguine and clam sauce, which was through the roof. I think I would stick with the white sauce over the red though.
Then, it was onto the Long Island Railroad and to Shea Stadum for the Mets-Reds. As I waked down the long boardwalk and approached the old blue stadium which will soon be gone, it was like stepping into a time machine. I used to go 3-4 times a year, but I think now I've been there three times in the last 8 years. Shea may be a dump, but it's our dump. And with Citi Field rising behind the left field wall, Shea feels smaller. Maybe it's that I wasn't there for so long. Walking into a sea of people dressed in blue and orange, that's the way it should be. The Mets paid tribute to lengendary broadcaster Ralph Kiner before the game, who was our Harry Caray/Ernie Harwell on TV. Very well done and I'm glad I got to witness the tribute live. And though the Mets won 2-1, they should have won 10-1. They kept getting runners on, but could not drive them in against the worst team in the NL. The Mets offense is so anemic, every win is like a tooth extraction. The win at home was great, but this team does not have the same mojo they had last year. I admit I am worried.
And their competition is far better than last year. The Dodgers and Padres are for real and we're playing them in seven games on the road. The Braves are red hot. And even worse, the Cubs are white hot and just acquired Jason Kendall to play catcher. There could be nothing worse than to lose to one of these teams in the playoffs. This team must get their act together.
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