Jetlagged, but well fed

I am tired. The five hours of restless hours of sleep on the red eye were mediocre. Notably, for the first time I did not watch five straight hours of the Food Network on a JetBlue flight. Don't worry, Bobby, Giada, Rachel, Alton, and Emeril, I will tune in on the return flight.

Anyway, after resting and cleaning up a bit, I headed out to grab a bagel (and large iced coffee!) at my favorite bagel place, Murray's Bagels, on 8th Ave and 22nd Street. This place claims their bagels are so good that you don't need to toast them. And guess what? They don't need to be toasted. They are that good. I got my usual: whole wheat with hummus and sliced tomatoes. Yum!!


I proceeded off on a long walk through Chelsea, the West Village, Soho, Nolita. I enjoy wandering around, looking in store windows, seeing what restaurants have closed and opened, and how things have changed since I lived here. I just love that people eat in NYC at all hours.


Somewhere in Nolita I spotted an infamous Pinkberry! Admittedly, I was still going strong on my bagel, but when in Rome... So I stepped into the sherbet colored atmosphere. I ordered an original with blueberries. Heavenly! They aren't kidding, this stuff is amazing. It is real yogurt, tang and all, frozen, and paired with fruits or other less healthy toppings. This stuff is good, really good. I know that people have been freaking out about this stuff in NYC and LA and I just have to point that the 40 Carrots restaurant in the basement of Bloomingdales has been serving this type of delicious fro yo for a long time. It is the primary reason to go shopping at Bloomies at lunch time. "Ladies That Lunch" in department stores have been in the know about this type of frozen yogurt for years.

Crossing back through Soho I wandered into a new speciality food shop, Despana. This market carries all sorts of imported Spanish foods. I sampled some cured meats, oils, and olives. Sadly, I had to reason with myself that, thanks to the liquid rule on planes, I really could not buy anything. This place is lovely. It makes you want to head to Spain to take cooking classes. Isn't this a cool picture?