Where's The Food?

I would like to promise that this is the last NYC post but I can't because there's just SO MUCH to talk about!

When we were researching the trip, we read about a lot of delicious-sounding restaurants.  I started bookmarking websites of amazing restaurant after amazing restaurant.  Then, as I began to feel crazily overwhelmed, we decided that there were so many amazing places that we'd just walk around and pick from the hundreds upon thousands of amazing places to eat.

Simple.

Until you're hungry after having walked forty blocks from the Metropolitan Museum of Art back to 44th street with a detour to the Ralph Lauren mansion just for kicks (I still cannot believe that  I can write a sentence like that and it's not made up).

We walked down Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue for most of the 40+ blocks.  We spotted one italian restaurant around 70th street but figured we weren't even in the hub yet so we'd wait.  Then we spotted a few hot dog vendors and some sellers of giant pretzels and roasted chestnuts.

Looks tasty but not exactly dinner material.  How many carbs in a chestnut anyway?

Can you believe we walked almost back to the hotel on 44th before we found ANYTHING?!?  By that point I was rather incoherent with hunger.  We spotted a restaurant called Café Un Deux Trois.  It was hopping so we figured it was good (or perhaps it was the only place around?).  We snagged the last table.  Paté, Boeuf Bourguignon and profiteroles went a long way to helping with the hunger pains.  Thank god for the French! 

The first night, we actually had reservations.  There is a famous oyster bar in the Grand Central Terminal and we wanted to make sure we got in.  

We did! 

Clam chowder (New England and Manhattan) followed by calamari and then a plate of oysters.  Pretty decadent if you ask me.  During that meal I learned that I much prefer East Coast oysters to West Coast ones (in case you were wondering) and that just a titch of red wine vinegar and horseradish on top is pretty close to perfection.  

I learned that they don't heat Grand Central Terminal.  The heat from the trains keeps the temperature nice and comfortable even during the coldest days.  I also learned that more people go through Grand Central in one day than visit the Statue of Liberty in one year.  THAT surprised me. 

Blood sugar wise - eating in NYC was a bit crazy.  We walked (a lot!) so I purposely underestimated the insulin for most meals because I didn't want to be fighting lows all the time.  Instead, I found myself fighting ridiculous highs.  I'm talking about 15s and 20s several times a day.  I'm not sure why but it was so consistent that I began to think that New Yorkers season their food with sugar rather than salt. 

Whether they do or not, several restaurants actually listed calorie counts by each item.  Scary in a way but it did have a huge impact on the food choices I made.  So pretty effective too. 

Just to wrap up the NYC diary, here are a few photos from the trip that make me smile. 

They even got the accent right! 

Doug and a random child watching the skating at Rockefeller Centre.  Notice the tall guy is on tiptoe.  The short kid is not. 

Taking pictures from the Top of the Rock.  Hair tied up because it was whipping around in the wind.  The Chrysler tower in the distance and down to the last few hours in the Big Apple.  Quelle aventure!