North End Avenue and Vesey Street

A glimpse over the undulating Irish Hunger Memorial for a peek at the progress of One World Trade Center, shooting straight up—and fast. (You can watch the construction live, if you're so inclined, with this webcam.)

Park Row and Beekman Street

A tourist (I assume) posing for his friend to take a photograph. They were right on the tourist track, if I’m reading this map (of where tourists vs. locals take pictures) correctly.

West Broadway and Chambers Street

New French restaurant Plein Sud is a candlelit, semi-rustic place at the base of the Smyth Hotel, and it is apparently, currently, in a war with the food cart right outside, on the corner. I’ve never eaten at the cart (though I have nothing against it and am happy to have it nearby), but I did just have my first meal at Plein Sud and can tell you that it was lovely. Standard bistro fare—pâté de campagne and frisée salads and crispy frogs’ legs and Alsatian tarts—and all exactly as good as what I had been expecting.

Warren Street and Church Street

A peak at someone’s probably fantastic roof garden. (Here are some public options for those of us without a penthouse—although I don’t think anything in NYC can top this place, surely the best rooftop bar on the planet.)

Lexington Avenue and 91st Street

Never a bad idea to be reminded, when I least expect it, to edit something: a paragraph, a closet, life. (Probably not a good idea to go inside this shop if you’re hoping to edit your consumer desires.)

North End Avenue and Murray Street

This sentence from William James smack in the middle of the sidewalk struck me as I walked on top of it because I had just finished reading a (fantastic) biography of the man. This quote, about New York City, reads: “The courage, the heaven-scaling audacity of it all, and the lightness withal, as if there was nothing that was not easy, and the great pulses and bounds of progress, so many in directions all simultaneous that the coordination is indefinitely future, give a kind of drumming background of life that I have never felt before.” (I am impressed that the italics are maintained in the cement.) James goes on to say in the original text, a letter to his brother, “I'm sure that once in that movement, and at home, all other places would seem insipid.”

Duane Street and West Broadway

The traditional Japanese dinner called kaiseki, “rooted in the Zen monasteries of ancient Kyoto,” has become, over the centuries, more elaborate until it is now an “artistic event with an exquisitely choreographed tasting menu,” according to Rosanjin restaurant. One of the things I love about kaiseki (the few times I’ve had it) is the variety of ceramics and serving dishes used to set off each item. Nothing matches; everything has to be considered on its own terms. (“The presentation of just a few morsels of food can necessitate a chalice on a small plate on a larger plate on a tray. While a kaiseki meal is designed for, and promises, a measure of spiritual uplift, that state of grace doesn’t extend to whoever is doing the dishes,” wrote Frank Bruni in his review for the New York Times a few years ago. The rest of his report is also still applicable, I'd say.)

Broadway and Chambers Street

It's the first day of summer, and here's a sliver of one of the many summer greenmarkets popping up on sidewalks around town (this one is right outside City Hall Park).

East Broadway and Market Street

I’m off for a bit of beach vacation. See you next week.

8th Street and Broadway

Pigeon mosaic in the subway station. Which reminded me that I wanted to link to these photos of pigeons on top of the Empire State Building, in which they seem almost glamorous, for a moment, rather than a nuisance. (Visit the website of New York City Pigeon Rescue Central if you want to “make a difference by helping a New York City Pigeon.”)

12th Street and First Avenue

Motorino has long lines, really loud music, service so fast you have no time for conversation, and fantastic, chewy, charred pizza. (Also very low light, as you can see from this photograph. The first rule of photographing food, as I discovered in this post in the Diner’s Journal blog, is “shoot in natural light”—but that doesn’t help me in restaurants.) I knew before I went that Motorino was supposed to have the best pizza on the East Coast (although not the country), and I was prepared to see for myself. At first bite, I thought, this is good, not great. But the more I ate, the more I fell in love with it. It’s the outside ring of crust that’s really the best. And all the toppings were subtle but perfect and just enough. (I can vouch for brussels sprouts with smoked pancetta and for white anchovies with mozzarella and cherry tomatoes, though the server said her favorite was the soppressata.) I’m pretty sure you can order whatever.

Church Street and Vesey Street

Art Deco detailing on my neighborhood post office, where I don’t even mind standing in line because it’s so grand inside. (See more examples of Art Deco around town, and around the world, at the Art Deco Buildings blog, which has some wonderful photographs.)

Thomas Street and West Broadway

I hadn’t been to Megu in a few years and until last week, I’d forgotten what a beautiful restaurant it is. There’s the feeling of being in some sort of swanky lounge in Hong Kong (even though the food is Japanese). And the food (from the sometimes extravagant menu) is lovely, too. There’s a sense of smokiness as shishito peppers and shiitakes and scallops come off the charcoal grill. Fresh wasabi soon to be grated at your table. While the ice Buddha slowly drips to nothingness in the center of the room.

Broadway and Spring Street

Now you can stock up on yukatas as well as T-shirts at Uniqlo—at least at the global flagship in Soho. (And there was a fascinating profile of the whole Uniqlo phenomenon in New York Magazine a few weeks ago.)

Union Square

Peonies and potatoes at the Union Square Greenmarket. (The current issue of Saveur, by the way, is all about great food markets around the world and features a recipe from chef Peter Hoffman using ingredients from the Union Square market.)

12th Street and First Avenue

Still life with jamón ibérico, sherry, and candlelight at Pata Negra, a tiny dark wine bar serving up Spanish specialties.

North End Avenue and Murray Street

The new Battery Park City branch of the NYPL is tiny, uncrowded, and pristine. There is a reading room on the second floor with bright orange chairs. There are walls of windows and blond wood. What a wonderful addition to the neighborhood.

Union Square Park

Miranda July has a new installation in Union Square Park: a collection of cutouts and plinths for people to pose with. When I was there, on a perfectly pleasant afternoon, when the park was full (take my word for it), not one person was taking advantage of these props. Meaning what? That everyone was on his own, I think, because this is an installation that requires at least two people to make it work. (One to pose, one to document.)

23rd Street and Third Avenue

Manhattanhenge happened this past weekend. (The sun was so bright that I couldn’t look at it. Thanks, Dan, for the excellent shot.) The next time the sun lines up with the grid is on Monday, July 12.