This past weekend my Australian friend, Alex, stayed a couple of nights at my place before she continued her trip through great ‘ol America. I met her over a year ago while studying abroad in Sydney and knew I was in for a weekend of reminiscing. Now looking back, I can see that along with laughing about our crazy antics living in Sydney University Village, there were also plenty of events centered around food as a means of getting her acclimated to New York City. Our weekend went as follows:
Saturday: I took her out to Grey Dog’s Coffee near Union Square so we could sit down, eat and talk. I ordered a Mexican hot chocolate and an amazing sandwich (turkey, brie and apple slices) and she opted for a different sandwich with lemonade. As soon as the cashier handed her beverage over, she looked at me and said “I keep forgetting that ‘small’ really means ‘large’ isn’t it too much to drink?” It’s pretty much true, American portions really are, well, out of proportion. Just a quick google search as I write this and I learn that a study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill concluded that portions in the United States have increased over the last two decades in certain food categories such as soft drinks, salty snacks and strangely Mexican food. It’s really no surprise then that people are literally bigger today than before.
Sunday: It was Valentines day which instantly meant that most restaurants would be crowded. Still, I wanted to take her to Pio Pio in Jackson Heights because the food is AMAZING and CHEAP. I assumed it would be fine because I didn’t consider this place to be particularly romantic. I was so wrong. My friend Danny got there a half hour before us and we still had to wait another half hour before we could be seated. Ironically, it was the most crowded I had ever seen it and I have been going since I was a little kid for every occasion from communions to a friend’s mother’s birthday. Nevertheless, the food was very good and we got a free pitcher of sangria to top it off. On top of that, it was definitely funny watching Alex try dishes such as salchipapa and maduros which aren’t readily available in the land down under. She loved it and was glad we showed her this rowdy local mainstay.
Monday: Recovering from the night before was made a whole lot easier with a homemade greasy breakfast sandwich and a stop to the Colombian bakery by my apartment where we shared a guava and cheese pastry. We headed to the MoMA and though the Tim Burton exhibit was sold out, there was still plenty to see. After walking around the museum for two or three hours we were tired and, of course, ready to eat. Since a hamburger seems to be a pretty basic American staple, I took Alex to Lucky’s Famous Burger for our last meal. The bright orange interior instantly energized us and though we wimped out and got veggie burgers we compensated by ordering an order of chili fries topped with suspiciously too-yellow cheese.
Before we knew it our weekend was over and she was heading to Boston. I recommended my favorite pizza place (Regina’s) and thrift store (Garment District) and then she was off into the cold. It’s funny how I recommended a place to eat instead of telling her to visit the Paul Revere House or something of the sort. I guess food is universal and something I just love to share with others. Food is also one, if not the best way, to get to know a new city or even rediscover a familiar one. Until the day I go back to Sydney to drink a flat white with friends, I can still be thankful that in a city like New York I can find anything from a bottle of Tooheys (really bad Aussie beer) to a box of Tim Tams (really good Aussie cookies) pretty easily.
