Growing up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, my daily routine has always been regimented and predictable. I wake up early, eat the same breakfast and run down the block to catch the school bus. After a rigorous day of academics on the Fieldston campus, I end my day by attending tennis practice and then return home to do my homework. Weekends are spent seeing friends, giving back to my community through volunteer work and finishing my assignments.
If I am being honest, I do not venture very far from my usual activities and live in somewhat of an extended bubble. Life has naturally settled into an ongoing cycle, leaving little room to break the routine. Summer gave me that time.
As an avid journalism enthusiast and writer for The Fieldston News, I enrolled in a writing program at the School of The New York Times this summer. I never imagined that I would become a tourist in my own city. Signing up for the “Food and Culture in New York City” course gave me that opportunity. It opened a new door for me to explore interesting neighborhoods and take on exciting adventures I didn’t know were possible, especially surrounding the action of tasting food.
Our first field trip was to The New World Mall in Flushing, Queens’ Chinatown. This was the first time I learned there is more than one Chinatown in NYC. Previously, I had only been to Lower East Side Chinatown. I had so much more to explore. Downtown Flushing is known for its Chinatown area and diverse cultures. People hurrying to their destinations, street vendors selling various products and the honking of many horns prove a widely unknown fact: the intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue is the third busiest in the city.
Upon arriving at the Mall’s food court, the massive crowd on a Tuesday during lunchtime spoke for itself. After I walked through the doors, an escalator ride downstairs presented me with endless possibilities of Chinese food from different regions. I walked past the tables in the center of the food court, each with six seats, and observed strangers sitting with one another due to the unavailability of open tables. Noise filled the space from people eating and chatting at tables and others placing their orders by the stalls. After tasting lamb soup, Chinese burgers and soup dumplings, I was stuffed.
Our next memorable outing was to 70-year-old Bonnie Slotnick’s cookbook store, hidden on a quiet street in the East Village. I occasionally shop, eat and hang out in the crowded and popular Soho area right around the corner. However, I never knew this unique shop existed. Slotnick has spent the last 27 years as a business owner in a space filled with pamphlets and tomes full of recipes, not to mention a decades-old container of artificial maple flavoring. Her store is not like other bookshops; she only sells old and mostly one-of-a-kind cookbooks. Learning Slotnick is looking to slow down her business as she ages made me appreciate the opportunity to visit the unique space even more.
Finally, we visited the Pier 57 Food Hall presented by the James Beard Foundation. The market is located on a historic pier along the Hudson River, between 15th and 17th streets. There, the James Beard Foundation has a new platform in the center of the food hall. The platform features various dining experiences, culinary events, cooking demonstrations and other programming showcasing the work of acclaimed chefs and culinary professionals around the world. I tasted a variety of flavorful offerings: noodles, a cheese quesadilla and an iced matcha latte. This location offers easy access for a majority of Fieldston students since it’s right on the West Side!
This summer’s exciting couple of weeks of enriching exposure in my own city through The School of The New York Times pushed me beyond the familiar comfort of my routine. Visiting neighborhoods I once overlooked, encountering new people and learning about cultures through the lens of food have opened my eyes to a city I have lived in my whole life. For me, these experiences simply scratch the surface of all NYC has to offer. Curiosity and the desire for adventure in one of the world’s greatest cities enables tremendous opportunities, and I now plan to take advantage of them.
