Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God's Salvation." Luke 3:5-6
Growing up in the south, of course I heard the word and witnessed to some degree, the separation of races and ethnicity's as a form of discrimination or exclusivity. It was often black and white. And frequently not by elect.
Never before in my life have I experienced it by such grand choice as exhibited here.
Residential and Restaurant Segregation. That is truly symbolic of NY. Between Chinatown, Little Italy,(obvious) K-Town,( Korean) Flushing, Hell's Kitchen, Murray Hill (recent college grads), Chelsea (gay), the list goes on and on. The neighborhoods are defined by the lifestyle. Say if you live on the Upper West, you're a young family. Puerto Ricans dwell in Spanish Harlem.
Now before you tell me I am judging, this is what patrons of this neighborhood are telling me. In fact, an NY born and bred told me today, if I want to see diversity take the 7 train through five different ethnic groups between 5 different stops, I'll see Filipino Barbecue to Dominican, Romanian, German and Indian fare all for a $2 ride... One third of this city's population is foreign born!!
No, I am not going John Rocker on any of you. This absolutely gorgeous, diverse, melting pot of cultures and cuisines is what makes this city beautifully hypnotic. I'm in a food coma trance. And I'm soaking it to full capacity.
I met my old neighbor in the East Village for dinner tonight. She was raised in Queens and lives in Atlanta now. She recommended a restaurant whose motto is "Ramen is the Soul Food of NYC", an authentic noodle place called Ippudo. I arrived at 6:50 to a wall to wall happy hour crowd of for the most part, Japanese. My girlfriend told me she would meet me at the bar, despite the four deep crowd, I decided not too worry..I was the only blue eyed, blond in the room.
As a foodie, I put another tally in the love NY box. But as a lover of all mankind, I am in Hog Heaven...
"Coffee black and egg white
Pull me out from inside.
i am ready, i am fine." Counting Crows
Are you color blind?
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