Burger Me!

I'm turning in to a bit of a burger geek. I've knocked off a fair few of the renowned London burger spots and to be honest I wasn't planning on having any whilst I was over in New York for the weekend.

However, my greedy side got the better of me (no doubt encouraged by the fact I'd had a few beers in the sun at the baseball). So my pit stop at Shake Shack was totally understandable!

The SmokeShack burger I had was the burger highlight of the year so far -- soft moist bun, perfectly seasoned and cooked beef patties, crisp bacon, chemically enhanced cheese and some kind of genius derived sauce. Delicious!

I was almost tempted to stop in there after the ball game today. I was strong and resisted!

 

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Melting Pot

I'm sat in the BA lounge at JFK waiting for my flight home.

Like the one at Heathrow my fellow lounge occupants are a random bunch -- exacerbated by the fact that you also get Iberia, Qantas and Cathay Pacific passengers using it.

I know it is dangerous to judge people by their appearance, but there are some seriously wealthy people in here. Lots of banker 'types' (I've seen a couple of JP Morgan and Barclays Capital bags) and plenty of families (and these are with children who will be charged full fare).

I've no idea where I fit into this complicated social dynamic!

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Red Nose Day

Another beautiful day in New York. I had to get some more sunblock as the stuff I'd brought with me wasn't a high enough SPF factor.

Despite meticulous application and wearing a cap during the Mets game I still managed to end up with a marginally red nose!

 

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Sunshine

A lovely late summers day in New York - warm, sunny and, as the locals keep saying, 'no humidity'!

My only plan for the day was baseball at 4pm. I spent the morning walking downtown mostly by the East River and then buzzing into a few shops in SoHo. It was quite good not having the feeling of need to rush around to see various sights or visit particular shops.

For lunch it was oysters and clams at The Oyster Bar at Grand Central station. I'm sure this is typical pre-baseball food!

The baseball was a bit dull, mainly because Detroit were much better than the Mets. I enjoyed a couple of beers and tried to do my best to avoid getting sunburned.

 

 

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Window

I can't believe CNN isn't giving much/any coverage to the latest football transfer news!

Fortunately (or unfortunately) I can keep fully up to speed with the latest shenanigans with the Internet and the extensive wi-fi coverage around the city.

It's quite good being 5 hours behind the UK as who knows what news will greet me when I wake up tomorrow morning. Merry-go-round........

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Low and Slow

Even though I'm in a part of the US not known for barbecue, anything here is still probably going to be better than anything I could get back home. So for lunch I went to Mighty Quinn's in the east Village.

Ahead of me in the queue to order was a big group of firemen getting their lunch. I took this to be a good sign!

I dithered and finally ordered a beef brisket sandwich, some chicken wings and a side of barbecued beans.

The beef was melt in your mouth delicious and the beans were full of smoky flavour. The chicken wings were good, but I'm not sure I'd get them again (I'd originally ordered some spare ribs, but they weren't ready).

I'm not sure how many times I've now visited New York, but I think I've 'done' most of the normal tourist spots. So now when I come here a big part of the experience is the food I get to try!

 

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2 hours

I've had an ok-ish nights sleep after my trip over the Atlantic yesterday.

The flight was fine and landed a little ahead of schedule. Unfortunately it landed just after a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong. This coupled with a serious lack of border staff meant that it took a whopping 2 hours to clear immigration! Seriously unimpressed.

Anyway at least I wasn't on the flight that landed after us - those passengers had to queue before they could join the back of our queue!

Right time for breakfast, I'm predicting a bagel with jalapeño cream cheese.

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Galleries South

Currently sat in the BA Galleries South lounge at LHR - my first experience of a BA lounge at Heathrow.

It's very big and to think there is another similar lounge in the north of the main terminal building, plus other lounges for First Class and even higher status passengers dotted about the place. And talking of passengers it's a curious mix - plenty of Brits, but loads of Americans and random Euro types. Based on what people look like I don't know how some of them have managed to get in here!

I've got a great seat overlooking the start of the runway just as the planes queue to take-off. A strange looking private Boeing 737 has just taxied past.

Anyway time for a beer (I'm resisting the Champagne option)

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