101 in 1001 {II}: ride the subway on staten island [completed 11.13.11]
what do prince philip, queen elizabeth the second, winston churchill, madonna, and joe and i have in common? we're all famous british people, of course, but that's too easy; no, i'm thinking of how we've all made use of the staten island railway.
folks aren't usually receptive to my requests for shaolin-train-riding companionship, but the missus is a special case; also, he remembered that we'd talked years ago about tracking down good italian food at the other end of the boat ride. he found enoteca maria, and it was for us: a rotating cast of italian grandmothers prepare rustic italian food for diners just up the hill from the ferry landing. our evening's nonna was adelina from napoli, and her food kicked ass; we were full of mozzarella di bufala and artichokes long before we made it to our pasta (me) and bass (joe), but one doesn't stop eating at nonna's table. when we explained that we had to run to catch the eight o'clock ferry, we were promptly buried beneath a pile of cookies; it was outstanding.
and the rail - the rail was fascinating, and weird. one only pays to ride the train at its endpoints (all of the other stations will let you on for free); somehow this means that you have to swipe your card as you exit the station as well, a step we only learned about when we tried to push through the turnstiles and got whacked in the yarbles. so that was a low point; we learned later that our randomly-chosen stop (stapleton) played a supporting role in madonna's papa don't preach video, though, and that made everything better. staten island, i will be back.
7 comments:
i feel a little misled.
when you said a GRANDMOTHER was feeding you italian food you meant you were at a RESTAURANT?
still. i want to go to there.
(that was esb again)
i never said she was my nonna, cookies. i think the fact that it's a great formula makes up for the fact that none of the nonnas have given birth to anyone i know; enoteca maria actively encourages people to get their own grandmothers involved. also they have a biodynamic farm; by contrast, my german grandmother on my father's side only makes jello and turkey products, and my german grandmother on my mother's side thinks you have to peel mushrooms.
on another note, can we talk about what madonna's wearing in the staten island scenes in "papa don't preach"? she's obviously a blogger.
did I just catch a glimpse of The Missus??
Pretty much anyone's grandmother can beat mine in a cooking contest, but your adopted one sounds particularly talented.
Also, you + your stealthy camera continue to amaze.
Perfection. All around, on all axes, for all parameters.
Staten Island has a subway? We just went to the ferry terminal and turned back.
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