Bushwick Street Art

Rocking Horse

While many restaurateurs dream that their labors of love will become hot spots, in New York such a blessing can also be a curse. After a while, the crowds move on, as they must, and many a once-hip restaurant shutters or becomes a desperate housewife, past its prime but putting on a show that everyone else finds embarrassing (Exhibit 1: Indochine). A few, however, age gracefully, becoming reliable standbys for consistently good food. Rocking Horse Mexican Cafe, in Chelsea, is one of the lucky ones, still turning out house-made tortillas in the dining room and packing in neighborhood crowds. There recently for the bargain-priced lunch, we enjoyed our lime fizz and complimentary salsa, liked our salmon burger, loved our chicken enchiladas with Chihuahua cheese, and reveled in the all-Michael Jackson playlist, remembering that some things never get old.

Thunderstorm Sky

June has been abysmally rainy, but the silver --- or rather, purple, orange, and blue --- lining to all of the clouds is the occasional glorious post-thunderstorm sunset over the city.

Trinity Churchyard

The final resting place of Alexander Hamilton, John Jacob Astor, and Robert Fulton, among others, itself rests between the tall buildings, tour buses, and scaffolding of Lower Manhattan. The cemetery attached to Trinity Church isn't nearly as spacious as its uptown sibling. Nevertheless, like all cemeteries, it exudes a compelling charm.

Alfanoose

Tucked on a side street in the Financial District is Alfanoose, serving what some consider to be the city's best falafel. (We're still partial to Taim.) We loved its cinnamony crunch --- and you definitely can't argue with such gigantic helpings.

Governors Island

Apparently we're not the only ones who find the pretty, desolate grounds of Governors Island both appealing and creepy. Earlier this month zombies took over the former military base, just a mile away from the tip of Manhattan, as part of a movie / art installation, and earlier still the national monument was the site of Prince Harry's polo match.

On the day we visited we saw neither brains-craving undead nor royalty, just acres of empty space and abandoned buildings, filled with the spirits of those who once inhabited them.