Pastrami and Skating

New Shmork is hard to beat. Eisenberg's is just perfect. But it's crowded. Ice skating in Bryant Park had lines of up to four hours to get on the ice. But Belly ran into a friend in the front of the line so just The Great PD and she got out onto the ice while the rest of us watched. What a scene it is -- a rink in the heart of midtown Manhattan, surrounded by skyscrapers, and the skating is free.

Afterwards everyone posed in front of the Bryant Park Christmas Tree for a portrait snapped by a tourist. Belly and her friend Theo are down front.

Pisticci is still Plotnik's favorite restaurant in New Shmork. You just can't beat that food, and the atmosphere is perfect. It's a long way from Brooklyn -- all the way up near the 125th Street IRT station -- but it wasn't too far from the ice skating rink. He was too excited to take any photos, but you've seen the spaghetti and meatballs before. PD took some great photos on the way.