The day started with the first of our visits to an observation deck – this one “The Top of the Rock” on the 70th and 71st floors of Rockefeller center. While not as high as other decks this on offered great views of Central Park and lower Manhattan.
Our next stop, also in Rockefeller center was the famous ice skating rink.
Nana and Papa were the official photographers, Chris was the ‘chapperone’ and the other three did the actual skating.
Kim had a good time. Spencer had a mostly good time. Jesse didn’t want to leave the ice!
The next event was the Yiddish Food Walking Tour. This is a tour of iconic eateries on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. This area was populated by a large group of European Jews during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Much of the culture of these immigrants can be seen in the food they brought with them and the businesses they started that are still going today.
Welcome to the Lower East Side 
Yonah Schimmel’s 
Gentle reminder from Yonah Schimmel 
Knish from Yonah Schimmel’s Knishery 
El Churro Bakery 
Not necessarily Yiddish but…Jesse 
Russ & Daughters 
Killer Salmon Bagels and Potato Latkes 
Killer Salmon Bagel! 
Kossars for Bialys and Babkas 
Bagel & a Schmere 
And sometimes you just need a donut.
Along the way we stopped at the Museum on Eldridge Street. Dating from 1887 this was the first purpose-built synagogue by immigrants from eastern Europe. The synagogue served a thriving and diverse Jewish community until the 1924 Immigrant Quota Laws restricted the inflow of new immigrants. Eventually the congregation dwindled to the point that much of the building was closed off and allowed to deteriorate. In the late 1980’s restoration efforts began and eventually resulted in the establishment of a museum/cultural center listed as a national historic landmark.
Following the Eldridge Street museum we walked to the Tenement Museum. In the late 1980’s a local historian found an empty tenement building whose upper floors had been closed off for over 50 years. Following extensive research (and first-hand memories from people who had been raised in the building) and restoration the museum presents a look into the homes and lives of people and families who lived and worked in this building and so many more like it. Visitors are guided through the museum by educators steeped in the stories of the people whose history they tell. There are several different tours offered. We visited the apartments of and learned about two families – the Rogarshevskys and the Baldizzis, a Jewish family and an Italian family who became neighbors during a critical time in New York City history. Any future trips to New York will include a visit to this museum, and the opportunity to learn more about the common people who played such an important role in building New York.
Front hall of the building 
Table set in the Rogarshevsky apartment 
Looking into the Rogarshevsky kitchen 
Wallpaper modeled on the original 
Inventory – many residents ran seamstress shops in their apartments 
Baldizzi Kitchen 
Dresser in Baldizzi Living Room 
Mr. Baldizzi was a skilled carpenter. This is the only built-in in the whole building.
Following the Tenement Museum tour we were running out of steam, so we stopped by a candy store.
Then it was back to the hotel where we used DoorDash to deliver dinner from Katz’s Deli. Cheryl and I shared Corned Beef on Rye and Matzoh Ball Soup – completing our tour of Yiddish delicacies. It warmed the cockles of our heart and our frozen toes.
So that was the day. Weary but it was a great day filled with interesting flavors and experiences.
Tomorrow we do it all again.
Till then,
R