This was a lazy start to the day. We watched most of CBS this morning show except for a trip across the street to McDonalds. We decided to go out to the Old Stone House but first I had a bagel with Cream Cheese from a 24 hour deli I found around the corner from our hotel.
As we got onto the 49th St station there were a few snowflakes in the air in Manhattan. 40 minutes later we came out of the underground in Brooklyn and had a big surprise. The ground was snow covered and it was coming down pretty hard. WE ducked under a bridge for a little bit with our cell phones and got our bearings so we could do some GPS navigation to the Stone House. The neighborhood looked pretty safe although I told Libbie I never in my life have gone into Brooklyn intentionally. The GPS led us well along 4th Ave from Ninth St until we reached 3rd or 4th Street. There we could see the dark outline of what was obviously the house sort of visible in the ever falling snow. By now there was one to two inches on the ground. We took photos outside then went in to the visitors center. We met a verynice young girl inside at the desk who welcomed us. After explaining who we were and why we were there we explored the one room visitors center. There was a model of a battle in the middle of the room and photos around the outside. A 5 year old birthday party for 40 kids was in progress upstairs. After a while it was back outside in the falling snow to capture more pictures before making our way back down 4th Ave to the subway. WE got on the R train for our trip back into Manhattan. The snow was falling in midtown now as well. WE were entertained for the longest time watching the small army of munchkins attack the falling snow with brooms, shovels, a tractor blade and walk behind salt spreaders. IT was a spectacle watching them try to keep ahead of the storm but it was overwhelming them. Libbie likened it to watching the downpour last summer in Toronto where we ducked under an awning and watched people dealing with the deluge of a summer shower. We decided against going out again to another theater because if the performance was canceled we would not be able to get our money back until tomorrow which is too late since we would be gone.
I studied the listings for restaurant row looking for a steak place. Broadway Joes had horrible ratings. I looked at Tapas bars but decided on Orso, a small family Italian restaurant. I made a reservation online. I wanted 6 but 7 was what was available. We went out into the snow and trudged up 46th. Many businesses and theaters had cleared their walks but on restaurant row the snow oath was narrow since the previous snows were piled at the curb and occupied part of the sidewalk. Fortunately Orso was only a few restaurants down on the block. They had our table ready and took our coats when we entered the place. We had a very nice corner table with a good view of the room and out of the main path. Ben Stiller was opposite us and Martin Short was next to us. There were only about a dozen tables here.
We ordered an Italian dry red blend suggested by the waiter. It was merlot, cabernet and syrah with a full body. The menu had headings like Primi, Secondi, Antipasti and Deserto. HE explained you order a main course and a second course. We had a half plate of spaghetti and eggplants served family style as our pre entree. Then had the salmon with greens, pomegranate and risotto. IT was out of this world delicious. Our salmon at home has a new standard to live up to. I wouldn't mind learning this dish at home. For dessert Libbie had a chocolate torte with chocolate and raspberry sauce. I had the Tiramisu. Presentation was over the top with flakes of chocolate on it, coffee accompanied dessert. They brewed fresh decaf for Libbie. Our bill for the evening was $190. I had warmed up quite a bit and actually felt pretty good stepping out into the cold once we bailed out our coats from the coat check. We packed our suitcases for morning takeoff. While Libbie went to bed I spent a few hours resetting her Nexus 7 to factory settings. She had taken an update which made the device very unstable. You could hardly do anything before it immediateley crashed or froze up. Google has some very good account backups which utilized the account info from her cell phone to do an NFC transfer, then the data from the apps was restored. All restored except the books. I played around and got it to connect to Calibre where I downloaded her current book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Bedtime at midnight with a wakeup at 5 AM. It'll be a short night.