Columbus Circle, Zara and Thor

With a short jaunt on the 1 line, you can find yourself at most major spots in Midtown. The 42nd Street exit spits you into the currents of Times Square with accompanying near-by tributaries Rockefeller Square, Broadway & Fifth Avenue. Though 42nd boasts entertainment it was not the destination of our Saturday outing. Marcus, Dr. J and I exited at 59th - Columbus Circle.



Columbus Circle is like an indoor Santana Row. SR is a strip of high-end shops and restaurants in San Josie. I would not consider them to be on the same par as the Fifth Avenue options, but if you could cut up SR, stack the pieces on top each other and drape it in glass, you would have Columbus Circle. Look here for the list of shops, but such headliners include United Colors of Benetton, Tourneau and BOSS Hugo Boss. They don't make 'em like this in Salt Lake.

The most interesting store in the mall, though, was the Samsung Experience. This "interactive brand emporium" was a rather cool, open and very minimalist test-drive garage for Samsung products. The long and wide store was terraced with a sloping ramp in the center. Each terrace to the left and right had a different focus - television, video games, photography, appliances, etc. Everything was bright, moving and interactive - Times Square in one room.

As Marcus & Dr. J were gawking over the video game section where multiple command centers demanded attention (five angled screens wrapped around chairs with sound systems built into them), I stumbled upon this little gem.



I love the advertisements for the plays. The two screens on the old Times building (left) are little TVs with animations and Samsung ads.

The giant game of angry birds also attracted Marcus and me.



After the mall we decided to look for food and Dr. J recommended this little place down the way from Columbus Circle called Mariella Pizza. According to Dr. J, Oprah raves about it. This made me skeptical, because I haven't really cared for her show, her magazine or her choice of President. However, this tasty pizza is definitely "one of my favorite things."



It's a small establishment where the people take pride in what they do. No fancy frou-frou, corporate restrictions or giant mice. If Mariella Pizza were a show it would be called, "Two workers, some Snapple and a Pizza Place." And no, Mr. Sheen, you can't be in this one either, because this is pure, genuine, unadulterated goodness.

It was reasonably priced too. I've eaten at Famiglia's and Ray's, but I've liked Mariella Pizza the best by far. I paid around $4 per slice at Ray's and Famiglia's, but at Mariella's it was $2.50 a slice. Not bad for Yankee Italian bliss. It had sweet marinara and the crust was just right.

Pizza is just better here in New York. And pickles, too. And Reuben sandwiches, also. And theater productions. But NOT milk prices, Real Estate rates or the beach. Nope.

After lunch we walked 10 or so blocks south, just admiring stuff, to Bryant Park, because I wanted to retry this suit at Zara. Zara was made for Steve - European urban chic with sleeves and pants long enough. I'm contemplating buying it, because nothing else is Joseph Gordon-Levitt-esque in SLC. Suit shopping, well, shopping in general is hard, so I feel prompted to take what I can get, when I can get it. Take a look at it.



With rain looming, we saw Thor. Students can see movies for $6 at any AMC theater, including the Times Square one, with vouchers available at the I-House front desk. Thor = two thumbs up. The theater was three blocks into Harlem and after walking one, we weren't in Kansas anymore. Though Harlem is supposedly getting better, it's still Harlem. I was glad there were three of us. Remember, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck...

On an up note, here is the beautiful Manhattan Temple/chapel/LDS public affairs office. Because of limited space in the city, the church built up instead of out. The chapel where I go to church is on the third floor of the building, which is actually sprawling on the inside. It faces The Julliard School in a beautiful part of town.