A funny thing happened on the way to the church

St John's is at an end of 112th street. I found this sign's placement funny. Take a picture from a few inches to the left and the arrow would point to the church's main entrance.

Koren at the Museum of Natural History VIII

Caterpillars who eat their crackers become beautiful butterflies.

St Johns Crab

This is the crab from Hell. No really, it is. The more I look at this sculpture, and I pass it every week, the more it gives me the creeps. I expect that one day it will come to life and the NYPD won't be able to stop it.

St John's Saints

That saint on the end looks crabby. Let's give him a cracker.

Hmm. Not hungry?

Koren at the Museum of Natural History VII

You have to eat your crackers to become a big beautiful butterfly.

Going Crackers

We have the most amazing subway system in New York City. I left car culture to come here and get around using public transit. It's truly amazing how well this system works. I don't know if it's actually greener, but my last car was from the 70s, and didn't burn very cleanly.

Pizza at Lombardi's

Lombardi's is one of four coal fired pizza ovens in New York City. New coal ovens were outlawed, so only the folks who have stayed in business are allowed to keep their operations going with coal. Sadly, we lost a great baker, A. Zito & Sons, on Bleeker Street due to the high price of coal. As you can see on the tiles, this oven was built in 1905. Lombardi was the first to open a Pizzeria in America.

I'm always skeptical of restaurants that have a line because you could eat at every restaurant in Manhattan for every meal of your life and never have to eat at the same place twice. Having said that, I would gladly que up at Lombardi's again, or perhaps go at a less busy time.

The pizza is wonderful and tasty. It's a little bit chewy on the inside, with a crisp outer crust. it's cooked in an oven that's hotter than most home ovens. The sauce is sweet without being sugary. The cheese is a lovely fresh mozzarella. They sprinkled fresh shredded basil on it for color and flavor. We got a small half pepperoni pie for two. We could have eaten a big one, but we might have been sick afterwards. We would have tried anyway.

Lombardi's is at 32 Spring Street, about a block from the Spring Street 6 subway.

Art-O-Mat-to-be

We caught the attention of the guy in the background when we took a picture of the old cigarette machine in Lombardi's.

Welcome to Little Itley

We were on our way to dinner when a brief misty rain began to fall. There are some folks still eating out on the sidewalk to the right of the cracker. There are also two hydrophobic runners rounding the corner.

Koren at the Museum of Natural History VI

Sea turtles love crackers.

Some subway tile work under Grand Central Station

Space Invader, Cracker, PacMan

There's competition for every crevice on the streets of Manhattan.

Koren at the Museum of Natural History V

The subway stop at 81st Street on the west side in New York City has tile mosaics of a wide variety of animals that were hungry for crackers.

Say-rah at Rosarios

Another Lower East Side institution, although not as old as Katz's, but right around the corner, is Rosario's Pizza. They make a great sauce and put fresh plum tomatoes and big slices of garlic on the top. Tis yummmmy.

We were joined by cousin Say-rah who put garlic salt on the saltine. Mmmm.

Katz's, Houston & Ludlow

I don't recall ever eating at Katz's in New York City. However, there were several post "Last Call" meals that I'm told I attended after a night at Arlene's Grocery back in the 90s.

That said, Katz's has been a New York institution for over a hundred years. The sandwiches are as big as footballs. Don't expect to finish everything on your plate.

Mmmm, Crackers. by Amy Elizabeth, Cracker No. 2776

Name: Amy Elizabeth

Serial: 2776

Location: Currently I'm in Tarrytown, NY

Acquired from: other

link: http://www.amythystcafe.etsy.com

Labels: 2776

Stray Balloon Animal and cracker

It's actually not that uncommon to find stray balloon animals in New York.

Macchiato Espresso Bar in NYC

The owner of Macchiato understands espresso like no other proprietor that I've found in New York. He spent 6 months with a Seattle roaster perfecting a blend just for this store. The espresso's body is rich, balanced and smooth with a slight caramel flavor and chocolaty after taste. If you're a caffeine junkie, you won't need to hide the coffee under syrup or foam.

Macchiato is an amazing oasis of quality food and coffee in midtown's vast fast food wasteland. You will feel welcome from the moment you walk in. The service is great, the espresso is amazing, and the prices are on par for midtown -- which makes Macchiato a bargain for the quality you get.

On 44th Street between Lexington and 3rd Avenue. The shop is just a half block out the back door of Grand Central, so if you find yourself waiting for a train, go over and try this amazing espresso! Heck, if you love espresso like I do, you'll even be o.k. missing your train!

Nicola Tesla Cracker Corner

I built a Tesla coil once upon a time. I still have it. I was intent on creating (or replicating) the aura photographs of folklore, also known as Kirlian photography. It turns out that Semyon Kirlian was on to something. The phenomenon that he was working with became useful in xerography, more comnonly known as photo copies.

In 1943, the Supreme Court of the United States credited Tesla as being the inventor of the radio. Unfortunately, crackpot teachers and text books still credit Marconi with the invention.

Tesla died in poverty after giving us the induction motor in our refridgerators, alternating current, and, oh yeah, that annoying morning DJ on our commute.

Maybe I'll break out the Tesla coil and create a Kirlian photo of a cracker. As they used to say in the good old radio days, "Stay tuned."

In Formation by Amy Elizabeth, Cracker No. 2776

When we got home, he had a quick drill team meeting with the rest of his friends.

Image URL: http://amythystcafe.blogspot.com/
Name: Amy Elizabeth
Serial: 2776
Location: Currently I'm in Tarrytown, NY
Acquired from: other
link: http://www.amythystcafe.etsy.com

Mama Donna in Caesars, Las Vegas

Who needs a fig leaf when you have a saltine?

Time for bed by Amy Elizabeth, Cracker No. 2776

Finally we climbed into bed for a good night's sleep.

Image URL: http://amythystcafe.blogspot.com/
Name: Amy Elizabeth
Serial: 2776
Location: Currently I'm in Tarrytown, NY
Acquired from: other
link: http://www.amythystcafe.etsy.com

Mama Donna at The Bellagio in Las Vegas

The Bellagio water show. If you've never seed Eepy Bird's version of this, don't hesitate to watch it here now:

Cracker Laundry by Amy Elizabeth, Cracker No. 2776

After his bath, we just hung out for a while to get to know each other a bit better.

Image URL: http://amythystcafe.blogspot.com/
Name: Amy Elizabeth
Serial: 2776
Location: Currently I'm in Tarrytown, NY
Acquired from: other
link: http://www.amythystcafe.etsy.com

Angus

100% pure bull.

Mama Donna in Las Vegas

No luck for a cracker at 3-card poker.

Bath Cracker by Amy Elizabeth, Cracker No. 2776

After drill team practice, he felt a little grimy, so he took a bath. He just loves playing with bath toys!

Image URL: http://amythystcafe.blogspot.com/
Name: Amy Elizabeth
Serial: 2776
Location: Currently I'm in Tarrytown, NY
Acquired from: other
link: http://www.amythystcafe.etsy.com

Times Square, in case you miss it.

Strange traffic patterns and hundreds of cheap lawn chairs make the new Times Square more surreal than ever. I don't know what tourists take away from the experience.

Mama Donna in Las Vegas with Joe Finkle

It's the "Where's Waldo" cracker tracker pic. Alternatively, the cracker is the TM (trademark) symbol on the hotel logo. Joe's such a good sport.

Mondrian Cracker by Amy Elizabeth, Cracker No. 2776

My cracker is named Sir Spuyten Duyvil. He is my new travel buddy. I'm sure Sir SD and I will have a fabulous life together.

Image URL: http://amythystcafe.blogspot.com/
Name: Amy Elizabeth
Serial: 2776
Location: Currently I'm in Tarrytown, NY
Acquired from: other
link: http://www.amythystcafe.etsy.com

Front End Loader by Margaret L. Handshoe. No. 3379

I heart my cracker

Image URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/76608540@N00/3653675691/
Name: Margaret L. Handshoe
Serial: 3379
Location: Roseville, California
Acquired from: Art-O-mat machine
Machine: Crocker Art Museum
email: redwoodcorners@yahoo.com