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.